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One of the year's best albums arrives Friday, and it's about damn time.
Communist Daughter went six years between LPs, a long stretch marked by rehab, redemption, marriage and two years of extensive studio work. You can hear all of that come out on "The Cracks That Built the Wall," offering a wall of dramatic, lush pop-rock arrangements without losing the poignantly self-aware, confessional tone of frontman Johnny Solomon's lyrics.
Coproduced with local studio vet Kevin Bowe, the sophomore effort ranges sonically from the blissed-out, New Pornographers-like rocker "Beach Stalker" to the stormier, Arcade Fire-evoking gem "The Dealer" to several quieter, dreamy tracks built on Johnny's haunted-sounding harmonies with bandmate-turned wife Molly Solomon.
I can't wait to hear this new stuff live. The band will wrap up a string of fall tour dates with a hometown release party on Nov. 11 at First Avenue, but they're back in town to play an in-store set at the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis on Friday at 7 p.m.
Random mix
After their innovative blending of electronic, funk, R&B and Afrobeat paid off beautifully when their debut album "What's the Price?" landed in June, ZuluZuluu will now experiment further on stage over the course of a four-week residency at Icehouse that begins next Thursday. The shows, dubbed "Astralbeat Theories," will feature different guests each week (10 p.m., $7). … Icehouse also hosts the Festival de las Calaveras kickoff party on Tuesday with Maria Isa, Duende and Sonidero Psicotropical (9 p.m., $8-$10). …
The annual Dosh & Friends feel-good fest at the Cedar Cultural Center has been announced for Dec. 10, but in the meantime Martin Dosh is working with new friends at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre on a special "Music Animated" stage show Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. ($20, hobt.org). … Bassist Chris Bierden has ditched his friends in Poliça to record a solo album under the moniker Invisible Boy, due out Nov. 11. The first track off it, "All the Kids," premiered Tuesday on BrooklynVegan.com and sounds like a wigged-out take on John Lennon's "#9 Dream." … Best tease of the week: Allan Kingdom tweeted a photo of himself in a studio with omnipresent dance/hip-hop producer Diplo and L.A. beatmaker RL Grime. The accompanying message simply read, "Wait on it." …
I heard a lot of raves from last weekend's open house at the refurbished Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, which had dark-green water in its indoor swimming pool and chipmunks coming into its studio space the last time I was there in the late-'00s. Final restorations to the complex — where Nirvana and PJ Harvey made their best records — were left to the family and friends of Seedy Underbelly studio owner John Kuker, who died last year after saving the place from destitution. Thanks, John. You can see the final results and book your own studio time at pachyderm-studios.com.
