Tag: Headlines (Page 57 of 76)

Andrew W.K.: Close Calls with Brick Walls/Mother of Mankind

March 18, 2010 /


RIYL: Billy Idol, Meat Loaf, Muse

If Andrew W.K. was a bit of an anomaly when he dropped I Get Wet in 2001, he’s an unfrozen caveman today. His trademark high-energy anthems about partying, partying hard and partying ’til you puke struck a chord with those unable to suffer the self-absorbed nu-metal bands that dominated the early 2000s landscape, but after his 2003 album The Wolf failed to set the world similarly ablaze, his third album Close Calls with Brick Walls only saw the light of day in Japan and Korea. Four years later, Close Calls is finally getting a US release…but is there an audience for beer-soaked rockers in a climate where many rock bands make their mark writing songs for strippers (see: “Crazy Bitch,” “Addicted”)?

You have to assume that Andrew W.K. knew that his time in the spotlight had come and gone when he recorded Close Calls with Brick Walls back in 2004 and 2005, which is what makes the album such a fascinating listen today. It has the standard breakneck party anthems in “Not Going to Bed,” “I Wanna See You Go Wild” and “Las Vegas, Nevada,” but you can also see the frustrated musician lurking beneath. “You Will Remember Tonight” begins as a straightforward rocker, but the outro is galloping spaghtetti western craziness, like a beta test version of Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia.” “Dr. Dumont” is a gorgeous piano solo (something he would explore in greater depth on his 2009 album 55 Cadillac), and “Pushing Drugs” bears strong resemblance to, of all things, Devo’s “Girl U Want.” It’s all a rather careful, and smart, blend of old and new, but Andrew isn’t taking any chances on its success, packaging the album with Mother of Mankind, a rarities disc spanning Andrew’s entire career. The end result will surprise a lot of people. (Steev Mike 2010)

Andrew W.K. MySpace page
Click to buy Close Calls with Brick Walls from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

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

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

Butch Walker and the Black Widows: I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

March 12, 2010 /


RIYL: Candy Butchers, Fountains of Wayne, Bryan Adams

Before he became as ubiquitous in the pop/rock music world as Kara DioGuardi and Diane Warren, Butch Walker was so totally cool. He fronted an indie modern rock band called Marvelous 3, a group that put out a few blistering albums of awesome power pop. Then Walker went out on his own and delivered one of the best rock albums of all time in Left of Self-Centered. Naturally, he started to get phone calls from other artists and labels and managers, wanting him to write with, produce and guide artists such as Pink, Bowling For Soup and Avril Lavigne. He also released a few more solo albums along the way. And while nothing measured up to Left of Self-Centered or the Marvelous 3 stuff, Walker has clearly taken two steps backward with his latest, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart. Maybe it’s because this one comes a little over a year after his latest, Sycamore Meadows, because being that prolific has a tendency to water down the material. In addition, part of the problem here is that while some of the songs seem catchy while you’re listening, you won’t be singing any of them afterward, because they’re not memorable, at least not based on the very high bar Butch has set for himself. There are a few exceptions, like “Stripped Down Version,” which has some slick guitar work and pretty harmonies, or “She Likes Hair Bands,” featuring lyrical snark reminiscent of the Marvelous 3 days. But on the likes of “Trash Day” and “House of Cards,” some of you die-hard Butch fans will be hitting “skip.” And while the closer, “Be Good Til Then,” carries a beautiful sentiment and was written for his very young son, the repetitive melody is more tired than anything Walker has ever delivered. I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart, will, sadly, have Butch fans saying that they liked it better when his songs had heart. (One Haven 2010)

Butch Walker website

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Power Pop, Rock

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑