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21 June 2006

No-Man, All The Blue Changes - An Anthology 1988-2003 (Hidden Art)
This British group has made five albums and has rolled with the various music industry punches that have come their way. Led primarily by Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, No-Man has created a lovely, reflective anthology of music beginning with the pretty and precious "Pink Moon" with Bowness laying down some great if minimal vocals. And musically they are running the gamut, with the trip-hop-meets-violin feel of "Colours" shining through effortlessly while "Days in the Trees" sounds like a hipper version of Robbie Williams' "Angels" that grows and grows. The backbeat is at the core of most of these tunes, including the groovy and yet gritty "Walker" and the Depeche Mode-ish "Road". And Disc One is highlighted by a 10-minute "Heaven Taste" that brings to mind something Enigma might attempt. Just as stellar is the atmospheric, electro-rock of "Simple" and the bittersweet "Things Change". As for Disc Two, the group nails the opening "Pretty Genius" that could have come off the Dead Presidents soundtrack and the soothing "Photographs in Black and White" and gorgeous "My Revenge on Seattle" are equally pleasing. Other highlights include "Carolina Skeletons" and "Returning Jesus" but "Only Rain" might be the only clunker here. [Insound]
      — Jason MacNeil
"Back to the Burning Shed": [MP3]
multiple songs: [MySpace]
Rock / Prog-Rock  

Crooked Roads, Heartbreak Sampler (self-released)
On Heartbreak Sampler, Crooked Roads dishes out a 10-course pu pu plattering of heartache, loneliness, and general world-weariness. Chris Dingman, the singer-song writer behind Crooked Roads, keeps from completely giving in to the despair through humor and an oddly hopeful introspection. On "Too Long" with the lines "I look at the wall where her picture used to go/I think about putting it back and that's when I really know/that it's been too long since someone's known what I mean" you know he has recovered and is ready for that next heartbreak. "Long White Robe" is a fiddled square dance around references to fucking creepy angels while touting his own religious revival. The plaintive plainspoken lyrics and out of kilter vocals run counter to the commanding instrumental arrangements. The opener "Tell Me Again" starts with a lone guitar, but interweaves fiddles and harmonicas stacked on top of pedal steels and wurlitzers. Dingman rhetorically summarizes his music with "What if Hank Williams listened to the Beatles?" Those are lofty comparisons, but Heartbreak Sampler does manage to satisfyingly apply a pop sensibility to admirably honest writing that, on its own, could be the end of you. [Insound]
      — Alexa Lim
multiple songs: [MP3]
Country  

Various Artists, Punk Goes '90s (Fearless)
Want one objective reason why the '90s were superior to this decade? When Nirvana released Nevermind in 1991, the United States was not afraid of a baby's penis. In these post-Nipplegate Bush years, we apparently can't handle such a sight. Either that or Fearless Records is too cowardly to risk evangelical wrath, because the Mohawked baby on the cover of this miserable covers album has a convenient title covering his genitalia. The music itself is wretched, and it's hard to say which is worse: the unimaginative song selection, or the abysmal performances. Plain White T's play Blur's "Song #2" as if covers are supposed to carbon-copy the originals, but at least their bland approach hits the right chords; Gym Class Heroes can't even begin to handle the complexities of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under the Bridge". These have all been done before: 1000 Mona Lisas punked up "You Outta [sic] Know" a decade before the Killing Moon, and they even spelled it right; Scary Kids Scaring Kids give "Losing My Religion" a feeble screamo makeover that would run hiding from Tesco Vee's Hate Police's much-earlier version. A few tracks actually show some life, but even then the originals are mediated by an extremely limited pop-punk framework and scraped bare of their emotional resonance: So They Say reinvent Nirvana's "In Bloom" as a chant for all the young dude brahs, and Hit the Lights pare the Gin Blossoms' great "Hey Jealousy" down into a peppy anthem. Only Bleeding Through's heavy take on Hum's "Stars" and Eighteen Visions' punishing run through Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People" save this turkey from a big round zero. [Insound]
      — Whitney Strub
Cartel, "Wonderwall": [MP3]
Mae, "March of the Pigs": [MP3]
Punk  

Various Artists, Supa Dups and Power 96 Present: Dancehall Nice Again 2006 (Sequence)
It should be fairly obvious right from the start that nobody is going to go home, turn this album on, and actively listen. Analyzing the lyrics, absorbing the music, taking something away from it emotionally. Dancehall as a musical form is built around, well, dancing, and with the recent compilation Dancehall Nice Again 2006 popular dancehall artist Supa Dups mixes together 19 bouncy tracks from 26 artists in total, creating a shiny and glossily danceable disc that won't disappoint those looking for new, catchy vibes to move along to. Not unexpectedly given the involvement of radio station Power 96, most of the biggest names in dancehall make appearances, from Sean Paul, Beenie Man, and Shaggy to Bounty Killer, Sizzla, and Jah Cure, and they perform up to usual standards over their synthy backing riddims. This is targeted directly at a relatively specific audience -- dancehall fans who want their favorite new hits on one shiny disc -- and it accomplishes its goals well without really doing anything beyond them. It's competently catchy, flashy, and in the end sort of empty -- like most dance music. The cover photo model stares out blankly, her bikini glistening gold-gaudy and her skin airbrushed shiny but her face remaining almost entirely emotionless. [Insound]
      — Michael Frauenhofer
Dancehall  

.: posted by Editor 7:55 AM