New Music from 1/25/2011 - Iron & Wine, Talib Kweli, and The Get Up Kids

Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean - Indie folk rocker Sam Bean, aka Iron & Wine, releases his fourth studio album with his last album, The Shepherd's Dog, reaching as high as #24 on the U.S. charts.  However, the song that I most associate with Iron & Wine is his acoustic cover of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" which was memorably featured on the Garden State movie soundtrack from 2004.   I must say that I'm really digging his post-Impressionism inspired album cover, especially how the muted color palette really makes the individual figures on the artwork pop.  Now let's see if the new album can match the coolness of the cover. 

"Walking Far From Home" opens the album in the folk rock style that is reminiscent to the sound given to us from Bean's previous releases although the music this time around has a more lush, layered sound.  "Me and Lazarus" and "Monkeys Uptown" have more seductive grooves that gratifyingly have roots in Blues and Funk, respectively, while still not wandering far from the type of  music we expect from Bean.  "Half Moon" has a slow tempo but cheery melody buoyed by a good choral hook during the bridge.

It's a good album from Iron & Wine in that he gives us music in the style that we expect from him while trying to add a more robust feel to his sound by bringing in other genres of music.  It is also Iron & Wine's best produced and written album with a more complex layering of sounds, increased use of non-standard (for him) instruments, better integrated backing vocals, and a well thought out track layout.  Bean's slow tempo folk rock will not be a hit with every listener but I found this album much more accessible from beginning to end than some of Iron & Wine's previous albums. 

Score:  7.5/10 
Song(s) to Sample: "Half Moon" [sample it below] and "Monkeys Uptown"

Talib Kweli Gutter Rainbows - The rap/hip-hop artist best known from his work in Blackstar with Mos Def releases his fifth solo album.  This album is available for download from online retailers like Amazon beginning today although the date the actual CD drops is still to be determined for the U.S. (it comes out in the UK later this month).  As you would expect, Kweli's latest release is chock full of guest performers like Mos Def, Sean Price, Nigel Hall, and Outasight.  Let's find out how the latest album from the "Prince of Brooklyn" sounds.

The album opens with the quick, less than 90-seconds, "After the Rain" as kind of a throwaway introductory track.  "Gutter Rainbows" follows with a seductive intro featuring restrained horn work and a 70's style funk groove backing the rap and vocals.  The next song, "So Low," has a haunting sound with its roots more firmly entrenched in a more modern, downtempo hip-hop style.  "Cold Rain" has a tune more inline with classic Soul music but a modern rap and a choir doing the backing/chorus vocals to add a more modern vibe.  The album closes with the jazz-influenced "Self Savior" which has enticing piano work although the accompanying rap gets monotonous as the song drags on. 

Gutter Rainbows is a fun and entertaining release from Talib Kweli.  Although the album isn't avoiding tackling modern social issues, at least it doesn't try to ram those messages down your throat like in some past Blackstar tracks.  Instead, Kweli is able to refocus that energy into giving us a more diverse sound with silkier grooves.  The album has a very sexy vibe with many of the songs having melodies that credibly imitate grooves from the peak of Soul and Funk from the 70's and 80's yet still managing to sound modern with the vocal work and beats. 

Score:  8/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Gutter Rainbows" and "Cold Rain" [sample it below]

The Get Up Kids There Are Rules - The influential emo/indie rockers from Kansas City release their first album since 2004's Guilt Show.  During their seven year hiatus, the band broke up, reunited, and then went on tour before getting together in studio to lay down the tracks for this album.  They are currently on tour again supporting this 12-track release with gigs this week at LA's Troubadour and Pomona's Glasshouse venues if you are in the SoCal area.

"Tithe" opens the album with hard rocking, reverb generating guitars and a glam punk singing style to tell us the band is back and that they haven't mellowed over the seven year hiatus.  That segues into "Regents Court," a short and quick tempo song with more melodic guitar work and a catchy hook.  "Shatter Your Lung" has a more drawn out tempo and features heavy synthesizer work to create a song with greater atmosphere although it might only appeal to listeners with more eclectic tastes.  "Keith Case" incorporates heavily distorted guitars to beget a more somber song even though the song itself has a relatively quick tempo. 

Overall, it's an average return for one of the bands that helped define the emo sound in the 90's.  There Are Rules will not be remembered as a great album but there are a couple of better-than-average tracks to be found on it.  Unfortunately, there's also a number of tracks that are duds as well ("Rally Round the Fool" and "Birmingham" come to mind).  I read online that this disc was originally intended to be a nine track EP but the band decided to record a few more tracks and turn it into a full-length album.  Truthfully, depending on which songs were added late, this album would have been better and more succinct if the producer decided to cut a few of the dozen tracks. Bigger is not always better

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Regents Court" [sample it below] and "Shatter Your Lung"

New Music from 1/18/2011 - The Decemberists, The Aquabats, and Audio Bullys

The Decemberists The King Is Dead - Portland's own indie rock band release their sixth album and third since changing labels to Capitol Records.  Their last album, 2009's The Hazards of Love, was one of the most ambitious releases of that year.  That album was basically a rock opera with all of the songs contributing to the overarching narrative and it was very competently done.  According to an online interview with band frontman Colin Meloy, their new album forgoes the English sound that heavily influenced their last album instead going for a more "American" sound a la R.E.M.  Peter Buck, guitarist for R.E.M., even contributes on three of the tracks. 

First thing I should point out is this is very different sounding album for The Decemberists with a tonality heavily slanting towards country music waaay above and beyond just trying to Americanize the band's usual sound.  "Don't Carry It All" is the first song on the ten track disc and from the inital harmonica blaring that begins the track, you know it's a very different, Appalachian sounding even, brand of music being presented to us.  "Rox in the Box" has an Irish feel with some decent if ill-fitting fiddle work.  "January Hymn" has a simpler tone and melody with extremely muted guitars and keyboards.  "This Is Why We Fight" was the one song I really enjoyed with Meloy's most consistent vocal work. 

Overall, this is a really disappointing release from a band that I had been a big fan of.  Part of my disappointment stems from the super heavy country feel of the entire album, a genre I admittedly am not a fan of.  Although the vocal work is actually pretty decent throughout the whole album, it is the construction of the music that I have serious issues with.  In their attempt to capture a greater sense of Americana they completely change the style of the band beyond their folk rock sound in a very bad way.  The path the band was on before was just fine, there's no reason to switch things up now especially if these are the results.  On this album there was one song I liked, two songs I didn't mind, and seven tracks that I kept kept urging the timer to move faster as I unhappily waited for the songs to end.   

Score:  2/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "This Is Why We Fight" [sample it below]

The Aquabats Hi-Five Soup! - The eclectic Orange County "crime fighting" ska/synthpop band release their fifth studio album and first since 2005.  Another band I've seen numerous times in concert since the 90's, The Aquabats always come dressed in matching spandex costumes and provide a high energy show as their superhero alter egos have staged battles with marauding aliens and evil supervillains.  Let's see if their new 12-track album can leap tall buildings in a single bound or if it is hobbled by a fragment of kryptonite.

 "The Shark Fighter!" begins the album with its quick tempo and is a fun blend of the ska sound that defined the band in their early days and the synthpop sound their more recent releases have skewed towards.  "B.F.F.!" musically has a lot more keyboard and synthesizer work although the vocals on this track and for the entire album definitely skews towards a light ska style.  "Radio Down!" leans on the Jamaican beats that helped create the ska genre while still sounding like a modern song by the band.  "Hey Homies!" has a more American party anthem feel especially in the way the vocals are handled.  "In My Dreams!" has a slower tempo and a simple but catchy hook that offers a nice respite from some of the faster tempo songs. 

Overall, it's an album that gives you exactly what you are expecting from the band even with the over 5-year hiatus.  As usual, it's a very high energy album with a consistent sound throughout the entire album.  The album has a heavy ska feel to it with songs leaning either towards a more traditional ska sound or a more modern synthesizer infused version.  Long time fans will be happy that the band's sound hasn't changed but, in that same token, their sound hasn't really evolved much over the five year hiatus.  Maybe they were too busy saving the world...

Score:  7/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Radio Down!" [sample it below] and "In My Dreams!"

Audio Bullys Higher Than the Eiffel - The two person electronica act from the U.K. release their third album (the disc gets released in the U.S. today although it was available in MP3 form since November).  I would primarily categorize their brand of dance beats as house although some songs have a breakbeat and Hi-NRG skewings.  They are probably best known from their 2005 single "Shot You Down" (featuring Nancy Sinatra) which reached as high as #3 on the U.K. charts although it didn't make a huge splash in the U.S.

Although it is an electronica album, the disc does feature vocals or vocal samples on all of the songs.  The long and rambling "Drums (On With the Story)" opens the album with a very strange mix of sounds before settling into a drum and bass beat.  The next two songs, "Only Man" and "Daisy Chains," have a synthpop/electropop tenor with simplified backing beats but solid, if somewhat monotone, vocal work.  "Drained Out" starts out with a downtempo beat then adds jazzy horns and a proficient rap as the song builds to a sultry crescendo. "Smiling Faces" pays homage to the same named R&B/soul classic from The Undisputed Truth by sampling the melody and parroting the original's chorus. 

Higher Than the Eiffel starts slowly (figuratively, not literally) but gets better as the album progresses. I found the first track to be somewhat challenging to listen to but after that the album becomes much more accessible and fun.  The more electronica heavy tracks have a firm house sound while the more rock/pop heavy tracks have a more seductive electropop feel.  Not all the tracks will go down in posterity as good songs but there's enough on the album for me to recommend the album for the high quality of work scattered throughout the album. 

Score:   7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Drained Out" [sample it below] and "Daisy Chains"

New Music from 1/11/2011 - Cake, Cage the Elephant, and Clive Tanaka

Cake Showroom of Compassion - SacTown's finest alternative rock band release their sixth full-length studio album and first since 2004.  Having grown up in Sacramento, I remember fondly going to many Cake shows in the 90's at the not-so-majestic Crest Theater downtown when I was in high school.  In fact, Cake and They Might Be Giants are the two bands I've seen the most live with about a dozen shows for each over the years.  But now it is time to put my bias aside so we can see how John McCrea and bandmates' new album stacks up.  

"Federal Funding" opens the album and reintroduces us to the Cake sound, although it has been buoyed by a heavier use of keyboards to supplement McCrea's usual half-spoken/half-sung vocal style.  "Long Time" is the second song and features a freer, funkier style with solid horn work that harkens back to their work on past albums like Motorcade of Generosity.  "Got to Move" has a slower tempo although it does feature some entrancing guitar and keyboard work.  "Mustache Man (Wasted)" features a quicker tempo and the ska-like horn work that is prominent on their past albums and is the most classically sung song I've heard from McCrea in a while.  The first single off the album, "Sick of You," has a very listener friendly vibe again with a familiar, instantly recognizable as Cake, guitar riff and horn playing. 

The band's sound hasn't really morphed in their six year hiatus but that's a good thing for fans of the band.  They do try to give us a more diverse overall sound from the quick tempo "Mustache Man (Wasted)" to the more somber, purely acoustic "Teenage Pregnancy" (minus a few primal screams at the last few seconds of the track).  For longtime fans like myself, the album is very similar to Comfort Eagle with a slightly more complex and layered sound. There is also a lot more keyboard work on this album although it doesn't alter the band's sound much.  Again, the real highlights are the unique alt rock sound the band is able to consistently create and McCrea's inimitable vocal style that can change with ease from haunting to humorous.  Not their best work but still most of the tracks are very enjoyable.

Score:  7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Mustache Man (Wasted)" [sample it below] and "Long Time"

Clive Tanaka Y Su Orquesta Jet Set Siempre 1° - Japanese-born dream pop musician Clive Tanaka releases his first album in the States available for download from Amazon and other online retailers.  Originally released on cassette, the album version adds an electronic spin to the airy pop songs.  According to an online biography, Tanaka began his interest in music when his older sister left a big box of cassettes of 70's and 80's music outside his bedroom door.  Let's see if we should thank or curse his sister out for her benevolence towards her brother.

There are eight tracks total and the first four songs are labeled "For Dance" while the last four songs are labeled "For Romance," as if it were the A and B-sides of a cassette (which it originally was).  The songs "For Dance" have a heavier trance or house feel to it while the songs "For Romance" have a downtempo sound, although I would still quantify them as electronica songs.   "All Night, All Right" opens the album with a simple house beat and heavily synthesized vocals that build to form an upbeat pop song that did run for a bit too long.  "I Want You (So Bad)" has a trance beat initially but is highlighted by a more jungle rhythm and a rocking guitar solo in the middle as the song progresses.  "Skinjob" leads off the "For Romance" songs and begins with a latin sound and sultry work on a real bass before the samples and synthesizers come into play.  The last song, "Lonely for the High Scrapers," features an extremely slow tempo and airy, synthesized vocals to achieve an out-of-this-world feel for the song. 

Jet Set Siempre 1° ends up being a really good electro/dream pop release from Clive Tanaka.  Tanaka doesn't give us anything outstandingly thought provoking on the album but there is a lot of aural pleasure to be derived from the disc.  All of the "For Dance" songs feature some type of vocal work or samples while all the "For Romance" songs, except the last one, are instrumental.  I really enjoyed the first half of the album for the gratifying beats and fun electropop sound Tanaka is able to create.  I was less in love with the second half of the album because it was a bit too downtempo after listening to the first half but that doesn't ruin the overall pleasure to be derived from listening to this release as a whole. 

Score:  9/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "I Want You (So Bad)" and "Neu Chicago" [sample it below]

 Cage the Elephant Thank You, Happy Birthday - The five person rock band from Kentucky releases its sophomore album after their eponymous first album reached as high as #7 on the U.S. Indie charts.  Another band I've seen live (in 2009's KROQ Acoustic Christmas show) although they didn't leave a huge impression as I had to ask a friend that also attended the show whether or not they sounded good that night (apparently they did not).  Let's see if their new album leaves a more lasting impression than their live show.

The album begins with "Always Something" which has a progressive rock feel with non-standard beats and a singing style that doesn't really match up with the harmonies of the song but somehow they manage to mostly pull it off.  Next is a more standard alternative rock song, "Aberdeen" which begins with a guitar riff similar to something off a The Pixies or Lush album and crescendos to a hard rocking chorus although the song looses some of its cohesiveness by the time it goes all psych rock on us.  Unfortunately, after the second track, the album starts to become less consistent in the songs it gives us.  There are a couple of high points ("Shake Me Down" and "Right Before My Eyes") but a lot of the other songs seem to ramble without any real sense of direction ("Sell Yourself" and "Sabertooth Tiger").

Overall, it's an album that is all over the place with songs that seem to be placed on the album at random.  This is not to say that the band ventures from their garage/punk rock tendencies but rather that the album seems to be spliced together from random tracks they've completed over the year instead of intelligently placed to create a cohesive album.  As far as the music itself goes, the band gives us an album with a lot of energy and there's a few gems scattered throughout the disc but there's a lot more that miss the mark.

Score:  6/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Aberdeen" [sample it below]

New Music from 1/4/2011 - Keyshia Cole and Jake Shimabukuro

A dearth of new releases this week so I'm reviewing the Keyshia Cole album that came out X-Mas week and a new album by (believe it or not) ukulele artist Jake Shimabukuro.  Enjoy!

Jake Shimabukuro Peace Love Ukulele - The Hawaiian performer who can make the ukulele sound like a symphony of instruments, Jake Shimabukuro (she-ma-boo-koo-row) releases his ninth solo album.  Truthfully, I had never listened to his music before but somehow I knew that he played the ukulele and that he had a reputation for doing some cool things with the simple instrument.   (I really couldn't tell you how I knew this tidbit though since I'm not one who normally keeps abreast of the hot ukulele artists coming out of Hawaii...)  Let's see if Mr. Shimabukuro's reputation as a visionary with the ukulele lives up to the music he releases.

The entire album is instrumental (i.e. no lyrics or singing) which I gather from what I've read online as pretty standard for Shimabukuro's albums.  There are both original and cover songs intermixed over the 11-track disc (with one live bonus track if you buy the CD version).  "143 (Kelly's Song)" opens the album and showcases the lush sound Shimabukuro can create with his uke, buoyed by accompanying drum and string instruments, to give us a very inviting song that builds to a quirky crescendo.  Next is the purely ukulele cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" which has a mellow but charming island feel to it.  "Bring Your Adz" has a very quick beat, Southern/Hispanic rock feel with a catchy hook.  "Variation on a Dance" is another sultry track that has a very sexy Spanish feel to it.  The album closes with a melodic cover of the Leonard Cohen classic "Hallelujah."

Overall, Peace Love Ukulele was an album I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would.  It has a much lusher and well-rounded sound than I expected from the ukulele artist although a couple of songs I found kinda boring ("Go For Broke" comes to mind).  I can't find myself listening to it constantly but a good number of songs have a nice groovy feel to it, similar to a lot of heavily instrumental Spanish rock bands (kinda like a Los Lobos on their instrumental tracks) where it would be very cool dinner party music.  And, if you're stuck for conversation at your dinner party, you could always bring up how all the songs are done on a ukulele and that should get you a good five to ten minutes of things to talk about. 

Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample:   "143 (Kelly's Song)" and "Five Dollars Unleaded"

Keyshia Cole Calling All Hearts (explicit version) - [note: this album was released on 12/21/2010]  Hip-hop/soul artist Keyshia Cole releases her fourth studio album with the previous three all reaching platinum status.  This album features guest performances by Nicki Minaj, Tank, Faith Evans, Timbaland, and Dr. Yvonne Cole.  The standard edition has 11 tracks and a deluxe version has three bonus tracks that are, interestingly, interspersed within the other songs on the album instead of just added to the end of the album like most artists would do.  This review is on the standard edition.  

"I Ain't Thru" (featuring Nicki Minaj) smartly opens the album with a quick paced song and agilely sung lyrics by both artists.  "Long Way Down" has a heavier R&B feel with layered vocals and sweet but uninspired backing music.  The, uhm, strangely titled "Tired Of Doing Me" features some competent vocal work by guest Tank and has a more full sound by incorporating  horns (I don't think the song is about making love but, if it is about doing the dirty, it then features the extremely hilarious lines of  "Cause doing you is so much better/I was doing me, couldn't find nothing better").  "Take Me Away" has a simple but toe-tapping hook and is one of the few uptempo songs on the album which provides a much needed respite from the generally heavy sound of the tracks that precede it. 

Overall, it's a so-so album from Cole who, after three strong platinum releases, should be held to a higher standard.  One thing that has changed from her previous albums is that Cole seems more forthcoming with her songs telling us what she is looking for in a lover ("If I Fall In Love Again") and what falling in love feels like to her ("What You Do To Me" and "Better Me") rather than just focusing on the heartbreak of it all.  It's a natural progression for an artist but it will be interesting to see how her core fans react to the change.  The real problem, however, is that there is not a lot of variety in the music even though she's writing about different themes lyrically.  Besides "It Ain't Thru" and "Take Me Away," a lot of the songs seemed to blend together on repeated listens.  That may not be a bad thing if that is the type of music that really floats your boat but I was hoping for something a bit more diverse.

Score:  6/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "I Ain't Thru" [sample it below]