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Choice Cuts: May 2002

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CHOICE CUTS MAY 2002 Music Reviews For The Attention Deficient

Artist: Emetrex

Album: Metacomet

The Scoop: Singer/guitarist Rick Lescault had a short stint with Wheat, and his new outing with Emetrex covers a similar sort of terrain, most famously mapped out by bands like Mercury Rev. The Boston band is finding a much warmer reception in the UK than at home; which, honestly, isn't much of a surprise. Most of the album is so restrained-Lescault's hushed vocals over gentle guitar lines and propellant but polite drum and bass-that it's understandable that it slips underneath the popular radar. "Let It" even verges on Low's beautifully minimalist territory. There are, however, a couple moments of bombast, provided by "King of Animals" and "Staring At The Stone," which are actually older singles that have been included on the album. This inclusion injects some tension to the proceedings, as the listener isn't quite sure when the temperance will bubble over into a fuzzy wall of feedback. Track-for-track, Metacomet burns brighter than most of its brethren.

Highlight Track: "Light As Ashes" and "King of Animals"

For More Info: Visit the label site at http://www.seriouslygroovy.com

Artist: Imperial Teen

Album: On

The Scoop: Sociologists have made the case that Beatlemania stemmed largely from a psychological need for escapist entertainment in the midst of everyday strife in both Britain and the USA. Times are always marred by trouble, of course, but these once again seem to be especially heavy days. It's unlikely-if not actually impossible-that any band will ever replicate the mass escapist hysteria generated by The Beatles, but the best songs on On make me feel every bit as good as "I Want To Hold Your Hand." Imperial Teen have been polishing their boy/girl harmonies and Californicated New Wave sound for the better part of a decade now, and On is glossy, poppy and bouncy in all the right ways. The fun does taper off toward the end, but only just a little.

Highlight Tracks: "Sugar," "Ivanka" and "Captain"

And Furthermore...: Imperial Teen's new label, Merge, is already having a banner 2002, highlighted thus far by albums from Lambchop and David Kilgour.

For More Info: Visit Merge's site at http://www.mergerecords.com

Artist: Knodel

Album: Dawn of the Butterfly

The Scoop: Quite peculiar. Knodel fuses a slightly frightening love of the vocoder with a surprising knack for contagious electro-pop. The vocoder leads to vague reminiscences of Neil Young experiments like "Sample and Hold" and "Transformer Man." The chorus of "Knodel Blaster," for instance, sounds like a duet between your desktop PC and Kermit the Frog. And it somehow all works. Not the kind of album you're apt to play every day, but definitely one you'll keep coming back to because, novelty and robotics aside, the band also provides plenty of retro-fied melodies that will cling to your brain and refuse to relinquish control. There are more self-references than even your average hip-hop album, the most definitive of which is "Knodel likes to rock. Knodel wants to love you." (from the song titled, naturally, "Knodel Rocks"). How can you turn away from that?