Category: Rock (Page 86 of 241)

Datarock: Red

September 4, 2009 /

Our first impression of Red, the new album by Norwegian electro rockers Datarock, was that we just found the next Soulwax, swiping the guitar line from “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and the vocal intro to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” for a galloping, dialogue-driven song “The Blog.” What follows is more in line with LCD Soundsystem which, blogosphere fanatics be damned, is not a good thing. Jumpy drum tracks, cascading synth lines, fey vocals, angular guitar fills…you’ve heard everything here before, by two different generations of bands. “True Stories” is one giant Talking Heads slurpfest, from the lyrics – which are nothing but Talking Heads song titles – to the music, which sounds like the Heads crossed with their spinoff band the Tom Tom Club. “Molly,” God love ’em, is a love letter to Molly Ringwald. (“Sixteen Candles! The Breakfast Club!”) There are some strong musical ideas here; the instrumental “In the Red” is a keeper, and the down-tempo album closer “New Days Dawn” suggests that the band’s true strengths are more in line with the Pernice Brothers and Richard Hawley than with Shiny Toy Guns. The lyrics, however, are so desperate for attention – look at us, we’re talking about the ’80s! – that the urge to dance is quickly repressed by the urge to punch something. Ditch the data, guys, and set yourselves free.
(Nettwerk 2009)

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Pop, Rock

Filter: The Very Best Things (1995 – 2008)

September 4, 2009 /

In the 13-year span covered on this collection, Filter (or should we really say Richard Patrick, because he is Filter) draws from four studio records and some excellent soundtrack work to create one heck of a greatest hits package. Their releases have been strong, but they also are quite the singles band. The Very Best Things certainly hammers that home with industrial dance hooks and an occasional straight up pop song like the immeasurably subconscious penetrating “Take a Picture” or the hauntingly and mostly mellow “I’m Not the Only One.” The Filter spin on the Harry Nilsson-penned “One,” from the soundtrack to “The X-Files,” is interesting but not great and really the only misstep on the record. “Thanks Bro,” the last track on the disc culled from Music in the Key of X: Music from and inspired by the X-Files features Patrick’s vocals and an acoustic guitar. This is a nice contrast to the other material because it never really rips it out full throttle like the rest of the material does. It serves as a key reminder that Filter can do a little more with a little less and can change things up but still remain true to their sound. The last record, 2008’s solid Anthems for the Damned is only represented by “Soldiers of Misfortune.” Patrick appears to be in a productive mode because Anthems, a remix record of Anthems and this greatest hits package have all been released in the last two years. If he remains this committed and invested in Filter as opposed to the other projects he has been involved in (Army of Anyone, Damning Well) the next best-of will have more than four releases from which to choose. (Reprise 2009)

Filter MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Seen Your Video: Panic! at the Disco, “New Perspective”

September 2, 2009 /

Bands must love making videos for songs on soundtracks. They only have to do a tenth as much work.

Of course, the majority of the video for “New Perspective,” the lead single by Panic! at the Disco from the soundtrack to the Diablo Cody-penned horror flick “Jennifer’s Body” (which is not being screened for the press, by the way), consists of singer Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith, along with what we’re guessing are body doubles, walking in slo-mo through a high school. A couple cat fights break out, as the action cuts from the high school to the clips from the film, where Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried are either fighting or making out. When Megan isn’t eating boys alive, anyway.

Truth be told, the video is not of major significance to us. What is of major significance is the fact that Panic! is literally half the band they were the last time we heard from them. Guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Welker left the band in July, citing the age-old musical differences. Urie and Smith will continue as Panic, while Ross and Welker have formed a group called the Young Veins, which will be more ’60s oriented in sound. After a quick spin of the Young Veins song “Change” on their MySpace page, the sound of “New Perspective” makes much more sense. It’s more in line with the band’s debut album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, in that it’s wordy and contemporary. Does that mean Ross and Welker were the brains behind Pretty. Odd, the band’s Beatleriffic sophomore album? And was their departure due to insistence by Urie and Smith that they ditch the retro stuff because it didn’t sell as well?

Personally, we can’t help but think the answer to that last question is ‘yes,’ because the first thing Urie and Smith did after Ross and Welker left the band was put that goddamn exclamation point back into their name. Sigh.

Alternative, Artists, Emo, Rock, Seen Your Video, Songs, Videos

Our Lady Peace: Burn Burn

August 28, 2009 /

Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace has been around for a while – seven studio albums now, to be exact, and their latest, Burn Burn, hit streets last month. And while the members of OLP claim to feel great about having more creative control at this point in their career, they have not used that control to do anything earth-shattering here. In fact, the band has regressed a bit, and has begun to gravitate toward the adult contemporary end of the radio dial. Bands like Creed, Nickelback, and the Goo Goo Dolls have lived in radio suburbia for years, and now OLP has entered the neighborhood, as this batch of songs on Burn Burn are at times catchy, but mostly dull and lifeless. Many bands like this that used to be cool and alternative have softened greatly, having succumbed to years of record execs telling them to write “hits.” The first single off of Burn Burn, “All You Did Was Save My Life,” is a prime example, a formulaic track that you will tire of before the song has even played through. “Dreamland” and “The End Is Where We Began” also lean toward sugary pop, though it’s worth pointing out that singer Raine Maida can still bring it. One of the bright spots here is “Never Get Over You,” which may remind you of the Spiritual Machines days, but mostly, as on “Signs of Life,” there just aren’t many on this album. (LABEL: Warner Music Group)

Our Lady Peace MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Stardeath and White Dwarfs: The Birth

August 28, 2009 /

Can nepotism be a genre? Seriously, these guys are the Flaming Lips Jr. Supposedly frontman Dennis Coyne is Wayne Cone’s nephew, but maybe that’s a cover story (kind of like how Jack Nicholson was led to believe his mother was his sister) and there’s some deep-seated family secrets hiding the truth and he’s actually Wayne’s secret son. Whatever the case, these guys don’t only sound like the Flaming Lips, they even seemed to have employed the same design team, as the cover art and liner notes ofThe Birth look like rejects from the the Yoshimi cover design sessions. Dennis worked as a roadie for his uncle’s band for a few years, so maybe the Flaming Lips are the only band he’s ever heard. It would make sense. Stop me if any of this sounds familiar; Beach Boys-style vocal harmonies, occasional psychedelic freak-outs, oblique lyrics about space, lasers and even a Superman reference. Really? Musically there is nothing wrong with this record, there is even one stand-out track, the bass-heavy “Those Who Are from the Sun Return to the Sun” but…it sounds just like the Flaming Lips! What’s the point? If I wanted to hear the Flaming Lips, I’d listen to The Flaming Lips, not their junior varsity squad. (Warner Bros 2009)

Stardeath and White Dwarfs MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Psychedelic, Rock

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑