New Album Reviews - 7/31/2012 - Reel Big Fish and Sparkle sountrack

Reel Big Fish Candy Coated Fury

The Orange County, CA ska band release their first album in three years and their seventh studio album overall.

I won't lie--it has been a while since I listened to a Reel Big Fish album.  Like most people, I first became aware of the band in the late 90's when their hit "Sell Out" first started getting mass airplay.

Despite living in the same area, the band had somehow fallen from my consciousness as they moved away from the major labels and started releasing stuff on their independent label.   Now let's find out if their new release trumpets a return to what made them big or if they should be fading away gracefully.

I'm happy to report that here is a lot of good stuff on their latest release with their signature humor flowing freely on the album buoyed by some of the most danceable ska music I've heard in years.

The fun starts right off the bat with the joyous "Everyone Else Is an Asshole," which sweeps you along with its blaring horns, loud chorus and big hook, and continues over the 14-track release all the way through to the last song, a cover of Depeche Mode's "I Promise You" (misnamed "The Promise" on the album).

Candy Coated Fury is not the deepest album you'll hear this summer but it is one of the more fun ones.  Reel Big Fish is able to recapture the joy I found in their music back when I was in college and that is no small feat.

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Everyone Else Is an Asshole", "Don't Let Me Down Gently" and "Hiding in My Headphones"

Various Artists Sparkle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the remake of a "classic" 1976 film that stars Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, Cee Lo Green, and Mike Epps.

The original film's soundtrack, four of whose songs appear on this version, was written and produced by Curtis Mayfield with Aretha Franklin providing the album's vocals (although Irene Cara starred in and sang her own parts for the movie).  Additional tracks for the new version is written and arranged by R. Kelly.

Of course, none of those stars, despite their prominence and commercial appeal, are the draws of this album since it also features two new songs from the late, great Whitney Houston. 

Since the Houston songs will get the most attention, let's get those out the way first.  "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" is a slow, organ-driven gospel ballad where Houston's vocals sound slightly strained  although there is no doubt she could still belt out a run with maximum power.  "Celebrate" on the other hand is a catchy R&B duet with Jordin Sparks where R. Kelly creates a jaunty and inviting melody that empowers Sparks and Houston's vocals without overpowering them.

Despite the praise worthy "Celebrate," the most memorable tracks on the album don't feature Houston.  Cee Lo Green has a lot of fun with the throwback R. Kelly penned song (the movie is set in the late 60's and early 70's) "I'm A Man" which has the bombastic horns that you would find from Motown songs from that era and Green's always fun vocal style.

Relative newcomer Carmen Ejogo also shines on her R. Kelly written tracks with sublime vocals that harken back to some of the best from that time like Martha Reeves.  She also does a solid job as the main vocalist on the tracks that return from original film's soundtrack.

Overall, Sparkle will have a good soundtrack accompanying the film that feature lots of songs that are reminiscent of the R&B hits from its defining decade.  Houston's tracks will understandably get all the press but it's the lesser publicized tracks that deserves to get the attention including some breakout songs featuring Ejogo.

Score: 8.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "I'm A Man", "Yes I Do" and "Celebrate"

New Album Reviews - 7/17/2012 - Hot Panda and The History of Panic

Hot Panda Go Outside

The unique indie rock quartet from Canada named after an Edmonton Chinese restaurant release their third studio album.

After a solid debut album and a tepid sophomore release, the band returned to the studio and laid down 11 tracks for this disc.

Go Outside is a much more cohesive than their last release and a more cogent album than their debut outing.  The music itself is still non-standard, often times discordant, melodies with lots of alternative sounding, feedback-laden guitar riffs and frontman Chris Connelly's less raspy, Julian Casablancas-lite crooning style that will appeal to indie music fans because of its nonconformist ways.

For those fans that do like hard indie music, you will be in for a real treat. The album gets going right away with the pulse pounding "One in the Head, One in the Chest" and continues for the first five tracks through "Maybe Now" mixing in both prog and acid touches, plus going acoustic on one track, to maximum effect.  

Go Outside isn't the most accessible disc being released this summer and it will only appeal to small group of indie music fans but those fans are going to be very impressed with the music found on this album.  The album also grows on you with repeated listens so don't expect to fall in love with it on your first spin. 

While their last disc lost some of the momentum built by their very solid debut, this album redirects their trajectory back into an upward direction.  A well paced album with lots of indie quirkiness to fall in love with, especially during the first five tracks.

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "One in the Head, One in the Chest", "Future Markets" and "Maybe Now"

The History of Panic Fight! Fight! Fight!

This is the debut album from Mr. Pan!c, nee Gerald Roesser, who is, according to the band's website, "a Detroit-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter" who "grew up with a steady diet of techno and Morrissey."  Good 'nuff for me!

In fact, once you start listening to the music on this disc, you would be able to figure that much out by yourself with the heavy New Wave influenced melodies plus backing beats that sound like laid back versions of Detroit techno ditties (think: Derrick May on multiple ambien).

Considering this is basically a one man band, Mr. Pan!c is able create a real vibrancy with his richly layered music that will have you humming along or tapping your toe before you realize you are doing it.

This album will appeal more to people that grew up loving New Wave or Britpop music, but the songs are catchy enough that fans of Pop, and especially electropop, music should also give the disc a shot.  

The bouncy tunes have instant appeal and Mr. Pan!c has learned how to craft songs with hooks that evoke high levels of fun and entertainment while still trying to get his message across.

For a debut album, Fight! Fight! Fight! delivers on multiple levels and is very impressive.  Let us hope we get more releases from The History of Panic that can match or exceed this disc down the road.

Score: 9/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Anthem for Panic", "Out of Control" and "Own Up"



PROGRAMMING NOTE:  I'm out of town next week so there won't be any new reviews until the following week.  Thanks,


-Dunner

New Album Reviews - 7/10/2012 - Saint Motel, JJAMZ and Digitalism

Saint Motel Voyeur

The indie prog quartet from Southern California release their debut full length studio album.

This album gets released this week in digital format available from most online music outlets although I haven't heard of the street date for the actual, physical disc.  

Although this is their debut release I had already heard their track "Puzzle Pieces" on some sampler CD and was instantly intrigued by its kooky but catchy piano riff and Vampire Weekend-esque vocals and musical sensibilities so I was excited when I saw their debut disc was finally going to be released.  Now let us find out if the rest of the disc is as captivating as their first single.

The good news for indie music fans is that Vampire Weekend comparisons hold for the entire disc (most noticeably in some of the arrangement choices they make) with some touches of Keane (especially in the band's use of vocal harmonies) and lead vocals that, when not strained, sound a bit like Simon LeBon with touches of Ezra Koenig mixed in.

Most of the standout tracks from the disc come near the beginning starting with the second track, "Benny Goodman" with a great run of tracks through the fifth cut, "1997."

"Benny Goodman" is a sweeping song that starts off with some requisite Goodman clarinet work but it quickly transitions into an acid homage to the Big Band great with distortion heavy guitars and catchy organ runs.  "1997" is a sweet ballad that looks back fondly at that year with subdued vocals and a hook-laden keyboard refrain. 

Overall, Voyeur ends up being an extremely strong debut with a handful of very well crafted ditties over the 11-track album.  The first half of the disc is definitely the stronger of the two parts but the entire album is worth a listen.  Let's hope the band can continue in this positive direction on their future releases.

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Benny Goodman," "Puzzle Pieces" and "1997"

Digitalism DJ Kicks

The latest installment of the DJ Kicks series comes out featuring the German electronica duo Digitalism. 

The DJ Kicks series has been a pretty solid one since Kruder & Dorfmeister were featured in 1998 and in the following years the series was taken to such great heights when they highlighted acts like Thievery Corporation, Stereo MCs and Hot Chip.

The newest incarnation has 22-tracks cobbled together by the German duo who create most of their music using their MacBook Pro laptop. 

The genre of electronica music found on this disc can best be labeled as either House or Trance with some obvious Euro influences peppered throughout the album.

The duo lists another two-person European electronica act amongst their influences, Daft Punk, and while Digitalism hasn't learned the subtle touches that elevate Daft Punk's best tracks, the youthful energy and catchy basslines DP employed during their earliest recordings have a similar feel to the music found on this disc with slight new wave and/or punk touches employed to give some of the tracks a more modern touch.

The latest version of the DJ Kicks series is worth picking up.  The songs with stronger House and Trance stylings are the more enjoyable and danceable tracks whereas the two seem to be venturing into unfamiliar and foreign territory when they try to mix in non-electronica styles of music to mixed results.

It's not as good as the best from the series but it would be listed on that second tier of albums, and maybe at the top of that second tier.  Of the albums I've reviewed, this is easily one of the top-3 electronica albums released so far this year. 

Score: 9/10 
Song(s) to Sample: "Loreley," "Silenz" and "Travellers" [sic]

 JJAMZ Suicide Pact

The latest rock supergroup composed of James Valentine (Maroon 5), Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley/Conor Oberst), Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), Michael Runion, and Z Berg (The Like) releases their debut album. 

The name of the band comes from taking the first initials of the members who originally would get together to perform karaoke during their off time.  The digital version of this album comes out today with the physical disc being released next week. 

The music presented on this album is surprisingly mild tempo adult contemporary rock with slight indie touches, mainly provided by Z Berg's unique vocal timber, and jam band guitar riffs, usually from the strings of Valentine's distortion-ready guitar. 

There are two standout tracks on the album, the first being the opening track, "Get What You Want," which is a sweet song about the things you may desire may not being worth the trouble of obtaining them where Berg's vocals and the distortion-heavy guitar hook are the big draw. 

The other is the first single from the band, "Heartbeat," which is currently available for free from the band's website.  That track is a smartly constructed song that slowly builds to become a fun, summer pop song with an infectious beat and melody. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the 10-track album ends up being somewhat lifeless and monotonous especially once you consider the talent behind the release.  As much as I was looking forward to this disc, it doesn't deliver the goods with too many generic sounding pop songs.

Score: 6/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Get What You Want" and "Heartbeat"

New Album Reviews - 7/3/2012 - Maximo Park and Joshua Hyslop

Maximo Park The National Health

The Mercury-nominated Brit indie rock band release their fourth studio album and first since 2009.


This album actually came out a few weeks ago in the UK and should be coming out soon in the U.S. although Amazon and iTunes haven't listed a U.S. release date yet.  It took me a few weeks to get my import copy of the album so let's not waste anymore time waiting for its review.

The album opens with an interesting but unusually somber (for the band) piano-driven and cello-including intro track, "When I Was Wild," which un-ironically begins lyrically, "Do I really need/to give an introduction?"  That track immediately segues to the eponymous "National Health" which is a more typical Maximo Park song with quick tempo beats, a melody heavy on both piano and electric guitar riffs, and frontman Paul Smith rapid sing-song style of vocals.

For better and for worse, this disc is a more mature version of the band than we've seen before.  "The Undercurrents" exhibits a previously unheard of restraint to their music with a simple 80-esque New Wave sensibility to it in an easily palatable ditty.

Whether or not their more adult sound appeals to you, there's enough that sounds like the band we've come to expect with the guitar and feedback heavy toe-tapper "Write This Down" where Smith's vim and vigorous singing style makes a loud and triumphant return.

Overall, The National Health is very good album and arguably the band's best since their debut album, A Certain Trigger.  Although its only noticeable in a handful of songs, the slight update in their music's maturity won't appeal to all of their old fans but it does lead to a more diverse album in total with better paced peaks and valleys.  The true fun of the album, however, still comes from the frenetic song style the band has exhibited since its inception. 

Score: 7.5/10

Song(s) to Sample: "The Undercurrents", "Until the Earth Would Open" and "Wolf Among Men"

Joshua Hyslop Where The Mountain Meets The Valley

The Canadian folk-pop singer/songwriter releases his debut full-length studio album. 

Okay, I won't lie--I was planning on reviewing the new Chris Brown CD this week but I wasn't able to get a copy of it in time (he was probably too busy getting into bar fights to get me a copy) so instead we're going with this first release from one of our neighbors from up North. 

The easiest comparison I can make with Hyslop's music is that it is a less pop-y version of James Blunt's work or a more folk-y version of Andy Stochansky's.  What makes Hyslop's songs standout is the pained timber he can add to vocals that add an extra level emotion to certain tracks.

For example, "The Mountain" features a pretty simple and stripped down piano and guitar melody but it's the affectation he is able to conjure through his vocals that give the track its oomph.  In fact, the arrangements overall are very basic and teaming up with a top-notch producer would help add some needed life to future albums. 

Overall, Where The Mountain Meets The Valley is a subdued release where Hyslop's pained vocals are the real highlight.  Unfortunately the songs themselves don't show a lot of life or personality with dull songwriting and dumbed down arrangements.  If you're in the mood for sad folk music, you might want to give the disc a spin.  Otherwise, you won't miss out on anything if you skip this release. 

Score: 4/10
Song(s) to Sample: "What Have I Done" and "The Mountain"