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New Music

CD Reviews By Andrew Napoli

Celeste Lear
Looking Up from Under Water
Celeste is the granddaughter of the man who invented the 8-track. She continues in this solitary tradition by handling nearly everything herself: producing, programming, playing guitar and singing. She puts her degree in sound engineering to work on this collection of mellow electronica as it sounds slick and shiny. Her voice soars on songs like “Entropy” and “Porcelain White Desert” and whenever she throws in an acoustic guitar (listen to: “Traveler”) it brings a wooden organic feel that decorates her deep space colors nicely. Clocking in here with 16 songs (including a remix of “Catch the Sun”) and more than one hour of music, she may have benefit with a more economic song selection. Tracks are available for purchase on her myspace page. [http://myspace.com/celestelear] –AN

Hugh Gaskins and the G String Daddies
Big Legged Woman
Hugh Gaskins has the hard egg sound of a musician who has been boiling in the life of a working man. That is because he has. This edge, combined with the talents of the G String Daddies: Charlie Gordon on bass, Dan Renwick on drums, and Steve Piccus on harmonica makes for quite the whiskey roller coaster ride. This is blues fusion with a Bob Seeger-esque rock ethic. There are 17 tracks and 5 are cover songs (Johnny Cash, Lead Belly, etc.) so there is plenty of blues here. The music has more depth than much of the decipherable lyrical content, and Hugh Gaskins’ vocals shine most when he indulges in scat. [http://myspace.com/hughgaskins] -AN

The Hi-Lites
Hi-Altitude!
Here is a quote from the band’s myspace page: “Yes, initially, a great change in the world created Ska, but now, the Ska will change the world!” That said, all of the pieces for a fine ska CD are here: positive, life-affirming lyrics (in the celebratory style that helped forge ska – the liberation of Jamaica,) a sharp, jazzy horn section, chunky-train reggae rhythm, and a walking bass line. “Nefertiti” is a highlight and also clocks in as the longest jam at 7 minutes. Also check out “China Clipper” a Tommy McCook cover. Of the 13 tracks, 6 are originals and the rest are covers (3 written by Tommy McCook.) There will be no time to sip Caribbean rum when listening to The Hi-Lites because you’ll be too busy sweating on the dance floor. [http://www.myspace.com/thehilites] -AN

Decay of the Angel
This is the brainchild of Yuki Sakurai. She handles the instrumentation and vocals with the exception of the bass which is played by Harry Dalrymple, Jr. The vocals are ghostly though at times Yuki conjures the spirit of Joe Strummer (listen to: “Untitled”). Her guitar playing and composition is, in part, defined by the fact that she did not learn guitar until she was 30. This seems to have allowed her to explore the instrument in a manner that is unconventional. The name of this musical endeavor comes from a book written by Yukio Mishima, a Japanese author and playwright, who upon completing the book committed seppuku (a ritual suicide usually reserved for samurai.) Needless to say, this CD is no lite affair. The lyrics are a twisted spiritual dream that reveal more with each listen. The music is a combination of noise and beauty. Check out their myspace page for more songs not available on the CD.
[http://myspace.com/decayoftheangel] –AN

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