Category: Alternative (Page 53 of 155)

Third Eye Blind: Ursa Major

September 23, 2009 /


RIYL: Eve 6, Matchbox Twenty, Better than Ezra

It’s amazing to think rock band Third Eye Blind has been around since the mid-‘90s, but they have as their debut was released in 1996 and spawned not only some of their biggest hits, but some of the best songs of the decade in “Jumper” and “How is It Gonna Be?” as well as lesser known beauties like “Motorcycle Drive By.” But this was a case of setting the bar so high, that there was no place to go but down. And while Third Eye Blind is, according to press materials, one of the most sought-after college campus touring acts and also uses technology to further their career, they seem to have lost the focus on the one thing that matters – making good music. On their latest album and first release in six years, Ursa Major, Stephan Jenkins and company deliver a new batch of songs that are really somewhat dull and lifeless. It’s not that the band lacks energy, it’s that the songs make them sound like they are going through the motions. “Don’t Believe a Word” has elements that made “Semi-Charmed Life” a hit, and “Sharp Knife” has flashes of the band finding that sweet spot. But when Jenkins sings “Let’s Start a Riot” in the opener, “Can You Take Me,” it has all the impact of a cotton ball hitting the ground. And “One in Ten” and “Monotov’s Private Opera” are wussy, bland and really kind of annoying. The early stuff from Third Eye Blind was hooky and had so much raw emotion that you couldn’t help but get sucked in, but Ursa Major will suck you in and spit you out before you even finish listening. (LABEL: Mega Collider)

Third Eye Blind MySpace page

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

Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson: Break Up

September 23, 2009 /


RIYL: Aimee Mann, Mark Geary, Nicole Atlkins

When most people wake up from a deep sleep with a sudden strange and creative urge, little ever comes of it. Then again, Pete Yorn isn’t most people. As he tells it, Yorn awoke just needing to make a duets album, and lucky guy that he is, he’s a personal friend of the beautiful Scarlett Johansson, who proves to be a true chanteuse. Together they recorded a nine-song set of ingenious lo-fi pop, simple in their beauty and deeply resonant on the personal side, and Break Up was born…in 2006. Why this sat for three years gathering dust is beyond us. Yorn described the process of this album as one of the most intimate and controlled on his part, so it took the urging of friends to get him to revisit and release it. We should all send those friends a note of thanks, because this album is like nothing else out there.

Opening with the single “Relator,” you immediately hear the uncharacteristic synth line that bee-bops along until Johansson’s smoky, almost husky vocals hit the ear like a fine shot of bourbon hits the throat. It sounds like some kind of effect was used, but Yorn insists that it is Scarlett au natural. She blends perfectly with Yorn’s classically pained and scratchy growl, and the chemistry between them is obvious. It infects every song with an emotional immediacy. “I Don’t Know What to Do” takes a slight, very slight, country tinge where Johansson is unfortunately relegated to back up, because when she sings, the whole song lights up.

It really is Scarlett’s addition that pushes this album from good to great. “Blackie’s Dead” starts out like something right off of The Day I Forgot until the harmonies of Johansson transform it into something ethereal, carried along by an a haunting steel guitar riff. This kind of song redeems Adult Contemporary because it is grown up, without being safe or boring. A perfect example is “Clean,” which features a more R&B sound, just enough to make Johansson simply ooze through the headphones with a subtly hollow sadness brought forth with the echoing production. This is mature songwriting that loses none of the passionate impact of Yorn’s earlier work.

As the second release of 2009 for Pete, he has completely redeemed any missteps he may have taken with the earlier solo album, Back & Fourth. Both that and Break Up are his self-proclaimed attempts to be more personal and direct with his music, but the latter succeeds far beyond the more prosaic Back & Fourth. Working with Johansson, Yorn has created a a gorgeous album, far beyond anything one would normally expect from a hazy, sleep inspired creative whim. This is art. (Rhino 2009)

Pete Yorn MySpace page

Adult Contemporary, Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Pearl Jam: Backspacer

September 22, 2009 /


RIYL: You’re kidding, right? Recommended if you like Pearl Jam

Backspacer is Pearl Jam’s ninth studio album in their 19th year of existence. Seemingly out to prove that they’re neither resting on their laurels or mellowing with age, it’s one of their most energetic and exciting albums to date, filled with pop hooks and a strange sense of optimism that may scare the die-hards.

Pearl Jam haven’t been very pop-friendly since Yield. Binaural was experimental art-rock, while Riot Act was dark, introspective and depressing. Their 2006 self-titled effort was definitely a step towards the mainstream, but it was also very angry and aggressive, a sign of the Bush-led times perhaps. But Bush is gone, and with his departure Pearl Jam must feel that it’s okay to be upbeat once more, and maybe even popular again.

The album opens with a drug-themed triple-pack; “Gonna See My Friend,” “Got Some,” and “The Fixer.” Although dripping in drug references, none of the three are really about getting high. The titular friend in the first track is a buddy that’s helping someone get off drugs, and the ‘some’ in “Got Some” is actually music, being dealt out like the addictive substance that it is. As for “The Fixer,” that appears to be Eddie himself, proclaiming his ability to make you rock out. Through the quick three-minute stomper he lets you know he’s your one-stop cure for what ails you, “When somethings dark / Lemme shed a little light on it. When somethings old / I wanna put a bit of shine on it.”

Eddie must be riding high from all that fixing, because he’s in such a good mood he’s actually written a couple honest-to-God love songs on Backspacer, a first for the band. “Just Breathe” is a quiet ballad about a man who realizes how lucky he is to find the one he loves, while “Amongst the Waves” is a bombastic proclamation of love using surf imagery to convey how love can conquer all. It’s corny, cheesy and about one step removed from a U2 song, but they get away with it thanks to Eddie’s touching lyrics and a powerful closing guitar solo. The musical formula is copied successfully with the following track “Unthought Known,” although this time the lyrics return to typical abstract themes that are more common ground for Vedder. After a brief return to rock with the catchy-as-all-hell “Supersonic,” the CD closes with three more ballads, ending with the exceptionally strong “The End.”

Backspacer is probably Pearl Jam’s best album of the decade, an obvious, but not pandering, attempt to regain some of the mainstream attention they voluntarily gave up over the years. The older fans might balk at the idea of Eddie and company courting a new audience, but whatever man; a stadium full of 40-year-olds is depressing. (Monkeywrench 2009)

Pearl Jam MySpace Page

Alternative, CD Reviews, Rock

Jupiter One: Sunshower

September 21, 2009 /


RIYL: The Silver Seas, The Shins, The Feeling

Not to be confused with Jupiter Rising, the California duo who received a rather harsh, but fair, beatdown from our own Jason Thompson in 2006, this New York indie pop quartet brings the hooks by the truckload on their sophomore effort Sunshower. The heart of a late ’70s pop band beats at their core – check the cymbal ride, handclaps, and Moog solo in the super-cool “Simple Stones” – but they’re not hiding behind a gimmick. They’re like an American version of the Feeling, comfortable in the present but having more in common with rock bands of the past. “Flaming Arrow” would have fit perfectly on the Silver Seas’ album High Society (itself a brilliant modern-day slice of AM radio heaven), while the power popstastic “Anna” sounds like a lost song from an ’80s soundtrack (starring John Cusack, of course), and “Lights Go Out” recalls a more restrained Foo Fighters.

What this means is that Sunshower will be adored by soundtrack supervisors around the world, but will need a “Garden State” moment in order to break the band into the mainstream. This isn’t right or fair, but this is the music business we’re talking about; half the bands that sell millions don’t deserve it, and vice versa. Sunshower is one of the vice versas. (Rykodisc 2009)

Jupiter One MySpace page

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

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