For Test of the Boomerang III, I retired to a simple cottage in the Welsh countryside to reflect. This post was done acoustically.

Hey gang, today I have brought three shows for show and tell. Each has been dredged up from the depths of the Live Music Archive. They’re all totally different, but they’re all 100% live and ready to be streamed, shared, downloaded, burned, and loved.

Kawabata Makoto Live - June 18, 2008, Hemlock Tavern, SF

A solo gig by Kawabata Makoto of Acid Mothers Temple which I, like Gandalf, will not speak of here, other than they have my vote for the greatest album title of all time: STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK SABBATH.

This is not your ex-girlfriend’s Spiritualized CD. This is not your college roommate’s experimental guitar noise project he put together for his Music Appreciation class and got a C+ on. These are serious hyperdelic drones from the vast depths of space. This is what Terence McKenna’s self-transforming machine elves listen to on their little self-transforming turntables. Do not listen to this while driving or while operating heavy machinery, lest you become one with the heavy machine figuratively and spiritually, man.

Makoto explains his interstellar muse: (more…)

Their fifth studio album finds My Morning Jacket attempting to fulfill their urge to not be evilly defined solely by one genre. They’ve banked on the same aesthetic for awhile: change is not only expected by this juncture, it’s generally welcomed.

The first single and opener, “Evil Urges,” is both misleading and indicative of where My Morning Jacket goes with this album. On the one hand, the band explores new styles (such as the surf-rock air of this song), but on the other hand, this isn’t a complete reinvention. Like so many bands releasing albums this year, My Morning Jacket tries on new styles, but they haven’t completely let go of what’s worked for them thus far.

As a result, Evil Urges feels a little uneven, musically. They’ve incorporated more synths and electronic parts (most notably in the killer two-parter, “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 1″ and “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 2″), which sounds like a strange combination in concept, but works naturally in practice. Then there’s “Highly Suspicious,” which causes one to be highly suspicious indeed of who the hell thought this song was a good idea. Instead of classic rock refitted, it’s classic rock parodied, the kind of song that, with its ridiculously pushed vocals, conjures up thoughts of My Morning Jacket starring as Spinal Tap.

More surprise waits at the mid-point. At first, “Thank You Too!” sounds like it could’ve been on Z with its languid quality, but then the strings kick in, and before long it starts to sound like the soft side of AOR. Like much of that material, it’s fun and catchy, but sappy. Very sappy. And if that wasn’t enough, “Sec Walkin’” keeps the AOR party going by being even smoother than its predecessor. It will not be surprising if Jim James finds Michael McDonald standing at his doorstep soon. (more…)