WK2 - Eliott Lipp - Peace Love Weed 3D - (9.5)

Released - 1/27/09

Label - Old Tacoma Records

BLURB - Like a fine wine, Eliott Lipp is constantly getting better with age. The producer / DJ / electronic mastermind proved that, 'The Outside' was not a fluke and in doing so may have invalidated his previous releases. This one is hard to put down. Welcome to the elite.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

FULL STORY - The story goes for musicians, that one will focus and listen to the music that they are currently involved with. Four months ago I purchased my first synthesizer, and predictably became obsessed with electronic music and experimenting with new sounds. Now I am no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but my experience with electronic music has really helped me appreciate and differentiate between outstanding and mediocre work. I bought Eliot Lipp's - 'The Outside' nearly 8 months ago for the sole reason of seeing he was opening up for the Pnuma Trio for a couple shows. I had never heard of him, but was obsessed with Pnuma Trio at the time. The Trio is one of these new 'Jamtronica' bands that have been quickly gaining notoriety through not only their recordings but their amazing live shows. This genre of music started growing as a part of the post-Phish era and is generally typified as a fusion of jazz, jam, house and electronic music.

My biggest (only) gripe with Lipp's previous release was that there was often too much space and down time in his work. The production value was amazing, but in attempt to strike a mood with the listener Lipp often was reluctant to show progress with certain tracks. The ability was there, but complacency may have snuck in rendering songs unable to push forward. 'Peace Love Weed 3D' not only corrects this flaw, but forces the listener to apologize for ever doubting his potential. Every track in this record not only has a great vibe, but goes somewhere. Lipp does a great job of initiating a solid groove and then slowly reworking it into a completely new groove, and into another. This creates the experience of a club scene where there is a great mix going on, and then all of sudden 4 minutes later there is an entirely different mix going on, but the transitions were so well organized that you had never noticed the change in tempo or beat.

The greatest compliment I can give for an electronic artist is recognizing the ability to string a listener along without having them lose interest. Often times beats and grooves and jams can become monotonous, and while they are addictive at first listen, after 5 minutes if nothings happened I'm going to move on. That's my knock on techno music. Every techno song is unbelievable for the first 3 minutes, but after that I'd rather be folding laundry or grocery shopping. Lipp has a very subtle way of conveying mood and voicing through precise organization, and while this seems like a complex way of forming a song, it always seems effortless. He never has to convince the listener - the momentum and talent appears instantaneously and continuously.

Segueing off of the above, I love analogies. In life the talented, well-groomed, attractive man never has to convince the attractive woman to go out for dinner. He just has to ask. For the rest of us, we often spend our time tirelessly trying to convince the attractive woman that we are worth it, and that they should go out with us. We make bold claims and offer brief glimpses of excellence, but the act of persuasion never ceases to exist. Compare this to the majority of electronic and 'Jamtronica' artists. In such a fast rising genre there are too many artists to go around - and throughout this crowd the overwhelming majority are simply presenting their case in attempt to convince us that their efforts are worthy of their own self-acclaim. While these arguments are valid for some artists, they are often just hype and hearsay. With Eliott Lipp's - 'Peace Love Weed 3D' it is clear that he is not trying to convince anyone. Lipp has joined the ranks of Sound Tribe Sector Nine, Pnuma Trio and Lotus. From this point forward all he has to do is ask, and the inevitable answer will invariably be 'yes.'

Tracks:

1.) Yeah

2.) Proceed

3.) Sentinel

4.) P.L.W.3-D

5.) So Stoked

6.) Calling Me

7.) Glowstick

8.) Sand Castle

9.) Laser Cave

10.) Beamrider

WK1 - Chester French - Love the Future (7)

Released - 4/21/09

Label - Star Trak / Interscope Records

BLURB - Good, not great. Wacky, pop-indie duo covers all genres, but fail to create an identity for themselves. If nothing else, it is a uniquely entertaining, albeit ephemeral, listen.

Rating: 7 out of 10

FULL STORY - So a co-worker of mine got me into this group. She invited me to see this 'Rock Duo' that was recently signed to Pharrell Williams' label - Star Trak. Being the huge N.E.R.D. fan that I am, I thought this was probably going to be some upbeat indie band, but with sick beats - maybe like an MGMT but with normal looking people, doing normal people things (see also - not wearing war makeup and feathers). So their debut record hit 4/21/09 and I picked it up during my lunch break so I could hear what they sounded like before I went to see them. Keep in mind, up until this point I have never even heard of them. From the reviews and bios that I was able to glance at, everything suggested CF was pretty much this quirky, nerdy, indie outfit. After listening to the record probably about twenty times and seeing them do a live acoustic set in the Lower East Side, that's exactly what they are. No more, no less.

What's unfortunate with the record though, is that with the tagline of being the quirky, indie duo from Harvard, there is this inherent pressure to create a quirky, indie sound. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the album and it's received a slew of positive reviews from major sources, but the music is all over the place. The diversity of this record ultimately makes and breaks it. With every track varying in genre, style, instrumentation, production and feel, the listener is initally lured in - but can never stay. It's almost like Chester French was trying to accomplish too much, too quickly. I'm reminded of being in tenth grade and having the assignment of writing a short story for an English class. While I was writing it, I came up with all these self-conceived, profound ideas and I thought it was the greatest thing Mr Kleist's 2nd Period Class would ever see. I ended up creating a twenty-five page monstrosity that came from thirty different angles, developed thirty different characters and was drowning in a sea of 'clever' plot lines and themes.

When in doubt, simplify. With that being said, it's natural for me to compare and contrast Chester French with two of my favorite quircky, indie acts...Vampire Weekend and Ben Kweller. Both acts are huge nerds. Anyone that thinks Vampire Weekend is a 'cool' name for a band definitely lived in their parent's basement at one point in their life. And if you have ever seen a picture of Ben Kweller, he looks exactly like a kid you and your friends used to steal milk money from in high school. While both VW and Kweller are definitely quirky and unique, they have a distinct feel to them and know how to develop their sound in a manner that can evoke both emotion and intrigue without becoming too cluttered. For Chester French's - 'Love the Future' it almost seems like a varied collection of pretty good ideas. I think if they took any one of their songs and approached recording an album in that specific vein, they would absolutely knock it out of park. Don't be fooled...for as convoluted as this album is, the songwriting, instrumentation and creativity are off the charts.

Tracks:

1.) Introduction

2.) C'mon (On My Own)

3.) Bebee Buell

4.) String Interlude

5.) The Jimmy Choos

6.) Time to Unwind

7.) Fingers

8.) Country Interlude

9.) Beneath the Veil

10.) Neal
11.) Not Over You

12.) She Loves Everybody

13.) Sleep