Author: David Medsker (Page 56 of 96)

Walter Meego: Voyager

June 27, 2008 / David Medsker

You’d be hard pressed to find a genre with a greater POF (Poseur Overload Factor) than the Nouveaux Wave scene, where the majority of the bands equate squawky synths with detached, ironic hipster cool, as if the world needs more detached, ironic hipster cool. (It doesn’t, by the way.) Huzzah, then, to Chicago duo Walter Meego – neither of whom is named Walter or Meego – for putting the song first and going from there. Their debut, Voyager, takes Daft Punk’s poppiest work to its logical next step, matching the bubbliest of pop songs with “Aerodynamic”-style keytar riffs. “Girls” is the clear standout, which a guitar hook the size of an anchor, while the ode to voyeurism that is “Keyhole” has a tribute of sorts to “Aerodynamic” in the solo. If you’re looking for a frothy, fun summer album, look no further. (Almost Gold)

Walter Meego MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Pop

Various Artists: Music from the Motion Picture The Love Guru

June 20, 2008 / David Medsker

Mike Myers’ latest “comedy” about an American-born, India-raised self-help guru will surely go down as one of the year’s worst movies (read BE movie critic Jason Zingale’s one-and-a-half-star review here), and for the sake of consistency, Lakeshore Records issued an equally bad soundtrack to go with it. This is instrument-of-torture bad, combining Myers’ Hindu-accented versions of pop songs “9 to 5,” “More Than Words” and “The Joker” (seriously, who asked for those?) with – sequenced in order, no less – Big Boi, Robbie Nevil, and Celine Dion. There are three dialog tracks peppered throughout; they’re not funny. The only song that rises above the dreck is George Clinton’s “Guru Vindaloo,” with Danny Saber’s “Mathar” not far behind. The rest of the album is an unholy combination of the offensive and the boring. There is no reason for anyone to own this album, and you get the sense that even the distributors of the soundtrack knew it – they misspelled Mike Myers’ name in the artwork for the promotional copies. (Lakeshore Records)

Love Guru soundtrack MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock, Songs

The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing

June 20, 2008 / David Medsker

As the late Ted Knight once said, the world needs ditch diggers too, meaning that not everyone is meant to change the world. The Ting Tings, the Salford duo of drummer Jules De Martino and guitarist/singer Katie White, are ditch diggers of sorts, specializing in club pop that is by and large disposable, but every once in a while, they elevate disposable pop to an art form. Even with a running time just under 38 minutes, there is a fair share of chaff on We Started Nothing, the band’s debut, but the wheat is some of the sweetest wheat you’ll find all year, starting with the instant classic, “Rapture”-esque “Shut Up and Let Me Go.” “Great DJ” is armed with one of those unforgettable – but ultimately annoying – hooks in its chorus, “That’s Not My Name” gets by on sass alone, and “We Walk” works a tad of widescreen pop into the mix. The rest of the album will seem cute enough while it’s playing, but will be forgotten the second it’s over. (Columbia)

The Ting Tings MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Pop, Rock Babes

Steal This Song: ism, “Sacred Cows”

June 19, 2008 / David Medsker

Anyone who needs a temporary fix to tide them over until Muse drops their next album (rumored to be slated for late fall), this should do the trick. In fact, New York quartet ism are a little too good at the, um, Museisms, to the point where they have little identity of their own to speak of. The title track of their upcoming album, Urgency, takes elements of three Muse songs – “Time Is Running Out,” “Apocalypse Please,” and “Butterflies and Hurricanes” – and rolls them into one. They’re not awful – they just need to figure out who they really are. If there is one takeaway moment from the album, it’s this. And we’re giving it away for free download. Dig in, Museies.

Ism – Sacred Cows (Radio Edit)

Alternative, Artists, Downloads, External Music, Rock, Songs

Ghosty: Answers

May 23, 2008 / David Medsker

The sticker on the cover of Answers, the new album from Lawrence, KS quintet Ghosty, lists the Shins, Big Star and the Wrens as the RIYL bands. And we suppose that’s true, if you culled the softest, quietest moments from those bands and nothing else. In truth, they’re closer to bands like the Red House Painters and Eggstone, combining uncanny pop smarts with a certain Steely Dan casualness. Leadoff track “Dumbo Wins Again” nets the Shins comparison all by itself, and “A Man with Answers” has a hypnotic instrumental finale (think Semisonic’s “She’s Got My Number”). It’s extremely well made, but it’s also easy to get lost in the haze from time to time. A couple shifts in tempo would have worked wonders. (Oxblood Records)

Ghosty MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop