Cursive
The Ugly Organ
Saddle Creek Records
Over the course of five records Cursive has morphed from a textbook screamy Crank! band to a moody behemoth of a rock juggernaut. The Ugly Organ is bound by a loose recurring theme of relationship dysfunction; something with which Kasher does not seem wholly unfamiliar. The Ugly Organ is a brooding record; cellist Gretta Cohn lends an air of creepiness to the increasingly theatrical mood the Cursive of 2003 evokes. There’s more than a whiff of Afghan Whigs in songs like Your Gentleman Caller and it’s a pretty apt parallel. Kasher and ex-Whigs singer Dulli both seem to be tormented souls who are no strangers to bad situations, and both men’s work has manifested itself in an increasingly theatrical sense. The main difference is that Dulli has adopted a Curtis Mayfield/Iceberg Slim aesthetic while Kasher rarely adds any glamour to his Bukowski-esque tales of loss and regret. There are points in The Ugly Organ that are truly harrowing. This is not for the weak of heart or tormented of soul; it’s the soundtrack to a 4am midweek bender where all seems lost.

Joe Jackson Band
Volume 4
Rykodisc USA
Joe Jackson may very well be my favorite musician of all time. The first three or four JJ records were the soundtrack to my college years and fostered the epiphany that if I could be one-tenth the musician that longtime Jackson collaborator/bassist Graham Maby, I’d be a happy man. In the last ten years Joe’s disgust with the record industry has moved him in the direction of film scoring and orchestral composition. While I respect the musical progression, it was frustrating to hear legions of wanna-bees stealing his formula for driving bass and piano-drive rock and pretending it was original. Lo and behold, on the heels of the 25^th anniversary of their first record Volume 4 reunites Jackson and Maby with the members of the original Joe Jackson band: guitarist Gary Sanford and drummer Dave Houghton. Is it a return to the brilliance of Look Sharp or I’m The Man? Well, no, it’s more like 1989s Blaze Of Glory with a four piece band and Joe doing all the singing. It’s pretty damn good regardless. Initial pressings come with a live cd from the UK reunion tour of last year. Live is where Joe and his bands always shined and it’s nice to hear that the reunion tour won’t be the sound of a band going through the motions. There’s some fire there, and one that bodes well for future collaborations, but knowing Joe’s mercurial nature, I doubt we’ll see more from the unit. The original band is touring this month in town. All the shows are sold out, but if you were smart, you’d sell that White Stripes ticket and go see a real rock show.

Muggs
Dust
Anti Records
If the 21^st Century can be said to have made any contribution to musical history thus far, it will be for having legitimized the role of the DJ. Even five years ago you would have had a hard time getting a record deal as a DJ, and now they are common as muck. Now I haven’t checked their Soundscan numbers anytime recently, but I think it’s safe to say that Cypress Hill have passed their prime. That is not to say that they weren’t, or maybe even aren’t, a good band, but such an eventuality would be the death of the average DJ. Despite all the odds, Cypress Hill trackmaster Muggs has come out with a record on ultra-hip Epitaph subsidiary Anti that is pretty damn great. Backed by an odd bunch of singers, including newcomer Amy Trujillo and ex-Buck Cherry frontman Josh Todd, he’s come up with a great sounding record with great songs. Trujillo has a sultry voice that melds perfectly with Muggs’ production. Think an American Beth Gibbons. Now I even had to go back and check to make sure that it was the same Josh Todd on Dust. While I think Lit Up is hands-down one of the best rock hits of the 90’s, I really didn’t think Todd had much of a chance to make a career of it, but his surprisingly soulful vocals on songs like Always In The Rain and Faded make this record as special as it is. Think Greg Dulli side-project The Twilight Singers. On that note, I picked up Dust for the very reason that it features Dulli’s first release since the Whigs called it quits. Dulli and Muggs are a good combination. Their collaboration, Fat City, is pretty reminiscent of the Twilight Singers material, but with a grittier edge to the funk. It’s got the same Iceberg Slim swagger that you either love or loathe with Dulli. Me, I’d like to hear a whole record with the two of them. Anti continues to do amazing things in the industry. Whether it be releasing Merle Haggard’s best record in years or breaking up the Promise Ring, they deserve a lot of credit for the depth of their catalog.