The New Music

Thee Oh Sees Dog Poison [Captured Tracks]
I can’t actually tell you how many releases San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees have given us in 2009 alone, but I do know Dog Poison is their third LP. John Dwyer and co. certainly keep busy, but it doesn’t seem to be wearing thin. On Dog Poison, the band don’t adjust any of their trademark lo-fi production, however, bring acoustic guitars and a more bullish songwriting style to the forefront. The move pays off in spades, giving us Kinks-y buoyancy on “Sugar Boat” and “The River Rushes,” without jeopardizing their rackety poise. In fact, with a little more of this feel-good jangle in their repertoire, Dwyer could see this long-time endeavour actually become something more than just an underground curiosity. Rating: B+

Broadcast & The Focus Group Broadcast & The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age [Warp]
This joint effort by the Brummie avant-pop visionaries and graphic designer Julian House (here as The Focus Group) answers a long-burning question of where Trish Keenan and James Cargill have been for the last four years. While a new full-length is due in the new year, this stopgap, 23-track mini-album verifies the now two-piece have been delving deeper into polychromatic music. But with House now involved, Broadcast have widened their scope, flourishing with succinct sketches that demonstrate an appetite to dabble. “I See, So I See So” strips their electronics down to reveal a fondness for old British folk music with seaside ambience, “Seancing Song” comes together as some improv sound collage and “What I Saw” is a minute-long choral exercise that leaves everything up to Trish and a chirping bird. Whether this is a sign of what’s to come, only the next album will tell, but either way Broadcast have certainly grabbed my ear. Rating: A-

Beak> Beak> [Ipecac]
Unlike his strict, meticulous work ethic in Portishead, Geoff Barrow likes to cut loose when it comes to his side-project Beak>. Formed earlier in the year with two fellow Bristol musicians, Barrow took the absolute opposite approach with this record, writing and recording the entire album in 12 days in one room. This ad hoc nature of Beak> certainly gives off some freshness, as the compositions are spacious, freeform and exploratory. And with Barrow’s name attached to it, there are sure to be quite a few looking for direct connections to Portishead. Beak> isn’t without its links; the shadowy, overt nods to Krautrock certainly speak to the ominous sounds he concocted on Third, and I could imagine Beth Gibbons caressing a song like the motorik “I Know.” But in virtually every way Beak> is Barrow tasting freedom, and this album works best when you’re thinking more about three guys hammering this out in a room than when you consider who’s making it. Rating: B