Each week I will listen to and review/preview a handful of the more interesting music albums released that week. The genres I will mainly focus on are Rock, Pop, Indie, Hip-Hop, Rap, and Electronic.
Beyoncé4 - Mega-superstar Ms. Knowles comes out with an incredibly unimaginatively named fourth studio album. I'm not really sure what she's supposed to be wearing on the cover of the album but if I had to guess I'd say that's what Jay-Z likes her to wear on the nights when they role play (and, yeah, I'm not talking about them breaking out the 20-sided dice and rolling Dungeons & Dragons' characters). Seriously, she looks like a character out of Dune or Conan the Barbarian!! (A supremely hot character from those works of fiction, but still!) Let's hope the music leaves a better impression than the album cover.
The 12-track disc opens with the slow tempo but sweet "1 (Plus) 1" about wanting to be loved. Next is the unrequited love song "I Care" which opens slowly with hand claps but features lush backup vocal harmonies as the song builds that ends up being very enchanting. "Best Thing I Never Had" is a warm, heartfelt piano-driven ballad that is the first truly immersive track on the disc. That is followed by the smooth, R&B heavy "Party" which features a cleverly worded guest rap by Andre 3000 from Outkast although the chorus does get overly repetitive.
As the album nears to a close, "I Was Here" is a sweeping ballad with lush orchestration which showcases Beyoncé's ability to warble credible vocal runs well. Unfortunately the first single (and the last song) from the album, "Run the World (Girls)," fails to tantalize like her past hits. It has the club ready beat and the requisite techno-lite electronic samples that help provide energy to a lot of good hip-hop releases today but the bland hook and the double dutch-style chorus fail to leave a lasting impression.
4 does a good job of differentiating itself from recent pop & electronica heavy releases from big name acts like Lady Gaga and Britney by incorporating more personal subject matter to write about although the recent Jill Scott disc is a more fulfilling album overall. While this ballad-heavy album does shine at times the overall appeal could have been increased by having more upbeat arrangements to add better balance to the disc.
This release is a lot slower album than I was expecting and it is not Beyoncé's best solo work by any means. However it is a very sweet and personal album that does touch you on an emotional level. The less heavy handed ballads are especially charming with the songs about lost love being especially poignant.
Score:7/10 Song(s) to Sample: "Best Thing I Never Had" [sample it below] and "I Care"
Thievery CorporationCulture of Fear - The DJ duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton are back with a brand new studio album! Their style of electronica would fall into the categories of downtempo, trip hop and dub depending on their mood. I won't lie, this is one of my all-time favorite electronic acts although it is one of the few acts that I enjoy more on disc than in person. They're by no means horrible live but their best albums have the magic ability to transport you to another world while their live sets (I've seen them twice, once with both artists and once with just Garza) tend to feature more dance-heavy tunes.
After the melodic, trip hop-heavy "Web of Deception" opens the album, it really takes off with the second track "Culture of Fear" that features dub backing music over a cleverly worded and performed rap that shows the duo's ability to bridge genres effortlessly so well. "Light Flares" and "Stargazer" are downtempo jams with the former having angelic vocal harmonies that blend seamlessly with the subdued tune while the latter has dub style vocals and beat that serve as a grounded foundation for the song. "Tower Seven" is a longer song that manages to carry you to a far away place with its toned-down but still transcendental music.
Culture of Fear is another outstanding album from Thievery Corporation. It falls slighlyt short of ranking among their all-time best (for me, that's still Richest Man in Babylon) but they are able to bring us thirteen outstanding new tracks while also managing to recapture their patented, groovy sound that is not afraid to incorporate non-standard instruments for electronica music like a horn section or classical string instruments. As you would expect, about a third of the songs feature some kind of vocals or rap but the duo manages to blend all the individual tracks together cohesively on the album irregardless if vocals are dominant or not. This disc is a fantastic, well layered and expertly produced release that you will still be listening to years from now.
Score: 9/10 Song(s) to Sample:"Culture of Fear" [sample it below], "Tower Seven" and "Is It Over"
Various ArtistsRave On Buddy Holly - A huge number of big named, mostly modern music acts get together to pay tribute to the late Rock icon killed in one of the most infamous plane crashes of all-time. Hopefully you can see the cover to the left so I won't rehash the impressive list of artists on this album but there are 19-tracks in total covered with no artist doing more than one song and no song being covered more than once. Most of the songs are very solid with arrangements faithful to the original versions. The tracks that I found to be most impressive are Cee Lo Green's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care," Fiona Apple & Jon Brion's "Every Day," Kid Rock's "Well... All Right,"and Graham Nash's "Raining in My Heart." None of the covers are outright horrible either but some definitely lack some of the originality of both the original version and the versions of other Holly songs covered on the album. My score for the album is below but if you're an under-40 fan of Buddy Holly (of which there's probably not a whole lot of you), you can add an extra point and a half to my score.
Score: 6.5/10 Song(s) to Sample: Cee Lo's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" [sample it below] and Graham Nash's "Raining in My Heart"
OsloHigh Mountain Sessions Vol. 1 - This EP from California alternative rock band Oslo brings us five previously unreleased songs plus remixed versions of the first two songs from the disc. This EP is available in digital format beginning today from Amazon and a few other online vendors although I did not see it listed on iTunes yet. No idea if and/or when a disc or vinyl versions will be released. After the long and drawn out opener, "Superstar," the release really starts to get going with "Fever" which has a dark melody buoyed by low-key guitar and keyboard work that slowly wins you over. "Am I Lucky" is a guitar-driven song that again features a heavy atmosphere but the weight of the song never brings it down instead giving it a palpable gravitas. I know some people have compared the band to The Strokes but I see them as a moodier and darker version of The Bravery with more weight but less catchy hooks and melodies to their songs.
Score: 6/10 Song(s) to Sample: "Fever" and "Am I Lucky"
Handsome FursSound Kapital - Handsome Furs is the Canadian indie rock husband and wife duo featuring Wolf Parade frontman Dan Boeckner and his wife Alexei Perry. The album primarily features quick tempo and high energy indie/alternative rock and pop heavy on drum kit beats, synthesizer/keyboard work and electric guitars. In fact, nearly every song on their third studio album is synthesizer/keyboard driven which gives the release a very unique sound with a stronger but, because of the heavy keyboard work, a more natural new wave slant than I was expecting. "Memories of the Future" is a fine example of the exemplary keyboard whose style is reminiscent of an early Cars song but at no time does the song sound dated or seem out of place today. Boeckner's vocal work, one of the many highlights from the now-on-hiatus Wolf Parade's albums, sounds as solid here as with his indie tenor being used very effectively on the pop-style songs.
Score: 7.5/10 Song(s) to Sample:"When I Get Back" [sample it below] and "Memories of the Future"
Bon Iver Bon Iver - The four-person indie folk band fronted by singer/songwriter Justin Vernon releases its sophomore album. Their 2008 debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was certified Gold in both Australia and the UK while reaching as high as number four on the American Indie charts. In May, iTunes made a serious boo-boo and made this album available for purchase/download over a month early so there have been copies of the album floating around cyberspace for a while now. For those of you that haven't heard it yet, let's find out how the album sounds.
The first thing you notice, similar to the Gorillaz album released earlier this year, is that all the tracks of the album are named after cities or other physical locations. The first song is "Perth" which has non-standard (for an indie song) military-esque snare drum work over thick electric guitars and Vernon's gruff vocal style that builds as the song moves along. "Minnesota, WI" follows and it does a better job of drawing you in with subtle, melodic backing music over a subdued vocal track.
"Wash." is a sweeter, piano driven indie folk song with an extremely slow tempo that does a good job of providing a subdued atmosphere especially once the string instruments are introduced. "Calgary" is a song with a sweet, melodic tune that beguile the ominous lyrics ("Open ears and open eyes/ Wake up to your starboard bride/ Who goes in and then stays inside/ Oh the demons come, they can subside").
This eponymous release is a more mature album from Bon Iver without veering from the style of music that they exhibited on their premier release. There's growth from their first album but if you weren't a fan of the band the first time around, there's nothing radically new or different to draw in new fans. The music works great accompanying a moody or rainy day but it seems out of place being released just before summer.
Score: 6/10 Song(s) to Sample: "Calgary" [sample it below]
Jill ScottThe Light Of The Sun - The R&B singer/songwriter/poet extraordinaire finds time away from acting in Tyler Perry movies and HBO television series to release a fourth studio album. If that's Jill on the cover of the album, it looks like she lost some serious weight too! You go, girl! After a nasty legal battle with her old label, Ms. Scott releases this album through Warner Bros. In what seems like a somewhat bitter move, her old label will be releasing a disc of early, unreleased Jill Scott tracks later this summer which includes her already-available-on-Youtube cover of the Bill Withers classic "Lovely Day."
This 15-track release has a handful of guest musicians lending some assistance on a few individual tracks with Eve and Doug E. Fresh being the two best known names. After the somewhat monotonous "Blessed" opens the disc, the first single off the album, "So In Love," follows and is a throwback to old school jams with a classic R&B melody behind a smooth Scott vocal track although the poetry she used to bring to her lyrics are somewhat lacking. "Shame" featuring Eve at last brings some fun to the album with its quick tempo and rocking vocal duet between the two divas.
After the slow beginning to the album, it starts to really pick up with "All Cried Out Redux" featuring Doug E. Fresh. Fresh' role is really minor on the track but the fun vocal rhythm, featuring a little scat even, plus the backing music add a festive carnival-feeling interlude to the disc. That segues into "Le Boom Vent Suite" which is a sweeping 9-minute track that is a fun aural journey that takes you through many moods over the length of the track and features the sing-song vocals that helps make Scott's best tracks so memorable.
There's a lot of good music on The Light Of The Sun but it does take a few tracks before you really get into the meat and potatoes of the album. The originality that helped differentiate her early albums takes a while to take exhibit itself on this release although once it does start to shine through it shines through brightly. The ballads have a very subtle and gentle feel ("So Gone (What My Mind Says)" and "Making You Wait") that gives them a quiet beauty to add potency to the message of each track. It's not Scott's most consistent release to date but the best tracks from this album will rank among her all-time greats.
Score: 8/10 Song(s) to Sample:"Le Boom Vent Suite" [sample a Jill Scott narrated preview below] and "All Cried Out Redux"
Chad ValleyEquatorial Ultravox EP - For my readers in the UK, don't confuse this release with the popular toy brand with the same name. Instead this is the solo project of Jonquil's frontman Hugo Manuel giving us an EP of chillwave/psy-pop grooves. For an EP, it's actually a pretty decent length release with 7-tracks lasting for nearly thirty minutes. Heavy synthesizers and digital sounds are dominant over most of the ambient-style tracks with subdued vocals present on over half the tracks. The music does an adequate job of transporting you to a different world although there is nothing overly original about the world he is taking you to especially with bands like Animal Collective and Panda Bear already taking the lead in this genre. The opener "Now That I'm Real (How Does It Feel?)" is a perfect example; it has a lovely melody with a catchy hook that you will find enchanting while listening to it but you'll be hard pressed to remember it or be able to describe it a day after listening to it.
Score:6.5/10 Song(s) to Sample:"Now That I'm Real (How Does It Feel?)" [sample it below]
Andy GrammerAndy Grammer - Grammer is an L.A. born mainstream pop singer/songwriter releasing his debut album. His video for the first single off the album, "Keep Your Head Up," has already garnered some buzz after being listed on iTunes as one of their videos of the week. Grammer just finished as the opener for the latest Plain White T's tour and will be opening for Natasha Bedingfield on her upcoming tour. He also performed at this year's SXSW.
The album opens with his get-stuck-in-your-heard, upbeat single "Keep Your Head Up" that will be the big hit off the album. It has a jangly melody that begins with some intro keyboard work then adds some catchy if simple beats before the hook of the song sweeps you along. "Slow" is a really enjoyable song with captivating vocal harmonies that is about not holding back when you find something that is right.
"You Should Know Better" is a quick paced ballad that has an arrangement that reminds me some popular 80's pop songs. "The Pocket" is a quirkier song with faster paced lyrics that incorporates drums, guitars, piano and horns for a more robust sound during the chorus.
Andy Grammer is a fun summer debut that has does its best to put a smile on your face through melodic pop tunes. His vocals have an Adam Levine quality to it with a higher singing tenor that could easily be mistaken for a girl's voice on a couple of the tracks. The tone of the music though is more inline with a Daniel Powter album with a good amount of piano-driven songs and, in fact, the first single sounding like a sound like it could have come directly from Powter's mouth.
Grammer gives us a good showcase of the top-40 pop music he can create although it is somewhat derivative of the more popular acts I mentioned above. However, he manages to exhibit a consistency with the music over the entire album meaning that if you like the one single the rest of the music on the disc will also be to your liking. It's an album that is a fun way to pass the time like getting a snow cone on a summer day but, just like that snow cone, it does enough to satisfy your sweet tooth while falling short of being a complete meal.
Score: 7/10 Song(s) to Sample: "Keep Your Head Up" [sample it below] and "Slow"
Bono & The EdgeSpider-Man: Turn Off The Dark soundtrack - The two main creative forces behind U2 team-up with Tony Award winning (and recently fired) director Julie Taymor to lend their talents to the most expensive musical in Broadway's history. I haven't seen the musical so this album review is based on the music alone. This disc has 14-tracks although that only partially covers the 20 song titles listed for the show according to Playbill's website.
Considering who wrote the music, you would think the heavier rock songs would be predominantly better but they unfortunately fall flat on many levels ("Bouncing Off The Walls"--although I'm guessing the choreography and staging during the song is pretty amazing if nobody's harness comes loose). It's actually the slower rock songs that make for the more palatable tracks and exhibit a greater amount of heart ("Picture This" and "Rise Above 1 & 2"), although the ballads do come off sounding very generic. Reeve Carney fills the Peter Parker role and his voice matches well with the rock-heavy music.
Sadly, it's the melodies and arrangements that are a real let downs with the majority of the tracks sounding like U2 ripping off songs from the musical Chess. That and the fact that several of the songs sung by the Green Goblin character ("Pull The Trigger" and "A Freak Like Me Needs Company") are just absolutely ridiculous really hurts what enjoyment can be found on this soundtrack.
Score: 4/10 Song(s) to Sample:"Rise Above 1" [sample it below]
Keke WyattUnbelievable! - 10 years after she released her Soul Sista disc that went Gold in the U.S., R&B singer Wyatt releases an album with 11 new tracks. The first thing that you notice on the album is the Wyatt's vocals are as lush as they were about a decade ago when she first came to prominence singing on Avant's remake of "My First Love." There are a couple of very enjoyable songs on this disc like the original "Unbelievable" and the cover of the Cherrelle & Alexander O'Neal classic "Saturday Love" but the arrangements of the other tracks are a little too similar over the entire album making the songs blend together on repeated listens. There's nothing inherently wrong with the disc but Wyatt and the producers don't do enough with the music accompanying her great voice to have the tracks leave a lasting impression.
Cults Cults - Cults is an indie pop duo from New York. Although this is their debut studio album, the band gained a 'cult' following (marginal pun intended) after releasing their three-song EP last year with their song "Go Outside" being named as the winner of Pitchfork's Best New Music award. Bandmates Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin met while at NYU and started making music in their spare time. I couldn't really find out too much information about the band (other than they really need to update their website) so let's move on to the review
The 11-track album opens with the spirited and catchy "Abducted" which acts as a rousing beginning to the disc with its get-stuck-in-your-head hook and distortion heavy vocals. "Go Outside," one of the two songs repeated from their EP, follows and has another super catchy hook over a heavy bass line and some xylophone playing that manages to work well together to create a fun summer hit.
"Never Saw The Point" has a more orchestral late 60's-esque sound with chamber string instruments, almost like a The Cardigans song, but on this track the heavy distortion hurts the song more than helps it. The album ends with "Rave On" which is one of the cleanest songs on the album and made me wonder why some of the other tracks weren't produced as competently.
Cults is an album that opens very strongly with some extremely catchy summer pop songs but it fails to maintain that momentum over the entire album. Vocals are enchantingly performed by the airy voice of Madeline Follin although the engineers go too far in distorting her vocals at times. The melodies are well written with catchy hooks on most of the songs but the arrangements and production work seem somewhat amateurish at times and a few of the tracks struggle because of this ("Walk at Night").
Definitely a band to keep an ear out for but, as far as this album goes, you'll do just as well buying the first two tracks as singles unless you become a diehard fan of theirs. However, if they ever get to work with a top notch producer in the future, then that album will no doubt make some serious waves.
Score: 6/10
Song(s) to Sample:"Abducted" [sample it below] and "Go Outside"
Arctic Monkeys Suck It And See - The popular English indie rock band finds time away from their busy touring schedule to release a fourth studio album. There is one song on the album, "Piledriver Waltz," that was already released on frontman Alex Turner's solo EP for the movie Submarine but the rest of the tracks on the disc are brand spankin' new. Once again the band works with producer James Ford who also produced the albums Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) and Humbug (2009) for the band.
Don't be put off if you heard the monotonous and repetitive leaked track "Brick By Brick" and thought the band had jumped the shark. The 12-track disc opens well with the melodic and fun "She's Thunderstorms" which instantly shows the band's new focus on melodies and harmonies. "Library Pictures" is a riotous, energetic and well-structured track that is a real standout.
"Piledriver Waltz" was re-recorded for this album with the entire band and it firmly exhibits the poetry Turner can bring to his lyrics ("I etched the face of a stopwatch on the back of a raindrop/and did a swap for the sand in an hourglass"). "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair" is another enjoyable song with clever lyrical wordplay although the somewhat generic backing music could have used a greater heaping of that magical touch.
Right off the bat you notice that more time has been spent in composing and laying down the tracks on Suck It And See. While this would normally be a good thing for many musical acts, for Arctic Monkeys it is more of a mixed bag because it denies us the raw energy and charm that permeated their previous releases. The only thing consistent is Turner's vocals which has always had good wit with a crooner edge to it and this release is no different.
I see this as a transitional album for the band as it sacrifices the rabidness of their music for more practiced melodies. Whether or not this shows growth in the band and their music writing or if it shows they are succumbing to the cookie-cutter appeal label executives want can't be determined from this release alone. But the inconsistencies caused by this struggle prevents this release from a very talented band from achieving lasting greatness.
Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Library Pictures" [sample it below] and "Piledriver Waltz"
Depeche ModeRemixes 2: 81-11 - The seminal English new wave/synthpop musicians release an album of remixed songs from 1981-2011. This release actually consists of three discs (for a total of 37 tracks!) so they cover both the well-known and the obscure songs over the duration of the time frame although their biggest hits were included in the first Remixes album. Some of the more famous artists offering up remixed versions are M83, UNKLE, Dan the Automater, and Peter Bjorn and John. Since Depeche Mode has already been covered and remixed innumerable times over the years, it's not surprising that the best tracks from this release are not the hit singles but the more rare titles (the world doesn't need any more versions of "Personal Jesus" with cranked up beats and additional synthesizers, thank you very much). Both old and new fans will find some tracks they will enjoy on this album although older fans like myself will probably be better off skipping the songs they loved as a youth.
Score: 8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Puppets (Royksopp remix 2011)" and "Fragile Tension (Peter Bjorn and John remix 2009)" [sample it below]
Ashlyne HuffLet It Out - The very cute singer/songwriter with gorgeous, giant eyes from L.A. by way of Nashville releases an album of dance-pop songs. The majority of the album is well crafted, club-ready songs with a strong bubblegum flavor although there are some deeper songs towards the end of the disc. Ms. Huff's vocals are very competent although she only gets to show off her range on a couple of songs from the eight track disc (plus one bonus tune). In comparison to other, bigger name acts from the same genre; this album is miles above the most recent Britney Spears album and it is as enjoyable as the recent Lady Gaga release. The bouncy feel of the songs makes this a fun summer debut so if you're forced to go to the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys joint concert this summer, be sure to go early to catch Ms. Huff's opening set and at least your night won't be a total waste.
Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Let It Out" [sample it below] and "White Flag"
Sondre LercheSondre Lerche - Multifaceted Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche releases his sixth studio album (or seventh if you're a weirdo and count the Dan in Real Life soundtrack). This eponymous album gives us ten more tracks of the lo-fi folk/indie rock we've come to expect from Mr. Lerche although it fails to match the music found in his two greatest releases, 2001's Faces Down and 2009's Heartbeat Radio. However, there are a couple of pretty interesting tracks that will find their way to Lerche's greatest hits disc (if Astralwerks ever gets around to making one) but the overall impression left by this disc is that of great ambivalence rather than one of great ambition.
Score: 4/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Go Right Ahead" and "Domino" [sample it below]
