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01 March 2006

Paul Manousos, For Better Or Worse (Manousos Music) Rating: 8
Maybe it's because I just got the new Ray Davies album, but Paul Manousos seems to be educated in the same catchy British pop rock mould. But he's isn't British. Whether it's his timbre that would draw reasonable comparisons or his hook-filled chorus, songs such as "Another Day in the Life" and "It's Gonna Be Alright" immediately draw you in. With an ear for melody and a nifty way with words, Manousos nails "Beautiful Girl", a soft piano-tinted ballad that never gets too sappy. Think of the Stones circa "Angie" or "Waiting on a Friend" and this seems to be what Manousos has easily tapped into. He knows his strengths and plays to them often, as is the case with the mid-tempo "Flavor of the Month" and the equally pop-riddled "This Love" which namedrops the Stones. Even when he opts for a roots rock feeling as he does with the title track, he comes up smelling far from horse patties. And the soulful "Is It Ever Going to Change?" is worth the price of the album itself -- a gorgeous tune that again seems to channel Mick when he was half the age he is now. The lone, slight miscue could be "Broken" as Manousos opts for strings rather than a larger, well-rounded guitar. And if you're looking for an ambling kind of pop track, you could not find any better than "The Devil Within". — Jason MacNeil [Insound]
"Beautiful Girl": [MP3]
"Another Day in the Life": [MP3]
"This Love": [MP3]

The Flashbulb, Reunion (Sublight) Rating: 5
With this release, trading computer DSP effects for all-live instrumentation for the first time, the Flashbulb's Benn Jordan should finally be free of the perennial, apparently unavoidable comparisons to Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. Stripped of their usual rapid-fire drill 'n' bass backbones, however, Jordan's melodies are revealed to tend towards saccharine, albeit catchy, arrangements that could at times be more at home on a Windham Hill compilation. Which is a shame, as the last two years have seen Sublight Records release what is arguably the strongest Flashbulb material to date, and the highlights here -- sitar-and-strings-fueled breakbeat on "Sitari 7", the rolling "Walking Irrevocable", the unsettling guitar progressions of "Interior, So" -- are as good as ever. I, for one, am highly curious to see how the acoustic passages unveiled here are further incorporated into the Flashbulb sound on the next record. — Nate Dorr [Insound]
Lawn Funeral EP: [MP3]

Kill Me Tomorrow/Dance Disaster Movement s/t single (Art Fag) Rating: 4
Kill Me Tomorrow's 2004 full length, The Garbageman & The Prostitute was a fascinating piece of dystopian post-punk, making their collaboration with ironic-not-ironic indie dance band Dance Disaster Movement all the more intriguing. Consisting of one original, one cover and one remix (as well as video) their collaborative single doesn't offer much in terms of original content. How or why these bands came together is puzzlingly left out of their press material, but the result isn't as out there as you might imagine. "Beautiful Guns" marries house beats with minimal post-punk riffing fairly seamlessly and combines it with some pretty fine percussion work, but the song never reaches the fever pitch it keeps hinting at instead choosing to wallow in murky atmospheric muck. The decidedly left-field and deadpan reading of the Velvet Underground's "European Son" would probably make Lou Reed smile, but doesn't amount to more than a curio while keeping both band's identities intact. However, it's the Gold Club Mix of "Beautiful Guns" (by Gold Chains & Sue Cie) that finds the middle ground of avant-rock adventure and dance floor excitement the rest of the disc is missing, but it's too bad the bands couldn't find it themselves. — Kevin Jagernauth [Insound]

David Banner, "Touchin'" b/w "On Everything [12-inch single] (Universal) Rating: 8
Leave it to David Banner to reincarnate the carnal "F*kin'" as the sensual "Touchin'." Hands down the most sinfully delightful track off his fourth album Certified, the radio edit of his latest single receives a welcome rub down similar to how the clean version of "Play" toned down the original's blush-worthy tongue tactics. Now, Jazze Pha's steppers-lite production gets to hustle in all its grown'n sexy glory -- funny how the change of one word can turn the most salacious song you'd hide from your grandma to a cheeky nod apt for said octogenarians. The flipside features another album highlight, the stadium-crushing "On Everything." Twista and Banner tag-team verses and crush the competition to the beat of a drumline and descending 808s. Don't let the snap wave pass this cut by -- it's perfect for those Bonecrusher/Hulk-smash moments we all have. Radio, original and instrumentals of both cuts. — Dan Nishimoto [Insound]

Thrice, Vheissu (Island) Rating: 7
At least one of the members of Thrice keeps saying that they're not a Christian band, but I think he's fooling himself, because Dustin Kensrue's lyrics really only make sense in the context of rocking out for Jesus. Which is fine, especially considering that the lyrics are pretty danged good for this kind of thing (e.g., "I know one day all our scars will disappear / Like the stars at dawn"). Kensrue declaims and croons these words winningly, but what gets them over is the cool array of sounds and textures here, courtesy of amazing guitarist Teppei Teranishi (the one mentioned above) and the brawny rhythm section of the Breckinridge brothers. A band to watch, for realz. — Matt Cibula [Insound]

.: posted by Editor 7:05 AM