Trax
By Bliss 02/25/2010
PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND, An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & the Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program (Preservation Hall Records): (4.5 stars out of 5)
New Orleans’ celebrated Preservation Hall Jazz Band joins musical and charitable forces with a diverse cast, including Andrew Bird, Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, Steve Earle, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Buddy Miller, Jason Isbell, Paolo Nutini, Ani DiFranco, Del McCoury, Dr. John, Angelique Kidjo and Terence Blanchard. An excellent if imperfect collection, with the digitally rendered Louis Armstrong collaboration “Rockin’ Chair” topping the list of highlights. preservationhall.com.
BACKYARD TIRE FIRE, Good to Be (Kelsey Street): (4 stars out of 5)
The hard-touring Illinois indie-rockers follow 2008’s promising “The Places We Lived” with this satisfying, more carefully arranged platter, produced by Los Lobos saxman Steve Berlin and packed with hook-heavy, Petty-esque rockers like “Hell and Back,” “Brady” and “A Thousand Gigs Ago.” Frontman/guitarist Ed Anderson, bassist bro Matt Anderson and drummer Tim Kramp’s touring experiences colorfully inform songs like the rollicking “Road Song #39” (“There’s a feel that I get like winning a bet/ I got booze in my blood, ears ringing at the end of the set”). At the Mint in LA Tuesday. backyardtirefire.com.
MIDLAKE, The Courage of Others (Bella Union): (3 stars out of 5)
Medieval minstrelsy meets ’60s-era British folk-rock and ’70s prog-rock in the much-anticipated follow-up to 2006’s “Trials of Van Occupanther.” Frontman Tim Smith’s a somber poet enamored of metaphorical shadows and moonlight. He rarely raises his frail tenor, yet his tone-setting intensity’s undeniable as the album’s drama subtly escalates from the wintry beauty of “Acts of Man” through the pastoral nostalgia of “Fortune” and electric “Children of the Grounds” and “The Horn.” Compelling, but definitely music that demands patience. At the El Rey Wednesday. midlake.net.
SAMBADÁ, Gente! (Santa Cruz): (4 stars out of 5)
Opening with a vintage surf-guitar riff, this Santa Cruz-based Afro-Brazilian collective suggest they’re taking you to a Ventures date before veering south to Bahia for a funk-reggae-bloco-afro-hip-hop beachside dance party. Polyrhythmic waves of horns, go-go bells, turntables, sax, cavaco, guitar, flute, drums and percussion tumble and rise as silky-toned Dandha Da Hora trades Portuguese vocals with band founder Papiba Godinho, and Susana Baca/Quetzal producer Greg Landau keeps sonic quality crisply present. Highlights: “Iguana,” breezy “Não Vá Embora,” “Sangue Africano.” sambada.com.
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