Vinyl Minded, Gift Guide Edition Vol. 4Chip Kinman

Chip Kinman (In the Red)

As a member of beloved punks The Dils and then a number of other projects, all with his brother Tony (Rank & File, Blackbird, Cowboy Nation), Chip Kinman is a Hallowed figure on the L.A. scene. It's impressive that all of his projects have a different sound, though a family feel for fans.

This self-titled album is Chip's first full length solo effort, and it's a hyper-personal, genre-blurring piece of work.

“I had to figure out something to write about, and I thought, it’s time to make that record,” Chip says. “A long time ago, Tony and I were talking about singer-songwriters, and he said, ‘If you’re going to sing about your life, you better have had a fucking interesting life.’ And I thought, I have. I’ve gotta deep-dive into that. I figured, if I was going to write about what it was like, how was I gonna approach that? How was I going to say that without being nostalgic or without being maudlin or without being over-celebratory? It it was, well, just say it like it was.”

"So Young" is a beautiful backwards glance, while there are awesome guest appearances (Alice Bag on "Que Voy A Hacer," Mike Watt on "Drive Drive Drive"). But it's the blend of electro-punk and rootsy singer-songwriter that keeps the senses perked.

Naïm Amor and Kid Congo Powers

Tucson Safari (In the Red)

Kid Congo, well known for his work with The Cramps and The Gun Club in particular, has been busy of late. His project with Alice Bag, Juanita & Juan, plus his ongoing work with his band the Pink Monkey Birds, has seen him recording and playing shows regularly. This is different though.

According to his bio, "Gabriel Naïm Amor is a French born, Parisian musician who moved to Tucson, AZ in 1997 where he lives with his family." Of this pairing, In the Red says, "Naim Amor and Kid Congo Powers met shortly before the pandemic in Tucson, AZ . When the complete lockdowns hit everybody, Naïm like lots of other musicians reclused himself in his studio and started experimenting with longtime ideas that were on the shelf. The initial idea was to combine rockabilly/ garage electric guitars with electronic drum machines and bass synthesizers, a vague intuition inspired by Link Wray’s guitar tones in one hand and the electronic rawness of the band Suicide."

So that's how it all came to be, and the results are wonderful. Link Wray is a solid reference point; there's a very desert feel to the music, like a psychedelic spaghetti western but gone surf. The use of the drum machines and synths add an otherworldly vibe that is most welcome on tunes like "Murder She Wrote." A success, all told.

Woo

Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong (Independent Project Records)

We discovered London duo Woo via this column a couple of years ago and, honestly, we haven't looked back. We learned then that Woo were early pioneers of electronic-infused music, but never received the credit afforded to the likes of Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk. The good folk at Independent Project Records are doing a fine job of reintroducing, or perhaps introducing, the world to the joy of Woo through some quite stunning rereleases. Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong is the latest.

Mark and Clive Ives are the brothers in question, and this double LP features a remastering of the original album, plus 10 previously unreleased bonus tracks presented as a mini-album.

"Mark and I had been home recording for five very prolific years before Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong was compiled," Clive says. "The 13 tracks we selected from this period are very diverse in style, yet magically complimentary."

Diverse is right. Jazz and folk, prog and electronica, it all makes its way in on songs such as "Swingtime" and "A Wave." The whole set is an experience though, and we're glad it's now a more expansive one.The post Vinyl Minded, Gift Guide Edition Vol. 4 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.