Category: Pop (Page 100 of 216)

Leo: Leo

November 24, 2008 / Captain Capm

This export from Sweden may have a hard time finding wide acceptance over here in the States. There’s something about the three songs on this debut EP that just doesn’t seem to translate well over the speakers. Leo Nielsen’s voice is fine and strong enough, but he seems to be squandering his talents on overdone performances. The first track here, “Let Go (John’s Song)” is a dramatically sappy piece of pop vocalizing, and by the time it’s all over, Leo’s pleading may have you ripping your hair out. “Don’t Ask” really pushes the meters into the red, while Nielsen’s voice misses many notes consistently, while his own layered backing vocals continue to bring down the song. If ever you wanted to hear a guy really try way too hard, then this is your chance. On the other hand, “Fade” is syrupy enough that it seems like it would strike the right chord in the heart of a gal in her late teens. That’s not saying much, considering we already have enough of that kind of stuff (and far better, for that matter) already clogging the charts. (self-released)

Leo MySpace page

CD Reviews, Pop, Soul, Videos

Leo Leo CD review Sweden

Popdose’s Top 100 songs of the past 50 years: less vomit-inducing than Billboard’s list

November 24, 2008 / David Medsker

It started as a simple “can you believe this?” post and soon morphed into a battle cry. Billboard announced their all-time songs of the Billboard era, and Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” topped the list (the song actually topped Billboard’s singles chart twice), followed by such timeless classics as “Smooth,” “How Do I Live,” “Macarena,” “We Belong Together” and “Un-Break My Heart.”

The Popdose staff, needless to say, was not amused.

And so, we (ESD writers David Medsker, Will Harris, Jeff Giles, Michael Fortes and Mojo Flucke, PhD are all Popdose contributors) set off to create our own list, one that would surely be just as flawed as Billboard’s list – women and non-whites are woefully underrepresented – but would have infinitely better taste. In the end, I think our list is a grand example of our extreme whiteness, but also a damned fine list. I’m still pissed that “The Air That I Breathe” didn’t make the cut, though.

To view Popdose’s Top 100 songs of the past 50 years, click here.

Alternative, Americana, Artists, Blues, Dance, Lists, Metal, Pop, Power Pop, R&B, Rap, Rock, Songs, Soul

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Taxi Doll: Here and Now

November 14, 2008 / James B. Eldred

Taxi Doll combine rock music (and a hot female lead singer) with electronica in a way that may draw comparisons to Garbage. In fact they describe themselves as “Garbage meets Blondie.” However, the reality is that they are more like Garbage minus Blondie in that they have much of the electronic sound and high production quality of Garbage, but forgot to add the edgy attitude and dark side that Shirley Manson and company are so well known for. Not only does the band lack attitude on their debut album Here and Now, they are also lacking anything that remotely resembles something close to memorable, good or bad. This album is the sound of “blah”, sonic beige wallpaper, utterly forgettable and harmless. It lacks the punch of better electronic pop music like Robyn and also lacks the ear-splitting awfulness of over-produced debacles like Katy Perry. If you hate pop music you’re not going to be driven crazy by Taxi Doll, and if you like pop music there’s nothing you’ll go crazy over. Taxi Doll is a suitable name, because this is a group that has about as much emotion and depth as a plastic Barbie doll. (Antidote 2008)

Taxi Doll MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Pop

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Sandra McCracken: Red Balloon

November 14, 2008 / David Medsker

Derek Webb’s better half has raised her Q factor considerably this year, first with the dazzling Ampersand EP with husband Webb and now Red Balloon, her sixth solo album. Split into two sides – literally, the album contains two CDs, each housing five songs – the album features the kind of wistful acoustic pop that Sheryl Crow might make after listening to a bunch of Sarah McLachlan records, though Crow hasn’t written a song as catchy as “Lock and Key” or “On the Outside” in years. Sometimes the album gets a tad too maudlin, as on “Saturn’s Fields,” but there is no denying that McCracken is a gifted singer and songwriter in an age where anyone with a guitar and a notebook filled with Dear John letters fancies him or herself a gifted songwriter. That she’s not playing these songs on a larger stage is borderline criminal. (Sandra McCracken Music)

Sandra McCracken MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop

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Sixpence None the Richer: The Dawn of Grace

November 14, 2008 / Lee Zimmerman

When Sixpence None the Richer’s breakup proved temporary in 2004, it seemed only natural that a holiday album would provide the inevitable impetus to bring them back together. Though the band has been back together for at least a year, The Dawn of Grace is confirmation of the band’s spiritual solidarity, a religious thread that’s been woven into their music since the beginning. Singer Leigh Nash is still the group’s most identifying element, her waif-like vocals imbuing the sweetness in their sound and an angelic presence that’s an apt ingredient when it comes to heralding in the holidays. Here the band sample from both the spiritual and the secular, mixing in the obvious (“Silent Night,” yet another read of Joni Mitchell’s “The River,” now a seasonal standard) with a few pop pieces that tie into the holiday joy (the tropically sway of “Christmas Island,” a gentle and caressing “Christmas for Two”) and pull it all off with equal aplomb. The group’s willowy sound doesn’t infuse any deeper meaning that isn’t gleaned already from the inclusion of the more reverent selections, but as a pleasant aside, The Dawn of Grace is a lovely, if low-cast, bit of seasonal solace. (La Face)

Sixpence None The Richer website page