Album Notes - Animal Collective - Time Skiffs

Posted by CANNASaver on Tuesday, 15 February 2022 in Album Notes

I will always remember a one John Cooper for (at least) three things:
1) The way that Brit could strike a football. Seriously, that mofo could kick.
2) The "Tamla Motown" shirt he gave me (which I think came from his brother) that I still own and wear to this day
3) "My Girls"

During my former life as a TEFL teacher, one evening in 2009 I found myself sitting in a high rise apartment in Xi'an, China, and while the legendary Rob "Potato" Ansell lurked about, Mr. Cooper and I were sharing musical preferences with each other. During the exchange, Animal Collective's recently released Merriweather Post Pavilion was given the spotlight. The aforementioned "My Girls" caught my attention, but the rest of the album was captivating enough to maintain my intrigue. I've been waiting for an effort from the band to match it since. Whether under the collective (no pun intended) name or via solo offshoots, the members of Animal Collective have continued to pump out music since that 2009 LP. Most of it has done little for me. The announcement of each subsequent release has been the pairing of piqued interest followed by disappointment. Rinse and repeat. Until Time Skiffs. 

I am more surprised than anyone to be writing about the eleventh, (or seventh, kind of) release from the Baltimoreans, given that the output following Merriweather Post Pavilion has largely left little worth re-listening to. Unfortunate, yes, but it also makes Time Skiffs that much more of a treat. This latest will most certainly not be for everyone, but it incorporates the best of Animal leaders Avey Tare and Panda Bear, while embracing the occasional Brian Wilson influence, along with moments of early 70s Grateful Dead, Syd Barrett-era Floyd, and even a certain aquatic animal, all of which results in the most cohesive effort from the band in a dozen years. While I may undertand where those other artists come from, I make no such proclamations for Animal Collective. There's is a different wavelength, yet my curiosity will continue, much like it has this past decade. Time Skiffs.

Cat Stevens' Teaser and the Firecat turns 50

Posted by CANNASaver on Thursday, 30 September 2021 in Album Notes

While this album will be getting the full 50th anniversary super deluxe special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions treatment featuring a smattering of demos, alternate takes, live versions, etc., on, curiously, November 12, it was in fact October 1, 1971, when Cat Stevens gave the world Teaser and the Firecat, solidifying his genteel place in the industry, and building upon the success of the more-fondly remembered today Tea for the Tillerman, released just 10 months prior. 

Depending on your familiarity with Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam, aka Yusuf, aka Yusuf / Cat Stevens, you'll likely recognize multiple songs. "Peace Train" is the enduring tune, but "Morning Has Broken," "Bitterblue," and "Moonshadow" may well spark memories for listeners in melody if not in name. 

There are no frills on Teaser and the Firecat and no grand desire from the songwriter to make art for any other reason than channeling that which he knows, a necessary release valve. Pureness is the pervading quality. There is also no filler, just top-notch songwriting across this 33-minute masterpiece. And although Teaser's predecessor is widely regarded as the Englishman's peak, to me this 10-song effort represents the pinnacle of a fantastic career and comfortably resides in the upper echelon of the folk rock genre. 

Obscure October: The Voluntary Butler Scheme's "The Grandad Galaxy"

Posted by CANNASaver on Thursday, 07 October 2021 in Album Notes

We haven't done this since 2019's Nordic November, but it's time for another themed month: Obscure October. (Yeah, my absolute adoration of alliteration abides.)

Granted, there is some inherent difficultly in the proposition. Obscure is relative to all axes of proximity. Not to mention that for some, many records featured in Album Notes may already land in this category. That said, the idea is to dive deep and shed light on a few albums and artists that deserve far more attention than they have (at least in my mind) heretofore received. 

Obscure October Week 1: The Grandad Galaxy
Date: July 14, 2011
Location: Stourbridge, England
The Skinny: Half instrumental, half catchy Beach Boys/Beatles vibes. All good. 

What's in a name? The Voluntary Butler Scheme reads like something spit out of a band name generator. The musical product is far more intentional. Rob Jones released three albums under the moniker between 2009 and 2014. All are very much worth checking out, and while a favorite is hard to pick from the trio, The Grandad Galaxy stands as the best balance of production and songwriting. The 15 tracks are at once modern but old-timey, all the while dreamy and hypnotic. Whether or not the nonsensical name contributed to the lack of stardom, Jones delivered three quality records worthy of wider recognition.

Obscure October: Zamla Mammaz Manna's "Familijesprickor"

Posted by CANNASaver on Thursday, 14 October 2021 in Album Notes

New week, even older obscure oddity, and one that is likely my favorite of the four that will be featured this month.

Obscure October Week 2: Familijesprickor
Date: 1980
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
The Skinny: There's nothing lean about the virtuosic prog rock excursions from this Swedish outfit that land somewhere between Zappa, Mr. Bungle, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. 

I don't even know where to begin with Zamla Mammaz Manna other than to say that if you like the aforementioned artists, or pretty much any jamband from the 90s or 00s, or are curious about 70s Scandinavian prog rock, do yourself a favor and check out Familijesprickor. It is something that truly has to be heard to be understood. And even then the latter may prove difficult.

While changing their name from Samla Mammas Manna to Zamla Mammaz Manna and back again doesn't quite put them in John Dwyer of Orinoka Crash Sweet / OCS / Orange County Sound / The Ohsees / Thee Oh Sees / Oh Sees / Osees territory as far as trying to make cataloguing one band's releases as challenging as possible, the act of doing so, combined with the musical stylings, no doubt did little to help their broad appeal. 

Released in 1980, the Zam's seventh album comes across today as simultaneously dated yet fresh. Many of the keyboard sounds really are something else, for better or worse, while the songwriting is right at home with what a number of bands of a certain ilk have tried to accomplish over the past few decades. One could hear snippets, taken in conjunction with the song titles and band name, and assume these guys are from the school of those inspired by Phish. The difference between this and any number of jambands who attempt such aural adventures is that these Swedes are not only technically proficient on their respective instruments, but pen quality compositions to boot. Not to mention they rarely bother with trying to sing. Familijesprickor may translate as "Family Cracks" but there are no fault lines here. Only quality tunes and even better chops. 

Obscure October: Susumu Yokota's "Grinning Cat"

Posted by CANNASaver on Thursday, 21 October 2021 in Album Notes

Obscure October Week 3
Date: June 4, 2001
Location: Japan
The Skinny: Ambient, piano-driven chill Japanese DJ does it his way

I have no interest in being verbose to describe a largely instrumental album. As someone who never felt at home in the electronic scene, I am the first to admit that the late Susumu Yokota may not qualify as obscure for serious fans of the genre throughout the 90s and 00s. "Ambient" is the label laid upon Grinning Cat, the prolific Japanese DJ's umpteenth release, but calling it such seems unfairly reductive to artist and craft. Yes, Yokota's wares frequently supply a calming effect that leave the listener in a state of contemplative bliss, but for years I've been struck by this record for reasons I can't explain. Something just keeps calling me back. 

Listening to Grinning Cat, it's easier to picture a painter taking stabs at a fresh canvas than it is to see a DJ splicing together that which results in these 13 tracks. An inventive, playful nature lies at the heart of the album from start to finish. One can easily imagine Yokota smiling like a Cheshire as he put the final touches on this set.

Obscure October: Comus' "First Utterance"

Posted by CANNASaver on Thursday, 28 October 2021 in Album Notes

As October comes to a close, so too does our themed month aimed at providing exposure to some lesser-known albums. Next week we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming. Whether that's to your delight or dismay, thanks for tuning in.

Obscure October Week 4
Date: February 19, 1971
Location: London, England 
The Skinny: The intersection of Jethro Tull, Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, and Pink Floyd

The 1971 debut from Comus quickly manifests mental images of words like "occult" and "pagan." While there is little difficulty in ascribing the sounds to the artists listed above, it is very much worth keeping in mind that First Utterance preceded a certain magnum opus, and, to those acutely aware of familiar chord formations and potential similarities on instantly recognizable Floyd albums, came out more than a year before recording sessions began for that lunar-themed masterpiece. Bonus points here, as always, for bands that have songs named after or directly reference the group that wrote it. If the comparisons to Comus' contemporaries don't completely fit your bill, more "modern" siblings would be peak Rusted Root and Sweden's Goat.

The album title speaks for itself in so much as it's likely the initial exposure for many to this relatively short-lived outfit, one who released a follow-up three years later, then disappeared until well after the dawn of our current century. First Utterance, final farewell to Obscure October.