Author: Jeff Giles (Page 35 of 41)

RadioRadio: Alarm 1 Alarm 2

August 8, 2008 / Jeff Giles

They may have arrived to the new-new wave party a little late, but RadioRadio still managed to build up a bit of steam after releasing its debut CD, Watch ‘Em All Come Runnin’, in 2006 – only to watch it all evaporate in a puff of frustration after three fifths of the band quit unexpectedly, leaving vocalist Greg Hosterman and bassist Paul Cristiano to sort out the pieces. RadioRadio’s still here, as evidenced by the new EP Alarm 1 Alarm 2 — but whether that strikes you as a good or a bad thing will depend heavily on your tolerance for dudes in skinny ties who do their damndest to evoke the early ‘80s work of well-coiffed Britpop heroes like Bowie, despite being, you know, American. The music’s still the thing, of course; it doesn’t really matter that these four Brixton-worshiping guys actually hail from Tulsa, just as it isn’t a crime for an Oklahoma band to name one of its songs “BBC.” No, the problem with RadioRadio is that its music is slavishly derivative, and the extremely limited thrill provided by like-minded bands such as the Killers wore off a long time ago. The songs have plenty of energy, and Hosterman sings as well as any Thompson Twins cover band frontman, but what’s the point? Just listen to the band’s inspirations. You already know the songs by heart. (Comprono 2008)

RadioRadio MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

Blind Pilot: Three Rounds and a Sound

August 8, 2008 / Jeff Giles

The sticker affixed to promo copies of Blind Pilot’s Three Rounds and a Sound promises “something like a wistful mix of the Shins with a bit of Iron & Wine folkishness,” and that isn’t just idle hipster-baiting – if the Shins and Iron & Wine had a baby, it might sound a lot like these 11 songs. If it did, though, it wouldn’t be a particularly gifted child. This is not to say that Blind Pilot rides the short bus of melancholy, folk-tinged indie popsters – just that there isn’t anything particularly moving or profound about this album. It hits all the cues it’s supposed to, right down to the smudged pastels in the cover artwork, but if you’ve ever spent any time listening to any (or, God help you, all) of the bands that sound like this, there isn’t a single bit of Three Rounds that you haven’t already heard someplace else. Of course, there really isn’t anything new under the sun, and if you’re going to be slavishly imitative, you could do a lot worse than tearing pages out of this particular playbook. Great for background music, and fine for those who enjoy puzzling over lyrical non sequiturs (“I buried a bone / And darling, you don’t know him / Just where you are might be the right place”), but this little patch of ground is starting to yield withered crops. Next time out, some sharper material could work wonders. (Expunged 2008)

Blind Pilot MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, Pop

Shannon McArdle: Summer of the Whore

August 1, 2008 / Jeff Giles

The divorce album is a long, proud rock & roll tradition, and with the provocatively titled Summer of the Whore, former Mendoza Line singer Shannon McArdle adds her own dirty emotional laundry to the pile. If you’re a Mendoza fan, you’ll know the record was inspired by her split from former husband and bandmate Timothy Bracy – but even if you’ve never heard a lick of the band’s music, a cursory glance at the album’s lyric sheet will be enough to show you all the blood on these songs’ tracks. And the lyrics, by the way, are bracingly raw – McArdle pulls no punches here, either on her ex or herself, and lines like ”You’d like to wash my fresh mouth out / Shove in a big bar of soap / But you know that I always swallow / I let it slide down my throat” suggest an unforgettable album. Pity, then, that the music doesn’t reflect the emotion that went into it; musically, the album is one long snooze, stacking one meandering ballad after another and wasting loads of promise along the way. A song like “He Was Gone” – which laments a miscarriage with lines like ”He would have had blue eyes, I’m sure / He would have made you love me more” — should pack an unforgettable wallop, but here, it just fades into the cold gray haze. McArdle obviously needed to get this one off her chest, but she could at least have made the ride enjoyable for the rest of us. (Bar/None 2008)

Shannon McArdle MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Wild Sweet Orange: We Have Cause to Be Uneasy

July 25, 2008 / Jeff Giles

You’d think a band with a name like Wild Sweet Orange would offer up bouncy, immaculately produced pop music – you know, somewhere between Cheap Trick and blink-182 – but this Alabama four-piece draws its wild sweetness from Southern roots. This isn’t to say they sound like Skynyrd or Kenny Chesney – they’re far, far from either – but there’s a strong component of dark Southern gothic to the group’s full-length debut, reflected strongly in atmospheric, melancholy tracks such as “Land of No Return.” Frontman Preston Lovinggood has a bright, elastic voice with pleasantly ragged edges, and the band – rounded out by drummer Chip Kilpatrick, guitarist Taylor Shaw, and bassist Garret Kelly – does a fine job of building the sort of gloomy tension you’d expect from an album with a title like We Have Cause to Be Uneasy. Songs like opener “Ten Dead Dogs” hearken back to the best of the downcast mid-‘90s alt-rockers, and “Seeing Is Believing” proves they can pull off a power ballad with the best of ‘em. The album stumbles when the band shows off its dynamic range by veering into screechy emo territory, but otherwise, this is a strong opening statement from a band that – wonder of wonders! – actually has something to say. (Canvasback 2008)

Wild Sweet Orange MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

One Flew South: Last of the Good Guys

July 25, 2008 / Jeff Giles

Much as critics tend to bellyache about it, there’s something to be said for music with a bit of cold, hard calculation behind it. Artistic purity is all well and good, but it’s also unruly – and it often doesn’t pack the same kind of punch as an album that’s been immaculately groomed and aimed at a target demographic. Case in point: One Flew South’s debut, Last of the Good Guys, a dozen tracks of hooky, harmony-drenched, kinda-country music that tosses all the most radio-friendly bits of the Eagles and CSNY into a blender, scoops in a dollop of Taxiride and the Thorns, and serves it up sweet and smooth. The band didn’t take any chances here, hooking up with producer/platinum songwriter Marcus Hummon and Nashville ringers like Kevin Welch, Billy Mann, and – nice touch – J.D. Souther. But as gritless as the results are, they’re also awfully hard to argue with; only the most hard-hearted of listeners will be able to deny the sunny vibes and tight-as-a-drum harmonies of tracks like “My Kind of Beautiful,” “It Is Good,” and “Blue Highways.” The absence of a lead vocalist might be disorienting for younger ears that have been weaned on the harmony-deficient stuff of recent years – even newer vocal groups like (shudder) Rascal Flatts don’t utilize the power of multiple voices this way – but for folks who still turn out to see Henley and Frey play the hits every summer, Last of the Good Guys will go down nice and easy. Nothing but good, clean fun. (Decca 2008)

One Flew South MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country