MUSIC SCENE
MUSIC REVIEWED BY BOB JONES

Hvarf/Heim - Xl Recordings

Sigur Rós

Hvarf/Heim

I've been in involved in the business of music for many years and have been known to judge a book by its cover. I know it's wrong but it's true. When the first Sigur Rós record crossed my desk my first thought was "this is a Nordic death metal band and although I respect all genres of music, death metal is not my cup of tea. Boy, did I misjudge them. They are from Iceland (I did get that part right) but they make beautiful, ethereal music with dynamics to spare. Hvarf/Heim is a two disc collection of previously unreleased songs. 1999's Ágætis byrjun (A good beginning) is the album that critics rave over and it is great but Hvarf/Heim is as good a place to start as any because the tracks were recorded over years, giving you a taste of different stages of the band. Their music has been embraced by Hollywood, both for the big screen and small. They're featured on the film Vanilla Sky, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and many more as well as being featured in many episodes of CSI and others. If you pass a Sigur Rós record in a store with a listening station it might be worth giving Hvarf/Heim a listen. It just might be your cup of tea.

Trees Outside the Academy - Ecstatic Peace Records

Thurston Moore

Trees Outside the Academy

The thing that makes Sonic Youth so interesting is how each band member has his (and in Kim Gordon's case, her) different styles in the soup. Sonic Youth guitarist/vocalist Thurston Moore brings a psychedelic, melodic element to the table. Trees Outside the Academy is one of the more accessible recordings that Moore has made. He plays the acoustic guitar on the majority of the record backed by other instruments both acoustic and electric. Violinist Samara Lubelski and the Youth's drummer Steve Shelley are the core of the band on Trees Outside the Academy. The third track called " Honest James" is a highlight with the harmony vocals of Christina Carter. Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis adds a brilliant, frantic electric guitar solo towards the end of the song "The Shape Is In A Trance" but it doesn't overpower the tune at all. Trees Outside the Academy has the hypnotic quality that many Sonic Youth albums have but this acoustic driven record shows that Moore is not dependent on the smoke and mirrors of electric guitar effects to achieve this effect. One of the interesting things about this record is that it makes it very clear what Thurston Moore adds to the Sonic Youth soup. And although it's far from a Simon and Garfunkel style acoustic record it is a very good acoustic pop record that will stand the test of time. Bob Jones is founder of Silver Platter CDs EST1998 in Fort Myers. For info or to suggest music, email recordreviews@comcast.net