.Local Licks

This week, we review D.E. Chung, Goodword, Helloakland comp, and the Drift.

D.E. Chung, Clifton at Desmond. What to call D.E. Chung’s music — a percussion-heavy hybrid of island rhythms, smooth jazz, and new age — is anyone’s guess. His brisk drumming and basic keyboard parts underlie saxophone leads throughout a baker’s dozen of overlong songs that flirt with tedium en route to passive satisfaction. (Chungo Boogie Music)

Goodword, The Thanks Martin Mixtape. The beats are sick, but the story behind them is even better. Legend has it a producer named Martin wronged San Francisco rapper Goodword, so he jacked the batch of beats he’d already been sent, grabbed a bunch of friends, and made a killer mixtape. To avoid a lawsuit, it’s technically not for sale. (One League)

Various Artists, Helloakland Volume One. Greg Ashley of the Gris Gris recorded and produced these eleven songs by new and lesser known Oakland artists on an eight-track reel-to-reel. Highlights from Little Teeth, Saything, and 0th showcase the depth and vitality of Oakland’s indie music scene, and Helloakland, a new arts and events company, promises more to come. (self-released)

The Drift, Memory Drawings. This San Francisco quartet’s jazz-dub-post-rock fusion doesn’t so much drift as flow, with nine-minute songs that maintain momentum and drama in the absence of pronounced peaks and valleys. Better still, they steer clear of the conscious aimlessness that preys on so many experimental rock acts. (Temporary Residence Ltd.) 

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