Bands of the noise music persuasion must always be wary of making noise for noise’s sake. They can cause as many headaches as they wish, but the second they become mundane, they’re as forgettable and annoying as a jackhammer on the street. Through the Panama’s title track is indicative of the album’s constant dilemma, beginning with genuine suspense generated by an unfulfilled expectation of melody and cohesion, followed by a safe and predictable climax and conclusion. The record, produced by Andrew W.K., is constantly shifting from the brilliantly irksome to the easily ignored. (SM)
Bran Van 3000 Rosé (Remstar Canada)
First of all, if you didn’t hear the Bran Van hodgepodge of 1998 that was Glee , find a copy right now. You’ll hear a variety of musicians spanning many genres—gospel, folk, reggae, hip-hop, white boy rap—heaped on one another and Miracle-Gro-ing each other. After all these years this Montreal "band," a term you can use for Bran Van in only the loosest sense of the word, put out another disc of disjunct collage, that like any great work of po-mo art these days, reassembles traditions to broader and greater meaning. Glee, indeed. (MD)
CunninLynguists Dirty Acres (APOS Music)
Dirty Acres is certainly not the most prime piece of real estate that CunninLynguists has dug up. There’s plenty of Southern charm, but the album feels rushed—all the beats chopped and dropped in a Kanye fashion. As a whole, Dirty Acres is smooth as an elevator ride, but, as we all know, the music in those things can get a little redundant. If only these hooligans would bring it back to the good old Will Rap For Food days. (JH)
