New album: Musik, Die Schwer Zu Twerk
Artist: Electric Wurms
Label: Bella Union/Warner Bros.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of Flaming Lips had always wanted a side project that would allow them to indulge in their love of all things space rock, prog rock and kraut rock. To make this lysergic safari a reality, Coyne and Drozd enlisted the band Linear Downfall — who like the Lips wallow in mind altering sound experimentation like hogs in mud.
The resulting “ Musik, Die Schwer Zu Twerk” blurps and fizzes like a mad scientists lab that’s on the verge of exploding. Sounds chase after one another in a fit of headphone gymnastics of the Zappa/”Lumpy Gravy” variety, and the swampy mix is awash in reverb and analog warmth. The album is unbalanced, unhinged and ultimately entertaining. Plus, there a tripped-out version of the Yes classic “Heart Of The Sunrise.”
Anyone looking for deep meaning in the lyrics may find it if they’ve recently ingested a long-expired gallon of milk, but musically “Musik, Die Schwer Zu Twerk” definitely hits the mark. Far from sounding like a rock star’s vanity project, songs such as “Futuristic Hallucination” and “The Bat” fit in perfectly with much of the Flaming Lips and Linear Downfall discographies. Anyone using recent Lips albums such as “The Terror” or “Embryonic” as touchstones will discover that “ Musik, Die Schwer Zu Twerk” is a natural progression.
Hopefully the Electric Wurms project will live to record another day. “Musik, Die Schwer Zu Twerk” is no match for the Flaming Lips’ “Soft Bulletin,” but it’s an intriguing detour nonetheless.
Classic album: The Jewel In The Lotus
Artist: Bennie Maupin
Label: ECM
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Bennie Maupin has two major claims to fame: Being part of the band for the historic Miles Davis “Bitches Brew” sessions and being a longtime sideman to Herbie Hancock. His solo output never garnered the same level of recognition as his collaborations, but those who paid attention know Maupin put out some superb records — particularly the 1974 release “The Jewel In The Lotus.”
Featuring several members of Maupin’s bandmates from Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters (including Hancock himself), “The Jewel In The Lotus” has nothing in common with the type of music these musicians were known for. Instead of the funkified jazz these men released to great success one year earlier with Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, “The Jewel In The Lotus” is a spacious recording that focuses more on composition and restraint than mammoth solos.
“Ensenada” opens the record with a small chorus of percussion, with a mesmerizing marimba pulsating through it all. The dramatic “Mappo” marches along with dramatic stops, which leads into the spooky chants of “Excursion.”
The title track and “Past Is Past” foreshadow Medeski, Martin and Wood, mixing top notch musicianship with a voracious appetite for experimentation. The soulful “Song For Tracie Dixon Summers” features some of the most expressive acoustic bass work ever recorded.
Maupin will forever been known as a reedsman for Davis and Hancock, but “The Jewel In The Lotus” shines a much deserved light on his abilities as a composer and band leader.
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Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com.