Ari Abramowitz’s Top Ten — August 27

by Ari Abramowitz
27 August 2006

1. CARDIACS – Little Man And A House… (Torso)

   Band of the moment for me. They come closer to simultaneously passing as both punk and prog than any band I’ve ever heard.

2. TOKYO KID BROTHERS – Throw Away The Books Let’s Go Into The Streets (Victor/P-Vine)

   Wacked-out, Japanese summation of late 60s heavy psych, flower power, theatrics and other insanity. Eventually evolved into the ‘legendary’ J.A. Caesar.

3. PURE REASON REVOLUTION – The Dark Third (Sony/BMG)

   Three incongruities: 1) fantastic debut album 2) on a major 3) it’s prog.

4. OBERON – Midsummer’s Night Dream (Audio Archives)

   CD issue of impossibly rare late 60s, British, jazzy “progressive” folk album. Most comparable to Pentangle.

5. IVAN LINS – Quem Sou Eu? (Universal)

   Superb Brazilian pop from 1972. His voice reminds me of Milton Nascimento’s, though his arrangements are less exotic. Fantastic melodies and even better harmony vocals. Certain snippets remind me of Elton John’s “Daniel” and early, folk-soul period Hall & Oates.

6. BADEN POWELL – Estudos (MPS)

   Mostly instrumental, smoky, jazzy, Brazilian acoustic guitar from a true master.

7. HAPPY RHODES Rhodes I (Aural Gratification)

   First album by the stunning, Kate Bush-influenced artist. Compiled from tapes she recorded when she was 19, it’s not her most consistent album, but it does contain the sublime “Wretches Gone Awry.”

8. TARANTULA A.D. – Book Of Sand (Kemado).

   Perhaps more interesting than “good,” this strings plus metal power trio album still manages to be pretty darn fascinating. Hard riffs and slamming drums will be accompanied and even overridden by galloping violins. Unusual and worth the try, at least for the “what the hey?!’ effect.

9. MAMMATUS – Mammatus (Holy Mountain)

   Heavy, spacey, stoner doom with Sleep-like riffs and Hawkwind-like swooshes and sounds.

10. Cold Stone ice cream shop.

    With three mix-ins, it got pretty damn intense.