Month: July 2008 (Page 4 of 5)

Seabird: ‘Til We See the Shore

July 11, 2008 / Jeff Giles

The next time he’s in the shower, Chris Martin may want to take an extra minute to check his family jewels, because it sounds like his left nut has gone off and made itself an album. On its full-length debut, ’Til We See the Shore, Seabird presents itself as an incredible facsimile of Coldplay, copping every facet of their sound – swirly guitars, pensive keyboards, melancholy vocals – and adding nothing of their own, except perhaps the vaguest of CCM overtones. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being Coldplay for the Christian set, of course – just as there’s no crime in swinging for the fences with press kit quotes like “We hope this record will be an oasis for those who were left thirsty by years of heartache.” But dammit, if you’re going to swing for the fences, you’d better at least be holding a bat – not depending on such unintentionally hilarious couplets as ”So put this steak on your eye / It’s much better for you than rice / It’s your bread, water and rice.” It’s all very pretty, of course, but even on your debut, you’ve got to hope to provoke something more than unfavorable comparisons to Keane. (Credential Recordings 2008)

Seabird MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

Your Highness Electric: The Grand Hooded Phantom

July 11, 2008 / James B. Eldred

David St. Hubbins said it best; “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever” and frequently it call comes down to presentation. Take a group like They Might Be Giants; a good majority of their songs don’t even make sense. They’re filled with non-sequiturs about human/alien lovemaking, evil puppets and deviant cyclopes. However, they present their lyrics in a musical format (college/indie rock) that is equally quirky and oddball, so it works out for them. Your Highness Electric, on the other hand, wrap their decidedly odd lyrics around generic, paint-by-numbers cock rock on The Grand Hooded Phantom. And since they aren’t going over the top with it a la The Darkness, it must be assumed that they want to be taken seriously. But when lines like “I know what the little babies need/They think ‘I want to suck on breasts all day long” are accompanied by bluesy rock riffs and a vocalist who sounds like he wants to make love to the microphone, it’s hard to wrap your head around it. Maybe if the music was a little bit better, it might work. Many songs, such as the hilariously named “Bob. Sugar. Sex. Magic.” and “Bearskin Love,” sound like boring arena rock that would have been embarrassing and boring if released 10 years ago, albeit with exceptionally out-there lyrics. It’s hard to hate Your Highness Electric because they are so damned odd. But it’s hard to like them because they are so damn boring. There has to be an audience somewhere for this weirdness; maybe philosophy majors who are into Skid Row. (LABEL: Longhair Illuminati 2008)

Your Highness Electric MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Frank Sinatra: Sinatra at the Movies

July 11, 2008 / R. David Smola

How many ways can we make money and exploit a dead star? We can keep releasing different versions of greatest hits, altering track order and omitting and including different songs. We can release groups of tracks from various record labels separately. We can also come up with new and interesting thematic collections, like songs from movies perhaps. Capitol felt the need to get some more Ol’ Blue Eyes product out there and compiled 20 tracks from his contributions to cinema. There is nothing wrong with compilations or Sinatra; in fact every American citizen should receive some Frank upon their birth, particularly Songs for Swingin’ Lovers or Strangers in the Night or if you want a compilation, try The Capitol Years from 1990. This collection has some of the well known stuff like “Chicago,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Three Coins in a Fountain” and “Young at Heart.” It also showcases the man’s voice from different periods of his career so you can hear the deepening and richness in his vocals as he matured. However, it is an unnecessary collection in that this material is available elsewhere. Sure, you can throw this on and have a nice Fresca on the patio, but there are many other collections much more worthy of your time. (Capitol)

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

Global Noize: Global Noize

July 11, 2008 / James B. Eldred

Global Noize is collaborative project between turnbalist DJ Logic and Grammy Award-winning jazz composer/keyboardist Jason Miles, and joining them throughout their self-titled debut are about a dozen or so other musicians. Some of the more notable contributors include Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, Blues Traveler’s John Popper, singer Me’Shell Ndegeocello and legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert. In addition to those somewhat prominent names, jazz musicians Karl Denson, Billy Martin, Cyro Baptista and Christian Scott show up, as does Parliament/Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell. That’s a lot of great musicians from a ton of genres; and they bill themselves as “the nexus of jazz, funk, world music and electronica,” so it’s really too bad that they sound like nothing more than a third-rate jazz act experimenting with a turntable and a sampler. This isn’t a record that has one foot in jazz while dabbling in other genres; it has both feet firmly planted in jazz while the occasional pinky toe dips into electronic music or rock for a second before quickly retreating back to the safe, soothing waters of modern jazz. If you’re looking for a successful blend of jazz and electronic music (two genres of music that go surprisingly well together) check out Sqaurepusher’s Ultravisitor or At the Center by Meat Beat Manifesto. This is nothing more than waiting room music with mediocre backbeats tacked on. (Shanachie 2008)

Global Noize MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Jazz

Val Emmich: Little Daggers

July 4, 2008 / Mike Farley

Val Emmich is a name you may not recognize, but here’s a dude (yes, Val is a man) that has released five albums and an EP, one on a major label and a few on indies. And years of touring with the likes of Butch Walker, Gavin DeGraw and Better Than Ezra has helped to shape Emmich’s current style and songwriting on his latest, Little Daggers. Emmich played most of the instruments on this effort, and it’s filled with anthems and rockers, heartfelt lyrics, and hooks that are sometimes subtle but usually engaging. It’s the kind of album you probably won’t hear on the radio, but you’ll find playing in some cool record store or, if Emmich is savvy at marketing, in a motion picture. You can take the songs on which Emmich tries a bit too hard, especially on “Hurt More Later” and “Darling Denise,” the latter of which sounds kind of like emo whining. But the bulk of the tracks are very good, bordering on really, really good. In particular, the first few rocking numbers, “The Lucky Ones” and “Get On With It,” will have you quite possibly dancing on the roof of your car, while the best track of all, “Down,” sounds like a cross between Butch Walker and a more somber Bruce Springsteen. Despite a few clunkers, this is still one of the better albums by an independent artist in 2008. (LABEL: bluhammock music)

Val Emmich MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock