Category: CD QuickTakes (Page 65 of 149)

Mutemath: Armistice

September 18, 2009 /


RIYL: Power Station, Wire Train, Gomez

When the members of New Orleans-based rock band Mutemath were beating their heads against the wall with the new material they had written as the follow-up to their stellar 2006 debut, the band almost broke up. The songs just were missing something, and they all knew it. Instead of channeling their energy into a bitter divorce, though, Mutemath enlisted the help of producer Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, The Hives, Elvis Costello), who told them to start over again and write some new stuff. They did, but they did so with an angry passion they lacked before the near-breakup, and the result is a powerful set of new tunes called Armistice. Singer Paul Meany may be one of the best rock vocalists you know nothing about, but that should hopefully change with this groundbreaking album. Right from the start with “The Nerve,” Meany and his band mates symbolically pay tribute to their own rebirth, with the gang vocal chorus shouting, “Set it on fire!” The layers of guitars and strings, slapping bass and tasty drums all mesh well with Meany’s vocals in a way few bands manage to these days. But just like the band’s debut, Armistice has twists and turns and variations in style and texture – especially on the electro-funk of “Backfire” or the title track to the alt-pop beauty of “Pins and Needles” or “Goodbye” to the Goo Goo Dolls-ish “Lost Year.” Whether or not the band does feel like it lost a year, they sure did gain back their self-respect and have delivered one of the best rock records of the year. (Warner Brothers 2009)

Mutemath MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Power Pop, Rock

Vinyl Life: Vinyl Life

September 17, 2009 /


RIYL: Kraftwerk, Afrika Bambaata, Jungle Brothers

New York trio Vinyl Life is about to make a bunch of former DJs very happy. Their self-titled debut is the most authentic tribute to ’80s dance music that we’ve heard, well, since the ’80s. “Hi Tops” is a miniature Name That Riff, using the keyboard lines from Inner City’s “Big Fun” and Maurice’s “This Is Acid” and merging them into a freestyle freak-out. “Electric Symphony” sounds like a sunnier Dubnobasswithmyheadman-era Underworld, and “Like This” will have Mantronik fans popping in their seats. The rapping is old-school in both delivery (it’s actually on the beat) and subject matter (sex, sex, sex), and most refreshingly, it’s almost entirely profanity-free. The guest rappers on the album’s final two tracks are not as accomodating, but just try not to laugh when one of them pulls an “Instant Club Hit”-type rant at the end of the don’t-be-a-douchebag smackdown “Take It Off.” Bonus points for “Future Beat,” which takes the signature Stock, Aitken & Waterman drum sound – think the opening to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” – and restores its inherent coolness.

The album is even available for download on a donate-what-you-want basis (but unlike Radiohead, you have to pay at least a dollar) at Tape Theory Records’ site. Best dollar you’ll ever spend. (Tape Theory Records 2009)

Vinyl Life MySpace page

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Hip Hop, Pop

Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons: Bend in the Road

September 17, 2009 /

There’s something comforting about hearing the voice of one of your favorite singers, and Mark Stuart’s familiar husky, twangy vocals might be just that if you favor his brand of Americana. Of course, Stuart, former front man for Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, has jaunted off on his own, calling his new project Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons. The debut album of this project, Bend in the Road, is much more in the vein of traditional alt-country than Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, a band whose sound at times bordered on alternative rock. Bend In the Road even starts with a cover, Billy Joe Shaver’s “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal,” but then features eleven of Stuart’s own songs, beginning with “Restless Ramblin’ Man,” a twang-fest if there ever was one, with its banjo and fiddle and slick three-part harmonies. There are moments that are pop/rock-tinged, like on “When Love Comes a Callin’” or “Way Down the Road,” as well as the blistering honky-tonk of “Miles to Memphis.” Stuart even turns down the volume nicely on “Carolina,” which also has some really nice pedal steel play. Depending on why you became a fan of Stuart or BSOJC, you’re either going to love this record or feel a bit cheated, but there is no question the guy can write solid Americana, and his voice is as strong as ever. (Texacali 2009)

Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons MySpace Page

Americana, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

The Clean: Mister Pop

September 17, 2009 /

There’s always been a hint of a Pink Floyd fixation in the Clean’s efforts; the title of their 2003 live album, Syd’s Pink Wiring System being but one indication. On their new album, the New Zealand ensemble – which celebrated their 30th anniversary this past year – make further bows to those psychedelic forebears in ways that leave no doubt as to both their references and reverence. Make no mistake, Mister Pop also lives up to its title’s billing, but given the glassy-eyed chants of “Are You Really On Drugs,” the psychedelic stirrings of “Asleep in the Tunnels” and the celestial send-ups of instrumentals like “Loog” and “Simple Fix,” the band’s cosmic inclinations remain all too evident. Happily, the Clean can still rock – or, shall we say, romp – with songs such as “In the Dream Life You Need a Rubber Soul,” “Tensile” and “Back in the Day,” conveying a distinctly appealing and infectious sound that clings just as mightily to those aforementioned pop precepts. When taken in tandem, Mister Pop provides a strangely surreal serenade. (Merge 2009)

The Clean MySpace page

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Power Pop, Psychedelic

Various Artists: New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love & Rockets

September 16, 2009 /

Say this for New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love & Rockets: at 18 tracks, it is one of the most thorough tribute albums we’ve seen come down the pipe in a while, possibly ever. While this makes for a longer listen than is probably necessary, it stands as a testament to Love & Rockets that so many bands – and so many different kinds of bands, at that – were eager to contribute. Black Francis does his Black Francis thing on “All in My Mind” – it should come as no surprise that the band’s 1986 breakthrough Express is the most covered album, with every song but two appearing here – and the Flaming Lips flip “Kundalini Express” inside out, downplaying the drum track and guitar while running the vocals though what sounds like an old ELO-era voice processor. Better Than Ezra, of all bands, does a straight but effective version of “So Alive,” and Chantal Claret teams up with No Doubt drummer Adrian Young to turn “Lazy” into a frisky striptease. Funny, then, that a tribute album featuring 18 songs would not include some of the band’s best-known tunes; “Haunted When the Minutes Drag,” “Yin and Yang the Flower Pot Men,” “Sweet Lover Hangover” and “Redbird” were all skipped over in favor of deep cuts, and while that’s a diehard fan’s wet dream, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher from a label standpoint. Still, it’s hard to argue with the results, which hit a lot more often than they miss. (Justice Records 2009)

New Tales to Tell MySpace page

Alternative, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Gothic, Pop, Rock

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