POP CULTURE
Index CDs
pg44
• Gilfema, Three A• Smoke Fairies, Darkness Brings the Wonders Home A BOOKS
pg45
• Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick A • Book Report Includes listings for lectures, author events, book clubs, writers’ workshops and other literary events. To let us know about your book or event, email asykeny@hippopress. com. To get author events, library events and more listed, send information to listings@hippopress.com. FILM
pg47
• Sonic the Hedgehog B-
PLAYLIST A seriously abridged compendium of recent and future CD releases
MUSIC, BOOKS, GAMES, COMICS, MOVIES, DVDS, TV AND MORE Gilfema, Three (Sounderscape Records)
This jazz trio met at Berklee College of Music, having come from different backgrounds: Guitarist Lionel Loueke is from West Africa, drummer Ferenc Nemeth is from Hungary and bassist Massimo Biolcati is an Italian born in Sweden. Appropriately enough, then, their angle is a progressive take on world music; the group has released records under the Lionel Loueke Trio, but this project incorporates compositions from all three members, and thus the curveballs here are naturally more well-rounded. I’m not sure what took them so long (it’s been 12 years since they released Karibu on Blue Note Records, a release that featured contributions from household names Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter) as the Trio, but life does impose, as we know. The product here is gently rendered, an eclectically spicy mix of the members’ roots influences, as well as a good amount of, well, ’70s/’80s Weather Report, as has been noted by other critics. Set-it-and-forget-it Starbucks ambiance. A- — Eric W. Saeger Smoke Fairies, Darkness Brings The Wonders Home (Year Seven Records)
It’s been quite a long time since we last checked in on Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies, the two British ladies who head up this Jack White guru-ed gothfolk act. Said to be their most urgent-sounding yet, this album may as well have been classified as one of White’s side projects; he contributed guitar and drums to the entire thing, not that that subtracts all that much from what the girls brought to the table, i.e. their trademark swampy, cobwebbed visions of blues-based mud-rock. As always, it’s tailor-made for edgy Comic-Con-goers whose attention is drawn to the most black-draped booths, a spot where White has cornered the musical market. If I have any quibble with this record, it’s the too-clean production on the vocals; without any engineering flaws, their Loreena McKennitt-karaoke sound isn’t the greatest fit for the plodding mud-rawk riff of “Elevator,” for one. But that’s not the trip here, and I won’t begrudge the girls for trying to nail down their niche. A — Eric W. Saeger
• The Photograph B-
• Before we get to whatever albums will be released on Feb. 21, I wanted to send a special message to regular readers who may have wondered what my thoughts were on the death of Rush drummer Neil Peart (pronounced “Peert,” so stop with the “Pert”) last month. In short, it sucks. Now that he’s gone, baby boomers and Xers have to abandon ship and stop saying “Music was so much better in my time,” as it has officially become the rock music version of saying “Stone catapults were the deadliest weapon back in my day.” Now that Rush is gone for good, so is boomer music. It’s not that Peart’s highly mathematical drumming style wasn’t fascinating or rebellious, but the fact is that it explored the limits of playing a drum kit at top volume so efficiently that there’s really no world left for a drummer to conquer without sounding like a Peart fanboy. And thus as an age group, we have to embrace electronic beats in loud music, because no one will ever top Peart. I know such a thought will tick off a lot of older readers, but the age of trippy, loud organic drums died with Peart. It was a fun ride but it’s over — not that we didn’t do a lot of damage by stanning him. We wrecked our ears listening to his songs and confused our parents as much as we’re confused now, when we’re trying to figure out why our kids listen to Kanye or The Weeknd. To expand on the 45-year-old thoughts of music critic Robert Christgau, Rush was the ultimate band for “zonked kids,” meaning stoners, but who else would have been fascinated with Peart’s lyrics, which focused on all-too-obvious problems like income inequality (“The Trees”) and how only an alien god could ever possibly stop the war between conservatives and liberals (the Cygnus chronicles)? Funny, fat lot of good that all did us. More than ever, we point to our differences without anyone ever suggesting that maybe the other side might have a point. Was it just the trippy drums that kept us enthralled? Not that I’m complaining; growing up with Peart’s music was a priceless blessing, but I do wonder what his biggest artistic regret might have been. (OK, I’m lashing out, but that’s the grief stage I’m at. What a complete bummer.) • British indie band Lanterns on the Lake, if I’m to believe a random writer from some blog on the internet, which no one ever should, is supposedly somewhat like Siouxsie Sioux, but I’ll be the judge of that as I listen to “Every Atom” from their new LP Spook the Herd. So yeah, the singer’s trilling is a little like Siouxsie’s, but the music is too boozy and sparse. More like PJ Harvey trying to be The Doors. • We’ve talked about Dayton’s Guided by Voices before and how their bandleader Robert Pollard writes and owns literally thousands of songs. Can you tell I’m psyched to listen to song number 2,595, “Volcano,” from the band’s new album “Surrender Your Poppy Field?” It’s loud, and he uses an “on-the-phone patch” on his voice. It’s cool but goes nowhere. I’m not devastated by that. • To close, we’ll check out the title track from Ozzy Osbourne’s new Ordinary Man album! OMG, ha ha, it’s a piano ballad duet with Elton Freaking John! It sounds like Ozzy’s dentures are loose, but if you like sad piano ballads, this one’s as good as any I suppose. — Eric W. Saeger New Hampshire bands seeking album or EP reviews can message me on Twitter (@esaeger) or Facebook (eric.saeger.9).
vintage gifts
We have all your and needs!
collectible
ovies All Used CDs andtcMh) (Mix or Ma
Live Entertain every Fridment & Saturd ay ay
B u y 1 , G e t 1 Fr e e !
Check out our Live Entertainment Schedule on our Facebook Page!
ES ONLINE M FREE. EXCLUD LOWER PRICED ITE DE ECIAL OR RS INVENTORY & SP
through Feb. 29 th
Great hangout, great after work place, fantastic food & live entertainment on weekends!
2B Burnham Road | Hudson, NH (603) 943-5250 | www.facebook.com/TheBar.Hudson
116728
HIPPO | FEBRUARY 20 - 26, 2020 | PAGE 44
OPEN 7 DAYS!
141 Rte. 101A, Heritage Place, Amherst 880-8422 | 101AAntiques.com
110087
1711 South Willow St. Manchester | 603-644-0199
130362