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Just filling you in: The Black Keys

April 2, 2010 /

I am running on fumes right now and will likely crash at any minute. I’d like to blame it on an eight-hour work day, but I’d be lying. No, the real reason I’m absolutely exhausted is because I just completed an excruciatingly long draft for a fantasy baseball league. We’re talking 24 teams and 22 rounds of rabid attention, filled with both bouts of glory and misery. It’s consumed my day, and now I’m left in a crumbling, yet mildly accomplished state. Still, I wanted to post something.

To the delight of many, The Black Keys will release Brothers on Nonesuch Records on May 18. I’ve got two of their full lengths and an EP, and I’m just waiting for the band to produce something truly great. I know they’ve already reached an impressive level of popularity, but I feel the band is capable doing something more sonically challenging. Well, we now have a new song on their MySpace called “Tighten Up” (apparently the album’s first single), and it definitely is a step in the right direction. I love that rhythm change toward the end. It comes out of nowhere.

Artists, Songs

Edwin McCain: The Best of Edwin McCain

April 1, 2010 /


RIYL: Better Than Ezra, Michael McDermott, David Cook

If you want to start feeling old, watch what happens when an artist you grew up listening to is releasing “greatest hits” or career retrospectives that span five to ten albums or more. Such may be the case with singer/songwriter Edwin McCain, who has been making his own brand of acoustic-driven, southern-tinged alternative rock for almost two decades now. So here he is with The Best of Edwin McCain, a nice collection of tracks that encompass both radio hits and some obscure gems as well. McCain may have begun his career as part of the Aware Records camp, the one that spawned some powerhouse alt/pop acts like Better than Ezra and Train, but he wound up evolving into a hit machine – the kind of hits that made the knees of young-to-middle-aged women weak, and that would find their way onto wedding band set lists. We’re talking songs like “I’ll Be” and “I Could Not Ask For More.” And that set list just got longer too, as there is a new track on here, “Walk with You,” about a dad giving his daughter away in marriage. But those in the know have understood that McCain’s songwriting prowess runs much deeper, and that is never more evident than on his inaugural single, “Solitude,” or on the groove-y “Take Me.” There is also a decent cover of Grand Funk Railroad’s “Some Kind of Wonderful.” But for as balanced as this album is, there are a couple of glaring omissions, most notably “Go Be Young” and “Ghost of Jackson Square” from the Messenger album. Still, that’s the beauty of the digital era—that we can go make our own “greatest hits” collections of our favorite artists. Either way, this is a nice look back at a fine career so far. (Time Life 2010)

Edwin McCain MySpace page

Adult Contemporary, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Lifehouse: Smoke & Mirrors

April 1, 2010 /


RIYL: Goo Goo Dolls, The Fray, Matchbox Twenty

When Lifehouse released their edgy debut No Name Face in 2000, their music was leaning more toward alternative and cool – because of the songs and the way they recorded them, but also because of how radio, to some degree, still drove record sales. But as bands like Lifehouse, Matchbox Twenty, and Third Eye Blind keep aging, their music tends to organically soften. And as it does, they start to mesh on radio with artists such as, say, Edwin McCain or Huey Lewis. And while we all do age, there is something inherently disappointing in watching a band like Lifehouse start to listen too much to producers and radio programmers instead of making the cool music that they used to. Still, these guys can write hit songs in their sleep, and on Smoke & Mirrors, their fifth studio effort, Lifehouse has delivered yet another batch of ear candy that will have little girls swooning. For the rest of us, it’s a nice album, but nothing we haven’t heard before, from Lifehouse or any other bands in their alt/pop genre.

Songs like the upbeat “All In” and “Had Enough” are formulaic, but there are also some nice surprises. The first one is “Nerve Damage,” which is an edgy rocker that even has a bluesy guitar solo that is (gasp) almost 30 seconds long. Then there’s the best track of all, “From Where You Are,” a stunning acoustic ballad that shows singer Jason Wade hasn’t lost a single strand of vocal cord over the past decade. Someday Lifehouse may go back to having creative control. But even so, their music doesn’t exactly suck, and you can’t blame them for chasing a big paycheck. (Geffen 2010)

Lifehouse MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Martin Sexton: Sugarcoating

April 1, 2010 /


RIYL: Bruce Springsteen, The Jayhawks, Joe Henry

Martin Sexton has a small army of devoted fans who spend a lot of time wondering why Martin Sexton isn’t world-famous – which isn’t unusual when it comes to musicians who aren’t world famous, but Sexton’s fans have more of a point than most. He has a sharp songwriter’s eye, he’s a gifted instrumentalist, and he has one of the supplest, most versatile voices in rock ‘n’ roll – seriously, why isn’t this guy world-famous?

Whatever the reasons for Sexton’s continued obscurity, we can at least be glad he hasn’t let it stop him from building one of the more compelling discographies you’ve probably never heard – and his latest release, Sugarcoating, stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his finest work.

More straightforward than 2007’s Seeds, which found Sexton using a one-man band approach to serve up everything from Tuvan singing to a cover of “Will It Go ‘Round in Circles,” Sugarcoating finds Sexton hewing closer to the confessional singer/songwriter end of the spectrum, addressing topics like love, politics, and fatherhood. The arrangements are a little looser and more expansive, thanks to the involvement of a group of musicians that included guitarist Duke Levine, keyboard player Tom West, and Sexton’s sister Colleen, as well as Sexton’s decision to record without rehearsals and keep production to a bare minimum. It’s a warm blanket of an album, one that makes room to display Sexton’s prodigious vocal talent while also delivering some of his strongest material – perhaps most notably the title track, which hurls vicious barbs at the so-called “mainstream media” against a jaunty, country-flavored backdrop that sounds more like Buck Owens than Rage Against the Machine.

If you’re already a fan, Sugarcoating will give you 13 more reasons to love Sexton’s music. If you haven’t yet been inducted to the cult, it’s as good a place as any to start. What’s stopping you? (Kitchen Table 2010)

Martin Sexton MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Folk, Pop, Rock

Video: Janelle Monáe’s “Tightrope”

March 31, 2010 /

I don’t know much about this Janelle Monáe chicka, but I’m definitely into this song. Another young and talented musician that’s gone over my head, Monáe has been on the scene, more or less, since 2007.

There’s a fashionable futuristic theme shoved in your face, which you’ll have to subscribe to instantly if you are to enjoy the video. But I found myself forgetting about the visuals and plot simply because I was caught up bobbing to the beat. While listening to this song my body and is a prisoner to the music — I couldn’t handle paying attention to anything else. That’s a good thing.

Either way, this video is at least mildly interesting. Big Boi from Outkast is waddling through there, if that’s your thing.

Artists, Videos

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