4Play: Squirrel Nut Zippers, Blockhead, Volcano Choir, Real Estate

Feb. 21, 2010

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Lost at Sea - Megaforce
Squirrel Nut Zippers sank out of view, for the most part, back in 2000 after the release of Bedlam Ballroom, but now they’re back with their first ever live album, a great move considering that one of their strong suits has always been their live performances. The neo-swing, gypsy jazz band is as full of energy as always, as they groove through 17 lilting, sassy tracks in a spontaneous, peppy performance. Highlights include the jukebox twist of “Prince Nez,” the fidgety quirk of “Bad Businessman,” and, of course, the sassy and sarcastic anti-hit “Hell.”

Blockhead - Music Scene - Ninja Tune
Tony Simon - otherwise known as Blockhead - is a great player in the indie hip-hop community, with his storytelling approach and accomplishments working with everyone from Murs and Aesop Rock to Slug and Cage. On this instrumental set, he stretches his own musical limits and crafts a set of complexity, drawing on his own ability to pull the most interesting potential from a wide variety of beats and samples. Highlights include the witty “Only Sequences Change,” “Pity Party,” and “Attack the Doctor,” all of which reveal Blockhead’s many every-morphing layers.

Volcano Choir - Unmap - Jagjaguwar
Wisconsin band Volcano Choir brings together members of Bon Iver and Collections of Colonies of Bees to generate a series of ambient indie rock that utilizes vocal effects to - well, to full effect, blending the vocals with the instruments in an unusual, dense latticework of floating sound. “Island, IS” is one of the best tunes on the set with its keyboard and drum loops, in spite of its nonsensical lyrics; the band takes an experimental turn on “Mbira in the Morass” with its spiky instruments, and offers up a more haunting, introspective sound on tracks “Dote” and “Still.”

Real Estate - Real Estate - Revolver
New Jersey guys Real Estate stick close to their home turf for song topics/titles on their debut full-length disc, from the direct “Atlantic City” to the ringing guitars of “Fake Blues,” all shuffled together with poppy tunes and a little psychedelia just to keep things interesting. Frontman Martin Courtney’s vocals could use a little push in the mix, as they often get buried in the rest of the pop murk, the guitar work actually gets more attention than the vocals do, whether that was Real Estate’s intention or not, but at least it’s guitar work that’s worth listening to.