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release.Q: What can you do in two hoursl A: What can you do in seven minutesl How about the folk-pop love song "Good Intentions Paving Company," which tumbles through vocal harmonies, tambourines, and bouncing chordsl In nine and a half minutesl Try the quiet, memorializing "Baby Birch," whose honest, slow plucks and building emotion will bring you to your knees. In eight minutes and three secondsl "Go Long," whose meek beginning masks powerful cascades ofharp chords. That's how foanna Newsom might answer, anyway. Q: Do you find yourself moved in unanticipated ways with the simple turns of phrase Newsom leaves in her wakel Perhaps when she sings,

"My heart made the sound of snow falling from eaves' ("You and Me, Bess")? Soberly states, "My face cracked like a joke" ("fackrabbits")l Even the way she pronounces, "cartouche and tweed" ("Does Not Suffice")l A: Yes. Q: Can you verify that Newsom's heart is, in fact, "heavy as an oil drum" as she claims in "In California"? A: It does seem like she's sad, but in a smart way: misty-eyed but clear-headed,looking back but moving on. Q: Can you offer up a music review clich6 of Have One On Me for our readersl A: If Milk -Eyed M enderw as N ewsom as a playful, giddy freshman, and Ysher introspective sophomore romp through folk, then Have One On Me is...simply beyond this type

of everydayclassification. It's simultaneously accessibleand impossible to digest, its songs stripped-down yet bombastic, roving but contained, offueat but on purpose. It defies genre, redefines structure, and certainly puts Newsom on a new playing field.
_KJ ER ST IN J OH N SO N

many tambourine taps, catchy hooks, and "oooh-ahh"s, the lyrics are worth a close listen, too. By Kick's end, it's clear: The Splinters don't take shit, but they do want you to sway, smile, and join the sing-along.
@ L IZ P E L LY

YOU'REDOINGITWRONGIF: You keep wonderingwhich c e l e b b o y fr i e n d s h e 'ss i n g i n g ab o u t .

D O R MD A Z E :T h e Sp l i n te r s'co l l e g e m e e t - u p b a c ksto r yki n d o f m a k e sy o u w i s h y o u h a d sp e n t s o m e t i m e j a m m i n g w i th yo u r f r e s h m a n - y e afrl o o r m a te s,to o .

BRIDGE CAROTS KICK

The enthralling new effort from minimalist folk vocalist Laura Gibson and soundinstallation artist Ethan Rose projects the exponential effectiveness of a well-matched pair. Gibson, whose last solo work was 2oo9's Beastof Seapaints with broad strokes, sozls, parceling both the expressionism of classic jazz andlhe philosophical lyrics of modern folk into a completely uninhibited release.The Oregonbased songstress shines with a pillow-soft performance in "Younger," which is punctuated by abstractly placed yet poignant lyrics: "l dreamed I was a racehorse/Fighting, fighting/ I dreamed I was a beast of burden and I couldn't walk straight." For Rose,BridgeCarolsis as avant-gardeas his laundry list offilm scoresand gallery-based installations.Warm compositions evolve organically as he allows automated helpers (music boxes, player pianos) to shepherd his creative progression. Recordedin basements, forests, and fields, even Bridge Carols' mosl basic elements, like the low-resonating orchestral hum of"Introduction" and the seemingly random vocal and instrumental chirps in

If you're in the market for a neo-Riot Grrrl Shangri-Lasmeets-Bikini Kill garage band (and who isn't?), look no further than The Splinters, a gnrlpop quartet who met as UC Berkeley freshmen and spent their college years playing house parties and self-releasing their first record in zoo9. The same orY mind-ser that propelled The Splinters into existence surfaces on the Oaklanders' debut full-length, Kick,a decidedlylo-fi effort that clocks in at just :under 27 minutes. The album's r2 songs teeter between punk edginess ("Oranges")and vintage girlgroup heart ("Sorry"), but are at their most compeiling when the two influences are seamlessly woven together. In contrast to reverb-heavy buzz bands like Vivian Girls and Best Coast, who also draw on'6os girl groups,The Splinters lay offdistortion and noise in favor of more audible lyrics. The band's two guitarists (Ashley Thomas and Caroline Partamian), drummer (Courtney Gray), and tambourine player (Lauren Stern) join forces for group vocals on nearly every track. And though your ears might be distracted by the

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"GIocken," accurately translate the duo's surroundings into song. What results is a collection of spontaneous soundscapes, each track capturing an intimate moment in time brought to life through the tenderness of Gibson's vocal f r a i lt y. -c L A I RE a s Hro N
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ALUMNIASSOCIATION: ush H R e cords. ib so n'slab el. G re l e asedear ly wo rk from the D e cemberists d Kin d Of Li k e an Sp i tting.

den of My Brightest Diamond. She's particularly memorable in "On the Edge,"singing of uncertainty, hope and a gold coin, her high voice fluttering like a bird. Also featured on the album: Sufjan Stevensand The National'sMatt Berninger. Berninger's bandmate, guitarist Bryce Dessner, is among the four serious-with-a-capitalS musicians who constitute the regular Clogs roster. The restl Bassoonist Rachael Elliott, percussionist Thomas Kozumplik, and viola player Padma Newsome-who gets the composition credits for this dramatic collection.
_CRYSTAL @ K. W IEBE

B r uises an d B utterfli es hits a high note with the brooding, fingerpicked "Blood to Give"-a track reminiscent of The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin"-and piques interest with the countrytinged "Circles," which comes completewith lush harmonies and slide guitar. The sentimental opener "Remember May" and r9 6os-inspired kaleidoscopic-folktune "Moonshine" eventually yield to darker fare, unexpectedlyshifting gearsin a manner that speaks volumes for Randazzo's songwriting prowess. Cultivated from heartache, the aptly titled Bruises and Butterflies is an aural affirmation that every dark cloud has a silver linine. - c. I

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS: Lege n d a r y t 9 7 o s B r i t i s hf o l k- si n g e r B r i d g e t S t . J o h n c o l l a bo r a te d w i t h R a n d a z z o n t w o of o Eruises'tracks.

HIGH PLACES VS. MANKIND

THECREATURES IN THE GARDEN LADY OF WATTON

The concept ofa transnational band is hardly novel anymore. Thanks to e-mail, anyone can send songs-in-progressto faroffcollaborators. The players in American/Australian modern classical quartet Clogs create this way. Nine years, five albums, and an rp in. their efforts are notable for other reasons. On their latest release, The Creaturesin the Garden of Lady Walton.it's hard to imagine what's in store after the a cappella choral intro "Cocodrillo," which somehow brings to mind primal barbershopmusic (if such a thing exists) with its raw-sounding harmonies. The track may be the weirdest on the album, but it's not Creatures' only wild bloom. Celtic sounds and hints ofSouthern porch bluegrass converge,and the songs are full ofstrange tinklings, woody clicks, and pulsing strings, for an overall effect that is both old-timey and fresh-and, at times, otherworldly. Creatures also marks a departure from previous Clogs collections, which tended to be mostly instrumental. Multiple guest vocalistsloin in, most prominently Shara Wor-

PLAYTO IMPRESS: Classically trained music snobs.

Not content to leavethe eoic subjects to Oprah, Mary Pearson and Rob Barber of High Placesput the emphasis on mankind when it comes ro the title of the band's second full-length. Yes, this is about humanity, as promised, but as voiced by the dulcet-toned Pearson,it's equally about viewing humans through a distinctly diffused, unstructured, female-driven prism.

BRUISES AND BUTTERFLIES

For Elisa Randazzo, daughter of r96os songwriters Victoria Pike and Teddy Randazzo, who crafted tunes for pop legends The Zombies, Linda Ronstadt, and Frank Sinatra, it wasn't nursery school in Jamaica or childhood years spent frequenting smoky Las Vegas lounges that bred the entropy-inspired Bruisesand Butterflies. Rather, it was a broken marriage that set creativity in motion for the singer-songwriter-violinist, whose history includes notable releaseson the U.K.'s Fierce Panda label and work with the avant-garderock band the Red Krayola. Post-divorce,Randazzo, who's also a designer (her clothing lines Dusty of Cali fornia and Cameo were named in honor of Dusty Springfield) converted her home into a studio and spent late nights recording. The result is a candid, well-crafted outpouring of emotion.
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