EDITED BY MIKE BREEN

· PUFFY AMIYUMI -- NICE. (BAR NONE)

In their native Japan, the slick Pop duo Puffy AmiYumi are like a two-headed Britney Spears already, selling millions of albums (they have 10 over there; Nice. is their third U.S. release) and leasing songs to soda and cosmetics commercials. The twosome -- heard most widely in the States on the theme song for the Cartoon Network's Teen Titans -- have all the making of another Pop scam put together by a management company and "collaborating" heavily with producer Andy Sturmer. But Sturmer (formerly drummer for Jellyfish) provides a musical foundation for the duo that transcends the push-button tedium of their like-minded American and British contemporaries. "Planet Tokyo," "Invisible Tomorrow" and "Your Love Is a Drug" are guitar-driven, tiny Power Pop symphonies that wouldn't have been out of place in the discographies of Sturmer's former band or newer acts like The Wondermints. Electronics are used, but in a playful, retro-chic manner that's adorably charismatic. The flickering, Brian Wilson-ish ballad "Angel of Love" merges toy beats and chiming keys with a melodic and harmonic delivery that shows the singers' shelf life is beyond your usual Pepsi pitch-singer, while "Tokyo Nights" has the kind of ecstatic Disco Pop magnetism that made ABBA so enduring. The largely Japanese (or broken English, at best) lyrics limit Puffy AmiYumi's chances of superstardom stateside, but the lack of fast-food disposability in the songwriting should appeal to Indie Pop fans who don't mind a heaping dose of sugar in their ears. (Mike Breen) CityBeat grade: B.

· DANNY BARNES -- DIRT ON THE ANGEL (TERMINUS)

After six albums of Punkabilly fury with the Bad Livers, Danny Barnes relocated to Seattle in 1997 and was embraced by the Country/Jazz community, including avantists Bill Frisell and Wayne Horvitz, who helped Barnes record his solo debut in 2001, Things I Done Wrong. For Dirt on the Angel, Barnes has re-enlisted Frisell, violinist Darol Anger and pianist Chuck Leavell among others to provide the contemporary hillbilly soundtrack to his authentically structured yet philosophically twisted material. On "Life in the Country," Barnes observes, "New Country music ain't worth a dime/And radio plays it all the time," while the band whips up a feast of traditional Country to thankfully deny him entry to that playlist. Barnes primarily follows the classic Country sturm-and-twang template ("Get It While You Can," "I Likes My Chicken Hot") but shows his distinctive stripe on the title track's transcendent backing, his Bluegrass rendition of the Faces's "Ooh La La" and his sample-drenched avant-Country take on Beck's slacker anthem "Loser." Dirt on the Angel's brilliance is in Barnes's strict adherence to the Country ethic balanced with his willingness to gleefully subvert it with his intentions intact. (Brian Baker) CityBeat grade: B.

· S.T.U.N. -- EVOLUTION OF ENERGY (GEFFEN)

When a band bases their name on an acronym -- especially one as cloying as Scream Toward the Uprising of Non-Conformity -- one treads warily. The cover art doesn't help either: A shadowy figure carrying a briefcase and clad in a trench coat is surrounded by skyscrapers amid a red backdrop (the trenched one has a bulls-eye over his heart). All this before we even tear open the wrapper. With their jagged guitars, shredded vocals, serrated rhythms and penchant for politics, S.T.U.N. undoubtedly count The Clash as an old-school template as surely as Punk Rock jesters Refused are a modern one. As pissed as this probably makes the four deliberately-styled L.A. punks of S.T.U.N. ("Hey, dude, this stuff's serious"), Evolution of Energy is the perfect soundtrack for a trip to the gym: Loud, aggressive, adrenaline pumping and completely over the top in a mindless, lose-yourself-in-the-chaos kind of way. The biggest surprise here is a cover of Wire's "Reuters" -- it doesn't suck. Then there's the lyrics. What's one to make of this from "Boredom": "Boredom is for humans/Boredom is for human bein(gs)/We've got to change the scene/Everyone's a mutant/Take off your mask and let us see." (Jason Gargano) CityBeat grade: C.

· EDDY "THE CHIEF" CLEARWATER -- ROCK 'N' ROLL CITY (BULLSEYE/ROUNDER)

Just as Willie Nelson is Country's perpetually vital and productive elder statesman, 68-year-old guitarist Eddy Clearwater keeps fashioning new ways to hear Rock and Blues at an age when most people are into their rocking chair retirements. "The Chief" (so named for his penchant of performing in his signature Indian headdress) has been playing guitar professionally since the age of 13, and he's been a fixture in Chicago's Blues scene since relocating there in 1950, where he fashioned his Blues/Rock style after the likes of Otis Rush, Magic Sam and Chuck Berry. For his latest nugget-filled album, Rock 'n' Roll City, Clearwater enlists Surf/Rock deities Los Straitjackets as backing band and wails out a vintage Rock/Soul groove on cover obscurities ("You're Humbuggin' Me," "Ding Dong Daddy") inspired originals ("Old Time Rocker," "Back Down to Earth"), and the collaborative Blues/Surf Rock instrumental swing of "Monkey Paw" with a riff lifted from The Munsters theme. With Rock 'n' Roll City, Clearwater holds a seminar on making Blues/Rock fresh simply by remembering its greatness when it was a new form. (BB) CityBeat grade: B.

· THE DEL MCCOURY BAND -- IT'S JUST THE NIGHT (MCCOURY MUSIC/SUGAR HILL)

Del McCoury has done more than merely ride the wave of post-O Brother, Where Art Thou? Bluegrass adoration. As a one-time sideman with the legendary Bill Monroe, McCoury helped to build it. As one of the genre's architects, it's difficult to view McCoury and his work with sons Ronnie and Rob and their band with any kind of dispassionate distance. With their latest, It's Just the Night, the McCourys have once again assembled a stunning set list of obscure antiquities (Tommy Cash's "Let an Old Racehorse Run," Don Reno's "I Can Hear the Angels Singing"), modern cross-genre gems (Richard Thompson's "Dry My Tears and Move On" and "Two-Faced Love" and Delbert McClinton's "Same Kind of Crazy"), and fresh new songwriting talents (H.R. Cooke's "Zero to Love," Van Eaton and Pat McInerny's dark title track) to create an album that crackles with Bluegrass authenticity and bristles with contemporary energy. (BB) CityBeat grade: A.

E-mail Mike Breen

Printer-friendly version

more...

personals | cover | news | columns | music | movies | arts | dining | listings | classifieds | mediakit | promotions | home

Locals Only: Lemmings Meringue
Upcoming album by Da LEMMINGS OnSombol whips together loops, Jazz, Funk and more

The Ledge: The Positive Side of Hip Hop
Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and ... Hip Hop?

Spill It
High Strange Drifters anything but plain

Sound Advice: More Concerts of Note
Anthrax remains Among the Living

Positively Yeah Yeah Yeah: New Tunes
Guided by Voices held together by Earthquake Glue

What RU Listening 2
C. Spencer Yeh Of Burning Star Core, Death Beam, DJ Wackplastic and Dronedisco

Music Listings