Wednesday, April 21, 2004

The trickle continues... NEW: Prince, Musicology; Marcella Detroit, Feeler Prince is back with a new album and this time it's not half bad. Musicology is the sound of Prince at ease with his legacy, finally willing to turn out on album that's not afraid to get funky and have fun while it's doing it. "Musicology" and "Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance" get the ball rolling with some spare funk and a trip through popular music's past glories, Prince included. After that short introduction, the listener gets a front row seat for a trip through the many musical stylings at Prince's disposal. There's a moving romance in "A Million Days", an update of the purple one's synth-rock on "Cinnamon Girl", and a sparkling groove that will make you want to get up and dance on "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life". None of these tracks can equal classic Prince, but they sure do recall the highs of his career without seeming like retreads. Musicology is a welcome addition to Prince's catalog and one whose blueprint the Artist would do well to follow for future releases. Marcella Detroit's Feeler is an album rife with sweet pop melodies that can be a bit deceiving. Her musical virtuosity and her amazing voice obscure the fact that most of her sophomore album's songwriting is about uncompromising anger. Just whom she is angry at is anyone's guess, but that hardly takes away from the wonderful musicianship on display here. "I Hate You Now" is a Beatlesque romp through all the emotional shades and hues of a woman who's so angry she sees red. "The Same Father" glides smoothly along a staccato rhythm accented by strings until the melody bursts through a crunchy guitar solo into a computerized utopia of beats. The sound of Feeler is both classic and modern, pitched between the extremes of mainstream pop and eccentric indie pop. In other words, a distinctive and highly enjoyable record! Other highlights include "Flower", "Without Medication" and "Scared Silent". ------------------------- ...and ends. 2:32:21 PM    comment []

Monday, April 19, 2004

NT Baby! NEW: Fefe Dobson, Fefe Dobson; Red House Painters, Old Ramon AGAIN: Me'Shell NdegéOcello, Comfort Woman; Luna, Romantica Fefe Dobson's debut album is quite impressive for its smart hooks, crunchy guitars, and the huge voice of the titular heroine who's here to save pop music from its own excesses. Despite having a flawless production and a glossy sheen that covers everything, the record plays less like a marketing ploy and more like a genuine artistic statement by the young Fefe. Many of the flourishes found on the record are doubtless the product of the young artist collaborating with people who want her music to pop(!); thankfully, those flourishes and quirky production touches are just enough to make the record distinct instead of making it sound gimmicky and stuck in a moment it can't get out of. Highlights include: "Stupid Little Love Song" and "Bye Bye Boyfriend". The Red House Painters have been one of my favorite guitar-based bands ever since I heard the plaintive, melancholy words of "24" from Down Colourful Hill. I'm not sure I'd ever want to meet the man behind the music, but his words and his slow, beautiful music are more than enough to sustain the picture of tortured youth and boundless inner beauty that I think the Red House Painters' music represents. Old Ramon is the Red House Painters' sixth studio album and sounds slightly happier than most of the other stuff I've heard from the band. That doesn't mean the group has jettisoned its trademarked slow-burn lyrical delivery or its langorous chords and its watershed vocals. These distinguishing traits have been augmented by songs that are less world-weary and have a sense of the powerful emotions lying behind seemingly everyday things. Like many albums I haven't had the opportunity to fully savor in all its complexity, I will have to leave off here in hopes that a fuller analysis of the album will come at a later time. In the mean time, listen to these songs and see if you don't like them: "Wop-A-Din-Din", "Between Days", "Micigan", and "Kavita". Comfort Woman is a fantastically sexy and moving contemporary soul album from one of popular music's most distinctive artists, Me'Shell NdegéOcello. There's not much variation in the tempo of these ten tracks, but then again there doesn't have to be with songs as strong and beautiful as "Come Smoke My Herb". "Love Song #3" may be the best song on the album -- a song to make love to, a song that wants you to get lost in its sensual grooves and cosmic bliss. Listen as Me'Shell sings about love and feeling beautiful and you're bound to be swept away by the gorgeous, evocative production -- "Take me to paradise" indeed. Make no mistake, Comfort Woman is one of the best releases of 2003. Its greatness shows in every note. Other highlights include: "Love Song #1", "Andromeda and the Milky Way", "Liliquoi Moon", and "Thankful". Romantica -- I've reviewed it before and I'll review it again! This is the best album by Luna that I've heard thus far. The genius of Romantica is that it marries the songwriting capabilities of Dean Wareham with the production smarts of Dave Fridmann. What you end up with is a sparkling neo-psychedelic album that shimmers with indie pop pretensions without being overwhelmed by them musically or lyrically. I am eagerly awaiting the next Luna release to see if they can live up to this mini-masterpiece in both spirit and execution. We'll see, we'll see. Hightlights from Romantica: "Lovedust", "Black Champagne", "Renee Is Crying" and "Mermaid Eyes". ------------------------- Ka-BOOM! 2:07:05 PM    comment []

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

This is not my beautiful house!... this is not my beautiful wife!... how did I get here?!? NEW: Ben Kweller, Freak Out, It's Ben Kweller; Fleetwood Mac, Rumours; Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad News AGAIN: Moby, Everything Is Wrong; Fleetwood Mac, Tusk; Elf Power, A Dream in Sound Ben Kweller was already making a name for himself in 2000 on his debut record with songs like "BK Baby" and "How It Should Be (Sha Sha)", both fueled by alterna-geek charm and beat poet style. There's not much new going on here, but Kweller manages to entertain in a style that's not quite his own without sounding like an all-out imitator. I mean, how many people can recycle a lyric from Vanilla Ice and get away with it? Not many, that's who. See also: "I Don't Know Why", "Walk on Me" and "In Other Words". Rumours, like Elton John's Honky Chateau, is a pop music masterpiece brimming with classic songs and memorable hooks. It seems like not enough good things can be said about this utterly indelible material -- from "Second Hand News" all the way down to "Gold Dust Woman", each song leaves the listener with the distinct impression that this group was on a roll. "Don't Stop" with it's optimistic message ties all of the disparate themes of the album together under one banner. Even though some of the songs are undeniably melancholy, the entire record is pervaded by a hope and a comforting sadness that make the listener feel rejuvenated instead of emotionally drained. And with songs like the expansive "Dreams" and rollicking "Go Your Own Way", that's a very good thing. Modest Mouse's first album in nearly four years was definitely worth the wait! With mixing and instrumentation provided by the Flaming Lips and Dave Fridmann (who give the album some invitingly warm musical textures), this new album from Isaac Brock & Co. treads new, unfamiliar musical territory for the band, but remains firmly rooted in the band's tradition of searching, idiosyncratic lyrics. One interesting addition to the band's overall sound is guest performers the Dirty Dozen Brass Band who open the album with an appropriately titled "Horn Intro" and add color and a New Orleans-jazzy feel to several key tracks. The feel of the album differs significantly from The Moon & Antarctica and makes it a bit difficult to get into the finer aspects of the music after just one spin, but rest assured that the album is never boring and doesn't repeat past glories or reinvent them with new recording technology. More on this release later... Moby's Everything Is Wrong is one of his best albums and one of the best cross-over electronica albums ever made. Despite the fact that there are a few slabs of industial-minded garbage thrown into the mix, Everything Is Wrong is a fantastically catchy, wonderfully diverse glimpse into the world of dance music during the years 1994-1995. "Feeling So Real" and "Everytime You Touch Me" are high energy dance singles that have held up well given the fact that most dance music is dated the instant it reaches vinyl release. "Hymn" and "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" show that Moby's instrumental side is well-developed and just as intriguing as his booty-shaking number. And "Into the Blue" and "When It's Cold I'd Like to Die" showcase vocalist Mimi Goese at her most moving. If you've only heard Play or you think Moby is all about bleeps and blips and not much else, you'd do well to pick up a copy of this album. You might be surprised. Tusk is one of those albums that you have to let grow on you. Except for a handful of songs, the record plays like a strange collection of remnants from the Fleetwood Mac vault. "Over & Over", "Sara", "Think About Me", "Sisters of the Moon" and "Beautiful Child" are the most accessible tracks and will keep casual listeners coming back for more even if the rest of the material is a bit too strange for their taste. However, if you let the music invade your senses and keep spinning the record in its entirety, you'll come to realize that, for all of its idiosyncracies, Tusk is just as classic as Rumours or Fleetwood Mac. In fact, the record's off-kilter arrangements and plain weirdness are what distinguish it from most mainstream pop and make the songs even more memorable than the great songwriting that underpins them. "The Ledge" is a great example of this quality -- what sounds like a lo-fi hoedown upon first listen turns into a catchy interplay of vocals and rhythm that takes hold of your attention and doesn't let go. So go ahead, you know you want to buy a copy. Or at least download one. A Dream in Sound is probably my favorite Elf Power album thus far (though I still have yet to hear the latest release, Walking With the Beggar Boys), if only for its Dave Fridmann-produced sound and its delightfully weird psychedelic imagery. There's not really much more I can say about this release except that indie rock fans with a taste for smart pop hooks and surreal narratives will be pleased as punch while anyone else will probably be scratching their heads in confusion. Despite the emotional complexity behind the nonsensical lyrics, it may be difficult for many to see what's so good about this band or its music. The only suggestion I can offer is to keep spinning the album until its bizarre charms seep into your subconscious and allow you to see the beautiful and poignant comedy behind this band's art. So there. ------------------------- Letting the days go by... 2:51:17 PM    comment []

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Ergh... still only a fragment of what it used to be... NEW: Danger Mouse, The Grey Album AGAIN: Basement Jaxx, Remedy The Grey Album is quite an interesting underground release. If you haven't already heard, it combines the sounds of the Beatles' White Album with the raps of Jay-Z's Black Album and creates something almost, but not quite, new. I have to say that I'm pleased with the results -- the songs work much better than one might have expected. Danger Mouse doesn't just lift melodies and instrumentation from the Beatles, he splices odds and ends from the Beatles to come up with propulsive and retro hip-hop grooves, sometimes employing the voices of the Beatles themselves to provide Jay-Z with some harmony. It's unfortunate that more people won't get to hear the album since, technically, it is illegal to distribute copies to anyone. I say be a maverick in your town and download a couple of tracks -- "Public Service Announcement", "December 4th", "99 Problems", and "Justify My Thug" are all fine choices and will have you smiling in no time. Basement Jaxx took the world of house music by storm in the late 90s when they released Remedy, a heady collection of tracks that rivalled Daft Punk's Homework for quality and consistency. The album is a marvel of production savvy and dancefloor genius. Basement Jaxx might've gone on to have bigger hits and bigger artist collaborations, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better selection of songs or a more diverse aesthetic than on their debut. To get a feel for their style, you really have to listen to the record -- "Rendez-Vu", "Red Alert", "Always Be There" and "Bingo Bango" are the standouts. ------------------------- More to come?? 11:04:02 AM    comment []

Monday, April 05, 2004

Here's something special for ya... NEW: Duran Duran, Seven and the Ragged Tiger; Courtney Love, America's Sweetheart; The Go-Go's, Beauty and the Beat Seven and the Ragged Tiger pales next to Duran Duran's first two efforts, but the style and glitz of singles like "The Reflex" make this album necessary for anyone who's had the insistent beat of Simon Lebon stuck in their head all day long. The album finds Duran Duran switching gears slightly, cranking up the synthesized aspects of the music, turning down the arty songwriting, and adding a heaping helping of danceclub culture for good measure. What results is not always as engaging as their previous work, but that hardly matters when you've got the stereo set to "10" during your annual 80s blowout party. Trust me, no one will care that "Union of the Snake" doesn't sound as driving or as forceful as "Hungry Like the Wolf" -- they'll just have another beer and get on with it. As should I! America's Sweetheart, much to my surprise, isn't as bad as all the reviews say it is. Sure, Courtney's voice sounds a little ragged, but this hardly matters since the raggedness seems to be part of her trashy junkie-cum-celebrity persona. It's all part of the package, people! What really matters is the music and Ms. Love delivers the goods on that front without flinching for one instant. This may not be a masterpiece, and it may be more than just a little self-obsessed, but for anyone who's a fan of Courtney Love in all her sad and pathetic glory, you know that these things are not flaws, but assets. The more she spins a self-myth, the more we want her to succeed at becoming her own myth. Here's to hoping that Courtney can bring it all together again for something even more spectacular next time! Highlights: "Mono", "But Julian, I'm a Little Bit Older Than You", and "Never Gonna Be the Same". The Go-Go's new wave reinventions of surf rock and girl group conventions made them the first successfully commercial all-female group that wasn't contolled by record companies or their producers. Listening to the album, it's easy to see why they were so hugely successful. "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat" are ubiquitous fan favorites and the rest of the album is similarly hook-filled and upbeat. Even though the Go-Go's ironed out most of the punk influences from their sound before recording Beauty and the Beat, the attitude and swagger that these women radiated so effortlessly belied their origins to anyone who was paying close attention. That combination of punk attitude and pop smarts vaulted the group is number two on the singles charts (with "We Got the Beat") for three weeks and made Beauty and the Beat a cornerstone of new wave rock. ------------------------- And so another day is done... 12:47:22 PM    comment []

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