Spin The Black Circle: Jooklo Duo, White Orange, Derby, Sport Of Kings

Spin The Black Circle is The Voice Of Energy’s review roundup of current vinyl-only releases

Jooklo Duo – The Warrior (Northern Spy) Since 2004, this Italian two-piece has been sending the cats of the world scurrying for cover thanks to the unholy screeches torn from the stratosphere via Virgina Genta’s amazing freeform sax playing. As she vamps, her musical partner David Vanzan provides a rich, loamy bed of drum rumbles and quick shot cymbal splashes. The latest effort by the Jooklos is this two track 7″ representing one of the first releases by the label Northern Spy Records, an outfit staffed by former ESP-Disk employees. The appropriately named songs – “Primitive Power” b/w “Fire Liberation” – use those titular ideas to blast out some raw, heated noise that only lets up for brief breath-catching moments.

White Orange – “…And This Is Why I Speak To You In Parables” (Made In China) The look and sound of this new single by Portland’s stoner rock titans is appropriately epic. The weighty picture disc 12″ features two versions of the same song; one that stretches on for just over 13 minutes, the other clocking in at a tidy five minutes. If you haven’t already gotten yourself lost in the dense artwork that is laid on either side of this slab of wax, wander into the maze that is the long-form version. It weaves in samples, lost in space guitar wanderings, and droning before it gets weighted back to the planet by the band’s massive rhythm section. The short version wastes no time in getting you to the sludgy riffs and meaty singing, but your patience will be well rewarded if you take the scenic route.

Derby – Madeline EP (Timber Carnival/Green Submarine) Derby is one of those bands that has been quietly chugging away in the background of the Portland music scene while their peers have moved on to higher levels of success and unbecoming attitudes. I have been happy to keep them as my little secret but with the release of this single, I’m ready to shout their name from the virtual rooftops of the blogosphere. The a-side, “Don’t Believe In You” is a crystalline example of pop songwriting at its very best. The guitar lines are clean and untroubled, the vocal melody is catchy without being cloying, and the whole thing moves and swells neatly in just over three minutes. As much as I champion acts that are breaking the molds of the music world, there is something to be said for those groups that no how to use the templates to their advantage. Derby is one of those groups.

Sport Of Kings – “Free Jazz” (self-released) It’s hard to tell from the press information given to me by this band whether they are taking themselves seriously or not. Their publicity photo shows them in matching gaudy sweaters and sweatbands and they unashamedly refer to their sound as “yacht rock.” It’s a shame that they put themselves at such an aesthetic disadvantage as the two songs on this single are surprisingly sweet and easy to swallow spoonfuls of horn-drenched pop. Sure, it carries some of the sonic overkill that marked so much late ’70s/early ’80s radio pop but it’s not dominated by it, and manages to undercut it nicely with some modern fuzz and understated vocalizing.