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Review: Counting Crows’ “Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings”

March 28, 2008 6:24 PM

Adam Duritz definitely doesn’t get the credit he deserves.  Early on, of course he did, around the time Counting Crows’ debut album “August and Everything After” came out, but that may just be because that album was (and still is) an all-out classic.   Too often now, it seems his lyrical brilliance is forgotten.

  He hasn’t done himself many favors over the years to help his cause.  “Recovering the Satellites” from 1996 was every bit as brilliant as “August,” but 1999’s “This Desert Life” seemed a little phoned-in, with the exception of the stunning “St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream.”  “Hard Candy” in 2002 was remarkably better, especially the fantastic summer-soaked single “American Girls,” but it seemed that Duritz had lost the dark loneliness and alienation that were present on the first two records.  A few years, ago, things got worse when the band did the goofy sing-along-ready theme to Shrek 2, “Accidentally In Love.”

This is not the way it was supposed to be.  In the early-to-mid 90’s, Counting Crows were the most pop-radio-friendly act on DGC Records’ roster.  Around this time, DGC boasted a who’s who in alt-rock, having Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Hole, Beck, Weezer, and the great but underappreciated Canadian band, Sloan! All of these groups, (Counting Crows included) no matter how happy on the surface, had a dark and/or progressively arty under-current beneath their music.      

It’s been six years since “Hard Candy,” and now “Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings” is poised to reintroduce Counting Crows to the music-buying public.  The strategy is simple.  It’s an album divided into two parts.  Six mostly louder, upbeat tracks represent the “Saturday Nights” half and eight mostly down-tempo tracks represent the “Sunday Mornings” half.  The whole thing clocks in at exactly an hour. 

The first half is produced by Gil Norton, who helmed “Recovering the Satellites.”  He should have done the whole album, because his half sports most of the record’s highlights.  Four tracks, “1492,” “Hanging Tree,” “Insignificant,” and “Cowboys” are some of the strongest songs Duritz has delivered in more than a decade.

  I really wish they’d do a full-tilt rock album, because they rock better than they are ever given credit for.  Sure, “Round Here” was monumental, but “Angels of the Silences” was grungy and angsty.  Duritz’s lyrics have always been wound quite tightly, and he has always been best when it is like he’s rambling them out of his mouth seemingly out of necessity.  Think about how enthralling the end of “Mr. Jones” is when it seems like he’s just shouting out lists in his head.

“1492” is exactly that kind of track.  He traces his origin and then is able to seamlessly merge the concept with stories of Italian disco parties with “skinny girls who drink champagne.” The chorus comes along and Columbus is mentioned amidst some sort of yearly number game.  How it all fits together gets confusing, but it doesn’t matter in the long run. It’s a loudly churning unsettled mess and it is glorious. 

“Hanging Tree” is the one of the coolest tracks on the disc.  The band has three guitarists in Dan Vickrey, David Immergluck and David Bryson.  As on “1492,” the guitars are allowed to get particularly unhinged and messy.  It makes me wonder what the band would sound like with really, really rough production -- if they were to work with someone like Steve Albini.  It’d be interesting to hear them really rock out with generous doses of screeching feedback, but sadly they’d probably never loosen their approach that much.

“Los Angeles” is next.  It’s a mildly enjoyable mid-tempo country, roadhouse bluesy track which is ruined near the end when Duritz shouts “We’re gonna get drunk, find ourselves some skinny girls and go street-walkin’!”  It gets worse.  At the very end of the song he declares, “And it’s a really good place to find yourself a taco!!”  My immediate response to that is nervous laughter and then repeated screams at my stereo, “NO! NO! NO!”  This is a low-grade B-side at best.  It somehow wound up on the wrong pile, I guess. 

“Sundays” is thankfully much better.  I find it interesting that this semi-reflective boogie wound up on the Saturday half, but then again, the chorus says “I don’t believe in Sundays,” which is a very “Saturday night” sentiment.  It would be nice for the weekend to never end, but sadly it always does!

“Insignificant” sounds like a lost track from “Recovering the Satellites” which means it restores the band to their glory days.  “August and Everything After” may be their most famous album, but it is “Satellites” I go back and listen to the most, thus “Insignificant” should most definitely be a single.

  The same goes for “Cowboys,” on which Duritz sings about “headlights and vapor trails and Circle K killers.”  The text is as rich with content as it is with self-reflection.  “I am not anything!” Duritz screams before a thunderous guitar solo, and it occurs to me that this is exactly the side of Adam Durtiz that I’ve missed.

With that, the momentum comes to a halt as the “Sunday Morning” half begins.  That half is mostly helmed by Brian Deck with the exception of the final track which is back in Norton’s hand. 

When handling softer material, Duritz tends to get a little grating.  His voice gets occasionally whiny and he’s just not as compelling as he is with more upbeat tracks.  Perhaps this is a letdown, because he just is so good when he can really scream.  While “Washington Square” and “Almost Any Sunday Morning” are enjoyable songs, they lack the spark present on the first half of the album. 

“When I Dream of Michelangelo” borrows its title from a line in “Angels of the Silences,” but it takes what was once a fresh idea and makes it the basis for a humdrum banjo number. 

“Anyone But You” is a stronger track, and proof that a strong backbeat can do wonders.  It is soft, but I could imagine it being a single.  It’s got a nice melody and just enough tension in it to keep things interesting. 

The first single is next on “You Can’t Count On Me.”  It’s not the song I would have picked, but it is pleasant enough.  The mid-tempo shuffle is punctuated by Charlie Gillingham’s pretty piano work, and occasional momentary guitar outbursts. 

The beginning of “Le Ballet D’Or” sounds like something lifted from a Zero 7 album, and there is something effectively rootsy about how Duritz sings, “Come now.  Let’s go dancing to the siren’s song.”

   “On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago” is a rather standard piano ballad.  We’ve heard Counting Crows do this before and there is nothing particularly special about it, but it fills the “piano ballad” quota I suppose. 

“Come Around” is the last song, and because it is once again produced by Norton, it pops much like the first half.  It’s vintage Counting Crows in radio-ready mode. 

“Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings” is radically uneven, but the parts that are great are truly monumental, restoring Adam Duritz to his peak performance.  It would’ve been nice to get an all-killer record, but I’ll settle for a half-excellent one!  In the meantime, I have the feeling if Counting Crows continue to hone their hard-rocking side, we may yet get another masterpiece from them.  Adam Duritz has proven himself before and he can easily do it again.

March 28, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

Review: The B-52’s’ “Funplex”

March 28, 2008 12:17 PM

“Funplex” is the B-52’s’ first album in 16 years.  It’s actually pretty hard to believe.  Even harder to believe is that next year is the 30th anniversary of their self-titled debut.  Famous for early hits like “Rock Lobster” and “Private Idaho,” the B-52’s established themselves the rulers of goofy party music. From Fred Schneider’s manically flamboyant vocal shouts, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson’s over-kitsched vocal tag-team effect and their often absurd lyrical tendencies, it was obvious from the start that the band didn’t take themselves too seriously. 

Throughout the 80’s, this Athens, Georgia band lurked near the underground.  In 1985, they suffered a tragic blow when original guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS. For a band known for being happy and full of energy, it must’ve been a very trying time; especially since shortly afterwards they released their album “Bouncing off the Satellites.”

In 1989, with the release of “Cosmic Thing,” the unexpected happened.  They were welcomed back with open arms and the singles “Love Shack” and “Roam” shot them to a level of fame they’d never seen before.  Success must’ve been bittersweet for them considering that it was their first album as a quartet.

Three years later in 1992, Cindy Wilson (Ricky’s sister) left the band and the three remaining members released the somewhat disappointing and boring “Good Stuff.”

For “Funplex” Cindy Wilson thankfully returns to the fold.  She may very well be the band’s secret weapon considering that “Funplex” is remarkably more “fun” than the Wilson-less “Good Stuff” was “good.”

If you’ve never been able to get into the band’s stylized, signature sound, you still won’t be able to.  If you are a longtime fan, this is the album you are waiting for. Now signed to mostly electronic, hip label Astralwerks, the band employs new electronic elements well into their sound.  “Pump,” “Eyes Wide Open” and “Dancing Now” for instance sound like nice, modern nods to Devo in certain places. 

Keith Strickland’s guitar sounds bolder, too.  “Hot Corner” and “Ultraviolet” are both fueled by some of the band’s best guitar riffs since “52 Girls.” 

“Juliet of the Spirits” recalls “Roam” and “Topaz.”  With the new technological advancements, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson sound downright ethereal.  If the climate was right, I’d expect this song to repeat the success of “Roam.”

The title-track boasts another stellar guitar line.  Listening to this song, it sounds tight and crisp.  You can hear the band’s determination to reestablish themselves, and thankfully here they have the tunes and the riffage to back it up. 

“Love in the Year 3000” sticks with the band’s longtime obsession with space, the future and other such fantastic elements, but Fred Schneider’s robot voice delivery is just strange. (Hey, depending on your mood, you might consider the “Schneider-bot” to be awesome!)  The B-52’s have never been ones to shy away from being different, which has always been part of what makes them fun to listen to. 

“Deviant Ingredient” at first continues the great guitar showcase, but then sounds vaguely formulaic and bland. 

“Too Much to Think About” has the same go-go energy that fueled many of the band’s early records, but it would be better if Schneider were more manic.  For once he seems too relaxed here.  (It’s almost disconcerting!)

The album’s closer, “Keep the Party Going” could serve as the record’s thesis statement.  It closes the album on a high-note with a signature-style groove. 

“Funplex” is surprising.  Usually when bands go away this long, they don’t come back sounding as fresh.  The B-52’s are revitalized and breaking some new sonic ground.  They aren’t simply coasting on their legacy – they are adding to it.  This record is almost as good as “Cosmic Thing.”  Given the state of the music industry today, it is sad that it probably won’t reach as big an audience. 

March 28, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Review: The Raconteurs’ “Consolers of the Lonely”

March 27, 2008 10:02 AM

The Raconteurs announced that this album was being released only last week.  Supposedly it was just finished and put out with little lag time.  The band is of course most famous for being “Jack White’s other band” besides the White Stripes, but it really is a Detroit rock-scene super-group. The band after all is co-led by power-popper Brendan Benson, who, although not nearly as famous is equally notable to White in his musical abilities.  Drummer Patrick Keeler and bassist Jack Lawrence are both in the Greenhornes.  Declaring this as merely “Jack White’s other band” is to miss the point completely.

Two years ago, the band released their debut “Broken Boy Soldiers.”  That album was great and was loved by critics.  “Consolers of the Lonely” blows that album away in spades!  First of all, it’s much weightier.  It has four more tracks and is more than twenty minutes longer.  “Broken Boy Soldiers” was exciting, but looking back, it came off like an experiment.  This is the work of a full-fledged, lived-in, die-hard, experienced band. 

Of course there are ghosts from the band members’ day jobs.  “Top Yourself” sounds very much like a bigger, badder version of a White Stripes song.  (Think of a blues number like the Stripes’ “Ball and Biscuit” and think how it would sound with a full band!) Similarly, “Old Enough” has moments where it sounds like it could’ve been an out-take from Benson’s fantastic 2005 record, “The Alternative to Love.”  (That album’s a must-listen if you haven’t heard it.)   

This is a pre-eighties rock record.  It seems like it is very rooted in the seventies-rock universe.  Of course, with Jack White in the lead position, Led Zeppelin comes to mind most strongly.  Tempos shift in a workmanlike, albeit unpredictable fashion.  Other giants come to mind as well. White’s vocal performance on “Many Shades of Black” for instance sounds like it could’ve been sung by Freddie Mercury.  He gets much attention for his guitar mastery, but few really give him the props he deserves for his wonderfully clear and expansive vocal range. 

Horn sections are also all around.  “Five on the Five” begins with an alarm-like trumpet chorus which is then mirrored by the guitar-line. “The Switch and the Spur” sounds like a grand, mariachi-influenced Western-theme when it begins.  Is this influence a holdover from the White Stripes’ recent cover of the Patti Page hit “Conquest?” For whatever reason they are now added to the mix, the horns add depth to the band’s sound. 

When the group rocks out, they do so with force.  Both “Hold Up” and first single “Salute the Solution” are bold, loud workouts built on a classic rock mold somewhere between the before mentioned Zeppelin and the Stooges. 

It’s interesting to hear when Benson and White trade off vocals, as they do on the song “Consoler of the Lonely.”  They prove themselves to be a pretty stellar tag-team.  Backed by White’s muscular guitar, Benson’s delivery gets more urgency than he usually summons on his solo work.

But the band handles mellower territory well, too.  Consider that the two strongest tracks are probably the mid-tempo “You Don’t Understand Me” (a song that might not have sounded out of place if say, Wilco had put a version of it on their album “Sky Blue Sky.”) and the acoustic, slightly Celtic-sounding “These Stones Will Shout.”  The latter works itself up into a full-fledged frenzy by its end, shifting tempos completely and rocking with great might. 

Jack White works the troubadour label pretty well, too.  “Carolina Blues” shows him in a very self-aware Dylan mode.  Although it’s poured rather thickly, it still works. 

Indeed the Raconteurs are stronger as a whole than any one of their parts.  They are a fully dependent crew.   “Consolers of the Lonely” is jam-packed full of dynamite and skill.

March 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Review: Gnarls Barkley’s “The Odd Couple”

March 26, 2008 2:39 PM

Two years ago alt-hip-hop wizard Danger Mouse (who made his name blending the music of Jay-Z and the Beatles) and former Goodie Mob rapper/singer Cee-Lo joined forces to form Gnarls Barkley.  Probably to their great surprise, it shot them both to much higher levels of fame, thanks mostly to their infectious single “Crazy.”  That song was so popular in fact that it was covered by everyone from Nelly Furtado to singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne. Their genre-bending album, “St. Elsewhere” also sported a nifty cover of the Violent Femmes’ “Gone Daddy Gone.”  You have to admire a group that introduces hip-hop heads to the wonderfully twisted music of Gordon Gano.  (What’s next? I’d like to hear Andre 3000 cover “Add It Up,” frankly!)

Does their new album, “The Odd Couple,” live up to the high praise of its predecessor?  The answer is both yes and no.  Yes, in the way that it is very much more of the same which ultimately should please many fans.  No, in the way that it is very hard to hit the same nerve twice and get the same level of results.  In other words, the ultimate shock of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse reinventing the boundaries of what people expect out of them has passed.  It’s all good, though. 

At 39 minutes, much like “St. Elsewhere,” it’s about half the length of your average, bloated modern hip-hop and R&B record, but then again, this album isn’t going to please hip-hop purists expecting Cee-Lo to bust out a few verses.  He doesn’t rap on the disc, covering the whole affair with his gospel-infused croon instead.  (The first album at least had him rap on “Feng Shui.”) Also, the experimental electronic touches are more likely to please forward-thinking pop and rock fans. 

The disc has plenty moments which could give the duo more hits.  Most of the high-points are backed by pseudo-go-go, Motown-esque backbeats.  “Surprise” plays like a double-time bossa nova during the verses and then raves up to glorious heights. 

“Going On” is a similar organ-fueled dance party, mixed with a guitar sample from the 60’s psychedelic rock band Please.   I can imagine this being a huge hit.

The actual single, “Run (I’m a Natural Disaster),” finds Cee-Lo pleading “Run children! Run for your life!” as if he is leading a gospel choir away from the devil. MTV reportedly had some issues with the flashing lights in the track’s video.  If you haven’t seen it, it is pretty hip and innovative despite a cameo (in the video only and not the song) from Justin Timberlake. The ending can be rather blinding though, and quick flashing strobe lights can cause epileptic seizures which was sited as a reason for MTV’s decision. 

Often times Cee-Lo comes off like this generation’s Al Green.  Check out how buttery-smooth he is on “Whose Gonna Save My Soul.”

On “Would Be Killer” he takes on his best sinister growl and sings over an ominous groove that wouldn’t sound out of place on an old Gravediggaz record.   

“Open Book” takes a typical R&B melody and places it atop a radically skittering drum-beat.  It sounds like drunken drum ‘n’ bass.  Combine that with the tormented yelling in the chorus and you have something challenging and interesting.  Deep down, Gnarls Barkley’s appeal may lie in the fact that darkness and depression seem to be recurring themes.  Cee-Lo’s level of angst here is the kind you usually are more to find on rock albums. 

“Whatever” sounds like it was written to make fun of bratty teenagers.  There’s a knowing mocking quality in Cee-Lo’s delivery.

“No Time Soon” is gentle and soulful while still effectively cool and skittery.  “She Knows” takes a retro-jungle beat, and smoothly merges it with a nice flute line.  In comparison “Blind Mary” is straightforward until you pay attention to the weird and interesting keyboard work in the background.  “Neighbors” with its near trip-hop drift could turn it into a left-field hit. 

The record’s closer “A Little Better” is also a keen highlight. It’s an effective walking story-teller.  It shows just how strong a performer Cee-Lo is.  He demands attention.  He’s an old-school talent for the new-school generation.  His earthy, deeply soulful delivery holds up surprisingly well next greats of the past like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. 

“The Odd Couple” takes Gnarls Barkley to much darker places than some fans might expect, but it effectively continues the duo’s journey to blend genres and play with musical conventions.  This is no sophomore slump.  This is a bold second chapter which challenges in the best ways.  It is slightly harder than “St. Elsewhere” to digest at first, but in a few years it might be considered every bit as important. 

Gnarls Barkley seem to like to name their albums after classic television shows.  (I wonder what Neil Simon thinks of their latest choice.)  What they should call their third album?  My vote: “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.”  Hmmmm.  On second thought, maybe not.   

March 26, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Review: Be Your Own Pet’s “Get Awkward”

March 25, 2008 10:29 AM

Not many other bands sound like Be Your Own Pet these days.  The Nashville band possesses a touch of post Riot Grrrl, aggression, a heap of all-out punk and a strong dose of dangerous youthful exuberance.  The band first appeared with a stack of singles in 2005, only to later be picked up by Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label.

  In 2006, they released their self-titled full-length, which found leader Jemina Pearl yelling and screeching with authority.  A quick look at the band’s live performances on youtube will show you that she’s a mighty force to be reckoned with and one of the most engaging front-women you’re ever likely to see.

As an album, “Be Your Own Pet” was excellent.  It thrashed through 15 tracks in 33 minutes, allowing a few quick moments for the shouts to give way to melody.  “Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle” and “Adventure” were both singles, but the standout was the melodic “October, First Account” with the band slower but no less loud, and Pearl singing a standout tune.  The disc as a whole was an impressive debut, for a band still in their teens.  Never ones to be sugary, this was indeed aggressive, fiery music for adults.

“Get Awkward” is the band’s second full-length.  It finds them in much the same place, only focusing more on song structure than mood.  In other words, it bests their excellent debut. 

The place you should start is “Creepy Crawl.”  Believe it or not, I have listened to this song on repeat for more than an hour at a time on at least two separate occasions already.  Considering the song clocks in at only 2:50, you’d think I’d be sick of it by now.  Hardly!  It’s the kind of infectious, all-consuming, ultimately addictive tracks that stands as an ultimate game-changer.  Never have Be Your Own Pet been so witty and oddly funky.  The song seems to tell the story of Pearl returning home to her old bedroom after all her experiences on tour.  Not surprisingly, she feels like a “stranger” after seeing the world.  Considering that at age 20, she’s the oldest member of her band, this is really something.  How exactly does moderate success change someone so young?  Here’s her quick document.  I’m sure the guys who back her up had similar strange feeling.  Pearl sings, “I’m not the girl that I was before, / Feel like I’m lying each time I walk through that door. / Sleeping in my own bed feels like a sin, / It’s hard to sink back into my life again.”  This is real.  It could be syrupy but it isn’t in the least.  It is the coolest track I’ve heard this year thus far.  The fact that it could potentially serve as a good means to crossover from hipster buzz-band to modern-rock radio is just icing on the cake. I urge all rock radio music directors to listen to the track and consider adding it.  It’s a hit and Be Your Own Pet are truly worthy! 

  “You’re a Waste” also shows the band in a more pop-driven frame of mind and could also bring them a wider audience.  In order to keep it from getting too glossy, the production is still rough, but there are signs of strong growth here. 

If you are the kind of person who doesn’t know how to define punk, and if you think every Good Charlotte wannabe poseur who has wrongly exploited the punk or “pop-punk” label actually is punk, this isn’t a record for you.  This is a wonderfully raw sonic beat-down in comparison more akin to authentic punk and hardcore bands of the past.  The men in the band (Jonas Stein,  Nathan Vasquez and newcomer John Eatherly) shout the chorus of “Bummer Time” sounding like a particularly unruly (by nevertheless fun) mob of hooligans.  It’s straight out of Hardcore 101, but it’s cool nonetheless, as is the minute-long “Food Fight.”

On “Zombie Graveyard Party!,” when Pearl demands, “Let me eat your brain,” it’s an aggressive line which she more than pulls off.  She’s a demanding powerhouse -   part Kathleen Hanna, part Karen O., while still her own unique self.

She’s also got a nice gift for language and phrasing, as on “Free the Beast,” when she delivers the lines, “I went down to the sunshine state, got a haircut and came back late!”  From the wrong person, that could sound just silly.  Jemina Pearl means business.

While most bands their age are strictly delivering saccharine-driven dribble for the kids to consume, Be Your Own Pet sound all-knowing and weary for it.  There’s something depressing but real about Pearl’s declaration “All I see are more dark days” (on "Super Soaked") referring to the future. Well, the world won’t disappoint as long as you’re a realist. 

The sex and drug-referencing in “The Kelly Affair” stick with that frame of mind, but when the guitar-solo turns surfy, complete with “woo-hoos!” you sense the joy.

In writing this review, it came to my attention that the U.S. edition of the album is missing 3 songs available on the U.K. edition.  According to a myspace bulletin posted by Pearl last week, the suits at Universal deemed the songs, “Black Hole,” “Becky” and “Blow Your Mind” too violent to release here.  I don’t think this is a scam to drum up buzz.  Rather, it seems more like a record company dictating what its artists should and shouldn’t do.  Universal should be more concerned about how the band will respond to such maneuvers when contract-renewal time comes around, especially if the band breaks to a bigger audience.  The album’s still got a warning sticker after all.

  I have heard “Becky” and “Black Hole” streaming on the band’s website.  Yes, they are violent, particularly “Becky,” a bouncy tune in which Pearl sings about killing her “B.F.F.” and then going to jail.  Critics would argue that in a post-Columbine world, we have to take such preventative measures to remove such elements from the culture.  While the content may on one level be distasteful, some will definitely find it rather Big Brother-ish that the label decided to make such a move, especially when far worse songs are readily available on other records.  Also “Becky” is no worse in its content than “Excitable Boy” by Warren Zevon or “Used to Love Her” by Guns ‘n’ Roses!  If people are going to commit violent acts, odds are, removing songs from an album isn’t going to stop somebody who really wants to do damage. Tune-wise, the two out three omitted tracks which I’ve been able to sample are strong, and would’ve made the album better. It’s a shame they were eliminated for content.  Those who want them will no doubt find the import.  If the same lyrics were in a book would it not be published? I doubt it.   

For those in the know who follow the music industry, removing the tracks only draws more attention to them, thus in a global society, Universal’s tactic backfires.  Also, with companies making such judgments, the question is where does it stop?  It’s a slippery slope.  Pretty soon someone will make a decision eliminating something which could spark a lively, substantive conversation on a controversial issue. Often things that are shocking shine light on larger societal problems paving the way for changes which are ultimately positive.  It’s an interesting topic of discussion. 

So, the U.S. version  of “Get Awkward” is a 12-track, 29-minute dose of thrashy noise.  Obviously, it’s not for the faint of heart.  Keeping that in mind, even in its diminished state, it’s a really strong, worthy musical statement and one of the best of this young year. Be Your Own Pet are a band to watch, indeed. 

March 25, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Review: She & Him’s “Volume One”

March 19, 2008 5:14 PM

Actress Zooey Deschanel is known for roles in movies like “Almost Famous” and “Elf.”  Indie singer-songwriter M. Ward is known for laid back, back-porch song-stylings.  Put them together, you have their new project, “She & Him.”

I know what you are thinking.  “Oh great! Another vanity project from someone in Hollywood aiming to also have a singing career!”  Wrong!  Ward’s presence alone on this record should quiet some of the naysayers, since he wields a lot of hipster-cred.  Not only that, 10 out of 13 tracks are originals, with Deschanel writing 9 tracks and co-writing the 10th.  She’s no slouch.  She can craft a great hook with the best of them.  Plus, as a singer, she is a slightly known commodity given some of her film work.  This isn’t a fame-hungry, transparent and shallow money-grab.  This is a satisfying record that obviously was made for no other reason than the love of music. 

Those expecting full-on duets between Deschanel and Ward will be disappointed.  Ward’s vocal contributions are limited.  This is Zooey Deschanel’s show. 

The songs here are strikingly retro.  If they don’t sound like Brill Building girl-group gold, they have a backwoods, old-time country feel.  Deschanel’s voice is distinctive and suits her material well. 

Opener “Sentimental Heart” sets the early sixties as an obvious touchstone.  Her melodies are full; her lyrics are timeless odes to love.  “What can you do with a sentimental heart?” she asks, and with the strike of a drum, four or five Zooeys sing the song out in “aaaaah, ahhhhh” style.

“Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” shows that Deschanel must have studied the songs of Goffin and King.  There is something about her delivery that recalls Little Eva’s version of the “Loco-Motion,” at least until the slightly countrified guitar-solo comes in. 

“This Is Not a Test” is a little more country, as if Bobbie Gentry or Tammy Wynette got mixed in with the girl-group influences.  There may be a little Lesley Gore in the mix as well.  In any case, Deschanel gives a strong performance.  The mouth-noise vocal solo is a unique touch. 

“Change Is Hard” takes us further into country ballad territory, but still the early sixties vocal pop quality bubbles to the surface.  Her voice is a naturally bold, booming instrument when it gets unleashed. 

“I Thought I Saw Your Face Today” would’ve been a hit in 1962, whistling solo and all.  Ward’s string arrangement to make the track slightly bigger and more elegant.

“Take It Back” mixes a jazzy vocal delivery with some country-filtered touches.  It’s like something you’d hear sung just before last call. 

“I Was Made For You” is the kind of song the Ronettes and the Shirelles used to specialize in.  It’s nice to hear this emulated so well, especially since Deschanel is so young and an excellent songwriter. 

Next is the album’s first cover.  Deschanel slows down and gives an incandescent treatment to the Smokey Robinson classic, “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me.”  The song has been done so many times by so many people, but this version gives it a relaxed vibe.  Think about Mama Cass singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” and you’ve got the feeling. 

“Black Hole” is another nicely executed, classic country-infused number. Ward’s guitar solo sounds particularly murky. 

On “Got Me,” Patsy Cline’s influence really shows.  It’s a sad number with sliding, weepy guitars, but Deschanel is up to the task. This will win her some fans.

Next is perhaps the album’s only ill-advised move, a country-infused version of the Beatles’ classic “I Should Have Known Better.”  Beatles music is hard to mess up, but it is also sacred to many, so this version may not go down well with some listeners.  Still, it’s a nice attempt. 

Next comes the one song Deschanel co-wrote.  Her writing partner is another actor and musician, former Phantom Planet drummer and current Coconut Records principal, Jason Schwartzman.    The track is “Sweet Darlin’” and it acts as a summary of all of the album’s strengths.  For this reason, it may be the most essential track on the album. 

The record closes with a wonderfully sentimental, unlisted version of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”  If this doesn’t prove Deschanel’s worthiness to the skeptics, I don’t know what will.  Some people you just can’t please. 

With this project, Deschanel and Ward prove a lot can still be done with some good old-fashioned musical ingenuity and talent.  I’m crossing my fingers and eagerly hoping that they will release a second volume. 

This is a benchmark for celebrity-driven records!

March 19, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Review: Yael Naim’s “Yael Naim"

March 18, 2008 4:35 PM

You’ve heard her song “New Soul” in the new MacBook Air ad, but you probably didn’t know exactly who she was.  Introducing Yael Naim, a Parisian-born, Tel Aviv-based singer who is ready to storm the coffee-houses with her sweet voice.  The twist is that the majority of the album is actually sung in Hebrew.  One look at the lyric sheet and that will be immediately apparent.  This twist just makes things interesting. 

It seems strange that her album is self-titled because according to the cover the disc is co-credited to her collaborator, David Donatien.  (His name is written in very small font...) Why credit him at all on the cover if all the press only names her?  It’s an odd and unusual move.    

The first few lines of the opening track “Paris,” are in French before switching to Hebrew.  It has a mellow easiness to it, with a classically French vibe.  Indeed, it is subtle as it softly flutters along.

Next is “Too Long,” the disc’s first song in English. It sounds like a dramatic movie theme.  The guitar plucking, rhythm and minor-key scale equally combine both the French and Israeli influences in her music. 

If you have a television, no doubt you have heard “New Soul.”  One listen summons visions of someone sticking a full, thin laptop into a legal-sized envelope.  All at once, Naim recalls everyone from Regina Spektor to Corinne Bailey Rae to another singer with ties to Paris and Israel, Keren Ann.  The track is such a collision of styles that one could probably write a whole dissertation on its musical influences.  Most obviously, it has elements of tin-pan-alley and Dixieland (a soft oompa-oompa horn-section) filtered through a retro brand of “Free to Be You and Me” optimism.  Perhaps all of these reasons are why this track has grown from the little-track-that-could into a hip marketing centerpiece.  Add in Naim’s infectious “la la” chorus and the angelic-sounding choir at the end of the track, and you have 3:45 of undeniably dense pop dynamite.  It’s going to be a hard single to follow up. 

The next song “Levater (Give Up)” would indeed work as a second single, since its melody is haunting and catchy.  It burns and twists and softly creeps along.  But in order for it to be a hit, radio has to open its ears to a song completely sung in Hebrew.  They should.  A beautiful song is a beautiful song whether you understand the lyrics or not.

“Shelcha (Young)” is next.  It’s another soft and effective melody with Naim at a high, near whisper, backed by a sweeping string-section.   While it isn’t quite as strong as the two songs before it, it nevertheless hits gold midway. 

“Lonely” is a sad lullaby-style ballad. As Naim allows her protagonist to wallow in sadness, she offers comfort.

“Far Far” may more likely be the follow-up to “New Soul,” though, it is a much slower song about “a little girl.. praying for something big to happen to her.” It comes off as a little heavy and self-important, but it’ll find its audience. 

“Yashanti (I Was Sleeping)” follows, and as it comes on, you wonder if the album will ever pick up again quite like it did on “New Soul.”  Still, this is another well-done, beautiful soft ballad. It is however time for some oomph!

But no oomph is around on “7 Baboker (7 in the Morning.)”  It’s just more delicate, softly sung coffeehouse singer-songwriter output.  It’s great,, but if you are looking for a pick-me-up, you won’t find it here or in the next track, “Lachlom (Dream).” Though, that song has some really nice string-work and atmospheric elements.

All of a sudden, the disc takes a truly unexpected turn with an equally soft but sultry cover of the Britney Spears hit “Toxic.”  If you’ve been paying attention to music as of late, you may recall last year that Mark Ronson delivered a cover of the song on his album “Version.”  Why is this a song so many want to cover?  It is hard to say, but both covers best the original twenty times over.  Naim slows the song down considerably and cuts it down to a skeleton.  Without all the flash and bounce of the Spears version it shines on its own as a song rather than a studio concoction. 

“Pachad (Fear)” begins the kind of brief piano solo you’d expect from a Dave Brubeck album and it morphs into one of the more beautifully mellow tracks on here.  It has one of the strongest melodies, and as she sings, her watery piano lines punctuate her phrasing.  A buried beat and some other sonic elements enter the mix.  This too, would make a good single, but again because it is in Hebrew, it faces potential roadblocks to radio.  No doubt, though, it is definitely a highlight!

Similarly, the album’s closer, “The Endless Song of Happiness (Shir Haosher Hanitschi)” is flowing and dynamic as it blossoms into a waltz.

Yael Naim is a find, indeed.  Her musical style may recall others, but her linguistic twist may be a way to stick out from the pack.  “New Soul” is most definitely the best song on the album, but it is all worth a listen.  It’s an album full of soft-spoken whimsy. 

March 18, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

In Honor of St. Patrick’s Day - What’s Your Favorite Song by an Irish Band?

March 17, 2008 1:17 PM

Since it is St. Patrick’s Day and a celebration of all things Irish, why not celebrate by thinking of your favorite Irish bands and their contributions to our culture.  I’m thinking mainly of rock bands, but you don’t have to necessarily limit yourself. (I’m sure there are some Ronan Tynan fans out there!) Here’s a quick list of ten of my favorites.   

1. U2 – “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (From “War” 1983) Never have U2 sounded more biting and vital than they do here.  “Achtung Baby” may be my favorite album by them, but here is where they really established themselves.  The song is dead-seriously political, but it manages to rock viciously.  If you are looking for an example of Bono blending both his worlds of expertise, it doesn’t get crisper and clearer than it is here. 

2. Van Morrison – “Brown Eyed Girl” (From “Blowin’ Your Mind!” 1967) Has there ever been a song more abused in movie-trailers?  As culturally ubiquitous as this song is, as much as it’s been shoved down our throats, it’s undeniable partly because of Morrison’s righteous rasp and that plucky guitar-line.

3. The Boomtown Rats –  “I Don’t Like Mondays” (From “The Fine Art of Surfacing” 1979) Does anyone else find it weird that Bono’s brother-in-charity, Bob Geldof rose to fame singing a darkly witty song which seems to be about a school shooting?  I’m sure many radio DJ’s and tired workers have missed this point at some point or another. The song is actually better in many ways if you haven’t figured that out, but it still has earned its place in history.

4. Damien Rice – “The Blower’s Daughter” (From “O” 2003) Damien Rice is the modern face of sensitively poetic Irish singer-songwriter-dom.  “The Blower’s Daughter” may not have been a huge hit, but it’s cemented in the heads of anyone who happened to see the movie “Closer” a few years ago.  It’s nearly impossible for me to hear that song without imagining Natalie Portman walking down the street in slow motion.  It’s a powerful cinematic moment, and it shows how important a good soundtrack can be.  Please also note, Rice’s too-often unsung co-hort, Lisa Hannigan, who on this track delivers an excellent closing, background-vocal performance.

5. Sinead O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” (From “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” 1990) The song may not be Irish, but that’s OK.  Sinead makes the song her own. When you consider, Prince wrote it and originally recorded his own falsetto-soaked version of it, that’s a pretty impressive feat.

6. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová “Falling Slowly” (From “Once” 2007)  Only Hansard is Irish, but I figure Irglová should get a pass considering she lives in Ireland and the Oscar winning tune was the centerpiece for “Once,” a film all about two musicians in Dublin.  It’s a dynamic example of scales working well as melody.  The song gets more beautiful and haunting with every listen. 

7. The Cranberries “Linger” (From “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” 1993) This was the Cranberries’ first hit and it shines a little brighter than their others.  Some may find it highly mock-worthy, but consider how serene it is in comparison to later hits like “Zombie.”  It bounces along in an echo-drenched sweet-universe of its own. 

8. The Pogues “Summer In Siam” (From “Hell’s Ditch” 1990) The Pogues formed in London, but Shane MacGowan’s delivery is distinctly Irish.  This track is a slick dose of raining-down piano sounds, drums and saxophone.  It may not be their most famous track, but it is among their best. 

9. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” (From “The Undertones” 1979) Quite simply, “Teenage Kicks” is a fresh dose of Irish punk.  Three-chord fuzz at its best!

10. Bell X1 – “Eve, The Apple of My Eye” (From “Flock” 2006 – U.S. Edition 2008) “Flock” was a big hit in Ireland, and it just hit U.S. shelves a few weeks ago.  “Eve” received some U.S. attention a few years back when it was featured on an episode of “The O.C.” and on one of that series’ soundtracks.  Like many other of Bell X1’s songs, it has a larger-than-life stately elegance to it.  This is a sadly beautiful love song of the highest order. 

What do you think?  Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

March 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Review: Kathleen Edwards’ “Asking For Flowers”

March 12, 2008 10:36 AM

Ottawa’s Kathleen Edwards is often labeled as a country singer.  Perhaps she is a country singer, but she comes with a rock attitude and the attention to soft detail of a singer-songwriter. Perhaps this is why she gets the “alt-country” label as well.

Her 2003 debut album “Failer” set her apart from the pack with depressing tales of low-level crime, love lost, general unhappiness and of course hockey skates.  (She is Canadian, after all!) The album won immediate raves and many have drawn comparisons to obvious heroes like Neil Young, Tom Petty and Lucinda Williams.  The Young comparison is perhaps the most apt, considering the two performers deliver their lines with what seems like a similar accent. (That might make sense since Neil is Canadian and from Ontario, too!) 

Her devil-may-care attitude also could get her comparisons to alt-country’s most prolific poster-boy, Ryan Adams.  Both seem equally versed in classic country traditions with glimpses of punk-filtered irreverence.  Edwards doesn’t rock quite like Adams does.  The comparison lies more in the attitude than the music. 

In 2005, she released her second record, “Back To Me,” which while not as strong as her debut, did produce the catchy title track, and the wonderfully acerbic “In State.” 

Now, three years later, she has returned with “Asking For Flowers,” and it recalls the greatness of “Failer” in a big way, although it still does not surpass it. 

It opens with “Buffalo,” a quiet, slow-churner of a mood-piece.  Starting with something on the stark end of the scale is a bold move, but Edwards has the chops to pull it off.  It helps that the song has a memorable melody, and that it soars and expands a little as chorus picks up, augmenting the bare piano with guitar, drums and a highly dramatic string section.  It’s among her best and it should be a single. 

The album’s actual first single arrives next with “The Cheapest Key,” a cheeky, mid-tempo country-rock workout recalling the mood of the title track to her last album.  As she makes up words for each note of the scale, (“A is for all the times I bit my tongue”) you realize this is a woman done wrong who is out for revenge.  This is the pose that Edwards holds the best.  Even though you know you’d never want to cross her, there’s a sweetness underneath it all that makes you want to root for her.  She also attacks the subject with a lot of cleverness.  In the chorus, she sings, “You always write it in the cheapest key.” (Who is she addressing, another songwriter?  I had no idea that the scale had a ranking system!)  This track strongly illustrates Edwards’ appeal. 

The title track for “Asking For Flowers” is next, and it’s a rather mellow, almost confessional example of country-ballad know-how.  Not that anything off this record would necessarily appeal to mainstream country radio.  I suspect it is a little too organic sounding and not glossy enough, but that’s their loss and our gain.  Also, because she is Canadian, Edwards lacks twang in her vocal delivery, which I also suspect might not go down well with those decision makers in Nashville. Perhaps she’s always known this, since after all, she is the one who once recorded a track called “One More Song the Radio Won’t Like.”  Her depressing sentiments also come off as real and not for show.  She is as authentic in her songwriting and her delivery as they come. 

“Alicia Ross” is in a similar atmospheric realm as “Buffalo.”  You can imagine her singing songs like this surrounded by snow-covered farm-country, looking out to a grey skyline.  Her hangdog, deadpan delivery allows all the sadness inside to seep to the surface.  This is her dynamic gift. 

With its countrified guitar-line, “I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory” is perhaps the closest thing to a conventional country track Edwards has ever recorded and although the instrumentation comes off as attempt to court the mainstream, her lyrical skill gets her through.  Her comparisons in the lyrics are priceless. (“You’re the buffet, I’m just the table. / I’m a Ford Tempo, you’re a Maserati.  You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorley!”) There’s humor in her self-deprecation, but as she sings, she gives a voice to down-trodden underdogs everywhere. 

“Oil Man’s War” is a ballad of two lovers, Bobby and Annabel who perhaps settle in Canada to escape the war.  “When we get up north, we’ll buy us a store. / I won’t fight in an oil man’s war.”  Edwards really can tell a story.   

Next comes a song radio definitely won’t like, the soft and beautiful “Sure as S__t.”  It’s just Edwards and an acoustic guitar, but it shows how nicely she works with sparse arrangements and empty space. 

“Run” is another slow-burner.  Edwards often uses the same scale, and this is a slower variation on a formula she previously used on her song “Six O’clock News” as well as on “In State.” 

“Oh Canada,” with its gutsy title also sounds familiar, because it uses the same scale as well only to more pointed effect.  With its angrier delivery, it recalls the track “Maria” from “Failer.”  The gritty track is about gun violence and inequity of news coverage.  Her point, if a white girl gets shot, it’s all over the news, whereas if the victim is black, it’s sadly treated with “ambivalence.” A similar point has been made across the media in regards to missing women, how missing white women often have the media up in arms, whereas if the victim is African-American, the chances of the same level of media coverage are less.  Such disparities should be fixed. 

“Scared at Night” is another sparse number about being afraid of the dark as a child.  This is then combined with a rather gruesome story about accidentally shooting a cat in the eye.  While, it’s not pretty, it does show her strengths as a writer. 

In all ends with the understated six-minute “Goodnight California.” Again, it is a typically bleak Edwards number, but it definitely shows she has a rather consistent style and personality. 

If you’ve never hear Kathleen Edwards, “Failer” is still her classic and the best place to start, but “Asking For Flowers” continues nicely in that album’s tradition. 

March 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Review: Bauhaus’ “Go Away White”

March 12, 2008 10:23 AM

Are you ready to feel old?  “Go Away White” is the first Bauhaus album in 25 years.  Apparently, according to this Billboard article the band broke up again shortly after recording it after an “incident.”  So, in other words, after “Go Away White,” the band basically intends to “go away” again.  It seems ironic for a bunch of goths to release an album drenched in white, but maybe that that’s just some sort of contrarian joke. 

In the early eighties, Bauhaus were the band you went to if you were a bummed hipster looking for a place to wallow in your sadness.  Along with the Cure, and Siouxsie and the Banshees they were seminal in the gothic music movement.  With hits like the epic, nine-minute “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and “In the Flat Field” they established themselves as dark masters of spookiness.  Anchored by the odd but intriguing lead singer, Peter Murphy, they were almost immediately set to become legends.  After their 1983 album, “Burning on the Inside,” the band broke up, with Murphy embarking on a solo career, and the other three members (David J, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins) forming Love and Rockets.  (You may remember Love and Rockets for their surprise 1989 mega-smash hit “So Alive.”)

So how is “Go Away White?”  It’s not a fantastic record, but like most ultra-distant reunion records, it’s an adequate reminder of the band’s glory days. 

Opener, “Too Much 21st Century” is a blues-flavored boogie, which unleashes Murphy at his glammiest.  He’s always had a little Bowie in him, (the band famously covered “Ziggy Stardust.”) and here is no exception.  The drama is evident in his voice as always and it’s almost like no time has passed.  The bass-line slinks along in a funked-out strut, and the drums kick along with the groove.

“Adrenalin” is next with its doses of sonic feedback punctuation and its spoken word choruses.  Again, this track is the band returning to the top of their game.

“Undone” is an oddly timed slice of moody rock.  The keyboards relive eighties glory, while other electronic effects sound more modern.  Vocally on this track, Murphy sounds a lot like his peer, Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs.

“International Bulletproof Talent” continues the list of satisfying numbers.  Sure, it’s not ground-breaking, and they’ve done many tracks like this before, but it’s effective in its mission.  During the verses, it is cool when Murphy half-speaks and half-sings in his lowest register.  His guttural yells and almost flippant speaking tone on the track recall the work of another band, Killing Joke. 

“Endless Summer of the Damned” is also strong, built around a creepy bass-line.  It doesn’t have much of a tune. It is more about mood and attitude, but it would be a good soundtrack for your next Halloween party. 

“Saved” brings all the goodness to a grinding halt.  Over a very subtle beat, Murphy sings with the fervor of an over-zealous opera singer.  It plays almost like his audition for “Phantom of the Opera.”  (It might be interesting to see Peter Murphy as the phantom!)  That’s all well and good, but this track is a meandering, tuneless dirge.  Even a skilled vocalist like Murphy can’t save this unfocused track.  It is supposed to be scary and it sort of is, but it’s also quite awful. 

Luckily, it is followed by one of the album’s strongest tracks, “Mirror Remains.”  Again, like almost all of the band’s best work, it’s built around a rubbery bass-line, a groove-driven beat and bits of guitar dissonance. Here, Murphy’s drama is more of an asset, though he does tend to still pour it on rather thickly. 

“Black Stone Heart” is musically strong. Ash, J and Haskins are tight as ever, but Murphy is lost in vibrato-land, allowing his voice to veer off-course a little too much. His delivery is so dramatically affected, it nearly ruins the track. 

In the beginning, “The Dog’s a Vapour” comes off as a better version of “Saved.” It is still a little overdone, but it is similarly minimalist. It also has much more of a structure. Murphy bellows “There’s something in you! The dog’s a vapour!” and a siren-like guitar and drum-assault begins.  It lasts until the end of the track, and stands as one of the defining moments of the album as a whole. 

  “Zikir” closes the disc.  It’s an ambient moment of peace with Murphy speaking a few words on top.  In the distance, unrest can be heard deep in the mix.  It’s a fitting closing moment. 

In all “Go Away White” only has one misstep.  It should satisfy the longtime fans who’ve waited what seems like an eternity for new music.  But the album also has only a few real highlights.  In other words, the majority of it is more toward the middle of the road.  I suppose you might be able to chock that up to rustiness.  Had they managed to stay together, in a few years they might have produced another classic. 

With Bauhaus now broken up again, what now?  I’m hoping for another Love and Rockets album. 
   

March 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Review: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks’ “Real Emotional Trash”

March 07, 2008 11:51 AM

  Former Pavement leader Stephen Malkmus is one of the only performers I can think of whose solo records are of equal quality as those of his former band.  Most people go solo and lack the power that they once had.  (Every now and then, you find someone who gets better after going solo.  Bjork’s records have more resonance than her records with the Sugarcubes, but that’s an isolated case.)  In Malkmus’ case, it all seems to run in a straight line, from 1992’s classic “Slanted and Enchanted” all the way to this album, “Real Emotional Trash,” his fourth post-Pavement record. 

Sure, there are differences.  Pavement’s songs were usually quick little crunching power-nuggets (think of the 18 tracks packed onto “Wowee Zowee”) whereas the Malkmus records tend to jam out with more prog-y and jam-rock touches.  But it all remains the same.  He is a cult hero now for the same reasons he always was.  He’s the perfect storm.  He’s got a lot of winning qualities.  Sometimes he’s got a similarly wacky stream-of-thought lyrical method as Beck, sometimes he comes off as a similarly garbled (but much, much happier) cousin to Kurt Cobain and he’s always got the same, lanky, effortless cool of Thurston Moore. 

The coolest new development in Malkmus’ backup band, the Jicks, is the new arrival of former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss, who replaces John Moen, who has now been drafted by the Decemberists.  Weiss makes her presence known right from the get-go. Her drums are right at the center of the opening track “Dragonfly Pie,” attacking with the kind of force that made her former band’s full-throttle swan song, “The Woods” such a hard-hitting indie-rock classic.

If you aren’t prepared, Malkmus’ songs can seem rather dizzying (especially on this record) but give it a few listens and your ears will fall into line.  There’s also a pseudo-psychedelic, long winded vibe.  (The album’s title track is over ten minutes long.  Has Malkmus been listening to old Traffic records?)  When “Hopscotch Willie” jams out, it gets a crusty Santana-via-Allman Brothers vibe.  Unlike all the groups mentioned above, though, you get the sense that Malkmus has never taken himself too seriously, especially when he is repeating the word “hopscotch” over and over again.  There’s an underlying, built-in, winking sarcasm to his tone which may make this record bearable for those people who don’t normally like such extended jams. 

The whole album is full of ornate guitar-work.  However, some tracks are flashier than others.  After “Dragonfly Pie” and “Hopscotch Willie,” “Cold Son” seems much more straight-forward. 
“Out of Reaches” is a mid-tempo gem so catchy that by the second chorus, you’ll probably be singing along to Malkmus’ “Out! Out! Out! Out of Reaches!” This is a potential single that Adult Alternative radio would be all over. When it ends with him singing, “I know the tide will turn” over and over again, though it is cryptic, you believe in his sense of optimism. 

“Baltimore” is another highlight.  The riffage gives it a sense of drama, while distant background vocals give it an angelic feel.  When it changes tempo at just before the 3-minute mark, you wish you had a lighter to raise.

At 2:53, “Gardenia” reminds us what a smart craftsman Malkmus is in a shorter form.  With its sing-song-y “ba-ba-ba” background vocals provided by Weiss and bassist Joanna Bolme, along with its semi-comical shout-outs to Richard Avedon, it is the most digestible track here.  By Malkmus’ standards, this is finger-snapping pop candy, and because it is jam-packed with wit, it becomes all the sweeter.

“Elmo Delmo” returns us to a more experimental setting, but this seems to be one of the band’s specialties.  It’s hard to think of another band from today who can rock out so righteously.  Only Wilco’s recent work comes to mind.  In the middle of the track when keyboardist Mike Clark throws in a swirling keyboard pattern, you can almost imagine a rainbow of bright, whirling colors.

Like “Gardenia,” “We Can Help You” is another quick number assisted by female la-la-la-style background vocals.  There’s a great friendliness to such touches.  Amid a record full of complexity, such sudden simplicity is comforting and familiar.  Perhaps this kind of balance is Malkmus’ secret formula.  When something similar happens on the longer closer, “Wicked Wanda,” you are completely a believer that Malkmus and his band are among the finest indie-rock has to offer. 

Like all the Pavement records and the Malkmus records before it, “Real Emotional Trash” is a no-holds-barred classic.  No matter how complex the compositions are, Malkmus and his band just make it look so effortless.  If you are down with the easy-going mood of the record, they knock most of their peers clean out of the water. 

Malkmus is one of the most unsung, skilled guitarists around on top of everything else.  After years in the game, it is evident that Stephen Malkmus still can rock quite substantially. 

Quite simply, even at their silliest, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks flat-out rule!

March 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Review: Nine Inch Nails’ “Ghosts I-IV”

March 06, 2008 11:04 AM

In the May 2005 issue of Spin, around the time of the release of his comeback album “With Teeth,” Trent Reznor discussed how drugs and alcohol had taken him to a dark place from which he’d recently emerged. (The article was called “The Shadow of Death.” It was the cover-story, written by Marc Spitz.)   In the article, he candidly talked about how unexpected fame and the pressures surrounding it led to excess drinking and drugging.  At that point, his last album had been 1999’s “The Fragile,” thus making “With Teeth” his first Nine Inch Nails record in six years.  Having gotten clean, it was time for him to come back. Boy, did he ever come back - bolder and better than ever.

Some rock stars don’t handle sobriety well and their music suffers.  That scenario is the saddest of all because then it seems that the substances were being used as a creative crutch.  In Reznor’s case, the opposite happened.  Sobriety brought honest clarity.  The drugs had mucked his music up.  A cloud of self-hatred and isolation sat over his earlier albums like his breakthrough “The Downward Spiral.”  Although that album was important and showed Reznor’s great visionary skill, it was too murky and weighed down by a “woe-is-me” attitude.  The same was true of its follow-up, “The Fragile,” except that was a much better album.  The fact that it proved not to be the overplayed cultural milestone that its predecessor was, made it into an under-appreciated classic.  Today, for my money, “The Fragile” is a much better listen than “The Downward Spiral.”  Many people still view “The Downward Spiral” as Reznor’s masterwork, but that must only be because they haven’t been paying attention to him lately. 

A sober Trent Reznor is preferable.  Not only is it great to see a beloved cult-hero return from an abyss healthy and alive, but the last few years have been the best and most prolific of his career.  On “With Teeth” he still sang about isolation, but he seemed comfortably separated from the subject.  It was his best, clearest batch of songs since his synth-industrial debut, “Pretty Hate Machine.”  The songs on “With Teeth” were highly enjoyable and catchy.  “The Hand That Feeds,” “Only” and “Every Day Is Exactly the Same” proved to be modern-rock radio hits. 

For the first time in his career, it took Trent Reznor only two years to follow-up that album with the April 2007 release of “Year Zero.”  Like “The Downward Spiral,” it was a concept album built on anti-utopian principals, but among the doom and gloom, there was joy in Reznor’s delivery.  On “Year Zero” he sounds like he’s having a lot of fun.  The experiments with trip-hop and other beat-making methods only added to the album’s appeal.  A “Year Zero” collection of remixes arrived last November.  So, it was safe to assume that we’d have to wait a little while for more music.  Wrong!

“Year Zero” ended Nine Inch Nails’ contract with Interscope Records, so Reznor has now become a free agent. Perhaps seeing what a buzz Radiohead caused with their surprise originally download-only album “In Rainbows,” he decided to do something similar.  “Ghosts I-IV” is the result.  It’s a four-part instrumental album which is available from either the Nine Inch Nails website or Amazon for a bargain-basement price of five dollars.  The low-but-set price eliminates the problems that Radiohead had earlier with their “pay-what-you-want” method.”  Like Radiohead’s album, there are many “special edition” options available from the website.  According to Billboard, a physical version of the album arrives April 8th.

“Ghosts I-IV” is the fourth Reznor related project released in less than a year if you count his collaborative album with rapper Saul Williams.   That’s quite an amazing feat for someone who used to be known for uncomfortably long breaks.

What makes this record different is that it’s expansive (broken into 4 parts) and completely instrumental, so it plays like an extended movie score.  All 36 tracks are named with their track numbers, the word Ghosts, and the disc-section, thus the first track is called “01 Ghosts I.”  While this doesn’t show much imagination, it does intrigue and it shows that each one of these tracks is part of a larger whole.  It won’t be burning up the radio charts, but it shouldn’t have to.  This is not an album for pop purposes. This is a piece of art.

The set begins with a sad piano piece.  There are classical elements to Reznor’s work in this setting.  It’s very composerly.  Slowly, other sounds creep into the mix, letting you know that all is not well.  It’s in a minor key and it is dark, but it also is quite moving. 

“02 Ghosts I” begins with a wash of ambient sound which gives way to another soft piano solo.  Moby’s last album, “Hotel” came with a bonus disc of ambient works.  These first two tracks give off a similar vibe as that disc did, but it doesn’t last long.

On the third track, slight industrial elements make themselves known. A tick-tock rhythm and a slightly grooved-out bass-line give way to some really odd sounds.  It’s different and weird, but it’s distinctly Nine Inch Nails.  At the same time, like a few other tracks on here, it recalls the ominous mood of the Dust Brothers’ score for “Fight Club.”

Track 4, once it kicks in, is awash in noise-laden guitar fuzz.  It is messy but it’s also oddly satisfying and groove-worthy at the same time.  The fuzziness no doubt is meant to play on the dystopian vibe that has been Reznor’s calling card for sometime. 

A quiet, slow, backwards beat ushers in track 5, which has a clunky Western-sounding guitar-line. You’d expect this to be the background for someone walking through the desert alone.  I can almost imaging the mirages. 

Track 6 is built around a loop of what sounds like some sort marimba. It’s as if Reznor’s been listening to Thomas Newman’s “American Beauty” score and is attempting to put his own spin on Newman’s almost modal techniques.

Finally on track 7, a tripping beat enters the picture, reminding us of “Year Zero” and its innovations.  The mechanized sounds recall Reznor’s past as an industrial-music innovator.

A pounding, metallic guitar riff drives track 8, but then track 9 takes us back to solo-piano territory, backed by a minimalist beat.  The softer pieces here set a somber mood, but they really show Reznor’s depth as a composer.   He is not a three-chords-and-I’m-out kind of writer.  Christopher O’Riley, a classical pianist who has reinterpreted the collected works of both Radiohead and Elliott Smith should perhaps look towards doing the same for Nine Inch Nails next. 

Track 10 begins the second portion of the program.  It begins with a whip-like beat, recalling “Mr. Self-Destruct” from “The Downward Spiral,” but the track ends up being a walking, dissonant piano-jam, albeit with generous amounts of fuzz.  This is a highlight. 

A filtered beat underscores track 11, while haunting sounds weave their way across the track.  Backwards sounds and more piano bits punctuate the track as well. 

Track 12 begins as an even quieter piano piece, but then is drenched in distorted guitar fuzz, merging the worlds of old-classical beauty and garage punk know-how.

Once the fuzz settles down the piano takes the center stage again on track 13 with perhaps the brightest sounding chord progression Reznor has ever committed to tape.  It would’ve been nice to hear Reznor singing something this soft and bright, but perhaps that’s the exact reason he made this an instrumental record.  He’s got to keep his cred, after all. 

Track 14 is back in familiar terrain, with a scuffling, hushed, yet menacing rhythm seething to the surface, along with a muted bass.  It comes to a head when squeaky rhythmic elements take over and a slightly metallic guitar-solo begins to wail. 

The beginning of track 15 sounds like it was recorded on tape which got warped while sitting in the sun.  Like a lot of Reznor’s best work, it’s an unsettling mood piece. But then unexpectedly, an abrasive crowd noise filters in, recalling the NIN classic cut “Down in It.”

Track 16 makes a rinky-dink beat sound menacing with use of distortion and the emergence of loud guitars. 

It takes track 17 a little while to fade in, but it’s another somber score piece with the marimba elements washed in guitar fuzz.  This is one of the many moments that screams to be put into a movie. 

The digitized droning beat of track 18 numbs you as you get settled into its warm, glowing ambience.  When the Western guitar element returns for a moment buried deeply in the mix, it is a moment to rejoice.  The piece breathes and moves, down to the siren-esque moments of distortion.  Like track 13, it is also in the kind of major scale not normally associated with Reznor, although the track does contain many of his trademark elements. 

At track 19, we hit the halfway mark and begin the third section.  Again it begins with a pots-and-pans-like, highly percussive jam and then the noise filters in.  Squeaks and clatters prevail throughout. 
The backwards moaning guitar riff that serves as the basis for track 20 then gets draped with a few more laser-sharp layers of guitar.  The beat is muted and subtle and filtered in, but strangely it gives the track balance. As it continues, the beat fades into focus and it becomes the backbone for a rocking adrenaline rush, if only for a few seconds when it is abruptly cut off by a piano playing the same chords.  Indeed, this is very effective. 

Another modal dose of marimba work happens on track 21, and again, one hears the possible Thomas Newman influence.  It also recalls the recurring instrumental passages on “The Fragile.”  If you listen closely to the track, what may be backwards tones play like an orchestra trying to liberate itself from deep inside the mix. 

Track 22, is another warm piece.  A classical piano-figure dances alongside a sparse, banging beat.  If not for the slightly off-putting industrial element, it wouldn’t be out of place at some sort of piano recital. 

So we don’t feel like we stumbled into the wrong place, track 23 returns us to experimental synth and guitar-driven belches and blips. The menace is here and still pulsating.  It’s a virtually drumless exercise, but the rhythm is still clear.

Enter track 24, one of the more straight-forward tracks here.  Again there is a dose of “Flight Club”-esque aggression and what sounds like a sampled yell buried beneath the squall of fuzz.

At under two-minutes, track 25 sounds a little like a battle between the wind and walkie-talkie static mixed with elements not out of place in your typical atmospheric anime score. 

Track 26 is built around an aggressive beat and a funky bass-line. Yet again, aggression rules. 

Track 27 ends the third part with some destructive tweaks and shreds.  It sounds like just a few minutes of a wailing jam-session across a muscular groove. 

Track 28 begins with a bass and what sounds like a banjo.  It’s a mournful day on the range. The Western-style guitar fittingly returns. 

The best track on the whole set just might be Track 29 (or as it is known “29 Ghosts IV.”)  It combines a funky bass, a tight drum-section and typical NIN piano dissonance with the occasional electronic blurt. Strangely, it sounds like a cross between early eighties synth-rock and jazz-fusion. 

The piano and marimba-like instrument then come together in the distinctly eastern and meditative sound of track 30.  The beat-wallop keeps the industrial-heads in check, while allowing the rest of us to relax.  It’s soothing, which is not a quality often associated with Nine Inch Nails.   

  As is the pattern, the sequence rises and falls.  Another rocker follows at track 31. Track 32 is another “breathing” dose of synth experimentation. 

On track 33, more squeaking sonics prevail.  Reznor approaches this project the way many underground hip-hop producers approach mixtapes.  By its nature, this collection plays like an industrial rock answer to Madlib’s “Beat Konducta” series for instance.  Like that series, the tracks blend together somewhat without blank spaces, and they work in sections and suites. 

Track 34 brings back the banjo, piano and acoustic guitar to create another sad number in the vein of “Hurt” or the “With Teeth” closer, “Right Where It Belongs.”  At nearly six minutes, this is a deeply developed piece. 

Track 35 experiments with a beat similar to “The Warning” from “Year Zero” and well-placed stretches of feedback. 

Finally the whole thing ends with the 36th track, which is another peaceful piano solo. 
All together, the whole collection clocks in at about an hour and 50 minutes.  It is evident that a lot of work went into it, but it doesn’t seem overcooked in the least.  This is Reznor at his most primal, showing us all his varied layers of experimentation.  It’s an amazing feat. 

“Ghosts I-IV” continues Reznor’s winning streak.  Many would say that he was at his best during the period of “The Downward Spiral.”  Those people are wrong.  Right now is an excellent time to be a Nine Inch Nails fan.  Right now Trent Reznor is at his creative peak.  Let’s hope he can sustain it for many years to come. 

March 6, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (42)