22-20s - Shake/Shiver/Moan

I thought I remembered the 22-20s from hearing at least a song before, and I remembered it being more garage-y. Maybe I made that up in my head, because the 22-20s rarely get rambunctious on this latest disc. And nothing is remotely sexy enough to make me want to shake, shiver OR moan.

Now, I love Arctic Monkeys, and I wouldn't call them a garage rock band either, but at least Alex seems like he's always half in the bag and is only coming around to have a go at your girl.

The problem seems to mostly stem from singer Martin Trimble. When he doesn't seem tired or bored, he's at the very least too proper for a rock band. Standing him next to Jack White would be like standing Hugh Grant next to Marlon Brando (1950). The answer is obvious. Also, production is entirely too clean. For his part, the drummer is trying to let go and rip it up here and there. But even on those tracks, like "Oceans", he's masked by a producer who wants everything to be heard a little bit. Every strum, every cymbal hit. No distortion whatsoever.

The benefit to playing and singing this lazy is that when you have a slow, lazy, snake-in-the-desert-sand song, it works. "Bitter Pills" is included for your enjoyment. Otherwise- spiritless. (1.5 of 5 stars)

The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

After seeing The Gaslight Anthem at Lollapalooza last year, I finally caught up not too long ago with their breakthrough, The '59 Sound. And it's true that I got caught up in it. With the look and every bit as much intention as Social Distortion; their sound was considerably more whispy, even poppy. If they get too big, there will be a backlash and people will start calling them girl punk, but that'll be a misnomer. Yes, Brian Fallon is pretty and his voice emotive and clean. And yes, the songs are hooky. And yes, the songs have a sentimentality about them. But it goes back to the whole Jersey aesthetic- this idea of honoring your home and family, even as you are leaving them.

On the new record, we get more of the same formula. Only this time I feel a little less connected to it. It feels like the characters that are being sung to are the ladies. "The Queen of Lower Chelsea" as one of the titles goes. Nothing as ferociously heart-straining as the full-speed eulogy of the last album's title track.

No real low-points per se, just way fewer high points. Like a new collection of songs that were probably worked on 5 years ago and not completed. But hey, ya gotta keep workin'. One high point brings my favorite track to the front. "Orphans" is another lost-children anthem that we come to this music for. "We were orphans before we were ever the sons of regret." It's a line as worthy of our attention as "Tramps like us, baby we were born to run".



And it's true. These songs were created for us to form a kinship with. And even if the kinship is stronger with your kid sister, you should still invite 'em to the table. At least they're not 30 Seconds To Mars. (3 of 5 stars)

Villagers - Becoming A Jackal

Not a lot going on this week. I almost made my review this week of new releases by Christina Aguilera or maybe even Hanson. But opted instead for an artist I'd never heard of before. Based only on the description of "alternative singer/songwriter" and "Irish".


Good thing. Because these are some well-written songs. Songwriter Conor O'Brien is certainly alphabetically close to Conor Oberst. But you would have resembled the two anyway. The latter being among indie-folk's most prolific entities this past decade. But beyond their love of wordplay, Villagers employ some of the dramatic build-ups of orchestration that I've recently heard from other British-isle exports like Frightened Rabbit and the Rumble Strips.

Having complimented that though, my favorite song is the mellowest, quietest one. "The Meaning of the Ritual" is a confession of our inherent selfish nature in the realm of love. A close second is the exploding "Pieces" - which starts out stark, with a minimalist clinking of a 1950's style doo-wop piano, but the dynamically shifts to a orchestration wall-of-sound overload; complete with Conor actually howling to a moon. It might as well have been followed by an excerpt of Paul McCartney singing about brushing his teeth or something.
(4 of 5 stars)

Gemma Ray - It's a Shame About Gemma Ray

A complete covers album by this neo-soul singer from England. The track listing is pretty eclectic, showing only 3 song titles (of 16) that I even recognize. Most tracks last under 3:00 and the production is altogether sparse. Apparently different than Gemma's previous soul works.

To that end, the "soul" end, I could hardly see how this Gemma would qualify. Her voice here is lilting and wispy. I could not imagine it carrying some soul backed effort, where some outward emotion is necessary. But Gemma sounds completely appropriate with her accompaniment here. Mostly a single guitar and the vocal echo chamber. It's clearly a distinctive eerie atmosphere, almost film music. To this point, check out the Mudhoney/Nirvana cover, "Touch Me, I'm Sick".

But if I'm not completely sold on these tracks, I'm sure I can revisit their original songwriters. "I'd Rather Be Your Enemy" has some drums thrown on it here, and sounds not unlike ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. But more than that, it was well written and I went back to country singer's Lee Hazlewood's 1971 version and found a gem.

On the other hand, Buddy Holly's "Everyday" becomes morbid and therefore, lyrically ironic. It's a shitty and obvious way to cover a song, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the impetus for this whole project. Because it is a successful effort, generally. But to take a ultimately happy song like this and turn it inside out just for the sake of doing so is weak. It's like when pop-punk bands cover '80s songs just to be douchey.

But that's a rarity on this record. It is mostly straight ahead mood music. Maybe you'll sit on your porch with rum runners and watch it rain. Or maybe you'll play while you make love to that guy who not-so-secretly hates you. Your tragedy becomes you. (3 of 5 stars)