Category: Adult Contemporary (Page 7 of 16)

The Trashcan Sinatras: In the Music

May 20, 2010 /


RIYL: Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, Magnetic Fields

By all rights, the Trashcan Sinatras should have broken up years ago. Only one of their five albums was met with good timing, and that was their 1990 debut Cake. From there, they have suffered a relentless tide of apathy, both from the public (their album I’ve Seen Everything landed while grunge was in full swing) and even label bosses (Go! Discs didn’t bother releasing 1996’s A Happy Pocket in the States). But Kilmarnock’s finest have soldiered on, staring down bankruptcy and the inevitable pressures of family life to do what they love. And for that, they have attracted one of the most loyal fan bases any band has ever known. As our Popdose colleague John Hughes once wryly observed, there is no such thing as a casual fan of the Trashcan Sinatras.

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Even their most recent album, In the Music, has its share of melodrama. The album was originally supposed to come out last fall, but the distribution deal fell through just as they were embarking on their first US tour in five years. But the album is finally out, and in fact its release snuck up on us, which doesn’t bode well for the promotional efforts being done on its behalf. (Seriously, we get close to 50 music press releases a day, but no one’s working the Trashcan Sinatras?) Looks like, as guitarist Paul Livingston pointed out in an interview last summer, that they’ll be selling their records to the same people once again.

Pity, because they’ve just made another gem. In the Music is similar in tone to the band’s 2004 album Weightlifting, in that both are quite mannered in comparison to their earlier work (which in itself was not exactly raucous to begin with). Fans of the “How Can I Apply…” mode of the band’s work will find much to love here, particularly “Easy on the Eye” and “Oranges & Apples,” the band’s tribute to Syd Barrett and their first song to top the seven-minute mark. They even got Carly Simon to sing on the ballad “Should I Pray.” The most rocking moment here is “Prisons,” which is chock full of the vintage Trashcans jangly guitar riffs, and “Morning Star” sports the most widescreen chorus the band’s written in years.

If the album is missing anything – besides promotional support, that is – it’s a few shifts in tempo. Yes, it’s all gorgeous, but anyone longing for a “Bloodrush” or “Welcome Back,” or even another “Hayfever,” will be left wanting. In other words, as much as the band wants people outside of their existing fan base to buy their albums, In the Music is probably not going to do the trick. It’s perfectly lovely, but it’s also preaching to the converted. Still, better that than not preaching at all. (Lo-Five Records 2010)

Trashcan Sinatras MySpace page
Click to buy In the Music from Amazon

Adult Contemporary, Artists, CD Reviews, Pop

Court Yard Hounds: Court Yard Hounds

May 5, 2010 /


RIYL: The Dixie Chicks, The Jayhawks, Sugarland

It’s strange to think that Taking the Long Way, the monster crossover smash by Texas spitfires the Dixie Chicks, is only four years old. The battle cry of three women who had had enough of being called unpatriotic for committing country music heresy by being anti-war, chastising George W. Bush…four years old. It’s amazing what a new President will do to perspective, even if virtually nothing else has changed.

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Sisters Emily Robison and Martie Macguire were eager to record another Dixie Chicks album, but lead singer Natalie Maines said she wasn’t ready yet, so the Erwin girls went on without her. Dubbing their offshoot Court Yard Hounds, the girls’ eponymous debut sounds exactly like you’d expect a Dixie Chicks spinoff to sound. Maguire plucks and bows anything she can get her hands on, Robison has words for her ex-husband, and the two sing their little hearts out while the Chicks’ backing band, including Maines’ father Lloyd, fleshes everything out. “The Coast” is a positively soaring slice of alt-country, the kind of thing that will have Jayhawks fans swooning. The girls even rock out a little on “Ain’t No Son.” Nothing here reinvents the wheel, but it’s not really meant to; it’s simply a well crafted country pop record, just in time for summer. Dig in. (Columbia 2010)

Court Yard Hounds MySpace page
Click to buy Court Yard Hounds from Amazon

Adult Contemporary, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Pop, Rock

Me, Myself, and iPod 5/5/10: Lolene must be stopped

May 5, 2010 /

esd ipod

Yep, it’s community service week at Me, Myself and iPod, where I launch a full-scale attack on a seemingly innocuous pop singer. What makes this singer so much more offensive than the gaggle of singers just like her? You’ll see.

Oh Mercy – Can’t Fight It
These guys are quickly becoming the house band of Me, Myself and iPod, as this is the second song from their debut album Privileged Woes that we’ve highlighted to date. (You can find the other song, “Lay Everything on Me,” here.) We even interviewed the band’s lead singer Alexander Gow a couple weeks ago. Nice kid, and he’s working with Mitchell Froom on their second record. If the mention of Froom’s name perked up your ears, that’s probably because you like Crowded House, and if you like them, you’ll probably like these guys, too.

The Knocks – Blackout
Fans of Chromeo will dig this retro slice of ’70s funk. If the Trammps were around today, they might sound like this.

The Protomen – Light Up the Night
The synths! The lead singer with a tremolo-laden tenor! The synthetic drums! All this song is missing is a montage of Sylvester Stallone working out in the wilderness as he prepares to dethrone the world champion…something or other.

Justine Bennett – Heavy Feeling
Joni Mitchell covering “Losing My Religion”? Yeah, that’ll work.

Alcoholic Faith Mission – My Eyes to See
Always a tricky thing to put any word referencing booze in your band name – what if one of its members has to go to rehab? – but this nifty little tune sounds like Polyphonic Spree crossed with Sunny Day Sets Fire. Big, catchy, and a little dark.

Hunter Valentine – The Stalker
Girl power! This all-girl trio – from Brooklyn, of course – kicks some serious tail. Plus, they serve as a good antidote to the toxic mess that follows.

Lolene – Rich (Fake It Til You Make It)
And here we…go.

Listen, I know that music is about rebellion, blowing off steam, getting a little crazy, blah blah blah. But look at this chorus:

I talk like I’m rich, I walk like I’m rich
I spend like I’m rich, but I ain’t got no money
I think like I’m rich, I drink like I’m rich
I live like I’m rich / Hey hey, Hollywood
Fake it til I make it, fake it til I make it

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

I know that the kiddos are dazzled by celebrity culture, and how even Asian leprechaun attention whores and New Jersey dropouts can be considered “stars” in some warped definition of the word. But this whole ‘act like you’re rolling in dough’ thing is just irresponsible. So you’re maxing out your credit cards in order to give off the impression that you’re fabulous. I reiterate: you’re putting on a show for people who don’t know you, in the hopes that…what, exactly? Someone will make a star out of you because you’re living the lifestyle? (Not life, mind you, but lifestyle.) What happens when it doesn’t work out? You’re bankrupt, both literally and figuratively.

Here’s the thing, kids: fame ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. It is not the end-all-be-all of life, the ultimate goal. And most of the people who are famous, the movie stars, the athletes, they didn’t make it by faking it – they worked really, really hard to get where they are. They didn’t just try to dazzle the bouncers with charm (and if that doesn’t work, a blowjob) in order to get VIP treatment. Our little friend Lolene here is applying for what I call a Fake Celebrity card, the people who are discussed in gossip mags and arrange photo ops with the paparazzi, but will never be invited to George Clooney’s house, or even attend the same parties he goes to. It’s the Siberia of celebritydom. Who in their right minds would want to live there?

So if I find this so offensive, you ask, why am I offering the song for download? Because, if everyone who wants the song downloads it for free, then she won’t make any money from it, thus forcing her to continue to fake it without ever making it. This song sets a bad example, and there are already too many people who think that your lifestyle is more important than your life. The idea of someone actually becoming famous by writing a song about being desperate for fame, well, this might cause time and space to fold on itself. Time to grow up, kids. Get a job, and join the rest of us in the real world.

The really weird part about all this is that Lolene is British. You’d think she’d have more sense than this. I guess there are fame whores all around the world.

Adult Contemporary, Alternative, Americana, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Downloads, Funk, Me Myself and iPod, Pop, Rock, Steal This Song

Rufus Wainwright: All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu

April 23, 2010 /


RIYL: Leonard Cohen, George Gershwin, deathly seriousness

All musicians should have Rufus Wainwright’s ambition, with a reach that far, far exceeds their grasp the way his does. The only catch, of course, is that there is no guarantee that you will like what he’s reaching for from one album to the next. He’s like Neil Young in the ’80s, only without the whole ‘fuck you Geffen’ thing.

There are two clear phases to his career at this point: the pop years (his 1998 debut, 2001’s Poses, and 2003’s Want One), and the stage years, which is everything he’s released after Want One. Hell, the man did a show as Judy Garland, so Broadway clearly appeals to him more than conventional popular music. And that’s okay: the man is nothing if not melodramatic, so he’s wise to play to his strengths.

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This time around, though, the ‘melo’ to ‘drama’ ratio is tilted mightily in favor of the former. All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, Wainwright’s first studio effort since 2007’s Release the Stars, is Rufus armed only with a piano, a stark contrast to the elaborate productions he’s been assembling for the last, well, ten years now. It’s pretty, but hot damn, is it maudlin. Wainwright’s pulse quickens only three times here, and they wisely opened the album with one of them: “Who Are You New York?” has the album’s biggest hooks both vocally and musically, with “Give Me What I Want and Give It to Me Now” not far behind. Someone needs to talk to him, though, about his tendency to draw out the syllables to the point where it doesn’t sound like he’s singing actual words. Entire songs can go by without a single lyric leaving a mark, and when it’s one of the, ahem, many ballads that All Days Are Nights sports, the experience of listening to the album can get laborious in a hurry.

In a business where promising careers get smashed by simple-minded executives who want to put a square peg in a round hole, Rufus Wainwright is one of the few artists who could stand to benefit from a little direction. Unless, of course, Wainwright is actually trying to make albums that appeal to fewer and fewer people, in which case he should continue doing exactly what he’s doing. All Days Are Nights is fine for what it is, but if he doesn’t watch it, Wainwright’s subsequent releases will be given the same fanfare as a new album by Sarah Brightman. (Decca 2010)

Rufus Wainwright MySpace page
Click to buy All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu from Amazon

Adult Contemporary, Artists, CD Reviews, Melodramatic, Pop, Vocal

Jakob Dylan: Women and Country

April 22, 2010 /


RIYL: Bob Dylan, Neko Case, T-Bone Burnett

Jakob Dylan is back for his second solo album, sans Wallflowers, and he’s delivered an Americana gem. There’s not much in the way of the rock or roll here, but that clearly isn’t Dylan’s intention. There’s a mature vibe that sounds not altogether unlike some of the recent output from his dad. Jakob Dylan has teamed with producer and longtime friend T-Bone Burnett (who also produced the Wallflowers’ breakthrough album Bringing Down the Horse) to craft an old-school album of bluesy, alt-country majesty. The addition of the fabulous Neko Case and her backing singer Kelly Hogan adds an extra quality that lifts the songs to a higher plane. Instrumental enhancement from pedal steel guitar, fiddle and banjo also help to generate an authentic, way old-school sound.

Much of the album sounds like it could work as a soundtrack for a Clint Eastwood western about pioneers trying to make it through hard times, and that vibe fits all too well here in this foul economic year of our Lord 2010. “Nothing but the Whole Wide World” and “Down on Our Own Shield” open the album and immediately establish a rich sound with lush, bluesy guitars and the sweet backing vocals from Case and Hogan. “Lend a Hand” mixes it up a little by adding in some horns that conjure the Preservation Hall Jazz Band sound of New Orleans. “We Don’t Live Here Anymore” comes out with a somber vibe, but in solidarity with those suffering from home foreclosure. The backing vocals provide a haunting quality, and there’s rich texture from some timely banjo plucking by David Mansfield. “Everybody’s Hurting” mines a similar thematic vein, a retro throwback to another time, yet tuned into a lamentable 21st century zeitgeist. Mansfield strikes again by adding some sad fiddle to enhance the vibe.

“Holy Rollers for Love” is a little more uplifting with a major key tone, but still follows the down-tempo American template that informs the album. “Truth for a Truth” conjures a “High Plains Drifter” gunslinger mode with lyrics that speak of “an eye for an eye, a truth for a truth.” “They’ve Trapped Us Boys” is almost a little bit of a hoedown with its walking bass and mandolin strums, and is enhanced with glimmering pedal steel and angelic vocals as Case and Hogan sing “shine a light, shine a light.” “Standing Eight Count” closes the album with a horn intro that sounds similar to the theme from “Rocky,” followed by the album’s strongest beat to wrap it up with something of a triumphant, upbeat vibe. (Columbia 2010)

Jakob Dylan MySpace page MySpace page

Adult Contemporary, Americana, CD Reviews, Folk

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