The Wrens
the Meadowlands
Absolutely Kosher
Typically, when a band waits seven years between full length releases, expectations tend to, um, well, wane. Okay, more like evaporate entirely. If said band happens to have once been a big name, they might eke out a little more face time from has-been outlets like ET and Rolling Stone as a sad-ass metaphor for procrastination, inefficiency and amount-of-time-spent-in-rehab (still waiting on that GN’R follow-up, are ya?).
But while Axl frittered away his millions doing fuck-all, the members of New Jersey’s Wrens — after the usual record label wrangles following their sophomore effort, Secaucus — went about the not-so-simple business of living. You know, working a job you’d rather not do, falling in — and sometimes even harder out of — love, picking up the pieces, rinse, repeat, marriage, kids, divorce, bills, another unfulfilling gig…until one day (actually, one day about four years ago) they decided, well, maybe we should get this down on tape, you know?
And have they ever. The Meadowlands is the follow-up the Strokes should have made, the Superchunk masterpiece Mac and Co. have never quite pulled off, the record Interpol wishes they could craft (once they’re done ripping off Joy Division), a Coldplay record with balls, a new Cars’ disc that doesn’t suck, a little Shins, a little Feelies…well, you get the drift. A veritable template of indie rock influences, simmered to a mature mix over seven life-altering years.
Song after song chronicles the wrong turns, dashed hopes and plain-old-brown-wrapper b.s. life and love (and especially Wrens members’ relationships, apparently) tend to serve up on a semi-regular basis. But The Meadowlands is wrapped up in a musical package so sweet it reaffirms the whole damn ball of wax, a reminder that rock & roll can literally save your life — and that, friends, is always worth waiting for.
Track to burn: “Ex-Girl Collection”
Grade: A-
— John Schacht
Yusef Lateef, Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Orchestra
In the Garden
Meta/YAL
Dr. Yusef Lateef is not content to rest on his laurels after six decades of improvisational and compositional history, and, thankfully, his 83-year-old lungs still power the saxophone into jarring notes and commentary. On this outing, Lateef teams up with his long-time co-conspirator and percussionist, Adam Rudolph, for a live, two-disc document of sound expansion. Rudolph conducts a 22-member orchestra (using customized hand signals) as the legendary Lateef sways in and out of the musical conundrum on tenor sax, flute and his usual array of other wind instruments. One of the few remaining improv catalysts from the old school still playing, Lateef can cause an untrained ear to recoil or push an open mind into revelation. This is world music, free jazz, percussive conversations and classical experimentation. The musicians nudge, coax, and co-opt their individual instruments into the collective, applying human attributes to cold steel. Lateef and Rudolph instill new musical concepts into the collective sound and the soloists interact accordingly, benefiting those willing to dive into murky waters and emerge refreshed.
Track to burn: “Little Tree”
Grade: A-
— Samir Shukla
Ladytron
Softcore Jukebox
Emperor Norton
The brilliance of the mix medium is that it knows no bounds — where else might the Mothers of Invention and MC Solaar co-exist on one singular and harmonious plane? Ladytron has paid homage to the mix tape with their latest, Softcore Jukebox. Two tracks on the disc involve Ladytron directly — fourteen more are by other artists, including Wire, Fannypack, Codec, Flexor and even Nancy Sinatra. If you’re not an obsessive Ladytron fan, you may think, “Eh …what’s the point?” Thus, I’ve compiled three reasons for purchasing this compilation. 1) Decadent new-waver Cristina’s “What’s a Girl to Do” — replete with the ever-so-blunt chorus, “My life is in a turmoil/My thighs are black and blue/ My sheets are stained, so is my brain/What’s a girl to do?” 2) “Send Me a Postcard” by Shocking Blue, the late 60s psychedelic pop entourage from The Netherlands. 3) The dark, distorted cover of Tweet’s “Oops Oh My.” Tweet’s original was far from risque, despite the topic of masturbation. Here Ladytron takes Tweet to a dark club, pumps her full of amphetamines and locks her in a bathroom stall. Dirty, sweaty, manic and messy, Ladytron rubs it in Tweet’s face. Softcore Jukebox is a hard-copy answer to the oft asked “What’s in your stereo right now?” question.
Track to burn: “The 15th” (Wire)
Grade: B-
— Lauren Hooker
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2003.
