The Banner's Best Effort

The most exciting trend in metal/hardcore (uh, “metalcore,” if you will) is a return to the faster rhythms of older hardcore and punk. It seems that more and more bands are moving away from the near-death metal slow-to-midtempo song with all its cliché breakdowns and chug-chug-chuging to playing thrashy punk like it’s 1988 all over again.

Such is the case with The Banner. Frailty makes The Banner sound like peers of pioneers like Ringworm and Integrity instead of their bastard progeny. “IWIWD,” “Sphrenia,” and “Ratflesh” all display the 90’s hardcore meets 80’s thrash sound Ringworm nearly perfected. Hell, there’s even a semblance of a guitar solo in some of these songs. Damn – don’t hear that much in hardcore any more.

But with a southern doom intro like “Welcome Fuckers” and the devilish funeral march of “The Wolf” opening the album, The Banner let it be known from the get-go that they’re not all about thrash hardcore. In fact, when they’re not playing at breakneck tempos, much of The Banner’s music sounds like the slower, sludgier parts of Converge’s catalog. “A Hellbound Heart,” with it’s saw-grind intro, sounds like it was pulled straight from You Deserve Me. “Dusk,” likewise is born of Bannon and Co.

“On Hooks” may be the best The Banner has to offer. The track starts with a painfully slow wall-of-sound intro, moves on to a two-step NYHC tempo, and then the band just loses it, driving at death wish speed through an almost grindcore sounding rhythm. “On Hooks” is everything The Banner seems to love rolled up in one joint.

Signing The Banner was probably the smartest move Ferret made in a long while. Frailty is a solid blend of doom, hardcore, punk, thrash, and metal. Despite briefly disbanding in 2007, after their Ferret debut Every Breath Haunted, The Banner are back stronger than ever, and have released their best album yet.

mp3: "On Hooks"
myspace: www.myspace.com/thebanner

Nas' "Sly Fox"

No need for commentary - this video is great and the song is even better. I got a leak of the album too - shit is hot.

Fantastic New LP From Austin's Grupo Fantasma

Originally published at AllAboutJazz.com





When you’ve got Prince’s seal of approval, little else matters. Austinites Grupo Fantasma have long been the Purple One’s band du jour, logging a two-month residency at his Las Vegas nightclub 3121, a Golden Globes after party performance that saw the band joined by Prince as well as emcees Talib Kweli and Will.i.am, Mary J. Blige, and Marc Anthony, and other performances alongside the icon in London, Miami and the Capital City itself.

Sonidos Gold is the best document of Grupo's cumbia-salsa-funk fusion to date. Led by guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada, the Grupo orchestra is in fine form on the dozen tracks that make up Sonidos, and give, as the title would suggest, a golden performance. (Too hard to avoid that one…)

Whether it’s the Grupo horn section of Gilbert Elorreaga (trumpet), Joshua Levy (saxophones), and Leo Gauana (trombone) leading the way, as on opening jam “El Sabio Soy Yo,” or the percussive force of Johnny Lopez (drums), Matthew Holmes (congas) and quasi-frontman Jose Galeano (timbales) moving and shaking the rhythm, as on “Arroz con Frijoles,” Grupo Fantasma is above all tight, operating as a cohesive unit, always in-tune with each other.

Speaking of which, “Arroz” is all but a drummer’s wet dream – loads of percussion (timbales, congas, cowbells, shakers, handclaps and whistles) all layered on top of one another make for one of the most exciting drum breaks ever. Fania All-Stars arranger Larry Harlow lends his hands to “Rumba y Guaguanaco” along with Parliament Funkadelic vet Greg Boyer. “Bacalao Con Pan” shows signs of Grupo side-project Brownout, combining breakbeat funk with Latin soul a la Eddie Palmieri. Rounding out the guest appearances is the legendary Maceo Parker, whose saxophone lights up “Gimme Some,” a stick-up anthem that finds that band singing in English for a change.

The production is perfect and exactly what the band requires. The excitement and raw energy of their live shows is translated brilliantly to record, with little if any post-production fluff. Go see Grupo Fantasma live and it’ll sound a lot like this record. The horns carry all the necessary punch, drums speak to the soul on a spiritual level, vocals are just about all that carry any signs of post-production, with reverb adding psychedelic air to Quesada and Galaeno’s words.

Grupo Fantasma turns in an inspired performance on Sonidos Gold. Truer to the tradition than West Coast contemporaries Ozomatli, Grupo are one the most exciting bands out there right now – just ask Prince.

mp3: "Bacalao con Pan"
myspace: www.myspace.com/fantasmatics
video: Grupo Fantasma performing "Mentiras" on Austin City Limits

Ocote Soul Sounds

Originally published at Allaboutjazz.com





Ocote Soul Sounds was born of strange conditions—a (sort of) failed biodiesel-fueled road trip that lead to jam sessions in Austin, TX, that in turn lead to the cross country trade of mp3s and song ideas, that gave birth to a surprising debut, 2005's independently released El Nino y El Sol (reissued by ESL the following year). Masterminded by two of the freshest voices in new music today, Ocote Soul Sounds is in top form on The Alchemist Manifesto, a worldly mix of sounds found “at the intersection of the downtown dance floor, the sweaty basement bembé, and the smoldering campfire on a remote beach.”

Martin Perna has made a name for himself in recent years by lending his flute to tracks by TV on the Radio, Scarlet Johansson, and others, as well as being a founding member of Sharon Jones' Dap-Kings and leader of Antibalas. Adrian Quesada is the mind behind two of Austin, TX's hottest bands, the Prince-approved Grupo Fantasma and deep-funk aficionados Brownout. Perna and Quesada together? Simply unstoppable, as evidenced by the stellar selections found on their sophomore Manifesto.

The Alchemist Manifesto blends brassy downtempo jazz (”The Grand Elixir”), Fela-like afrobeat (”La reja”), and breakbeat funk (”The Alchemist Manifesto”) and wraps it all in a soundtrack-worthy sheen. “Les Dunes d'Ostende” is more akin to the indietronica of Four Tet and Tortoise than Grupo Fantasma or Antibalas' interpretation of the word funk. “Hacia un manana major” is digital boom bap (think Anti-Pop Consortium), “Contra el sol” a getaway driver's soundtrack, and “Pelican,” Latin-flavored soul rap (some Teddy Riley shit).

Perna and Quesada are in top-form on The Alchemist Manifesto. Collectively, from Antibalas to Brownout and all the many other projects these two brilliant artists are involved in on the side, it's clear these two are not running out of ideas any time soon. Manifesto is invigorating, the essence of cool, and a perfect soundtrack to your sultry summer.

mp3: "The Grand Elixir"
myspace: myspace.com/ocotesoulsounds