New Album Reviews - 3/27/2012 - Madonna, Macy Gray and Astra

Madonna M.D.N.A.

The 53-year old pop diva releases her twelfth studio album and her first since 2008's Hard Candy.

Out this week is the deluxe version of the album which comes with two discs; the first being the actual album while the second has five additional songs including LMFAO's remixed version of the already released single "Give Me All Your Luvin'."  Digital versions of the album only include the 12-track first disc. 

If you've heard one or both of the already released singles from the album, you already know that long gone are the days of the thought provoking pop music that made her popular in the 80's and 90's and, instead, we are presented with club ready dance songs with thumping house and trance beats.

Song construction seems much stronger on this album than on "Hard Candy" with (mostly) better written lyrics and more thoughtful melodies although the songs themselves are less catchy in general.  It's better than, say, the last Britney Spears album but even as short as a decade ago it seemed ridiculous to even consider Madonna's music seeming less original than artists like Spears or a Katy Perry. 

While I was hoping for an album that showed this powerful woman's post-divorce return to the spotlight, instead we get an album of songs that, other than Madonna's still distinctive warbling, could have been produced by any club-ready female artist including two songs where she shares the stage with the ubiquitous Nicki Minaj. 

If you do get the album, I would definitely spring for the deluxe version as the second disc includes two tracks that are better and more original than what can be found on the first disc: the short but poignant "Beautiful Killer" and the delightfully introspective "I Fucked Up."

Score: 5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Girl Gone Wild" [sample it below] plus "I Fucked Up" from the bonus disc

Macy Gray Covered

The raspy voiced Grammy Award winning R&B artist from Ohio releases an album of cover songs. 

Ms. Gray covers a wide breadth of mostly Rock artists including Metallica, Arcade Fire, Sublime and My Chemical Romance on this 16-track disc that includes four 'skit' tracks. 

There's no doubt this is the most curious release of this week with Gray taking her typical R&B approach to the covered Rock songs which, as you expect, matches some songs better than others. 

Gray does give us fun and original takes on a number of songs on the album.  My Chemical Romance's "Teenagers" is the best example with a carnival-like energy brought to the angst-y song that really flips the meaning of the lyrics.  Another is Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps" which turns the tortured cries of "Wait!" from the original into a fast-tempo rant rather than a heartfelt plea. 

However, while the slowed down version of the Eurythmics' "Here Comes the Rain Again" would seem like an ideal match considering Gray's distinctive vocal timber but her take on the songs eliminates the impending tension that gives the original its flare.  A similar case can be raised with Radiohead's "Creep" which sounds decent coming out of Gray's mouth but the deeper meaning to the song is lost.

Unfortunately for this album the song choice is more interesting that the songs covered.  While in some cases Grays vocals are the superior version, the larger meaning to a lot of these songs are lost in this translation.  

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Teenagers" [sample it below] and "Wake Up"

Astra Black Chord

The Prog-Rocking quintet from San Diego release their sophomore studio album.

The feel of this album is a throwback to rock albums produced in the late 70's by bands like Rush, Yes and Pink Floyd where experiments in music led to lengthy tracks that take you on a musical, and sometimes trippy, journey where sounds make a bigger impact that lyrics.

Black Chord only has six tracks and lyrics are sparse if they are present at all.  What's not in short supply is the immersive electric guitar refrains and encompassing keyboard licks that harken to the glory days of rock. 

While the highs on the album can't match those from the albums of the classic rock bands mentioned above, it takes you back to those days while still managing to sound modern.  The album is beautifully crafted with many layers and features top-notch production work to create a disc that will leave a lasting impression.

Score: 8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "The Black Chord", "Bull Torpis" and "Barefoot In the Head" [sample it below]

New Album Reviews - 3/20/2012 - The Shins, The Hunger Games Soundtrack and Esperanza Spalding

The Shins Port of Morrow

The indie pop/rock band from Albuquerque, New Mexico finally release their followup album to 2007's amazing Wincing The Night Away that reached as high as #2 on the U.S. charts. 

Frontman James Mercer takes a break from all of his side projects like Broken Bells to give us a new The Shins album after a nearly five year wait.  Thankfully all his time away from the band hasn't altered his musical sensibilities any giving us an album that is instantly recognizable as a The Shins album.

This 10-track album starts off with a bang with "The Rifle's Spiral" which is a fast tempo ditty full of discordant synthesizer sounds and lyrics that come across as beautiful poetry (You were always to be a dagger floating/Straight to their heart./Listen, now, we won't tell anyone/But you're gonna tell the world) to create a song that immediately draws you in.  

That is followed by the spectacular first single from the album, "Simple Song," which has a super catchy hook that will be a staple on radio stations for months to come. 

The album does lose its direction briefly towards the middle of the disc with a couple of songs like the woeful "September" that are more monotonous and do not showcase the same imagination and creativity as the songs that precede and follow it.  

Overall, Port of Morrow is a fantastic album that can easily stand side-by-side with their 2007 hit album.   The few speed bumps that are present on the album don't prevent this release from being a most delightful ride and one of the highlights so far this year.  

Score: 9/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Simple Song" [sample it below], "Fall of '82" and "Port of Morrow"

Various Artists (Soundtrack) The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond 

The soundtrack to what many are expecting to be one of the biggest movies of the year is released a few days prior to the film's opening.   

I have read Suzanne Collins' fast paced and gripping book that the movie is based upon but not having seen the film yet this will probably be my only chance to give an impartial view on the songs presented to us on the soundtrack since I can't wait to see the movie.  

The film's traditional movie score is released on a separate disc next week while this disc features original songs from the movie featuring a wide range of modern artists like Arcade Fire, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and Kid Cudi.  

The album was produced by the legendary Americana musician T-Bone Burnett who won one of his dozen Grammys producing the soundtrack for O' Brother, Where Art Thou? His choice makes more sense for this youth-oriented movie soundtrack once you know the main characters from the book come from the Appalachian area where Americana folk music is still prominent.   

Of the songs presented to us, most have a folk pop sensibility like Neko Case's sweet but somber "Nothing to Remember" and Taylor Swift's beautiful and haunting "Safe & Sound."  Even the normally fast tempo Maroon 5 take a subdued folk approach on their contribution that Adam Levine's vocals handle competently although the melody seems totally out of character for the band.  

It is an odd choice of folk-heavy songs given the age group this type of soundtrack would typically appeal to even though that makes sense in terms of being faithful to the book.  While there are artists that will appeal to the younger set, the music presented won't be to their liking.   

I would recommend this album to fans of artists like T-Bone Burnett but the fans that are most likely to be waiting for the midnight showing of the movie won't find a lot to like on this soundtrack. 

Score: 5.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Safe & Sound" by Taylor Swift (ft. The Civil Wars) [sample it below] and "Rules" by Jayme Dee

Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society

The bassist and singer who was the first ever jazz musician to win the Best New Artist Grammy just last year (take that Justin Bieber!) releases her followup to that award winning album. 

Before I get into the music itself, one cool thing about this album is that all twelve tracks have accompanying conceptual music videos that are available by digital download or as a separate DVD on the deluxe version of the album.   

The music itself is a jazzier versions of songs you might expect from artists like Jill Scott or Erykah Badu but with blastier horns and more free flowing guitar refrains.  Her vocal tenor and singing style can draw direct comparisons to Scott's. 

Radio Music Society is a solid followup to her breakthrough album although I found it less engaging overall even though there are similarities between the albums.  But her lyrics seem more repetitive on this going and her incorporation of the jazzy touches that made her last album standout so brightly are less original the second time around.   

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Crowned & Kissed" and "Endangered Species"

New Album Reviews - 3/13/2012 - Ting Tings and Brass Bed with Allison Bohl

The Ting Tings Sounds From Nowheresville

The male and female British dance-punk duo finally release the followup to their hit debut album from 2008 that went Platinum in the UK and Ireland.  The album was released in the UK two weeks ago and is available to U.S. customers today.

The band's sophomore release was originally slated for 2010 but after disagreements with their label they trashed that supposedly dance-heavy followup and released this version of the album instead.  Katie White again handles the lead vocal duties in her double-dutch style of warbling while Jules de Martino doing the majority of the instrumentation.

Unfortunately, the band doesn't exhibit much growth on album number two.  While the sound is mostly similar to their debut album; the hooks are less catchy, the guitar riffs are louder but less engaging, and the melodies have a generic 80's new wave feel which makes the tunes seem more dated than fresh.

Interestingly, one of the dance influenced tracks, "One by One," leftover from the original configuration of the album is one of the brightest highlights from the disc while the distinctly lo-fi, chamber pop-sounding "Day to Day" being the other surprising, atypical track.   

Nowheresville ends up being a mostly disappointing followup that frustratingly provides a brief glimpse of the greatness that could have been but instead we get weak sounding tracks that recall their first album but without any of the shine or creativity.

Score: 5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Hit Me Down Sonny" and "One by One" [sample it below]

Brass Bed with Allison Bohl On Nilsson (EP)

The rock quartet from Louisiana had so much fun covering Harry Nilsson songs in concert that they decided team up with Allison Bohl to release an EP of four songs by the great singer/songwriter.

First up on the album is the well known "One (Is The Loneliest Number)" which has a stripped down melody to create a dark, industrial version of the song similar to Trent Reznor's recent cover of Led Zepplin's "Immigrant Song," but with less of the excessive guitar feedback Reznor seems to have fallen in love with in recent years.  

The real gems are the next two songs, "He Needs Me" and "He's Large," both of which were first sung by Shelly Duvall on the Popeye original movie soundtrack and this time around are the two tracks featuring Bohl's vocals whose timber is eerily similar to Duvall's.  The melodies stay pretty true to the original with slightly more post-production work to give the tracks an even greater ethereal feeling. The album's closer is a song Neko Case originally released and made popular titled "Don't Forge Me" which is toned down with lumbering guitar riffs and a slower tempo that turns the song into a depressing country ballad.

The first three songs on the EP are all worth the price of admission (which shouldn't be that costly given the EP barely lasts 15-minutes) although I would have loved if "Don't Forget Me" were replaced by another Nilsson hit like "Everybody's Talking" or "Coconut" as their version of the Neko Case song doesn't really bring anything new to the table while a modern version of "Everybody's Talking" seems long overdue.

The originals are still the better versions but never in my life did I think I would be enchanted by songs with a singer doing her best Shelly Duvall imitation as I was on this release.

Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "One" and "He Needs Me"

New Album Reviews - 3/6/2012 - White Rabbit, Kaiser Chiefs and Chaundon

White Rabbits Milk Famous

The indie rockers from Brooklyn finally release their followup album to 2009's pleasurable It's Frightening with this 11-tracks disc.  

After the paranoid-sounding opener, "Heavy Metal," which goes overboard on the random guitar licks and synth loops to create a song that is more jarring than pleasing, the album draws you in with the feedback-heavy "I'm Not Me" with its rollicking guitar work and catchily sung chorus.

The electric guitar work and the music in general is even more creepy and beguiling (in a good way) than on their previous works with frontman Stephen Patterson's piano also playing a more prominent part in creating lush and spooky melodies.  Patterson shares vocal duties as usual with lead guitarist Alexander Even and the band's subdued vocal style is even more effective on this disc matching the more eerie melodies with greater aplomb.

Overall, Milk Famous isn't as consistent as the band's 2009 release but it is still a disc worth your money with better constructed songs and obvious growth in the band's style.  There are a couple of tracks like "Are You Free" that seem like the band is holding itself back from unleashing its full potential but those tracks are in the minority on this generally pleasurable album.

Score: 8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "I'm Not Me", "Hold It to the Fire" and "Danny Come Inside"

Kaiser Chiefs Start the Revolution Without Me

The lads from Leeds rework their available-only-through-import-to-American-customers album The Future Is Medieval for release here on the U.S. shores with a different ordering to the songs and tracks that were not available on their official release.

Originally, before the Medieval album was officially released in the UK and Europe, fans had an option of creating their own version of the album by picking ten songs from an available list of twenty with customizable artwork and everything.  Fans were then able to share their version of the album with others, earning £1 each time their version was bought by another person. 

Both the U.S. and UK versions have 13-songs and begin with the track "Little Shocks," which is the first single from the album.  From there the two versions differ quite substantially with four different tracks from the original pool of twenty (plus at least one song not in that pool of twenty) and a different track order.

Overall, this album still isn't the band's best by any means with their first three albums all being superior.  I do enjoy the U.S. version of this album more than the UK one with fun songs like "On The Run" and "Problem Solved" being more enjoyable than the tracks they replaced (the lone exception being the spooky but enchanting "Out of Place") and with songs like the toe-tapping "Kinda Girl You Are" being pushed up earlier in the order for greater impact.  I gave the UK version a 6.5 while this version with its slightly better songs and better ordering gets...

Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "On The Run" and "Problem Solved" [sample it below]

Chaundon The Jammington

The only South Bronx hip-hop/rap artist that I know of with his own weight loss blog, Chaundon releases his fourth studio album.

Chaundon releases a disc of solid jams and well-written lyrics although his rapping style can be very non-distinctive at times, like a poor man's Common.  But there is a solid energy that Chaundon brings that runs throughout the duration of disc that helps elevate even the more monotonous tracks. 

This isn't going to be Chaundon's breakout album by any means but it is a very consistent release with solid and entertaining hip-hop songs from beginning to end.  The songs have musical nods to the past, especially in the samples he uses, but you never lose the feeling of being in the here and now. 

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Possession" [sample it below] and "Hindsight"