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"
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
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"
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