Random Stabbings 7

Robin Stine “Daydream” (Sweet Blossom Records)
Ballroom-jazz chanteuse who’s got enough already – she’s cute enough to borrow a few hits of Chai tea from, possessed of a Protestant songwriting ethic that helped her fill up an entire album (save for a benchmark version of “Nature Boy”), and a brassy yet mousy warble that encourages walk-ins to investigate Jurassic pop.  Naturally the acid test is whether Stine’s original pieces can make like they’re from the 40s, and she gets scooby-dooby-doos all around.   Order at www.robinstine.com

God Module “Viscera” (Metropolis Records)
Demon-snarled hardfloor techno for Mortal Kombat fight scenes or pistol-whipping your sex slave this holiday season, its cinematic bytes appropriately sinister and gory (one sample features the “wonderful, terrible things” epithet cooed by Carnivale’s Brother Justin).  Sole proprietor Jasyn Bangert specializes in quite danceable themes hung with a serial killer’s sense of decorum.  Order at www.metropolis-records.com

Unwind “A Journey Into Global Grooves” (Compact Records)
Meditative ambient soundtrack from Israeli DJ Auspexx.  In the main Auspexx relies on lo-fi echo, desert-plain whoosh and slow sunbursts in his chill-pill trances, some supplements of which include a few wiggly hypno-chants from hometownies, the occasional 70s wah wah pedal, and a grand total of one movie sample.  Title tells the tale, safe for humans. Order at www.israel-music.com/various/unwind-a_journey_into_global_grooves

So I Had To Shoot Him “Alpha Males and Popular Girls” (Crucial Blast Records)
Murderchick thrash dada amounting to Pat Benatar fronting Dillinger Escape Plan, ie music-less jazz chords played at hamster-wheel speed.  “John Cleese and the Fountain of Youth” could have been a pre-megastar Blondie were it not for the calc-metal jam-out, which, per the rules, dangles a flavorful hook under your nose and rudely yanks it away to shove more sophomoric prog-wank down your gullet.  These folks (who’ve been around long enough to know better) could have just bought tee shirts reading “I’M OF AN ALTERNATIVE MINDSET” and saved the studio engineer a few angry prostate cells.  Order at www.crucialblast.com

Deva Premal “Dakshina” (Narada Records)
After releasing so many disturbingly pretty pop-chants the undisputed queen of yoga-bubble has been long overdue for a flop, and thus it is that “Dakshina” is her budget-bin half-effort, a saccharine parade of half-baked scale practice hogging up the first third of the record while songwriting guru Miten goofs off and counts rupees stage left.  “Aad Guray” finds Premal finally rising from her duff to affect the husky tantric greatness that earned “The Essence” and “Love is Space” a legal crossover passport, but the end product isn’t more than a sheepish admission that she’s overdrawn at the hook bank.  Order at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007VZ91C/102-8215201-9191329?v=glance

Violet “The Last Cathedral” (Wine and Vinyl Music)
Room-temperature folkabilly slept through by a Joan Baez soundalike hurling wild darts at the KD Laing area of the board.  “Fill You In” wields a Wysteria Lane speed-babbled rant in a vain effort to distract listeners from the complete lack of catchiness and stands as the lone excuse for the CD’s existence, whereas “Don’t Let Me Down Again” wants to be “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” so badly it wets its plaid Talbots slacks.  Order at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BGQVUG/qid%3D1133155859/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-8215201-9191329

Indie label releases, spaghetti sauce recipes and silly questions are always welcome.  Email ericsaeger@mindspring.com.