Before we even begin, let me preface this with “Melt-Banana is not for the faint of heart.” Ok, the Tokyo-based noise popsters – Yasuko Onuik (vocals) and Ichiro Agata (guitars/effects) – has been recording and releasing material since 1994, and with its new 3+5, its first album in 11 years, the band is reinvigorated! Melt-Banana has never found itself streamlined within mainstream culture and that works to the benefit of the band and fans. 3+5 is relentless(!), never slowing down or giving us pause not to pay attention. With its staggering guitar and quick-tongued vocals, “Puzzle” is ready to strike at just about any moment and that’s when the frantic drums come in. Onuik’s high-pitched vocals never distract, instead insist on allowing us to enter into its own punk aesthetic. The album is just crazy, barely giving listeners an opportunity to breathe in and out. “Stopgap” moves that way with hardcore rhythms underneath while “Scar” shows the world how guitars need to be controlled. Varying rhythms & stop/starts are mixed within and are welcomed as Onuik’s voice transcends life itself! 3+5 is a journey we should all witness and be a part of.

ZACH BAROCAS NEW FREEDOM SOUND – TWO FREEDOMS

If there is a familiar name, it’s Zach Barocas, who has played and recorded most notably with Jawbox. The past few years though, Barocas has made a name for himself with his compositions with his New Freedom Sound. What started with just a few players has grown to 8 players strong with his new Two Freedoms (the Cultural Society/Sweet Cheetah) release. One shouldn’t confuse this as a single with only two songs as both “Fourteenth Freedom” and “Twelfth Freedom” are over 12 minutes long each.

The songs are in fact more interesting than you might imagine as each composition is distinct in form with a wide array of sound and styles The two predominant ones, both classical and free jazz are expressive but we do hear those Afro-Caribbean rhythms filling it throughout. The decrescendo at its midway point delicately moves further into jazzy revelations through that clever dynamic shift, freely moving about but with cohesion within “Fourteenth Freedom.” It’s explosive at points, layered with repetitive vocal harmonies covered in brass & strings. The movements are fascinating and intriguing, leaving room to breath while also covering everything at the same time.

“Twelfth Freedom” takes a more direct approach for the first couple of minutes, sounding like it could be the soundtrack to an early Spike Lee film. It’s contemporary jazz that could fit just about anywhere. Its horns and strings are striking, delicate and memorable…soothing almost as we get lost through urban imagery. The song shifts direction though moving in repetitive motions with its horns, piano & strings but by the time you realize this, it’s already taken grasp of your senses as voices seep in. The strings allure as those same Afro-Caribbean rhythms slowly creep in. There’s so much to take in and Barocas captures a wide array of musicality here. Things do eventually subside and we’re hit again with that urban scenery. The entire thing, it just works.

While we may not all claim to understand jazz, free jazz, classical, Afro-Caribbean, etc. Two Freedoms is enchanting and steps away from the norm. That’s what it’s all about, stepping out of your comfort zone and exploring something new, something flavorful. Zach Barocas New Freedom Sound has a variety of flavors in abundance.

THEE HEART TONES – FOREVER & EVER

There are just some things that we all may find fascinating. Despite popular belief, the U.S. is filled with a variety of cultures, some of which are homegrown and vary exponentially from one region to the next. The northeastern part of the states may vary from the south, and the southeast differs as much to the north as it may to the southeast and even the west coast. Couple all this with the variations of Asian, Latino, African, and European, and we get something that has no equal multiculturally that works to our benefit or detriment.

California itself has always been a cornucopia of cultural efforts that have sometimes found themselves overlapping with one another. Thee Heart Tones, a sextet out of Los Angeles, has just released its debut long-player, Forever & Ever (Big Crown Records) and what you might find is something pretty unexpected. While you may not be immersed within the culture, Chicano Soul – or Brown-eyes Soul as it’s also been referred to as – has been a subculture within the confines of the West Coast since the 1960s. Of course, its taken its lead from Black American artists of the time, its own notoriety came into focus within its communities in California as well as Texas. Thee Heart Tones is a part of that but what it also conveys goes much further down the rabbit hole. While the band as a whole is warm & vibrant, it allows the music to lift vocalist Jazmine Alvarado’s voice in more than one direction. Of course, the prerequisites for its soul-stopping sound are found throughout the album, like on the bouncy “No Longer Mine,” with an unstoppable rhythm, underlying keyboard, and colorful horn interplay. Guitars fill in the occasional notes whenever necessary as Alvarado’s voice lingers around it all. This is where the shifty and lazy comparisons come in, but they’re not as lazy and one might think or can deny. On the balladesque “Somebody Please” is where we hear it more as she hits those higher notes that owe much to 80s Stacy Lattisaw, and this comparison is made with the utmost respect. Given, Thee Heart Tones and Lattisaw obviously differ but the vocal inflections are sometimes similar.

But that’s where any comparisons may end because the band is far from a one-trick pony as “Sabor A Mi” is testament to. It’s another soulful ballad that may remind some listeners of their youth, as parents played old songs by artists long forgotten. It might be a self-reflective moment for myself but you get the idea, much like a smell conjures up and unlocks the memories from the recesses of one’s mind. The song itself, it unimaginable beauty, crossing cultural boundaries, and seamlessly bringing everything together. The band is able to convey a retrofied sound as if weathered throughout the decades and you’d be hard-pressed to believe this is the band’s first album. “Cry My Tears Away” was made for AM radio, but that’s if we were living in the 1960s, although its horn interplay is sometimes reminiscent of 70s Blaxploitation soundtracks, but more alongside Isaac Hayes.

Forever & Ever is what Soul and R&B may have sounded like in years past but it’s surprisingly alluring, beautifully composed & recorded, and destined to stand the test of time. Culturally, the album can’t be boxed in but I imagine vatos from all over finding solace in the band’s delicate sound, as should the rest of the world.

ILLUMINATI HOTTIES – POWER

We all have our biases. For good or bad, we like what we like and we hate what we hate. When it comes to illuminati hotties, the brainchild of one Sarah Tudzin, I think I’m always right in for a couple of reasons, one of them being she knows how to piece together pop sculptures with endearing melodies, and she can rock with indie fervor as the world around her burns. It’s just one take on illuminati hotties so just remember, everything is subjective. The band, which also features Tim Kmet, Sapphire Jewell, and Zach Bilson, always pieces together something special though.

Now, illuminati hotties has released its third long-player – not including 2020’s mixtape FREE I.H: This Is Not The One You’ve Been Waiting For –  Power (Hopeless Records). Of course, the band doesn’t disappoint, on the new release with catchy chord-play and infectious hooks Tudzin offers throughout. From the get-go, the simplest notes and drum beat propels “Can’t Be Still,” which is pretty subtle as it builds around Tudzin’s vocal melodies, cooing, and ahs. I’m stuck on the band’s relentless guitars. As I maneuver around the album the band’s single, “Didn’t (featuring Cavetown),” is the same but in a different way. It initially hits us with power chords and cute keyboard notes before Tudzin’s lazy melodies seep through flesh and the band shifts dynamics again with those power chords and harmonies. Cavetown shares vocal duties and fits right in. Just when you think it’s all about guitar, we take “The L” with its driving bassline that has everyone else building around it while capitalizing on the verse-chorus-verse formula with the required hooks and bridges to tie it all together. And no, this isn’t a punked-up v-c-v, instead filled with pop sensibilities for a dynamic view and ride. Just when you think the song is over, BAM! The band hits you over the head once again with its melody.  But as its proved in the past, illuminati hotties isn’t a one-trick pony.

The group sometimes strips things down, like we hear on the jangly pop of “Sleeping In.” Piano notes plink in and out around guitars and cooing harmonies as the band bounces around its catchy rhythm. Stepping further out around the box, illuminati hotties come forward with “Rot,” which barely moves past its mid-tempo. Still, the band doesn’t need to, building around a free-flowing melody and Tudzin’s layered vocal harmonies. Even “You Are Not Who You Were” builds with these slight crescendos as Tudzin shares a realization of falsehood. With Throw (Life Raft)” there’s a certain “There She Goes” element that I just can’t shake although the rhythm is completely different, and we have a semblance of jangle although guitars play out bending notes while piano notes are clear and concise.

It’s a big world we live in and illuminati hotties take its chances from one song to the next here on Power, which is no small feat. The band can connect the dots so to speak, allowing a seamless flow from one track to another. In any case, illuminati hotties hasn’t faltered in the slightest, with a mastery of sound & melody with the ability to convey it through its instruments. Yeah, THIS!