Eyedea & Abilities

“E & A” (Rhymesayers/Epitaph)

Compare to: Dilated Peoples, Hieroglyphics, Anticon

Atrue return to the old-school hip-hop style of Run DMC and Public Enemy, “E & A” is complete with plentiful record-scratching and distinctly non-gangster lyrics.

Eyedea & Abilities’ second album manages to prove the group has plenty of skill, but occasionally Eyedea seems to lack substance to his rhymes and falls back into the “I’m the greatest MC ever” braggadocio so common in hip-hop these days.

For the most part, however, the album is filled with songs dealing with topics outside the scope of mainstream hip-hop. There’s talk about relationships, infidelity and self doubt, along with a few party tracks such as the excellent “Now.”

Eyedea & Abilities come from the growing Minneapolis underground hip-hop scene, best represented by brilliant Rhymesayers labelmate Atmosphere.

Indeed, several songs on the album, most notably the excellent “Paradise,” a song about a dysfunctional relationship, sound very similar in style and content to Atmosphere. However, Eyedea is an extremely versatile MC and demonstrates a wide range of vocal styles on the album’s 13 tracks.

Abilities proves he is equally talented. In addition to providing beats, he puts out more quality record-scratching than has been on any album since the early ’90s.

The album also makes excellent use of sampling. From several sample-laden interludes to the brilliant “Two Men and a Lady” — an entire song composed of movie clips that tells the story of a man catching his significant other cheating.

The major downfall to this otherwise great album are the four songs about how great Eyedea is and how “wack” other rappers are. None of these songs are terrible, but they do get repetitive. The rappers could have easily cut one of them and included another track about something more substantial.

This album represents a nice alternative to the blunts, forties and Cristal-coated lyrics common to mainstream rap. Listeners who are sick of the lack of creativity in gangsta rap, but remain fans of old school or alternative hip-hop, should pick this one up.

— Kyle Sederstrom

Joseph Patrick Moore’s Drum and Bass Society

“Volume 1” (Blue Canoe)

Compare to: Stanley Clarke, Fredalba

Joseph Patrick Moore has once again proven his versatility as a bass player, arranger and composer. Unfortunately, his music is all over the board stylistically, which may lower its appeal.

“Volume 1” is layered with diverse songs, all of which contain complex musical patterns. Moore and his backing musicians groove as hard as George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at times, and Moore’s skills on bass are definitely comparable to Funkadelic’s Bootsy Collins.

The songs have a light-hearted enough tone to fit with any jazz listener’s taste, but the superb backbeats give most of the songs a Latin and funk feel.

There is even a hint of some Caribbean and Arabian influences found throughout. “Down Under,” the leadoff track, could not have received a better title. The music sounds like it could fit perfectly with a TV advertisement for a South Pacific Island’s vacation getaway.

The music features shakers, congas, Udu drums, a mandolin, a flute and even a pizza box scraped, tapped and swirled with jazz brushes. The choice of instruments is innovative, though slightly unconventional.

“Ghost Town” starts out with a few bone-chilling screams. The lyrics mention a ghost town, but the music brings images of deserts and sandstorms with a little enchantment placed upon them.

“Creatures of Conscience,” a Tony Williams composition, has the strongest groove and features an extremely syncopated jazz-funk drum pattern. Jeff Sipe’s tom fills, high-hat work and borderline-genius drum solo in this song are admirable, considering his name is one not generally mentioned outside of jazz and funk musician circles.

“Creatures Of Conscience” is a good song, but it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of Moore’s album. He is a bassist and the track obviously features the drums. The bass is barely noticeable.

This is without question a “musician’s album,” meaning the people who would buy it would most likely be musicians who are deeply versed in complicated musical styles or those with a deep love for groove-oriented music or appreciation in general.

— Dan Hopper

Shelter Belt

“Rain Home” (Shelter Belt)

Compare to: Radiohead, Stereolab, Air

Shelter Belt has done something brilliant. Transforming itself into a magnitude of musical genres from one song to the next, the band will never bore you on its latest, “Rain Home.”

The reasons behind this are solid ones. The fact that the seven members of the electro-pop band often swap lead vocals and instruments, never staying consistent on who gets what, keeps the creativity alive.

Playing around with electronics (ranging from guitars to chimes), screaming brass sections and unpredictable string arrangements, Shelter Belt will keep you on your toes.

Recorded and produced entirely by the band members in their home studio, “Rain Home” is infused with lively sounds of salsa, ragtime, ’80s synth pop, moody jazz and slow rock, to name a few.

The spicy title track “Rain Home” dances around a Latin beat, infusing blaring horns and layers of zesty percussion, while the more subdued “Surface” slinks along with band member Jess Otto’s soft vocals and the accompanying hum of piano and accordion.

The mysterious “All these Days” begins with a slow pop beat, fooling the listener when it suddenly breaks out into full ragtime piano and bubbly brass spurts.

Catchy, optimistic choral vocals provided by the rest of the band and a few guest musicians add to the delightful quirkiness of this tune.

More than one track on “Rain Home” carries an ’80s dance pop groove. “Sad Thing” sounds like it was pulled from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and electric guitars and bouncy drums bop along to Otto and Rachel Hospodka’s yearning vocals on the playful “In this Place.”

By the end of the album, the band comes down from its high, producing softer, darker pieces. The ending track, “Rust,” crawls through eerie guitars and space basses while electronic pulses and taunting vocals complete the enigmatic tone.

Whether experimenting with flavorful Latin grooves or moody jazz, “Rain Home” is as original and diverse as they come.

— Katie Piepel

Sigur R¢s

“Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do” (Geffen)

Compare to: Mogwai, Radiohead, Bj”rk

Like being shaken from a peaceful slumber, Sigur R¢s’ latest takes a little too long to prove its concept.

Originally written as the musical backdrop for a dance by the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, “Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do” is ambiance to the point of anonymity. Through feathery instrumentals and an almost complete lack of vocals, this three-track EP meanders more than it moves through its own existence.

Although the trademark experimental sounds of this Icelandic foursome’s previous albums are still sprinkled throughout the conceptualization — including the moodiness of the debut “Von” and the electrified tangents of “Ag‘tis Byrjun” — “Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do” has an aura somewhere between hopelessness and exuberance, depending on its interpretation.

This is the music of drizzling rainfall on a drought-stricken town, the first ray of sunlight to fight its way into a sick child’s hospital room. It is the sound of laughter at a funeral.

A haunting crescendo of bells and glockenspiel open “Ba Ba,” the album’s first track. Delicate instrumentation, compounded by brief power surges and sounds previously unknown to the human eardrum, permeate the senses to form a complete thought few bands have the insight to express.

“Ti Ki” takes this bizarre conglomeration to another level with the use of a previously unknown instrument. The bummsett, which the band created by hanging eight ballet shoes from a rack, can be heard clicking in the background. Simultaneously, the stretched pings of music boxes cross stereo channels and creating a three-dimensional listening effect.

Unfortunately, “Di Do,” the only track with any vocals, tears down much of the mystique the first two songs set up. A guttural male voice muttering the album’s title, followed by a lengthy screech, jolt the listener from a thoughtless slumber.

The atmospheric tone of the beginning and middle of “Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do” come so close to reaching the cerebral level of Sigur R¢s’ earlier work, only to be grounded by the shrill thought of reality near its end.

— Aaron Ladage