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The Police ’ s “ Tea in the Sahara ” and the Church ’ s “ Happy Hunting Ground ” echo in the subdued “ Bell Epoque .” Azizinamini ’ s guitar swells , decays , flickers and climbs in layers of echo and reverb . Shen and Schneberger anchor the lighterthan-air soundscape with an earthbound pulse . Azizinamini ’ s vocal rises in mourning for the loss of joyful times with an absent friend . The polyrhythmic pulse of the rhythm section and clattering singlenote guitar line in “ Nothing Hurts ” are reminiscent of The Cure circa Disintegration , setting up a jet-engine riff a la shoegaze heroes Ride . Azizinamini sings about turning away from the denial that “ nothing hurts ” and inching from loss toward hard-won peace . Title track “ Sapiens ” is another song that appears to address the consequences of societal dysfunction and civil unrest arising from unchecked inequality . “ The only place that we can see you is in dreams ,” sings Azizinamini of a lost comrade in a street scene that becomes yet another arena for “ makeup artists and cameramen .” The song is anchored by another mournful but propulsive bassline and colored by spacious clouds of hazy guitar . Schneberger lays a bedrock foundation that makes deceptive and deft shifts in time and texture . The band plays a euphoric instrumental coda that sounds like the soundtrack for a departing spirit taking flight toward kingdom come . “ After the War ” concludes the album as Azizinamini ’ s character finds himself in the aftermath of some cataclysm , be it local or global . The band plays a deceptively sublime and repetitive progression reminiscent of the Verve ’ s A Storm in Heaven as the shellshocked survivor is left isolated and unaided to shuffle numbly onward . Sapiens is an impressive and mature work from an inventive and fully symbiotic ensemble . Moon has incorporated evocative sounds and emotive expressions in the creation of its own pocket universe . The album manages to be thematically unsettling but sonically captivating . ( moonchicago . bandcamp . com )
– Jeff Elbel
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JULIANA HATFIELD Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO ( American Laundromat )
After recording engaging tribute albums to the music of Olivia Newton-John and the Police , former Blake Babies frontwoman Juliana Hatfield offers a collection of personal favorites by the Electric Light Orchestra . Jeff Lynne ’ s intricate arrangements are refined to their buzzing garage rock essentials and played with energy and evident joy . The song selections suggest that Hatfield has personal connections to the material rather than simply choosing ELO ’ s ten greatest hits . For starters , there ’ s no “ Mr . Blue Sky .” Instead , Hatfield chooses the sublime “ Sweet is the Night ” to represent ELO ’ s landmark double album Out of the Blue . A handful of bigger ‘ 70s-era hits are represented , including the wistful “ Can ’ t Get it Out of My Head ” from the tragic Walter Mitty-esque tale of 1974 breakthrough album Eldorado . The dreamy and intoxicating “ Strange Magic ” is drawn from 1975 ’ s Face the Music . Forlorn A New World Record favorite “ Telephone Line ” found a new audience earlier this decade when the Puddles Pity Party version featuring the sad clown with the
golden voice went viral . Hatfield ’ s emotive vocal highlights the song ’ s heartbroken emotion while Chris Anzalone delivers Bev Bevan ’ s tasteful and stylish drum fills . The biggest hit represented here is the dancefloor stomper “ Don ’ t Bring Me Down ” from 1979 ’ s Discovery . Bevan ’ s original caveman beat translates directly to Anzalone ’ s primal bashing , abetted by Ed Valauskas ’ steadily thrumming bass . Hatfield handles the song ’ s chugging rhythm , its descending guitar riff , and percolating organ . Layers of her voice create the familiar choir of harmonies on top . The set is rounded out by adventurous choices . Only 1973 ’ s On the Third Day is tapped for two selections , including the bluesy funk of “ Showdown ” and the baroque pop of “ Bluebird is Dead .” On the latter , Hatfield replaces ELO ’ s orchestral strings with wordless harmonies for a lush and natural effect , and Valauskas ’ delivers a loping and McCartney-styled bass line . The singer bypasses the Chuck Berry-styled single “ Rock and Roll is King ” in favor of urgent 1983 title track “ Secret Messages .” Lynne ’ s twanging guitar figure is exchanged for a Mellotron flute patch , but the song is rendered with a punchy rhythm section and lush harmonies reminiscent of Blue Öyster Cult . Rather than choosing Top Ten single “ Hold on Tight ” from 1981 ’ s Time , Hatfield recasts the orchestral electropop of “ From the End of the World ” as a steely combination of spy-movie and surf-rock twang . The set concludes with Beatlesque ballad “ Ordinary Dream ,” a major highlight and hardcore fan favorite from underrated 2001 album Zoom .
Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO is charming and fun for any fan of the artist or her storied subject . As effortless as Hatfield makes it seem , countless indie-rockers are likely to hear this and wish they ’ d done it first . Hatfield took the leap and did it right . ( alrmusic . com )
– Jeff Elbel
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18 illinoisentertainer . com july 2023