SOFT MOUNTAIN
Soft Mountain
(Hux Records)

Experimental keyboardist/composer Hoppy Kamiyama is one of Japan’s more fascinating and prolific musicians. Joining Kamiyama and celebrated Acid Mothers Temple/The Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida on this release is half of the classic prog-rock band Soft Machine, bassist Hugh Hopper and legendary saxophonist Elton Dean. The foursome met up in a Tokyo studio in 2003 and, with no discussion, simply switched the recorders on and went at it. Dean explores some interesting spaces and is brilliantly complimented by the sensitive and creative Kamiyama, who has a unique lyrical sense and wonderful control of atmosphere. Those who like improvised jazz-rock will dig this. Sadly, the release will be a one-off, as Elton Dean passed away last February. Rob Schwartz

DUBSENSE-MANIA
Versatile: Dub Remix
(Sony)

While I usually loath to review remix albums, this one, from a 2005 release by Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes of Japanese reggae band Dubsensemania, proved tasty enough that I felt it deserved mention. A veteran dub producer, Barnes founded specialty label Wackies in the Bronx after emigrating from Jamaica in the early ’70s. In his hands, saccharine ballads like Dubsensemania’s “Feel You” are transformed into works of gauzy, gossamer beauty, while the tones of band founder Ras Takashi’s plaintive melodica are given the space they need to breath above the seismic drum ‘n’ bass. Dub, a genre created a generation ago in Jamaica, is alive and kicking in post-millennium Japan. DG

THE WRECKERS
Stand Still Look Pretty
(Warner)

Country-rock prodigy turned Santana diva Michelle Branch reinvents herself with longtime friend Jessica Harp as one half of a new duo. One plus one equals a bit more than two, as the pair take a lighthearted tour through the wreckage of their love lives on songs such as the Billboard Country top 10 entry “Leave the Pieces.” Produced by John Leventhal (Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash) Stand Still Look Pretty accomplishes more than its title might suggest, inviting the listener to pull up a rocking chair on the proverbial front porch and, serenaded by Branch, Harp, and a posse of guitar, banjo and mandolin players, imbibe what amounts to the sonic equivalent of a mint julep. DG

FALL OUT BOY
Infinity On High
(Island)

The music industry almost unanimously declares that emo is just not cool. How, then, do you explain the rise of FOB to the heights of rock superstardom after 2005’s From Under The Cork Tree? Are the kids just not cool these days, or is it everyone else who needs to get with the program? FOB present a deft collection at the poppier end of punk-pop, driven by smart lyrics that are at once informed and refreshingly ironic. The band, along with peers like My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday, will appeal to anyone who was ever a teenager or 20-something and thought they were the only one who was a little confused by the whole thing. Cynics beware—this is infectious stuff. Mark Butterworth


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