ART S The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - 11 BREAKING RECORDS REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEWEST RELEASES Waitress draws rollicking applause By Alexandra Jones For the Daily Music REVIEW ***I On their fifth full-length album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle & Sebastian redeem themselves after a series of depressingly mediocre albums and recall the energy of their first two great records. While retain- ing the sarcasm and levity of earlier work, the band has clearly matured. Delicate, precocious shoegazing has become intrepid, rhinestone-studded confidence. Contrasting styles between adja- cent musical sections appear Courtesy of DFA Records Hey, guy to the far left, 4 - I didn't know Luke Wilson had joined a STIR OF ECHOES THE RAPTURE ASCEND INTO DANCE-PUNK HEAVEN By Andrew M. Gaerig Daily Arts Writer throughout the album;thisisthe primary sign of Belle & Sebast- ian's recent metamorphosis. The band's earli- er work, includ- ing songs on the flawless IfYou're Feeling Sinister, Belle & Sebastian Dear Catastrophe Waitress Rough Trade Records The Rapture, flagship group of ultra-hip label DFA, made their splash in 2002 with "House of Jealous Lovers." The song's very presence was unique on the underground rock circuit, as its genius lay not in melody or arrangement, but in the 10,000 spastic dances it inspired. The band has become symbolic of the dance-punk movement, one that still hovers well below radio airwaves, but has had a profound effect on the rhythmi-" cally stoic underground. The Rapture Those who first started tripping Echoes over themselves to "House of DFA Records Jealous Lovers" will find a lot to like on Echoes. The Rapture rely heavily on frantic drumming, elastic bass lines and a slashing, shrapnel guitar attack. The lyrics, true to the band's dance roots, are simplistic and involve a lot of chanting and repetition, but they never feel hokey or contrived. Tracks like "Killing" and "Sister Savior" should cement the group into the playlist of forward- thinking dance clubs. For all of its impressive rhythmic constructions , however, the band's greatest asset is its ability to skirt dance music's chief flaw: it's only interesting in a crowded room. "I Need Your Love" and "The Coming of Spring" are notable both for their contagious ener- gy and their excellent arrangements, while "Open Up Your Heart" and "Love Is All" reveal impressive melodic range. "Olio" is the clincher: a perfect syn- thesis of icy piano stabs, whining keyboards and retained aural homogeneity. After collaborating with former Buggles member and producer Trevor Horn, the days of B&S as a musical democracy are over, but it has found more ways to tweak, expand and embellish its vision. The musical additions to B&S's oeuvre include placing brass and strings where subtle keyboards would have fit in earlier incarna- tions. Besides six band members, 42 additional musicians play everything from bass trombone to cor anglais to viola, expanding the dimensions of the band's pop style with orchestral sections. While some groups appropriate old styles with a satirical bent, these sweet Glaswegians wear their Donny and Marie smiles without a hint of irony. Belief in the truth of their art is Dogs are Belle & Sebastian's best friend. what "sells" Waitress; the new, tricked-out songs of intimacy and introspection avoid becoming bratty or self-indulgent, and instead pro- vide the best bedroom dancing tunes this year. Opener "Step into My Office, Baby" sets the topsy-turvy mood of Waitress. This romp through the sex- ual innuendo of the nine-to-five life relies on silly cliches, but its alterna- tion of rollicking verse and Bacharach-esque chorus provides an impressive start. New songs like the title track show B&S's current taste for dra- matic contrasts, while the soft respite of "Lord Anthony," the oblig- atory tale of an outcast youngster, is a song of Murdoch's from years back. "If She Wants Me" and the festive "Wrapped Up in Books" sta- bilize an experimental album, featur- ing new elements but providing familiarity for longtime fans. Despite the grin-inducing qualities of Waitress, its low point occurs at an inconvenient spot in the middle of the album. Besides its vague ruminations on outdoor fun, "Asleep on a Sunbeam" lacks a decent vocal- ist: Lone female band member Sarah cannot inspire the boring lyrics with her breathy, inflectionless perform- ance. In "Piazza, New York Catcher" Murdoch seamlessly combines lines like "I love you I've a drowning grip on your adoring face" with details of the rumors behind New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza's sexual orientation. The only song on the album featuring lone guitar and voice, its spare, intimate construc- tion and Murdoch's detached lyrical agility add hushed impetus. In the Motown tradition, he sings of the pain, confusion and desperation that follow a breakup over one of the band's cheeriest instrumental arrangements in the sublime "I'm a Cuckoo." Densely orchestrated "Roy Walk- er" and "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love" would sound at home on a mid-'60s Beatles album or in a crazy-ass '70s musical - all spotlights, sequins and choreogra- phy. To close the album, Murdoch channels Elvis Costello's gravelly style on "Stay Loose." Belle & Sebastian took a serious risk adding sprinkles to their heavily frosted style, but Waitress proves that the band has the balls to get away with it. incessant drumming - it's a glorious, mesmerizing synthesis of the band's strengths. The Rapture will undoubtedly be given credit for pioneering a sound and a movement, and while this sort of hyperbole is painfully misguided, the group should be given plenty of credit for what it has done: interpreting the scratchy punk rock as a sweaty, fran- tic dance party. Oh, there will still be naysayers. "More Yo La Tengo!" they'll cry. "Give me Pavement or give me death," they'll moan. It's alright, though: their voices are fading under the sound of Converse All-Stars smacking mightily against the sweat and beer-soaked floors of punk clubs everywhere. Gov't Mule goes off the deep End Dyk s Reflections not quite flattering By Ryan Lewis Daily Arts Writer By Andrew Horowitz Daily Arts Writer Music REV EW * It's hard not to respect the dedica- tion of DJ and producer Paul van Dyk. In a time when most DJs sim- ply sample, van Dyk continues to produce and Paul van Dyk record original Reflections material. But it is hard to overlook Mute Records his music's derivativeness. On his fourth album, Reflections, van Dyk attempts to create a fusion of pop and trance, and is unfortunately unsuccessful, winding up with a mis-mash of stale ideas and outdated material. Reflections is too predictable from the get-go. "Crush" begins the album with synthetic atmosphere and a computerized drum kit. As expected, the bass drum kicks in and the '80s synthesizer takes over after a minute of buildup. Then, every- thing suddenly comes to a pro- nounced dramatic halt and an extremely clever "I know you want me" enters, followed by another dra- matic bass drum entrance and more series of repetitions. Never heard that in a techno song before. Van Dyk's recent work has focused on creating an atmosphere. He emphasizes a need to capture the moment. At a dance club this may work, but in recorded form it's dull. On the single "Nothing But You," the whiney vocals aren't interesting enough to carry the song from start to finish. "Time of Our Lives," a collaboration with the obscure British band Vega-4, sounds too cal- culated and synthesized. The track fails to stand out from the other cal- culated and synthesized tracks. Why use a live band in the first place if the result will be the same? "Knowl- edge," with German rapper Trooper da Don, is basically the same drum/bass driven rhythms we'd expect from van Dyk except without any harmony. When it comes down to it, there just isn't enough going for Reflec- tions to stand out from every other techno CD. This album fails to cre- ate anything beyond music fit for car commercials. Unless you're into that kind of thing, don't bother. Gov't Mule's The Deepest End concert album is noth- ing short of a stroke of genius. Culminating a rigorous tour in tribute to the late Allen Woody (who founded Mule along with front-man Warren Haynes after break- ing from the Allman Brothers), this two album-plus DVD compilation fuses the incendi- ary guitar of Haynes and the impec- cable backing by drummer Matt Gov't Mule Abst, with some of the finest musi- The Deepest cal talent the world over. End The two concert albums kick off ATO Records with the rocking blues riffs of "Bad Little Doggie" and never stop to breathe. From the straight rock of "Which Way Do We Run?" to the funkified "Sco-Mule" and still reaching further to the softer "Beautifully Broken," featuring inserted lyrics from Prince's "When Doves Cry," The Deepest End showcases the best of all the varying styles Mule offers. Obviously focused more on the incomparable instru- mental improvisations than lyrics, the band often takes its delicate time to allow special guests to flaunt their best work. But straight-rock tunes like "Patchwork Quilt" return focus to the poignantly palpable poetry Haynes is capable of creating. While the band had an entire wish list of rock leg- ends on its studio tribute albums The Deep End Vol- umes 1 & 2, it had an equally jaw-dropping list of special guests to play on the concert album. Ranging from the complete Dirty Dozen Brass Band Horns to the individual contributions of Victor Wooten, Jack Casady, Les Claypool and more than 15 additional sup- porting appearances, one would be hard pressed to find a comparable list of talent in a collective box set as in this double disc. Still, the true treasure from the night comes in the DVD that accompanies the concert album. Watching the show forces the visibly striking image of Haynes literal- ly pouring his soul onto the stage as well as the sheer fun these musicians have together, many playing with each other for the first time. And if all that wasn't enough, a nifty bonus video with interviews throughout the show is probably the most enjoyable part of the package. Cedars sprouts branches of balladry By Andrew M. Gaerig Daily Arts Writer MUSIC REVI EW *** Since the mid-'90s, British guitar acts have served as models of famil- iarity, their stale interpretations of a tired style often falling on deaf ears. A scant few - Blur, Radiohead - have managed to move on, mostly through drastic style changes. British quartet Clearlake have the the album thrives not only on Pegg's arching melody, but on the shifty sway of the troupe's compositions. If the group has a fault, it's that it doesn't offer experienced listeners anything new: They're smart, fresh, and clever, but they're not ground- breaking. For all of its energy, "Can't Feel a Thing" sinks into its own aggression, and "Come Into the Darkness" folds under weighty lyrics. "It's All Too Much" attempts to break the mold, with it's solitary DAILy ARTS STAND$s BY OUR COLLECTIE GROAN. ME=-~.