Category: CD Reviews (Page 87 of 399)

Hole: Nobody’s Daughter

April 29, 2010 /


RIYL: Nirvana, Bush, heroin chic

Ten years removed from its last year, it appears that the ’90s nostalgia wave has officially begun. Alice in Chains pulled a shocking comeback last year, and this year will see the reformation of two of the biggest bands of ’90s alt-rock, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden. The question is, what is driving this musical time warp? Is it the counter-culture – if such a thing still exists these days – rejecting the sounds of today, or a simple cash grab by the bands in question? The truth lies somewhere in between, but if we’re being honest, we suspect it’s closer to the latter than the former.

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That Hole is releasing an album this year as well is probably more coincidence than opportunistic timing. This is only their fourth album in 19 years, after all, so no one can accuse Courtney Love of having anything resembling a master plan. And goodness knows that she surprised a lot of people when Celebrity Skin hit the post-grunge wasteland in 1998, so with the release of Nobody’s Daughter, one is inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt – to a point, anyway. Sure, the album works here and there, but when Love tries to let loose on songs like “Skinny Little Bitch,” “Loser Dust” and “Samantha,” it is in the most mannered way imaginable. Indeed, her attempts to get snotty in that last song reveal Love trying just a bit too hard to be edgy, with the whole “people like you (fuck!) people like me (fuck!)” refrain. Frances Bean is surely in a corner saying, “Stop it, Mom, you’re embarrassing me.”

The album’s best moments come when Love acts her age. Album closer “Never Go Hungry” is a taut acoustic track – and curiously, the only song she wrote without outside assistance – that fits right in with her earlier work. The album could have used more of those and less songs like Linda Perry’s “Letter to God.” In the end, Nobody’s Daughter is slightly more than what one would expect from Love at this point in her life. Here’s to using diminished expectations to your advantage. (Cherry Forever/Island Def Jam 2010)

Hole MySpace page
Click to buy Nobody’s Daughter from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock, Rock Babes

Me, Myself, and iPod 4/28/10: The Silver Seas officially own our souls

April 28, 2010 /

esd ipod

The original title of this post was going to be “Free Crowded House!,” as in I have their new single “Saturday Sun,” which they briefly made available on their web site. I’d repost it here, but that just doesn’t seem right. Plus, I’m loath to do anything that HMFIC, who’s a lawyer, would disapprove of. Sorry, guys. For what it’s worth, it’s good.

The Silver Seas – The Best Things in Life
Their first album, High Society, is one of my favorite albums of the 2000s. Their new one, Chateau Revenge, isn’t far behind, and who knows, it may eclipse its predecessor. It’s not quite as high on the ’70s AM radio sound as the first one, but is yet another first-rate batch of classic pop songs just the same.

April Smith and the Great Picture Show – Movie Loves a Screen
I just love this girl’s voice. Impossibly sunny, and what great pitch. She doesn’t dance around notes – she fucking hits them, hard. And what a sweet refrain. “I just want to mean something to you.” I love a little moon-eyed optimism. It’s a nice antidote to our snark-laden world.

Grosvenor – Taxi from the Airport
Think Joe Jackson’s “Stepping Out” covered by Double (of “Captain of Her Heart” fame), and you’re close. Sophisticated synth pop.

Trentemoller – Sycamore Feeling (Remix Edit)
Fans of Hooverphonic and Propaganda, take note. This moody slice of electro-pop is right in your wheelhouse.

Burning Hotels – To Whom It May Concern
Next time the Airborne Toxic Event is looking for an opening act, they’d be wise to pick these guys.

Kids of 88 – Ribbon of Light
Is it wrong of me for wishing MGMT’s new one sounded more like this?

The Brute Chorus – Could This Be Love?
Attention, Anglophiles. Here’s your next UK buzz band. I like this one because it has a little American swagger in it.

Lawrence Arabia – Apple Pie
Yep, I’m still a sucker for the power pop stuff. Sue me.

Alternative, Ambient, Artists, CD Reviews, Downloads, Electronica, Gothic, Me Myself and iPod, Melodramatic, Pop, Power Pop, Rock, Steal This Song

The New Pornographers: Together

April 28, 2010 /


RIYL: Neko Case, Canada, indie-pop musical theater

Since 2003, there have been only two years in which Carl Newman, leader of the indie-pop superstars the New Pornographers, has not put out an album. And for a stretch there, that was a good thing; you’d be hard pressed to find a one-two-three punch from anyone that rivals the New Porns’ 2003’s Electric Version, Carl’s solo album The Slow Wonder, and the New Porns’ staggering Twin Cinema (2005). That last album had half a dozen songs alone that could each start its own religion.

Since then, the goings have been, well, fine, but a far cry from the band’s best work. Challengers (2007) has aged decently enough, but still doesn’t contain a moment that rivals, say, “The Bleeding Heart Show” or “The Laws Have Changed.” Unfortunately, the band’s latest album, Together, doesn’t contain anything that rivals the best work on Challengers. It’s not a bad record, per se; it’s simply an average record from a band that has to this point been anything but average.

Sure, anyone who likes “Mutiny, I Promise You” will enjoy “Crash Years,” and fans of “Use It” will like the unofficial title track “Your Hands (Together).” Likewise, there are a million bands who would kill to call this album their own. But this is not some other band’s album – it’s a New Pornographers album, and they can frankly do better than this. They didn’t phone it in – the album’s final track, the other unofficial title track “We End Up Together,” is one of those reach-for-the-stars moments – but it appears that Newman’s well is running a little drier than it had been five or so years ago. Hey, writing good songs is hard – there’s a reason only a handful of people are truly good at it. If Newman needs an extra two years between albums to charge the batteries, that’s fine with us. We can wait. (Matador 2010)

New Pornographers MySpace page
Click to buy Together from Amazon

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

Bullet for My Valentine: Fever

April 27, 2010 /


RIYL: Killswitch Engage, Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu

Look no further than the first 80 seconds of Bullet for My Valentine’s third studio album, Fever, to see what these guys are capable of. Those seconds, filled with thumping drums and building guitars, are undoubtedly mosh-worthy, but they aren’t completely indicative of what’s in store with this record. While the band remains as polished as ever technically, the songwriting leaves a lot to be desired and singer Matt Tuck’s vocals go off the glam deep end too often.

The aforementioned opening track, “Your Betrayal,” is one of the album’s better tracks and is a great showcase of Valentine’s love for dynamic guitar solos and layered rhythms. The choruses are catchy enough to not scare the parents and Fever is, without question, the band’s most accessible release to date. “A Place Where You Belong” is an infectious power ballad, as is “Bittersweet Memories.” The first single, “The Last Fight,” has a fist-pumping chorus and energy is not in short supply.

Peppered throughout the record, however, are some seriously groan-inducing moments. Tuck has a great voice, but his persistent whisper becomes obnoxious, as do lyrics like those found in the title track. Try this on for size:

Come here you naughty girl you’re such a tease
You look so beautiful down on your knees
Keep on those high heel shoes rip off all your clothes
You smell so fucking good it makes me lose control!

Even Def Leppard in their heyday would laugh at that. Despite the moments of cheese, Fever is an above-average thrash/melodic metal record that offers great guitar licks and effectively melodic choruses. Bullet for My Valentine will crack an expanded fan base with this offering, but it does come at the expense of some quality in comparison to their previous releases. (Zomba/RED)

Bullet for My Valentine MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Metal, Rock

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

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