Category: CD Reviews (Page 124 of 399)

The Black Hollies: Softly Towards the Light

November 10, 2009 /


RIYL: The Beatles, Happy Mondays, The Takeover UK

Take the late ’60s Beatles and other British blues/psychedelia, shoot it through with early ’90s Madchester energy, add a sprinkle of indie pop sensibility and you get groovy if none-to-deep third album by the Black Hollies. Depth isn’t really necessary for this kind of album, though. Softly Towards the Light is so indebted to its sources that every track seems immediately recognizable, as if you’d heard these songs long ago sitting in front of your parent’s old hi-fi system as a kid. This immediately begs the question, “Why not listen to the originals, then?” and that is where that those “sprinkles” of modern production and indie introspection provide just enough of something different to make it resonate with today. Much of this can be attributed to Justin Angelo Morley’s breathy vocals, which carry a forceful earnestness that gives Doors-esque lines like “Lead me to the fire burning in your soul” an innocence rather than lustful intent. That is something that seems to be missing on Softly Towards… as British Blues had a earthy carnal quality, and Madchester was hedonistic in many ways, the Black Hollies bring a lighter touch that provides an airy, nothing short of happy feeling that is rare in pop music. Happy is usually relegated to overproduced, kid-smiley, bubblegum pop and not considered appropriate for adults. Here, this positive energy works extremely well with the counterpoint of Nicholas Ferrante’s bombastic drumming. The danceable, get-your-feet-moving pleasure of the Black Hollies can be credited to being caught up in Ferrante’s powerful rhythms that manages to ground them just enough to keep the rest of the band from floating away. The power tracks on the album that bring all of this together are the outstanding “Gloomy Monday Morning” in the number two slot, and “Number Ten Girl” with its soulful, darkly trippy groove.

All in all, Softly Toward the Light is an excellent album by the New Jersey quartet, and demonstrates not just a fidelity toward their sources and craft, but a real passion for making these classic sounds their own true expression. Ernest Jenning Record Co.

The Black Hollies MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Psychedelic

Without a Face: Worst Debut Album Ever

November 9, 2009 /


RIYL: Avett Brothers, Daniel Johnston, They Might Be Giants

When you’re setting yourself up for failure by dubbing your first effort the Worst Debut Album Ever, suffice it to say you’re putting the bar so low that any redeeming quality whatsoever makes it seem as if you’ve succeeded. Then again, considering Henry Dillard’s self-deprecating sense of humor, any pronouncement to that effect is relative anyway. On the surface of it, Without a Face, Dillard’s nom de plume, purveys a slacker mentality, all strumming guitars, unruly ranting and a decidedly irreverent and irrepressible attitude. However, there’s something to be said for the entertainment derived from raucous revelations about substance abuse (“Druggie Love”), obsession with an older woman (“31”) and an ode to the dangers of dairy products (“Lactose Intolerance”). And with a goofy hillbilly phone chat (“Worst Intermission Ever”) tossed in for good measure, it seems that Dillard’s guile resides in his ability to play the fool and make the lowest common denominator appear a form of high art. Okay, so Worst Debut Album Ever may not aspire to be anything more than what its name implies, but its unabashed honesty conveys a charm all its own. (Redbird Records)

Without a Face MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop, Punk, Rock

Slayer: World Painted Blood

November 9, 2009 /


RIYL: Sepultura, Pantera, Suicidal Tendencies

Ready… set… SLAYER!! How these guys still crank ’em out after all these years (their debut album, Show No Mercy, turned 25 last year), we may never know. But the important thing about Slayer’s latest, World Painted Blood, is not just how this record drops the band even more firmly back into classic Slayer territory than 2006’s Christ Illusion, but where in that spectrum we find the band. Whether playing Reign in Blood in its entirety for a number of live concerts with original drummer Dave Lombardo (who is back again on World) had any effect on the proceedings, one has to wonder. For that’s the album World most closely resembles, with the title track’s multi-part construct mirroring the classic “Angel of Death.” It also shares space with shorter, punkier numbers like “Psychopathy Red,” which finds Tom Araya shredding his vocal cords more mercilessly than he ever has before.

slayer 2009 edit

Lombardo draws from his ’80s bag of drum tricks, while Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman occasionally reference even their ’90s work with their creepy-sinister guitar riffs, making the case for Slayer as death metal’s own AC/DC – solidly dependable from album to album, sticking to their tried-and-true dark subject matter, and occasionally straying from what made them great, but always sounding like nobody else. (American Recordings 2009)

Slayer MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Metal

Taylor Swift: Fearless – Platinum Edition

November 6, 2009 /


RIYL: Julianne Hough, Miranda Lambert, buying stuff twice

Even by the record industry’s inflated, pre-Internet standards, Taylor Swift’s Fearless was a huge album, particularly for a teenage singer/songwriter on her sophomore release: in less than a year, it sold more than five million copies in the States, spun off a record-breaking 12 Top 40 hits, and provided some of 2009’s only tangible evidence that someone other than Michael Jackson can still sell records. All of which is presumably the only justification Swift’s label needed to join the obnoxious “deluxe reissue” trend by tacking on five brand new recordings, a “piano version” of album track “Forever & Always,” and a bonus DVD containing five music videos, four behind-the-scenes featurettes, a photo gallery, and the infamous CMT Awards clip that found Swift donning a sideways cap and rapping alongside T-Pain as T-Swizzle. It’s a ton of extra content, to be sure – and at Amazon’s loss-leader early price of $14.99, it’s a heckuva bargain, too. And it’s also worth mentioning that in today’s era of a la carte digital distribution, this kind of repackaging isn’t quite as crass as it was before iTunes and Amazon’s MP3 Store came along. Still, Fearless: Platinum Edition fails to resonate on two levels: first, although the new tracks aren’t bad at all, they don’t feel like missing pieces of the original album – which ties into the second problem, which is that at 19 tracks and almost 100 minutes of music, this is a bloated, unfocused version of a record that was pretty close to perfect as it was. Why not release an EP – or better yet, why not save these songs for the next full-length album? Simply to drop a piece of premium-priced product on store shelves in time for the holiday season, when Swift’s many teenaged fans can hit up their loved ones for a copy. Fearless still does a fine job of illustrating Swift’s gifts as a songwriter and performer, but this version just isn’t as much fun. (Big Machine 2009)

Taylor Swift MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Country, Pop

Devendra Banhart: What Will We Be

November 4, 2009 /


RIYL: Donovan, Marc Bolan, Veviter

Toiling within the ranks of the indie underground, Devendra Banhart has managed to elevate himself into the highest ranks of the so-called “freak folk” hierarchy. His last album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, made a pitch to expand that tag, with Banhart attempting to meld his obtuse approach with the idyllic imagery of the L.A. environs that spawned such ‘60s lynchpins as Neil Young, CSN, the Mamas and the Papas, Joni Mitchell, and various others that made music in those hallowed hills. Likewise, his recruitment by the majors – in this case, Warner Bros. records, home to many of those aforementioned icons – seemed to indicate a concerted effort to break through the barriers.

Indeed, while Banhart’s new label affiliation might seem a concession to commercialism, in truth, the results are every bit as eclectic…and, for that matter, every bit as eccentric…as his earlier efforts. The songs are sung in both English and Spanish, and rather than the clear, coherent melodies identified with the so-called Southern California elite, Banhart still shifts his set-ups – often radically and in the space of a single song. Consequently, “Rats” has a somewhat foreboding start before segueing abruptly into a state of kinetic jubilation. The jazzy inference of “Chin Chin & Muck Muck” morphs several times before the song hits its stride. Likewise, “Angelika” might have succeeded as a soothing serenade had it not accelerated midway through into a sizzling Latin samba.

Still, for all his abrupt turns, Banhart retains a decidedly old school stance. His melodies may seem somewhat amorphous, but his quivering vocals and loping tempos frequently recall the pixie-like warble of Donovan and Marc Bolan. A couple of tracks might bode well for future sing-alongs, specifically “16 & Valencia Roxy Music” and the gentle Spanish serenade called “Brindo.” As an album that’s magnified by ambition and grand designs, What Will We Be may well be his best yet. (Warner Bros. 2009)

Devendra Banhart MySpace page
Click to buy What Will We Be from Amazon

Alternative, Americana, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Emo, Folk, New Age, Pop, Progressive, Psychedelic, Rock, Widescreen

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