The Slip (also
known as Halo 27) is the eighth major studio release by Nine Inch Nails.
Produced by Trent Reznor alongside Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, this album is
a leaner machine than their last label release Year Zero. Not long after the release of his instrumental Ghosts (which was somewhat of a letdown
for me), Reznor announced "this one's on me" and gave this album away
for FREE on his web site as a downloadable ZIP file. But this is no gimmicky
throw-away album.
The Followills are back with their most accessible album so
far. This time they attempted to
redefine their sound and the songwriting methods of their previous albums. Although, Caleb Followill's voice and
delivery still sound like he's on his fourth day of a whiskey only diet. As before, the vocals manage to enhance the
dirty southern feel of the instruments.
The album begins with a haunting, slow burn track called "Knocked Up"
which eerily sets the mood for the rest of the album. On several
tracks, like "On Call," the extra polishing step in their songwriting is
obvious. Kings of Leon still maintain
the grittiness and ferocious guitar and drums attack which made their first two
albums some of my favorites. The change in focus results with possibly their
most musically complete album to date.
Stand Out Tracks: "On Call," "McFearless," "Ragoo"
Whenever an album by a new-ish (i.e. un-track-tested) band
strikes a chord with me, I always look forward to their upcoming material with
a mixture of high anticipation and a vague sense of dread.There are basically
three possibilities:#1)The band
will continue to make interesting music along the same lines as before #2) They
will churn out an album of slightly sub-par or (even worse) uninspired tunes
that make you wonder if they ever really knew what they were doing in the first
place, or #3) They will exceed all expectations and create something even more
beautiful than the album that made you love them.
If it’s Option #1 (The Strokes, the new Bloc Party), the
results can be quite nice – but you can almost hear the clock running down on
your heroes (the over-ruling platitude in the double-oughts seems to be “evolve
or die.”Or, to
quote Ms. Jackson:“What
Have You Done For Me, LATELY?”)
JENNY LEWIS & THE WATSON TWINS - Rabbit Fur Coat
(2006)
Jenny Lewis first came to the public's attention (at least
the members of the public that were young and female in 1989) as a child
actress, most notably in Shelly Long's "Troop Beverly Hills." Then, breaking every law we know
about child actors, she successfully re-created herself as the lead singer of
the critically adored indie band Rilo Kiley. Further proving that she has more lives than a
timid housecat, she embarked on this, a solo album that, to my ears, is the
best thing she's ever recorded. This is supposed to be Jenny's attempt at a
white soul / country album (country in the traditional sense, none of that
slick stuff that's currently gumming up the airwaves), and Rabbit Fur Coat does fit nicely alongside two other exceptional
female-white-soul-country albums from 2006 (Neko Case's Fox Confessor
Brings The Flood and Cat Power's The
Greatest). However, in my opinion, I'd take Jenny Lewis & The
Watson Twins to the desert island over the other two. Her songs are instantly likable, well-played,
well-arranged, and, I believe, better written than most of her Rilo Kiley
work. The Watson Twins'
harmonies add an almost eerie element to these songs, most of them nakedly raw
and confessional, even when the tempo's swinging. Though nearly every song is great, probably the
best is "Rise Up With Fists!!!" which bounces along while dropping some
downright heartbreaking lines about regret and lost chances. STANDOUT TRACKS: Rise Up With Fists, Melt Your Heart,
You Are What You Love
On Modest Mouse's last album, Good News For People Who
Love Bad News, they completed a shocking
transition from avant garde rock musicians to extremely radio friendly rock
musicians with an avant-sensibility.
And incredibly -
INCREDIBLY - they retained every bit of their indie respect. They didn't sacrifice any
of their weirdness, Isaac Brock still screamed as if he were trying to
out-Pixie everyone else in the room, yet somehow the music now sounded like pop. "Dashboard" is the first single
off their new album, which is also the first album to feature new guitarist
Johnny Marr (yes, I am talking about the very same guitarist from The Smiths). The exciting news about
this first track is that Johnny Marr is once again playing guitar like Johnny
Marr. After The Smiths
broke up, Marr seemed dead-set against playing anything that sounded remotely
like The Smiths.....and this single seems to prove he's finally gotten over
it. Further, "Dashboard"
sounds like a logical next step from Good News. It's poppy and angular, with a disco
beat; it contains "Float
On"-esque lyrics such as "It woulda been, coulda been, worse than you would ever
know / The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio." I, for one, am
excited. The new
album, "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" is due in the next few
months.
Dave Matthews Band is known for their live performance
prowess, but this recording is special in many ways. Upon its release, the recording proved Dave
Matthews Band to be far beyond the clean-cut, goody boys rock band persona they
gained from Under The Table and Dreaming. This recording of the 1995 show features
early live versions (some with alternate lyrics) of songs recorded for Crash before they were honed in the
studio. Their performance of these songs
off their first three albums are proof no Dave Matthews Band concert should be
missed. Stand Out Tracks: Seek Up, Lie In Our Graves,
All Along The Watchtower.
Sometimes I miss the days of old school rap where rappers
played "characters" and had distinct vocal styles from each other.
They also didn't take themselves too seriously back in the day. If you need an
old school fix but don't want to bust out the Fat Boys records, then Goldie
Lookin Chain is for you. They rap about everything from getting high on soap to
becoming famous by committing suicide to your mom's penis. They are juvenile,
yes. But they are funny as hell too and a whole lotta fun. Think "Paul's Boutique" era Beastie Boys with British accents. Stand-out tracks:
Soap Bar, Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do, and Self Suicide.
Nellie McKay is, like Fiona Apple and Norah Jones, yet another impossibly
young, impossibly talented female singer / songwriter / pianist who has emerged
over the past few years. However, she is far more versatile than these, or
almost any other of her peers. The first five tracks on her debut album contain
reggae-tinged pop ("David"), a Cole Porter-esque torch song ("Manhattan
Avenue"), Eminem-style rap ("Sari"), 70s mellow-soft rock ("Ding
Dong"), and disco ("Baby Watch Your Back") - IN THAT ORDER. It's
a dizzying display of talent for this 21-year old ingénue, and at times, it can
be a bit TOO much. But the songwriting is always top notch, and McKay is always
interesting. She clearly wants to march to a different drummer - the title of
the album is even a bratty play on Norah Jones' Come Away With Me - and she
successfully manages to come up with a sound that is her own, despite the range
of influences. Her sharp wit is a running theme; in songs such as "I Wanna
Get Married," her reverse-psychological lyrics skewer women who simply
want to settle into an unchallenging domestic life. She seems to abhor the "Starbucks-style"
jazz that is currently popular among Gen-Z yuppies, but the irony is that she
can ape this style (albeit with edgier lyrics) without breaking a sweat.
Stand-out tracks on this 2-disc album include: "David," "Waiter,"
"Ding Dong."
Ghostland Observatory's sophomore release Paparazzi Lightning alters the
definition of modern alternative synth pop.
Throughout the album they manage to balance the alternate sides of their
personality. If, at first, one side is not easily likeable, appreciating the
other side will rectify appreciation for both.
Both sides come from a deeply innovative twist to keyboard-based
melodies popular in the early eighties. The band consists of surprisingly only
two members, Aaron Behrens and Thomas Turner. One could guess one is "Dr.
Jeckyl" while the other is "Mr. Hyde."
Deftone fans seem to be strongly divided: one type of fan
loves the crack-your-teeth approach the band pummels through on the "Adrenaline"
album, the other type loves the moody ethereal-meets-muscle approach of the
album "White Pony." I'm the latter type of fan. There's a reason why the
Deftones often are described as the Radiohead of metal. They are a very unique
band with a totally original sound. There's no mistaking a Deftones album. And
when they put out albums like the excellent "White Pony" and the
equally great "Saturday Night Wrist," you get a band that loves to rattle
you with their riffage but aren't afraid to show you their softer side too.
Stand-out tracks: Hole in the Earth, Cherry Waves, Xerces.
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