Category Archives: Music Reviews

Music reviews of albums, CDs, indie and major music artists. Get your music reviewed here!

Old 97’s “The Grand Theatre Volume One” (2010) – The Weekend Review

Posted on by
Reply

By Chris Moore:

RATING: 4 / 5 stars

Quality rock and roll bands are hard to come by.

When I invoke the term rock and roll, I reference all of its varied yet complimentary strengths, including but not limited to: electric guitar work (hooks or solos or, preferably, both), drums that make you wish you could play (or, if you can, make you wish you were in a band), country influences (just enough to ground the music in traditional textures, but not enough to be confused for actual country), subversive undertones that hint at the presence of sex and drugs around the corner from here, nods to the great bands and sounds that have come before, and a strong, unique, contemporary sound that belongs primarily to the band in the moment.

The Old 97’s have addressed each of these categories, to varying degrees of success, in The Grand Theatre Volume One, and the result is, unsurprisingly, a very strong rock album.

Many of the recordings that comprise this release are marked by an undeniable urgency, an element very much lost on many modern songwriters, even the good ones.  The truth is that a song like “Let the Whiskey Take the Reins” would lose a significant portion of its subtlety and understated beauty if it weren’t placed after an all-out romp like “The Dance Class.”  “The Beauty Marks” would lose its charm as a closing track if it exceeded the four minute mark.  “Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)” doesn’t deserve to be five minutes long, but it’s one hell of a 2:45 acoustic rocker.

This sense of sequencing is apparent throughout The Grand Theatre Volume One, as well as an understanding of where to go musically and vocally, how to mix it up, and when to hold back.  For instance, “You Were Born to Be in Battle” is quirky by virtue of sounding like a displaced roots rock standard.  Any other song to adopt this sound would detract from the appeal of the aforementioned track.

This concept of balance is not a difficult one, although it is admittedly easier to deconstruct the results than it is to create the recordings.

The Grand Theatre Volume One (Old 97's, 2010)

The Grand Theatre Volume One (Old 97's, 2010)

Perhaps the most impressive balancing act is that of the band’s influences.  The title track is soaked with the spirit and raw vocal tones of an early R.E.M. single.  “The Dance Class” comes across as Zevonian in sound and spirit just as “Champaign, Illinois” does lyrically.  The chorus lyric and guitars in “Love is What You Are” border on Beatles-esque, and “The Beauty Marks” sounds like an alternate track from a recent Cold War Kids record.  And yet, with all of these intersections with other sensibilities and legacies, the Old 97’s emerge with a unique voice and sound.

This is not derivation; this is their music.

Rugged and rocking, yet betraying a fleeting but genuine flair for the sentimental, The Grand Theatre Volume One conjures the aura of A.M., albeit a more refined and dynamic take on the sound.  Whereas Wilco’s debut album was met with a general shrug of the shoulders by most critics, there are too many well-produced, spot-on performances on this album for it to be passed over by the critical community.

One would hope.

Speaking of hope, I do feel a bit tentative about the concept of a Volume Two, culled from the same sessions, being released next year.  It seems to me that this sort of recording process whereby dozens of tracks are laid down en masse is problematic at best.  Reminded of the Barenaked Ladies’ similar process for Are Me and Are Men, I posit the following questions:  Are the best songs being split between both records?  If so, then why not make some difficult decisions on the chopping block and release one album that will be the best possible Old 97’s record?  If not, then will Volume Two emerge as a sort of b-sides and unreleased tracks compilation that is destined to disappoint in the shadow of Volume One?

Regardless of how the next installment plays out, it is at least safe to say that this edition of The Grand Theatre is a standout effort from this prolific band.  Their brand of alt-country is about as far away from the mainstream as possible, couched as it is in the antiquity of traditional country/rock and the since-sidelined sounds of true alternative rock (I qualify this as “true,” considering the so-called “alternative rock” bands now being sold via mainstream media that are, some consciously and some not, merely copies of a copy).

Do yourself a favor and check out some of the real on The Grand Theatre Volume One.

More music reviews

Broken Social Scene’s “Forgiveness Rock Record” (2010) – The Weekend Review

Posted on by
Reply

By Chris Moore:

RATING: 2 / 5 stars

Their concept is an interesting one: record en mass with a crowd of artists whose talents and respective genres run the gamut from classical to avant-garde. When there is cohesion and purpose, the diversity contributes to some fascinating productions.

When Broken Social Scene falls short, though, the distance is vast.

With one exception, Forgiveness Rock Record falls far short of anything approaching complete success past the sixth track.  Which is a shame, because the first six tracks are so fantastic, each finding an order in the chaos of up to fourteen chefs with their hands in the pot.

Songs like “Forced to Love” border on beautiful, hinting at single-worthiness.  Ten years ago, fifteen perhaps, they may have stood a chance on commercial radio.  Consider the quirky catchiness of “Texico Bitches” or the bouncy indie rock of “Art House Director” — these are the standout tracks where, clearly, something special was tapped into.

Even “All to All,” which threatens to stretch out for too long, is a gorgeous piece that walks the line between indie and dance, owing not a little to Lisa Lobsinger’s lead.  When Leslie Feist later unfolds “Sentimental X’s,” it reads as an attempt to mimic “All to All.”  Perhaps this was purposeful, as a means of pulling the otherwise disparate pieces of the album together.

Even still, it falls short.

The opener “World Sick” hints at a truth later revealed:  Broken Social Scene doesn’t always know when to cut it short or rein it in.  On the seven minute “World Sick,” their patient unraveling of the larger concept translates, and they quickly follow up with the fast-paced three-minute “Chase Scene” as a prompt reminder that not every track on Forgiveness Rock Record will be a test of the listener’s patience.  Even as a large group, they know how to hit a groove and run with it.

This is a key aspect present in the first six tracks that disappears almost irretrievably for the remainder of the album.

Broken Social Scene's "Forgiveness Rock Record" (2010)

Broken Social Scene's "Forgiveness Rock Record" (2010)

After “Art House Director” fades, the bulk of the album kicks off with “Highway Slipper Jam,” beginning with a vocal burst that sounds like something Femi Kuti would contribute to a Brett Dennen single.  Whereas it is a fun accompaniment on the latter, it sits oddly in isolation on this seventh track.  It is not so much that “Highway Slipper Jam” is a bad song.  It is more that it is hardly a song at all.  Essentially, this track expresses what is implied by the tag “Jam”: it is little more than a drum beat and some disconnected vocals and guitars.

“Ungrateful Little Father” opens lyrically strong and catchy even, yet dissolves into a more than three minute indulgence that sounds like a dream sequence set in a casino.

From there, most of the remaining tracks either tease at something more or fall apart as echoes of other sounds on the album.  “Meet Me in the Basement” builds up to a legitimate rock song… without any vocals or anything really interesting or fresh after the midpoint about two minutes in.   As noted above, “Sentimental X’s” reads as an inferior six-minute rewrite of “All to All.”

“Sweetest Kill” is the most significant tease on the record, unfolding an alluring lead vocal and pulsing bass lines that would please, if only it didn’t hold to the established norm for all five minutes of the song.  “Romance to the Grave” will keep your interest, but there is still something lacking here that wasn’t in those first six tracks, by now a distant memory.

Then comes “Water in Hell.”

From the opening guitar run, it is clear that “Water in Hell” is more well put together than anything since “Art House Director.”  It still very much bears the Broken Social Scene watermark, adding reverb and quirky background accompaniment, but it just works.  And it works so well that you could listen for all the unique parts that are woven masterfully together, hinting at a looseness without ever falling apart, or simply kick back and rock out.

The album concludes with “Me and My Hand,” which is underwhelming, but pretty and haunting and, thus, a fitting lead-in for anyone who decides to listen to track one again. (Why you wouldn’t give tracks one through six another play, having made it all the way through, I don’t know.)

In short, I haven’t written Broken Social Scene off after this album, but the gap between their excellent songs and their unrealized and mediocre songs is vast.  Accordingly, Forgiveness Rock Records blazes admirably through the first six before falling apart, only to be temporarily revived by the standout “Water in Hell.”  Records like this perhaps serve best as a reminder of why the Beatles set the standard number of tracks at twelve and others, from Bob Dylan to Weezer, have since scaled that back to ten or even into the single digits.

We all like to get the most for our money, but the greater desire should always be to get consistently excellent music that begs for multiple listens – a desire that Forgiveness Rock Record on the whole, for all its solid tracks, simply can’t satisfy.

More album reviews

The Weekend Review: February 2012 Report

Posted on by
Reply

Go Fly A Kite (Ben Kweller)

Released: February 7, 2012

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Jealous Girl” & “Mean to Me”

When I saw Ben Kweller open for the Barenaked Ladies a couple years ago, I was floored by this performer who managed to blend a wide variety of influences and crossed the genre lines while maintaining a coherent, high adrenaline rock show.  For months afterward, as I picked up his albums, I struggled and largely failed to find anything to match what I had experienced live.  Now, with Go Fly A Kite, Kweller has finally recorded an album that properly expresses all his strengths, alternating between electric rockers and softer acoustic tracks, all the while maintaining a power pop energy that works to his strengths.  Mainstream music critics will largely ignore this album.  Nicholas Moffitt of VZ Magazine went so far as to call it “likeable,” but not before qualifying even this statement with “fans of Kweller and power pop.”  Is Go Fly A Kite the next great rock album?  I’m not arguing that, but it is one of the few albums in recent memory that relies only upon instrumentation and vocals for its energy.  There are no computer tricks employed here: only good, old-fashioned human performance.  There isn’t a clunker in the bunch, and the track listing steadily unfolds larger ideas and themes (not to mention the diorama-style CD packaging, which is one of the most imaginative I’ve seen).  Forget Moffitt’s qualification: if you’re a fan of rock and upbeat, energetic music, Ben Kweller’s latest is a must-hear.

 

 

 

Kisses on the Bottom (Paul McCartney)

Producer: Tommy LiPuma

Released: February 7, 2012

Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “My Valentine” & “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter”

A confession before I commence: I’m admittedly predisposed to a bad taste in the mouth upon hearing a well-established artist has decided to record an album of covers.  (I know, I know: I write reviews predominantly for a cover songs music video blog.  But, to be fair, we post them for free and for practice in between our regularly-scheduled albums of originals.)  A brief history of just a few of the cover albums that should compel a roll of the eyes: Michael McDonald’s Motown (2003) and the following year’s oh-so-creatively titled Motown Two, all five volumes of Rod Stewart’s The Great American Songbook series (2002-2005, 2010), and perhaps the most disappointing fall into the valley of covers: Eric Clapton’s Me and Mr. Johnson, a follow-up to 2001’s excellent Reptile album, followed in 2010 by a disappointing album of covers – Clapton – masquerading as his latest solo album.  So, when it comes to albums of this ilk, I approach with caution.  In this case, it is not so much that McCartney’s Kisses on the Bottom is a bad album.  It clearly is a very well-thought-out, passionately rendered record.  And yet, on the heels of a string of masterful solo releases – Chaos & Creation in the Backyard (2005) and Memory Almost Full (2007) being probably the best of his career – this collection of traditional pop could do little else than fall short after five years without a new McCartney album.  For what they are, the songs are really done quite well.  It is clear from interviews with McCartney and his producer Tommy LiPuma that this was a labor of love, and it was even revealed that he held off on this project out of desire to avoid any allegations of jumping on the covers train (he even referenced Stewart’s Songbook series).  In the end, the clear standout is “My Valentine,” which just so happens to be one of two McCartney originals on the record.  Coincidence?  I think not.  He has referenced his next album as being along the same vein as the Foo Fighters’ analog, garage rock Wasting Light (2011), so I and others like me can rest easy on that.

 

 

 

Deep Space [EP] (Eisley)

Producer: Eisley

Released: February 14, 2012

Rating:  2.5 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Lights Out” & “Laugh It Off”

This pretty much fits the archetype of the EP: not bad, not great, just a little something to fill the silence between records.  If you enjoyed last year’s outstanding The Valley, then you’ll most likely enjoy Deep Space [EP].  Or, you could save yourself the five bucks and return to The Valley for more songs and a more fulfilling experience.

 

 

 

 

Sounds from Nowheresville (The Ting Tings)

Producer: Jules De Martino

Released: February 24, 2012

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Hang It Up” & “Guggenheim”

Don’t let the modern production qualities fool you: there is more here than the extensive list of “engineers” and “mixers” in the credits would have you believe.  The critics have called the Ting Tings out for this and any number of other criticisms: the album is too short, too frivolous, inane, etc.  What they have missed – and what most tracks on Sounds from Nowheresville have to offer – is energy and ambition, subtle touches in the harmonies beyond what is more readily apparent in the synthesized sounds, not to mention the centrality of Katie White’s guitar (yes, that is a real instrument in the mix and it is the female lead singer playing it; if only for that, I have reason to respect this album).  “Hit Me Down Sonny” and “Hang It Up” are as bright, cool, and catchy as you would expect, and yet other tracks like the passionately delivered “Guggenheim” and the tender, acoustic-based “Day to Day” and “Help” express the range the band has to offer.  While this is definitely not a development I would have expected, I have to admit that the Ting Tings have put out one of what will probably be the best albums of the year.

 

 

 

Rooms Filled With Light (Fanfarlo)

Released: February 28, 2012

Rating:  3.5 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Shiny Things” & “Lenslife”

On Rooms Filled With Light, Fanfarlo have done a nice job of bringing a certain bright quality to the domain of oft-introspective synthesized music.  Aside from channeling a bit too much Ric Ocasek in his vocals at times, Simon Balthazar and company have recorded and sequenced a cohesive and purposeful record that boasts elements of artistic intention while maintaining pop-ready hooks, riffs, and overall production quality.

More music reviews

Ranking every Beach Boys album and song: “Surfin’ Safari” LP (by Songwriter Jim Fusco)

Posted on by
Reply

By Jim Fusco:

A great man named Michael F. Becher on Brian Wilson’s message board started a project where he’s ranking every single Beach Boys album and song on a scale from 1-10. I love the idea and am participating in the project. But, I thought I would extend it to this forum with my picks posted here! So, without further ado, I give you the Beach Boys’ first album: Surfin’ Safari.

ALBUM – SURFIN’ SAFARI

Little Miss America – 4 (they sound lackluster, but Dennis singing brings it up a bit)
Surfin’ Safari – 6
409 – 3
The Shift – 3 (waaaaay before my time!)
*Land Ahoy – 5 (enjoyable)
*Lavender – 4
Chug-A-Lug – 4
Heads You Win – Tails I Lose – 4
Surfin’ – 4
Summertime Blues – 2 (not a huge fan of the covers- funny, ’cause that’s what I do!)
Moon Dawg – 4 (Not a big fan of the instrumentals- kinda boring, especially because they’re really known for vocals. This one isn’t bad because of the harmonies and the cool guitar playing.)
Cuckoo Clock – 4 (I like Brian’s cute high voice)
Ten Little Indians – 3
*Luau – 3
*Karate – 2
County Fair – 5 (funny and catchy)
*Judy – 3
*Barbie – 5 (a rare early gem)
*What is a Young Girl Made Of – 3 (yuck- foreign background singers!)
*Cindy, Oh Cindy – 4 (good vocal)

** It’s funny, I like this album much more than the ratings give it credit for. The songs on their own are too weak to stand up to the other BB classics, but I think the album is so enjoyable and I love hearing the boys when they’re so young and, quite frankly, full of life. **

Related posts