The Man in Black may be gone, but he’s not forgotten.
Johnny Cash, “American VI: Ain’t No Grave” (American)
Today would have been country renegade 78th birthday. Megaproducer Rick Rubin marks that with the release of the final installment in the American Recordings Album Series, which has given us Cash covers of Nine Inch Nails (“Hurt”), the Eagles (“Desperado”), Leonard Cohen (“Bird on a Wire”) and others.
Like the previous five records in the series, this one focuses on issues of mortality — but this time with an emphasis on saying goodbye. A never-before-heard Cash original, “I Corinthians 15:55,” is one of the heaviest songs on the record, asking the question, “O, Death, where is thy sting?” “Ain’t No Grave” is a dark-and-tough death ballad that gets a lift via banjo and footstomp work from Scott and Seth Avett.
The tone was intended. The CD’s final song, “Aloha Oe,” is the all-too-familiar Hawaiian song of farewell. It’s an obvious trick, yes, and the bright, melodic track doesn’t really fit the album’s general aesthetic. But Cash always did things on his own terms, and fans wouldn’t find it surprising if he planned this, his grand farewell, well before his passing. — Ricardo Baca
Charlotte Gainsbourg, “IRM” (Elektra)
French actress is best known as the daughter of legendary musician Serge Gainsbourg, but she’s also an accomplished singer with pitch-perfect instincts.
On her third album, “IRM,” she continues her string of inspired collaborators by enlisting the similarly weird, shape- shifting Beck to frame and display her vulnerable vocals.
“Master’s Hands” is the thin, vaguely Eastern and otherwise forgettable tune that kicks off the album, but don’t judge it solely by that. The disc is essentially a lighter, less funky version of Beck’s “The Information,” and as a result it drips with textured, carefully arranged songs shot through with aching melodies and propulsive beats.
The mood veers from breezy, charming and quasi-orchestral (see the lovely “Time of the Assassins”) to hip-shaking (“Looking Glass Blues,” “Trick Pony”), but never gets bogged down in self-indulgence or pretension. This is a straight-up pop album in the truest sense of the phrase — and a welcome one, at that. — John Wenzel
Quasi, “American Gong” (Kill Rock Stars)
members are noted more for their side work — drummer Janet Weiss used to drive influential rockers Sleater-Kinney, and singer-guitarist Sam Coomes played with late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith — but as a duo they craft tight, sugary chunks of pop-rock.
Thorny and newly bass-heavy with the addition of the Jicks’ Joanna Bolme, “American Gong” is a testament to the band’s relevance and spark. Granted, there’s nothing here as immediately catchy as classic Quasi songs “Tomorrow You’ll Hide” or “All the Same,” but Coomes’ wailing guitar and Weiss’ reliably fun, thunderous drumming make songs like “Little White Horse” feel as fresh as when the band first emerged in the early-to-mid ’90s.
The loose, multi-tracked guitars in “Black Dogs & Bubbles” threaten to spill their sticky goodness into your brain, and the rollicking riff in the (appropriately named) “Rockabilly Party” smacks of fuzzy, whiskey-fueled inspiration. As long as the band keeps cranking out albums like this, we’ll keep listening. — John Wenzel
Various Artists, “Casual Victim Pile” (Matador)
Who knew Austin, Texas contained so many grim, noisy post-punk outfits? Well, probably a lot people, but Matador’s compilation attempts to let even more of us know about it.
Anyone thatap even remotely heard of half these bands gets the gold star for Relatively Obscure Regional Scene Knowledge, but the pleasant surprise is that so many are worth hearing at all. Follow That Bird! kicks off the 19 tracks with the moody, reverb-drenched garage-surf of “The Ghosts That Wake You” before we’re introduced to a slew of other fuzzy, guitar-driven acts clearly indebted to the Stooges, Sonic Youth and ‘90s British shoegaze.
Itap not the most tonally diverse collection, and more than a few probably deserve a copyright lawsuit from Thurston Moore and Co., but itap also refreshing to hear a lot of good, straight-up rock that isn’t too concerned about fellating itself. — John Wenzel
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Ricardo Baca is the founder and co-editor of and an award-winning critic and journalist at The Denver Post. He is also the executive director of the , Colorado’s premier indie music festival. Follow his whimsies at , his live music habit at and his iTunes addictions at .
John Wenzel is the co-editor of Reverb, editor of the blog and an A&E reporter for The Denver Post. His book was recently published by Speck Press. He also maintains a of random song titles.
