Category: CD QuickTakes (Page 69 of 149)

Leslie and the Badgers: Roomful of Smoke

September 4, 2009 /

As fitting an album title as we’ve seen in ages. Not only does the latest effort from Los Angeles ork-country outfit Leslie and the Badgers sound like a roomful of smoke, you can also taste the stale beer at the bar, smell the exhaust from the van that’s already on its way to the next show, and hear the sizzle of the overdone eggs at the diner that opens at 0-dark-thirty. The band doesn’t sound as rough around the edges as those hallmarks to life on the road might indicate; outside of singer Leslie Stevens’ Dolly Parton-ish twang, Roomful of Smoke is a very modern-sounding album that happens to be steeped in traditional country, which means lots of fiddles and broken hearts by the pound. (They even pull out a singing saw for “If I Was a Linen.”) “Winter Fugue,” however, sounds like a lost Jayhawks track, while the playful two-step “Don Juan” will surely be every scorned college girl’s best friend. It’s tempting to refer to Leslie and the Badgers as the real Lonely Hearts Club Band, but with songs like these, we’re guessing Leslie and her mates don’t spend much time alone. (Leslie and the Badgers 2009)

Leslie and the Badgers MySpace page

Americana, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Pop

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

Kate Earl: Kate Earl

August 28, 2009 /

Earl’s 2005 debut, Fate Is the Hunter, came and went with barely a whisper, which might be why her sophomore effort takes no chances: With Earl’s name (and thoroughly enjoyable face) plastered across its garishly bright artwork, Kate Earl would leap off store shelves if there still were any. Musically speaking, these 11 songs cover plenty of bases too, from the moody, vaguely Dido-ish “Nobody” to the charmingly retro “Only in Dreams,” which sounds like Olivia Newton-John recording a Phil Spector tribute with Imogen Heap behind the boards. (In other words, awesome.) After drawing the listener in with a stack of unapologetically (and, it must be said, pleasantly) commercial pop tunes, Earl wisely spends the back half of the album getting deep. Tracks like “Golden Street” lack the bright melodic sparkle of Earl’s earlier cuts, but they also prove she has something more to say than “a love like this is everlasting” (from “Everlasting,” natch). An Alaska native, Earl may have picked the wrong year for her breakout – the poor girl will have to answer as many questions about Sarah Palin as she will about her own music – but she’s still primed for her major-label breakout. Whatever that means in 2009, anyway. For pop fans who can’t stomach Colbie Caillat levels of saccharine sweetness, Kate Earl is one of this year’s better bets. (Universal Republic 2009)

Kate Earl MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

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

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