Reaching into the Stacks

There's been a temporarily lull in the new releases sweeping through the Wenzel offices of late. In many ways, this is a welcome respite, as it has allowed us to revisit certain albums and artists in greater depth. When you are cosntantly bombarded with new music, you can typically only spend a week or so "exploring" the album, but some ideas only reveal themselves with time and reflection.

The Sixties have helped create the expectation that music will reflect turbulent times. The war in Iraq has led us to keep our ears open for what may be this generation's Blood on the Tracks. Currently, the leading candidate is Green Day's American Idiot, but Ben Harper's Both Sides of the Gun double album may be an attempt to wrestle that crown from the West Coast trio. Unfortunately, despite heavy rotation this weak, we fear that Harper's message might be spread out too thinly in this magnum opus.

If Harper is trying to be Dylan, then Vancouver's Destroyer is entering is Lou Reed period with his latest album, Destroyer's Rubies. Of course, this may be slightly off-the-mark, as Dan Bejar drew many David Bowie comparisons when he first appeared. Perhaps Destroyer's Rubies is simply Bejar doing Bowie doing Lou. Long, labrynthine lyrics, carried along by baroque melodies. Much was made of this album earlier this year by people who enjoyed Sufjan Steven's Diamond Dogs-tribute, Illinois.

Perhaps the most enjoyable discovery, aside from our deep descent into the Flaming Lips back-catalog, was finally getting around to listening to When Pigs Fly, by the Canadian hiphop outfit, Chicharrones. Perhaps about as far removed from the seriousness of say, Ben Harper, the focus here is on fun, sarcasm, and a little bit of poking the bear.