The Severed Cortex

Tales Of The Forgotten Melodies - Wax Tailor

Turntable Wizardry. That's what I'd basically call this. When Portishead released Dummy back in 1994, trip hop became a somewhat mainstream genre. And then the genre promptly went back underground. While both this release and Dummy are rooted in electronica, Portishead leaned heavily towards the trip. Wax Tailor instead leans heavily towards the hop. Damn That Music Made My Day pays homage to almost every 80's and 90's rap artist including some of my favorites like De La Soul, Digital Underground, and Public Enemy. Where My Heart's At spells out the hip hop love fest plain and simple.
But Wax Tailor isn't just your run of the mill underground trip hop artist. They've managed to take the genre a little farther than others. Mixing in sound bites from old film and radio, a technique that Portishead, Radiohead, and others dabbled with, Wax Tailor manages to cohesively pull these bites into a full length story. They then layer these on top of some of the sickest trip hop grooves and produce some of the most unique music I've heard in a while.
I like listening to trip hop because it's perfect background coding music; like jazz or electronica. This one tends to distract me a little more than others just because you get caught up in listening to the old Garbo or Bogart clips. I don't know if you'll like it as much as I do, but you should at least spin through iTunes to give it the old 30 second clip listen. Que Sera is probably the pick song on the disc, but Our Dance is worth listening to just for the reverence paid to Portishead.

This Is Ryan Shaw -Ryan Shaw

Normally I don't fall for these contrived sorts of things. Boy bands, pop divas, and deliberate attempts to produce commercial success (see Black Eyed Peas) are a sure fire way to get me to completely dismiss something, sound unheard. But, I do have a weakness for 60's and 70's soul music. Spend all day in a tractor or grain truck with an AM only radio seemingly stuck on WDIA and you learn to appreciate the merits of Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, and even Rufus Thomas. I like Motown, but I was probably most influenced by Stax. My dad had Booker T & The MG's on 45 and I must have worn out Green Onions to death.
Someone got the great idea to see if retro soul might need a comeback. Since it's impossible to trot out Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, or Wilson Pickett, the search was on for a replacement. Enter Ryan Shaw. Ryan Shaw wasn't even born before most of these guys were dead, but he seems to have channeled their soul(s). Taking on some older obscure R & B Tunes, Shaw brings them back to life with a voice that shouldn't be possible in such a young person. But it is and he showcases it some of his originals too. Most everything on here sounds like it was made in Detroit or Memphis.
But, the sad fact is that this is totally canned. Ryan Shaw is for real. He probably would have found his niche without someone else putting the whole thing together for him. However, this route got him there a lot faster and with plenty of well deserved hype. Everything on this release is fantastic. It's like you picked it right out of 1964. At $6.99 on iTunes it's a no brainer for adding to your collection. Click the Buy button, even if some corporate jack ass gets all the money.