Music

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• November 13, 2007
• Reviews

11/13/07

Cadence Weapon—Breaking Kayfabea

Grizzly Bear—Friend EP From almost any other band, the idea of hearing reinterpretations of their songs by the band themselves and some of their friends might not be that intriguing. But anyone who knows Grizzly Bear's live shows is aware that their songs are deconstructed and reinterpreted so casually that seemingly each performance of a given song is something new to behold. We enjoy the covers of their songs provided by friends CSS, Band of Horses, and Atlas Sound, but the true highlight for us is the cover of the girl group track "He Hit Me," where the inventive arrangement they've been displaying in their shows over the past year finally gets properly recorded.

Phosphorescent—Pride At first listen, it's easy to recognize a strong Bonnie "Prince" Billy influence going on with Phosphorescent (aka Matthew Houck). But where the sound of a BPB record is usually skeletal and frail, Phosphorescent's new record has a full and warm sound that is as much baroque pop as it is macabre folk. It's a nice balance and a nice world to lose yourself in for a little while. Try it sometime.

Cadence Weapon—Breaking Kayfabea We first came across Rollie Pemberton aka Cadence Weapon when he was a young rap music reviewer from Edmonton, Alberta of all places. A few years later he put his mouth where his pen was and started rapping and putting out records that combined the synths of Southern hip hop (or European techno, depending on your reference point) combined with smart and off-beat lyrics of underground hip hop. Unlike other decidedly un-mainstream rappers, Cadence Weapon looks to the future instead of the past. And so far, the future sounds pretty good to us.

We first came across Rollie Pemberton aka Cadence Weapon when he was a young rap music reviewer from Edmonton, Alberta of all places. A few years later...