Night After Night

Time Out New York: 2003 – The Top 10 Albums.

2003: The Top 10 Albums
Steve Smith, music writer

Time Out New York, January 1-8, 2004

1. Emmylou Harris Stumble Into Grace (Nonesuch). Alt-country's matriarch makes unrequited love sound positively radiant.

2. Various artists AMPLIFY 2002: balance (Erstwhile box set). European and Japanese improvisers intuitively fashion soundscapes of the future.

3. The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium (GSL/Strummer). Former emo-ers go for baroque, to thunderous, hallucinatory effect.

4. Lamb of God As the Palaces Burn (Prosthetic). Feral, confrontational metalists slash a topical vein.

5. Erin McKeown Grand (Nettwerk). McKeown's latest is typically literate and eclectic, but also irresistibly tuneful.

6. Dimmu Borgir Death Cult Armageddon (Nuclear Blast). Norway's Satanic majesties say yes to excess, resulting in glorious, widescreen mayhem.

7. Cursive The Ugly Organ (Saddle Creek). Tim Kasher spins self-loathing and revenge fucks into a gorgeous, wounded song cycle.

8. Tony Malaby Adobe (Free Lance). New York's fastest-rising tenorman hits his stride with a bluesy, joyously swinging trio.

9. David Sylvian Blemish (Samadhi Sound). Assisted by Derek Bailey and Fennesz, Sylvian creates his most intimate, haunted music to date.

10. In da 'Pod Who needs a tenth album when you can download infectious hits like "Crazy in Love" (Beyoncé), "Hey Ya!" (OutKast), "Seven Nation Army" (the White Stripes), "Ignition (Remix)" (R. Kelly), "I Know" (Nas), "Cry Me a River" (Justin Timberlake)—and, yes, "In da Club" (50 Cent)?

=====

2020 postscript: This list ran in the Music section of Time Out New York; a Classical & Opera list ran elsewhere, but I've not located a clipped copy yet. Among my then-teammates, Jay Ruttenberg cited "various demos" by Nellie McKay as his No. 1 pick; Leah Greenblatt favored Give Up by The Postal Service; K. Leander Williams opted for Passing Ships, by Andrew Hill; and music editor Mike Wolf selected Shivering King and Others, by Dead Meadow.

Leah and Mike converged with You Are Free, by Cat Power. Jay and Mike coincided with Haha Sound, by Broadcast. Erin McKeown appeared on Jay's list as well as mine. Those aside, there were no further overlaps among the 50-ish records we cited collectively. Quite a team we had. (Sorry about R. Kelly—even if it's still a slick tune.)

Time Out New York: Elliott Sharp, The Velocity of Hue.

Elliott Sharp
The Velocity of Hue
(Emanem)

Time Out New York, January 1-8, 2004

Many words have been used to describe the distinctive oeuvre of downtown guitarist-composer Elliott Sharp. Gentle and soothing, however, aren't among them. That's not to say that there isn't any subtlety in the pummeling calculus-core onslaught of Sharp's late, lamented band, Carbon, on in the vexing ferocity of his concert pieces. But in both of those settings, power and exuberance have played a far greater role than gentility and songfulness.

Admirers of Sharp's amplified din might wonder, upon hearing The Velocity of Hue, if the guitarist forgot to pay his Con Ed bill. Velocity's short, soft improvisations for solo acoustic guitar draw equally upon Blind Willie Johnson, John Fahey, and string-playing traditions from Korea, Africa and India. Sharp employs a gorgeous, warm-toned instrument modified with a dobro bridge, which affords him still more string to bend.

Even stripped down, his music is anything but simple. On tracks such as "The Face of Another" and "Nebel," he combines fingerpicking and delicate rubbing with slide and e-bow; deep, resonant sustained notes sing out elegantly over tactile chirps and pings. "Euwrecka" spins like an incandescent pinwheel, sending tiny harmonic sparks flying into the ether.

While it may seem like a radical departure at first, Velocity ultimately remains true to Sharp's careerlong investigation into the science of sound. If much of his previous work has found beauty in extremes of intensity, he reverses course here, creating a cumulative intensity out of extremes of beauty.—Steve Smith

=====

2020 postscript: The Velocity of Hue remains available on CD direct from Emanem, here. The album can also be purchased in MP3 format on CD Baby, here, and is available for authorized streaming on YouTube, Spotify, and so on.