.Local Licks

This week, we review Mickey Hart & Zakir Hussain, Olehole, the Kid Rated R, and Geographer.

Mickey Hart & Zakir Hussain, Global Drum Project

Grateful Dead drummer Hart, longtime collaborator Hussain, and bandmates Sikiru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo aren’t into drums so much as rhythms. All manner of percussion colors their first effort together, including a broad range of Eastern, Latin, African, and vocal styles. (Shout Factory)

Olehole, Holemole

This Oakland band’s debut full-length makes a big, loud statement: grunge can still be relevant and even vital as an art form. Diffusing the frustration of hardcore through an accessible hard-rock filter, Olehole (pronounced o-lay ho-lay) expertly employs songcraft, lyricism, raw energy, and loads of distortion. (Underground Communique Records)

The Kid Rated R, Remember the Name

In “Music 2 My…,” Rated R calls out the music that made him who is: “Everything from Jimi Hendrix to Madonna … Doggystyle: that’s the kind of rap that makes me want to rap right now.” Why else does he do it? “Just to make ya jump up and down like gas prices.” His debut is nothing new, but consistently good, marked by expressive raps and solid beats. (self-released)

Geographer, Innocent Ghosts

Piano and keyboard form the background of this generally mellow, relatively aching pop-rock assemblage. If Pinback were more sincere and Coldplay less stadium-sized, they might meet somewhere around Geographer. The San Francisco trio’s melodic and emotional lines are a tad oversimplified, but can still be mesmerizing. (self-released) 

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