Album Review: Ra Ra Rasputin - Ra Ra Rasputin

Synth pop. New wave. Dance punk. Three related, overlapping genres that, among other things, share an emphasis on the melding of the natural and the artificial. A lot of bands dabble in this territory; successful bands find the right balance.

DC stalwarts Ra Ra Rasputin have perfected their formula on their long-awaited debut. After developing as a live entity over the last few years, the band recorded their self-titled record, leaning heavily on the "dance" portion of their "dance punk" formulation.

The albums opens with a razor-sharp synth line and some David Byrne-styled vocals on "Stereocutter." Swirls and swells of synthesizer dominate "Neon Scthye," a song propelled by full low-end bass. This one-two punch sets the album's tone.

Densely layered, lush compositions balance the cold, monotonic vocals of Brock Boss throughout the album. Something that stands out and differentiates the album from the band's live performances is the house vibe. The band is unafraid to jam over an extended loop for spacey dance breaks; "Fit Fixed" devolves into a seductive house jam that will be a lot of fun live.

Compared to the rest of the album, "The Day Of" is a bit more aggressive, with plenty of cow bell and more emphasis on Patrick Kigongo's guitar. It also features a revealing chorus that says a lot about where the band is coming from, musically: "I've got love for you if you survived in the 80s." (This performance doesn't show the band's trademark energy, but I suspect it's because they're playing to an empty newsroom and not a crowd.)

The standout track is "Electricity Through the Heart," due in large part to the addition of vocals provided by Anna Rozzi. The song is reminiscent of art-punks Pretty Girls Make Graves; it's available for free on the band's website.

Comparisons to contemporaries Cut Copy, Hot Chip, and Delorean are apt, but the sonic godfather of Ra Ra Rasputin is Depeche Mode. The band has the neon glow of the 80s locked down, with enough modern touches to make a well-worn style sound fresh and vibrant. Unfortunately, the album is missing the hooks that put the "pop" in "synth pop." Still, it's an impressive, well-produced debut from a promising DC band.

Three out of five stars.

Catch Ra Ra Rasputin at the Black Cat on October 9th for their joint record release party with Casper Bangs.

The Verge: Zola Jesus

For the last year or so, there has been a renaissance in lo-fi music, across genre lines. Whether making surf pop (Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls), chillwave (Toro y Moi, Neon Indian) or witch house (Salem, Mater Suspiria Vision), there is a premium on the bedroom recorded, four-track tape sound.


Nika Roza Danilova is a Wisconsin-born singer-songwriter who performs as Zola Jesus. Last year, she released two such bedroom albums, New Amsterdam and The Spoils, and garnered acclaim from the usual suspects. And for good reason - buried beneath fuzz, static and gothic drone is a talented songwriter with some serious pipes. The music is dark and mournful with melodies that remind me of Bat for Lashes.

Danilova cites Throbbing Gristle among her influences, and on her first two albums, it shows. She's not afraid to push things into industrial, dissonant territory. There is an ambient uneasiness throughout, and with her music's goth feel, it works. And while key elements of this style continue on this year's Stridulum, she's taken major creative steps forward, breaking out of the lo-fi box with style.

Throughout Stridulum (and the double EP of the same name), the focus is on Daniloa's operatic vocals. Minor-key synthesizers waft over strings and piano melodies, stark and simple drums drone in the background, but everything operates in service of song. The album opens, appropriately, with "Night," a mournful love song that is tinged with loss.

"Trust Me" and "I Can't Stand" tread on similar sonic and lyrical ground, with strong results. The 808-like rhythm on "Sea Talk" harks back to earlier material, while the emphasis on vocal melody is definitely in line with the rest of the album; the "Poltergeist"-themed clip is yet another fantastic piece of video art.

With Stridulum, Zola Jesus is ready to burst from the bedroom to the big time. The prolific songwriter is back with yet another EP next month (Valusia). She opens for The XX and Warpaint at a sold-out 9:30 Club show on Tuesday, and then she'll be touring Europe through November. And next time she rolls through town, she'll be headlining.

Album Review: Salem - King Night

Due to the nature of how we listen to music in 2010, there are few surprises left. Before an act releases a proper album (a medium whose time may very well be up), they are dissected and analyzed like a frog on a 9th grade biology table. And just as sure as that frog has sat on its last lily pad, musicians are rarely afforded the chance to make a second impression.

On their debut LP King Night, Salem doesn't seem to care about that. Or about anything else.

If you've heard them by now, you know what to expect. Chopped-and-screwed drum machines, epic synthesizer melodies, spooky moans and drugged-out raps. Salem's distinct brand of drag is what sets them apart from countless witch house acts, more eager to insert triangles and crosses into their names than to make interesting music. But if you've heard Yes I Smoke Crack or their symbiotic remixes of Gucci Mane and came away unimpressed or turned off, King Night won't change your mind.

Throughout the album, Salem gets deeper, darker, and more intense than ever before. For music that revels in drone, it is addictive in its dynamism. The title track opens the album, with bits and pieces of "I Love You" and "O Holy Night" fused to minimalistic trap beats and the echos and feedback of a mournful melody. "Asia," the second single (I use that term lightly) off the album continues the death march with a drum corps' intensity. The faux-snuff clip picks up where "Skullcrush" left off.

The heavily processed vocals of Jack Donoghue could pass for Gucci on songs like "Sick," "Trapdoor," and "Tair." John Holland and Heather Marlatt stick to singing (again, loosely), exchanging groans and whispers on "Release the Boar" and "Frost." On the latter, Marlatt's vocals waft over footwork-inspired beats and waves of synths that hold - wait - is that a sense of "hope" amid all this darkness?

Arguably the group's strongest song, "Redlights" is back yet again; the shifty, stuttering anthem is revamped for The Big Time and sounds great. "Traxx" plods along with an industrial sample that can't help but evoke the "Law & Order" sound, but with off-kilter percussion that again references footwork. By the time the last jangly guitar chord drones on closer "Killer," the listener is left with a sense of foreboding dread that they can't quite put their finger on.

Salem knows what they are and what they do best: gothic trap music with a hint of mystery (even if unfortunate interviews and even more unfortunate live performances have lifted the curtain a bit). King Night succeeds by being a pitch-perfect set of upsetting mood music. Even if that's what you expected.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS.

Thoughts on "Boardwalk Empire"

[Editor's note: I'm a week behind, but enjoy!]

Two of my favorite genres are the gangster drama and the political thriller. Central to each is the demonstration of the drastic measures taken on the quest for power. When combined, these twin quests are often examined in a clearer light. From the New York Machine in Gangs of New York to the ethnic-urban gangster politics of “Brotherhood,” I can’t get enough of this intoxicating crossbreed.

HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” is a (non-mini) series about Prohibition Era gangsters and politicians, and the murky line between them. Consider the pedigree: Created by the finest “Sopranos” scribe short of David Chase (Terence Winter), with a pilot directed by the most celebrated filmmaker of his generation, Martin Scorsese, working right in his wheelhouse. For me (and plenty of others), it’s a no-brainer.

I relished each of the 72 minutes of the pilot episode - this much Scorsese doesn’t come for free. The director’s trademarks abound: sharp angles, well-placed quick cuts, track zooms, dialogue over freeze frames. A gun fight that jumps and jerks with violent urgency, and a sense of humor out of an Abbot and Costello routine. Scorsese is a master of film whose well-practiced parlor tricks still get me, after all these years.

Like in “Brotherhood,” the main characters are ostensibly on different sides of the law. For Steve Buscemi’s Enoch “Nucky” Thompson and Michael Pitt’s Jimmy Darmody, however, things are not that clear cut. Thompson is the treasurer and behind-the-scenes power broker of Atlantic City; Darmody is a fresh-faced, slightly-hobbled veteran of the Great War who wants in on the action. First off: How good is Steve Buscemi? This role seems built for an actor with such a nuanced range. And Michael Pitt, playing with the emptiness behind his blue eyes, is no slouch with a character that could go either way (a talent also exploited in Michael Haneke’s US version of Funny Games).

The pilot only hints at the varied landscape and rich, interesting characters of the Boadwalk Empire. As Nucky’s flame Lucy, Paz de la Huerta is an original Jersey Shore denizen: foul-mouthed and sex-crazed. Michael Stuhlbarg’s Arnold Rothstein is the opposite of his nebbish titular character in A Serious Man: calm, collected, self-assured, and oozing power. Rothstein may prove to be as tough and adversary as Michael Shannon’s stone-jawed G-man Nelson Van Alden. Perfectly cast character actors from Scorsese films past and similar material round out a solid cast. Shout-out to Michael K. Williams (“Omar’s comin!”), shown briefly as Chalky White, the town’s major black player.

Scorsese is, as always, a master of suspense. You may know the whack is coming, but the “when” and the “how” are always in doubt. It turns out that bootlegging in the 20s is to drugs in 50s as the central internecine conflict between gangsters. As in The Godfather, those who doubt the next step are often left behind.

Like “Brotherhood,” “Boardwalk Empire” exists at the triple point of organized crime, politics and family, but with Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese (and soon, Allen Coulter) at the helm. The sets, costumes and props are immersive in the extreme; you worry that the high budget will eventually doom this show, no matter how rave the reviews and strong the pedigree. Still, this is a perfect pilot, whetting the appetite with a hint of things to come and seeds of story lines sowed.

A key scene between Buscemi and Pitt hints at the central question of this and the director’s earlier works (chiefly Goodfellas and Gangs of New York):

Darmody: “All I want is an opportunity.”
Thompson: “This is America, ain’t it? Who the fuck’s stopping ya?”

Irish, Italian, or Jew - Americans are all immigrants, grasping at the American dream. And whether with the briefcase or with the shotgun (to paraphrase Omar), these guys are going to get it.

Trevor Martin's Halloween mix keeps it spooky

Halloween is over a month away, which gives you just enough time to digest Trevor Martin's latest mix, MARTIN: This is Halloween.

The 70 minute mixtape is perfect for All Hallows’ Eve, both lyrically and sonically. As we've become accustomed from his live sets, Trevor bobs and weaves across genres, seamlessly mixing punk, metal, hip hop, and EDM of all flavors - sometimes in one edit. His remix of Lil Jon's "Get In Get Out" adds the industrial grind of Ministry before turning into crunkstep with a touch of Rusko. Similarly, Waka Flocka and Deftones is a match made in Hell that only Trevor would think of.

There's plenty of stuff from Trouble & Bass (and friends), a necessity for anything Halloween-themed. Little Jinder's "Youth Blood" is a perfect fit for our vampire-obsessed culture, and anything by Deathface is a no-brainer.

Like any punk worth his ink, Trevor includes plenty of rawk: Danzig, Sick Of It All, and even Dio show up in between more dancefloor-ready material. It's a testament to his skill that none of it feels out of place.

So check out the mix, before I start making trick or treat puns. And pay attention for some surprising drops that I won't spoil here.



Tracklist after the jump.

Future Grooves: Trouble & Bass

While this column usually serves as a first look at an artist, this week's feature needs no introduction: for 4 years, NYC's Trouble and Bass collective have lived up to their billing as Heavy Bass Champions of the World. Whether playing electro, dubstep, grime, or jungle, the crew does it with excellence and a trademarked gothic-rave chic.

As their anniversary party rolls into the venue best suited to their selections, take this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the T&B crew.

Like the best (and most evil) corporations, the tone is set by the man at the top. Luca Venezia, better known as Drop the Lime, founded Trouble and Bass back in 2006, and is known for his psychobilly trappings and bass frequency dominance. While his Sex Sax may be the tune of the moment, "Set Me Free" is an even stronger song, with it's "Show Me Love"-esque diva vocals and nonstop, layered bass. Here's a live performance at last year's Fool’s Gold vs. Trouble & Bass Halloween Party:

Next to DTL, the most recognizable T&B crew member is AC Slater (and not just because of his Saved by the Bell namesake). AC Slater is a remixer without peer; he's given his patented electro-bass treatment to tracks by Moby, Little Boots, and Steve Angello, to name a few. "Take You," his collaboration with Ninjasonik, is, to paraphrase Kanye West, a motherfucking monster - and that was before Nadastrom got their hands on it and turned it into the tech house banger you're most likely to hear tonight.

The queen of Trouble and Bass is none other than Star Eyes, who sat down with TGRI a few months back. Star Eyes is another jungle fanatic who now makes grimed-out but party-friendly dubstep. Dexplicit (also in the crew) offered up this remix of Star Eyes' "Disappear," which makes an already haunting song more sinister.

[Editor's note: A previous version of this post included Udachi who, while part of the T&B extended family, is on Party Like Us. -CK]

For 4 years, Trouble and Bass have been the definitive DJ collective, label, and party for bassfreaks. So what's next? DTL will be touring in support of his next single, "Hot As Hell," which is guaranteed to be just that. Never content to stand still, the latest volume of Heavy Bass Champions of the World features a track that combines the two most satisfying trends in underground EDM. Flinch's "Hiero" is all throwback jungle breaks before a bass blast that hits like an 18-wheeler. It's also the odds-on favorite to be the next big hit from T&B.

Catch the Trouble and Bass DC crew at the U Street Music Hall tonight, with Bart B-more and Deathface. And don't miss these upcoming T&B DC dates:

Oct 31st - Trouble & Bass DC Halloween!
Nov 10th - Trouble & Bass DC w/ Supra1
Dec 8th - Trouble & Bass DC w/ Zombies For Money

The moombahton movement continues with boombachero

Who would have guessed that we'd still be writing about moombahton after Labor Day? Amid a year of various musical developments it looks like this one is here to stay. The genre's staying power is due in large part to producers eager to collaborate and experiment with the style. Interest in moombahton has also led to increased interest in cumbia and guarachero, Latin styles of which electronic music fans have only passing interest or knowledge.


In the spirit of this musical evolution, two exciting new DJ mixes flip moombahton back to its origins. With the Subguey (pronounced Subway) series, DJs Orion and Pagame have sped up moombahton, introduced guarachero elements, and ended up with a double-timed concoction that has been dubbed boombachero. Basically, the style sounds like moombahton on uppers with a bouncy, swing feel.

DJ Orion's mix relies heavily on the H&M crew before building to a frenetic close with an heavily re-worked and re-mixed bit of Rusko's "Woo Boost." In the same way, Pagame filters moombahton highlights through guarachero, creating a mix that is almost tribal in intensity.

SUBGUEY VOL 1 (BOOMBAHCHERO) by dj_Orion

SUBGUEY VOL 2 (BOOMBAHCHERO) by Pagame

DJ Orion's mix has already maxed out Soundcloud (and Pagame's is close behind), but you can cop these mixes here.

Download DJ Orion - Subguey Volume 1
Download Pagame - Subguey Volume 2

Tracklists after the jump.

Future Grooves: Dubbel Dutch

Austin is known for being a hipster hideaway deep in the heart of Texas, due in large part to the growing dominance of SXSW. And while it's not known as a hotbed of electronic music, producer Dubbel Dutch is creating buzz from the capital of the Lone Star State.


Dubbel Dutch is Marc Glasser, a 24-year old New York native. Over two criminally underrated EPs for Palms Out Records and a handful of remixes, he is establishing himself as a vibrant voice in the underground dance scene. His tracks blend elements from current trends (dubstep, UK funky and tropical) with nods to old favorites (house and hardcore).

Like the Camo UFOs, Dubbel Dutch definitely has a jungle fascination, as evidenced by the title track on his Throwback EP. The title hits the nail on the head: an addictive breakbeat, Casio synths and echoing female vocal loops give the track a 90s feel, even if the soca beat and bouncy bassline are pure 2010.

The rest of the EP does not disappoint, going even further down the rabbit hole into deep house and cutting-edge funky sounds. Once again, the title of "Deep Underground" is plenty descriptive.

Earlier single "On the One" plays in similar sonic territory, while "Infinite Decimal" is more inline with the low-end acrobatics of the Trouble & Bass crew. The vocal sample is chipped up and percussive, while the buildups beg for hands-in-the-air grooving.

Thankfully, we're not the only ones paying attention to Dubbel Dutch. He's put together mixes for XLR8R and URB (the latter is below), mixing tracks from other like-minded producers and giving a sense of what's to come in the future. It's clear that when March rolls around, SXSWers should be on the lookout for a local with his finger on the EDM pulse.

The Verge: Big Troubles

As the saying goes, "everything old is new again." This partially explains the glut of indie bands whose sounds are indebted to both the the fuzzy post-punk of the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine and the alternative sensibilities of the Pixies and Nirvana. For some reason, the Jersey suburbs of Bergen County have proven to be a particularly fertile ground for this type of music, giving us Vivian Girls, Real Estate and Ducktails. The most exciting new band to emerge out of this scene is Big Troubles.


Big Troubles make catchy noise pop that is not as dreary as their foreboding name and album title would suggest. Worry, released yesterday on Olde English Spelling Bee Records, is a hook-infested, fuzzed out collection of 14 songs that are heavy on nostalgia for 80s and 90s indie rock.

Throughout Worry, Ian Drennan and Alex Craig present songs that play bigger than the duo's bedroom recordings should allow (the membership of the band doubles live). Waves of feedback and fuzz, artful guitar arpeggios, and basic surf rock rhythm tracks go hand-in-hand with reverbed vocal lines. "Freudian Slip" sounds like a Smashing Pumpkins B-side melted onto a JAMC tape, while "Drastic and Difficult" is just that: eardrum piercing squeals that barely give way to verse and chorus. The opening crunch of "Modern Intimacy" opens up into a wavy Beach Boys guitar line.

Both the song and video for "Bite Yr Tongue" find the band in their comfort zone. A soaring guitar riff repeats throughout a verse-chorus-verse composition, before turning into sonic chaos that is somehow still pleasant. For the synesthesic among us, the video looks how the song sounds: dissonant but playful.

Whatever the state of irony in 2010 underground culture, the band's decision to start an Angelfire webpage ("The #1 site for teens... Best viewed in Netscape 2.0," the scrolling text reads) is hilarious and telling. Underneath music that is superficially harsh and unforgiving, there is a flippant, youthful attitude. It'll serve Big Troubles well as they try to give some shine to a well-worn stone.