SHOWS A-GO-GO! You will
like the Boss Martians, because Steven Van Zandt likes the Boss Martians. The Seattle foursome won the
coveted “Coolest Song of the Year” on Little Steven’s Underground Garage, Van Zandt’s Internet-broadcast radio show, in 2003. The
Martians play garage rock, but if they’ve learned anything from the
school of Little Steven, it’s that garage rock is nothing without
soul and a little ’60s pop to boot, à la the Rolling Stones or Paul Revere & the Raiders. In
keeping with this notion, the Martians create such gritty pop songs as the
standout single “I Am Your Radio.” Taking a break from working
away in the studio on their 14th release, the Martians visit the
Underground City Tavern on Sunday. Outside the borders of our fair city are
two shows worth the travel time: Local emo-punk favorite Park plays an all-ages show at the
Independent Music Center in Urbana on Saturday and, delivering a heaping
helping of soulful goodness, Floetry hits the St. Louis’ Pageant on Wednesday.
CD EXCHANGE: First the
indie instrumentalists of Calexico decided to put some words to their experimental Americana
music, and that worked well. Then the Tucson collective, led by Joey Burns
and John Convertino, teamed up with singer/songwriter Samuel Beam of Iron and Wine for a wonderfully
brooding album. Garden Ruin, due for release on April 11, takes Calexico to a different
plane, giving in completely to the singer/songwriter styling. The new
record may turn off fans of classic post-rock Calexico, but a warm
reception from the roots-rock faction is likely. Singles “Cruel” and “Yours
and Mine” evoke the spirit of such songsmiths as Jeff Buckley and Palace’s Will Oldham. Other notable releases
this week include the Flaming Lips’ At War with the Mystics (April 4) and Moonlighting, the debut album from the Loud Minority Music hip-hop
outfit known as Tanya Morgan (April 4).
SINGLES ONLY: Mix Parliament keyboard lines with
cameos from Black Thought (the Roots) and Talib Kweli, and you get a hypnotic hip-hop cocktail, served up by DJ Pam the
Funkstress and MC Boots, better known as the Coup. The new single “My Favorite Mutiny” conjures
the soulful vibe of ’70s funk, laced with the updated flow that has
made the Coup an underground hit. The new album, Pick a Bigger Weapon, drops April 25.
This article appears in Apr 6-12, 2006.
