New Music Reviews - 8/16/2011/ - Jeff Bridges, Blue October, and Hercules & Love Affair

Jeff Bridges Jeff Bridges - We're probably more familiar with him as Starman, Flynn, or the Dude but Jeff Bridges continues the path he begun when he played Otis "Bad" Blake in Crazy Heart with an album of country hymns and blues jams.  This is actually Bridges second album having released his first in 2000 which was buoyed by song compositions from Michael McDonald and David Crosby.  This time around Bridges gets an assist from legendary producer T-Bone Burnett and is credited with writing three of the tracks on this album himself.

The 10-track album begins with the infectious "What a Little Bit of Love Can Do" that showcases Bridges low baritone vocal style well over a peppy country melody that combines to create the best track on the disc.  It's part Stevie Ray Vaughn and part Eric Clapton with its smooth blues guitar work and unforced vocal performance.  "Tumbling Vines" is the second song on the album credited to Bridges and its smooth blues lead guitar work does a nice job of building atmosphere and is the best of the Bridges penned tunes.  "Blue Car" is a song with a catchy, if standard, blues melody but features a fun narrative about trying to make one more trip to see "you" that is only enhanced by Bridges natural ability to tell a story.

Overall this self-titled album has a few high points but it is not an album that I can recommend wholeheartedly as its inconsistent nature causes it to be a snooze at times.  Bridges vocals are mostly competent, if somewhat lacking in range, but he manages to get through the songs in a more than credible manner.  But the downtempo classic country arrangements mean that sparks of life are few and far between especially if you're like me and are not a huge country fan to begin with. This first song is worth purchasing but be sure to sample the album before you get the rest. 

Score:  5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "What a Little Bit of Love Can Do" [sample it below]

Blue October Any Man in America - The five person alternative rock band from Texas best known for their 2006 hit "Into the Blue" releases their sixth studio album.  The first thing to be noted about this disc is that it has a very serious tone with most of the songs dealing with frontman Justin Furstenfeld's recent divorce and child custody battle.  "The Flight (LNK to MSP)" is the real standout from this album with a somber violin opening playing behind a heartbreaking voicemail recording of Furstenfeld and his wife talking about his lack of readiness to have custody of their daughter before poignant rap-style vocals are introduced that taken in whole with the hard rock chorus create one extremely well written and produced song.  It's even a better song than the first single from the album, "The Chills," which has been available on iTunes for over a month.  Any Man in America is a very personal album to the band and that shows through in the music.  However the heavy feel and tone of the album makes it difficult to digest when listening to it multiple times without feeling really sad about the heartbreak that comes with divorces but it's a good album if you are already in that mood.

Score:  6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "The Flight (LNK to MSP)" and "The Getting Over It Part"

Hercules & Love Affair Blue Songs - H&LA is New York based electonica music project whose style fits somewhere between house and nu-disco.  Their eponymous debut album from 2008 reached as high as #31 on the UK charts while their new album has been out over there since the beginning of February and drops in the U.S. today with a bunch of previously unavailable bonus tracks.  Most of the songs feature some kind of vocals although if you're familiar with the band's first album the singers have changed this time around and the difference in vocal styles is immediately noticeable.  That's not all that is different as the songs on this album have a more Detroit-style beat on the faster tempo songs although the euro influences are still present to a lesser degree.  Also gone is the extensive use of blaring horns instead going for dexterous uses of more subtle, non-standard electronica instruments like a solo flute or a xylophone.  It's a different style of electronica this time around but I still found Blue Songs an entertaining disc with more substance and less flash than before.

Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Painted Eyes" [sample it below] and "Blue Song"