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07 September 2005

Tan Sleeve, American Blood (Cheft) Rating: 7
Tan Sleeve has that roots rock lineage all through their sound, particularly on the weaving, polished Crazy Horse-ish title track. However, they have a great sense of humor with song titles like "When Lindsay Buckingham Shaved His Beard", a tender but smart pop ballad that sounds like it came from the age of Fleetwood Mac's heyday. However, following this tone makes "Baby Took A Good Man Down" and later on "Every Time He Breaks Your Heart" too syrupy or Bread-like. Yet when they go for short, choppy tunes like "The Girls Like The Hits", they are very good indeed. Ditto for the funny acoustic pop and glowing duets on "Mr. Combover" and the XTC circa Apple Venus "Walk Me Through It". Steve Barry and Lane Steinberg create beautiful pop tunes whether it's the up-tempo party romp of "Partly Girld, Portly Boy" that brings Tom Petty doing his own incarnation of "Satisfaction" while "I'll Know It's Spring" reeks of the Rembrandts. Toss in a breezy island attempt on "Time Poor" and the dance-driven "Condoleezza Will Lead Us" with its tint of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and you have a quirky but good album.
      — Jason MacNeil

Stereotypes, 3 (Wishing Tree) Rating: 5
On their third album, straightforwardedly titled 3, the San Diego, CA, quartet the Stereotypes prove they love power pop and noisy garage in equal measure... it's just the reconciling of those two sounds where they run into trouble. Opener "Emily" is a bright slice of piano-bounce power pop; track two, "My New Friend", is scuffed-up garage, and the rest of the album hopscotches between the two genres. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this set-up, the effect is disorienting. What else to call the sensation of going from the subdued alt-countryesque vibe of "Til We Meet Again" to the fuzzed-out sex groove of "Need Some Action"? And ultimately, the Stereotypes are more convincing when they're in friendly power popper mode; when they get sleazy, as on "Kill, Keys, Money and Jewelry" they sound like sub-Louis XIV poseurs. Drop the schizophrenic approach, fellas, and remember: Nice guys don't always finish last.
      — Stephen Haag

Kiss Me Deadly, Amoureux Cosmiques (Alien8) Rating: 4
While The Unicorns' avant-pop almost made them at home amidst the various Merzbow and Massonna releases previously put out by Alien8 Recordings, Kiss Me Deadly is another affair entirely with no other prefix but "trendy" or "scene" to precede their outright and unabashed "pop". 80's influences abound here just as they do on almost any given rock radio station these days. Still, credit must be given for being a little less overt about it than most. U2 is the most obvious inspiration, with Adam Poulin aping The Edge's over-processed guitar and really bringing the Bono when he takes the mic. The star of the show though is lead singer Emily Frazier whose breathy vocals induce quick comparisons to The Sugarcubes. Altogether, it's not all that original but not quite exactly the same as what everyone else is doing either. Their challenge will be to continue differentiating themselves on into the future. Being from Montreal simply just won't cut it anymore. And I have a sneaking suspicion this is almost exactly what the next Yeah Yeah Yeahs record will sound like.
      — Josh Berquist

Amy Lennard, EP (Magnatune) Rating: 6
I'm struggling to put my finger on just who Amy Lennard reminds me of, but it might be a down-and-dirty Natalie Merchant circa In My Tribe, so let's pretend it is. It can be our secret. Anyway, Lennard is the proverbial simple girl who grew up on Long Island, graduated, spent 10 years in California, and moved back to her east coast roots to rock her down-and-dirty 10,000 Maniacs groove thang. This five-track EP is her debut release and it suggests she has not travelled in vain. Striking songs like "El Paso" and "I Wish It Were Mine" showcase her road-wearied yet brightly tuneful vocals and clever songwriting to their best advantage, while "Please Don't" tips its hat to the moment perennial Buzzcocks tribute band the Soup Dragons famously announced "there's always been a dance element to our music". Lennard is scheduled to release her debut album early in 2006. On this evidence, it could be worth waiting for.
      — Roger Holland

Various Artists, The Dukes of Hazzard (Legacy) Rating: 4
I was seven or eight and every Friday night Bo and Luke would outsmart Roscoe and Boss Hogg. My they seemed ingenious at the time - the General Lee speeding past the dumpy cop cars. Now, like everything else, the television show has been redone to the big screen make a quick buck. And this album tries to cash in somewhat. But you'd have to be insane to buy this. The theme "Good Ol' Boys" is bastardized thanks to the Hazzard County Boys that includes the voice of Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). "The General Lee", thankfully performed by the late Johnny Cash, brings some credibility to this offering with a train-chugging track the signer was renowned for. The lyrics are quite thin but heck it's Johnny Cash. "Laughin' All The Way To The Bank" has Booke talking over the song when not laughing like an amicable ape. Tom Wopat (that would be Luke Duke) then covers The Band's "Cripple Creek" in what has to be the way classic tunes are whored in Branson, Missouri. Not to be one-downed, John Schneider (that would be Bo Duke) then sings "In The Driver's Seat" although this is mildly better than Wopat. After James Best (Roscoe) and Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke) sing, you just feel like you need to scream for listening to such music. Doug Kershaw adds two songs but the only saving grace is "Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and then the finale theme done properly by Jennings. Too few highlights, too much crap!
      — Jason MacNeil

.: posted by Editor 7:38 AM