Music Forecast 9.11–9.17: Clipping, S. Carey, the Flaming Lips, and more
Clipping
Los Angeles’ Clipping — MC Daveed Diggs and producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson — seems content under the rap umbrella. Or, at least, it doesn’t really make a big deal of genres. That’s fine, but the group’s latest full-length, July’s Clppng, is not an album that can be easily labeled and filed away. Clppng employs exploratory rhythms, explosive noise clusters, and production that veers just left enough to be considered experimental — though, at first listen, some songs on Clppng boast radio-friendly hooks at the fore. It’s a clever scheme to get you to listen harder, which can be a complicated payoff — Diggs’ anti-autobiographical lyrics tend to eschew standard storytelling. Clipping is a rap group that wants to break all the rules of the rap game, even as it stands a chance of winning it.
Thursday, September 11, Replay Lounge (946 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-749-7676)
Field Division
Justin Vernon did a great thing for Midwestern folksters when he bared his lovelorn soul seven years ago as Bon Iver: His global success validated our romantic interest in songs that reminded us of nature. Since then, singer-songwriters the world over have tried to cure their heartbreak with high falsettos and synth machines. A few are pretty good, like the Des Moines, Iowa, duo of Evelyn Taylor and Nicholas Frampton. Now based in Nashville — and performing as Field Division — the two are cut from the same woodsy cloth as Vernon. Friday night at the Tank Room, let their gentle, dreamy harmonies carry you away to the earnest cornfields of their home state.
Friday, September 12, the Tank Room (1813 Grand, thetankroom.com)
S. Carey
Speaking of Vernon, S. Carey is the drummer for Bon Iver but he’s also a highly capable artist in his own right. For proof, look no further than Range of Light, a quiet stunner, full of songs that capture the essence of the places where they were conceived: Texas prairies, Minnesota lakes, Arizona deserts. In these cases, Carey proves a master of imagery. His true power, though, is in the restraint he exercises in the crafting of these songs. Carey’s lovely and solemn voice is sometimes no more than a quiet whisper, as though he doesn’t want to interrupt his musical arrangements. In this way, Range of Light feels tender, the kind of album that makes you feel OK about crying into your Malbec on a weeknight. Remember the tissues Tuesday when Carey stops at RecordBar.
Tuesday, September 16, RecordBar (1020 Westport Road, 816-753-5207)
The Flaming Lips
Tuesday night’s Flaming Lips show should be interesting, and not because frontman Wayne Coyne may wear some ridiculous feather-boa-and-pimp-coat ensemble and try to pretend that LSD hasn’t made him certifiably insane while he rolls through the crowd in a human-sized hamster ball. This is the first Kansas City show for the band since drummer (and local native) Kliph Scurlock was fired in March, an event he followed up on a few months later with some pretty dramatic accusations about Coyne. We foresee some weird vibes at this Crossroads KC show. But who knows, maybe this is the perfect chance for reconciliation.
Tuesday, September 16, Crossroads KC at Grinders (417 East 18th Street, 785-749-3434)
Die Antwoord
Die Antwoord scares me. It should scare you, too, with its ear-bashing beats and brusque, crass raps. The South African group’s latest, Donker Mag, is a grueling, beastly collection of noisy tracks — calling them “songs” seems inaccurate — that belong at some hellish rave. Frontman Ninja and frontwoman Yo-Landi are completely aware of this and revel in the mad enthusiasm that their music inspires at live shows. They are the bizarre gods of whatever genre they have created for themselves, and their audience is full of feverish devotion. Join the congregation Wednesday night at Crossroads KC.
Wednesday, September 17, Crossroads KC at Grinders (417 East 18th Street, 785-749-3434)
