We missed the release party for this record a couple of weeks ago at North Sixth, but hear it was great. This Is Next Year is a wonderful Brooklyn-based compilation featuring 42 artists living and/or playing in Brooklyn. This extensive double CD is a huge volume of music and is a great introduction to what is going on in Williamsburg and Brooklyn in general.

Ever wonder what Reverend Vince, Stereobate, or any of those other bands you always see advertised locally sound like? Pick up this record as a resource because the bands worth seeing are probably included.

The work on this disk is fairly consistent (oddly some of the biggest duds come from more established bands Ida and the always terrible They Might Be Giants specifically) but this is a uniquely strong and cohesive compilation overall. Ranging from Emo, to indie, to alt country (lots of it), to pure and simple pop, this eclectic blend of music is surprisingly less disjointed than most compilations.

Highlights include The Boggs, Laura Cantrell, Mendoza Line, Grand Mal, Mink Lungs, Les Savvy Fav, Bee and Flower, and Cub Country but most songs are in the pleasant to the very pleasant to the damn that's pretty good range. As is to be expected on any compilation, there is some garbage to be found here as well. Is there a way to scratch my disk so it skips over the cheesy "It's All Made Up" by the Scouts?

Regardless, this is a wonderful introduction to the Brooklyn music scene and for the price of a single CD, you can't go wrong. All proceeds go to B.A.R.C. (Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition).

Originally the pet project of drummer Doug Scharin (Rex, June of '44), Him has become one the best kept secrets of post-rock and avante jazz. Seamlessly blending jazz, dub, and African Rhythm, Him has created a sound that is fully their own. On their latest record New Features, the band captures the feeling of a live concert better than any recording in recent memory.

Equally influenced by Miles Davis, Tortoise, and early pioneers of Dub, Him is melodic, unique, and um..... you can even shake your ass to the funky rhythms. It's like hearing Miles Davis remastered by Lee Scratch Perry! Their new record is not to be missed.

Him will be playing at North Sixth (66 N. 6th St. between Kent and Wythe) in Williamsburg August 5. And at the Knitting Factory August 4th.

Summer Hymns - A Celebratory Arm Gesture (Misra)

Something's Going On

Jetone is the Montreal-based techno master known as Tim Hecker. He has recorded with many labels in the past including FatCat and Pitchcadet, but on his recent release on the magnificent Force Inc record label, Jetone has truly created something unique.

Fusing his Cologne school techno influences with his own often broken tempo beats, Tim Hecker has crafted one of the more unusual techno records I have heard in a while. And originality is definitely something the genre needs of late. Anybody with a laptop can seemingly get signed these days by merely copying the sounds of Mouse on Mars or Pole.

Opening track "Aerial Red" has a 4/4 that seemingly tumbles over its own shoelaces time and time again before settling into a new beat. It is as disarming as it is lovely. The strongest track is "Static" with its tribal sounding beats and completely unpredictable (random?) interjections of glitch. Another highlight is "Thousand Oaks" whose high speed dub is nothing short of trance-inducing.

Jetone has impressively taken minimal techno to a entirely new place with Ultramarin by replacing the expected with the chaotic. Jetone creates melody by texturing his beats instead of writing "songs" per se and there is not a single track on this disk that sounds like another. Bravo to originality!

Windy and Carl - Consciousness (Kranky)

Resolution

The Bionaut (AKA The Modernist, Burger Industries, Geometric Farms, and officially Jörg Burger) is a respected member of the Cologne minimal techno crew that includes Pole, Wolfgang Voigt, and Thomas Brinkmann, all of whom are known for their unique styles of minimal techno. In my mind, the work of Jörg Burger is strong and consistent and perhaps more accessible than that of his German peers, but I have always seen him as the lowest rung on the Cologne ladder. But this is not to say that he is not immensely talented—he is. It's just that his competition is pretty stiff.

With Lubricate Your Living Room, Matador has released a collection of Burger's out of print European releases from 1993-1997 and the result is a very summery-sounding CD perfect for an open window and a cool breeze. For fans of the more traditional 4/4 techno sound found on The Modernist, be prepared for a much more mellow disk that is influenced more by minimal dub and ambient music than traditional techno. In fact, this collection has much more in common with Mouse on Mars than the Modernist.

Textured with funny vocal samples ("electric campfire"), a resonating xylophone sound ("p. bateman"), and a generally pleasant atmospheric quality, Lubricate Your Living Room is a refreshing disk that rivals his best work. Given the fact that some of the music on this record is from the early nineties, it is amazing how fresh it all sounds. Burger will never be as groundbreaking as Pole, but perhaps I'll move him up a bit on my Cologne list of talent.

People have been coming in their pants over this release and I must admit, I simply don't get it. I gave into the hype and finally picked up the disk and I have to say I am deeply disappointed. I am always looking for original hip-hop and usually dig anything the Automator produces (Dr. Octagon, Handsome Boy Modeling School), but this release is simply a bore.

Teaming with Del the Funky Homosapien (the dullest MC in business) and Kid Koala, Automator has some nice moments including the symphonic "3030," but overall he seems uninspired. Breaking with his trademark heavy-bass sound, Automator is at his most subdued, and do we really need another underground hip-hop project with a a Space Age theme attached to it.

In all fairness, perhaps the newly-released instrumental version would have been a better purchase. Del the Funky Homosapien could steal the momentum from a speeding train with his constipated rhyming style. To catch Automator at his best, skip this release and check out the brand new Gorillaz CD, reviewed here in this publication.

Finally an affordable domestic release by Astralwerks of this wonderful Kraut Rock band's canon of work from the Seventies. It's about time, is all I have to say!

If you haven't heard them, they have influenced everyone from Bowie to Stereolab and are responsible for the first remix song—a huge contribution to electronic music. The first 3 releases simply named Neu!, Neu! 2, and Neu! 75 are masterpieces of electronic minimalism. Think Stereolab without vocals. This duo consisting of Kraftwork bandmates Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger put out 3 albums between 1971-75 (and a couple of duds in the Eighties) and the list of people they have directly influenced is too long to mention.

Follow them chronologically, each release is a little weaker than the next, but all in all this is great music from one of the most groundbreaking bands to come out of the Seventies Kraut scene.

It's only 11 minutes long. That's probably all I need to say about this EP to discourage you from buying it. And actually, that would be a shame because the music (though brief) is great.

If you like the band, you'll be pleased. If you are among the many who find B&S uninspired and hokey, then you won't like it because it is more of the same. I've always been a sucker for their music and think If You're Feeling Sinister is one of the best releases of the Nineties.

This 3-tracker derives it's name from the opening (and best) track "Jonathan David" that tells a sexy story about David (you know, the one who killed Goliath) and his friend Jonathan. It's super dorky, but super-lovely. Just what you expect from B&S.

Look for the full-length soundtrack to Todd Solondz's (Happiness, Welcome to the Dollhouse) new film this fall.