In an age where people equate melisma with talent, Shingai Shoniwa is a godsend. Of course, she’d be a godsend at any point in time, but she’s particularly welcome now. The lead singer for the UK indie rock group the Noisettes is a force of nature, but she’s no showoff; she does what’s best for the song (a lost art, to be sure), and the batch of songs she and her bandmates have brewed up for Wild Young Hearts, the band’s sophomore effort, are exceptional. (“Saturday Night Live” will surely come a-calling soon.) The label is shrewdly playing the Amy Winehouse card by releasing the Motown-ish “Never Forget You” as the first single – and that’s a good call, as it’s one of the album’s finest moments – but don’t write the Noisettes off as Back to Black imitators. They’re a guitar-driven pop band at their core, as the title track and “Beat of My Heart” will attest, but if we’re being honest, the ballads rule the roost. “24 Hours” is a wistful tale about a very recent fling, “Every Now and Then” has one of those unforgettable descending chord sequences in the chorus, and the Bacharach-cribbing album closer “Cheap Kicks” is an instant classic. All bands should be blessed to have a singer with the versatility that Shoniwa shows here. (Mercury 2009)
Category: Rock (Page 84 of 241)
In the wake of Patrick Swayze’s passing, we have a sudden urge to post something that will, you know, actually do some good, so when we heard about an upcoming concert at Chicago’s House of Blues featuring Gavin Rossdale that will go to benefit the Lukemia & Lymphoma Society, we said hell, yes.
Come on, are you really going to say ‘no’ to that face? Gwen Stefani doesn’t even say ‘no’ to that face.
Here’s the deal: it’s called Dare 2 Dream: A Special Evening with Gavin Rossdale, it takes place November 5, and it will feature a silent auction where bidders are vying for the opportunity to meet Cheekbones McLadykiller himself – if that sounds like we’re poking fun at him, rest assured we’re not, especially not after Rossdale charmed the daylights out of us in an interview last year – where every $5 donated is worth an entry into the grand prize drawing. They are even hosting a contest for bands to determine who gets to open for Rossdale that night, so keep your eyes peeled on SonicBids for more info on that.
Tickets went on sale this past weekend, so if you’re interested in attending, we suggest you get yer tix now. We’ve been to several shows at the Chicago House of Blues, and they invariably sell out. And make sure you cheer for Gavin’s new stuff. It’s better than you think.
For more information about Dare 2 Dream: A Special Evening with Gavin Rossdale, click here.
Muse has always been careful to balance their lyrical paranoia with a vast arsenal of sonic weaponry, turning the negativity of songs like “Map of the Problematique” and “Stockholm Syndrome” into lighter-waving anthems for the dance floor or the mosh pit. They came close to tipping the balance on 2006’s Black Holes and Revelations – surprise, singer and lyricist Matthew Bellamy was angry about the Iraq War – but fortunately for them they had cooked up their best batch of songs to go with those anti-war tirades and ‘die with your boots on’ battle cries. The album became the band’s first US Top Ten hit and vaulted the British trio into the rock’s upper echelon. If you need more proof of the band’s growing status among rock aficionados, look no further than the inclusion of Bellamy as an unlockable guitarist in “Guitar Hero 5.”
After a hellacious tour schedule – which produced the stopgap live album H.A.A.R.P. – the band finally settled down long enough to enter the studio and prepare for the follow-up album. It was here that they decided to do what no prog band should ever be allowed to do: produce the album themselves. Any band as musically gifted as Muse needs an outside voice of reason, someone to rein them in when they’re tempted to go even more over the top than they already go. More importantly, the band could have used someone to tell them that they’re repeating themselves far too frequently. Granted, the main musical thrust behind The Resistance may be unique in that this album is more symphonic than their previous efforts, but several of these songs echo the band’s earlier work, sometimes lazily so.
Take leadoff track and first single “Uprising,” for example. This is “Knights of Cydonia” crossed with the original theme for “Doctor Who,” with its chorus lines “They will not control us, we will be victorious” a near-identical photocopy of “You and I must fight for our rights, you and I must fight to survive.” Even the keyboard riff that appears in the “Cydonia” vocal break is repeated here. “Guiding Light,” meanwhile is “Invincible” – which itself stole giant chunks of Keane’s “Everybody’s Changing” – crossed with Ultravox’s “Vienna,” and the second section in the three-part “Exogenesis” symphony, “Cross Pollination,” begins with a rehash of Bellamy’s piano break from the Absolution track “Butterflies and Hurricanes.” This isn’t the first time the band was guilty of borrowing an idea from an earlier song, but it is the first time they’ve been so obvious about it.
The album’s best moments are when the band ventures the farthest outside of their comfort zone. “Undisclosed Desires” features pizzicato strings and equally plucky bass work from Chris Wolstenholme, and is a nice slice of mid-tempo pop complete with simple, machine-like drum work from Dominic Howard. The biggest surprise, though, is “I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S’ouvre A Ta Voix),” a bouncy, piano-driven number that will have Rufus Wainwright seething with jealousy. As lovely as that song is, though, did it really need a two-and-a-half-minute interlude? This is where the presence of former producer Rich Costey, or anyone for that matter, would have come in handy; Muse loses focus far too often, indulging in whatever musical detour presents itself. The none-more-Queen “United States of Eurasia” suffers from this as well, ending a Middle Eastern-tinged stomper with a lilting, two-minute piano solo. It’s pretty, but does it belong?
The Resistance has some undeniably beautiful moments – “Exogenesis: Symphony Part I – The Overture,” for one, is heartbreaking – but is in dire need of some nips and tucks. The decision to put the guitars away in favor of strings and keys is to be commended in today’s “Rock Band” world (you heard it here first: expect a lot of bands to begin overplaying in order to guarantee inclusion in future installments of “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero”), but a little streamlining would have done a world of good. (Warner Bros. 2009)
What the hell is this? With their first two releases, the Arctic Monkeys proved themselves to be one of the most energetic, exciting and fast-paced bands to come out of the UK’s otherwise derivative post-punk scene. Now they’ve recruited stoner metal pioneer Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal) as producer for Humbug, a radical depature, both in style and quality from their first two albums, and everything’s just gone to hell. This is the Arctic Monkeys trying their hand in modern metal, and while they never fall flat on their faces, it’s far from a success. The frantic beats and thrashing guitars of “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” and “Brianstorm” are long gone, instead replaced with plodding and droning beats and simplistic riffs on forgettable, hookless tracks like “Dance Little Liar” and “Fire and the Thud.” “Crying Lightning,” the lead single off the album, is as close as the group gets to their old sound, and is one of the album’s memorable tracks. It takes guts to try something new and try and branch out to another genre, so the band gets points for that. If Humbug is an experiment it’s an ambitious one, but still a massive failure and tremendous disappointment from a band that should have known better. (Domino 2009)
For their fourth studio album, The Used–a band known for their tragic melodies, raw vocals and powerful hooks–have teamed up with producer Matt Squire (Taking Back Sunday, Boys Like Girls, Katy Perry, and 3OH!3) to create a cohesive, emotive alternative record with just the right amount of pop flare. For more than a year singer Bert McCraken, guitarist Quinn Allman, bassist Jeph Howard, and drummer Dan Whitesides have toiled over the creation of what Allman called a, “more sincere” approach to his bands music. “Lyrically, it completely engulfs you and makes you feel safe but it’s all about feeling alone and empty and knowing there’s always a light,” said Allman.
In the past, that light Allman spoke of hasn’t always shone through The Used’s dark, troubled lyrics and heavy pulsating riffs. On Artwork however, the band has managed a perfect combination of the grit that put them on the map and the artistic impulses that have pulled them in a more polished direction. The first single from Artwork, “Blood On My Hands,” is indeed the perfect blend of shiny pop and edgy alternative rock. All the attitude The Used have become known for is there, and it’s only re-enforced by the giant sing-along chorus that drives the track. It’s the perfect way to open the record, and The Used pulls it off flawlessly.
Artwork continues with “Empty With You,” a classic-sounding The Used track that finds McCraken looking for a companion who’s just as dysfunctional as he is. It feels like an extremely natural progression for the band, and the record, and serves as the perfect bridge to the records second single, and strongest track, “Born to Quit.” As indie-rock anthems go this one is about as big as they come. The chorus explodes with a fiery, almost bittersweet quality that channels previous singles like as “All That I’ve Got” and “Buried Myself Alive.” Fans looking for the band’s old-school sound on Artwork should head straight for “Come Undone.” It’s loud, angry and in your face, and you can feel the passion in his voice when McCraken screams, “I’ll be the end that you deserve!”
Other standout tracks include the groovy, “On the Cross,” a tune that seems to be an obvious attack on religion as McCraken wails, “pray/ if it makes you feel safe/ all i can say/ is we go our own way.” The energy, passion and pure attitude on “Cross” is what makes this track stand out, while at the same time allowing it to fit in seamlessly with the rest of the record. Even next to the somewhat out of place ballad, “Kissing You Goodbye,” or the heavier, metal-infused jam, “The Best of Me,” it’s tracks like “Cross” that have defined The Used as a consistent, driving force in the world of alternative rock.
After nearly a decade making music Bert McCraken and friends have done what most bands struggle to accomplish. Instead of trying to keep up with today’s trends, The Used has remained true to the spunky, scream-heavy rock that captured audiences back in 2003. As a result, Artwork is one of their strongest, most consistent albums to date. It’s the perfect blend of the raw emotion and unbridled intensity of earlier records like Maybe Memories and Shallow Believer, with just enough of the shiny polished edge that dominated Lies for the Liars and In Love and Death. It’s loud, it’s raucous and it will stick with you, but most of all it’s a true representation of everything The Used stand for, and with that, it truly is Artwork.
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