Month: July 2008 (Page 3 of 5)

Greg Laswell: Three Flights from Alto Nido

July 18, 2008 / Jeff Giles

The six-song EP Laswell released earlier this year, How the Day Sounds, suggested vast landscapes of promise for Greg Laswell – so much promise, in fact, that it seemed altogether unlikely he’d be able to fulfill it all with the full-length follow-up. He doesn’t buck the odds here — Three Flights from Alto Nido is solid overall, and even close to brilliant in spots, but wide swaths of it are perfectly unmemorable in a perfectly pleasant way. Musically, Laswell is a blend of Ron Sexsmith and Coldplay, but he lacks the immediate emotional resonance of either; too much of the album glides past without lasting impact. But when he’s on, he’s on – “ “How the Day Sounds” is the greatest song that U2 never wrote, and tracks like “That It Moves” and “I’d Be Lying” soar on the strength of Laswell’s airy vocals and way with an elegantly catchy melody. For songs about such profound emotions, though, these recordings are curiously stately – almost airless. Part of the blame can be lain at the feet of Laswell’s fondness for GarageBand recording, but that’s just one symptom of a larger problem. There’s a bleeding heart lurking beneath all these layers of cool porcelain; with enough time, here’s hoping Laswell learns how to let it show. (Vanguard 2008)

Greg Laswell MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

Hit the Lights: Skip School, Start Fights

July 18, 2008 / David Medsker

There is an episode of “The Simpsons” where a record producer has Bart, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph sing into microphones that are hooked up to a machine that makes them sound like N’Sync (“Thank you, NASA,” the producer says). After listening to Hit the Lights’ Skip School, Start Fights, you will be inclined to believe that this machine actually exists, and nearly every emo band that put out an album in the last five years has used it. The problem is that instead of sounding like Justin Timberlake, you get a nasal, whiny, pinched tenor (must still be in the beta testing stage). Hit the Lights are not awful, mind you; they’re just unoriginal and derivative. Their songs are a series of Something Corporate-style vocals melded to breakdowns straight from your favorite My Chemical Romance song, so if you like that sort of thing, then odds are you’ll like this, too. But don’t let that album title fool you: the last thing these boys want to do is cause trouble. They sing of sobering up and staying out all night, getting you to break up with your miserable whore of a girlfriend, and getting out of “this bitter town,” presumably the band’s hometown of Lima, OH. They’re trying to sound like angst-ridden tough guys, but they’re far too cute and harmless to pass for menacing. It makes you wonder if they are even aware that their band name is a Metallica song. (EastWest)

Hit the Lights MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Wes Montgomery: The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery – Keepnews Collection

July 18, 2008 / Michael Fortes

It’s all too easy to forget what someone like Wes Montgomery meant to the guitar itself, and not just jazz guitar specifically. Concord’s Keepnews Collection, spotlighting milestones in the career of jazz producer Orrin Keepnews with 24-bit remastered sound and new liner notes from Keepnews himself, slips out a reminder with the series’ entry for The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. Traditionally cited as Montgomery’s best studio album, it’s easy to hear why. Unlike his later recordings for Verve and A&M, which were often bloated by strings and other extraneous elements for a more pop-friendly sound, this landmark 1960 session finds Montgomery backed by a crack rhythm section – pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath – and nothing more. The quartet storms through six originals and two standards, and Montgomery’s trademark flying octaves are all over the place. His leads always sound effortless and simple, but just try playing them yourself with the style and grace with which Montgomery applies. He was one of a kind, and an inspiration to countless jazz guitarists for reasons that Incredible Jazz Guitar articulates clearly, succinctly and enjoyably. (Riverside/Concord 2008)

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Jazz

Sunny Day Sets Fire: Summer Palace

July 11, 2008 / David Medsker

You can usually tell everything you need to know about a band by their name – Staind, Crystal Method, Motorhead, etc. – and then there are bands like the inexplicably named Sunny Day Sets Fire, who will likely turn off the very people who will love them before they’ve heard a note because of their name alone. For the record, they are far more about sunny days than setting fires, and Summer Palace, the debut album from the UK-based band – their members are from Italy, Hong Kong, Canada and England – is one of the year’s finest, a delirious mix of New Pornographers-style smart pop and psychedelic tinges that bring to mind Flaming Lips and Polyphonic Spree. “End of the Road” sports a spaghetti western guitar hook, while “Stranger” is straight-up bouncy power pop, and “All Our Songs” will make A.C. Newman green with envy. To carry the New Pornographers comparison a step further, some songs sound like Newman-written songs while others, namely “I Dream Along” and the (annoying) “Map of the World,” could have been the work of Dan Bejar. It all adds up to one of the most adventurous and rewarding pop records you’ll hear all year. More, please. (IAMSOUND Records)

Sunny Day Sets Fire MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Dan Craig: Skin Grows Thin

July 11, 2008 / Mike Farley

Technology has afforded so many singer/songwriters to release albums in the last few years that it’s practically unfathomable. So how do we sift through everything and find the music that’s actually worth listening to? We rely on things like satellite radio, film/TV artist launches, and publicists. Of course, this stuff has to pass our ears and make us stand up and take notice, and Denver’s Dan Craig is doing that to more than a few ears. His third album, Skin Grows Thin, is 13 mostly acoustic offerings that are dreamy, ethereal Damien Rice-like fare that is performed with precision and emotion as if Craig truly believes every word he’s singing. To pull off the acoustic thing well, you have to have a remarkable voice, and Craig’s smoky tenor is just that. The opening track, “Further to Fall,” is money in the bank, but there really isn’t a bad track on here. Other notables are when Craig smartly uses strings and sweet harmonies to deliver his message, as he does on “Breaking Hearts Tonight” and “All Break Down.” Dan Craig’s music might be a music supervisor’s dream, but more than that, he’s a dependable singer/songwriter in a crowded genre. (Dan Craig Music)

Dan Craig MySpace Page