Current Feed Content from 10 Oct 08 05:46
NulSiDécouvert - Yé où le hip-hop ?
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:13:59 -0700
When a hip-hop group manages to work in a funny double entendre into their name, I'm intrigued. It shows a sense of humour so often lost in an industry that seems to spend more time worrying about image than sound. But Montreal, Québec hip-hop group NulSiDécouvert are one of the rare groups that nail both the sound and the lyrics. Their name, which is both the expression used on Québec lotto tickets ("void if scratched") and also means, well, "lame if naked." Even the title of their 2006 album, Yé où le hip-hop ? strikes out at what the group sees as the end of hip-hop: In French, the title is writtne very idomaticlaly to ask: "where is the hip-hop?"And as the start of their song "Hardcore, " shouts: "NulSiDécouvert, that's where it's at, bitch!" I think that pretty much answers it.
Sounding frequently more old school than new school, the album cleverly mixes a huge variety of instrumentation for the beats. Listen to the opening track, "Licence complète, " and I dare you not to be reminded of high tops, early BET, and Run-D.M.C.
But if the album falls down. it is because it tries to do too much. Some songs just sound out of place on the album, "Fils de Bach, " which is a very funny track delivered at maximum velocity, but it sounds very poppy. "Numerik" sounds like Nas, a sound best left to him and him alone. Which is not to say that these tracks aren't good: they just belong on a different album. Not this one.
Gigi - Gigi
Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:40:35 -0700
Once upon a time, as a much younger and more impressionable child, I would while away my Saturdays in the local Virgin Recrods store, listening to the sample CDs. On one particular Saturday, the luminous face of a black woman with her eyes closed yet the strangely French and romantic name Gigi blasoned across her face.Gigi, in fact, turns out to be the stage name for Ethiopian singer Ejigayehu Shibabaw (try saying that five times fast!). In her self-titled 2001 album, Gigi, she reinterprets traditional Ethiopian music to a much more contemporary setting. But unlike so many such "reinterpretations" that fail miserably to sound like anything grander than something that belongs at Epcot, Gigi truly succedes at creating music that sounds both contemporary and ancient.
Sung entirely in Amharic, the album begins with the energetic "Gud Fella, " which is full of drums and string drums. But the album quickly takes a slower, jazzier tone. Unfortunately, I cannot understand a word, but "Sew Argen" is brilliant with its saxophones.
Apparently, she has even gotten into trouble with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for singing what is unquestionably the best song on the album, the closing "Adwa, " because it is a traditional lament for dead soldiers only sung by males. Way to go!
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:16:53 -0700
It's been over four years since the world has heard from Melbourne, Australia-based Cut Copy. But the electro rockers have upped the anty considerably with their new release, In Ghost Colours. In fact, from the sounds of it, they have spent the past four years taking musical steroids this album is so good. I'm willing to even go so far as to say it is the best album released thus far in 2008. Like their last album, In Ghost Colours manages to combine the raw energy of a live indie gig, the synth and beeps of house and electronica, and enough 80's influence to make you think shoulderpads. But unlike all the other bands that attempt this combination, Cut Copy is lyrically and emotionally connected and intense. There's no New Wave posturing, no too-cool-for-school attitude here.
Starting with "Feel The Love, " the album immediately gets down to business. "Unforgettable Season" is a straightforward rock song that truly rocks, but "So Haunted" is a wall of guitar that evolves into some amazing synth rock.
Damn, these guys are good.
Junior Senior - Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:33:15 -0700
Denmark's Junior Senior is half gay, half straight, and 100% zany, crazy, upbeat, and competely redeeming of Denmark's otherwise lacklustre music scene. Masters of catchy, dancefloor pop, Junior Senior churn our catchy turn after catchy tune. In fact, almost every track on their 2007 sophmore album, Hey Hey My My Yo Yo could stand out as a single in its own right. Each song informs the next, although taken individually, each one stands on their own two feet as pop genious. On the other hand, let's face it. Junior Senior's lyrics are nothing brilliant. In fact, they frequently verge on the meaningless or odd."Hip Hop A Lula" includes a half-hearted attempt at rapping. "Happy Rap's" lyrics are also strangely falsettoed and high. But you know what? It all works.
Plus, the album features one of the best four track stretches on any pop album recently. I dare you to listen to "Itch You Can't Scratch, " "We R The Handclaps, " "I Like Music (W.O.S.B.), " and "Ur a Girl" without dancing, moving your feet, and singing along.
And yes, the songs are so good that they stand out on their own, but they're even better because they work so damn well together.
Dengue Fever - Escape From Dragon House
Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:19:50 -0700
Unfortunately better known for its tragic history, Cambodia had quite a developed pop industry before the communit take over. Clubs in the capital, Phnomh Penh, belted out psychadelic-influenced pop tunes that included traditional Cambodian instruments to give the music an entirely unique influence.The Cambodian pop scene returned to life after the end of communism. It was a vibrant music scene that inspired Los Angeles-based brothers Eric and Zac Holtzman upon their trip to Cambodia to form their own Cambodia-pop band, better known as Dengue Fever. The brothers also lucked out: they found a great lead singer, Chhom Nimol, singing in the Little Phnomh Penh section of Long Beach. Together, they released the album Escape From Dragon House in 2005.
The album is entirely sung in Khmer, the native language of Cambodia. Nimol's voice is unlike anything found in Western Pop: it is both shrill, sweet, and can hit notes only a castrato would dare try. The music is energetic, but heavily influenced by South East Asia.
"We Were Gonna, " the opening track, is probably the best example of the band's sound. It's brassy, bold, and intriguing: the framework sounds very western, but the interpretation is anything but.
The epynomious "Escape From Dragon House" is another hit: it's the most disco influenced track on the album, and it has a great bassline.
Escape From Dragon House is a great introduction to an unknwon nation's music.
Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:32:34 -0700
Before Asobi Seksu (Japanese for "playful sex"), the last Japanese band to come out of New York were the delightfully silly Cibo Matto, whose lyrics were sung in an Engrish babble about camels, sugar water, and palmtrees. But Asobi Seksu are a different kind of band: critics have tended to group them instantly as shoegazers, along with bands such as My Bloody Valentine, due to their extensive use of reverb and ethereal noise.So, beyond the charming English babble, the two bands have very little in common.
Asobi Seksu's 2006 album, Citrus, is a nugget of intense, mind-bending rock, but it is not a traditional shoegazer album. For one thing, Citrus is far too upbeat. "Strings, " a single off the album, is positively cheery — which makes their use of reverb all the more interesting.
Lead singer Yuki Chikudate's voice is brilliantly versatile: one moment it's soft, the next it's a Björk-like screech. There are some other very interesting parings on the album: "Mizu Asobi" manages somehow to combine 80's pop with reverb guitar, while "Thursday" combines some great indie rock guitar work with some very intense drumming.
But Asobi Seksu couldn't completely ignore one of their influences, and "Red Sea" is a fitting tribute to My Bloody Valentine's style, because it's the most hard core track on the album.
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:10:14 -0700
The Arctic Monkeys are fast, hard, and strong. The British band's 2007 album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, gets right down to business from the opening chords of their song "Brainstorm." Lead by drummer Matt Helders, a wall of sound comes crashing down upon the uninitiated. But this is no pure noise fest, it is pure rock at its best: sexy and raw.After the notorious furor over the Arctic Monkeys' début album, the band took a year and a half off to retool and rethink their sound. They added a new bassist, and really honed in on what they do best: fast rock stomps. When you can hear them, their lyrics are quite smart as well. The song "Teddy Picker" finished witht the line "presuming all things are equal / who'd want to be men of the people / when there's people like you."
The second half of the album takes on a deeper, more nuanced approach, which is best expressed in "Flourescent Adolescent." But should any doubt remain that the Arctic Monkeys' biggest goal is blasting you out of your seats, the album's final track, "505, " should do a pretty good job of removing it.
Amel Larrieux - Infinite Possibilities
Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:36:20 -0700
American singer Amel Larrieux's million dollar voices makes R&B so sweet, that it merrits inclusion on a blog more frequently dedicated to electro noise than harmonisation. But far be it for us to exclude so talented a muician: her 2000 album, Infinite Possibilities, is at once haunting and uplifting. Her voice is soft, but extremely powerful — somewhat like Billie Holiday's, before the drinking and drugging."Get Up" is a real star on the album. It's lyrics and vocal arrangement is simple, but that's the best part. While most recent R&B seems dedicated to overwrought lyrics, over-vibratoed vocals, and overbearing beats, Amel Larrieux is perfectly comfortable to take the quiet route, winning you over with her lyrics and spirit, rather than production values.
"Infinite Possibilties" is deeply jazzy with soft drums and clever lyrics: "Got a temper like a gun / one you point at everyone." They are both clever and poignant. "Down" is another nod to the jazz songstresses of yore, as Larrieux takes her voice down an octave and husks it up.
It's all fun and elegant.
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:01:55 -0700
Tired of how the new indie rock scene seems to be flooded with dance infused spiritless music? Well despair no longer for the Fleet Foxes are here!Their self-titled debut album has been making quite the splash with their feel good vibe, soothing male vocals, and ethereal sound. This Seattle male quintet starts off with their song "Sun It Rises" starts off with what sounds like a bunch of guys sitting around a fire singing a campfire song, but then the guitars start up and all of a sudden you're transported to a world of lush green fields containing lutists playing merry songs for young Renaissance couples to dance to. Then the second track, "White Winter Hymnal" comes on and who can resist cracking a little smile while bobbing your head side to side as you enter more of this fantastic world to the sound of soft guitars and drums with a chorus of vocals singing specifically to you about beautiful nonsense.
Honestly, Fleet Foxes make me think of a less depressing, more magical version of Aloha, without the xylophone of course. Both make you forget anything else exists and just swallow you up with imagination in a way that is similar to reading a really good novel.
Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:21:53 -0700
The line between dance music and rock music has never been especially well defined, but some acts have taken it upon themselves to push the line to the edgeand back. Melbourne, Australia-based Dan Whitford, known by his alter-ego Cut Copy, has taken the border and run — and in the process created something truly exciting and unique. Cut Copy goes wild for his keyboard. His 2004 album, Bright Like Neon Love, would be a rock album were it not for his heavy electronic backgrounds and sound effects; and it would be a dance album were it not for the guitar, drums, and rock vocals. This is especailly evident in the track "Future, " which almost seems like a fight between the dance and rock sides of Cut Copy.
On the other hand, the beat is almost always a 4/4 stomp for the dancefloor, and the vocals are one line repeated ad nauseum.
So let's just say that a clear genre is hard to find, but the music is damn fun. "Time Stands Still" is almost synth-pop, but so what? It's a lot of fun to listen to, and will get stuck in your head. For those of us who aren't genre purists, it is the best kind of mashup because it combines the best of many different schools of music and forges something new.
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