Music

CD Review Revue

Long underappreciated Chicagoans Eleventh Dream Day have been going strong since 1983. They have survived several personnel changes and record labels in the ensuing years. With 1994's Ursa Major on Atavistic Records, they began to shift away from their more traditional post-punk rock sound, absorbing the influences of the post-rock scene around them. Their 1997 Thrill Jockey debut, Eighth, was a brilliant summation of all that had come before. Members Doug McCombs and Janet Beveridge Bean are both accomplished in their own rights, having played with Tortoise and Freakwater respectively. (John McEntire of Tortoise recorded the album and played keyboards and percussion as well.) Guitarist Rick Rizzo collaborated with Tara Key on last year's excellent instrumental album Dark Edson Tiger. Together they bring the sum of their creativities to new heights. The Stalled Parade furthers Eighth's cause with great guitar work and with vocalists/spouses Rizzo and Bean finishing each other's sentences. On "Valrico74" and "Bite the Hand," acoustic and electric guitars tangle, with Bean's gorgeous, rootsy voice taking the fore. Rizzo gives an equally accomplished vocal turn on "Way Too Early on a Sunday Morning." He sings of being "an outsider to the madness," and for a band that toured hard for years and now makes live appearances rarely, that may be true. I just hope they keep making their passionate, inventive outsider art. NATE LIPPENS

LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLE
Arepa 3000: A Venezuelan Journey into Space
(Luakabop)
***

Since the mid-'80s, the Argentinean supergroup Los Fabulosos Cadillacs have taught a whole generation of South Americans how to make grooving, genre-bending pop music. Los Amigos Invisible, relative newcomers from Venezuela, have learned the lesson well, producing a sample-heavy live album that introduces dozens of musical styles in almost 20 songs. Television clips, unison choruses, spacy Jobim bossa novas, P-Funk deathray sound effects, disco grooves, techno beats, Tuvan chants, and retro lounge styles (à la Pizzicato Five) are all given their place in the album. The album's multiple-personality disorder can make it too cute and campy at times, but if you skip over a song here or there, you're left with a consistently danceable record that has more than enough musical baubles to entertain those who can't understand the Spanish lyrics. NATHAN THORNBURGH

BETTIE SERVEERT
Private Suit
(Palomine/Hidden Agenda)
**

Back in the Jurassic amber of early-'90s alt-rock, this Dutch foursome released a sensational debut, Palomine, that made them college radio darlings with its dreamy and dreary jangle-drone. Carol van Dijk had a tough Chrissie Hynde croon that constricted in all the right places. The band never managed to recapture that spark on follow-ups Lamprey and Dust Bunnies. Since then, the Betties have left Matador Records to start their own label and have replaced their drummer. Private Suit starts out promisingly enough with "Unsound." But soon the songs are overwhelmed in lush, fluttery strings that sound arranged by an overcaffeinated Van Dyke Parks. John Parish, P. J. Harvey's frequent collaborator, adds organ and keyboards to most songs. The fuller sound actually steals what momentum and tension the band attempts to build. On many songs, Peter Visser's guitar lines are backgrounded to the point of seeming tacked-on afterthoughts. It seems that, in trying to add to their sound, Bettie Serveert have forgotten what made them special in the first place. NATE LIPPENS

FAITH & DISEASE
Beneath the Trees
(Projekt)
***

It's impossible for Seattle's favorite ethereal band to be any more melancholy, but none of their previous four albums feel as personal or vulnerable as Beneath the Trees. Starting with a reinterpreted aria by Handel and culminating in the mournful "Born and Died on the 23rd" (in tragic D minor), F&D weave a touching, almost thematic album that really captures the intimacy of their live performances. Eric Cooley's arrangements are minimalist, simply supporting Dara Rosenwasser's delicate and passionate voice, especially on "Rubina Verde," where she almost sounds like a wounded angel. Sadly, the duo recently moved to California, and at the time of year I most look forward to seeing them play here. That breaks my heart, but at least I have this CD to keep me company. DAVID SLATTON

AT THE DRIVE-IN
Relationship of Command
(Grand Royal)
**

On their third album and Grand Royal debut, El Paso quintet At the Drive-In move further from punk to rap-metal. While both elements have always been present in their sound, the latter dominates here. They aspire to the White Panther rage of MC5 but come off like Rage Against the Machine. The sameness of the songs is part of the problem: A consistent, full-frontal assault of gale force isn't exactly a recipe for interesting dynamics. Producer Ross Robinson has worked with Korn and Slipknot, and that same cadmium-red slickness seals off the band here. At the Drive-In would clearly benefit from a rawer, looser mix. The primal desperation of vocalist Cedric Bixler can be amazing for sheer force alone, but the sameness of his attack depletes his impact across the course of Relationship of Command. The band's left-of-left lyrics are full of too much stream- of-righteousness bluster to give the listener much more than overfamiliar messages. Behind the pose, the clothes, and the MC5 Afros, it seems a good manifesto is hard to find. NATE LIPPENS

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