Category: CD Reviews (Page 137 of 399)

Richard Hawley: Truelove’s Gutter

October 1, 2009 /


RIYL: Roy Orbison, Scott Walker, Nick Cave

Death, taxes…Richard Hawley. The onetime Longpig is not only good for an album of new material every two years, but he’s good for a good album of new material every two years. Hawley went widescreen on 2007’s Lady’s Bridge, but opts for a more stripped-down approach on Truelove’s Gutter, his latest. The songs, as per usual, are the kind of ghostly ballads that would haunt an abandoned ’50s dancehall, which Hawley spices up with the use of a singing saw and a waterphone. (Yes, we had to look up the latter instrument, too.) He’s not in a hurry this time, either – the shortest songs clock in at four and a half minutes, and two of them hit both sides of the ten-minute mark. Amazingly, the epic tracks, “Remorse Code” and “Don’t You Cry,” are two of the album’s finest, breezing by in seemingly half the time. “Soldier On,” meanwhile, could serve as the new textbook definition of “quiet storm.”

Hawley himself surely knows that his success in the UK is a blessing and not a right – his music is blissfully out of time with its surroundings. Don’t be surprised, though, if Truelove’s Gutter ends up burying us all. (Mute 2009)

Richard Hawley MySpace page
Click to buy Truelove’s Gutter from Amazon

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

Karen O and the Kids: Where The Wild Things Are

October 1, 2009 /


RIYL: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deerhunter, The Kills

“Where The Wild Things Are”is a classic for multiple generations, and many (present company included) frequently site it as their favorite book from childhood. So most likely the upcoming film adaptation will mean a lot to kids of all ages, unless it sucks. However, if the soundtrack is any indication to the broad appeal of the film, we probably have nothing to worry about.

The soundtrack is credited to Karen O. and the Kids, but “the kids” are more than just the child singers on back up; they are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bradford Cox from Deerhunter, Dean Fertita from The Dead Weather, Raconteur Jack Lawrence and the Liars’ Aaron Hemphill. That’s a lot of indie rocking, but there’s nary an ounce of pretension to be found here. Instead, there’s something for everyone.

Kids will enjoy the tribal beats and easy-to-sing along choruses of tracks like “All Is Love” and “Capsize,” while hipster 20- and 30-somethings will enjoy the complex and layered instrumentation that is present throughout, and everyone will be in awe once again of Karen O’s remarkable voice, which shows more variety growth here than on any Yeah Yeah Yeahs record. Sure, she may have been quiet before on classics like “Maps,” but she’s never done it as effectively as she does here on haunting, dreamy tracks like “Worried Shoes” (a surprising Daniel Johnston cover) and “Hideaway.” And while Karen’s always wailed with the best of them, she really lets it out on “Animal,” a banging acoustic stomper that serves as one of the few loud points of the album. This is a soundtrack though, and some parts are very score-like, with a good chunk of the second half being mostly instrumental and incidental. Still, it’s very pretty instrumental and incidental music, but those expecting the pop music of the single “All Is Love” should be forewarned.

But that’s a small complaint. This album rocks for all ages. Hipsters and pre-schoolers unite! (DGC/Interscope 2009)

Click to buy Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack from Amazon

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews

The Happy Hollows: Spells

October 1, 2009 /


RIYL: Deerhoof, The Pixies, Q and not U

The Happy Hollows’ world as laid out on their debut full-length album, Spells, is inhabited by monsters, horses, flowers that turn into radios, and all sorts of other colorful characters, both real and imaginary. Such is the place sometimes referred to as Negahdariland, the namesake inner world of the Happy Hollows’ mistress-mind, singer/guitarist Sarah Negahdari.

This psychedelic punk approach radiates excitement of narcotic addictiveness, given a solid driving force by powerhouse drummer Chris Hernandez and nimble bassist Charlie Mahoney, whose often trebly bass lines jump over Sarah’s rhythm guitar to tag team on melody duty, most effectively so on opener “Faces,” on which Sarah declares that she’s trying to “escape from great expectations.” This is the only failure evident on Spells – after three years of high-energy live shows and two solid EPs that hinted at what a full Happy Hollows album could achieve, the band has actually met expectations and produced the most exciting debut album of the year. Props to ex-Mighty Lemon Drop David Newton for capturing the band’s live vibe while also making room for subtle decorations, like the tastefully placed violin in “Turtle and Hare” and “Second Lieutenant,” and punctuating several songs with Sarah’s adorably idiosyncratic background vocals.

You can feel the band smiling and having fun throughout all 14 of the album’s songs, and unconsciously injecting a renewed vitality into punk that has been lost in so many other quarters due to over-production and too many layers of polish. On Spells, the band got it just right. Prepare to fall in love. (Happy Hollows 2009)

The Happy Hollows MySpace

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Punk, Rock

Jemina Pearl: Break It Up

October 1, 2009 /

“It’s not all the cocaine/not a chemical reaction in my brain/that’s making me go insane.” That’s the first line to “Heartbeats,” the opening track of Jemina Pearl’s solo debut Break It Up. It’s nice to see that the lead singer of the recently departed Be Your Own Pet hasn’t lost her edge. Sure, the music behind her vicious and vindictive lyrics may be better tailored for the dance floor than the mosh pit this time around, but this is dance music in the vein of Blondie, using disco beats to accompany dark lyrics and an overall menacing feel. While the Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the same approach this year with their excellent disco revival record It’s Blitz!, Pearl instead goes even further back in time with her dance-pop, instead drawing from ’60s pop music. Songs like “Selfish Heart” and “Ecstatic Appeal” sound like punk rock covers of unreleased Ronnettes songs. And others, like the brilliant “I Hate People,” an ode to misanthropy and true love (featuring Iggy Pop!), are freakish bubblegum pop songs from hell combining easy listening sounds with twisted lyrics and themes. “I Hate People” might just become an anti-love song classic; its chorus of “I hate people but I love you” should be anthem of every punk rocker in love, maybe even becoming a new wedding song. One thing’s for sure – Jemina’s back, she’s still pissed and kicks more ass than ever. (Ecstatic Peace! 2009)

Jemina Pearl MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Punk, Rock

AFI: Crash Love

October 1, 2009 /


RIYL: Alkaline Trio, The Misfits, Naked Raygun

In punk years, AFI have been around for a lifetime. While many of their mid-’90s counterparts have bitten the dust or become completely irrelevant, the Northern California quartet have kept their career fresh through a series of albums where they’ve opened up their material to all sorts of sonic experimentation. The band started out as a dime-a-dozen melodic punk band in the vein of Bad Religion, but their more recent output has revealed everything from synthpop to Goth-rock leanings woven into their assault. For the last decade or so, Davey Havok (vocals) and Jade Puget (guitars) have been the primary driving forces behind AFI’s open-ended songwriting style.

On their newly released album, Crash Love, AFI tone down the electronic flourishes of their last full-length effort (2006’s decemberunderground) which, looking back, did come off heavy-handed at times. Puget’s guitars are pushed to the front of the mix while Havok’s candy-coated vocal melodies take center stage. There are still some of those electro touches included, like the drum loops in “End Transmission,” but they are harder to find. Listeners who fell in love with the band from hits like “Girls Not Grey” and “Silver and Cold” don’t have much to complain about this time out.

“OK, I Feel Better Now” and “I Am Trying Very Hard To Be Here” are the kind of modern rock nuggets that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on their breakthrough Sing the Sorrow album while the pulsating rhythms in “Too Shy to Scream” are sprinkled with Marc Bolan and Suzi Quatro glam dust. Havok and company even prove they can spool together a bonafide pop gem in the irresistible “Veronica Sawyer Smokes.”

Producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee (Bloc Party, Kasabian) does a splendid job of blending the textural nuances with AFI’s anthemic qualities. All of the act’s strengths are at full display on Crash Love and Lee highlights all of the right instrumental spots in all of the right moments. He does especially impressive work with the lead and background vocals and if you know AFI’s discography already, you’ll know how impactful that aspect of their attack is. There isn’t that one song to truly push the album into the four-star range, but you would be hard-pressed to find a better alt-rock record hitting shelves for the rest of the year. (Interscope 2009)

AFI MySpace page

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Rock

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