Category: CD QuickTakes (Page 31 of 149)

Goldfrapp: Head First

March 25, 2010 /


RIYL: Olivia Newton-John, ABBA, Giorgio Moroder

Based purely on the duo’s reputation, you might think a new Goldfrapp album would be filled with the kind of trendsetting, cutting-edge synthpop that led Christina Aguilera to hire them as collaborators, but with Head First, Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp don’t have the future on their minds; instead, they’ve hairsprayed Goldfrapp’s breathy vocals to a pillowy cloud of New Wave synths and turned the clock back to 1981. Close your eyes, and the resemblance to Olivia Newton-John is uncanny – the title track, in particular, sounds like a lost ON-J hit from decades ago. It’s kind of fitting that this album is coming out the same week as John Cusack’s “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

Goldfrapp_06

In the wrong hands, this would be empty-calorie cheese, but Head First doesn’t sound like a cheeky exercise in retro irony – it really sounds like it came from the era it’s imitating, and although it’s true that the era in question was responsible for plenty of cruddy synth disco, this is no guilty pleasure, nor does it fall prey to the genre’s many campy pitfalls. If you’ve ever wanted to lace up your roller skates and pretend “Can’t Stop the Music” never happened, Head First might very well be your new “Xanadu.”

Of course, there really was a “Can’t Stop the Music,” and in the long run, Goldfrapp can’t pretend the last 25 years never happened any more than you can, which ultimately makes Head First little more than a really well-crafted stylistic detour – and, as a result, something of an artistic dead end. But so what? Dig your leg warmers out of storage and enjoy one of the sweetest bursts of pure pop pleasure you’re likely to hear all year. The artists that fell along this particular axis of ‘80s synth pop had their drawbacks, but their near-total lack of cynicism or irony was one of their biggest charms, and Goldfrapp has recaptured that spirit perfectly here. Do yourself a favor and follow their lead. (Mute 2010)

Goldfrapp MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Pop

Jen Gloeckner: Mouth of Mars

March 24, 2010 /


RIYL: Polly Scattergood, Amanda Palmer, Tori Amos

Jen Gloeckner is…odd. That’s the best way to put it. I’m not good enough a writer to come up with a better word to describe her dark combination of dreamy surrealism and Gothic themes that traverse the genres of Americana, rock and electronic music via liberal use of cello, electric violins and what sounds like a wind chime on at lest one track. Some might call her quirky, but quirky implies a sense of goofiness and a lighthearted tone. And while there is some innocent fun to be had here, such on the 50-second interlude “Let’s Get Honest,” most of Mouth of Mars is either deliberately dark or just downright weird. “Burn Me” seems to be an indictment of a former lover but instead of taking an angry tone, it’s a darkly somber one due to a creaky cello and some haunting vocal effects that turn Jen’s already ethereal voice into that of a ghost. It’s followed up with “Die,” a much more obvious attack on a former flame, where she repeatedly proclaims that “I’m not gonna lie / One of us will have to die” over electric violins and a catchy dance beat. Gloeckner is no doubt amazingly talented and with her second album she’s already found her unique voice and style. It probably won’t appeal to most, but those who dig this will more than likely fall head over heels in love with it. (Spinning Hand Records 2010)

Jen Gloeckner MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Good Shoes: No Hope, No Future

March 19, 2010 /


RIYL: The Cribs, Bromheads Jacket, Air Traffic

When read together that combination of album title and artist (No Hope, No Future, Good Shoes) sounds like a daily proclamation of despair by a depressed fashionista. Strangely enough, that combination of depressing and oddly upbeat fits as a descriptor for Good Shoes’ sophomore release, as it mixes dance-friendly Gang of Four-style post-punk dance with some woefully depressing lyrics. Does something suck? Odds are Good Shoes touch on it whether it be the evils of organized religion on “I Know,” the cruelty of growing old on “Times Change” or the overall crappy nature of interpersonal relationships on just about every other track. It doesn’t reach the level of Morrissey-level misery, but it’s omnipresent and depressing nonetheless. About the only stand-out in all the self-pity is “Our Loving Mother in a Pink Diamond,” which features slightly more abstract lyrics and an creeping bass line that complements the dark lyrics better than any other track on the album.

Saying that No Hope, No Future is an accurate prediction of how Good Shoes should view their career is a little harsh (although if they’re lyrics are any judge of their attitude, Good Shoes might disagree), but unless they step it up soon they will really have something to be down about. Fans of British post-punk might enjoy this, but event hat’s a stretch since it’s just so derivative. (Brille 2010)

Good Shoes MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

She & Him: Volume Two

March 19, 2010 /


RIYL: Linda Ronstadt, The Mamas & the Papas, Rosie Thomas

There’s a pretty short list of things you can reasonably expect from an album titled Volume Two, which probably has a lot to do with why Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward decided to use it for their sophomore effort – like their first album, it’s a slight, competently crafted set of retro-evocative mid-tempo numbers, a sort of thrift store trip through the Laurel Canyon pasts of female singers like Linda Ronstadt and Laura Nyro, and by giving it this title, Deschanel and Ward might have been trying to deflect some of the crushing hype that’s dogged them since they announced their collaboration.

Can’t blame ‘em for trying. Actually, they could have tried a little harder – like the first outing, Volume Two has a lazy, tossed-off feel; nothing here is bad enough to make you switch it off, but neither does much of the record stand out. Deschanel’s gotten a lot of credit for being an actor with a real, live singing voice, just as Ward’s been applauded for giving his recordings a warmly authentic retro vibe – but singers are supposed to be able to sing, and music isn’t supposed to need computer gimmicks. All the She & Him hype is based around giving the band credit for things that are supposed to come naturally to musicians, which is puzzling. When did indie rock turn into the Special Olympics?

That might sound a little harsh for an album this offhandedly charming, but there’s no getting around the fact that She & Him intentionally beggar comparisons to better bands, and their music sounds awfully hollow in the bargain. Deschanel sings about heartbreak, and Ward lays on the pedal steel like syrup, but there’s a smirking detachment lurking behind the whole thing that sounds like play-acting. It’s most evident when they try and tackle a page from a truly great songbook – as with Volume Two’s ill-advised cover of NRBQ’s “Ridin’ in My Car” – but it’s always there. You’re better off revisiting the work of the band’s most obvious influences and working your way forward from there. (Merge 2010)

She & Him MySpace page

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CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

We Are Wolves: Invisible Violence

March 18, 2010 /


RIYL: Handsome Furs, New Order, The Rapture

On their third release, Montreal trio We Are Wolves polish and refine their unique brand of indie, post-punk and electro to such a shine it’s hard to find another band to compare them to. They’re most reminiscent of It’s Blitz!-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs but they are still strikingly different in the way they combine punk and electronic music. While the YYYs practically abandoned their punk influences to create their dance-happy indie rock, We Are Wolves still embrace it, combining scuzzy garage rock riffs with Moroder-influenced synths in a way that shouldn’t work as well as it does. Invisible Violence is a pendulum of a record, swinging back and forth between rock songs with an electronic edge like the opening track “Paloma” or electronic numbers with a slight rock edge, such as the epic “Reaching for the Sky.” It’s cold and detached while being energetic and in-your-face, like someone gave Gary Numan and fuzzbox and had him go to town. The term “dance-punk” doesn’t fit these guys, they could probably best be described as garage-electro; everything about them is lo-fi, with their wonderfully retro-sounding synths melding perfectly with their scuzzy guitars and howling vocals. This has to be the most hard-rocking, punk-friendly album ever to be obviously influenced by late-’70s disco. (Dare To Care Records 2010)

We Are Wolves MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Punk, Rock

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