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X: THC: X: The Human Condition

March 17, 2010 /


RIYL: early Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack, Portishead

This is one branch in the music tree that we didn’t see coming: adult contemporary trip-hop. X: The Human Condition, the brainchild of Michael Nova, is a giant multimedia experience. There is a film, which tells the story of two people driven to change the world through art. The soundtrack of that film sounds like the kind of thing Trent Reznor might assemble if he were feeling vulnerable. The songs slink, bloop and bleep along like the soundtrack for an alt-spa (we’re not sure if alt-spas actually exist, but they should), and possess an ache that Massive Attack’s last album lacked. It doesn’t always work: “Mr. Happy” with its falsetto chorus is more corny than heartfelt, and anyone willing to name a song “The Creature from the Blackened Room” better prepare for some sniggers, even if the music for the track isn’t half bad. When the album’s on, though, it’s on; “The Human Flood” is just begging to be used in a movie trailer, and “Tag You’re It” explores funkier territory. Nova’s not the best singer in the world, and X: The Human Condition will not rewrite the music history books, but for anyone looking to come down from an already chill party, this will do the trick. (Hypnotical Entertainment 2010)

X: The Human Condition MySpace page
Click to buy X: The Human Condition from Amazon

Adult Contemporary, Alternative, Ambient, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica, Melodramatic

The Bird & the Bee: Interpreting the Masters Vol. I: A Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates

March 17, 2010 /


RIYL: Lily Allen, The Carpenters, Muzak

It would not surprise us in the slightest if Interpreting the Masters Vol. I: A Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates becomes a hit with the hipsters for all the wrong reasons. They’ll get off on the “irony” of someone as cool as the Bird & the Bee covering someone as patently uncool as Daryl Hall & John Oates, despite the fact that, as the title clearly states, the band did not do this to be ironic. They don’t feel an ounce of guilt for loving Daryl Hall & John Oates, nor should they. Having said that, Inara George has no business singing Daryl Hall songs.

Bird_and_the_Bee_01

No knock on George’s voice, mind you; her airy soprano is tailor-made for the Bird & the Bee’s machine-driven synth pop. However, a soul song, even of the blue-eyed variety, will eat her alive, and that is the main problem with Interpreting the Masters – it’s too sterile, from George’s clinical delivery to Greg Kurstin’s rigid arrangements. These songs were already pretty white in their original form, but in the hands of George and Kurstin, they approach blizzard-in-Utah levels of whiteness. The ballads fare better than the up-tempo numbers, namely “One on One” and “Sara Smile,” but they would have been better served playing to their strengths and covering a like-minded act like the Pet Shop Boys instead. (Blue Note 2010)

The Bird & the Bee MySpace page
Click to buy Guiltless Pleasures Vol. I from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Pop

Michael Jackson estate and Sony reach deal

March 16, 2010 /

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the estate of Michael Jackson and Sony have reached a record-setting deal worth $250 million. The terms guarantee the estate at least $200 million while giving Sony the rights to produce 10 albums of both new and previously material over the next seven years.

Since Mr. Jackson’s death on June 25, Sony has sold an estimated 31 million of his albums globally. By the first anniversary of his death, his estate expects to have earned $250 million from sales of music, merchandise and tickets to the posthumous concert film “This Is It.”

The advances being paid by Sony are to be offset by sales of albums as well as revenue generated by licensing Mr. Jackson’s music for uses like videogames, movies and theatrical performances. But unlike the megadeals struck in recent years by concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc. with pop stars Jay-Z and Madonna, the Jackson deal doesn’t give Sony income from other parts of the late singer’s business, such as merchandise sales or fees for licensing his name and likeness.

With deals such as this between a business and an estate, the business certainly employs more of a long-term strategy to making a profit. Michael Jackson’s estate, however, had to act quickly since it had a massive debt to pay off the massive debt caused by the King of Pop’s spending in recent years. Sony simply realizes everlasting appeal of Michael Jackson’s music. With the cash to back it, I think it safe to safe the company will recoup its investment.

Artists, News

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists kick off A.V. Club cover project

March 16, 2010 /

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists cover Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"

The A.V. Club launched their series “Undercover” today, which sees 25 bands covering 25 hits. The list was chosen by the website beforehand, and as bands tackle the songs, their peers will have have less to choose from. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are the first up, and they’ve opted to hammer out the 1985 classic “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. The song is extremely faithful to the original version, which obviously makes for a good time.

New videos will arrive every Tuesday. The A.V. Club won’t announce which artist is covering the song until that date.

Next up: Depeche Mode’s “Endure the Silence”

Artists, Songs, Videos

The Whigs:In the Dark

March 16, 2010 /


RIYL: Dinosaur Jr., Foo Fighters, The Replacements

In the Dark starts out by rolling over you with a wall of guitars that, far from dissonant and buffeting, instead envelops you like the wind before a promising storm, and like some great thunder, the Whigs continue to prove they are an experience not to be missed.

Coming off their well-received second album, Mission Control, and a series of acclaimed live shows (not the least of which was a standout performance at the 2008 SXSW), it is evident that the hard core touring and energetic playing has only invigorated their songwriting. In the Dark is the Whigs’ best album yet, and one that engages from beginning to end.

The album is power rock, through and through, but it never forgets that melody and rhythm shouldn’t be sacrificed for that power. It is the same for the lyrics, as throughout Parker Gispert is clearly singing from those hidden places where anger and regret fester, but he refuses to either rage or mope. There is as much a sense of resolute energy as anything, even when he sings “Kill Me Carolyn” or questions his lust for “Someone’s Daughter.”

Most of the album openly embraces their primary influence, the more hard-rocking post punk of the Replacements (most evident on “Automatic” and “So Lonely,” with no little bit of the Godfathers thrown in there on the title track and the opening “Hundred/Million.” The production is just tight enough and the arrangements original and lush enough to push it beyond any assumed imitation, and the first five tracks are solid Whigs.

Then, just when it feels like you have a handle on the album, they throw you a hard curve right in the middle. “Dying” comes on and everything shifts into a heavy rhythmic chant full of psychedelic influences. It tosses you into dark places only hinted at up until now. That is the flow of the album. An energetic, but evident descent into the viscera of the music, but then the steady, strong drive that leads us back out; an inverted emotional parabola that never slows, but never lets us off the ride, either. Check out “I Am for Real” as the perfect catharsis moment.

In the Dark ends with a mini-jam session of a song, “Naked,” at times minimalist and echoing, while at others a pulsing rocker. It is one of the more inventive and original works that lets the Whigs flaunt their talent, energy and idiosyncrasies.

Check out In the Dark. It is one of the better albums to come along so far this year, and it should win them new fans while pleasing their faithful. Listen loud! ATO Records 2010

The Whigs MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Indie Labels, Power Pop, Psychedelic, Punk, Rock

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