Sound Check: Howlin’ Wolf, Parts & Labor, Sonic Boom Six

November 18, 12:40 PMMusic ExaminerLinda Laban

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Howlin' Wolf, the mojo man.

During this quiet – read: dull – release week, we take the opportunity to dip and dive into the mailbag and dust off some of the releases we missed. 

Howlin’ Wolf “Rockin’ the Blues: Live in Germany 1964” (Acrobat) Howlin’ Wolf should need no introduction. If he does, get Googling. The man practically invented mojo. This live set is culled from a European tour during an era when American Delta blues was shaping the music of bands on both sides of the Atlantic.  Whether he was touched by that or not, Wolf is busy here, digging around rockabilly and R&B (that is, original rhythm and blues, not the urban pop kind), and riffing on 1950s rock and roll. The 1960s saw the blues on its second wave and guitarists like Buddy Guy popularizing, albeit with huge struggle, the Chicago electric blues style. On this tour, joined by his long-time guitarist Hubert Sumlin, blues legend Willie Dixon on bass, Sunnyland Slim on piano, and Clifton James on drums. the towering, mighty Wolf is softer and the music more cultivated, losing the rawness and sexuality of his best blues work. Oddly, as American blues propelled the Rolling Stones on its career path, Wolf, who died in 1976, was on a different tack at the time, turning influence on its head and indeed rock ‘n’ rollin’ the blues.

Parts & Labor “Receivers” (Jagjaguwar) Don’t say Interpol. Just don't. And don't click on the name either. This Brooklyn duo’s fourth record echoes with the same moody dissonance, but its influence is certainly more proto-post modern than post punk. Kraftwerk’s distanced pop cool is the fire that lights these rousing harmonic anthems.  For this big, bold effort, Parts & Labor’s Dan Friel (vocals, electronics) and BJ Warshaw (vocals, bass) enlisted drummer Joe Wong and guitarist Sarah Lipstate to spectacular result. (Though, spectacular is always the band's MO.) Wong pounds and pummels these songs out of the basement and into a larger arena. While Lipstate subtly laces her inspired squally or spidery guitar licks around the boys bold framework. The pair invited some more contributors, too. Via its web site, fans were asked to supply audio samples, with the promise that each one would be used somehow.  That might send up alarm bells: a recipe for kitchen-sink composing. But Parts & Labor uses the snippets as inspiration and decoration with a steady hand and seamless editing: it's the anti-mash-up.

Sonic Boom Six “The Ruff Guide to Genre-Terrorism” (Asbestos) Rarely is a record so aptly named. This Manchester outfit redefines the term Madchester with a schizoid “ off the meds” spree that’s clearly the result of the UK’s obsession with Red Bull: Manic, itchy, and filled with agit-prop angst. Or is it the fact that the four members are classically trained and know more about music than is possibly wise to mash together? Still, try they do. As  Sonic Boom Six unites metal, punk rock, ska, and rap, the result is a less focused follow-on from the brilliant, now-defunct Skunk Anansie. A melodic emo underbelly softens this unpalatable hardcore blend, but as the opening intro sample decrees, “People’s minds get complacent. It seems like 80% of the people are [expletive] asleep. I think the fight against that complacency is punk rock.” (We think this is taken from the documentary  "American Hardcore.")  Sonic Boom Six is the aural equivalent of “Cloverfield’s” extreme shaky camera-isms. Except, here you can’t close your eyes.

Of course, R&B It Girlie Beyoncé’s “I Am...Sasha Fierce” (Columbia) is the big news this week. At least for folks who like it like that. This double set splits the title a la Rachael Yamagata. That is, disc one is "I am ... ," while the second CD is named "Sasha Fierce." Confusing isn’t it?… In anticipation of its third album release next week, The Killers issue “Day And Age” (Island) on vinyl… Lovely British vocalist Dido returns with "Safe Trip Home" (Arista), which features collaborations with Brian Eno, Mick Fleetwood and Citizen Cope … Canadian grunge pseuds Nickelback issues "Dark Horse" (Roadrunner)… New metalish Mudvayne hits back with  "The New Game" (Epic)… American Idol contestant David Cook attempts a “Daughtry” with his rock-oriented self-titled debut… Ditto,  joke, Sammy Hagar with “Cosmic Universal Fashion” (Roadrunner)… Erran Baron Cohen, brother of Ali G and Borat creator Sacha, releases “Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah” (New Line)…  "The BBC Sessions" (Matador) collects a ton of Belle & Sebastian’s live sessions chez the Beeb… While Pavement’s “Brighten the Corners” (Matador) gets the expanded issue treatment… ohGr is the new nom de grrr of Ogre from Skinny Puppy and grrr he does on the industrial Gothic "Devils in My Details" (SPV)...