In our Moving Units column, Mike Ramirez at Fort Lauderdale's Radio-Active Records
graciously keeps us up-to-date and comments on the current releases
flying out of his store each week.
Many, many music reviewers might have you believing that the M.I.A. album is the worst thing to be committed to tape since William Hung. Fortunately, local shoppers aren't dissuaded by the critics, and it's actually fun when everyone doesn't agree. Although Maya Arulpragasam's third album is a bit noisy and challenging, all the fuss seems akin to the response to Weezer's Pinkerton. Give MAYA a little time to breathe and here's betting that the album's noisy, "disorienting" nature will seem pretty benign in a couple of months.
Radio-Active Records' Top 5 Releases for July 13-19:
1. M.I.A . - MAYA (N.E.E.T./Interscope) "'Maya' debuts at number one this week, full to the brim of distorted-electro
cacophony."
2. Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Live in New York (Honest Jon's) "The Moritz Von Oswald trio brings its live set to NYC for a 38-minute
excursion into the depths of Basic Channel minimal-techno. Industrial
percussion is littered throughout the set with techno-veteran Carl Craig
making a guest appearance on the modular synthesizer."
3. Various artists - Saigon Rock & Soul:Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974 (Sublime Frequencies) "If you're really feeling that international vibe this week, check out
Sublime Frequencies' new LP-only compilation Saigon Rock & Soul.
Recommended for you crate-diggers and beat junkies."
4. Dangermouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul (EMI) "The late-Sparklehorse & Dangermouse collaboration album finally gets
a legitimate release with contributions from Iggy Pop, Frank Black, the
Flaming Lips, Jason Lytle, and others."
5. Autechre - Move of Ten (Warp)
Which albums will we be talking about next week?
"Be on the lookout next week for the hype machine that is Best Coast's Crazy for You (Mexican Summer)! The jury is still out on this one even though you bloggers have already digested and dissected the album. Other noteworthy releases: Menomena's Mines (Barsuk), Seu Jorge & Almaz's self-titled album (Now-Again), Madlib's Medicine Show #7: High Jazz (Stones Throw), Die Antwoord's $O$ (Interscope), and Major Lazer's Lazers Never Die EP (Downtown)."
