Dannyland is Danny Cohen's first official solo album after years of privately issued cassette tapes. It's about time. His brother is Greg Cohen, a jazz bassist who's worked extensively with John Zorn and Tom Waits. Zorn's Tzadik label released Cohen's Museum of Dannys, a collection of old four-track recordings, in 1999, but nobody paid attention. Something tells me Waits, who also records for Anti-, has something to do with Cohen's new label and bigger budget; if so, he's done a good deed. Cohen belongs to the Syd Barrett-Daniel Johnston lineage of troubled souls who, as far as everyday life is concerned, are too perceptive and sensitive for their own good. They're certainly not good self-promoters, but as songwriters they have a window into the human condition that run-of-the-mill indie rockers and Wayne Coyne can only dream of. One of the song titles, "Enlightened Despondency," summarizes Cohen's worldview. His lyrics are black humor at its blackest, yet he often delivers them in cartoonish voices (including one that sounds like the Grinch) and deceptively upbeat melodies. Since this is the local reviews section, I'll add that his seedy songs about San Francisco are among the best examples of local color I've ever heard, although the tourism department might not agree. Danny Cohen plays Sun/27, Doc's Clock, S.F. (415) 824-3627. (Will York)

Call and Response
Winds Take No Shape (Badman)

Listening to Call and Response's second album, Winds Take No Shape, it's hard to believe the band ever had a reputation as bubbly, sunny California popsters. The co-ed quintet abandon the summery odes to roller-skating and bubble-blowing that defined their self-titled debut – released in 2001 on Kindercore, then reissued by Emperor Norton with additional tracks and handiwork by Beck producer Mickey Petralia – in order to craft an atmospheric sound more akin to a subdued Stereolab or Broadcast. The departure is meandering, melodic bliss: with the group still ensconced in '60s folk, psych, and pop, Winds Take No Shape ultimately takes no shape itself as songs leisurely bleed into one another for an excellent easy-listening experience. And while they could benefit from a few straight-up hooks – at times the album is, in fact, so easygoing that it's practically background music – Call and Response have recorded a beautiful, immensely sad set of songs that charms with repeated listens. Immediate standouts "Trapped under Ice" and "Eclipse" wonderfully showcase vocalist Carrie Clough's newly sophisticated lyrical approach – she's moved far beyond "Loop dee loop around the rink!" – while the album endears with disarming effortlessness and languor. Call and Response play Fri/25, Bottom of the Hill, S.F. (415) 621-4455; Sat/26, Amoeba Music, S.F. (415) 831-1200. (Jimmy Draper)

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