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The Weekend Review: December 2012 Report

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By Chris Moore:

 

Almeria (Lifehouse)

Producer: Jude Cole

Released: December 11, 2012

Rating:  3.5 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Gotta Be Tonight” & “Right Back Home”

For a band that I have accused in the past of being derivative of itself, I picked up this album with some hesitance.  To be honest, I haven’t heard an album from Lifehouse that I truly loved and respected since 2002’s Stanley Climbfall.  That being said, Almeria is a welcome surprise.  At every turn, it is an energetic return and it features a dynamic sequence of tracks.  From the extremes of the modern-sounding yet carefully-paced seriousness of “Between the Raindrops” to the bluesy throwback sound of “Right Back Home” and so many stops between, Lifehouse seems to delight in showing off their range.  “Gotta Be Tonight” bubbles with potential as it stomps away as the opener, and it is followed by highlights such as the catchy, fittingly cyclical “Nobody Listen” and the nearly-Beatles-esque “Lady Day.”  All in all, Almeria is a notable effort from Lifehouse and one whose diversity should bring listeners back for more across many listens.  

The Weekend Review: November 2012 Report

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By Chris Moore:

 

King Animal (Soundgarden)

Producer: Adam Kasper and Soundgarden

Released: November 13, 2012

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Top Two Tracks: “Been Away Too Long” & “Non-State Actor”

As was heralded by “Live to Rise,” their fantastic contribution to the Avengers soundtrack earlier this year, Soundgarden is yet another of 2012’s long-awaited reunions, this album coming out sixteen years after 1996’s Down on the Upside.  In King Animal, Soundgarden has found a new groove that brings their signature sound alive again with reinvigorated appeal.  “Been Away Too Long” is the perfect opening track, and it is followed up with glorious riffing and cutting lyrics and vocals on “Non-State Actor.”  The eleven tracks that follow are reliably exciting with hardly any exception, never trying too hard to be catchy yet clearly concerned with being lively, particularly with guitar and vocal parts.  Freshly energetic and consistent throughout, King Animal is one of the year’s best reunion efforts, and despite the considerable expectations facing such a release, it is one of the better albums of 2012 as well.

 

 

The Best Collaborations of 2010

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By Chris Moore:

With this being the season of togetherness and all, it only seems right to present the “Best Collaborations of 2010” category.  This is a pretty short one, as there are so many collaborations of different sorts throughout the music industry — I wanted to highlight only a few standouts.   Number one with a bullet, at least for me, has to be this year’s Beach Boys reunion on “Don’t Fight the Sea,” a track on Al Jardine’s solo album that found not only surviving Beach Men Jardine, Brian Wilson, and Mike Love but also Carl Wilson collaborating on lead and background vocals.  This was, of course, due to Carl Wilson’s vocals being posthumously remastered and added to the mix.

The next collaboration is one of the great partnerships of recent years: rock/alternative pianist Ben Folds and novelist/lyricist Nick Hornby teamed up this year for some of the smartest sounding rock the former has turned out in years.

Danger Mouse has been extraordinarily productive in recent years, but his collaboration with Sparklehorse — a particularly quirky one at that — is one of the darkest albums of the year, and a standout among this year’s music releases.

My honorable mention belies the soft spot I have for all things Wallflowers-related, one that is not nearly satisfied by Jakob Dylan’s solo catalog.

So, enjoy this brief list today, and check back for a top fifteen tomorrow!

BEST COLLABORATION

1)  Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, & Carl Wilson (“Don’t Fight the Sea” – A Postcard from California)

2)  Ben Folds & Nick Hornby (Lonely Avenue)

3)  Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse (Dark Night of the Soul)

Honorable Mention: Court Yard Hounds & Jakob Dylan (“See You in the Spring” – Court Yard Hounds)

The Gaslight Anthem’s “American Slang” (2010) – Yes, No, or Maybe So

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The Gaslight Anthem’s American Slang (2010) – MAYBE

The Gaslight Anthem's "American Slang" (2010)

The Gaslight Anthem's "American Slang" (2010)

(June 15, 2010)

Review:

If you ever wondered what Bruce Springsteen would have sounded like had he been born into the alternative/punk rock legacy, well… the time has come; American Slang suffers a bit from homogeneity of sound, but each of the ten tracks here unfolds as a vivid landscape that transports the listener to a new and yet not entirely unfamiliar locale.

Top Two Tracks:

“Orphans” & “The Diamond Church Street Choir”