Modern independent rock today has found an unsteady position vying with modern dance; as the independent audience begins more and more to regard dance in a serious light, rock bands have benefited from the help of dance labels and club remixes of their songs. It is onto this scene that Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy have become so prominent for their stable of dance-rock artists and their production work as the DFA. Their vinyl remixes have been club fodder in NYC and around the world now for more than two years, and DFA #2 marks a milestone in their careers; two discs longer than their first compilation, the set reveals their increasingly prolific catalog at a glance, and the outstanding nature of their production at a listen.

Familiar names don the tracklist of this recent compilation. The Rapture’s profile has boomed after the DFA-produced Echoes, and the Black Dice have long been favorites in the art-rock subgenres. The DFA’s own group, LCD Soundsystem joins these bands and the Juan McLean for the lion’s share of the three-CD set, but the shine of the duo’s production gleams over all of the 30 tracks. Their trademark sound of funky bass with skronky guitars, ’80s keyboards, and subtle synthesizer unites these discs to such an extent that the artists themselves are in a definitive back seat: this is all about drawing out the songs and flaunting their skill behind the dials. No song lasts less than four minutes, and vocals are sparse, giving way to slick instrumental above all else.

The ultra-relevant blend of rock and dance this music has its most sophisticated, engaging, and above all else, intelligent producers in the form of the DFA. Their new release saves a lot of vinyl in its wake, and is an electrifying jolt from the most relevant rock genre of our day and its foremost spokesmen.

—Christopher A. Kukstis

Deja Voodoo

Gov’t Mule

(ATO Records)

There are a handful of iconic figures in the music industry who seem unstoppable; guys like Santana or James Brown who at once cut live and studio albums and record tracks with other artists while watching their sales and recognition rise. Warren Haynes, the mastermind behind gritty blues-rock icons Gov’t Mule, is the latest of these musical renaissance men. Apart from his work in Mule, Haynes has cemented his legend with a burgeoning solo career and the contribution of his inimitable guitar style to tours with The Dead, Phil Lesh and Friends and The Allman Brothers Band.

Gov’t Mule began as a power trio comprised of Haynes, bassist Allen Woody and drummer Matt Abts. Following Woody’s death in 2000, a sobered Haynes and Abts started a project called The Deepest End where some of Woody’s favorite bassists (John Entwistle and Victor Wooten, among others) were invited to play on two studio albums and one massive five-hour live show, recorded both for CD and DVD. Deja Voodoo, the Mule’s 11th overall release, their fifth on ATO and their first with new bassist Andy Hess and keyboardist Danny Louis, doesn’t attempt to reinvent the band’s hard rock-based sound, still emphasizing razor-edged riffing, slower rock numbers and Haynes’ trademark voice. This album is less jam-oriented than The Deepest End, although Haynes’ love of power riffs (“Lola Leave Your Light On”) is clearly still alive and well. Unfortunately, blues number “My Separate Reality” sounds so much like the Allman Brothers original “Desdemona” and blues standard “Worried Down with the Blues” that Haynes’ songwriting capacities are brought into question; overall, the songs on this album impress less than those on The Deepest End. There are still ferocious moments on many of the tracks where Haynes’ gruff voice can make your hair stand up or where his guitar playing is especially emotive, but many of the songs are difficult to tell apart and thus the album feels slightly ambiguous. Chord changes are relatively predictable as are many of the guitar riffs but the Mule plays this music with such verve and emotion that it’s impossible not to enjoy this album.

Haynes, often considered one of the leading guitar virtuosos of the 21st century, is in fine form on this album. He’s so much better than almost all of the guitarists on the rock and jam circuits these days due largely to his innate feel and strong fingers; his playing really makes some of these songs sing, as on “New World Blues.” However, anyone familiar with the latest iteration of the Allman Brothers Band knows that Haynes is capable of much more when paired with young virtuoso Derek Trucks. When the two play, Haynes seems to leave his pentatonic comfort zone a bit to combat Trucks’ sheer ingenuity and natural sense of rhythm and melody. Alone, Haynes and the Mule still impress, but don’t experiment with tempo, feel or melody as much as they could.

—Nathaniel Naddaff-Hafrey