Shanghai 5 -- Under a tent, under the full moon

Well, heck.
When digging through the new releases, a very interesting cover caught my eye. When I sampled the first few tracks, a very interesting sound caught my ear as well. It was decided. Shanghai 5 would be the next crazy new sound I'd check out.
I'm happy to say that this group does indeed have some cool and groovy sounds. I was hoping for some more up tempo stuff, but what they put together is not bad. In fact, I'd even dare to say pretty good. Shanghai 5 refuse to be tied down to one sound. On this disc alone, they cover a polka, convert a cars tune, hit a show tune (which I believe was supposed to have a vaudeville sound) and then settle into a nice slow groove using whatever instruments may be at hand. These just happen to include a slide guitar, banjo, mandolin, Moog, vibes, congas and a few others I just don't have the energy to mention. Since the slower stuff wasn't blowing my dress up, it calmed me down from the early ecstacy I was experiencing when I popped it in the CD player.
Given my strange musical tastes, I found my favorite tracks to be Circus Polka and Just What I Needed, which is the Cars cover. This disc is very satisfying in that the tempo and style changes keep it interesting all the way through. You don't feel that the next track is more of the same. That's good, because it isn't.
The slow tracks did stick the - in the A- ,though. All in all, good stuff.

Cake on Cake--- I see no stars

Ahh... new format.. new blog... where oh where will it take me?
We'll start with the new disc by Cake on Cake, which actually consists of one woman. One Swedish woman. One Swedish woman who plays a lot of instruments. One Swedish... oh... you get the idea.. If you've ever heard Architecture in Helsinki, you have a rough idea of the sort of sound she produces. Hm. When I put it that way, I make it sound like she could be a wailing screaming banshee. Far from it. Her music is very subdued and gentle, woven together in a different way with each track. On one, she may accompany herself on vocals. Another will find a blend of about 4-5 different instruments, all played by Helena. Here name's Helena, you know!
What struck me at one point is the fact that with 3 feet, I might be able to keep time to some of the songs. Some of the early tracks sort of criss cross within themselves, with melodies going at their own tempo. It's sometimes maddening, sometimes fascinating. Overall, it's very soothing. With 20 fairly short tracks, it's actually a fairly engaging listen. I found myself checking quite often to see which track I was one because while they all stand on their own, they also segue together quite nicely. It's as though they're all chapters in a story. (Note to self. Write that down!) While not my favorite type of music, it's some pretty good stuff if you want to chill with something discernibly different.

Grade -- B

Moon -- Flight Logs

Ahh... now here's a bit of a disappointment.

Rock. Plain old rock. There's a little bit of a retro riff here, but it's pretty standard stuff. It's pretty easy to tell that the 70's influenced these guys.

Grade-- none.. (Ratings are based on what I give them when I review them for the station. In this case, I'm going to pass on this one.)

The Grabs -- Sex, Fashion, and Money

Well, here was a nice surprise! 9 times out of 10, when I grab a disc to review, it's a band I've never heard of. Once in a while a new TMBG or Bad Plus album shows up (album... shows my age, huh?) and I grab it. Other times I look for a creative cd jacket. I usually give a track or two a listen to see if it can grab me right away. It doesn't happen often, but just enough to let me in on some REALLY good music.
I don't know how I happened upon The Grabs, but my assumption going in was that it would be another girl group. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just not always my speed. It would just so happen that the lead singer is female (Eleni Mandel) but that's about the extent of the estrogen here. Mix a little of her, a dash of Nigel Harrison (Blondie), and a few other talented musicians, and you're on to something!
What struck me is the way this disc DOESN'T stand out. It's not flashy, it's not raunchy, it's just got good solid beats and grooves. It's very simple, in a very good way. It almost requires me to NOT say too much about it, because the music pretty much speaks for itself. The best comparison I could draw as the album closed, was thinking of a less nasal Fleetwood Mac. Not to a T, mind you, but generally speaking. There's good talent, good songs, good grooves, and good beats in here.
It's like comfort food for the ears, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Grade--- B+

Coming Soon! Cake on Cake!

Bear with me as I shift the reviews into a more suitably named forum. Thenk yew!