Tag: Headlines (Page 74 of 76)

Mike Doughty: Sad Man Happy Man

October 5, 2009 /


RIYL: Soul Coughing, Beck, Cake

The press kit pegs Sad Man Happy Man as a back-to-basics return to form for Mike Doughty – and sort of intimates that this move was prompted by negative fan reaction to 2008’s Golden Delicious – but unless you’re one of the world’s most hardcore Doughty supporters, you aren’t liable to notice much of a difference between Sad and Golden, or, for that matter, 2005’s Haughty Melodic. The arrangements are acoustic-based, and most of them are more stripped down than much of what he’s done in the last few years, but the two most immediately identifiable ingredients of any Doughty song are his warm buzzsaw of a voice and his love of inane, infinitely repeatable phrases, and both of them are in plentiful supply here. Doughty’s lyrics (or the parts of them that make sense, anyway) have never shied away from bleak themes, and the same holds true here: Sad Man Happy Man’s tracks detail relationship problems (“Diane”), drug addiction (“Lord Lord”), and our current financial woes (“Pleasure on Credit”), all shrouded in the same deceptively goofy arrangements his fans have come to know and love.

mikedoughty photo one

It is, in short, a Mike Doughty record – and whether that thought fills you with anticipation or dread, none of these songs will do anything to change your mind. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, though, they’re mighty easy to sing along with. (ATO 2009)

Mike Doughty MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews

Wax Tailor: In the Mood for Life

October 2, 2009 /


RIYL: Avalanches, DJ Spooky, Portishead

Anyone jonesing for another Avalanches album – and really, who isn’t? – would do well to pick up the latest effort by Wax Tailor, the nom de guerre of French turntablist Jean-Christophe Le Saoût. In the Mood for Life careens between cut & paste pastiche (unofficial “Frontier Psychiatrist” sequel “Sit and Listen,” the rhyme-stealing “B-Boy on Wax”) and downbeat trip-hop (“Dragon Chasers,” “Dry Your Eyes”), with a few straight-up hip-hop tracks like “Until Heaven Stops the Rain” and “This Train” and the ’60s girl pop splendor of “Leave It” sprinkled in for good measure. The old-school rhyme flow is welcome – though the rhymes in “Say Yes” are painful – and while he’s strolling down Memory Lane, Le Saoût makes the mistake of peppering the album with the dreaded ‘skit’ tracks, tiny bridge bits from one track to another that, for the most part, would be just fine tacked on to the beginning of the following track. But we’re splitting hairs: In the Mood for Life, for all its styles, has a singular vision that ties everything together, making this much more than a ‘DJ desperately trying to be all things to all people’ affair. Thank heaven for small miracles. (Le Plan 2009)

Wax Tailor MySpace page
Click to buy In the Mood for Life from Amazon

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Hip Hop, Pop, R&B, Rap

Calvin Harris: Ready for the Weekend

October 2, 2009 /


RIYL: LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga

For those who dig their electronica with a generous helping of humor and irony, Calvin Harris’ 2007 debut I Created Disco delivered even beyond its oh so ironic and humorous title (the dude was born in 1984!) and home grown charm. Unfortunately, while Calvin has gained a more polished sound and access to more bells and whistles than in the past, he has lost his sense of humor. Tunes like “You Used to Hold Me,” “Worst Day” and “Blue” (with a damning cliché of a lyric in “everything around me is blue / the color that reminds me of you”) are indicative of an artist who has some breakup tension to unleash – in this case, a better place to do that would be in a therapist’s office. Calvin’s cheekier take on electronica was a classic pick-me-up. If he can get his head back into that space, perhaps he’ll be a whole lot happier – and so will the rest of us. (Columbia 2009)

Calvin Harris MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Electronica

Richard Hawley: Truelove’s Gutter

October 1, 2009 /


RIYL: Roy Orbison, Scott Walker, Nick Cave

Death, taxes…Richard Hawley. The onetime Longpig is not only good for an album of new material every two years, but he’s good for a good album of new material every two years. Hawley went widescreen on 2007’s Lady’s Bridge, but opts for a more stripped-down approach on Truelove’s Gutter, his latest. The songs, as per usual, are the kind of ghostly ballads that would haunt an abandoned ’50s dancehall, which Hawley spices up with the use of a singing saw and a waterphone. (Yes, we had to look up the latter instrument, too.) He’s not in a hurry this time, either – the shortest songs clock in at four and a half minutes, and two of them hit both sides of the ten-minute mark. Amazingly, the epic tracks, “Remorse Code” and “Don’t You Cry,” are two of the album’s finest, breezing by in seemingly half the time. “Soldier On,” meanwhile, could serve as the new textbook definition of “quiet storm.”

Hawley himself surely knows that his success in the UK is a blessing and not a right – his music is blissfully out of time with its surroundings. Don’t be surprised, though, if Truelove’s Gutter ends up burying us all. (Mute 2009)

Richard Hawley MySpace page
Click to buy Truelove’s Gutter from Amazon

Adult Contemporary, Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop

Collaborations, collaborations

October 1, 2009 /

Flea

During a lengthy discussion about records, a friend of mine once told me that music is so incredible because it is rewarding when experienced alone, but also when shared.

I couldn’t agree more. I rarely write or learn songs just to keep them locked inside my inner musical being. After spending time with a new track, I want to call over my friends and have a hootenanny. I want to stay up late in a garage drinking beers and recording whatever happens.

As we know, collaborations and supergroups are not a new trend by any means. Nevertheless, a slew of unlikely pairings have surfaced over the past week. I’ve summarized them below.

– Thom Yorke has recruited a band consisting of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, REM collaborator Joey Waronker, and Brazilian instrumentalist Mauro Refosco. The band will back Yorke live as he tours in support of his solo material.

– Broken Bells is the new collaboration between Danger Mouse and Brian Mercer of the Shins. How this came about, I have no idea. Of all the recent match-ups, I’m most amped about this one. Hip hop mixed with jangly pop? Could work.

– On that note, what about hip hop merging with some dirty blues? The new Black Keys album, Blakroc, will feature Mos Def, Ludacris, RZA, Raekwon, Q-Tip, Pharoahe Monch, and many more.

– But Dr. Dre collaborating with Lady Gaga? Really? Sounds like a very smart move constructed by their publicists. However, I don’t really see the relevance, or the possibility of sonic magic coming from these two in the studio.

Ah, to play music every day and get paid for it…

News

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Eat Sleep Drink Music

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑