After a somewhat repetitive opening track, the album starts to really get going on the second song, "Dig a Little Deeper," which has a very light tempo and carefree backing vocals to create a fun indie summer pop song. Next is the first single off the album, "Second Chance," which is a more uptempo song featuring prominent electronic guitar riffs and banging cowbell beats in a song telling you to make the most with what you have because you cannot count on a second chance. "Breaker Breaker" is a different kind of song from the band with a punk beat and sped up surfer rock guitar licks that will be one of the more polarizing tracks on the album. "May Seem Macabre" is song with its roots firmly in pop music with a very catchy hook and a generally fun feel despite the potentially ominous title.
Gimme Some has some very good individual tracks although the album as a whole could use more consistency. The songs that have a heavier hard rock feel are less catchy than the ones with a greater pop feel leaving us with a couple of very blasé tracks. Bringing in an outsider to produce the album does open them up to a more broad sound but, at the same time, it also makes them sound more generic with less individuality in the music. It was a good idea to expand their sound to appeal to a more broad audience by bringing in someone else, I just don't think they chose the right person to fully bring their music to another level.
Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "May Seem Macabre" and "Second Chance" [sample it below]
The disc opens with eponymous "Meyrin Fields" which has a fast, trance inspired beat before adding electric guitar and the vocal tracks to create an enchanting and eclectic starter. Mercer's voice seems to emote a greater urgency than anything you would find on a The Shins album and it fits the tempo and style of the songs well. "Windows" starts with a heavy bass refrain then richly layers on angelic sounding backing vocals and catchy guitar work although the song does end abruptly. "An Easy Life" is a slower song with a more lush sound even with though it features relatively heavy distortion both to the instruments and to Mercer's vocals. "Heartless Empire" is the least impressive song on the album sounding like a heavily remixed The Shins song which would still qualify it as an above average track although it pales in comparison to the songs that preceded it.
With this EP, I can't decide if I should be happy that the band gave us another three magical songs or if I should be mad at them for teasing us with such an abbreviated release. In any case, it's definitely worth your money as a download or as a CD purchase with it's mesmerizing alternative electronica/space rock sound that is unique to this duo. The two artists do great work with their original bands (or, in Danger Mouse's case, numerous works as both a musician and a producer) but somehow they manage to create something even more special when they work together. I know this is an EP so I shouldn't complain about its brevity but that's the only thing keeping this release from scoring higher.
Score: 8.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Windows" and "An Easy Life" [sample it below]
The twelve-track disc (plus four more songs not included in this review if you get the Deluxe Version) leads off with "Till the World Ends" which has a fast Euro house beat and Spear's voice altered during production. "Hold It Against Me," the first single off the album, is a quick tempo dance song that has a catchy hook but doesn't have any aspects that one would instantly identify it as a Britney Spears song. "Big Fat Bass" features will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame (he's also listed as one of the many producers on the album) which is another song with a Eurotrash dance feel, overproduced vocal track, and inane lyrics like, "I can be the treble/You can be my bass."
In Femme Fatale, Ms. Spears continues to move beyond the pop music that defined her earlier career instead firmly venturing into club ready, European-style dance music that's more akin to a Lady Gaga release. Her vocal tracks go through heavy post-production work on practically every song of the album which becomes a bit over the top and tiring by the halfway mark of the album. Remember when people would argue whose voice was better, hers or Christina Aguilera's? Well, those arguments can long be laid to rest since there isn't a single track that let's Spear's voice be showcased cleanly on this release. There are a couple of tracks that will be club favorites in the near future but the overall album features too much post-production work making the songs sound cookie cutter after a while. The list of producers listed for this album is just ginormous--I've seen movie credits with less names! It just goes to show you that too many chefs do spoil the broth, especially if the broth was questionable to begin with.
Score: 4.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Till the World Ends" [sample it below]
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