NELS CLINE SINGERS: Draw Breath

Maybe some of you are unaware that Rolling Stone magazine has recently appointed Nels as a "guitar god," and I'd say I have to agree. There aren't too many other players out there at the moment that I could hold with such high respect. The only others that immediately come to mind are Allan Holdsworth, Marc Ribot, and Marc Ducret, who's best known playing with Tim Berne. Those are all players in my mind who have a very distinct voice and amazing control over the instrument.

That said, Nels Cline has come a long way since the 90's in the LA experimental music scene, now quite a mighty force among followers of progressive-minded guitarists like David Torn, Marc Ribot, Derek Bailey, James "Blood" Ulmer or Marc Ducret, just to name a few. It obviously hasn't been a bad thing that he's also worked with some pretty well-known names, like Tim Berne, Wilco, Charlie Haden, Vinny Golia, Thurston Moore,

Cline also has an enormous discography already. He's probably leads or appears on average, 10 albums per year or more His recent Andrew Hill tribute New Monestary came out in September of last year, Downpour with Andrea Parkins and Tom Rainey hit the street in April, Wilco's Sky Blue Sky was released in May, and just six weeks later, we get Draw Breath by his Nels Cline Singers.

Now, let's get another thing crystal clear. The "Nels Cline Singers" are not singers at all, they are a trio led by Nels + Devin Hoff (contra bass, bowed and plucked) + Scott Amendola (drums, percussion, electronic effects). While Wilco might be considered While WILCO is considered his "bread-and-butter" band, The Singers is probably his prominent vehicle for stretching out.

Draw Breath is the Cline album I've been waiting for since the duo with Gregg Bendian, which was a tribute to John Coltrane's Interstellar Space, which was pulled off with amazing results. It remains one of my top albums of al time. I have to say that although I like the first Singers release, there was simply just something missing. Then he released The Giant Pin a few years ago and I was really quite disappointed with that one.


The opening track "Caved-In Heart Blues" is a beautiful beginning to the album, with a "smoking peacepipe with Indians in the desert" atmosphere. Awesome. In the next track "Attempted", it starts out as free-form bop but it's not long before the sickness comes in. The tornado has begun. "Confection" is a straight ahead rock 'n' roll for the first minute until it gets unhinged by a softer interlude led by Hoff's cello, then it gets going again with an awesome Cline solo.

"An Evening At Pops'," a showcase for the drummer it's named after, is a sixteen minute centrepiece of the album. For most of the time, it's a stew of Cline's feedback and distortion, clanging bells, electronics and Hoff's dissonant bowed Arc bass before it simmers down to some nice ambience. The following track "Angel Of The Angels" is just a nice slow tune filled by Cline's rich 12 string, setting a nice mood after the cacophony of the previous track.

The calm/storm effect emerges again with the acoustic guitar-led soft number "Recognize I" followed by another explosive, free-jazz track "Mixed Message," at least explosive for the first half. "Recognize II", a semi-reprise of the first "Recognize," serves as another wind down tune. The last track "Squirrel Of God" is mostly random noises and Cline's pulsing guitar, but it's actually my least favorite track, doesn't really go anywhere.

Draw Breath. Buy the ticket. Take the ride...

http://www.nelscline.com

Cucumber Pepsi, Bubbleman, Bilk and other weird drinks in Japan

I finally tried the limited edition Cucumber Pepsi a few weeks ago and it's actually not as bad as it looks or sounds. It doesn't come close to the classic regular old-time Pepsi taste we all love and know, but it's got a pretty interesting flavor and aftertaste.

Recently Coke and Pepsi has put out zero calorie versions of their soft drinks, Coke Zero and Pepsi Nex respectively, and they both suck. I hate Nutrasweet or whatever that fake sugar shit is they put in it. Face it, real sugar tastes good, it's fattening, but it tastes good and can't be replaced with some crummy substitute.

I don't drink soft drinks as much as I use to, I just don't care for them anymore, but one drink I fucking love is Bubbleman. Bubbleman has made somewhat of a comeback in the last couple of years. It's so funny because the fact that there's not just BUBBLEMAN, there's fucking sequels to this drink, BUBBLEMAN II., etc etc. I think there's like 8 or 9 different kinds. (See the pics) I know there was Coke and then the New Coke, then Diet Coke, etc. but this has got to be the first time that a beverage has gotten a sequel. I've never seen Coke II or Pepsi III, that's why this drink is so awesome.

There's a whole culture surrounding Bubbleman, it's not just a mere soft drink. The soda itself is extremely sweet, but the can and bottle designs are pretty crazy. Check out the pics. The basic story is that Bubble Man is from "Soda Planet." There's an interior view of their rocket, and the guy labeled "Captain Pilot" is sitting on the shoulders of a guy labeled "Assistant." There's another shot of the two guys in a spaceship with their legs and feet hanging out through the holes. Just check out the website and you can even read a monthly online magazine called B-STYLE dedicated to the soda loving space man. It's all in Japanese, but you can still see how ridiculously crazy the whole concept is. Bubbleman just kills the competition.

Also, recently Suntory has put out another retardedly sweet soft drink called BINGO BONGO which I just tried the other day when I was camping in Wakayama. It's really good too, maybe even better than Bubbleman, again their is beginning to be a whole subculture arising from the release of this soft drink.

The next weird drink I'll talk about is BILK, which has been successfully produced at a Hokkaido based brewery. It's a low-malt beer with milk, after the drink was suggested as a product that would help use up surplus milk. It reportedly has a fruity flavor that its brewers hope will be popular among women. The idea for the drink was conceived after dairy firms threw out a huge amount of surplus milk in March last year. The son of the manager of a liquor store in Nakashibetsu, whose main industry is dairy farming, suggested the idea of producing the milk beer to local brewery Abashiri Beer. Since one-third of the drink is milk, the drink has been viewed as a good way to use up milk in the town. Each 330 ml bottle goes for 380 yen. As far as I know, it's still only sold in Nakashibetsu, with six liquor stores selling the drink. I don't really know if I want to try it anyway, it sounds pretty gross.

Now, the last drink I'm going to mention just looks completely disgusting, it's a fucking kimchi drink from a company called Coolpis, not exactly a great name for a beverage. This stuff is made in... you guessed it... Korea. If you have the balls to try this, I'll drink my own urine to prove my worth.

A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In The Sea

Damn, I gotta say I'm pretty impressed with this album. This is a totally new band to me and I just picked this CD up on a whim, I just had a feeling that this was going to be good and bet your boots it is. Rarely am I so impressed with a debut pop effort, I think the last time was Dot Allison's debut CD, Afterglow.

Anyway, every tune is good. The songs have a very haunting and subtle beauty reminding me a bit of Beth Orton's music, a little Tori Amos, and a little Sarah McLaughlin. Can't help but hearing some hints of The Sundays as well. Alison Sudol's voice is absolutely yummy. She wraps herself around each tune perfectly. By the way, she's drop dead beautiful as well, I can't help but getting a bit of a woody when I hear her and look at the album cover shot of her. Anyway, my woody is not as important as the music itself.

To me, they're all standouts, there's no filler here. Just buy it, you'll fall in love with this band. Also great artwork by Alison Sudol with the help of some other fine people. This is just a perfect debut. Can't wait to hear more...