Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis- Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes

A combination of errant airline logistics, inclement weather and a tight budget forced me to spend several hours on the floor of Denver International Airport last week.  I collapsed at a makeshift camp between walls and benches outside of an airport employee lounge from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

A disruptive array of sounds rather than the dirty floor and frigid temperature prevented sleep.  The constant clicking of debris stuck in a nearby escalator, the drone of HVAC systems, the faint buzz of innumerable video monitors, the inescapable soundtrack of “soothing” pop music and mandatory security announcements kept me awake.  

The experimental Kansas City musician Seth Andrew Davis likely would have shared my aberrant fascination with the noise.  Much of his new release Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes is uncannily evocative of the ambient sound of Denver’s airport at four in the morning.

Billed as “a series of pieces for prepared guitar and live electronics,” the digital and cassette release is inspired by innovative artists like Glenn Branca who Davis suggests are “changing the timbral capabilities of acoustic and electronic instruments.”  The sincere affection Davis displays for Bruce Springsteen in his choice of album and song titles is deceptive.

Antecedents for the confrontational Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes in (semi)popular culture include Pat Metheny’s Zero Tolerance for Silence and Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music. Davis’s artistic audacity is admirable. Even so, anyone who’s never slept rough might think twice before allowing Davis to guard their "dreams and visions".

Giant Steps

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Between my unkempt hair, tatty attire and weather-beaten face, I’m occasionally mistaken for an indigent person.  Charitable do-gooders regularly offer me assistance as I wander the downtowns of America.  I fit right in when I visited the Central branch of Multnomah County Library yesterday.  

Two unhoused men were engaged in a violent clash over a shopping cart on the steps of the magnificent building in downtown Portland.  Rather than joining the mob of amused derelicts shouting encouragement to the combatants, I asked the three police officers stationed at the door directions to Carl Henniger’s photography exhibit.

I traversed a gauntlet of catatonic zombies, raving lunatics and menacing miscreants to reach the We Had Jazz gallery on the library's third floor.  The gorgeous black-and-white photos of jazz musicians taken in the 1950s affirm that Portland- then as well as now- is supportive of touring jazz musicians.

Subjects range from the first-generation jazz giant Louis Armstrong to a young John Coltrane.  A shot of Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie studying a chess board in 1953 is my favorite image.  Almost all of the iconic musicians dressed to the nines.  I was by turns inspired and humiliated when I reentered the chaos outside.

Earache My Eye

Since bonding over our mutual admiration of the music made by Kanye West and the members of the Odd Future collective several years ago, Aaron Rhodes and I have shared intimate components of our personal lives with each other. And from time to time, we fuss and fight like father and son. We conduct ourselves with admirable civility in the latest episode of our In My Headache podcast. The 33-year difference in our ages leads to largely respectful disagreements about albums by the Mexican pop star Sofía Reyes, the indie-folk band Big Thief and the reggae ruffian U-Roy.

February 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Abbey Lincoln in the trailer of Nothing But a Man by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in February)

1. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

Serpent repellent.

2. The Kahil El'Zabar Quartet- A Time for Healing

My review.

3. Binker and Moses- Feeding the Machine

England swings.

4. Sofía Reyes- Mal de Amores

A Mexican mélange of Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande.

5. Big K.R.I.T.- Digital Roses Don't Die

The graying of the Dirty South.

6. Del McCoury- Almost Proud

My related essay.

7. Gidon Kremer- Weinberg: Sonatas for Violin Solo

Eastern European angst.

8. The Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Chicago

My album and concert reviews.

9. Rokia Koné- Bamanan

Metropolitan Malian music.

10. Bad Boy Chiller Crew- Disrespectful

Cretin hop.

Top Ten Songs (Released in February)

1. Jana Rush featuring DJ Paypal- ​​“Lonely”

Ornette Coleman gets the Chicago footwork treatment.

2. Claire Rousay and More Eaze- “floor Pt. 2”

Android dreams of electric sheep.

3. Rosalía- “Saoko”

Transformation.

4. Cécile McLorin Salvant- "Until"

Time stands still.

5. Pusha T- “Diet Coke”

“That’s a joke, right?”

6. $not and A$AP Rocky- “Doja”

Wildcatting.

7. Maren Morris- “Background Music”

Nashville existentialism.

8. Robert Glasper featuring Yebba- "Over"

My favorite Black Radio III track.

9. Willie Nelson- “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”

Backatcha, Willie.

10. Lívia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann- "Sete Estrelas"

My concert review.

Top Ten Movies, Television Broadcasts and Streaming Programming (viewed for the first time in February, in lieu of a full resumption of live music)

1. Jeen-yuhs (2022)

My notes.

2. Donda Experience Performance (2022)

“Do I look happy to you?”

3. Nothing but a Man (1964)

Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln star in an excruciating study.

4. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Hypnotic.

5. Cathie Wood interview on CNBC

A robust defense of poor performance.

6. Houston at Wichita State

Bruising double-overtime men’s basketball thriller.

7. Puccini's Madama Butterfly

Timeless heartbreak at Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia.

8. Rosita (1923)

Mary Pickford as a Spanish street singer.

10. Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show (2022)

Forgot about Dre.

Last month’s survey is here.

Almost Proud

The achievement seems quaintly irrelevant now, but I once took great pride in my principal role in creating a bluegrass section in Walmart’s music department during my stint as a sales representative for independent record labels covering the central swathe of the United States during the 1990s.  

My enthusiasm for the then up-and-coming Alison Krauss rubbed off on the world’s most powerful country music buyers.  Recognizing that bluegrass had little in common with the likes of Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw,  we formulated a plan to carve out precious shelf space for the high, lonesome sound.

Walmart being Walmart, the initiative involved a significant outlay of marketing dollars, the creation of new lines of budget CDs and buckets of my own blood, sweat and tears.  Del McCoury bailed me out at an extremely perilous moment.

I’d arranged to have McCoury and his band perform at a Walmart convention.  I was ecstatic that my pitch for the bluegrass initiative would be bolstered by the presence of the legend.  My elation turned to horror on the morning of the event.

I was told that rather than making a single presentation to a large group as planned, I would need to do the same song-and-dance for several breakout panels throughout the day.  I was compelled to beg McCoury and his band to rearrange their schedule accordingly.  While understandably displeased, the musicians conceded to my request.

This recollection is prompted by Almost Proud, the outlandishly excellent new album by The Del McCoury Band.  Now 83, McCoury sounds as fit as a fiddle on the drinking song “Brown Paper Bag” and dispenses hard-earned wisdom on the title track.  

Alas, there’s no longer several feet of bluegrass-dedicated shelf space to rack albums like Almost Proud at Walmart. Yet while it lasted, my McCoury-abetted bluegrass endeavor enhanced my profile and led to a few life-changing paydays. I’ll always be indebted to the man.

Somebody Please Say Grace

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Flabbergasted by the Scarface scene in the first episode of the new jeen-yuhs documentary, I foolishly turned to Twitter seeking context concerning the meeting of the rugged rapper and Kanye West. What was I thinking! Toxic commentary on the social media platform reminded me of the depraved priorities of the much of the general public. I’m only vaguely aware of Ye’s ongoing personal drama. What’s more, I can’t be troubled with such things. My interest in the brilliant artist’s family business is limited to my unconditional appreciation of "Family Business".

Late Night Confession

I’m often exhausted as midnight draws near on Thursdays.  Weariness sometimes primes me for a sublime experience.  When circumstances and the release schedule of ECM Records allow the luxury, I lie in bed with headphones and surrender to a new album by the famed German kompanie. Vermillion, a gorgeous recording featuring Kit Downes (piano), Petter Eldh (bass) and James Meddren (drums), serenaded me last week. I found myself concentrating on a cymbal placed in a remote corner of the sonic expanse as I nodded off. The distinctive ECM sound is among my favorite natural intoxicants.

The Kahil El'Zabar Quartet- A Time for Healing

A track titled “Eddie Harris” is positioned midway through A Time for Healing, the latest release by the percussionist and bandleader Kahil El'Zabar. The self-described “improvised soul” veteran grunts and grooves his way through the celebratory tribute to the soul-jazz star. El’Zabar pursues more strictly spiritual inclinations on most tracks. Abetted by the saxophonist Isaiah Collier, trumpeter Corey Wilkes and keyboardist Justin Dillard (each man also plays supplemental percussion), El’Zabar devises a curative form of the ancient-to-the-future formulation he shares with Chicago artists ranging from Roscoe Mitchell to Angel Bat Dawid. As with Nala Sinephro’s 2021 album Space 1.8, A Time for Healing acts as a vital prescription for empyrean and corporal sustenance.

Album Review: Jóhann Jóhannsson- Blind Massage and The Shadow Play

I swapped music recommendations with two young men I met at Mary Lattimore’s wondrous recital at the Lied Center seven weeks ago.  Their tastes leaned toward abrasive underground electronica.  They probably share my appreciation for Iceboy Violet’s stunning new mixtape.  

After eagerly adding their suggestions to my queue, I tipped them to Jóhann Jóhannsson, the late Icelandic composer who has provided me with countless hours of inspiration.  Jóhannsson’s expansive catalog grew 70 minutes longer last week when a pair of original motion picture soundtracks he created with Jonas Colstrup for Chinese films became available on streaming services.

Jóhannsson’s contribution to the 2014 film Blind Massage (推拿) falls somewhere between the indolent ambience of Harold Budd and the melodic brilliance of Nino Rota on tracks including  "If There Is an Afterlife".  The ominously abrasive "Midnight Highway" typifies the sound of the very different score for 2018’s The Shadow Play (风中有朵雨做的云).

Given the infrequency of concerts by prominent new music artists in the region, I don’t expect to see my acquaintances until William Basinsky performs in Lawrence in October.  My cultish adoration of the composer won’t be diminished even if they’ve opted to dismiss Jóhannsson as a soporific shill.

EP Review: Iceboy Violet- The Vanity Project

Call it kismet. I’d spent a couple days immersed in the inside-out realms of Houston chopped-and-screwed remixes and Kingston dub versions when Quietus alerted me to Iceboy Violet. The Manchester artist’s The Vanity Project violently mashes grime and metallic electronica into a radioactive alloy. The toxicity of Iceboy Violet’s everything-at-once sensibility is minimized by the 20-minute length of the new mixtape. Thrillingly disorienting, The Vanity Project is a startling (un)funhouse. I’m grateful the spirits of DJ Screw and Lee “Scratch” Perry serendipitously dispatched Iceboy Violet to me at precisely the right moment.