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Me, Myself, and iPod 7/7/10: Nelly Furtado is hot. And fun

July 7, 2010 /

esd ipod

Ah, the post-holiday edition. It’s admittedly small this week. The publicists have been unusually quiet so far, which is fine because I need to put questions together for an interview with former MMi subjects Hey Champ. They’re awesome, by the way.

N.E.R.D. featuring Nelly Furtado – Hot n’ Fun (Yeasayer Remix)
With the album mysteriously bumped to the fall, this lead single from the Pharrell & Co.’s new album Nothing serves as one tasty teaser for the full-length. This remix is a bit too busy for its own good, but I bet it sounds great in a club.

Bishop Morocco – Last Year’s Disco Guitars
It’s as if this Toronto duo saw that James Mercer was off doing the Broken Bells thing, so they decided to make a Shins record…you know, if they were into the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Joy Division rather than the Beach Boys. They even got Martin Hannett to produce. How’s that for authenticity?

Deluka – Nevada
We were big fans of “Cascade,” the lead single from the band’s EP, but were less excited with the rest of that set. If “Nevada” is any indication, they’re saving up the really good stuff for the full-length, which is due in October.

Kathryn Calder – Arrow
The second song released from the New Pornographers keyboardist’s upcoming solo album Are You My Mother?, and it’s another gem. So why is it that she’s not being invited to the songwriting table for her day job, again?

Robert Pollard – Moses on a Snail
If it’s Tuesday, it must be another solo album from Robert Pollard, who’s put out, no joke, ten solo albums since breaking up Guided by Voices in 2004. This is the title track, and it does something almost no Pollard song has ever done: crosses the five-minute mark.

Adult Contemporary, Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Dance, Downloads, Hip Hop, Me Myself and iPod, Pop, R&B, Rock

Hey Champ: Star

July 7, 2010 /

RIYL: Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic,” The Buggles, Bourgeois Tagg

There aren’t many bands that can speak to fans of Alphaville, Yes, Bourgeois Tagg and Tangerine Dream, yet there but for the grace of God go Chicago trio Hey Champ. Armed with only a guitar, a drum set and a couple of vintage keyboards, Hey Champ’s debut album Star is a strange blend of synth pop, rock and jazzy prog, and while that might sound like a band in the midst of an identity crisis, Hey Champ combines these elements quite meticulously.

Hey_Champ_01

The beauty of melding such disparate influences is that it yields a variety of sounds. “Word=War” channels Death Cab for Cutie at their most anthemic (much of that due to singer Saam Hagshenas’ uncanny impression of Ben Gibbard, thankfully relegated to this one song), while “Shake” blends New Order guitar lines with keyboard riffs that could have come from a Saga record. Some of their chord sequences are of the borrowed variety – the chorus to “So American” is not far removed from “Comfortably Numb,” and the end of the great “Steampunk Camelot” bears resemblance to Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” minus the pomposity – but these guys aren’t thieves; they’re musicologists, and Star is the work of one wildly diverse record collection. One of the smarter synth pop records you’ll hear this year, or any other. (Townie Records 2010)

Hey Champ MySpace page
Click to buy Star from Amazon

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Pop, Progressive, Rock

Taddy Porter: Taddy Porter

July 6, 2010 /


RIYL: Bad Company, Kings of Leon, The Black Crowes

Let’s hope the members of Taddy Porter have a sense of humor, because when a band comes out of Stillwater, Oklahoma waving the ’70s classic rock flag like a lighter at a Zeppelin show, the “Almost Famous” jokes frankly write themselves. One listen to the band’s eponymous debut, though, suggests that the band is well aware of the coincidence, and probably finds it amusing. Singer Andy Brewer has a raspy growl that’s equal parts Paul Rodgers and Anthony Caleb Followill, and Joe Selby is – and it kills us to say this, but such is the state of music – a pure throwback guitar player, punctuating the songs with melodic riffs, power chords and, wonder of wonders, honest to goodness guitar solos. Nothing here is going to rewrite the rules of rock, but that’s hardly the point – they’re a good time band playing good time rock (notably “Big Enough” and the cowbell-happy lead single “Shake Me”), and God knows the world could use a few more bands like that. (Primary Wave 2010)

Taddy Porter MySpace page
Click to buy Taddy Porter from Amazon

Exclusive: Taddy Porter offers a couple grilling tips.

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Summerfest: The Hold Steady

July 3, 2010 /

Creatively, The Hold Steady hit its high water mark with 2006’s epic Boys and Girls In America, but the band isn’t known as a hit machine; it’s known as an in-your-face live rock act, and they didn’t disappoint on Thursday night at Milwaukee’s Summerfest music festival.

The Hold Steady’s signature sound pits Craig Finn’s unique sing-speak vocals against Tad Kubler’s sharp classic rock riffs, with Franz Nicolay’s keys providing support. Only Nicolay left the band in January leading to a sparser production on this year’s Heaven Is Whenever. The band played the two best tracks from the album — “Hurricane J” and “The Sweet Part of the City” — and while they’re quality songs, they struggle to hold their own against Boys and Girls classics like “Stuck Between Stations,” “Chips Ahoy,” “Massive Nights” and “Southtown Girls,” which all made an appearance on Thursday night. They also played the underrated “Your Little Hoodrat Friend,” which was the track that put the band on my radar.

In total, The Hold Steady played for more than 90 minutes to a raucous and appreciative crowd. It’s obvious that this Brooklyn-based band has Midwestern roots, and their music speaks to their fans in Milwaukee. One of the great things about Summerfest is that a show like this is free with a $15 admission at the gate. (Admission is even cheaper if one takes advantage of the fest’s many promotions or buys his tickets in advance.)

Here’s a video from Letterman that captures what it’s like to see these guys live. (Finn’s voice usually sounds a little cleaner.)

Concerts, External Music

Kylie Minogue: Aphrodite

July 2, 2010 /

RIYL: Madonna, Donna Summer, Scissor Sisters

God love Astralwerks for taking on the thankless chore of releasing a Kylie Minogue album in the United States. Mind you, her output over the last ten years has been just as good as Madonna’s, and she’s a megastar everywhere else in the world. But for whatever reason, the girl just cannot gain a strong foothold on the American charts, which makes being her American distributor a bit of a fool’s errand.

Kylie_Minogue_09

You can’t blame them for thinking that each record will be the one to break her, though. Her last album X came armed with the insanely catchy “Wow,” and her latest, Aphrodite, is practically the Supernatural of dance pop, boasting contributions and production from Stuart Price, Keane’s Tim Rice-Oxley, lead Scissor Sister Jake Shears, Calvin Harris, and a small army of UK hitmakers (Kish Mauve and Starsmith, to name a couple). The majority of the album is admittedly more Euro-friendly – the Shears/Harris track, “Too Much,” seems destined for the UK Top Ten – but “Get Outta My Way” can hold its own with anything Rihanna’s released since “Umbrella,” while “Closer” is as epic a three-minute dance track as you’re likely to find. (Muse needs to cover this, stat.) The title track is one of her best singles in years, a drumline-laden declaration of girl power that will make Gwen Stefani weep with envy.

The back half of the album can’t quite keep up with the fast and furious front half, but there are no truly duff tracks, either. Aphrodite may not make anyone throw out their copy of Like a Prayer, but at least three of these songs will end up ruling the world. Well, everywhere except the US, likely. Pity. (Astralwerks 2010)

Kylie Minogue MySpace page
Click to buy Aphrodite from Amazon

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Pop

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