Saturday, October 5, 2013

Lorde - Pure Heroine

The "single of the year" girl releases a big spring hit and gets an album done by fall. And yes, I know that Lorde was all of 16 when you were clubbing to her jam. But before we give young Ella Stevie-Wonder-sized credit, don't forget that her producer/co-writer is 30 and has been at this music game a while.
 
I agree, of course, that "Royals" is a great song. Starting with the understated rhythm track that comes off like a slow sex jam, the song is still immediately danceable. Lorde's voice and the looped over vocal harmonies makes up almost the whole of any instrumentation. And the lyric is a very clever re-establishment of an alternaative youth culture that avoids the trappings of the previously lauded rap-led cash/money/murder life.
 
Unfortunately, I can't say that the rest of the album fares as well. Maybe the duo just needed more time to write some songs. Or get a band together. But the rest of the album feels like lesser versions of Royals. Mellow but danceable beats with some keyboard accompaniment, Lorde's monotoned verses and bigger choruses. Songs about what Lorde and her crew do. Or her generation? You know how in "Royals" she talks about "that kind of lux just ain't for US"? The rest of the songs too seem that she doesn't have thoughts or feelings of her own. She only speaks of what WE do/think/feel. Weird.
 
I expect that Ella will tour, cash her checks and take two years to regroup with a more mature sound and more thoughtful thoughts. (2 of 5 stars)
 
 

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Sammy Hagar & Friends

 
Long story short, I'm a huge Sammy Hagar fan. So while this blog doesn't normally dedicate this blog to a track-by-track review of new releases, this week you're in a treat. Song titles will link to audio/video.

Mostly acoustic blues about the world state of affairs. Nothing specific, but just throwing out negativity with his declaration “world keep revvin’ up, I be winding down”. The classic Taj Mahal joins Sammy to lend a deeper tone to the vocal, but Sammy’s is really the keen voice here, belting out a classic blues/soul scream. Thick and authentic.

Written by the lead singer of the band I just saw open for Sammy, Rival Sons, this is an ’80 hard rock dirge that reminded me of Dokken’s Heaven Sent. The lyric has a fighter’s tenacity theme. While a couple of Sammy’s Montrose teammates join on the track, there also an overbearing girl group vocal which sounds like one line was recorded once and just punched in. For a tune otherwise grungy and earthy, the chorus turns it fake and sterile.

This is the one that is going to be the biggest talk among my circle of friends. Yes, a real live Depeche Mode cover. Including his Chickenfoot bandmates, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith, with guitar by Journey’s Neal Schon. …And I’m sure those friends will hate the ever-loving shit out of this. But it’s not at all bad. A blues shuffle with a call-and-response gospel background vocal. The shuffle, the jam. That part’s good, excellent even. The gospel chorus, the same girls on the last track…. need to go.

Based on the French Polynesian sounds that overcame Sammy on a vacation, this track sounds like a rocked-up Lumineers. Lyrically, the song is a simple good morning beach sun worship tune. The vocal Is a little too clean with this one, though. As If the his regular rasp wasn’t going to be as courting to radio.

This song is a typical Hagar rocker, and those usually take some time to grow on me. Sometimes they take on a better feel in a live scenario. This has a feel somewhere between a Marilyn Manson joint and Mas Tequila. Why there’s six fucking songwriters to compose a track that’s little more than “Hey” is beyond me – but I’m nonetheless glad that it’s under 200 seconds long. The worst song on the record should be the shortest song. And one of those writers isn’t even the duet partner, Kid Rock. He couldn’t drum up his own boxing-as-rock-music metaphor. Joe Satriani, too appears for a solo that’s fine but adds no real value.
 
The Bob Seger cover worked well when I saw it live last summer. It’s a little too careful here. I mean, this is a simple Detroit skank strut song. And David Lauser is successfully bringing the big beat. But the guitars should be way more out front and Sammy should be as amped up as he is on track one. It’s fun, but I’m still going to prefer my Live Bullet version.

A country-ish car tune, written by a couple of country dudes. This one has a fun swing to it. I didn’t need the Dunn of Brooks & Dunn to join in, but then I guess we’d lose the reason for the occasion. The song isn’t unlike an old Hagar cruising track Let Sally Drive (which was kinda like Whole Lotta Rosie), with a little extra twang and slide guitar. Fun.

Well, I guess it was fucking inevitable wasn’t it? I’ll bet a lot of my non-Redhead readers will be surprised to learn that Sammy hasn’t already recorded this song. Having spent the better part of the last fifteen years becoming a very successful tequila entrepreneur and margarita pourer. He had his own agave-hit song and started co-opting everything that had to do with partying and beaches. He's already been dubbed the "Hard Rock Jimmy Buffett"... But no, this track is new for him. And having never been a fan of the song, it’s easier for me to say that I like this version much better. Even with redneck sidekick Toby Keith joining along, Sammy plays it more mellow, with some island ukuleles in place of the originals keyboards. I will not be ashamed to play this in a bar... or to karaoke it.

Another mellow beach porch-swinger with Heart’s Nancy Wilson on duet vocals. Again, simple, sweet. I saw this performed live with Sammy basically solo. The addition here on the album is The Dead’s Mickey Hart has a heavy had in some island percussion. It’s not completely distracting –but kinda.
 
A barn burner to end the album. The old Freddie King classic that is a constant blues staple. One that Sammy has tread on before in live jam scenarios. (like this one)
This includes the "Personal Jesus" lineup from before, with Chad and Mike out front and loud. And surprisingly impressive is Schon again. He totally rips it up on here like an old Satriani. Just a fun jam, (“live take 1”) but a perfect closer. My only complaint about the album is that everything could have been this stripped down and playful.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Elvis Costello & The Roots - Wise Up Ghost

I will surely be eyeing these tracks through more of a Declan-size spectacles, being a fan of Elvis' for a while. But I am excited about the collaboration. The Roots have done amzing things on the late night show, and particularly with EC- who has graced the stage with them more than once.
 
Skip ahead to track three, which seems to our first cohesive track. "Refuse To Be Saved" is basically an Elvis rap with some sparse samples and horn blasts. The lyrical theme is little more than a sleazy portrait of downtown and the band brings some hot jazzy funk to back him up. I would add some background girl vocals to add to the hotness, but what's there is quality.
 
Up to that track, and what will keep several songs from connecting, is that the pairing seems to be daring each other. Elvis by himself can let his words get in his way. He's got a brilliantly huge vocabulary, but sometimes he tries to say it all at once. And I can't tell here if the band is going faster to catch up to him or vice versa. It gets a little messy sometimes.
 
"Stick Out Your Tongue" is an example of a (kind of beautiful) mess where the band rocks a slow jam while Elvis jams some lyrics of his previous songs into something entirely new. It's too obscure for a general audisnce to make the connection, but fun nonetheless. And another "Come The Meantime" brings the album's only main guitar whail while ?uestlove grooves over a Loveage sample.
 
The record is certainly not perfect, and a completely out-of-place Bacharach-ish ballad closer aside, the next-t-last track is damn near perfect and garners my review an extra half-star. The title track comes on like an epic movie theme closing credits. Like Shaft meets Rocky meets Gone With The Wind. A haunting orchestral riff bleeds into a dark rhythm and the strings are backed with guitar and horns. It's a true song of the year contender and should have finished the album.
 
A great collaboration which can make a Costello fan's head spin with the possibility of re-recording catalog albums. (3.5 of 5 stars)
 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Arctic Monkeys - AM

I've been a huge fan of the Monkeys since their first album. And always with diminishing returns. (But to be fair, they had far to fall.) The second and third albums fared well for me. But the last, "Suck It And See", even with one of my fave songs of that year, was still a disappointment. One- they had an equally genius talent at the producer chair with Josh Homme. And while his influence helped, they wrote some lazy silly songs throughout. But nothing is going to turn me off so much to not give the new one a spin, even though I am confused as to why they named it after Alanis Morissette.
And I am pleasantly surprised to find track one being not only great, but a perfect fit for my year end compilation album. (More on that never) But "Do I Wanna Know?" is a simple rock tune, musically. Unlike the frantic staccato of what will amount to their career best-of. Lyrically, Alex will never cease to tie the tongues of karaokiers from Tokyo to London, and this track is no different. The theme though is an awesomely laid-out pining of the distant woman, wondering if she'll love him back without having the balls to ask.
 
"We both know that the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day"
 
Track two "R U Mine?" is similarly vocabularically satisfying, but the real draw here is musical. Like I said, the band is generally running at as frantic a pace as Turner's mouth. Here, though, they take a lesson, no doubt from Homme (who isn't producing, but still shows up). What results is not psychedelic by any stretch, but still disjointed but still rhythmically together but still in a very awesome way. (stutter intentional)
 
There's also a straight-up quality love song, in the vein of the band's "Cornerstone" or "Only Ones Who Know", with "No. 1 Party Anthem". It's darkly toned - but sweet and sexy all at once. Other tracks seem boring, but listen again. "Arabella" and "Mad Sounds" for example are both examples of where the band seems to be lagging off, and they're definitely simpler; but really these are excellent songs. It just takes a close listen for your brain to shift into a feel that's unlike what you're used to.
 
At the end of the day, this is a major upstep. Where I thought that "Suck It" had too much suck, "AM" has more... (sorry- I have no writer tricks to link "AM" to "good") My point is, this is easily my favorite Monkeys record since the debut. (5 of 5 stars)


Saturday, September 7, 2013

Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks

I recently reconnected myself with NIN after a period of dormancy. [With_Teeth] was especially awesome, but the overtly political Year Zero also had good shit to offer. I even found something to take home from the two-disc ethereal instrumental Ghosts album. Having said that, my favorite of Trent is the guitar-centered rage of the Broken EP.
 
It's important to note that as to where I'm coming from, because there's nary a sight of guitar on Hesitation Marks. Which is okay. Clearly the focus of Nails has always been the synthesizer. My biggest draw against this record is not its lack of rocking. Through all the sounds, it still "rocks".
 
But I feel a formula. I feel a stagnation. With this record in total, as opposed to fractions of previous albums, I feel like Trent is purposefully employing only what is the most basic elements expected of him. There's always a disjointed electro beat to introduce the tune. It always grows with a more tuneful electronic blip pattern. Low registered vocals kick the song out. Greater synthesized drones kick up the noise level as live drums make the beat steadier. Vocals get louder and more impassioned. Vocals get doubled to attempt to avoid repetition. Song out.
 
The lyrics are also all the same. If Trent gets a nickel for every time he asked that he could get away from wherever he was currently at, he'd be a rich man. It's aggravated regret over and over with out substantially describing the emotion. And he got by on that once. As a young artist, "Down In It" was an awesome way to say nothing more than, "This sucks." And as a mature artist, I don't require that you actually grow or change, but I do have to believe that you're not just phoning it in.
 
Outside of my own bitching, I actually do have a favorite. "Everything" is an upbeat, dancey, noisy new wave tune that stands out like a sore thumb against the rest of the tracks. The bass riff could have been lifted from a Green Day outtake. The bridge between verses could bleed itself into a "Just Like Heaven" cover. It gives me hope that Trent will live another day and not hesitate to grow a little. (2 of 5 stars)
 


Saturday, August 31, 2013

Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

The latest from the Scotlanders is not going to surprise anyone. If you're at all familiar with the band, then this collection of songs will deliver what you'd expect. Upbeat danceable rock tunes with a monotoned vocal and some sing-along choruses.
 
It's hard to say anything else about it. A quick blast of thirty minute fun. One of the notable things I found was in the lyrics. Alex gets a little wordy in order to follow the syncopation in a way that I haven't heard since Gary Cherone. "Outside fresh avaricide, but inside our love, you'll be alright"  And other times, it's downright silly: "While I'm away you can let the mouse go down on you." Or the other song where he relates his fleeting relationships with losing his car keys. Or being king of the trees and animals. I could go on...
 
But the album is mostly about breakups, my favorite rock topic. My favorite is the rockiest. "Love Illumination" is almost a garage tune with the slick '70s riff. But also valuable is the mellowest. "The Universe Expanded", the promise of a separating couple to meet again when the universe retracts. The album closer is the perfect capper to this mood. "Goodbye Lovers & Friends" toys with the idea that this is not the end, but then finally assures us that it is indeed.
 
An album title that mostly does not lie. (3.5 of 5 stars)
 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Julia Holter - Loud City Song

A universally acclaimed record, I feel enough like giving it a shot as nothing else jumped out at me this week. And while I won't be giving it such praise, hopefully I'll be descriptive enough for you to judge whether or not you'll agree.

The album kicks off with a minimalist "World". It's clear that Julia is a much more competent multi-instrumentalist than she is a vocalist. She whispers and faintly sighs and remains a general bore until track two. "Maxim's I"  does not include any greater vocal prowess or melodic sensibility, but the underlying instrumentation feels like a breezy carnival in a winter wonderland.

The whole of the album has an experimental air, like Laurie Anderson traded her sterile electronica and mixed her style with a more Enya-like ethereal drone. The live player accompaniment is a definite bonus to the tuneless song style Julia projects. Don't get me wrong, this is not the stuff of Tom Waits and hot jazz. But "In The Green Wild" for example, plays against a strong jazz bass background that adds a romance where Julia does not herself.

In summary, Julia does indeed build some splendid aural landscapes. But I prefer my music to be less musical score and more "song". (2.5 of 5 stars)


Saturday, August 17, 2013

White Lies - Big TV

British synth pop isn't necessarily my jam, but there are exceptions to every rule. I was able to take a song or two in my life's journey from The Bravery, which is very much like White Lies. No such exceptions are going to be included here.
 
The closest to a jam is "There Goes Our Love Again", a clear single with a soaring sing-along chorus. It will completely obvious when the band breaks down live and lets the crowd clap along and chant how far they did or did not go. "Be Your Man" is also an upbeat track with potential, but suffers from a formulaic approach to British synth pop. And true, I wouldn't trap a garage rock band with that complaint. But fuck it, if I'm expanding my musical view, I want a reason to.
 
Other tracks have that Duran Duran-ishness about them. "First Time Caller" is a silly metaphor about working up the courage to speak. "...but a long time listener. I've been waiting a while to talk to you." And this song isn't the only lyrical eye rolls on the record. The big ballad, "Change" does the paired off word play that you see a lot. "I'm going to miss the way I missed you - But I'm okay if you're okay" It may have been clever once, but not so much now.
 
My only problem with Big TV is that it's just too bland. The bedrock of a synth drone, playing chords to lead the guitarist to. The drummer's sixteenth-note high-hat-hits. The earnest vocal verses and the soaring vocal choruses. I didn't hear anything that gave me a reason to replace Depeche Mode in my time. (2 of 5 stars)
 


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Pond - Hobo Rocket


The fifth record by an Australian psychedelic rock band, this is my first experience with them. I had to listen to this record a couple of times because I wan't sure about everything. I mean, the band definitely rocks. Huge sixties fuzzed-out riffs.

But when the psychedelic verses take over, it gets a little odd. Like, what are we doing here? The vocals are unitelligible and overechoed. Track one is a great example. "Whatever Happened to the Million Head Collide" fades in and tries to paint a pretty picture, but when the band kicks in - it's bad-LSD-trip time.

When you do get more than a little vocal, like on "Xanman", it comes off sounding like The James Gang, which is fine. Neither the vocal nor the lack of melody will be missed when the groove is being grooved.
 
"O Dharma" is the only real full-on boner on the record. A slow, acoustic mess which is barely played together. A layered Fleet Foxes type of vocal interlude doesn't add enough interest. Just too sloppy to achieve that kind of sound. And while not as boring, "Aloneaflameaflower" is basically Pond's version of "Black Sabbath". A pretty straight cover.
 
The title track is the weirdest of the bunch. A hip-shaker with lots of feedback, it also includes an old Australian man talk-singing about a hobo on a rocket. Kind of like Lou Reed's Metallica album. But the ace in the Pondhole is the clip below. "Giant Tortoise" is huge and bass-y. The riff-rock hook takes over the dream pop verse. It's the best definition of what Pond does best. (3 of 5 stars)



Saturday, August 3, 2013

Alela Diane - About Farewell

 

An indie folk artist from Portland via California, Alela has been around a while with the likes of Devendra Banhart and Wild Divine.

Alela keeps it mellow throughout. The songs revolve around the title and are about the relationships that reach their expiration date. Alela's deliberate acoustic strumming and fingerpicking is generally unaccompanied by rhythm tracks. The production is enhanced with the most common of instrumentation that you'd find on indie folk. Some piano, some mandolin, etc.The focus is on the songwriting.

So the storytelling style is going to remind the listener of Joni Mitchell or even Bon Iver. There's situational observations throughout. The weather, the sunshine, etc. Alela's voice though is closer to Natalie Merchant's though. Mellow and controlled, she avoids excessive vocal trilling or many melodic dynamics.

The deepest of these cuts is "The Way We Fall", as seen in the accompanying amazingly shot video. The video is solo acoustic. The album version of this track includes some percussion and horns. I cannot decide which is better.

Enjoyable on a sleepy autumn afternoon. But if I were to put any of this on your mixtape, we're probably breaking up. (3 of 5 stars)


Saturday, July 27, 2013

The Love Language - Ruby Red

A Raleigh, NC band that I previously have no connection with kick things off right. A stirring backbeat that's an immediate dance instigator, "Calm Down" feels like Arcade Fire covering "Just Like Heaven".
 
From there it's more of the same cacophonous indie rock. The mixture of guitars, drums and layered vocals are always pushed into the red. Even on the mid-tempos, The Love Language doesn't leave an ounce of silence in the mix. Either a bedrock of keyboards layers things over, or some actual horns are peppered in.
 
Unfortunately, the band never matches the energy of that first track. In my head, Stuart McLamb as a frontman is too subdued. The layered vocals/sounds may be there to mask his overt mellowness. And lyrically, everything is muddled to much in the mix to tell if there's a song to singalong to. "On Our Heels" is an example of one that could have been a fun '80s pop throwback, but goes back into modern indie rock chamber echo.
 
The closer, "Pilot Light" is more epic in feel. So it earns is over distorted sound. A Christmas-y feel with chimes and bells mixed in with its horns and strings. It's probably a rallying cry for the gathering of friends. But the album as a whole left to big a hole in the middle of its intro and end. The filled that space with a lotta sound and too little of memorable songs. (2.5 of 5 stars)
 

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals - Walk Through Exits Only

Phil Anselmo is a heavy dude. So, after recovering from back surgery and getting a little soft in the middle, he picks himself up, brushes himself off and gets his extreme scream on.

This record is not the power metal of Pantera, nor the groovier side of Down. This is more the extreme thrash of Superjoint Ritual. And for many, that's as far as you'll have to read. They'll already know that the record will be hard to listen to. No choruses, no melodies, no mosh-circle breakdowns.

All true, but there's still some quality of course. The opening track is the most ambitious. Running through with a frenetic march beat, "Music Media Is My Whore" stays true to its lyric

"The rise of authentic anti-music
Unearthly timbers and ominous sonorities
Relentless, iterated non-melody
A shuddering original unlike anything that has come before"

From there, the band stays more traiditional to the thrash style, while Phil keeps screaming about overcoming those who try to fuck him. The title track is probably the best example to sum up the whole album. But with as many different sounds as Phil gets with different projects, I would be interested in seeing an album collection with more of those sounds. (3 of 5 stars)


Saturday, July 13, 2013

Jay-Z - Magna Carta... Holy Grail

For some reason, I've been listening to a lot of rap lately. Weird. Also, I wasn't really impressed with other new releases from this week, so why not listen to the biggest. I do love the first single, which also happens to be the first track...

"Holy Grail", of course, is the hit song with the great Timberlake hook about the trappings of fame which ups the dynamic of the lyric by writing in an abusive woman that you you can't help but loving. This remains the best song on the record.

What follows is a a series of tunes about being rich, which is fine. But seriously, there's even a song called "Ocean", featuring Frank Ocean, which is about yachting. I mean it's enough that I try to relate to a black city hustler, now I have to add on a burden of a boat captain? The beats are there, the rap is there, but I won't be attaching to anything in it.

An exception lies in "Heaven"; a mellow track where Jay-Z contemplates the afterlife, shits on men of faith here on earth, and declares himself both prophet and God. Fuck a humble brag. There's also an obligatory romantic duet with lovely wife Beyoncé. And the obligatory new-dad song to daughter, Blue.

So, outside of that tasty opening track, there's not a lot that I could recommend about MCHG.It's decent, but don't expect it to get your party moving or your ride down the street. (2.5 of 5 stars)


Saturday, July 6, 2013

Deap Vally - Sistrionix

Another drum/guitar duo à la White Stripes or Japandroids - only this time with two chicks. Let me start by telling you what they're not.

There's no Black Keys retro blues. this is garage rock. DV is also much more deliberately timed and groovy, unlike the upbeat rah-rah punkiness of Japandroids. You'll get a old school first White Stripes album feel, but clearly guitarist Lindsay lacks the chops or lyrical wordplay of even a young Jack White.

Vocally, Lindsay can roam from a Sleater-Kinney scream to a Geddy Lee screech to sometimes a more Alabama Shakes soul wail when she tries ("Six Feet Under"), but usually- they keep it sleazy and in the basement. I'd be quickest to compare the two to Band Of Skulls with a less-classic-rock songwriting structure.

I'm giving the biggest props for this record to Lars Stalfors. An engineer/producer for Mars Volta, the sound of these two is really fucking sick. The drums echo like Bonham's and the guitar fuzzes like the best of 1972. And the drummer Julie is a quality beatsmith. The song structure doesn't often give her a chance to shine, but "Lies" below is a good example of what she's capable of.

While this will probably be the best time live that many girls will be able to account for, (girls give girl musicians a lot more credit than girl musicians deserve sometimes), I'm still holding back my review here. The record suffers from first-timer's simple youth songwriting. And I'd like to see Lindsay develop her voice and playing. Either that or develop one and hire a third to cover. Whatever happened to that girl from Be Your Own Pet(3 of 5 stars)


Saturday, June 29, 2013

Smith Westerns - Soft Will

 
After enjoying a couple of festival performances by the SWs, I've decided to give a record a try. And how do they say hello to me? The lyric: "It's easier to think you're dumb". I probably deserve that.

That opener, "3AM Spiritual", is a fine track that hearkens back the poppier elements of Abbey Road. Or for a more obscure reference, but closer to form, an Abbey Road send up album by the band Sloan called "Never Hear The End Of It". (highly recommended).

From that opener though, the band treads into a style that has always bored the shit out of me. That sunshine California pop jangle. All other examples are escaping my head right now, but you've heard it. As if someone took all of REM's Rickenbackers and just made everything sound happy. I mean, there's even a track called "Cheer Up".

And the album never gets out of that rut. A band named after a goddamn gun (ish? right?) should not sound the Archies. Unremarkable is the best that I can come up with. Out of this collection of 10 songs, the opener is okay, and there is a Pink Floyd-ish instrumental track in the middle called "XXIII". Other than those, there is actually nothing where I would be able to distinguish one song from the other. (1.5 of 5 stars)


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Kanye West - Yeezus

While certainly aware of Kanye and the music of his that makes it to the radio, I've never actually sat down and listened to an album. This one seemed like a good enough place to start. A ridiculous album title with ridiculous song titles. But it's only 10 songs long (I appreciate getting to the point). It's also interesting to note that each of the 10 songs have about 10 songwriters and 10 producers each. I know hip-hop has always been a collaborative genre, but damn... And I don't have to be judgmental at all on the over-the-top 'Ye megalomaniacal persona. If the music's good, fuck it. But... is it?

It kicks off with raucous beats. Daft Punk are big contributors to this record, so we are either treated to loud buzzy electro-synth. Or loud buzzy beats. Or both. "Black Skinhead" has that Gary Glitter "Rock And Roll" beat- I was half expecting the Black Keys to riff a guitar and a da-da-da background vocal. And with a title with as strong a politcal-racial imagery as "Black Skinhead"- it's really nothing more than a general rap boast.

Also nothing incendiary in the lyric to "I Am A God". What he could have made could have been awesome and offensive as Kanye is off-the-mic. But no, in this track, he seems to be making of himself and his level of celebrity.

I am a God
So hurry up with my damn massage
In a French ass restaurant
Hurry up with my damn croissants

Apparently all of that broken-heart, dead-mom self-reflection is behind him. "New Slaves" does tough have something more socially significant. And it's good and fine, Kanye's still a great rapper. But I feel like if a guy is going to put himself in such a self-important pedestal, he should be doing something important. I think one of the best raps on the album is a straight-up filth track called "I'm In It", where he recalls Martin Luther King's "free at last" speech to eloquently describe exposed titties.

So, maybe this writer wanted more dark twisted fantasy and instead got a lot of real-life-my-dick-goes-into-a-lot-of-places themes. It was still a fun collection. And I should've really been less hopeful about an album whose main inspiration was a lamp. (No... really.) (3 of 5 stars)


Saturday, June 15, 2013

Jason Isbell - Southeastern

An NPR interview was telling enough to get me to try our Jason's new album. I certainly knew who the Drive-By Truckers were back in the day, but they were also outside of my wheelhouse. I am mellower now, so maybe I can more closely get behind an ex-drunk's tales of mournful drunkenness.

And while the opener "Cover Me Up" is an apologetic romantic letter of a man back from a darker side; the rest, of course, it's not all that morbid at all. Jason's really a fine singer/songwriter in the Nashville tradition, while still earning his title as "Americana" or even "Alt-Country" by avoiding the trappings of glossy C&W radio.

And like any good country record, Jason's got some road songs. They involve the road-weary guy and the pining-romantic guy. "Stockholm" is a smartly worded mid-tempo track that describes the differences from the old addict and the new man with a home to get to. "Traveling Alone", though, is a little more on the typical side. Call the latter the poor man's version of the former.

Other standouts include "Elephant", a great fireside tale of hanging out with a good friend. The elephant in the room being ignored is the cancer- turning the ode to a requiem "New South Wales" was the track played on the radio that day that led me to this review. "God bless the busted boat that brings us back."

And while most of the tracks are folky tales about redemption, the blaring stand-out might be the biggest crowd favorite. "Super 8" is the only rocker on the record. Not so against the grain, as the song is about wild days in the past. I don't mind saying, it souded like fun. And whatever ailed Jason to get to a place where he's 90% more mellow than this track, at least it got him a quality collection of songs. (4 of 5 stars)



Saturday, June 8, 2013

Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

I'm still very excited to hear the new QOTSA album as I prepare for the live show this week. A lot of people have let this group drop off their radar since getting the Grohl bump three albums ago. I've enjoyed each as much as the next and see no reason why this should disappoint me.

It kicks off with a dirty gross groove. QOTSA have always been good at the stoner desert jam, and "Keep Your Eyes Peeled" is twice as sick. Strippers will connect. Think: "She Rides". Less sick but still powerful is the romantic ode "I Appear Missing". Dave Grohl keeps up with the time changes and Josh writes the truth: "It's only falling in love because you hit the ground"

The singles don't fare quite as well. "I Sat by the Ocean"  is a radio single and sounds like it. Also sounds to familiar to a previous Queens song that I can't spot right now. ("Long Slow Goodbye" ?) And it's lyrics do little for the cliché of a broken relationship. "We're passing ships in the night." I was also unimpressed with the other single, "My God is the Sun". A pretty-simple driving tune has speed and has heavy, but stays in a straight-lane roll off the curb.

"The Vampyre Of Time And Memory" is a crazy departure. A '70s glitter-era ballad that envokes Wings or Queen in me somehow. But it's sad and unromantic which fits it into the mix well. "Kalopsia" is another that's good by me, but I'll bet that it falls flat to most listeners. It does seem altogether childish. A "woe is me" verse coupled with a lashing-out chorus. But it's still psychedlic enough for me to jump in the boat with.

The pièce de résistance, though, is "Fairweather Friends". Elton John lends a hand on this one, and it makes some weird sense to me. While only three-and-a half-minutes long, the song still sounds like an epic, grungy version of  "November Rain". The title track also tries to employ this vibe. And it's okay, but its the lesser of two Queens. With it's fuzzed-out Slash-like solo and piano riffing, FF's a mini-classic.

...Like Clockwork is a right-on-time near-masterpiece with far more hits than (near) misses. (4.5 of 5 stars)



Saturday, June 1, 2013

Alice In Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here

The second album since the band reformed after Layne Staley's death. (Wow. Ten years really flies.) And quick backstory- I was never one to say that a band needs to pack it in when a singer leaves/dies. True, the AC/DC success stories of the world are few and far between, but AIC had a uniqueness in that Jerry Cantrell really did write most of not only the music, but also the lyrics. It is also true that Layne’s voice was very unique itself and contributed a large part of the band’s sound. But what their first post-death album proved is that you can get a guy to sound enough like Layne, maintain a style, and it can turn out to be pretty decent.
 
The problem with “…Dinosaurs…” is a sophomore slump. And it probably would have existed with Layne, too. Musically, Jerry seems to be second guessing what he wants to do vs. what he’s expected to do. Or maybe he’s just tired of the genre. But he’s written some tunes that follow form without feeling new. A fresh batch should feel like a fresh batch. Drop-D grunge tunes that never stray from verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus-out. Lyrics about being vaguely repressed and depressed. A song called Scalpel should be sharp and specifically grating. Instead, we get some reflective road tune about “frozen, dreaming of yesterday”.
 
And you can’t blame the new “singer’ at all. William gets one writing credit here, and his vocals are never out any farther than Jerry’s. I remember the last album having a more defined role for him, but nonetheless, that’s what we have this time.
 
There are some exceptions, of course. "Stone" is a huge standout. A bass dirge that is the most Sabbath-y the Chains have ever been. "Phantom Limb" also brings on the sludgy metal. More than just "grunge"- these two tracks prove that the band can hash without so much rehashing. A great platform to build from, even if they didn't reach a goal this time. Before becoming the dinosaurs left behind. (2.5 of 5 stars)
 
 

Saturday, May 25, 2013

The National - Trouble Will Find Me

I first became aware of The National from the Boxer album. I didn't love it at all, but "Start A War" was a personal anthem for me during a break-up. So I'll give them a chance again, but am wary that Matt's vocal and lack of dynamics will again keep from getting too close.


"You didn't see me, I was falling apart
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart"

The album starts with some relief to my reluctance, because while "I Should Live in Salt" is a mellow, fairly monotonous sounding tune, there's something about the lyric that I really love. "Don't make me read your mind". And even better than that is the follow up, which may end up on the year's best of list. "Demons" has a mellow groove that conjures memories of this year's Nick Cave record. But instead of slow-jam sexy, it's a bitter, resentful reflection of self. "I am secretly in love with everyone I grew up with" and "When I walk into a room, I do not light it up... fuck." are both brilliant examples of a lyric that draws me like a mosquito to the bar's neon.

That same kind of aesthetic follows through another favorite, "Graceless", which could be a full on party jam if someone remixed it. ...And if the audience didn't quite focus on the complete self-destructive, sad nature of the lyrical content.

"I'll be a friend and a fuck-up and everything
But I'll never be anything you ever want me to be"

I was right in my prejudice that The National do not project any variation of styles. I think it would be great to be the drummer in this band. You get your share of the publishing royalties and you barely have to show up. And Matt's vocal range goes from deep moan to deep lilt. He seems almost asleep most of the time.

Having said that though, the writing of Trouble Will Find Me is brilliant. The lyrics, the pacing, etc. are as good as your favorite U2. I can't believe that I blew them off live this year, but I've found a contender for album of the year. (5 of 5 stars)



Saturday, May 18, 2013

Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

I've never listed to a VW record before. Knowing who they were, they seemed too twee and sweet to me. Imagine an Iron Maiden fan in 1982 picking up a Haircut 100 album. Doesn't fit. ...And the leader's name is "Ezra" for fuck's sake. He makes John Mayer look like Lemmy. But I admit that they made a pretty impressive showing at Lollapalooza this year, so I'm putting on my deck shoes, tying my sweater behind my neck and giving them a spin.

"Step" is a good example. A slow beat with some harpsichord ramblings would generally be entirely too ridiculous to add to my collection. Especially when sir Ezra kicks over a stack of encyclopedias and reads random words with a calm white-reggae-rap over it. But something about it works. I'm sure it would work more for me if those same lyrics were being cockneyed over by Alex Turner, but I can still take it.

Down the line, "Hudson" is another one that totally surprised me. A morbid matter-of-fact gothic march which is mourning something, painting a hell-scape war-torn landscape while not explaining anything concretely. Still- put me in the right mood.

Other than those, only a couple of other tracks matched my expectations from the live show in terms of excitement. "Diane Young" and "Finger Back" are hyper-kinetic blasts of energy. But other than the break of of fun, there wouldn't be a lot for me to connect to. Especially the latter, where the vocal rap is not anymore decipherable than it is interesting.

The remainder of the album is filled with some mid-tempos and rich-white-kid-polyrhythms (see:"Ya Hey") that betray their Paul Simon influence without having ever gotten their hands dirty in city soil, much less African. I can see the modern vampires benefiting from experience. They have a collective head to find something interesting, even if they don't quite perform it yet. (2.5 of 5 stars)



Saturday, May 11, 2013

Savages - Silence Yourself


Savages are an all-girl noise rock band from London. While I make it a point not to listen to all-girl groups very often, Savages get the respect of living up to their name. There is a ferociousness about this music that deserves to be heard.

There is a dance-able rhythm underneath the noise that would not be out of place in a Bloc Party block party; instead of BP's romantic wistfulness, singer Jehnny Beth and guitar player Gemma Thompson come on like a hateful Sleater-Kinney. While Rolling Stone has compared her to Siouxsie Sioux or even Ian Curtis, concert goers around this writer's part of town would be reminded of We Are Hex.

The only drawback to this album is a common one among debuts. There is not a lot of dynamics in the songs. Track one will hit you hard and most of the other tracks will follow the same structure. Twice does Savages venture outside of their comfort zone. "Strife" slows the tempo just a bit to an awesome Soundgarden-like dirge. Less successful is the album closer, "Marshal Dear" which brings piano and clarinet into a slow blues-jazz lament, which feels like an experimental Patti Smith.

But the album is still a twisted distorted ride that has a very live feel. And there discernible sing-song, crowd-rallying choruses here to get behind. And if there was a strong melody, you probably wouldn't understand what the lyrics are to sing them. But the projection is powerful. (4 of 5 stars)