4Play

July 19, 2006

Richard Butler – Richard Butler (Koch)
The first solo album from the one-time lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs and its offshoot, Love Spit Love, doesn’t rock nearly as much as those bands. Instead, it’s a moody soundtrack for post-punk adults. Problem is, Butler’s not much of a crooner. While his rough-edged voice served him well on "Pretty In Pink" or "The Ghost In You," it was always more at home with "Heartbreak Beat" or "Love My Way," where he matched decibels with the guitars and keyboards. Here Butler only hints at that power, as on the second half of "California" or "Broken Aeroplanes." But when he sings "One in a million" on "Satellites," you’re left to conclude that while Butler may be that, he’s not at his best here. Onetime Fur Jon Carin provides all the instrumental backing, heavy on the keyboards.

Ozric Tentacles – The Floor’s Too Far Away (Magna Carta)
The music throbs and oozes, pulsates and grooves. Welcome to Ed Wynne’s musical funhouse. In years gone by it would have been called psychedelic; now the word ambient seems appropriate. Whatever you want to call it, it melds slices of Pink Floyd with Daevid Allen’s spaceship Gong, with Steve Hillage’s glissando guitars and Miquette Giraudy’s bubbling synthesizers. There’s not much here on this all-instrumental disc in the way of melody. Rather, it’s an entire album of space jams that sometimes gently float by, at other times demand your attention with soaring guitar and synthesizer lines. Titles such as "Jellylips," "Etherclock" and Splat!" feature guitar, bass, drums, and synths, as well as (ahem) wildlife, bubs, space tendrils and synchroblips, among other things. This is Phish’s brain, this is Phish’s brain on drugs.

Saga – Trust (Inside Out America)
Throw this on, and, hey, it’s 1981 again! Saga’s brand of radio-friendly progressive rock went down swell in those heady days when synthesizers ruled the world and MTV still played music videos. Here the band reaches back to those glory days of "On The Loose" with mixed results. The opening "That’s As Far As I’ll Go" finds melodramatic vocalist Michael Sadler in front of a wall of synthesizers while guitarist Ian Crichton wails away. Here the hooks and sheen that briefly made this Canadian outfit a worthy torch-bearer of the prog pop genre, along with such acts as Alan Parsons and Marillion, sound just as good as two decades ago. But elsewhere time hasn’t been as kind, as on the heavy-handed "Back To The Shadows" that follows, while "I’m OK" is only that. Still, tunes like the opener and the title track bring back the glory of those synth-pop days.

John Digweed - Transitions - Thrive
Taken from Digweed’s uber-popular syndicated radio show of the same name, Transitions is the first in a projected series of discs that are being put together to showcase the agile house DJ’s experimental and all-encompassing roster of dance music accomplishments. One of the best mixers in the biz, Digweed offers up a wide variety of tracks here, from the belligerant "Roots 4 Acid" to the zippy bass of On Spec’s "Knights of Columbus." Other standouts include Digweed’s takes on trance ("Jetchi") and his own new completely new track, the Lutzenkirchen remix of "Warung Beach" - all in all, you’ll get so wrapped up in the beats that you’ll be sorry when the CD ends and your own personal miniature dance club abruptly closes. Digweed’s one of the best at dropping the beats right where they need to be, and this cohesive collection solidfies his love for the form and also shows why he’s the gold standard groovemaster.