While 1999’s Amplified was the last full album that Q-Tip actually released, it certainly wasn’t the last one he made. His career since then has been a harsh lesson in Industry Rule #4080 with three entire albums that were reduced to bootleg collectors items and two random singles that never actually made it to a real LP.
Ultimately, the check-writers didn’t feel that Q-Tip’s "Abstract" art projects would meet the expectations of fans who were still looking for more Tribe and he struggled to get his hard work into anyone’s hands.With the history leading up to it,
The Renaissance could have easily become a train wreck had Tip chosen to compromise his artistic vision simply for the sake of getting an album in stores. Those familiar with any of his false starts might initially assume that he’s done just that but thankfully, the return to traditional Hip Hop doesn't come off like a compromise with Universal he’s apparently legitimately interested in expressing himself through rhyme again."Gettin' Up" is no bait-and-switch single and the rest of The Renaissance generally follows suit. The clean, well-edited 12-song lineup doesn’t leave him much room to get lost in his own imagination so the overall effect leaves the intended impression. Because Q-Tip still approaches each track with a desire to innovate, the music feels new even while nodding to his roots. The captivating and radiant “You” could have been released at any point in Tip’s career and still felt natural and relevant. Resisting the temptation to wax about how "the game done changed," Tip takes the next step and actually demonstrates how the music can move forward without losing what was great about the past. “Life is Better” gives love to Ludacris [click to read] and Lil Wayne as sincerely as Dana Dane and Schoolly D.
The only slight misstep is “ManWomanBoogie” with Amanda Diva [click to read], but it shuffles around something interesting even if it never quite settles there.Q-Tip’s latest actually manages to find the intersection of the desires of the artist, the office and the fans. It is important to point out, however, that while the spirit of Tribe still lingers in this reincarnation of The Abstract, it's quite a bit more like The Love Movement than Midnight Marauders. Before you jump to any conclusions though, remember that time has helped thaw that album's undeservedly icy reception disregarding The Renaissance when you don’t hear “Scenario 2008” will only make you feel silly when you finally learn to appreciate it in 2018.
Out today across the USA, ‘Metamorphosis’ is the seventh solo CD from singing sensation Maysa Leak. Variously produced by Rex Rideout, Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis and the Jason Miles – DJ Logic pairing of Global Noize it offers twelve sumptuous tracks that ooze sophistication and which feature notable contributions from some of the leading contemporary jazz session players around today.
This is particularly well demonstrated by the opening track ‘Simpatico’ where thumping bass from Melvin Davis and the drums of Michael White provide a rhythmic platform from which Leak proffers her soulful tones. It’s a number on which Rex Rideout, both as producer and keyboard player, really excels and much the same can be said of Chris Davis with ‘Take Me Away’ where Maysa seamlessly blends a cool sample of Jean Carn’s ‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head’ into this emotional smoker. Of course since the early nineties, when she auditioned for the band by phone, Maysa has been famous for being one of the voices of Incognito. The complex yet compelling ‘Happy Feelings’ evokes her best Incognito moments as does ‘Never Really Ever’ for which Rex Rideout again plays a part. Both tracks contrast nicely with the gentle deconstructed splendour of ‘Love So True’ while also in turned down mode is the silkily soulful ‘I Need A Man’.
Earlier this year producer and keyboard player Jason Miles collaborated with DJ Logic on a project they named Global Noize. Here Leak taps into their hip rhythmic and eclectic style with ‘A Conversation With The Universe’ that she co-writes and performs with them. The tune’s world vibe represents a tasty departure from the Maysa norm and when, with ‘Walk Away’, she finds the ideal R & B ballad it’s a cool arrangement from Ledisi that incorporates a stunning brass infused play out line which comes courtesy of Melvin Jones on trumpet.
Dedicated to her mother and co-written by Leak, Rideout and the excellent Michael Ripoll, ‘Grateful’ is illuminated by Ripoll’s wonderful acoustic guitar and when Maysa turns to Najee on flute for ‘My Destiny’ he strikes the perfect chord with which to complement her picture perfect delivery. Najee is joined by Nick Colionne for ‘Higher Love’ where together they weave some exquisitely jazzy patterns that underpin Leak’s zesty Latin tinged vocal and Colionne returns to lead off what proves to be a staggering three minute ten second guitar introduction to the outstanding ‘Lets Figure It Out’. In the expert hands of producer Chris Davis this superb slice of chill out music evolves both into a feisty dance floor filler and the album’s best track.
‘Metamorphosis’ is an impressive collection of all-original material that may well be the album to take Maysa to the next level of appreciation. Check it out.
"I'm Outta Time" is a song by English rock band Oasis written by lead vocalist Liam Gallagher. It will be the 2nd single from their album "Dig Out Your Soul" and is set to be released on 1st December 2008. The song has been praised as one of the highlights from the album, with many fans praising it as well as the band themselves, with Noel Gallagher calling it "deceptively brilliant". The song also features a short speech sample from John Lennon taken from one of his very last interviews. The speech sample says: "As Churchill said, it's every Englishman's inalienable right to live where the hell he likes. What's it going to do, vanish? Is it not going to be there when I get back?". The psychedelic video shows Liam Gallagher as a traveller, on a journey through an enchanted wilderness. The video also features Liam walking through the model village in bourton-on-the-water. Early reports claimed that Liam was seen walking though a river strapped to a parachute, though this has not been featured in the video. Somebody falling from a parachute can be seen towards the end. Like the video for "The Shock Of The Lightning" it features an Owl and a Butterfly.
"So What" is a song written by American pop singer Pink, Max Martin and Shellback for her forthcoming fifth studio album called "Funhouse", of which it will be the first single.
"So What" explicitly deals with life after marriage as Pink makes several references to her divorce of Corey Hart after his rumored infidelity.
Dave Meyers has been tapped to direct the video for "So What". Pink previously worked with him for the videos to "U + Ur Hand" and "Stupid Girls", which earned MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video.
If you're unaware of recent developments in Pink's personal life, her new single will bring you bang up to date. "I guess I just lost my husband, I don't know where he went," go the opening lines, "So I'm gonna drink my money, I'm not gonna pay his rent." That's right, 'So What' is a break-up song. Specifically, it's a brash, childish, defiant and rather tongue-in-cheek break-up song. It's also a break-up song that lots of people will be singing along to, thanks to a typically stonking pop/rock chorus courtesy of Max Martin. But Pink's brilliance here shouldn't be underestimated. Who else would think to do something like this? Who else could pull it off? And who else could persuade the ex-hubby she calls a "tool" on the chorus to appear in the video?
Not so much a pop song as a blitzkrieg on the brain, "So What" is the catchiest, brashest, most boisterous thing either Pink or producer Max Martin have ever recorded. Some feat when you consider that they've written songs as insanely infectious as "Oops! I Did It Again", "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)", "Since U Been Gone", "Get The Party Started" and "Just Like A Pill" between them.
Over a bubblegum riff that could have been swiped from cult kid's TV show "Rhoobarb and Custard", Pink snarls at ex-husband Corey Hart and swaggers around challenging bystanders to a fight, before detonating a trashy, thrashy thermonuclear of a chorus. And though part of you wishes she would set the bratty "f*ck you" attitude aside long enough to write another song as honest, vulnerable and heart-rending as "Don't Let Me Get Me", another part will thrill at the sheer dumb delirium of it. It's already Number One in the US, Australia and Canada, so if you don't like day-glo pop-punk you should probably find a bunker to hide in right now.
Ciara - Go Girl Song Review"Go Girl" is a song performed by American R&B/pop singer Ciara. It was written by Ciara, T-Pain, and songwriting team APlus for Ciara's third studio album Fantasy Ride, which is set for release in December 2008. Produced and featuring vocals by T-Pain, it is the album's lead single officially released on September 30, 2008.
The music video for "Go Girl" was shot on September 19 and September 20, 2008 and was directed by Melina Matsoukas.
The Pussycat Dolls - Whatcha Think About That Song Review
"Whatcha Think About That" is the second single from the Pussycat Dolls' sophomore studio album "Doll Domination". The song, which features guest vocals by rapper Missy Elliott, samples the song "Je m'appelle Jane" by Jane Birkin and Mickey 3D.
Vocal production originally done by Melvin LaThomas Brimm. In the song Missy Elliott refers to Katy Perry's song, "I Kissed a Girl", when she says, "Play like Katy Perry kissin' on girls."
Speaking of the song, doll Ashley Roberts says, "It's very editorial in my mind. Lots of beauty, lighting, and mysterious set-ups."
The video was shot on September 9 and September 10 in downtown Los Angeles, and was directed with by Diane Martel.
Thr33 Ringz is the third studio album from T-Pain. It is set to release on October 28, 2008, the same day as his birthday and it will be entirely produced by himself. The two songs "Silver & Gold" and "Can't Believe It" were leaked to the internet. The song "Can't Believe It" has been confirmed the first single by T-Pain's blog. The song has also been added to T-Pain's official MySpace and Facebook account. Originally "Snap Yo Fingers" was set to be the first single.The second single is rumored to be "Silver & Gold". He had performed two other songs from his album, "Badside" and "Ringleader Man". It was confirmed on MTV.com that the album will be pushed back to October 28.
"Can't Believe It", released July 29, 2008, debuted at #11 on the US iTunes chart upon its release. It was #1 on iTunes hip-hop charts for a few weeks until beaten in the charts by The Game's single "My Life" featuring Lil Wayne, and it debuted at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A mixtape has been released as a prequel to the album called Pre33 Ringz.The mixtape was released on August 23, 2008.
Also, Rick Ross is stated to make an appearence on the album.
PREVIEW >>>>>>>
I never really post anything that isn’t sent to me by “trusted” people but I came across this in a certain forum and thought since it was a SLOW news day I’d post it up. Below is a track by track review given by someone who has heard music that is aimed to be included on T-Pain’s new album, Thr33 Ringz. Track review (not a final tracklist!)
Thr33 Rings Intro - Big intro to the album, serious beat and T-Pain rapping hard Ring Leader Man - Slow Banger Long Lap Dance Song - Stripper song Keep Going - T-Pain says this is one of the three tunes on my album without autotuner. Very simple production with acoustic guitar, definitely one of the highlights it’s a tribute to his children, got the best reception from the room. Show’s his reflective side Badside - Another highlight talking about wanting to see a girls badside, club banger Secret Admirer Silver and Gold - The 1st single, T-Pain says it wasn’t meant to be the first single but because of it’s response when it got leaked it’s too big to stop! Snap Yo Fingers - Buy U A Drink pt 2, big tune Superstar Lady - Another Highlight, talks about creating a super lady (stomach of Ciara…..). T-Pain says he wanted Kanye West on this but jokingly says Kanye’s being a jerk cos he likes another track Therapy - Track Kanye West likes and might be on, another big tune! Secret Admirer Ecstasy - slow sexual song very big! ****ing Sweat - track about having a great time with a girl, another highlight It Aint Me feat Bow Wow - Bashment sort of dance song Karaoke feat Dj Khaled - definite highlight, T-Pain add’s this is probably his favourite track says it’s gonna be the last track on the album, strong diss track where he’s rapping about people biting his style, he says the only people that can do it are Lil Wayne and Kanye West , shows respect to Roger Troutman too. The song starts of with him apologising to Akon and his management, he add’s this is due to them not wanting him to air people out. Can’t Believe It feat Lil Wayne - 2nd single, very summery melodic track. Another highlight Dance For Me feat Busta Rhymes Chopped And Screwed feat Ludacris (he’s currently recording his verse) - THIS IS A BANGER! Needs to be a single, the beat is crazy, heavy basslined chopped and screwed beat with chopped up chorus, the track is massive!
T-Pain also had this to say in a recent Interview(video coming soon):
Other projects coming up including a best of both worlds album with Lil Wayne ‘This summer I’m touring with Keyshia Cole, Danity Kane and Lil Wayne I’m looking forward to that, that should be sweet! I’m also doing a best of both worlds sort of album with Lil Wayne which we’re starting in October, we’ve done a few bits already though. Timbaland is gonna be getting involved with that, I think he’s gonna be executive producing it. It’s gonna be called ‘He Rap He Sing’ cos we both rap and sing. The name of the group is T-Wayne which is self explanatory (laughs). I’ve got loads more features coming up as well, but I’m shutting that down soon.’
MTV >>> T-Pain Brings His Thr33 Ringz Circus To NYC Listening Party
Both UniverSoul and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey can fold up their tents, cage their tigers, shave their bearded ladies and tell their clowns to wash the paint from their happy little faces. They've been upstaged: T-Pain has the flyest circus in town.
On Thursday night, the new king of hip-hop and R&B guest hooks brought his Southern sideshow swagger to Manhattan, unveiling his third LP, Thr33 Ringz.
Popcorn and hot dogs were served while a big-top announcer urged everyone to "step right up" outside the venue, Swing 46. A colorfully dressed midget greeted patrons at the door, and a few feet from the open bar, cotton candy was served. Before Pain made his entrance, Lil Jon arrived looking as joyful as ever, now that his long-labored label problems were solved with a new deal several days back (a "content partnership" deal with the Orchard).
But on to the star attraction: Pain arrived and hugged the King of Crunk while making light of the fact that they looked alike, with their dreads and Oakley sunglasses. The head of Jive Records, Barry Weiss, took the stage to introduce one of the new cornerstones of his label.
"We're gonna f--- people up with this album. We're gonna shift the paragon. ... October 28, muthaf---ers!" he proudly predicted of the album's release.
Teddy P. (not to be confused with his baby-blue, six-and-half-foot mascot, Teddy Penderazdoun) later grabbed the mic and joked, "All the people that don't drink that's leavin' early, to hell with y'all."
As the album began to play, a skit commenced: two disgruntled funnymen griping about the job. "Two clowns that work for my circus that have never worked for a more f---ed-up circus than mine," T-Pain explained.
"I'm bringing new elephants, new tigers, new tat men, new strong men," he said later. "I'm bringing color."
The LP's first actual song was "Ringleader Man," which he performed a portion of on the BET Awards. Shortly after was "Therapy," a record that re-teams Pain and his "Good Life" co-star Kanye West. The song is about "all the crazy b----s that just don't have no sense," he told the crowd. He gave an example of meeting a stripper at her place of business. The girl was so nutty, he offered her $20 to shut up.
"This ain't the way I wanted it to end, but I gotta go," he sings on the track. "You still gotta your sh-- together, girl/ Shawty, you ain't gotta be scared of me/ All we need is therapy."
Kanye brings satire and current events to the song, making a naughty Obama reference by saying that the girl he rhymes about wanted to "[emasculate him] like Jesse Jackson."
"You too much pressure, dog," he adds. "You about to raise my cholesterol."
"Freeze" features Chris Brown and basically tells the ladies that if they can dance like Pain and his teenage buddy, they have a great chance of getting with the guys. Pain made a sexual reference while describing the record that elicited gasps from some crowd members.
"Chopped and Screwed" has a cameo from Ludacris. It's about going messed-up in the head after somebody breaks up with you. 'Cris does bring his patented lightheartedness, though: "Have you praising the lord like, 'Thank you! Thank you! I really wanna thank you!"
"Karaoke" takes aim at all the rappers and singers who have started using the Auto-Tune effect on their voices since Pain gave it its resurgence. DJ Khaled comes on to cheer him on: "Y'all a bunch of karaoke-f----in' n---as," The Miami DJ yells. Pain actually raps most of the record.
Other guests on the album include Bow Wow, Rick Ross and the singing symphony of Musiq Soulchild, Anthony Hamilton and Raheem DeVaughn on "Super Soul Song (Reality Show)."
Pain wrote and produced the entire LP, and he's still recording. Most of the tracks are around the mid-tempo range and play nicely to Teddy's mastery of vocal melody. The video for the first single, "Can't Believe It," also debuted at the party. It's a colorful, imaginative buffet of eye candy that focuses on performances and special effects. Lil Wayne co-stars.
Thr33 Ringz drops this fall. Prior to releasing it, T-Pain is putting out a mixtape called Pr33 Ringz.
T.I. has just unveiled his new video for "Whatever You Like," the 2nd single from his upcoming Paper Trail album. As the title suggests, "Whatever You Like" is a mid-tempo jam about fulfilling the utmost desires of that special woman.
Produced by Jim Jonsin for Rebel Rock ProductionsWatch and directed by Dave Meyers.
The kings of alternative hip-hop, Gym Class Heroes, have announced the release of their third album, ‘The Quilt’.
Gym Class Heroes are eyeing September for the release of their third album 'The Quilt'.
First on the release schedule is the single 'Cookie Jar', available as a digital download on July 8th, with the album following on September 9th in the U.S. - a UK date is not yet known.
Speaking of 'The Quilt', it has emerged that contributions come from Estelle and Busta Rhymes, while production was handled by The Dream, Cool & Dre and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy.
Produced by The Dream, Cool & Dre and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump and featuring guest contributions from Estelle, Busta Rhymes and the legendary Daryl Hall from Hall and Oates, ‘The Quilt’ features a number of high profile collaborators on the release.
The album will be released on September 9th via Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen in the US preceded by the single, ‘Cookie Jar’, which will be available for digital purchase beginning July 8th.
Hot Off the Relative Success Of Their Last Album, Gym Class Heroes Are Already Prepping The Release Of Their Next Project - The Quilt. Here Is the Lead Single, Featuring The-Dream, It Is Entitled - Cookie Jar.
The first thing that hit me was the distinctive production, it has that effortless addictive sound of The-Dream. While the lyrical content is empty as ever, it has Gym Class Heroes mark all over it, that R&B/Pop sound that I can't help but love.
I still can't help but to dislike Travis, he just annoys the hell out of me & I can't explain why, apart from the fact that he is one of the whack-est rappers out there at the moment. However, it doesn't put me off of a really good Pop song.
Gym Class Heroes will be previewing the material this summer with dates on the Warped Tour
LISTEN - Gym Class Heroes ft. The-Dream - Cookie Jar
Last 2 Walk is the 7th album from Southern rap group, Three 6 Mafia. It will be released on July 24th, 2007.[1]The moves have come to better coordinate the album with the rap duo's new MTV reality show, Adventures in Hollyhood.
The first single is "Doe Boy Fresh" featuring Chamillionaire. Gil Green was the director on set for the music video, having worked with Three 6 Mafia before on the videos for "Baby Mama" and "2 Way Freak"Last 2 Walk sports guest appearances by Lord Infamous, Chamillionaire, T.I., Lyfe Jennings, Paul Wall, Lil' Keke, Eightball & MJG, Akon, Young Jeezy, Good Charlotte, Paris Hilton, Young Buck, Project Pat, Lil Wyte, Lil' Jon, Lil' Wayne, Swizz Beatz, Al Kapone, DJ Spanish Fly, Diamond and Princess of Crime Mob, and The Game.
During The Simple Life 4, Three 6 Mafia where shown in a recording studio with Paris Hilton. As no songs from the recording sessions made her debut album 'Paris', it is possible that this album will feature an appearance from Paris.XXL Magazine ranked "Da Last 2 Walk" the 5th most anticipated album of 2007.[2]"What Cha Starin' At", "Suga Daddy" & "Like Money" were released on June 1st.A snippet of "That's Right" featuring Akon, was leaked onto the internet June 13th, it has also been confirmed by MTV. As well, a snippet of the track "You Dont Wanna See Me" can be heard in extra scenes from Adventures In Hollyhood.
Album : Last 2 Walk Release Date : June 24, 2008 Label : Columbia review :
Hypnotize Minds/Columbia Records announce the upcoming release of Last 2 Walk, the first new full-length album from Three 6 Mafia since 2006, when the record-breaking history-making Memphis hip-hop ensemble became the first African-American rap group ever to win the Best Original Song Oscar. One of the year’s most heavily anticipated album releases in any genre, Three 6 Mafia’s Last 2 Walk will be available in stores and online Tuesday, June 24.
The brainchild of Three 6 Mafia founding members DJ Paul and Juicy J, Last 2 Walk premieres the future club anthem, "Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)" featuring hardcore rapper Project Pat (Juicy J’s brother and longtime member of the Hypnotize Minds’ hip-hop collective), the rising Three 6 Mafia protege Young D, and Superpower.
The album includes the salacious new single "I’d Rather" featuring Unk, "That’s Right" featuring Akon, and the long-awaited "My Own Way" collaboration with Good Charlotte.
Track listing
Doe Boy Fresh (w/ Chamillionaire)
Like Money
Suga Daddy (w/ Diamond & Princess of Crime Mob)
What Cha Starin’ At (w/ Lil’ Jon & Project Pat)
That’s Right (w/ Akon)
We Got Da Club
Ready 4 Whatever (w/ Young Jeezy, Lil’ Jon & Project Pat)
Bang, Bang
Clane, Clane
See Me (w/ Lord Infamous)
You Know How We Ball (w/ Paul Wall & Lil’ Keke)
See You Fall
Time and Time (w/ Project Pat)
Hoodstar (w/ Lyfe Jennings)
Tear Da Club Up ’07 (w/ Hound Dogg, BIBS, Young Cut & The Original)
Even by the advanced standards of precocity displayed by many of today's tyro performers, Laura Marling is an extraordinary young talent. Listening to the mature reflections and acute observations in these 13 songs, it's hard to accept that their author turned 18 this week, and is already getting her second wind, dismissing her earlier output as "shit pop" and "absolutely awful".
The change in her work apparently came through encountering Bonnie Prince Billy's haunting I See a Darkness, an aesthetic epiphany that forced her to think more deeply about what she was doing. The result is Alas, I Cannot Swim, on which her young voice reveals an old, old heart. It's most evident in songs like "Old Stone", in which a standing stone – "10,000 years and you're still on your own" – prompts reflections on the comforts of solitude and self-sufficiency, while rolling tom-toms swell and ebb against the drone of harmonium; and in "Cross Your Fingers", in which apprehension about the fragility of seemingly secure structures leads to contemplation of the broad flood-plain of old age leading to the estuary of death.
Elsewhere, one gets an impression of someone building their worldview as they grow, struggling to deal with new situations, and simultaneously drawn to both the outgoing urges of youth and more introspective moods. In "My Manic & I", she's caught up in a torrent of doubt which, one suspects, is self-directed: "I can't control you, I don't know you well, these are the reasons I think that you're ill"; while over the sombre acoustic guitar picking of "Shine", she warns a potential emotional intruder: "I need shine – stay away from my light." But there are shafts of light; in the opener, "Ghosts", a young man scarred by "a ghost that broke my heart before I met you" ultimately finds redemptive love with the singer. "It turned out I'd been following him, and he'd been following me," she explains.
Marling goes against the grain of most modern pop, eschewing mockney bitchiness, diva showboating, indie guilt and trite hip-hop attitudes in favour of a folksy simplicity relying on well-turned melodies and sensitive arrangements of guitar, piano and violin embellished by French horn, trumpet or accordion, and even a male voice choir. Producer Charlie Fink has created a warm, welcoming instrumental backdrop that frames Marling's voice perfectly, revealing (but not accentuating) the echoes of singers like Sandy Denny, Jacqui McShea and Jolie Holland. It all adds up to a hugely impressive debut from an outstanding talent.
Missy Higgins was discovered in 2001, when the Melbourne high-school student's song "All for Believing" won an unsigned artist competition sponsored by Australian national radio station Triple J. The plaintive piano ballad was an instant hit, but Higgins took her time with the fame. She eventually signed with Australia's Eleven imprint, which issued a self-titled EP in November 2003. It contained both "Believing" and Higgins' second hit, "Greed for Your Love." The Scar EP appeared in August 2004 and set the scene for the full-length Sound of White, which dropped the following September. Higgins then toured Australia, released a live EP, and prepared for her American debut, which came in January 2005 with the domestic-only All for Believing EP. Released through Warner Bros., it included the title track and four other songs from the Sound of White LP (which was reissued in the U.S. shortly after). Two years later Higgins released her second full-length, On a Clear Night, which saw a U.S. release in early 2008. Missy Higgins (born Melissa Morrison Higgins on August 19, 1983, in Melbourne) is one of Australia’s most popular female singer-songwriters. Missy (Melissa) was thrust into the limelight in her homeland when she won a demo competition conducted by the national alternative broadcaster, Triple J. Although she was still at high school, her song All For Believing quickly became one of the station’s most requested tracks of 2001. In 2005, Missy took out 5 major ARIA Awards: Album of the Year (for The Sound of White), Best Female Artist, Best Pop Release, Breakthrough Artist - Album (for The Sound of White) and Highest Selling Album.
Release Date: April 27, 2008 Label: New West Records Producer: John Hiatt Recorded: Highway 61 Recordings
Main Personnel John Hiatt: Vocal and guitarKenneth Blevins: DrumsPatrick O’Hearn: BassLuther Dickinson: Guitar, mandolin and national resonatorLilly Hiatt: Backing vocals on “Love You Again” and “What Love Can Do”
John Hiatt has achieved moderate success as a singer/songwriter over the years. He’s been more successful with critics than with the radio. He is mostly known for having his songs be big hits for others, such as “Angel Eyes” for Jeff Healy, “Thing Called Love” for Bonnie Raitt, “The Way We Make a Broken Heart” by Roseanne Cash and “Sure as I’m Sitting Here” by Three Dog Night among others.
TRACK LISTING
1. Old Days: This blues shuffle with a kick makes a nice opening track. It has a whimsical old style blues sound that fits the material. Hiatt sounds like a cross between Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. Oddly, that doesn’t sound as bad as one would think. The verses are more talking than singing and Hiatt’s rhythm with that is a bit off. Still, it’s a really fun song. “They were smoking something in the audience that smelled like cat pee.” That’s a hall of fame songwriter right there.
2. Love You Again: This is a really great song up there with some of Hiatt’s best. I would love to hear Raitt do a cover of this. Lilly sounds pretty good on backing vocals as her sweet, higher tones mixes well with her father’s gruff growl. The arrangement fits the tune with acoustic guitar on the verses and a fuller sound with the rest of the instruments on the chorus. It’s not quite country or pop, but somewhere really good in the middle.
3. On With You: Hiatt seems to have trouble finding his rhythm with the up tempo stuff. He’s also channeling Dylan again. He needs just a hair bit more wail to push this into blues. The repetition of “I just want to go on with you,” as well as some of Hiatt’s vocal flourishes is a bit annoying. The drums give a nice back beat and contrast with the more country guitar picking.
4. Hurt My Baby: This is another ballad and a bit languid. The musical concept of the album is really clear here as you have simple three cord guitar playing set off by pronounced drumming on the down beats. It works for rock, but it’s a tad formulaic. Hiatt gives a good vocal performance as he puts real pain in his voice as he agonizes over “someone in this mean old world” hurting his baby.
5. What Love Can Do: Hiatt has distinct pronunciation to get over the story of a couple who can do anything and find anything because they have love with some really interesting imagery. Lilly returns for backing vocals and she doesn’t mesh as well as she did on the earlier track. It’s kind of a sing-song tune in a quaint early sixties style. It’s like a late era Doris Day hit.
6. Ride My Pony: The mandolin comes into play here with the guitar and drums getting a sort of locomotive sound in the background. I think they were going for a horse clip-clop though. It’s sort of a silly filler song about a man who just wants to ride his pony. Sometimes there’s no reading between the lines.
7. Cherry Red: The title refers to the Corvette and lipstick of the speaker’s lost love and his heart burns cherry red when he thinks of her. Sometimes just a color can stir up old memories and Hiatt captures that with the imagery and his vocal performance that has a certain longing. This might be too quaint for modern audiences, but it’s cute and there are some nice turns of phrases. The chorus is really catchy.
8. Our Time: How can you go wrong with lines like “it looked like the crime scene of an angel ghost.” This song is filled with unique metaphors and little nuggets of imagery. It’s another whimsical look at days gone by and realizing that the good old days were pretty good after all. It’s the little things that matter like eating Chinese food in bed. In fact the song makes an odd correlation between eating out and a romance. I’m not putting quotes on eating out. A very well written song.
9. Two Hearts: This is a pretty generic love song. I’m far away from you. I love you. I need you. Hiatt’s better than this.
10. Same Old Man: The title track is another really well written song with a blues tinge. Hiatt waxes on time and aging again. Despite the ravages of time and age he’s still the same old man his wife married back then. There isn’t any changing him now, but not changing is how they stayed together. It’s a mature love song that’s really nice to hear when we have teenagers trying to relate what they think love is. It’s a good anniversary song.
11. Let’s Give This Love a Try: “I’d rather be in a barrel of salt and pickle brine with a 1000 paper cuts.” Again, how can you beat that? This is Dylan-esque too, but in a good way. The song is about the man being one way and the woman the other and they’ve both been through a lot, so why don’t they try to love each other. This could work as a cover for someone too. It’s a sweet song with a bit of a dark side and tongue in cheek humor.
Beck's been a busy guy over the last few years and it doesn't look like he's going to slow down any time soon. He'll release his 10th studio album, Modern Guilt, on July 8 through DGC.
The disc was produced by Danger Mouse and features a guest appearance by Cat Power on "Walls." At just over 30 minutes, Modern Guilt is much shorter than 2006's The Information and has been described as having a "1960s British vibe." Beck originally wanted the album to be 10 tracks, none of which would run over two minutes, but he later scrapped that plan.
Recording Modern Guilt was apparently intense. "It was like trying to fit two years of songwriting into two-and-a-half months," he recently told Rolling Stone. "I know I did at least 10 weeks with no days off, until four or five in the morning every night." You can check out first single "Chemtrails" on Beck's MySpace page. Beck will play Victoria's Royal Theatre on Aug. 27 and Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre the next night. He'll have Seattle's Band Of Horses with him.
Here's what's on Modern Guilt: 1 Orphans
2 Gamma Ray
3 Chemtrails
4 Modern Guilt
5 Youthless
6 Walls (ft. Cat Power)
7 Replica
8 Soul of a Man
9 Profanity Prayers
10 Volcano
Beck tour dates: 6/25 Arendal, Norway - Hove Festival
6/27 Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
6/28 St. Gallen, Switzerland - St. Gallen Festival
6/30 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
7/01 Southampton, England - Guildhall
7/02 Manchester, England - Apollo
7/04 London, England - Hyde Park (O2 Wireless Festival)
7/06 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
7/07 Paris, France - Olympia
7/09 Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
7/10 Lisbon, Portugal - Super Bock Super Rock Festival
8/22 San Francisco CA - Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Festival)
8/24 Bend OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater *
8/27 Victoria BC - Royal Theatre !
8/28 Vancouver BC - Orpheum Theatre !
8/30 Seattle WA - Bumbershoot Festival
9/20 Los Angeles CA - Hollywood Bowl ^
9/27 Austin TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
Check your iPod. If you don’t have any N.E.R.D. tracks (and if that’s true, then you need to get on it, so read on to avoid further pitying), then dollars to donuts, you’ve got something they’ve applied their Midas touch to as the Neptunes — their production operation. Madonna and Britney, Ludacris, Snoop, and Kanye — they’re currently backing him on his much-lauded Glow In the Dark tour. Hell, they’ve even remixed Sade.
Or, put another way: open up the Billboard charts, close your eyes and randomly point to an artist. Now open them. There’s an excellent chance the brain trust behind N.E.R.D. produced, remixed or will remix and/or produce that artist, taking already solid material to a new dimension you didn’t know existed but suddenly need a whole lot more of — the flavor of dream you’re not sure is the good or bad type, but you know it tastes better than being awake.
N.E.R.D. is Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shae Haley. Like a giant squid fused with a set of conjoined octopus twins, the end result of N.E.R.D.’s time spent behind the controls sounds like they’ve got a lot more than just six hands and 30 fingers on deck. And the tracks snap, crackle and pop with the hyperstimulated sizzle of sticking all 30 into 30 different electrical sockets. “With the Neptunes,” N.E.R.D.’s Chad Hugo told Hamptonroads.com, “we have that ability to collaborate with artists, and they have their vision and we’re there to paint different scenarios. As N.E.R.D., what we put out is directly from our brains to the stage. We’re in our own shoes. We have the ability to be ourselves.” Right. Which is why they’re about to drop their third N.E.R.D. album, Seeing Sounds, (out tomorrow), named for the neurological phenomenon synesthesia, where your senses basically swap shoes for the day. The album’s a celebration of their genre-resistant, chopped-and-screwed, tilted-and-twisted sound, complete with that hypnotic sawtooth bass swagger, dirty-ass drumming, superfunked, sexed-up, spaced-out blips, beeps and bumps. We always suspected these guys saw things we don’t. Turns out they see everything we don’t. And with N.E.R.D. — forever the sickest and coolest kids you know — piloting their musical spacecraft into complete sensory overload, we get to explore a whole new galaxy of songs, sounds and sights we’d never otherwise hear… or taste.
Watch N.E.R.D.’s new video, “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing In Line for the Bathroom),” plus a few all-time N.E.R.D. classics, check out their MTV.com live peformances, watch an exclusive Buzzworthy interview with the Va Bee three, watch their exclusive Artist of the Week videos — including performance clips shot at Special Sauce in Bayshore, New York — and road trip clips, featuring Donnell Rawlings (Ashy Larry of Chappelle’s Show.)
After Pharrell Williams's pedestrian solo debut and some lacklustre production work (Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape), it seemed as though Williams and his Neptunes/N.E.R.D partner Chad Hugo had lost their vice-like grip on inventive pop. Happily, their new album suggests a thrilling second act. Flanked by fellow bandmember Shay Haley, they are again pushing the boundaries of the popular song. From Everybody Nose, a horn-looped look at Hollywood's re-infatuation with cocaine, to the drum'n'bass-meets-baile-funk of Spaz, this album is a superb reminder of why we fell in love with them in the first place.
Part of Martha Wainwright's charm lies in her Tourette's-like impulse to overshare: Check out her 2005 ode to her singer-songwriter dad, Loudon, lovingly titled "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole." Her folky second album mostly spares family members, but old boyfriends aren't so lucky. On the dusty-road rocker "Comin' Tonight," she seeks revenge on a musician/ex-lover: "I could steal a melody. . . . 'Cause you would never sue me, baby/It wouldn't look good." Wainwright's relentless self-analysis and beguiling voice — she sounds like a Muppet Baby — make for an oddly sweet psychodrama. She shifts from a breathy warble on "Hearts Club Band" to a voice-breaking howl on the Kate Bush-style gothic "In the Middle of the Night," then gambols off through a cover of Syd Barrett's schoolyard romp "See Emily Play." Supported by an A-list cast including brother Rufus, Pete Townshend and Steely Dan keyboardist Donald Fagen, she's collected some impressive endorsements. But they're just a backdrop to a riveting one-woman show.
Martha Wainwright's magic voice Obviously Canadian-American family Wainwright has already managed to make an enormous contribution to the world's musical culture and it looks like it is not rest upon laurels. The music of country performers Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and their children Rufus and Martha has been pleasing the fans all over the USA and Canada and abroad for several decades now. Although before her eponymous debut album was released in 2005 Martha Wainwright sang quite many times with various performers, and exactly due to it the singer has gained a real fame. This spring she releases her sophomore effort whose title I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too practically leaves no doubt concerning her non-standard approach to song-writing. It is not surprising taking into account the fact that the things have not always been fine in the Wainwright family and all the scandals and troubles would become known to public. Yet Martha Wainwright's magic voice in combination with wonderful melodies does not let the listeners fall into despondence not even for a second listening to I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too, the album which easily pretends to be one of the year's best pop works.
The widest spectrum of feelings on I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too Each track on I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too is a definite story filled with the widest spectrum of feelings from happiness and admiration to sadness and nostalgia. The album opens with composition Bleeding All Over You, devoted to the former beloved, filled with rather dolorous emotions. The catchiest tune on the record is on the chorus of You Cheated Me, refined with great guitars while track Jesus And Mary pleases with Martha's emotional performance. A slow lyrical ballad Tower Song surprises with complicated fiddles in the accompaniment and an unusual melody while on Hearts Club Band the singer either reduces her singing to a whisper or amazes with sharp vocal bends that harmonize greatly with a sax. A light sadness on So Many Friends is connected with the past for the reminiscences of childhood here are joined with the present in which many are already gone, whereas song about the singer's mother's illness In The Middle Of The Night depicts not too pleasant images and a complicated instrumental background featuring a flute only adds to emotions. A classic composition of a platonic love The George Song pleases with rock elements and humorous lyrics while a somewhat sad song Niger River surprises with a simple guitar accompaniment and a most beautiful tune. One of the album's highlights is certainly track Jimi due to both deeply thought lyrics and faultless heavy rock guitars and drums, but a real surprise is the cover on Pink Floyd's See Emily Play that has gained a great pop sounding. The record closes with a slow composition I Wish I Were once again amazing with its sincerity. The music one wants to listen again and again
Pop folk performed by Martha Wainwright is the music one wants to listen again and again for it unites the most varied moods and everybody can find something for oneself in it. Although one of producers of I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too Brad Albetta has recently become the singer's husband one can hardly say that this important event has somehow reflected on her lyrics. The relations with her father and other family problems have served the source of her rather painful texts for the second time already. As on the debut record Martha's sense of humor and wit once again let her remain optimistic even when the memories are most unpleasant. On the whole addressing former lovers and attempts to understand oneself and people around have become the leading themes on I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too. Yet often the meaning of songs and their external framing do not correspond to such an extent that no matter how sullen Martha's message may be she is definitely only enjoying her music and these contradictions make her second work a very worthy addition to the collection of the Wainwright family's creations.
Yes Coldplay leaked yesterday, elbowing Microcastle and Tha Carter III in the race for torrent search supremacy. But since you are all upstanding citizens of the Internet who refuse to consume music before it is available for legitimate listening, head to IHeartMusic.com for a full album stream of Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. And then join us later today for a little group Premature Evaluation session, yay. (Thanks for letting us know, Larynn.)
Review
We all got to listen to Viva La Vida today, so we're sort of in the same boat here. Press play, and the album starts with "Life In Technicolor," a shimmery piece of keys and electronics that eventually moves into a "Where The Streets Have No Name"-y, lyricless rev-up, all of which is an announcement: Hey, did you hear we got Brian Eno to do this record? Hey, we did -- and now we're sorta hoping this to be Coldplay's Joshua Tree. Unfortunately, that it is not. But it is great at not being X&Y, which is a major accomplishment. Over three albums, Chris Martin found a simple and relatively understated formula for successful songwriting: melodically, he hit it on Parachutes -- verse, verse up an octave, falsetto hook -- expanded it on Rush Of Bood, and made an overblown parody of it on that last one. If nothing else, this album shows the band is thinking, and is self aware: say hello to less falsetto, different song structures, and a legendary producer. Already we're off to a good start.
Coldplay's been talking of wanting a Reinvention, a reinvention of everything but the fact that they are a massive seller. Balancing an artistic shift with maintaining commercial appeal is not easy (see: rock history). But let's at least start with giving props to the band for recognizing there was a problem with their last album, no matter how many millions (10 of 'em, actually) it sold: you can't just keep rewriting your hits (see: "Speed Of Sound" is "Clocks," "Fix You" is "The Scientist," etc.) and expect people not to catch on. To that point: We called "Viva La Vida" a rut buster, and the same can be said for the record. Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends is exactly the record this band needed to make: a slightly shifted Coldplay album, with some memorable moments, some new tricks, and an overall emotionality that will appeal to anyone who's ever liked a Coldplay song.
So, those new tricks? Well for one there's the Eno touch, adding Edge-y guitars here, peripheral haze there, making the U2 comparisons more firm and run deeper than big arm poses, world saving politics, and arena-filling intent. Actually Coldplay's never been shy about confessing the bands they pilfer from -- Travis, Radiohead, Echo & the Bunnymen -- and the new artists that turn up in the sonic stew are ones they've similarly copped to liking publicly, and vocally. Last year Chris talked about being in the studio, saying for one song the wanted to "steal ... from My Bloody Valentine." Sure enough the last two minutes of "Yes" -- the "hidden track" (un)titled "Chinese Sleep Chant" -- hits with some unexpected, nice Loveless-lite shoegazing. Next, try taking it 2:45 into "42" and past the Radiohead-indebted middle section. Hear a sudden gearshift into Arcade Fire? It's not just your ears, and it's not just the newfound theatrical band attire -- Chris thinks they're the "the best band in history."
Wind your way through the bittersweet, chanting album closer "Death And All his Friends," and the record concludes with two minutes of that very same music that introduced it during "Life In Technicolor," only now with lyrics: a rephrased nod to Abbey Road's love-ly "The End." Only Coldplay come to a different conclusion: Instead of "in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make," here we learn "in the end we lie awake and dream of making our escape." We don't know how Chris Martin knows that, but it's heavy. In fact there's lots of heavy stuff going on on this record's lyrics, but the title sorta tells you that: Life, Death, and etc. There's God in Chris Martin's house and in his head on the glorified rum-swigging shanty "Cemeteries Of London," he's losing but not lost on, uh, "Lost," and we learn that "those who are dead are not dead but are living in [his] head" on "42," which you should totally tell your friend next time he's shrooming.
His lyrics are still, at best, vague, and at worst, trying to sound important. But that vibe fits the moments that work best, the song portions calculated to be Everyman's soundtrack: the sorta African guitar line in the first half of "Strawberry Swing" and its "such a perfect day," the existential pangs of the organ-laced and worthy "Lost," the uplifting "one day we'll work it out" romance of standout "Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love," etc. Stack those portions with "Chinese Sleep Chant," and the previously loved up rut buster "Viva La Vida," and you'll find a band that's managed to outweigh the dull moments ("Cemeteries," the last half of "Strawberry," "Yes," for starters).
Chris Martin told the NYTimes, "We would love to be the biggest band in the world, but we understand if you don't want us to be." What's the metric for that these days? Whatever it is, Guy Hands and EMI should be offering a bonus: this album will sell more than any other rock album this year. We'd like to think it's 'cause they made a better record than last time, but the fact that it's already the best selling album presale in iTunes history, and on track to be the highest first week sales of any album in iTunes history, probably refutes that theory. People still want a Biggest Band In The World. And Chris Martin has done everything in his power to play that part.
Oh yeah, there are three other guys in the band, right? Those guys, too.
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends is out 6/17 via Capitol/EMI.
Recently the world of music videos has seen tons of artists turning their song into a short movie. Think of Panic! At The Disco and The Killers latest videos. However, when was the last time you watched a lead singer perform in his own video like he's in Broadway musical? Singer, Andrew Volpe, of the band Ludo definitely hits that note in their one-shot video for "Love Me Dead" that features several fascinating escapades in the background. It could be the best music video I've seen since OK Go hit those treadmills.
t. Louis power-pop band delivers us some of the best quirky rock since Weezer’s heyday on their major label debut...
My Story Ah, clever bands. We love them, don’t we? Bands like Harvey Danger and The Presidents Of The United States Of America, who know how to put out a quirky, left-of-center single that just grabs our heart. Of course, clever bands are also like that girl we met in class, who wasn’t super hot, but was pretty funny. So we got her number and talked to her on the phone a couple times. Maybe nailed her once (before we’d seen her dorm room and all those crazy stuffed animals) and then she got terribly clingy. So we stopped answering her calls and started sitting in the back of the class, making a bee-line for the door every time the damn thing was over. But then she got wise and started sitting in back too, showing up half an hour early just to make sure she could catch us. So we started ditching the class altogether and wound up failing the final, all to avoid talking to this chick who was once pretty fun to talk to but had slowly turned into a stalker…
Yeah, clever bands are sort of like that. We love ‘em and we ditch ‘em, and very few can ever transcend “fun to talk to” and reach the “fun to hang out with longterm” status. Not that its never happened. Hell, we’ve all practically married Weezer. So the question is: will Ludo, the newest clever band to come down the pike, get under our skin like Rivers Cuomo and his pals, or will we spend a night of passion with them and then wind up changing our cell providers?
Their Story Ludo formed in St. Louis, Missouri as an acoustic duo in 2003, the combination of vocalist/guitarist Andrew Volpe and guitarist Tim Ferrell. The group drew their name from the gentle giant in Jim Henson’s fantasy film Labyrinth. The ranks of the band swelled over the next year, growing to include bassist Marshall Fanciullo, drummer Matt Palermo and moog-player Tim Convy.
The band recorded their self-titled indie debut in 2004. Ludo was released that spring on the group’s Redbird Records. The album was met with positive reviews and kicked off a strenuous period of touring by the band. The next year, they recorded the EP Broken Bride, a rock opera. Even more touring followed.
By 2007, Ludo’s interactive live shows and indie albums had drawn the interest of several major labels. That year, they signed a 5-album deal with Island Records, which would keep their Redbird label as an imprint. In late 2007, the band entered the studio with producer Matt Wallace (who worked on Maroon 5’s debut, as well as several albums with Faith No More) to record their first album for Island. The set was slated for a February 2008 release. The lead single, “Love Me Dead”, impacted radio the month before and has made some waves on Modern Rock stations. The video is also making the rounds.
Following their Island debut’s street date, Ludo toured for the entire month of March, including a showcase at SXSW and shows opening for the reunited Presidents Of The United States Of America. For future tour dates, check out Ludo’s official site.
The Album On February 26, 2008, Island and Redbird Records released You’re Awful, I Love You, the second full length album by Ludo and their major label debut. The album features the hidden tracks “Goodbye Bear” and “The Boat Song”. The iTunes digital version contains the bonus track “Japan It!”.
Following on one of the most well received 16 minutes of music in recent history (2006's A Lesson In Crime EP), Newmarket Ontario's Tokyo Police Club will release a debut album entitled Elephant Shell, due out late April on Saddle Creek in North America and Memphis Industries in the UK.
Elephant Shell lands roughly a year and half after A Lesson In Crime (with last year's Smith EP and "Your English Is Good" digi-single and a ton of touring also bridging the gap) and barely four years from the band's 2005 formation. Not bad for four friends who learned to play during senior year in high school, later naming themselves for a nonsensical lyric from the song that would become track one on their first EP, which would in turn sell over 30,000 copies-probably about 29,000 more copies than they expected-and garner accolades from Entertainment Weekly ("We can hardly wait for the full length” A-), Rolling Stone ("If only all young guitar bands were smart enough to rock out this fast, banging out seven first-rate mod-punk party starters in barely more than sixteen minutes"), Interview, Blender, Nylon and The New York Times among others.
If bassist/vocalist David Monks once described the band's music as "wide-eyed post-punk with a tendency to get over excited-so much so that someone has to come and tell it to settle down," Elephant Shell is the sound of four early-20-somethings now seasoned through hundreds of shows from tiny clubs to the festival throngs at Coachella and Glastonbury, maturing a bit and learning to temper and modulate their own more varied musical moods. Or maybe Canada's socialized health care means easier access to generic Ritalin and Adderall? Either way, Elephant Shell delivers on every bit of promise in Tokyo Police Club's rapid-fire barrage of material to date.
The opening one-two of "Centennial" and "In A Cave" barely evaporates before "Graves" and "Juno" pack innumerable hooks and "what-does-that-remind-me-of" glimmers into meager 2-minute-and-change frameworks, while "Tessellate" and "Sixties Remake" encapsulate everything great about the manic TPC live experience: soaring guitar signatures and keyboard figures, driving backbeats and irresistible singalongs abound. Elsewhere, "The Harrowing Adventures Of..." and the down tempo standout "Listen To The Math" find our young protagonists ably adapting their energy into more subdued structures before the rousing coda of "The Baskervilles" brings the record to an all-too-early halt.
Unsurprisingly, Tokyo Police Club is already back on the road at press time and will continue to be through the release of Elephant Shell.
Music Review: Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
With determination, you can accomplish quite a lot in under three minutes. In terms of Newmarket’s Tokyo Police Club, entire stories can be told in under three minutes and melodies can bob and weave through the confines of indie rock and post-punk revival without being hasty. On Elephant Shell, the Ontario group’s first LP, that’s just what they do.
With only one song clocking in over three minutes and a total runtime a smidgen under 28 minutes, Elephant Shell is one of the most succinct albums of the year and matches with REM’s Accelerate for depth through concision. The music is intricate and yet carries an unfussiness that creates melodies that are utterly hummable and alluring.
The bar was set pretty high after the critically-acclaimed Lesson in Crime EP, as its quick introduction to the band tore through 16-minutes of blazing guitar-riff heaven. In danger of perhaps being too to the point, Tokyo Police Club waited a year and a half before finally dropping Elephant Shell last month. The wait was worth it.
One of the things instantly apparent is how frontman David Monks has expanded on the themes in Lesson in Crime and tears a slightly Decemberists-quality swath through Elephant Shell. The lyrics are strong, painting elegant word pictures that sail over the band’s pensive pop surroundings with ease. Monks’ lyrics are genuine, yet filled with a sense of gloom and desolation at times. Always eloquent, one can get a deep sense of insight with his simple phrases.
Songs begin suddenly and end just as abruptly, such as the album’s first track, “Centennial.” As though setting the bar for short, effective anthems, “Centennial” works as an overture and as a sign of things to come.
Other songs pour brilliantly into small spaces, like the graceful “Tessellate” with its spirited lyrics and clap-along tempo. Monks’ description of “all the kids who cut their knees on that old schoolyard fence” calls upon grey-skied memories and tickles of rebellion.
Monks and Co. deliver songs with mental clarity, unfolding pictures and dusty memories with a simple swoop of phraseology or an elegant flourish of guitar and keyboard. Songs like “Sixties Remake” and the bouncy “Your English is Good” showcase the group’s conciseness, as tight bass lines play with sharp rhythm and background vocals to create immediate poppy sticks of musical dynamite.
Always sharp and never tedious, Elephant Shell is a phenomenal follow-up to Lesson in Crime and serves as a beautiful collection of lyrics and quick songs that get to the point and linger long after the closing notes melt away.
