Best and Worst of 2010 - Part II

Another typically dead week in terms of new releases so we are continuing the Best and Worst theme I began last week with a discussion of albums and songs from 2010.  This time videos have been added for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Have a great New Years and may 2011 bring us world peace, less Jersey Shore cast appearances and lots of good new music!

Best Indie/Pop/Rock Album Reviewed on this Blog - Ra Ra Riot's The Orchard

This is not the album I gave the highest score to during the year (although it did manage a very good 8/10) but rather a retrospective look at what I've been listening to and enjoying on my own this year.  This year's Ra Ra Riot album is one of the most delightful and gratifying discs to be released.  It manages to balance a fun indiepop sound with the depth in lyrics you would expect from a top indie act.  Listen to one of the songs I recommended sampling, "Boy," below to get an example of the band's sound from The Orchard.

Best Electronic Album Reviewed on this Blog - Mackintosh Braun's Where We Are

Okay, okay--this is more of an electropop album than a pure electronic album but that's how good it is!  It manages to beat out albums from bands like Daft Punk and Underworld to take my top electronic album of the year.  Their electropop sound is very similar to the styles of OMD and Pet Shop Boys yet manages to never be a derivative of either of those or any other band's style.  The ability to maintain a sound that is very contemporary while leaning on the styles of past bands is one of the reasons this album is so impressive.  It's the album that I've listened to the most this year.  A pure joy.  Listen to one of the songs I recommended sampling, "Made For Us," below.

Best Hip-Hop/Rap Album Reviewed on the Blog - Kanye West's My Dark Twisted Fantasy

No surprise here really as Kanye's album is getting a lot of attention as the best album of the year from media sites like Pitchfork and Spin.  Kanye and his collaborators create a solid and intelligent album from beginning to end with some damn catchy, even haunting, songs.  (Luckily for Kanye, I don't factor cover art into my final tally...)  However, while there is no doubt this is a spectacular album (I originally gave it a 9/10), it probably would have lost out in this category to the album mentioned below if I had reviewed that album. Watch the video for one of the songs I recommended sampling, "Runaway," below:




Best Album Not Reviewed on this Blog - Cee Lo Green's The Lady Killer [explicit version]
If you've read Part I of my Best and Worst of 2010 then you know I already awarded Mr. Green the best studio cover song of the year for "No One's Gonna Love You."  However that song and the Grammy nominated "Fuck You" are just two of the beautiful and hard jamming R&B/Soul songs that come to us from this album.  The entire album is chock full of music that will get you to either be seriously introspective about your love life (in a good way) or be ready to boogie until your shoes fall off on the dance floor.  It's nearly impossible to listen to this album and not come away loving it.  If you haven't seen the incredibly funny and amusing video for "Fuck You" then ready yourself for a treat below:

Worst Album Reviewed on this Blog - Young Man's Boy

I have already named the best album I reviewed this year so now it is time for me to reveal the most horrific album reviewed on this blog.  First of all this "master YouTube cover artist" released an album with absolutely no cover songs on it!  Yeah, that makes sense.  I guess it would have been okay if the music he did give us was enjoyable or fun to listen to but, unfortunately, Young Man swings and misses on all three counts leaving us one very pitiful and the absolutely most horrible album reviewed on this blog this year.  Congrats Young Man!  You can hear for yourself why this got worst album of the year below (keeping in mind this track is the creme de la creme of the album). 

Most Disappointing Single of the Year - We Are The World 25 for Haiti

Our final category of Bests and Worsts of 2010 is the most disappointing song of the year.  That honor goes to the 25th anniversary revival of We Are The World.  While the original was an off-beat collection of various singing stars from the 80's that Quincey Jones somehow turned into a catchy tune by wisely playing to the strengths of his soloists like Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Wonder, Steve Perry, and Willie Nelson by letting them be themselves.  For the 25th anniversary edition, however, Quincey proves that going bigger does not mean the song is getting better.  First there's waaaay too many artists contributing meaning that each contribution is lessened so you don't give the individual artists enough time to let their personalities blend with one another to create something greater than the sum of its parts.  Instead the entire song seems piecemeal and by the time you do get to something that does sound good you are already turned off by the horrible bits like Justin Bieber's overproduced opening and Miley Cyrus' grating, autotuned two line solo.  And don't even get me started on the bit with a superimposed Michael Jackson.  Enjoy the horribleness of it all below. 

Best and Worst of 2010 - Part I

NOTE:  The weeks around X-Mas and New Years are traditionally dead in terms of new releases so this week and next week we will be going over some of the best and worst releases to come out in 2010.  Rather than choose boring categories like "Best Song," "Best Album," etc. I've decided to make my own categories like "Best Live Cover Song" and "Scariest Album Cover."

Have a great Holiday Season!  Oh and, as my Christmas gift to you, I've gone through the trouble of finding versions of the mentioned songs (when possible) for your streaming pleasure!

Most Original Cover Album:  Amanda Palmer - Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele

This year's most original album of cover songs comes to us from Amanda Palmer (frontwoman of The Dresden Dolls).  Palmer gives us an album of offbeat covers of seven of Radiohead's more famous songs--all performed on the ukulele!  (Okay, okay "Exit Music (For A Film)" has a piano and violin accompaniment but I digress).  Give a listen to the entire album of Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele below:




Best Studio Cover Song: Cee Lo Green - "No One’s Gonna Love You" (Band of Horses)
Cee Lo Green has had a pretty good year with Grammy noms in the Song of the Year and Record of the Year categories for his so-catchy-it-should-be-illegal song, "Fuck You" (or "Forget You" if you're going for the clean version).  So it isn't a huge surprise that his cover of a relatively unknown but one of my personal favorite songs from Band of Horses, "No One’s Gonna Love You," hasn't gotten a lot of attention.  Well, it's only the best cover song of the year, people!!!  Cee Lo turns a pretty somber and slow tempo song from Band of Horses into an orchestral journey with a funk-tinged twist and a unique syncopation choice on the beats.  It's absolutely enchanting.  Listen to it below or watch the video on YouTube.




Best Live Cover Song:  Lissie - "Pursuit of Happiness" (Kid Cudi)
This was a tough category for me because there were a lot of good live covers this year.  I was sorely tempted to choose Jimmy Fallon's (performing as Neil Young) cover of Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" because it is by far the most unique live cover of the year.  However the song that won out is Illinois singer/songwriter Lissie's cover of the Kid Cudi song "Pursuit of Happiness."  She takes a pretty serious and hardcore sounding hip-hop song and turns into a catchy indie anthem for the ages.  That and the fact that in the clip below Lissie takes a giant swig of tequila before singing the song makes this one the winner by a nose.  Listen to it below or watch the video.






Scariest Album Cover: Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The cover to the left was eventually changed to one of these alternate versions but not because Kanye or any of the record execs came to their senses and realized that is one of the scariest and most horrific album cover in years.  No, they changed the cover art because Wal-Mart refused to carry the album if they pressed it with the image to the left.  My guess is the people at Wal-Mart didn't like the cover not because it was overly prurient but instead they just realized it is a butt-ugly picture.  Both characters on the original cover look absolutely frightening and the phoenix character on the right looks like she has a face growing out of her armpit for heaven's sake!  That is seriously one dark, twisted fantasy you have, Kanye.  




Most (Potentially) Racist Cover Art:  Massive Attack Heligoland

Okay, the cover to Massive Attack's album from the beginning of the year looks like you have a guy in black face that has just gotten in a bar fight.  That and you have a bleeding black and white rainbow raining down on his head which can be viewed symbolically many ways but most of those interpretations will not be positive I'm guessing.  Great band, horrible choice in album art. 






Coolest Album Cover Art:  Faithless The Dance

Okay, I admit I really don't know what's going on in the cover to the left but I love the imagery they use and how they leave it open to interpretation.  I'm going to assume the big throng of people in the middle are dancing (hence the title of the album) but that's about as far as I am willing to guess without knowing more.  But the color palette is absolutely gorgeous and the layout of the figures on the image is immaculate in terms of framing without being boring.  It's a complex and well thought out piece of art that I find very mesmerizing.

New Music from 12/14/2010 - Michael Jackson, R Kelly, and Daft Punk

Daft Punk Tron Legacy [Soundtrack] - The flashy French electronic duo score the soundtrack to the upcoming Tron Legacy motion picture.  This album--I'm reviewing the single CD version, not the double disk or the iTunes version which come with additional tracks--was released last week but I thought I'd hold my review back until this week when the movie actually comes out.  Daft Punk is definitely one of the more perfect choices to score this movie since they already love to come dressed in futuristic, glowing biker outfits during most of their live gigs.  Also, they are one of the few original electronic acts that could even hope to match the iconic work Wendy Carlos gave us in the first film.  (Movie trivia--Wendy Carlos also scored two Stanley Kubrick classics: A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.)

The album opens with a two and a half minute overture that is very toned down (no drums or beats at all) and is a subtle nod to the anthem Carlos gave us in the original flick.  The next track, "The Grid," picks up the tempo, features some Jeff Bridges dialogue as a kind of spoken word introduction, and blends some of the musical themes from Carlos' score with themes Daft Punk incorporates into their scoring of the sequel.  The rest of the album is purely instrumental with no singing, vocal samples or dialogue present on any of the tracks and has a house/trance feel with some nods to industrial electronica. 

Overall, it's a good film score with well crafted, multi-layered tracks but it doesn't achieve the greatness of the original.  The duo does try to incorporate some of the musical themes Wendy Carlos gave us while being careful to not lean too heavily on that original score.  If anything, they don't incorporate enough of Carlos' work as they try to create something grander and even moodier than before by staying true to their own style.  I would have loved for them to somehow sample extensively or, at least, pay greater homage to "Anthem" and "Love Theme" from the original Tron soundtrack.  Long time Daft Punk fans might also be disappointed in the generally slow tempo of the album but they need to remember this work is intended to accompany a film and not to be used (at least not without some remixing work) for getting down on the dance floor.  The score below reflects the fact that I haven't seen the film yet so I can't judge how well the songs work within that framework. 

Score:  7/10
Song(s) to Sample:   "Derezzed" and "Outlands"

Michael Jackson Michael - The officially sanctioned and first of what I'm sure will be many posthumous albums from the King of Pop (Sony paid a reported $250 million for his unreleased works so I'm guessing there's more on the way...), the Jackson estate releases Michael today.  Not surprisingly, a number of high profile artists act as producers and collaborators on this album like 50 Cent, Lenny Kravitz, and Akon. Supposedly Jackson had been working on a new album since 2007 and a number of songs intended for that album wind up on this release.  The other songs are unreleased works dating as far back as the 80's from the post-Thriller days. 

The album opens with the Akon duet "Hold My Hand" which is a thoughtful and soulful song with charming if simple backing music.  I did find it a weird choice to open the album since it's really the only song that prominently features another performer's vocals as the lead.  The next track is the extremely catchy "Hollywood Tonight" which has a beat eerily similar to "Billy Jean" and is destined to be featured heavily in clubs in the near future.  Unfortunately, after the second track the inconsistencies of the album start to become apparent.  The next two tracks "Keep Your Head Up" and "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" are slow jams that hark back to his past slow jams from the 90's and early 80's, respectively.  "Monster" (featuring 50 Cent) is a fast tempo and probably the most modern sounding song on the album although 50 Cent's rap doesn't really bring a whole lot.  "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" has a sound familiar to "Black and White" but with a more modern twist.  His vocal work on the track, from the restrained refrains that open the song to the screaming in the chorus, shows the potential greatness that we expected from new Michael Jackson music and it truly sounds like a new, modern MJ song. 

Overall, it's not at all a horrible album given the circumstances behind how the songs were completed and how quickly the album was scheduled to be released.  In fact, unlike a lot of posthumous releases, Michael  doesn't feel as piecemeal as I had anticipated or feared.  However, the wide range of years between when some of the songs were recorded is pretty obvious so it's not a totally cohesive album either.  That being said, Jackson's singing voice still sounds as smooth and youthful as it ever did and he and his collaborators always had the ability to write infectious, toe-tapping pop songs.  There are enough gems on Michael that it is probably worth a purchase but if this is the cream of the crop of the unreleased works then any future albums will be pretty average at best. 

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" and "Hollywood Tonight"

R Kelly Love Letter - Since I reviewed the new album by the 'King of Pop,'  I thought it only fair to review the new album from the 'King of R&B.'  Three-time Grammy winner Robert Sylvester Kelly releases his tenth studio album giving us 14 tracks (plus a bonus cover of Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" depending on the version you get) just in time for the holiday gift giving season.  I have no idea why he's trying to channel Ray Charles in the cover art of the album though. 

After a quick prelude, the album opens with the song the album is named after, "Love Letter."  It's a sultry R&B song with inviting harmonies and pleasing vocals even if it's not that complex of a song.  The entire album is full of songs with roots from Soul and R&B music from decades past without directly parroting any particular artist's or band's style.  "Number One Hit" is the first of a couple of songs that pay tribute to the style of Michael Jackson and the sensuous songs he gave us especially at the beginning of his solo career.  "Taxi Cab" is sung in a vocal style similar to how a Bobby Womack might have given us a song over 30 years ago but Kelly's songwriters are able to infuse a more modern sound and song structure making it the song that I wanted to listen to repeatedly because of the entrancing way they were able to blend the different sounds.  However, there are a few songs that do not balance the line between modern and classic as well.  "Radio Message" has a beat that sounds like something from Al Green but the lyrics and vocal sound more like something from a 90's boy band.  It's a song that already sounds dated and brings us back to an age of music most of us don't want to travel to. 

R Kelly manages to release a sophisticated R&B/Soul album that may be the best Soul album of the year.  Unlike in recent albums (Untitled comes to mind), Kelly eschews the naughty and explicit lyrics in the songs and the entire album is chock full of what could be modern The Delfonics or Marvin Gaye hits but with Kelly's silky voice.  It's an album that beckons back to a groovier time in R&B music but still manages to sound very contemporary for most of the album.  It's an album that will work well for a dinner party, for an after party, or for snuggling by the fire because of the seductive songs that are consistently presented to us over the entire album. 

Score:  8.5/10

Song(s) to Sample: "Taxi Cab" and "Love Letter"

New Music from 12/7/2010 - Natasha Bedingfield, Plain White T's, and Crown Royale

Natasha Bedingfield Strip Me - The Grammy nominated British songwriter and pop singer releases her fourth full length album.  Strip Me comes in with 13 tracks in total.  According to Amazon, each song on the album "evokes the innate desires, needs and fears which people feel in these most troubling times."  Oooookay then.  That sounds kinda dreary for a pop album but let's see what Ms. Bedingfield gives us.

The album opens with "A Little Too Much" which has a soft, pleasing pop/adult contemporary feel.  The chorus and the hook is simplistic but reasonably catchy and the song does a decent job of inviting the listener in to experience the entire album.  The second song, "All I Need," has a harder more modern electropop feel with complex, layered vocals.  "Strip Me" is all pop and is the first song on the album that reminded me of songs on Bedingfield's previous albums with its cleverly sung lyrics and pleasing but not forced melody.  "Neon Lights" is another song that evokes memories of Bedingfield at her songwriting best with a string melody and toned down tribal drumming during the bridge and the refrain that is utterly enchanting.  Her first single off the album (released months ago), "Touch," is extremely fetching with quickly sung lyrics and a dance beat during the chorus that will get you motivated to get on the dance floor.

Overall, it's a really enjoyable and well rounded pop album from Natasha Bedingfield.  She stays true to the style that made her popular in the first place but still manages to present to us tracks that sounds new and original.  Despite the ominous sounding description from Amazon above, the music is not dark or depressing and there is a definite hopefulness to many of the tracks ("Weightless" and "Can't Fall Down").  It's not a perfect album but I found I liked a lot more about it than I disliked about it especially on repeat listens.

Score:  7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Strip Me" and "Neon Lights"

Plain White T's Wonders of the Younger - The five person alt rock/pop band from Illinois release their sixth studio album.  Best known for their 2007 Grammy nominated hit "Hey There Delilah," the band gives us 14 new tracks on this album.  According to recent interviews with frontman Tom Higgenson, the band was attempting to imbue the album with a greater epic feeling than their previous albums.

"Irrational Anthem" begins the album which has a melodic, slower opening before the songs speeds up into an uptempo pop/rock song.  The lyrics and vocals are both very well done on the track although the chorus sounds like something from an old Green Day album.  "Boomerang" has a much more standard soft rock feel I was expecting from the band and features lyrics and hooks that are more likely to get stuck in your head.  "Welcome to Mystery" is the most complex song on the album with a jaunty circus feel, moody guitar playing, and restrained but not timid vocal work.  "Rhythm of Love" features a much softer, almost acoustic, side of the band and reminded me of the type of music a Jason Mraz would give us. 

Okay, I can't compare this album to any of Plain White T's previous albums because I am only familiar with their singles like the aforementioned "Delilah" and "1, 2, 3, 4" but I can tell you that it falls far short of the "epic feeling" that Higgenson and bandmates were striving for.  However, the album was far more complex than I expected going in for a band known primarily for their bubblegum singles.  Unfortunately, a greater level of complexity does not mean that the album is one that I would want to listen to on a regular basis.  There are a handful of songs that are more than palatable on the album but not enough for me to recommend this disc wholeheartedly.

Score:  5.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:   "Welcome to Mystery" and "Rhythm of Love"

Crown Royale Crown Royale - Not to be confused with the rock/swing band Royal Crown Revue or the whiskey that comes in a purple felt bag, Crown Royale is the hip-hop/rap act of DJ Rhettmatic and MC Buff1.  This eponymous 14 track album is the debut release from the duo although they both have solo careers mostly as DJs. I couldn't find too much info on the band itself, but the band's MySpace page has good bios of the individual two artists.  

The album opens with the high energy "Blitz" with a fast tempo rap, quick beat, and synthesized horn sounds. "Crown Royale" has an interesting if very simplistic violin arrangement that works well in creating an effective hook for the song although the latter half of the track with its excessive scratching seemed like an odd choice.  "We Gotcha" is another high energy song but layers on more instruments to create a very pleasing and toe-tapping song.  "Looking For Answers" has a more somber tone and is one of the slower songs on the album.  "GM" has more traditional hip-hip sensibilities with heavy sampling and a more structured vocal style in the rap. 

It's a very respectable and aurally pleasing debut album from two highly credible hip-hop DJs. They have a sound that is very reminiscent of past hip-hop acts like The Roots and Busta Rhymes without sounding like a cheap derivative of any specific band. The entire album has a lot of energy and shows a lot of forethought in the song creation.  It's far from perfect album but it's a more than credible debut album. 

Score:  7/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "We Gotcha" and "Thank You"

New Holiday Music for 2010 - Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson, and Ronnie Spector

The holiday season is upon us!  In honor of that (and to better accommodate my post-Thanksgiving  travel plans), this week I will be reviewing some of the new Christmas albums released this year.  Merry Christmas--Joyeux Noel--Glaedelig Jul--Feliz Navidad!

Ronnie Spector Best Christmas Ever - The legendary singer of The Ronettes (2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees) and former wife of Phil Spector (they divorced loooong ago, in 1974) releases an EP of five relatively obscure Christmas songs.  This album is currently available for download on Amazon and other online retailers.

Spector's Christmas album has a pleasing and light jazzy/gospel feel to it with some of the songs sounding like classics from past decades.  "My Christmas Wish" has a peppy modern jazz feel with it's horn work and saxophone solo.  Spector's voice is a nice raspy addition as she pleads to Santa to make her dreams of Christmas love come true.  "The Time of Year (Happy Holidays)" has a Latin jazz beat that matches the emotion Spector is able to emote. "Light One Candle" exhibits a reluctant hopefulness with Spector's restrained singing matching the light piano and, later, string and flute refrains.  "Best Christmas Ever" is a lighter Christmas song you might have found in the 60's and 70's.  "It's Christmas Once Again" has a slower lounge-y feel like a cross between something Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald might have done. 

Spector's voice is obviously a little worn from her 67 years but it adds an even greater soulfulness to some of the songs ("It's Christmas Once Again" and "Light One Candle" specifically).  It's an excellent Christmas album in two regards: 1) it gives us catchy, non-standard songs for this season and 2) it's well performed and produced by a legendary singer.

Score: 8.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "My Christmas Wish" and "Best Christmas Ever"

Jessica Simpson Happy Christmas - Jessica Simpson releases her second Christmas album, the previous one being released in 2004.  Thankfully on the cover on this one, she doesn't look like a girl in heat ready to get it on with Santa.  (Go ahead and look at the cover to her first Christmas album Rejoyce [sic] and tell me she doesn't look waaaaaaaay too sexy for a Christmas album!)

This album comes to us with ten holiday songs.  Most are Christmas standards with no repeat songs from her first Christmas album.  There are two new songs.  Nearly all of the songs are done in a slower, jazzier tempo or have a country twang to them.  The single off the album, "My Only Wish," leads off the album and is one of the peppier songs on the album.  It's not going to be an instant holiday classic but it's enjoyable enough as a holiday song with a fast tempo beat and festive bell ringing to set the mood.  The other song that was new to me, "Kiss Me for Christmas," is a slower tempo song with mostly piano backing and very light drumming.  It's not a very festive song with only the title of the song sung in the chorus giving us any clue this is a Christmas song.

There's nothing really spectacular or revolutionary about this Christmas album and it takes much fewer risks with the arrangements of the songs than Rejoyce.  Simpson's covers of "Happy Xmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" do not deliver anything new or different to the songs.  "Here Comes Santa Claus" has a country twang but even that doesn't bring as much originality as the long-ago Elvis version.  The only Christmas standard that I really enjoyed and that made the best use of Simpson's voice was "Carol of the Bells" which came all the way at the end of the album.  That song and the new single are worthy additions to any Christmas album but the rest of album is a aurally pleasing but a basically generic offering.

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "My Only Wish" and "Carol of the Bells"

Mariah Carey Merry Christmas II You - Mariah Carey releases her second Christmas album, the previous being released way back in 1994.  For some reason, Mariah is in nearly the exact same pose as in her first Christmas album which probably wasn't the best idea since it just shows how much she has aged over the years. 

This album comes in with thirteen tracks total with one being a quick intro while another is her self-penned holiday classic "All I Want For Christmas Is You" which has been sped up slightly although the differences are superficial at best.  Her new single "Oh Santa!" is a very quick tempo, modern holiday song that seems more suited for the dance floor than for roasting chestnuts around the fire.  Another (I think) new song, "When Christmas Comes," has a lighter, jazzier feel, features Carey's voice much better, and emanates a more robust holiday feeling than the previously mentioned "Oh Santa!"  Her modern, sped up "Here Comes Santa Claus" medley even has an interesting Rasta feel to it although I felt it did drag on for far too long.

Most of the other songs are Christmas standards done in a very slow tempo, adult contemporary or 70's soul band style.  There's also one live song, "O Holy Night," which (to me) always sticks out (badly) on an album whose other songs were all done in a studio.  However, her "Charlie Brown Christmas" medley of the Vince Guaraldi classics (featuring "Christmas Time is Here") is one of the more beautifully performed versions of that timeless piece of music since Guaraldi's trio first put it on vinyl. 

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "When Christmas Comes" and "Charlie Brown Christmas"

New Music from 11/23/2010 - Kanye West, Smashing Pumpkins, and French Horn Rebellion

Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Polarizing hip-hop artist Kanye West releases his fifth full-length album and first since 2008's 808s & Heartbreak.  West has cited Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone as his musical inspirations for this album.  No offense to Kanye, who is a wonderful musician and producer of music, but the original version of the album cover he was planning on using was absolutely horrible and the relatively vanilla cover you see to the right is a marked improvement over his "WTF?!?" original. 

The album opens with "Dark Fantasy" which has a complex, orchestral opening with angelic singing that transitions to a really catchy rap as the bridge to the song.  It does a good job of presenting the complicated blending of styles that West is so adept at.  "All Of The Lights" will definitely be a future single with horn playing similar to what you might hear in a Basement Jaxx song but with more classic hip-hop sensibilities in the actual formation of the song.  Also, the female vocals (it sounds like a Rihanna clone but I couldn't find who actually performed the singing) add an extra layer to the song and make it a likely song you'll hear in a club in the not-too-distant future.  My favorite song is "Runaway" which has a very simple four note piano opening that slowly builds into a really elaborate and beautiful song as West quickly layers on the other instruments and vocals as the song builds to a muted but poignant crescendo.  "Blame Game" (feat. John Legend) starts off with a slow tempo piano opening that gracefully segues to Legend's always welcome singing although the spoken word part at the end makes it a tough single to add to your MP3 player. 

Overall, it's another well produced and well performed album by Kanye West.  The arrangement of the music, as usual, is extremely complex without being over-produced.  Hardcore fans of West will be slightly upset though because of the thirteen tracks, about half had already been released on West's website as part of his G.O.O.D. Fridays music series throughout the past year and two of the tracks are basically interludes that last between 60~90 seconds.  However, no matter what other craziness West has going on in his life, he sure hasn't lost his ability to write and compose damn catchy music.  I probably like his Graduation Day and Late Registration albums better than this one but Kanye, even when he's not at the absolutely top of his game, still manages to put out an album that's better than 98% of what else is currently on the market. 

Score:  9/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Runaway" and "Dark Fantasy"

Smashing Pumpkins Teagarden by Kaleidyscope Vol. 2: The Solstice Bare - An EP by the off-and-on again band from Chicago still being fronted by Billy Corgan.  The overall concept for the Teagarden by Kaleidyscope opus is a total of 44 songs released sporadically over time.  The first volume collected the first four songs released plus a bonus track if you bought the vinyl album.  This volume follows the same pattern with four tracks in total plus a bonus track if you buy the full box set album.

The EP opens with "The Fellowship," a mainstream rock song that has hard sounding guitar and keyboard work.  The melody (especially the part done on synthesizer/keyboard) remind me of an early Muse song although Corgan's warble-y singing voice isn't as good a match as Matt Bellamy's to this type of song.  "Freak" is a much better match to the Smashing Pumpkin style with heavy guitar playing and a catchy bridge and refrain.  "Tom Tom" employs an acoustic guitar and a more ballad-like feel, at least initially.  The song then introduces harder pounding drums and moodier vocal work to make a more complex rock song.  "Spangled" has a more alternative feel with a jangly melody and a more somber tempo.  I felt this was the most control the band exhibited on the four tracks and the subdued vocal work a better fit for the now older Mr. Corgan.

The overall concept is a very interesting idea but the music Smashing Pumpkins give us today just doesn't sound as fresh or as relevant as it did when they were in their prime.  Billy Corgan's vocal work, while still sounding familiar, doesn't have the same punch as it used to.  It'll be interesting when they finally string all 44 songs into a completed mega album to see if they can form a cohesive piece of work from the individual pieces but it's not worth getting the individual pieces alone if these are the best songs the band can come up with today.

Score:  5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Spangled"

 French Horn Rebellion This Moment - The band consists of two brothers originally from Milwaukee but now performing primarily in New York.  One of the brothers was actually a French horn player for the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra but decided that way of playing music was too rigid for him so they decided to form this band instead.  The band has a heavy synth-pop sound with some electronic influences.  Vocals are prominent on every song (so it's not a strict electronica album) although the band doesn't shy away from synthesizing them.  

Okay, this EP is five tracks long and from those five tracks we only get two different songs.  You get the original "This Moment" plus three remixed versions of the song and you get a song titled "Last Summer."  "This Moment" is actually a very catchy song that begins with a fast tempo synthesized sound.  The hook and the chorus will both sweep you along and get you caught up in the song.  "Last Summer" is a slower tempo song with less vibrant singing.  It's not a total downer song but there isn't much interesting in it either, at least until the song goes on a complete tangent with a circus-like melody.

"This Moment" is a very good song and is deserving of its own single.  The remixed versions are above average although only Kap 10Kurt remix really bringing anything new to the song.  "Last Summer" is more awkward than good and sounds like a poor B-side to "This Moment".

Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "This Moment"

New Music from 11/16/2010 - Norah Jones, Home Video and The Glass

Norah Jones ...Featuring Norah Jones  - The New York born and Texas raised jazz/pop/adult contemporary singer-songwriter (and daughter of legendary Indian musician Ravi Shankar) releases a new compilation album.  ...Featuring brings together collaboration songs Jones has performed for other artists' albums and features a wide range of performers from different musical genres.  A few of the songs are from her side project bands (El Madmo and The Little Willies), some are with classic R&B/jazz artists (Ray Charles and Herbie Hancock), a couple she teams with modern rock/indie bands (Foo Fighters and Belle and Sebastian), a number with veteran country musicians (Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton), and finally a handful of tracks are with modern hip-hop acts (Outkast and Q-Tip).  In total there are 18 tracks with no collaborator working on more than one song. 

Some of the collaborations are better than others.  Her voice, already so silky smooth and sexily brusque, naturally pairs well with on the Jazz collaborations.  "Court and Spark" (w/ Herbie Hancock) features subdued vocal work by Jones but the composition of the song, especially the piano work, makes it one of the highlights of the album.  Another Jazz artist's cover (Charlie Hunter's) of the 10,000 Maniacs song "More Than This" is another great use of Jones vocal control as she is able to wring out a maximum amount of emotion from a relatively subdued singing tenor on a version of the song that contrasts well with the original. The other songs I really liked were her hip-hop collaborations.  "Take Off Your Cool" from Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album and "Life is Better" from Q-Tip's The Renaissance album are great, although most fans of that genre (like me) will already have both those albums.

All in all, it's a good album for Norah Jones fans as it brings together a lot of tracks that were only available on other artist's releases.  However, for non-fans of Norah Jones, there isn't a lot of variety in the music presented to us on this album as even to songs with bands/artists like Foo Fighters, Dolly Parton and Q-Tip all fall into the jazz/adult contemporary arena.  Only the Talib Kwali track would fit into another genre (hip-hop) and even then it's still not a fast-tempo song. 

Score:  6/10 (fans of Norah Jones can add two points to the Score)
Song(s) to Sample: "Take Off Your Cool" and "More Than This"

The Glass At Swim Two Birds - This duo originating from Germany releases their debut album.  Not to be confused with the progrock band Glass, this band from Berlin has an electropop sound with trance and house influences.  I couldn't find much info on the band itself so let's skip ahead to the review.

As I stated above, this is an electropop band so there are vocals on each song to accompany the electronic beats and synthesized tones.  The singing is done in a downtempo manner throughout the entire disc, like you might find in a Depeche Mode album although the singing voice is nowhere as good as Dave Gahan's.  The album opens with "Four Four Letter" which has a trance beat and a funky bass line at the beginning.  As the song progresses, the beat and rhythms work well together creating a very danceable song.  "Pheromone" has a slower, sexier backing beat to create a more sultry sound.  "Wanna Be Dancin'" has a trance beat but subdued vocals that fit in relatively well with the beat and synthesizer work.  It's a dance song that seems well fitted for raves but the tempo might be too slow for the song to get regular play at your more hip clubs.  "Washed Up" was one of my favorite songs with the vocals on that track doing its best to match the sweeping energy of the song without sounding too over eager. 

Overall, it's a well crafted and catchy debut electropop album, although there's definitely more "electro" than "pop" to the album.  Most of the songs are very danceable to with hard working trance and house beats.  However, the vocal work was a bit too subdued on some of the tracks and I thought it would have been a better fit for a downtempo electronica album.  The track layout was very logical though and that songs flowed well as the album progressed.  There were a few songs where they try to go all industrial on us with the beats that don't work as well ("Superhero" being one example) and the monotone singing and vocals don't always match up perfectly with the songs ("Atmosphere") but those are minor qualms to a very respectable debut album. 

Score:   8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Washed Up" and "Surrender"

Home Video The Automatic Process (Note: this album isn't released until next week) - Woot!  Two electronica reviews in one week.  I feel like I'm back in college again!  Anyways, this three person electro-rock band from New York release their third full-length album.  I had never heard of the band before but a former classmate from grad school saw them when they opened for Blonde Redhead back east somewhere and she liked them very much so I thought I'd give this album a whirl. 

"Accomplished but Dead" opens the album well with a catchy electronic hook and a quiet but inviting meloday that draws you in to the album decently.  "Every Love That Ever Was" has a slower, downtempo sound that tries to bring more emotion into the song with techno beats by the time the bridge is upon us. "The Smoke" has some toe-tapping drum work and a catchy hook but the song gets monotonous after a while. 

The music they present to us is passable but there wasn't much that was outstanding or groundbreaking about it.   The tracks at the beginning of the album does it's best to invite the listener in but there's not much to keep the listener there as the album progresses.  It's similar to watching a well shot movie with no plot--it seems okay when you're in the moment but there's not much to discuss when you think back about what you just digested.  There's nothing really wrong with the album but, on the same token, there isn't anything that I loved about it either. 

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "The Smoke"

New Music from 11/9/2010 - Hellogoodbye and Lifted Crew

Hellogoodbye Would It Kill You? -  The indie-pop band from Huntington Beach release their first album since 2006's popular and awesomely named Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! which ranked as high as #13 on the US charts and #1 on the indie charts.  The band always seems to be busy touring (I saw them a few years back when they opened for Panic! at the Disco) having played a number of big festivals over the years like Van's Warped Tour, South by Southwest, and Boston's CollegeFest.  Now that they've found the time to put together another album, let's see how it stands up.

The album opens with the peppy and catchy "Finding Something To Do."  It's not the most original song you'll ever hear but the jangly lyrics and fast tempo beat do their best to get you caught up in the pop feel of the band.  The next two songs, "Getting Old" and "When We First Met," follow the nice light pop sound formula that would be perfect for relaxing on a beach in warm weather although there isn't anything really groundbreaking or outstanding about either track.  Where the album really took off for me though is on the fourth track, "Betrayed by Bones," which I found enchanting and totally caught myself whistling along to on my first listen as the song built upon itself by the second chorus.  "You Sleep Alone" has a more punk feel to it with the quick drumming and singing but still incorporates the pop hooks to get your toe tapping.  "The Thoughts Game Me the Creeps" has a softer feel with its ukulele backing giving it a surfer quality that is reminiscent of a Jack Johnson song.  

Overall, it's a pretty enjoyable album although it sounds more like a summer release than a holiday release album.  That didn't diminish my enjoyment of the album at all.  I just think the album would have more relevance and a greater audience impact as a summer release because of the generally light  feel and tone of the album (there's even a song called "Coppertone" about waiting for a girl on the beach--c'mon now!!).  The middle of the album starting with "Betrayed" and running through "I Never Can Relax" is the real high point that shows the growth in song writing by the band making the album a more than worthy successor to Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!

Score:  7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Betrayed by Bones" and "Finding Something To Do"

Lifted Crew The Undeniable (EP) - The Lifted Crew is a hip-hop/funk/soul band from New York.  According to their biography on MySpace, the band "consists of hard hitting horns, an explosive rhythm section, lyrically gifted MCs, and incredible vocalists."  I would describe their style as somewhere between the more sultry work of Usher and the more orchestral work of Erykah Badu.

This EP is five tracks long.  It opens with "Would It Be?" which is a very seductive song with sultry guitar licks and a slick rap to begin the song.  The female chorus plus the keyboard work add a soulful feel to the song that melds well with the rap.  "On You" has a very sexy feel with the jazzy horn work and quick rap although with a chorus consisting of "I want to bust/my nut on you" you probably wouldn't want this playing on a first date unless you're on a VH1 reality dating show.  "Do You Like It" has a funkier feel with the horn work and vocal work that reminded me of Blackstar.  I enjoyed the looser feel to the song and appreciated the subdued energy the song showcased.

Overall, Lifted Crew give us a very unique album with is funk/soul sound that recalls some of the greats from the 70's but with lyrics that you wouldn't want mom or grandma to hear.  For example, "Superstar" has horn work that would make Parliament or The Ohio Players envious but also equates being a superstar to being a porn star, so that probably wouldn't fly with an original fan of one of those bands today.  I loved the contrast of those two dichotomies though and thought the band blended them extremely well in the music given to us on the EP.  Here's hoping they come out with a full length release in the near future. 

Score:  8.0/10

Song(s) to Sample:  "Do U Like It?"

New Music from 11/2/2010 - Matt & Kim, Mini Mansions, and the Punk Goes Pop series

Matt & Kim Sidewalks - The New York dance-pop-punk duo releases their third LP.  In addition to their catchy tunes, Matt & Kim are probably best known for the quirky music videos from their last album, Grand.  "Lesson Learned" won 2009 Breakthrough Video award at the MTV VMAs and was the inspiration for Erykah Badu's hit video "Window Seat" (the Matt & Kim video is the superior version).  My favorite video (& song) of theirs though is "Daylight" which features an extremely quirky video that has Matt & Kim singing the toe-tapping song in various cramped locations like in a closet, shower and fridge.  I know that doesn't sound like a fun video but trust my word that it is very cool (or see it for yourself). 

As usual, Kim provides the drumming and backup vocals while Matt does the keyboard work and sings lead.  The album opens with "Block After Block" which has a quick tempo and upbeat singing.  Although I wouldn't call the song uplifting, it does an effective job of introducing the band's style and drawing you into their brand of music.  "Cameras" is a weirdly catchy song that I appreciate more each time I listen to it.  It begins with synthesized horn blowing and is done in a 5/4 time beat that can be initially off-putting but the catchy hooks in the bridge and the extremely well sung vocals (I love the meter he sings with) make it a very memorable song.  "Good for Great" starts with a simple but catchy keyboard playing and evolves into a nice, light pop song.  The only track I couldn't get into was "Ice Melts" which sounded like a strange amalgamation of a Bjork and an English Beat song.  Thankfully that's the last song on the album so it didn't ruin my overall enjoyment of the album. 

Overall, it's a very good album from Matt & Kim.  The first half has a heavier dance feel while the second half is more pop.  Like on their previous work, Kim's drumming provides most of the punk influence to their songs (although that's not as prevalent anymore) while Matt's keyboard work adds a lot of the pop influence. Matt's vocal work really shines on this album.  His singing voice is far from your classical crooner (it's closer to Fred Schneider of the B-52s than, say, a Jason Mraz) but the timber, meter and resonance he uses adds an extra layer to the music and really enhances the album.  The only reason this album doesn't score higher is there were no immediate standout songs like "Daylight" from their last album. 

Score:  8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Cameras" and "Good for Great"

Mini Mansions Mini Mansions - SoCal native and Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael "Mikey Shoes" Shurman releases the debut album of his three person side project band.  The band was put together after QotSA went on hiatus after their lengthy 2009 tour.  Unlike the hard rocking QotSA, the music from Mini Mansions would fall into a less in-your-face pop rock sound. 

The album begins with a quick 90-second musical vignette (ingeniously titled "Vignette #1") with subtle instrument playing and vocal work that acts as a shrewd, if non-splashy, introduction to the band's music.  The music in the vignette and in the album as a whole has chamber pop/chamber rock feel with a complex layering of sound.  After the initial vignette, the album really takes off.  Shurman (assuming he handles most of the lead vocals since all three members get vocal credit on the album) has a voice that sounds like John Lennon's from his post-Beatles era in the mid-70's, especially in the first handful of tracks.  "The Room Outside" expertly layers in electric guitars with heavy feedback after a slow thoughtful piano opening that builds to a crescendo as the track progresses.  "Crime of the Season" uses vocal harmonies and a solid pop hook to create one of the highlight songs of the album.  "Majik Marker" has a more somber tone featuring hard piano playing and airy vocals to add a more haunting feel to the track.

Even though I've done it before in one or two past reviews, I really don't like comparing bands to The Beatles because that's like comparing an upcoming painter to Picasso.  But, in this instance, I don't mind making that comparison because in addition to the musical similarities I listed above, even the song construction is reminiscent of the Fab Four.  They're not exact clones by any means, but Mini Mansions has a sound that combines the classic pop sensibilities of The Beatles (actually, to be exact, it is more similar to the post-Beatles work of Lennon and McCarthy) with more modern song construction along the lines of Ambulance LTD.  The album might be a little too eclectic/psychedelic for your more mainstream listener but for a side project this ranks right up there with the Broken Bells' release (the side project of Danger Mouse and James Mercer from The Shins) for best side project album of the year.  It's absolutely mesmerizing and well constructed from the beginning to the end. 

Score:  9.5/10

Song(s) to Sample:  "Crime of the Season" and "The Room Outside"

Various Artists Punk Goes Pop Volume 3 - The third album in this compilation series from Fearless Records features the label's punk bands like Ready Set and Of Mice and Men covering modern hip-hop, pop, and dance songs.  Some of the covered artists include Jay-Z, Lady Ga Ga, Justin Timberlake and Kanye West.  There are 14 tracks in total and no artist performs or is covered more than once. 

I’ve listened to a lot of punk cover songs over the years and your typical punk cover speeds up the beat, replaces any acoustic instruments with its electronic siblings, and performs the vocals in a much harder style.  For some types of songs, the punk cover can really work well and you get something that can transcend the original.  For other songs, it’s a total mismatch of styles that leads to an awful song cover that loses all of the original beauty.  So which songs fit into which category on this album?  Woe is Me’s cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot ‘n’ Cold” starts with a very heavy metal opening with primal screaming of the lyrics that overshadows the danceable rhythm of the original.  Artist Vs Poet’s cover of Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” does some interesting things with the instrumentation but the singing reminds me of the version done on Glee a few weeks ago.  One of the best is Mayday Parade’s cover of Jason Derulo’s “In My Head” which adeptly quickens the tempo without going overboard and creates a highly danceable version.   This Century’s cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” was perhaps my favorite with its very simplified melody and singing adding more poignancy to the song’s lyrics. 

Okay, my first problem with this album is that very few of the covered songs are actually pop songs.  Most are hip-hop or dance, but I digress.  The real problem is that most of the bands show little imagination when re-imagining the original artist concepts and fall into the trap I mentioned previously.  There are a handful of some very original and clever punk covers but those are too few and far between. 

Score:  6/10

Song(s) to Sample:  This Century's "Paper Planes" (M.I.A cover) and Family Force 5's "Bulletproof" (La Roux cover)


Note: I will be out of town at the beginning of next week but will try to have my reviews posted by Wednesday or Thursday. 

New Music from 10/26/2010 - Bryan Ferry and FuzZ

Bryan Ferry Olympia - The former Roxy Music frontman and iconic glamrock vocalist releases his first album on one of my favorite record labels, Astralwerks.  This is Ferry's third album this decade which I found somewhat surprising not realizing that he was still active in the recording industry.  Olympia features contributions from Scissor Sisters, Groove Armada, Flea, Pink Floyd's David Gilmore,  Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, and some of Ferry's former Roxy Music cohorts (Brian Eno, Andy Mackey, etc.).  Most of the songs are new but the Groove Armada collaboration is available on GA's album from earlier this year, albeit the song is mixed differently on the two albums, and there are two cover songs: Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" and Traffic's "No Face, No Name, No Number."  And finally, yes, that is Kate Moss' upside-down mug staring at you on the cover to the left.  For a man that was famous for dating supermodels (Jerry Hall and Amanda Lear) and putting those supermodels on the covers of his albums back in the day, one can't help but wonder how Kate Moss made it to the front of this album... 

Olympia opens with "You Can Dance" which has an art rock/prog rock feel to it with hard riffing electric guitars and vocals sung in a glam rock tenor.  Despite the obvious energy Ferry brings to the song, I found it boring and derivative of stuff he and similar artists were doing over two decades ago.  However the second song on the album, "Alphaville," still has noticeable nods to Ferry's musical past but manages to sound much more contemporary with some really spiffy Carlos Santana-like guitar rhythms to help modernize (rather than be a derivative of) Ferry's song style.  Ferry's still more than credible singing voice is also nimbly on display on this track with his raspy singing tenor acting as a nice counterbalance to the melody.  "Heartache by Numbers" is the collaboration with Scissor Sisters and features a harder synth sound.  Unfortunately, I found the jaunty melody with the choir-like chorus singing an odd match that made it very difficult to get into the song.  "Me Oh My" is a slower tempo ballad that wisely introduces some piano to help enhance the sullen mood of the track.  "Shameless," the Groove Armada collaboration, has a much slower and lighter beat than the version given to us on their album so it's definitely not as danceable to, but that's pretty much would we expect given the differences in these two artists.  "Song to the Siren" is an interesting ballad that is both introspective and reluctantly hopeful at the same time that I really enjoyed and wouldn't be surprised to find on a Rom-Com soundtrack in the near future. 

This being the debut Bryan Ferry album on a record label I very much respect and enjoy, I wanted very much to like this album.  Unfortunately, the album just doesn't do enough to draw in the listener.  Don't get me wrong, there are some cool things about it: the production on the album is absolutely top-notch, Bryan Ferry's singing voice has not deteriorated badly at all, and there are some absolutely terrific collaborators working on this album.  But the track layout is completely off at the beginning of the album with the first couple of songs doing their best to not get you interested or excited about what you're going to hear.  Also, a lot of the songs sound like they were stolen from some of Morrissey's more recent albums at least in terms of style and song construction.  It's only on a few songs do we get something original and something worth spending our time on.

Score:  5.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Alphaville"

 FuzZ Sparkle Vision - This SoCal electronica band releases what, according to Spinner mag, frontman David Streit calls a "wall of sound."  I actually haven't been able to find a hard copy of this album to purchase yet but you can buy the digital version on Amazon and other online retailers so that is what this review is based off of.  FuzZ is currently touring in California and a few other states and I've heard his live shows are very fun although I cannot speak from first-hand experience. 

Sparkle Vision is a purely electronic techno album with no singing or vocal samples on any of the tracks.  To further describe the album, I would say the genres of electronic music this recalls is predominantly breakbeat and chiptune, with some definite psych/Goa influences throughout the album.  Like many electronic music albums, there is no clear delineation between tracks as there is a sound bridge of some type from song to song for the entire album.  "Marshmallow Bazooka," the second track on the album, begins with a more down-tempo beat but slowly builds a slower psytrance feel.  The haunting keyboard work forms a nice cross-rhythm with the electronic samples and beats, especially during the first half of the track.  "Let's Play Deathball!!!" exhibits a very weird syncopation at the beginning of the track that by the time it starts to incorporate the beeps and other electronic sounds you expect to hear in a chiptune song it makes it very hard to get into the song.  "Pterodactyl" has a trance-like beat to open the song that makes the song much more accessible from the opening beat so that by the time the band starts to expand the song it has already captured the attention of the listener.

Overall, I actually thought Sparkle Vision was a pretty decent electronica album.  The track layout seemed logical and well thought out.  Not every song is a winner but there's enough good stuff where I was never bored by the album.  FuzZ even reuses melodies and beats in some non-consecutive songs to help bring about a more complete album composition by referencing earlier material from the disc.  The one major problem I did have with the album was the length in time.  The total time of it was less than 25 minutes long so that, in my opinion, seems more like an EP than a full length album.

Score:  6.5/10 (it would have gotten another point if the album were 10-15 minutes longer because 25 minutes does not cut it for a full length album)
Song(s) to Sample:  "Marshmallow Bazooka"

New Music from 10/19/2010 - Liz Phair and Violens

Liz Phair Funstyle -  Grammy Award winner alternative singer/songwriter Liz Phair returns with her first album in five years.  After changing record labels since her last release, Phair, according to a recent Wall Street Journal interview, gives us a more personal album that she thinks is the reason she was released from her contract by her old record label.  I should also mention the CD comes bundled with a second disc with never commercially released songs from her Girlysound Tapes era, which is basically Phair's earliest music foray prior to originally signing with Matador Records in the early 90's, that I will not be reviewing. 

The album begins with the very unique "Smoke" which opens with very random vocal samples over a simple electro funk beat and then integrates a high soprano female crooning, dog barking (or simulated dog barking), plus alt-rock and country influenced rhythms by the time the chorus arrives.  It's a weird hodgepodge of styles that works on some levels if you like your music on the eclectic side but it will not be everyone's cup of tea.  If that wasn't original enough for you, the second song on the album, "Bollywood," is an even more unique offering.  It features a jangly Bollywood-style beat and music which on its own would be weird for a Liz Phair song but to top it off she sings the song in the style of rap.  Yes, for better or worse, Liz Phair not only raps on this album but she lays down her rap over a Filmi style song. (Sorry, I took two Indian Film classes when I was getting my Film Studies minor so I know a wee bit about the Bollywood style so bear with me.)  I actually found the song kinda entertaining in terms of the blending of two styles that Phair obviously is not normally associated with although the song is far from a perfect marriage of the two styles. Most of the other songs fit better in the alt-rock singer/songwriter style we expect from Phair.  This is not to say that the rest of the songs are all in the same style but rather they don't venture as far from what we expect from a Liz Phair album. "You Should Know Me" and "Miss September" have a mellower, more acoustic sounding flavor to them; "And He Slayed" and "Oh Bangladesh" have a harder rocking style with the acoustic guitars being replaced feedback generating electric guitars; while "Bang! Bang!" and "Beat Is Up" were influenced by various electronica styles (downtempo and Latin electronica, respectively). 

It's a pretty good album overall although I don't know if it was worth the five year wait.  The various styles she manages to incorporate make the album an interesting listen and the album layout and production were very solid.  Unfortunately, there weren't any real standout songs on the album so it's probably not a disc I will revisit often.  Also, I'm personally curious to see how people not as familiar with Filmi music like "Bollywood" because the song is not as accessible as, say, Wyclef Jean's "Hollywood Meets Bollywood," which also blended rap with Bollywood style music, from Wyclef's Carnival II album. 

Score: 7/10

Song(s) to Sample: "Miss September" and "Bollywood" (because you know you want to hear Liz Phair rap)

Violens Amoral (Import version) - This three person New York band releases its first full-length album although they do have an EP that was released in the US in 2008.  Their MySpace page describes the band's genre as "indie" but I will go one step further to say their music from this album release is part jangle pop, part indielectronica, with some post-punk revival sprinkled in.  Unfortunately, a debut album plus no wikipedia page means not many facts I can give you in this section so let's skip to the review.

The first three songs on this album are superb.  The album opens with "The Dawn of Your Happiness is Rising" whose opening bass line plus the ensuing drum beats and guitar riffs sound like an extremely enjoyable modern day version of a The The song.  Even the vocal performance is sung in a style similar to Matt Johnson, frontman for The The.  That track is followed by "Full Collision" which has a guitar opening and general melody reminiscent of something The Kooks would give us which then evolves into a true power pop song.  The third song that opens the album, "Acid Reign," has a New Wave synthpop feel full of rocking synthesized tones and more airy vocals.  "It Couldn't Be Perceived" has a very 80's New Wave feel to it but the hooks aren't as catchy as the earlier songs and it didn't have the same energy.  They even have one song, "Violent Sensation Descends," which sounds like cross between a The Shins and a The Turtles song.  One thing that is impressive over the entire album is the singing as the band members (all three are credited with vocals on the album) are more than credibly able to warble the various vocal styles from the sub-genres of indie music the band presents to us. 

Overall, Amoral is a very impressive debut album.  The first three songs can all be categorized as "indie" songs but the sub-genres of indie music they recall are completely different and yet the band manages to do all three extremely well.   The rest of the album is mostly good although I didn't find any songs as catchy as the first three.

Score:  8/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Acid Reign" and "Full Collision"

New Music from 10/12/2010 - Badly Drawn Boy, Less Than Jake, Care Bears on Fire, and Hot Panda

Badly Drawn Boy It's What I'm Thinking - British singer/songwriter Damon Gough, a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy, releases his seventh studio album (not counting things like the About A Boy soundtrack which he entirely scored and wrote songs for).  Curiously, Twisted Nerve Records (the record label Gough co-founded with Andy Votel) is not the label releasing this album. I'm not sure why that is but let's see if releasing the album on a different label changes the style of music Badly Drawn Boy gives to us. 

The music presented to us is still distinctly Badly Drawn Boy with its richly layered but subtle indie, predominantly acoustic, music tones.  The album starts on a very somber note with the first track, "In Safe Hands."  It has a haunting melody but the slow tempo and airy, distant vocals make it an odd opening song that doesn't do much to draw the listener in.  The second song, "The Order of Things," does a better job of attracting the attention of the listener with more intimate vocals but the melody and overall tone still seems overly sullen.  Things start to pick up slightly from this point of the album though with "Too Many Miracles'" lusher opening with horns supplementing the usual acoustic guitar and keyboards.  "What Tomorrow Brings" opens with a very beautiful piano melody and then incorporates violins during the bridge and chorus to help compliment Gough's subtle, restrained vocal work.  Near the end of the album, "This Electric" was one of the songs I found most pleasing with its wide ranging use of instruments and downtempo vocal style. 

Being on a new record label does not alter the style of music Badly Drawn Boy gives us.  It's a more somber release in total than some of his more recent works but he doesn't venture from his typical songwriting style much which should please longtime fans.  As an album, I thought the track layout was a questionable one as the beginning of the album doesn't help itself out by doing too little to grab the attention of the listener.  However, once you get past those first couple of tracks, you will find a much more accessible album when Gough's ability to create  pleasing and catchy melodies and hooks from incorporating many different instruments and singing styles is on greater display.

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Too Many Miracles" and "This Electric"

Care Bears on Fire Girls Like it Loud (EP) - Normally I try to review full releases and not EPs but I figured an all-female trio pop punk band from Brooklyn with an awesome band name like that deserves a listen.  If you have kids (or just like kiddie TV), you might have seen Care Bears on Fire on an episode of Nickelodeon's True Jackson, VP that also guest starred Justin Bieber.  I've never seen the show but I do know it stars the girl from the very clever movie Akeelah and the Bee so it can't be completely horrible.  But enough about kiddie TV shows, let's get to the five tracks on this EP.

The disc opens with "What I Could Be" which nimbly displays the band's peppy and palatable pop punk sound.  Right off the bat the infectious sound draws you right into the song and the quick paced nature of the two female vocal leads only help to enhance the feel of the song.  "Red Lights" is a more standard pop song with less complex hooks but a catchy chorus that prevents the song from sounding generic.  This is counterbalanced with the next songs, "ATM" and "Ask Me How I Am" which tone down the pop for a more traditional speedy punk tempos and hard rocking chord changes.  The album ends interestingly enough with a punk cover of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule the World."  Not surprisingly, the song is sped up with a faster punk tempo but I found the quick but relatively monotone vocal work to be the most interesting part of the cover as it contrasted well with the emotion in the original version, although the punk-like screaming of the chorus was a bit too obvious. 

Care Bears on Fire give us a very interesting EP that gives us a good example of their NY kid-core sound.  The EP has a very polished punk vibe while still managing to incorporate pop hooks and melodies in most of their songs without ever sounding too bubblegum pop-y like a lot of youth oriented bands today or too vulgar like the more hardcore punk bands.  You can see why media outlets as opposite Nickelodeon and Spin Magazine have featured Care Bears on Fire at various times over the past few years.  Their sound has the ability to appeal to a wide spectrum of listener tastes and, even more impressively, across a wide spectrum of listener ages. 

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "What I Could Be"

Hot Panda How Come I'm Dead? - The Canadian band named after an Edmonton Chinese restaurant release their sophomore album.  I thought their first album, Volcano... Bloody Volcano, had some definite bright spots although it wouldn't be what I would call a complete album.  I would describe their music as indie rock with some noise rock or post-punk revival skewings.  I wouldn't quite call them indie punk though as I tend to think of that as more punk music with indie influences.

"Pools" is the first song on the album that exhibits some of the charm and magic that was glimpsed on their first release.  The lyrics, sung in a light punk style, contrasts very effectively with the jangly, almost dream pop-like, melody to create a charming song.  The band does manage to vary its sound to a greater degree on this album.  "Shoot Your Horse" pays homage to country music although there are only minimal parts of the song that actually gains their roots from country music.  While songs like "Clever Fox" and "Poor Little Ambulance" use a slower tempo style than what the band typically exhibits.  They don't forgo their punk influences either as songs like "Mindlessnesslessness" and "1995" will show you. 

Again, Hot Panda gives us an album with a few bright spots but an overall inconsistent album.  I probably liked more of the songs on this release than the tracks from their first album but the band hasn't grown much between releases as their style hasn't really evolved from what they gave us before.  That would be fine if what they gave us before was really awesome but that would not be the case as far as Hot Panda is concerned.  Again they give us some potential but eventually they will have to turn that potential into a quality album before they are able to gain a larger following.  I still love the origin of the band's name though.

Score:  6/10
Song(s) to Sample:   "Pools"

A preview of Less Than Jake's TV/EP  - I won't give a full review of the ska/punk band's new EP because the 16 track disc lasts only about thirteen minutes long but I love cover songs so much that I thought the disc should get a mention.

Basically, this EP is a re-imagining of TV theme songs and songs from television commercials in the ska/punk style the band is known for.  Song choices range from about the 1970's through modern times with the greatest emphasis on stuff from today and stuff from the 80's and 90's when most of the band was growing up.   The song choice is an eclectic mix with some obvious choices ("Theme from Diff'rent Strokes" which was originally written by Alan Thicke, believe it or not) and some not-so-obvious choices (the song from the FreeCreditReport.com commercials--wtf?!?!).  Because the EP doesn't actually list the songs covered (each track is just labeled "Channel 1," "Channel 2," etcetera, all the way through to "Channel 16") let me give you the songs as I have been able to identify them:

1. iCarly theme 
2. song from Hungry Hungry Hippos commercials
3. Animaniacs theme
4. song from McDonald's Big Mac commercials
5. Diff'rent Strokes theme
6. Malcolm in the Middle theme ("Boss of Me" originally a They Might Be Giants song)
7. song from Pac-Man Cereal commercials
8. Scooby-Doo theme
9. song from Kit-Kat commercials
10. Spongebob Squarepants theme
11. That 70's Show theme
12. song from Oscar Meyer Wiener commercials
13. Married With Children theme ("Love and Marriage" originally popularized by Frank Sinatra)
14. song from Toys R' Us commercials
15. Laverne & Shirley theme
16. song from FreeCreditReport.com commercials

I haven't been able to verify this list yet so forgive me if there is a mistake but my knowledge of pop culture is pretty good so I'm pretty sure the track titles are accurate.  As these are punk covers of the above songs, most, if not all, of the songs are actually quicker than the original versions so you know why this disk lasts only thirteen minutes.  The best comparison I can make for this EP is if you are familiar with and like punk band No Use For a Name's Leche con Carne album and the mishmash of 80's covers they do at the end of that album then this disc is for you. 

Score:  N/A
Song(s) to Sample: "That 70's Show theme" and "Malcolm in the Middle theme"

New Music from 10/5/2010 - Fran Healy, Bored To Death Soundtrack, and Tim Kasher

Fran Healy Wreckorder - The Travis frontman and Scottish musician releases his first solo album and first work since Travis' 2007 album  Ode to J. Smith.  Although the rest of Travis is not backing him on this album, Healy does reach out to some friends from the music industry to help him out on this album.  Most notably, singer/songwriter Neko Case provides vocals on "Sing Me To Sleep" and music legend Paul McCartney plays bass (using his legendary 1963 Hofner even!) on "As It Comes."  This might just be me, but I think it's pretty cool to have a Beatle on your album that is being released four days before what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday!

The good news for Travis fans is that he doesn't wander too far from the style of music he gave us with Travis so fans of their previous albums will find something they like on this album.  The album opens with "In the Morning" which reminds me of a subdued Travis song that starts off with gentle piano playing and slowly adds more instruments like guitar, drums, bass and even a strings section to help provide a more lush, complex sound than I was expecting as the song builds to its climax.  "Fly In The Ointment" has a very pleasing blues/rock feel to it and the way he sings the lyrics is reminds me of how Mark Everett (Eels) would approach a song.  "As It Comes" is a clever song with very downtempo feel that has a chorus whose tenor is both haunting and memorable and, of course, the bass work by McCartney would help improve any song.  Unfortunately, not all the songs can match the quality of these though.  "Sing Me To Sleep," which features a duet with Neko Case, is surprisingly dull and monotonous with extremely boring backing drumming and a harmony that sounds like it is from an adult contemporary country song rather than a pop or rock song despite the pleasing vocal performances.

Some good songs pepper the middle of the album but overall there is nothing great about the album.  A friend of mine that was a one-time huge Travis fan said the music was much darker than what she was looking for.  I can't disagree with that statement as there is a general gloominess to most of the songs.  For example, a song titled "Holiday" could go many ways but instead of being an uplifting song about having a vacation, the song seems to be about one person telling another things aren't going well and they need to take a holiday.  While "Rocking Chair" is written from the perspective of man at the end of his life reminiscing about the past with references to dead icons like Richard Nixon and Fred Astaire.  Not necessarily the most cheery stuff even given the usual jaunty melodies on the songs.

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Fly In The Ointment" and "As It Comes"

Various Artists Bored To Death The Soundtrack - A soundtrack to the very good HBO show is released.  The album features songs used on the show and sound clips of dialogue from the show.  For those unfamiliar with the show, Jason Schwartzman stars as a writer/part-time private investigator whose detective skills have more in common with Inspector Clouseau than Sherlock Holmes.  Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis co-star as Schwartzman's pot-smoking publisher and best friend, respectively.  Even though I haven't seen every episode, the show generally features an eclectic mix of mostly indie music and Schwartzman's less than stellar detective work leads to some hilarious situations and dialogue.

The album starts appropriately enough with the enchanting theme song from the show.  The song is performed by Coconut Records, which happens to be Schwartzman's band and his voice is easily recognized in the performance.  In total on the album, there are 15 songs (other than two by Dan Auberach, each song is by a different artist) and a dozen dialogue clips taken directly from the show that run between two and 20 seconds.  Some of the songs you'll probably be already familiar with (Lykke Li's "Little Bit" and TV on the Radio's "Halfway Home") and some will probably be new to you (Kaiser Cartel's "Inside Out" and Salad Days' "Young Marble Giants").  As far as I could determine, there are no songs that were new or exclusive to this album.  Most of the songs have a lounge vibe to them, in the more modern definition of the term, with a few throwbacks to stuff from the 60's and 70's.  The one exception is the very electronic house-sounding "Dirty Robot" by Arling & Cameron. 

As far as the music on the album, I'd probably give the songs and the song selections a five out of 10.  Like many soundtracks, there are songs you only hear very briefly on the show simply because of things like the director enjoys how the chorus of a song sounds in one 30 second scene.  Unfortunately, taken out of context and without the visual cues to enhance the experience, the full versions of the songs lose some of the oomph they were able to conjure during the show.  The witty dialogue clips were the highlight of the disc for me.  The dialogue on the show can be so funny that, even taken out of context of the episode, the lines will still make you laugh (the quick 7-second "I Want A Colonic" dialogue blurb between Schwartzman and Danson's characters nearly had me shooting hot chocolate out of my noise when I first heard it).  The music is a so-so collection of modern lounge-type songs but it's not an album you could have going during a dinner party because of the very funny and sometimes ribald dialogue bits interspersed in the album.  And the brevity of the dialogue clips, despite the humor, prevents it from bringing up the overall score of the album more than a point.

Score: 6/10
Song(s) to Sample:  (Since you can find all the songs elsewhere, instead let me give you the Dialogue Clips to Sample)  "I Want A Colonic" and "Stockholm Syndrome"

Tim Kasher The Game of Monogamy - Since I reviewed the new album by the frontman of Travis above, I thought it only fair to review the new album by the frontman of Cursive, Tim Kasher.  Wikipedia describes Cursive's music as post-hardcore and that description would definitely fit most of their early work but their more recent stuff would fall in somewhere between indie rock and sadcore as a lot of the punk influences are no longer as prevalent in their music.

The album opens with "Monogamy Overture" which a true overture in the classical sense with a full orchestra and no lyrics.  It's an interesting opening and it tells you you're going to get a real album an not a mishmash of songs thrown together.  The second song, "A Grown Man," is more of the indie style you would expect from Kasher.  The repetitive chorus and awkward spots of singing without any backing music (more like spoken word poetry than actual "singing") make the song hard to like though.  However the next song, "I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here," is an absolute delight.  A ska-like horns section opens the song which segues to a really cool verse with peppy hand clapping and a minimal but catchy melody and then the song journeys on interestingly from there.  The rest of the songs are a mixed bag but I did like what Kasher did in laying out the album and telling a story through the songs.

The music given to us a more in the style of Andrew Bird or Jason Mraz than you would find on a Cursive album.  There are some enjoyable songs ("There Must Be Something I Lost" and the hilarious "Bad, Bad Dreams" which is about feeling the need to visit a priest after fantasizing about possibly underage women) and some I wasn't a fan of ("Strays" and "Surprise, Surprise") but the album is put together well both in terms of giving the listener an overall story and of taking the listener on a journey.  Kasher ends up giving us a very solid album that I ended up liking more as the journey unfolded.  It's not as great as, say, a Pink Floyd album in that regard but it's a more than respectable attempt in the vein of something like Arcade Fire would give us.

Score:  7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here" and "Cold Love"