Category: Alternative (Page 12 of 155)

The Posies: Blood/Candy

October 7, 2010 /


RIYL: Big Star, Matthew Sweet, the Foo Fighters

The Posies deliver their first album since 2005 here, and it’s a mixed bag. There’s a handful of songs that rival the Seattle-rooted band’s best work on Frosting on the Beater, their 1993 alternative-era classic. Big melodic hooks, vintage gear, soaring vocals with depth, rich harmonies; these are great to hear in 2010. But there are other songs where it sounds like band leaders Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow couldn’t agree on which direction to go, and fused competing ideas together in odd ways that don’t quite gel. Either that or some of their mutual ideas were just weird. There’s an admirable effort at musical sophistication, but their best tunes tend to be the ones that keep it simple because these guys write really great hooks.

Posies_01

The first three songs all feature guest vocalists, but in subtle fashion. “Plastic Paperbacks” uses some low-end vocals from punk legend Hugh Cornwall of the Stranglers. It’s more of an embellishment than a major factor in the mid-tempo track, based around a melodic piano part and some atmospheric guitar. It feels like a bit of a misfire. But “The Glitter Prize,” featuring Kay Hanley from Letters to Cleo, is a tune with the classic Posies sound. It’s upbeat with layered guitars, a groovy bass line and infectious vocals. It’s too bad that Hanley is buried so deep in the mix, because this power pop gem is the best song on the album. Lisa Lobsinger from Broken Social Scene is a guest on the Beatlesque “Licenses to Hide,” but the tune sounds like Lennon and McCartney had an argument while writing the song and neither would budge (the Lennon-esque parts are better).

“So Caroline” gets back to the melodic rocking that the Posies do so well. “Take Care of Yourself” is another good one in a similar vein, but goes in a bluesier direction. “Cleopatra Street” mixes in some heavier guitar sounds and has some interesting psychedelia, but feels disjointed. “For the Ashes” brings in some Sgt. Pepper psychedelic vocal effects, but doesn’t really soar. “Accidental Architecture” is all over the place. It probably felt very creative in the studio, but it won’t likely last long in the band’s live repertoire.

“She’s Coming Down Again” has the band’s upbeat sound, but with some darker lyrics about a girl’s apparent drug problem. “Notion 99” is a dynamic tune with big drums and various sonic counterpoints, but seems like it would benefit from some thicker guitars. “Holiday Hours” never really gets going, but “Enewtak” closes the album with some majestic rock momentum. It’s too bad the album couldn’t have been a little more consistent, but you can’t really fault the band for seeking to experiment instead of just re-hashing a tried and true formula. It’s a fine line, but the bottom line is that it’s still great to hear Auer and Stringfellow working together again. (Rykodisc 2010)

The Posies MySpace page

Alternative, CD Reviews, Power Pop, Psychedelic, Rock

Spot the Similarity: Linkin Park’s “Robot Boy” vs. Semisonic’s “She’s Got My Number”

October 7, 2010 /

Welcome to the debut of Spot the Similarity, where we take two songs and, well, do we really need to explain the purpose of the column?

Pop songwriting is hard. There are only a handful of chords, and underneath that, there are only a handful of chord progressions that will register as pleasing to the ears, so it comes as no surprise that sometimes a band looks as if they were caught peeking at someone else’s paper during the final exam, even if they weren’t. It could be a riff, or a vocal melody, or a certain rhythm.

Or, in this case, it could be several things.

Now, let’s just state for the record that we do not believe for a second that Linkin Park were trying to steal from anyone. They take their music much too seriously to do such a thing. But, for the sake of argument, take a listen to “Robot Boy,” from their impressive new album A Thousand Suns.

Sweet little tune, right? Now, if you please, check out “She’s Got My Number,” from Semisonic’s 2001 album All About Chemistry.

Wowzers. Peas in a pod, these two songs. Lots of piano, eerily similar drum tracks, big swells towards the end. The chord progressions are different, no question, but not terribly different. Was Linkin Park aware of the existence of “She’s Got My Number”? Doubtful. The only link between the two bands is Rick Rubin, who produced Semisonic singer and principal songwriter Dan Wilson’s 2007 solo album Free Life as well as Linkin Park’s last two albums. But since Rubin didn’t get involved with Wilson until well after Chemistry was released, it’s safe to say that he’s never heard “She’s Got My Number,” which means Linkin Park probably hadn’t either, since they were still doing the angsty nu-metal thing at the time.

We have not reached out to anyone in Linkin Park for comment – because really, that would look like we’re accusing them of plagiarism, and we’re not – but we did send “Robot Boy” to Dan Wilson, and he told us this: “I usually don’t hear it when people tell me something sounds like a track of mine, but I totally hear it with this. Thanks for the note, it reminds me how much I like ‘She’s Got My Number.’ And now I like ‘Robot Boy.'” Awww, how cute is that? We love a happy ending.

Click to buy Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns from Amazon
Click to buy Semisonic’s All About Chemistry from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock, Spot the Similarity

Dan Wilson: Live at the Pantages

October 7, 2010 /


RIYL: Semisonic, Better Than Ezra, Gabe Dixon

It may not hit you all at once, but the more you listen to and read about singer/songwriter Dan Wilson, the more you realize just how many cool friends and colleagues the guy has. It’s not that he co-founded rock band Semisonic and had some overnight success with “Closing Time,” or that he won a Grammy when co-writing some tracks from the Dixie Chicks’ 2006 album Taking the Long Way. Wilson has written with or is slated to write with the likes of Josh Groban, Adele, the Bravery, Keith Urban, Jason Mraz and KT Tunstall. But he is as riveting a solo performer as you’ll ever see and hear, based on his timeless songs and instantly recognizable voice.

While he’s between studio albums, fans of Wilson can enjoy the digitally-released Live at the Pantages, recorded in Wilson’s hometown of Minneapolis and featuring songs from his acclaimed Free Life album from 2007, as well as a few of the old Semisonic stand-bys. He begins with a solo acoustic set on guitar and piano and then comes back with a full band set, both with his voice and the songs front and center. You won’t find a live album anywhere this clean, sonically. And the songs are bordering on stunning – in particular when Wilson plays “Honey Please” from Free Life, or “Secret Smile” from the landmark Semisonic album, Feeling Strangely Fine. But here is what separates Wilson from any other singer/songwriter – the two brilliant co-writes her performs here—“All Will Be Well,” with Nashville roots rocker Gabe Dixon, and “One True Love,” written along with the great Carole King and first appearing on Semisonic’s All About Chemistry. If you don’t have goose bumps now, you will when hear Wilson sing the latter. In all, Live at the Pantages is a truly awesome storytelling effort. (Ballroom Music 2010)

Dan Wilson MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Mark Ronson: Record Collection

October 6, 2010 /


RIYL: Taking ’60s pop and hip hop and throwing them into a blender

As the DKNY poster boy and the It producer for nearly everything out of the UK since 2006 (Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Kaiser Chiefs, and Duran Duran’s upcoming album), Mark Ronson has reached Timbaland levels of productivity of late without suffering from Timbaland levels of overexposure. Granted, much of that is due to his work’s general lack of commercial crossover in the States – of all the pop artists he’s worked with, only his work with Winehouse has cracked the US Top 40 – but chart success or not, it stands to reason that someone with seven producer credits since the beginning of 2009 alone would need a break. Instead, Ronson has decided to release another solo album.

Mark_Ronson_03

Record Collection, Ronson’s third solo album and first since 2007’s all-covers project Version, sounds exactly like his other work; tasteful drum programs (the most organic drum machines you’ll ever hear), ’60s-style pop songwriting, a dash of early ’80s synth pop, some two-step, and lots and lots of guest performers, prodiminantly from the world of hip hop. Most of the time, Ronson matches song to singer (and/or rapper) quite well, particularly the hoppin’ leadoff track (and first single) “Bang Bang Bang” and “Somebody to Love Me,” which sports a haunting vocal from Boy George. Ronson splits vocal duties with Simon Le Bon on the dark wave title track, an amusing stab at the here-today-gone-today nature of the music business and the best song Le Bon’s sung in half a decade (“I made a mint in 1987, now I’m living in my parking space”).

There are times, though, when Record Collection could have benefited from a little less busyness. Did the Nuggets-riffing “The Bike Song” really need a rap break from Spank Rock? It’s great that Ronson loves ’60s pop and hip hop, but the two really have no business hooking up, and “The Bike Song” and “Lost It (In the End”) would have been better off if they hadn’t employed the kitchen sink approach. As it is, Record Collection, is one of the more diverse and hook-laden pop records you’ll hear this year. One wonders, though, if it could have reached instant classic status had Ronson reined things in a bit. (RCA 2010)

Mark Ronson MySpace
Click to buy Record Collection from Amazon

'60s, Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Hip Hop, Hipster, Pop, R&B

Marnie Stern: Marnie Stern

October 6, 2010 /


RIYL: Hella, Steve Vai, Sleater-Kinney

Marnie Stern’s wackshit crazy combination of Van Halen-style guitar fingertapping and riot grrl rock really came together on her ridiculously named sophomore album that I will refer to in shorthand as This Is It. So much so that I named it the fifth best album of the decade. Now she’s back with her third album, which forgoes a marathon title and is just self-titled, thank God. Typing out that last one was a mother).

This Is It was an album of all peaks. Not only were all the songs amazing, but they were all manic explosions of emotion. Blistering combinations of lightning guitar work by Marnie and frantic breakbeats by Hella drummer Zach Hill with Marnie’s bizarre yet endearing stream-of-consciousness lyrics created a dream/acid-trip experience that was one of a kind. This album isn’t as insane as that, but it’s still pretty damn nuts. The biggest change is that Marnie actually slows things down this time around on tracks like “Transparency Is the New Mystery” and in the closer “The Things You Notice.” The down-tempo is jarring at first, but what the slower songs lack in energy, they make up for with melody and complexity.

The quieter numbers are the exception though, as most of the songs, like the awesomely-titled “Female Guitar Players Are the New Black” are trademark frantic and manic Marnie. “For Ash” is a track especially worth noting. A memorial to an ex who committed suicide, it has all the power, energy and emotion of any song on This Is It times a hundred. Maybe that’s why Marnie Stern isn’t as over-the-top as the previous album – she blew all the energy on that one track. Still, when the worst you can say about an album is that it’s only almost as good as an album that was one of the best records of the decade, that’s not much of an insult. (Kill Rock Stars 2010)

Marnie Stern MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Psychedelic, Rock

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑