Lots of your favorite artists on this one. Placebo’s cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” is surprisingly good. The Silversun Pickups offering, “Currency of Love,” is exactly what you’d expect.
Bat for Lashes fans can rejoice with “Sleep Alone.” Goldfrapp gives us “We Radiate.” They sound a little more retro on this one. That’s their shtick, though, isn’t it? I was pleasantly surprised with Sky Ferreira. “Obsession” is not an Animotion cover, but it’s a good song in its own right.
What is a cover is Digital Daggers’ “Head Over Heels.” Shed no tears but embrace your fears, because it’s just not that good. It’s three musical styles in one, but with no transition. It’s like a masturbatory mashup, in that it’s just one thing that is pretending to be three. The only times this has ever worked were Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Big Audio Dynamite’s “Rush.”
Jason Walker gives us light rock, less talk, on “Down.” I don’t know who the woman is singing with him, but it makes the song work. Plumb are here, and I wonder whether it’s the same Plumb that I have a record of from long ago. It could be. “Cut” is an OK song, if you want to see what they sound like now.
“On Melancholy Hill” is the Gorillaz’s entry, and it’s pretty amazing.
Archive for November 2010
Various Artists “The Vampire Diaries Original Television Soundtrack”
November 14, 2010Highlife “Best Bless”
November 14, 2010It’s an EP. I thought it would be about smoking weed, but I guess not. “War Fair” is just a short intro. “F Kenya RIP” falls into the big “world” bucket. What does the rest of the world call world music? Justin Bieber?
This reminds me of Omeyocan, but nobody knows who that is. “Burying Stones” could be considered Britpop, but it’s not. It’s weird like Flaming Lips, but you don’t feel as if you need to be on drugs to appreciate it. The African sound that Paul Simon incorporated on “Graceland”? That’s pretty close.
“Tuareg Dancehall” isn’t dancehall, but it might be a song about a dancehall. This is the most accessible song on the EP. Its tapes will play in your VCR. “Wet Palm Trees” takes you to the end. This EP has a ton of color, and it’s music the whole family can agree on.
James “The Morning After the Night Before”
November 14, 2010James are still around. That means the band’s old. Your parents might have conceived you while listening to “Laid.” But we all must move on. This is a double album, meaning I get two units for reviewing it instead of one, but it very easily could have been on a single record because both are pretty short. Don’t let the music department find out!
The first album is “The Morning After,” and the second is “The Night Before.” Makes more sense now, doesn’t it? I also like the cover art, because it has a cat on it.
“Tell Her I Said So” has synths at the beginning. Tim Booth wrote all the songs, so I will assume he sang them, too. It’s the same guy that’s always been singing in James, so there you go. There is definitely an uptempo lean in this one that many of the other tracks lack.
“Make for This City” is acoustic done right. If your parents want to give you a little sister, then you better hide this one. It has “make out” written all over it. If you’re into the band’s famous falsettos, give “Fear” a shot. “It’s Hot” is for Death Cab for Cutie fans. Booth is Ben Gibbard here, totally.
Lots of what you’d expect. Definitely a fun time for all.
Pete Yorn “Pete Yorn”
November 14, 2010Why would a fifth record be self-titled? Oh, he is on Vagrant now. Bully for him. It seems like this guy has been around forever, which means I am probably mixing him up with someone else.
If Eels were slightly poppier, you would have Pete Yorn. “Rock Crowd” does this well. “Velcro Shoes” is half Beatles, half Dinosaur Jr. “The Chase” is not about the bank, with the hipster “the” added in front. It’s just a good power pop song.
“Always” is not a Rilo Kiley cover, but it’s still a hot little number. “Wheels” is the last track, and it’s the expected ballad to send you on your way. It’s not bad.
No surprises here, but you should know what you’re getting with Yornie anyway.
John & Jehn “Time for the Devil”
November 14, 2010More Peter Murphy than Bauhaus, it’s still not hard to figure out what is being channeled here. “Time for the Devil” makes it clear that if no one is going to make a new Cure album that sounds like “Head in the Door,” then someone else will have to do it. It’s the same way that Cities XL emerged from the dust after it became clear that SimCity 5 was never going to be made.
So the Jehn in John & Jehn: Is she supposed to be the Siouxsie half of a tag team? Maybe. The band’s name is unfortunate because they don’t really need her. And of course she sings a song called “Vampire.” I guess “Cloves and Depression” is destined to be a B-side. She does do a good job on “And We Run,” however.
“Down Our Streets” bridges the gap between 1983 and 2010. Still, Spandau Ballet fans can’t help but be proud of this one. “Shades” has a good melody, although the chorus is flat. I haven’t heard the first album but wonder just how far along they have come. If they can do better, they could really be on to something here.
Today's featured shit 