Album Review: The Sound of Siam, Volume 2- Molam & Luk Thung Isan from North-East Thailand 1970-1982

Where has this been all my life? The Sound of Siam, Volume 2- Molam & Luk Thung Isan from North-East Thailand 1970-1982 represents yet another heretofore undiscovered rabbit hole. 

The 19 tracks newly compiled by the Soundwaves label are somehow simultaneously foreign and familiar.  Onuma Singsiri's "Lam Plearn Toe Lhong Tong" sounds like a collision of a psychedelic garage rock band and a traditional Celtic ensemble.  The hypnotic "Mainaa Tam Pom Loey" by Panom Promma references "I Put a Spell On You" and "Summertime."   The deranged instrumentation on Yenjit Porntawi's "Lam Plearn Gok Kaa Kao" may or may not include a gamelan and oddly-tuned woodwinds.

One thing leads to another, of course, so I've taken to prowling YouTube channels like this.  There seems to be an endless supply of entrancing Thai music that blends folk music with Western styles.  I don't know whether to be elated or despondent that my list of obsessions just became a little longer. 


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A free concert by Peter Noone's version of Herman's Hermits amused me last night.  The best bits were Noone's baiting the audience of 3,500 with redneck jokes and a Sex Pistols reference at the opening of "I'm Henry the VIII".  Noone looked and sounded great.

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Cashgang's "1Hunnid" is a fine reproduction of Future.  (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Bears and Company made a video for "Occurrence in the Wildwood".

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The Lucky created a video for "Red Light/Red Lover".

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Lily Allen sounds like Lorde's jaded big sister on Sheezus.  I'm not sure why, but Sheezus reminds of spotty Elton John albums like Rock of the Westies.  Here's the audacious title track.  RIYL: comedy, 2014, irony.

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The handwringing over a possible Led Zeppelin semi-reunion is silly when contemporary bands like Cormorant are building on the band's legacy in obscurity.  Here's "Sold As a Crow".  RIYL: Opeth, metal, Jimmy Page.

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Aborted's Necrotic Manifesto sounds just like you'd think.

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A Long Way to the Beginning, the new Robert Glasper-produced album by Sean Kuti & Egypt 80, is disappointing.  Here's a video for the opening track. RIYL: Fela, Occupy Wall Street, Hearts of Darkness.

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Chuck Inglish's Convertibles is a first-rate hip-hop party album.  RIYL: The Cool Kids, molly, Mac Miller.

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Arty folk-rock like Sharon Van Etten's Are We There is like kryptonite to me in 2014.  I'm sure the album is every bit as good as its advocates claim, but it's just not where I'm at.  RIYL: Patti Smith, depression, the National.

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So angry!  OFWGKTA affiliate Trash Talk showcases its hardcore punk on No Peace.  RIYL: Anti-Flag, moshing, Off!

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Based on the trailer, We Are the Best! looks excellent.

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Mykki Blanco's "She Gutta" is worthwhile beyond its considerable shock value.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Aloe Blacc- Lift Your Spirit

It happened as I watched the NFL draft earlier this month.  "I'm the Man," the ubiquitous hit by Aloe Blacc, was used as bumper music during the broadcast.  Already weary of the song, I began to actively loathe "I'm the Man." 

Burnout was inevitable.  The song's blockbuster potential was immediately apparent when it popped up in December.  But what about the rest of Blacc's album Lift Your Spirit?

Well, it's more of the same.  The third track is a version of "Wake Me Up," the inescapable Avicii hit featuring Blacc's vocal.  The shameless hooks of "Here Today" and "Can You Do This" make the biggest hits of One Direction and Ariana Grande seem likes studies in subtlety.

"Owe It All," the closing track that sounds like a late period gem by the Four Tops, is one of two or three selections that successfully seduced me.  I have little doubt that several additional songs will win me over when I see Blacc perform.

I have nothing against blatantly commercial music, but Lift Your Spirit resembles a collection of expertly crafted advertising jingles.


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I reviewed Tony Bennett's concert at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on Friday.

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Sunstroke?  I saw ghosts at Union Station yesterday.

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My Brothers & Sisters' "How To Move What To Wear" was my pick of the week for KCUR's Local Listen segment.  It's my favorite song from the band's Violet Music: Volume One album.

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Metatone's video for "When the Dreams Come" is excellent.

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The trailer for a 1974 music festival in Sedalia is hilarious.

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A recent edition of Barry Lee's Signal To Noise program on KKFI featured music from the collection of the late Anne Winter.  (Via Tim Finn.)

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Herb Jeffries, "the bronze buckaroo," has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Motivational Jumpsuit, the latest outburst from Guided By Voices, is unaccountably excellent.  RIYL: Rubber Soul, weirdos, Robyn Hitchcock.

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Medeski Martin & Wood's collaboration with Nels Cline on The Woodstock Sessions, Vol. 2 contains plenty of fine skronk, funk and noodling. Here's a track.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Sidewise- Made of Matches

I lost track of the number of paying jobs I've had when the number passed 25.  Maybe the bots at Social Security or the IRS will sort it all out for me someday.  I've disliked a lot of those jobs, but I'm proud of almost all of them. 

Factories, warehouses, upscale office complexes, and yes, record stores, are among my former workplaces.  I've worn steel-toe boots and fancy ties.  The wide range of settings has erased many of my biases. 

That's why I have little patience for people who feel compelled to go out of their way to bash bands like Nickelback.  Not only do I not dislike Nickelback, I sincerely like Puddle of Mudd.  Many of the band's original fans have been my co-workers.  I've also worked alongside guys who consider Rockfest the highlight of their social calendars.

I have nothing but admiration for Sidewise's new album Made of Matches.  Sure, the Kansas City band is simply rearranging pieces of songs by the likes of Saliva, Five Finger Death Punch and Seether, but the recording rings true. 

Sidewise doesn't pretend to be innovative.  And there are times when I simply want to unwind to loud and unchallenging music.  I just spent a couple hours in the heat hacking at poison ivy.  Made of Matches sounds perfect right now.


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My thoughts about Saturday's tribute to the Jazz at Massey Hall concert are posted at Plastic Sax.

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Tim Finn reports that the Beautiful Bodies recently signed to Epitaph Records.

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Cowboy Indian Bear has released the 7-song EP Vandeventer.

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"Fix" is a new track by Reach.

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Teddy Dibble talks about records again.

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Tech N9ne released a video for "Hard".

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Jerry Vale has died.

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Da Cruz's Disco e Progresso is enthralling.  Here's a video for the opening track.  RIYL: Jorge Ben, Brasil, Chic.

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Pigeon John's Encino Man is RIYL: Kid Cudi, wild parties hosted by smart nerds, the B52s.

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The ECM player for Driftwood, guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel's collaboration with Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade, has my name written all over it.

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Curtis Harding's Soul Power is RIYL: Hanni El Khatib, American music, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears.

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Holy moly!  Down's Down IV – Part II is excellent.  RIYL: Black Sabbath, sludge, Masters of Reality.

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Marie et Marion, the latest release by Anonymous 4, rubs me the wrong way.  RIYL: incense, Chanticleer, church pews.

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Everyday Robots, the wistful and ramshackle new album by Damon Albarn, is RIYL: Paul Weller, merrie olde England, Thom Yorke.

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Sérgio Dias of Os Mutantes includes an album by the Swingle Singers (!) on his list of influential albums.

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I hadn't missed Dipset.  Here's Cam'ron's comeback song "Dipsh*ts".

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I began prepping for doomsday immediately after watching Die Antwoord's video for "Pitbull".  (Via S.S.)

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: St. Paul & the Broken Bones- Half the City

At the advent of the CD revolution I set out to build a comprehensive library of classic soul.  Each week I'd diligently purchase a title by the likes of Percy Sledge, Al Green, James Carr and Joe Tex. I scrimped and saved to acquire pricey box sets compiling the works of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Stax Records.

I also made seeing the giants a top priority.  I took in multiple performances by the likes of Charles Brown, Solomon Burke, Bobby Bland, Etta James, Isaac Hayes, Marvin Sease, Ike Turner and James Brown.

My obsession has a downside.  I've never managed to muster the same level of enthusiasm as my peers for soul revivalists like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.  A lot of these new acts are undeniably great, but when Millie Jackson, Jimmy Scott, Bobby Womack, Charlie Wilson and Bobby Rush are still out there doing it, it's hard for me to get worked into a lather by expert mimics.

That said, I'm smitten by Half City, the new release by St. Paul & the Broken Bones.  The throwback approach of the Alabama-based band works largely because vocalist Paul Janeway doesn't try to be what he's not.  He's obviously obsessed with Otis Redding, but much like the late, great Eddie Hinton, he's not an embarrassing parodist. 

St. Paul & the Broken Bones merit their prestigious position in my collection between the Staple Singers and the Stylistics.


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I reviewed a concert by Slayer, Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies.

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I contributed to a feature on Dominique Sanders for KCUR's Up To Date.

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Tech N9ne's Strangeulation by the the numbers: the album topped Billboard's rap, R&B and hip-hop charts last week and landed at #5 on the Top 200.

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I hadn't realized that the Dan Conn Collection at the Marr Sound Archives existed until a link posted by There Stands the Glass reader BGO led me to the discovery.  Dan, a former co-worker, introduced me to the music of artists ranging from Red Garland to Doc Watson.

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Here's another nice video feature on Radkey.

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Anyone who likes vintage Approach and Miles Bonny will love the new video for "Chief".

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The ninth episode of the second season of the KC Cypher Series is not worth your time.

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The highlight of Dolly Parton's charming Blue Smoke is a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right."  RIYL: Silver Dollar City, Elvis Presley, America.

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If Outkast and Kelis aren't booked in Kansas City prior to the festival, I may travel to St. Louis in September for Loufest.

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I innocently hit "play" on the Juilliard String Quartet's Elliott Carter: The Five String Quartets on a recent afternoon.  After several interruptions, I finished the epic cycle five hours later.  It's stunning. 

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From a purely sonic perspective, Michael Jackson's Xscape is an extraordinary achievement.  Tracks like "Blue Gangsta" sound as if they were recorded last month.  M.J.'s original demos are also worth a listen.

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I'm hardly a Black Keys fanboy, but I suspect Dan Auerbach's production of Nikki Lane's All or Nothin' is responsible for the album's excellence.  RIYL: Whiskeytown, something borrowed, Rosanne Cash.

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Love in da club.  Troy Ave's BSB Vol. 4 is RIYL: 50 Cent, prison, Wu-Tang Clan.

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Back On the Controls, ostensibly a new album by Lee "Scratch" Perry, baffles me.  RIYL: eternity, Mad Professor, confusion.

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Lantlôs' Melting Sun isn't quite as good as many reviews would have you believe.  RIYL: Deftones, dreaming out loud, Isis.

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Jody Stephens of Big Star is featured in a segment of "What's In My Bag."

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Joe Louis Walker is challenging Buddy Guy for the title of the most vital blues veteran of 2014 on Hornet's Nest.

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CNN aired a 15-minute documentary about Clipse.

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My cousin is in fine form on Virtuoso Rossini Arias.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Tech N9ne- Strangeulation

The embedded video for the cypher version of the title track of Strangeulation encapsulates everything that's both great and awful about Tech N9ne's empire.  The undisputed Kansas City King is capable of sending shivers down my spine with his brilliance on one track and triggering my gag reflex with his lusty predilections on the next song.  Just like the varied quality of his collaborators on this cypher, Strangeulation is a real mixed bag.


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I reviewed a concert by John Scofield's Organic Trio on Saturday.

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I  occasionally make music selections for KCUR's Up To Date program.  Kantorei of Kansas City's "Fantasy on La Bamba" aired Friday.

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Largely because XTA-C gets a shout-out in U-Neek's "Kansas City", I'm giving the song a pass.  (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Trumpeter Joe Wilder has died.

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Triptykon's Melana Chasmata is exquisite art-metal.  RIYL: Tool, H. R. Giger, Nine Inch Nails.

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I'm certainly not a member of the jazz police, but Badbadnotgood remain underwhelming on III.  RIYL: good ideas on paper, OFWGKTA, hype.

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The curatorial choices made on Road Shows, Volume 3, Sonny Rollins' latest live album, are very interesting.

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Naná Vasconcelos chatted with Gilles Peterson.

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Steel Panther's All You Can Eat isn't nearly as good as the parodists' previous albums, but it still has plenty of hilarious moments.

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God loves mediocre.  Even though I'm predisposed to love Atmosphere, I recognize that Southsiders is just ok. RIYL: Eyedea, the Twin Cities, Mac Lethal.

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I wish I liked Marrill Garbus' music as much as I like her.  I can take or leave most of Tune-Yards' Nikki Nack.  RIYL: David Byrne, playgrounds, St. Vincent.

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Ramshackle Serenade, a new effort by the trio of Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings and Bill Stewart, is RIYL: Grant Green, overlooked excellence, Shirley Scott.

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Not only did I listen to the entirety of Skrillex's new album, I truly liked it.  Recess is RIYL: frat parties, DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat," red solo cups.

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Blueprint's Respect the Architect is the best backpack rap album I've heard this year.  Even so, it's at the bottom of my Best Albums of 2014 playlist.  RIYL: Brother Ali, corny sincerity, Aesop Rock.

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Tech N9ne will perform at the Gathering of the Juggalos 2014.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Skating Polly- Fuzz Steilacoom

Unlike many of my colleagues, I did nothing to observe the twentieth anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain last month.  I'd rather focus on what's happening now than ruminate on the past.  Besides, Cobain lives in the music of Skating Polly.  The stepsisters from Oklahoma pay tribute to Cobain in the best way possible- by rocking in the unkept tradition of the icon.  It's no accident that the new album Fuzz Steilacoom sounds like a classic recording from the vaults of K Records.  The project was overseen by the label's Calvin Johnson.  The lead track "Alabama Movies" contains a few of the album's many undiluted moments of greatness.


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I reviewed Fitz and the Tantrums's concert on Saturday.

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Ensemble Ibérica, Beau Blesoe's new performance group, has announced its 2014 season.

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Cowboy Indian Bear made a video for "Ruffian".

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I have real problems with Tech N9ne's "Over It".  Strangeulation was released today.

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Don't believe the hype. Ratking makes hip-hop for people who like the idea of the music more than actually listening to it.  So It Goes probably sounds great in 30-second preview clips, but it's a rough slog when consumed in its entirety.  RIYL: the worst Terror Squad album, hype, the worst Wu-Tang Clan album.

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I'm amused to see that Macroscope, the new release by the Nels Cline Singers, is being embraced by people who would never consider listening to a John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Arto Lindsay or Marc Ribot album.  The entertaining recording combines elements of all four guitarists.  What's next- a Barney Kessel revival among Wilco fans?

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Coltsblood's Into The Unfathomable Abyss sounds as if it was made by the stoner kids next door.  And the amateurish quality is precisely why I love it the new album by the British sludge metal band.  

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What if Pat Metheny kept making the same music he made in 1978?  Mark Egan, the bassist on those early Pat Metheny Group albums, recreates that sound on his new album About Now.

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Given the participants' track records, Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band's Landmark merits repeated listening, but I'll admit to being totally underwhelmed.

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Iggy Azalea's The New Classic isn't.  Gwen Stefani, photogenic people, Nikki Minaj.

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Add me to the long list of metal fans who are losing their minds over Lord Mantis' Death Mask.  RIYL: new depths of heaviness, Wormrot, doomsday.

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Of the artists performing at this month's Soundset festival that I haven't seen in the past 12 months, Nas and EarlWolf are the biggest attractions.

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Stanton Moore's Conversations is a straight-ahead jazz trio album.  RIYL: Ellis Marsalis, versatility, Karriem Riggins.  (Tip via J.F.)

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Whoop whoop!  Murs has gone full… well, you know.

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Harvey Mason, the drummer of Headhunters and Fourplay, revisits '70s instrumental funk on Chameleon.

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Anyone familiar with the work of jazz/jam guitarist Charlie Hunter won't be surprised that he and Scott Amendola recorded an EP of five covers of songs by The Cars.

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"They Come In Gold" is a track from the forthcoming album by Shabazz Palaces.  I don't think the duo played the song at the Middle of Map fest in April.

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Here's an analysis of the music produced by L. Ron Hubbard.  (Via J.F.)

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I had high hopes for Dust Moth's Dragon Mouth. It sounds great but the songwriting is lacking.  RIYL: Deftones, the intersection of metal and shoe gaze, My Bloody Valentine.

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It's great to see that Bun B has it together in his interview with Nardwuar.

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Here's the trailer for the documentary: B.B. King: The Life of Riley.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Leon Russell- Life Journey

A handful of late-career documents by great artists including Charlie Rich's Pictures and Paintings, Solomon Burke's Don't Give Up On Me, Chet Baker's Let's Get Lost and Johnny Cash's American Recordings are among my favorite albums.  Leon Russell seems to have had those recordings on his mind during the sessions for his new Life Journey.  There's no thrill of the new in hearing Russell groan through "Georgia," "That Lucky Old Sun" and "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good," but the tracks seem definitive.  Life Journey is the Russell album that is likely to stay in my rotation for the remainder of my life.

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Welcome to the roots edition of There Stands the Glass.  It's against my instincts to segregate genres, but I feel as if I've been neglecting folk, blues and country at this site.  It's time to make amends.

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The Kansas City Star published a nice remembrance of the late accordionist Don Lipovac.

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Rodney Crowell is in top form on Tarpaper Sky.  RIYL: Townes Van Zandt, giants among us, Johnny Cash.

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The highlight of Carlene Carter's decent Carter Girl is a duet with Willie Nelson on "Troublesome Waters."  The album is RIYL: Patty Loveless, the way things used to be, Rodney Crowell.

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It's shocking to hear Eli Paperboy Reed mimicking the pop sound of Bruno Mars on Nights Like This.  I can't decide if it's the most disappointing album of the year or a daring change of direction.  RIYL: Justin Timberlake, bad advice, Jersey Boys.

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Robert Cray's In My Soul is exceptionally solid.  RIYL: Junior Parker, consistency, Lowell Fulson.

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9 Dead Alive, the album by Rodrigo y Gabriela, is extraordinarily quiet.  RIYL: the late Paco de Lucia, NPR, Andres Segovia.

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The sound quality of Chuck E. Weiss' Red Beans & Weiss is atrocious.  And that's just one reason to love it.  RIYL: Hollywood Fats, real deal hipsters, Jimmy Reed.

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Bobby Rush's Decisions is a mixed bag.  Here's a high-quality video for "Another Murder in New Orleans".

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The title of Keb' Mo's Bluesamericana says it all.  RIYL: pandering, James Taylor, pablum.

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The Asylum Street Spankers are just as delightful as ever on The Last Laugh.  RIYL: hootenannies, 8 1/2 Souvenirs, the old Austin.

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Blues man Gary Clark Jr.'s Blak and Blu features contributions from Bilal, Big K.R.I.T., Robert Glasper and Talib Kweli.

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Jeff Black's Folklore is a fine collection of honest songs about subjects that are often extremely difficult.  RIYL: Guy Clark, sincerity, Greg Brown.

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Country star Dierks Bentley splits the difference between bluegrass and pap on Riser.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)