Row Knows

Shortly after the release of their 2007 release, Love Is Simple, Akron/Family faced the amicable departure of a founding band member, which, for a four-piece band whose music features striking bouts of improvisation, could have been the end of the group. However, after tours that incorporated Megafaun and Greg Davis (both as openers and onstage with Akron/Family), the remaining trio slipped into the studio to record their followup release, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. In doing so, they have concocted another bold work of psychedelic freak-folk that is a treat for fans everywhere.

Opener, “Everyone Is Guilty”, picks up where the last record left off, opening with an afrobeat groove, chant-like vocals and a swirl of keys and strings, and charging guitars. I’d swear one of the breaks could be from a YES album except that YES albums never had looseness of the band. “The River” sounds very much as if it could have been on the previous album (which, if you’ve read my review, you’ll know that to be a high compliment.)

“Creatures” strikes, at first, as more of a departure, sounding a bit like a stripped down Animal Collective number but it is followed directly by the straight acoustic guitar/vocal dreamscape of “The Alps & Their Orange Evergreen”.

“Set ‘Em Free”, whose lyrics lend the album its name, is simply a gorgeous cascade of acoustic and steel guitars backing a simple vocal. This leads to the ragged horns of the intro to the album’s longest number, “Gravelly Mountains Of The Moon”. This one evokes the abandon of the group’s live shows with wild electric guitars manic drums and vocals. This might be the true test. If you put on this album and are willing to listen beyond this song, you may be a true fan.

Once you’ve passed the test, you’re set enjoy the pleasant melodies and harmonies of “Many Ghosts” and the ripping, instrumental, power-trio attack of “MBF” (complete with appropriate screams and laser chaos noises.)

From the wreckage of “MBF”, comes the slow chanting intro of “They Will Appear” which breaks into an exuberant, galloping, climax.

“Sun Will Shine” follows with a simple, repeated lyric, “Sun will shine but I won’t hide” that is carried by an almost gospel tinged positivity before lifting into more typical stratospheric terrain and finding itself in the midst of a drunken Salvation Army rendition of Auld Lang Syne. This followed by a single piano accompanying the groups vocal harmonies on the brief, slightly sad yet optimistic number, “Last Year”.

Ending an album on a “downbeat” song is, I suppose, a risk for some bands but Akron/Family clearly is not “some bands”.  Both live and via LP they set out to lead you on a journey from here, to who-knows-where and back again and this record accomplishes the mission beautifully. By all means, pick it up and go see them live.

Here’s a recent in-store performance from Amoeba Records:

-rj

http://www.akronfamily.com

If you are any kind of Phish fan, you already know about the new 13 minute single released this week via iTunes, “Time Turns Elastic”.  (It’s also streaming on their myspace if you do not mess with iTunes.)  The band announced it the same way they announce anything these days- with a video on their website:

I have to confess, the video makes it sound pretty rockin’ and awesome. But, isn’t this the same piece that Trey composed with a classical conductor and debuted with Orchestra Nashville?

Of course, it is.

But it has been craftily re-arranged for the quartet. Just do yourself a favor; don’t go expecting this to be “You Enjoy Myself”.  What we have here is an epic piece with some pretty cool music and, honestly, painfully heartfelt lyrics that often do not make any sense (except, hopefully, to Anastasio, himself.) I suspect that much of this is about the journey Trey has been on over the past few years since he broke up the band, got arrested, went to jail and got sober. I further suspect that this is song that is very dear to Trey and will figure prominently throughout the upcoming Summer Tour. But, that being said, the vocals are mixed too far out in front of the band. Trey’s voice is not better than it was when they recorded Billy Breathes and couched the warm, half-spoken, vocals neatly within the mix. The lyrics aren’t better either. So why must they be thrust out in front with almost cringe-inducing effect?

I’ll stop bashing it now… It’s not a complete loss. Many of the sequences feature very promising music that I hope will expand nicely onstage.

Speaking of which, do you realize that leg one of Phish’s Summer tour starts this weekend? It all kicks off at Boston’s Fenway Park on Sunday.  It’ll be another week before I get to see them, but I hope to bring you guys some first-hand commentary from the road as soon as possible. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll see you there!

Editor's Note: And now, the first of our guest contributors
-a southern gentleman and a scholar- please welcome Sophist.

As my first official post on Row Knows, I would like to take a moment to thank my gracious host for having me on as a contributor to his site, so thank you, Rowjimmy.

A few (most likely none of you) will recognize my handle from week4paug.net.  I will spare the introduction and get to the heart of the matter at hand:  American Idol really screwed the pooch this season.

Actually, the usual bout of chaos seems to be present on the political front.  The Republicans are up in arms about Obama’s nomination for Supreme Court Judge.  My favorite blog: Obsidian Wings, has several links containing detailed information about the nominee, which includes detailed summaries of her positions on various issues.  Credit should be given to Hilzoy for bringing this information forward, and posting it.

From my readings of the above links, I have no concerns about this choice for Supreme Court Judge.  To me, the points made against her are rampant with Straw Man Arguments.  Surprisingly, I have yet to see the usual Ad Hominem arguments by the right, in turn; the right has been focusing on the usual issues: abortion, gun rights, and gay marriage.  The standard “threats” to America, the type of shit that will drown this country.

What concerns me with the left is the steadfast appeal in which this nominee was absorbed.  She was instantly a champion of the left, and as history tells us, I see this as dangerous.  We need to be objective, and we need to question everything with regards to government.  The use of government is good, and brings about the completed tasks that we require to function as a society, but I feel like we are slowly derailing ourselves due to the comfort of this administration.  It’s an aphorism I use frequently, and will continue to repeat, so it needs to be said:  The absence of doubt is the emergence of institutional oppression.

We as a society need to be objective and choose what is best for the country not for a particular party.  These are crucial times, and to me, it feels like both sides forget this, and resort to playing politics.  It does concern me, that right off the bat we see the same partisan talking points from the same people, I didn’t expect a new administration to change Washington, but I did expect the politicians to listen to the people for once, and heed our want for change.

So I ask of you, to read up on this nominee and voice your thoughts to your politicians, friends, family, pets, or whatever the hell else you find comfort in conversing with.

-Sophist

Okay. If you saw my (not really a New Year’s) resolution to write more, you probably think I’ve folded up shop and have completely failed in that effort.

“Not so,” I declare!

I have let this website stagnate a bit but I’ve been hard at work on other ventures. Too bad for you guys that those things don’t work in a blog (so far.) However, in the interest of keeping this site active and interesting, I have been thinking about some changes.

Consider this post a call to my reader(s) for submissions. Do you write or feel like writing something that might fit in around here? Have you listened to the new Dylan album and found that you’ve got something to say about it? Have you got some radical, liberal, ravings that need a proper airing? Here’s what you can do.

1. Create an account (see the link on the right.)
2. Email me with your intentions and I’ll set you up!

Let’s see what you’ve got!

Note: I;ve been made aware of recent difficulties in registering for the site. This has been fixed!