As usual, Kim provides the drumming and backup vocals while Matt does the keyboard work and sings lead. The album opens with "Block After Block" which has a quick tempo and upbeat singing. Although I wouldn't call the song uplifting, it does an effective job of introducing the band's style and drawing you into their brand of music. "Cameras" is a weirdly catchy song that I appreciate more each time I listen to it. It begins with synthesized horn blowing and is done in a 5/4 time beat that can be initially off-putting but the catchy hooks in the bridge and the extremely well sung vocals (I love the meter he sings with) make it a very memorable song. "Good for Great" starts with a simple but catchy keyboard playing and evolves into a nice, light pop song. The only track I couldn't get into was "Ice Melts" which sounded like a strange amalgamation of a Bjork and an English Beat song. Thankfully that's the last song on the album so it didn't ruin my overall enjoyment of the album.
Overall, it's a very good album from Matt & Kim. The first half has a heavier dance feel while the second half is more pop. Like on their previous work, Kim's drumming provides most of the punk influence to their songs (although that's not as prevalent anymore) while Matt's keyboard work adds a lot of the pop influence. Matt's vocal work really shines on this album. His singing voice is far from your classical crooner (it's closer to Fred Schneider of the B-52s than, say, a Jason Mraz) but the timber, meter and resonance he uses adds an extra layer to the music and really enhances the album. The only reason this album doesn't score higher is there were no immediate standout songs like "Daylight" from their last album.
Score: 8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Cameras" and "Good for Great"
The album begins with a quick 90-second musical vignette (ingeniously titled "Vignette #1") with subtle instrument playing and vocal work that acts as a shrewd, if non-splashy, introduction to the band's music. The music in the vignette and in the album as a whole has chamber pop/chamber rock feel with a complex layering of sound. After the initial vignette, the album really takes off. Shurman (assuming he handles most of the lead vocals since all three members get vocal credit on the album) has a voice that sounds like John Lennon's from his post-Beatles era in the mid-70's, especially in the first handful of tracks. "The Room Outside" expertly layers in electric guitars with heavy feedback after a slow thoughtful piano opening that builds to a crescendo as the track progresses. "Crime of the Season" uses vocal harmonies and a solid pop hook to create one of the highlight songs of the album. "Majik Marker" has a more somber tone featuring hard piano playing and airy vocals to add a more haunting feel to the track.
Even though I've done it before in one or two past reviews, I really don't like comparing bands to The Beatles because that's like comparing an upcoming painter to Picasso. But, in this instance, I don't mind making that comparison because in addition to the musical similarities I listed above, even the song construction is reminiscent of the Fab Four. They're not exact clones by any means, but Mini Mansions has a sound that combines the classic pop sensibilities of The Beatles (actually, to be exact, it is more similar to the post-Beatles work of Lennon and McCarthy) with more modern song construction along the lines of Ambulance LTD. The album might be a little too eclectic/psychedelic for your more mainstream listener but for a side project this ranks right up there with the Broken Bells' release (the side project of Danger Mouse and James Mercer from The Shins) for best side project album of the year. It's absolutely mesmerizing and well constructed from the beginning to the end.
Score: 9.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Crime of the Season" and "The Room Outside"
Various Artists Punk Goes Pop Volume 3 - The third album in this compilation series from Fearless Records features the label's punk bands like Ready Set and Of Mice and Men covering modern hip-hop, pop, and dance songs. Some of the covered artists include Jay-Z, Lady Ga Ga, Justin Timberlake and Kanye West. There are 14 tracks in total and no artist performs or is covered more than once.
I’ve listened to a lot of punk cover songs over the years and your typical punk cover speeds up the beat, replaces any acoustic instruments with its electronic siblings, and performs the vocals in a much harder style. For some types of songs, the punk cover can really work well and you get something that can transcend the original. For other songs, it’s a total mismatch of styles that leads to an awful song cover that loses all of the original beauty. So which songs fit into which category on this album? Woe is Me’s cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot ‘n’ Cold” starts with a very heavy metal opening with primal screaming of the lyrics that overshadows the danceable rhythm of the original. Artist Vs Poet’s cover of Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” does some interesting things with the instrumentation but the singing reminds me of the version done on Glee a few weeks ago. One of the best is Mayday Parade’s cover of Jason Derulo’s “In My Head” which adeptly quickens the tempo without going overboard and creates a highly danceable version. This Century’s cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” was perhaps my favorite with its very simplified melody and singing adding more poignancy to the song’s lyrics.
Okay, my first problem with this album is that very few of the covered songs are actually pop songs. Most are hip-hop or dance, but I digress. The real problem is that most of the bands show little imagination when re-imagining the original artist concepts and fall into the trap I mentioned previously. There are a handful of some very original and clever punk covers but those are too few and far between.
Score: 6/10
Song(s) to Sample: This Century's "Paper Planes" (M.I.A cover) and Family Force 5's "Bulletproof" (La Roux cover)
Note: I will be out of town at the beginning of next week but will try to have my reviews posted by Wednesday or Thursday.
Note: I will be out of town at the beginning of next week but will try to have my reviews posted by Wednesday or Thursday.
