No Hits 5.1.06

Wicky Pocky - A Hawk and a Hacksaw

Soundtrack to a retro-futurist pastiche with Harry Lime playing Bruno Anthony at the moment the phantasmagoric carousel spins onto the decayed-deco Blade Runner set. White-limbed waifs sailing from the saddles of enameled beasts into the arms of big-shouldered broads beneath sloughing billboards. Black market men hustling hypodermics in the shadows of elevated bullet trains. All speed and centrifugal force, narrative arc and dream illogic.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw is primarily multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, Bablicon, Broadcast, Beirut). Old-world accordions decked out in black lace and gold earrings are only a piece of his inspiration. When it comes to musical traditions, Barnes is omnivorous--as in love with gypsy folk as mariachi, jazz, klezmer and found sound. Surprising then that the soundscapes of Darkness At Noon (US, UK) are so seamless and coherent, accessible and generous. Give this man a film to score.

Maremaillette - A Hawk and a Hacksaw

AHAAH's work is found on the eclectic, largely electronic Leaf Label, which just made it's catalogue available on eMusic, including some nifty comps. That's where I found this:

Tits and Ass: The Great Canadian Weekend - Caribou

Dan Snaith can do little wrong in my book (Caribou's last album was one of my favorites of 2005). Even if this track's title is probably more provocative than evocative.