Dave Chamberlain

Dancehall reggae has dominated Jamaican music for fifteen years, which prompts two questions: why is it suddenly gaining stateside attention beyond New York and Miami, and why does the dancehall that's breaking suck?

Sean Paul, who signed to Atlantic Records just a month before his record "Dutty Rock" hits the streets, and Beenie Man lead the feeble charge. A DJ in Kingston since he was 8 years old, Beenie Man's latest, "Tropical Storm" (Virgin), marks an especially sour spot for dancehall--half the songs skip the traditional two-drop rhythm in favor of straight (and lame) hip-hop, and even worse, the traditionally good-natured Beenie Man flexes a flood of gangsta ("Real Gangsta," "Gangsta Life," "Street Life"). I urge everyone who sees Beenie Man play (October 19 at the House of Blues) to also check out any of the first seven Sizzla records, anything from Anthony B, Luciano or Buju Banton--that's where the heart of dancehall reggae lies, not in the "Gangsta Life."

Apparently Japan digs the hallucinogenics. Fresh on the heels of a performance from Ghost, another collective of psychedelic mood-makers, Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., brings its gray-matter-frying to Chicago. Unlike Ghost, Acid Mothers Temple leans more to the dark side, best evidenced by "In E," a swirling, twisting homage to very early Sonic Youth that makes up one-third of the band's latest full-length, "In C" (Squealer). The brooding and unrelenting guitar attack from "In E" stands out as an anomaly--slow builds and effect-ridden, well-orchestrated epics better define the majority of the hits dropped by AMT. Catch them October 20 at the Empty Bottle.

Former Lush guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Emma Anderson now coos away in Sing-Sing, a duet band with Lisa O'Neill, and though the band's debut, "The Joy of Sing-Sing" (Manifesto), has some moments, it leaves me with the same aftertaste as Lush--namely none. Anderson's wispy voice, a signpost of her last band's shoe-gazing ways, comes too close to the little-girl pitch and, for a band built around vocals, her range doesn't cut it. That said, there are a couple of sweet tarts here (though Lush fans should note there's less guitar and more synth), especially "Tegan," an uptempo dancefloor gem that borrows equally from Lush, the Cocteau Twins and pretty much all mid-eighties electro-pop. Sing-Sing plays October 23 at the Double Door.

There's not much happening in terms of creative drum 'n' bass anywhere--in England the increasingly harsh brand of sci-fi jungle was pushed out of the clubs in favor of the R&B-slanted two-step (garage) or jazz-heavy broken beat, and the genre's birthplace has almost forsaken it entirely. Regardless, Amon Tobin still makes drum 'n' bass worth hearing, though his latest, "Out From Out Where" (Ninja Tune), doesn't really fall under said genre's umbrella. Fusing together the darkest sides of hip hop and ambient, Tobin's use of breakbeats functions as a jumping point--as on his four previous records, "Out From Out Where" swirls a hundred different sounds into a tasteful chaos, lending him stronger kinship with freakout-junglist Squarepusher than dancefloor-friendly LTJ Bukem. What's it like live? Last time here (three years ago at the Metro) he did a straight DJ jungle set (including a half-hour's worth of junglized sixties punk rock) with a video game playing behind him on a giant screen. It wasn't what was on any of his records, but it was cool. Catch him October 18 at the Metro.

Josh Fischer, guitarist and lead singer of Italo, is my friend. He's written for Newcity. On occasion, we hang out. The first time I saw Italo (strictly on a friend's-band basis, not professionally), I dreaded it. At times, we have extremely different musical tastes, and since he likes much of the spineless indie rock that I spit on, I assumed his own music would follow course. Not so. In fact, who knew Josh had that much rock in him? The music impressed the hell out of me, forging a jagged and occasionally discordant brand of aggressive rock, and the energy they played with impressed me even more. The real issue at the time was the vocals, which were savagely off-key and painful, but with every successive show that steadily improves. The band's "Power of Endless Drama" almost captures the band's performance energy, though Italo loses a spark of unpredictability between the studio and stage. The band headlines at the Empty Bottle, October 22.

Jeckyl and Hyde:

The four Aussies who make up You Am I couldn't epitomize the two sides of rock 'n' roll any more. Opening last Thursday for the Von Bondies at the Empty Bottle, the band played the role of Big Dumb Rockers, slashing out songs that combined the best of grunge, power-pop and garage metal, even taking its sound occasionally to the brink of punk rock. The last record, "Dress Me Slowly" (BMG-Australia), and forthcoming record "Deliverance," don't even sound like they were made by the same band. Converse to You Am I's live effort, the records are pure pop tripe with no substance--half the songs on the former could be tracks from any of the current milquetoast-flavored radio stable (Lifehouse, etc). On stage, I couldn't help but compare the band to hemisphere-brothers The Datsuns; that night, listening to the record, I was asleep in minutes.

(Here's one for you gossipy types: Counted among the audience at the Empty Bottle were Jack White of the White Stripes and one of the mop-haired Strokes.)

(2002-10-16)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

Tip of the Week
Hats off to the ladies of Sleater-Kinney, who have, over the course of six records, taken a once-unique sound (dubbed riot grrls/Northwest) and stuck to it, all the while adding little tweaks here and there to make it better.
(2002-10-09)

Raw Material
With two records released in less than a year and yet another tour on tap, Boston-based Karate has proved that it's not just another one-trick indie-rock pony.
(2002-10-09)

Raw Material
Any music fan anywhere should not miss the Friday night extravaganza at the Fireside Bowl, headlined by the out-of-control one-man destroyer, Mr. Bob Log III.
(2002-10-02)

Tip of the Week
The four members who compose tonight's opener Pelican have created an entirely new kind of doom metal...
(2002-09-26)

Raw Material
(2002-09-26)

Tip of the Week
(2002-09-18)

Raw Material
(2002-09-18)

Tip of the Week
(2002-09-11)

Plugged in
(2002-09-11)

Raw Material
(2002-09-11)

Raw Material
(2002-09-04)

Raw Material
(2002-08-28)

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