PINK SKULL
Zeppelin 3
(Free News Projects)
1/2

Dieu merci! Just as I'm starting to get seriously burned out on all that compression-crunched, chest-kicking, crème brûlée–cracking French electro rock, Philadelphia's Pink Skull come along and bust me out of my rut (Hercules and Love Affair have been helping, too). Debut long-player Zeppelin 3 is the perfect dance-floor antidote to precisely distorted, locked-to-the-grid techno: an album that ricochets from loosey-goosey disco rhythms to mind-frying analog synth noise to dub-faded psych rock to block-party rapping without missing a beat. It may be the only album ever, past or future, to feature vocal contributions from both K Records songstress Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn and Wu Tang Clansman Ghostface Killah.

All the fun-loving genre busting makes perfect sense given the Philly collective's pedigree. Pink Skull began in 2003 or 2004 as a collaboration between Julian Grefe (of Frenchkiss avant rockers S PRCSS) Justin Geller (aka JG) and Ian Kelly (aka DJ Diabolic), all of whom are connected through legendary Philly club night Making Time. Since then, they've released a couple of DJ mixes that highlight their eclectic tastes as well as their knack with names (Step into My Orifice, Baby, and The Return of the Second Avenue Phantasmal Poison Arrow Band), they've remixed Plastic Little and Architecture in Helsinki among others, and they've recently expanded into a full live band.

That goofy Plastic Little jam, "Crambodia," appears here (lending the album its aforementioned Ghostface verse), and the album is awash in clever, referential titles—"Fuck 'Dead or Canadian,' Let's Play 'Homeless Guy or Arthur Baker,'" "Itchy Woman," the AFX-glancing "Bubblelog Aftermath"—but the real standout is the group's playing and production. Lead single "Gonzo's Cointreau" is a careening conga ride, "Unicorn Harpoon" is a smurfy bounce, "Itchy Woman" is an orgasmically climactic acid freak-out. It's messy, it's live, it's groovy—it's exactly what I needed for spring. ERIC GRANDY

ELLEN ALLIEN
Boogybytes Vol. 04
(Bpitch Control)
1/2

The records that dance-music DJ, producer, and label head Ellen Allien releases under her own name are the primary source of her popularity in America, but none of them has stayed with me the way her DJ-mix CDs have. Or, it seemed for a while, the way they once could have. Last year, Allien released two DJ sets, Fabric 35 and Time Out Presents the Other Side: Berlin; both had their merits, but neither came close to rivaling Allien's 2002 Weiss.Mix, one of the most assuredly paced and endlessly playable techno sets of the decade.

It's odd that Allien waited until Boogybytes—a mix series on her own label, Bpitch Control—was in its fourth installment to step up to the decks. But holding off until she was absolutely ready has a welcome effect: Vol. 04 is her most inspired DJ issue since Weiss.Mix. Kicking off with the heavily reverbed spoken-word of AGF's "Liniendicke," Allien soon drifts into digital chirps and chitters courtesy of Vera's "In the Nook," which coalesces into a steely, bubbling groove that dominates the bulk of the set.

The peaks here are many and varied. Melon's "Nitzi (In My Mind, So Fine)" builds droning organ chords, congas, and wordless falsetto background moans into a surprisingly emotional whole; Andres Zacco and Lucas Mari's "Carbonela (Seph's Vidrionela Rmx)" is a marvelously ear-tickling clicky-poppy glitch-groove. Allien goes especially heavy on 3-D sonic tricks, as with Sozadams's "Eyes Forlorn," which rides seesawing bells and woozy bass, its vocals undulating like the floor of an inflatable bouncing castle at a state fair, and Lucio Aquilina's "My Cube," with its popping low end and shapeshifting thumb-piano lick. Even at 66 minutes, Boogybytes Vol. 04 seems to zip by in no time at all. MICHAELANGELO MATOS

SUPERGRASS
Diamond Hoo Ha
(Parlophone)
1/2

Road to Rouen is a weird route to falling in love with Supergrass. A decidedly softer, off-character record from 2006, Rouen finally mined the Beatlesian influences that the band had been avoiding all along. Previously, the genius of Supergrass had blended much of the Brit-rock music history that their peers Oasis and Blur ignored—T.Rex, Zepp, the Buzzcocks, even Elton John—into a modern, shameless pop-rock-a-thon. Wicked stuff, certainly, and it padded more than a few great mixtapes, but I found their progression on Rouen refreshing, thanks not just to Lennon-y moments but also to intelligent turns in songwriting.

Guess the band didn't think so, as they return to their signature take on straight-out British rock lore on sixth album Diamond Hoo Ha. So long as Gaz Coombes keeps pumping out mixtape-worthy gems, the return ain't so bad—"Whiskey and Green Tea" is the band's most pounding sing-along rocker since "Richard III," sax explosions breaking up stories of "being chased by William Burroughs"; "Rebel in You" and "When I Needed You" see the band making the most of their Marc Bolan love affair, both bouncy, Brit-funk pleas for an old flame. A touch of Rouen boosts the Dylan-loving "Ghost of a Friend" and its sparkling, Cali guitar licks. But the band's knack for catchy isn't sticky enough this time: The title track is a sloppy take on the White Stripes (why not channel Zeppelin directly?), "345" sounds like a forgettable Ash B-side, and "Return of Inspiration" makes a joke of its title. Supergrass have the tough job of living up to either their best singles or their Rouen rebirth. Diamond, while solid, does neither. SAM MACHKOVECH

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The Ten Commandments

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