Here's some I made earlier...
Album Reviews
The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter
Sweet Apple - Love and Desperation
Eli 'Paperboy' Reed - Come and Get It
Ganglians - Monster Head Room
Interviews
Surfer Blood
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Drums
The Soft Pack
Good Shoes
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Short Cuts! 8 March 2010
This week's batch includes Gorillaz, Titus Andronicus and Broken Bells.
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach perhaps, but this is no plastic pop – the irony of Blur’s demise is that Albarn is now too smart to push his (increasingly forlorn) hooks too far to the front. Duly, he mixes things up with a Mick Jones here and a Bobby Womack (!) there, burying the Gorillaz-as-band continuity, but can’t resist marrying the whole together with an eco-harmonious back story. As always, no-one else would’ve dared, or bothered.
Choice Cuts: ‘On Melancholy Hill’, ‘Some Kind of Nature’, ‘Empire Ants’
7.5/10
Titus Andronicus – Monitor
Punk concept records (an oxymoron, surely?) are a bit like algebra for toddlers. Even the smarter ones, of which Titus Andronicus must rank – they like history, for chrissakes – struggle with the step-up. Unfortunately, the American Civil War deserves better treatment than “you will always be a loser, man” repeated ad infinitum, and clocking your songs in at 7 minutes doesn’t constitute ‘maturity’. Disappointing.
Choice Cuts: ‘A More Perfect Union’, ‘Theme from Cheers’
5.5/10
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
James Mercer (Shins’ voice/strummer) and Danger Mouse (ubiquitous producer type Brian Burton – see Gnarls Barkley; The Good, The Bad and the Queen) team up for this debut collaboration. Muso matchmakers expect a soaring majesty of cred and class, substance and sheen. Neither materialises – Mercer’s vocal yelp is familiarly adequate, whilst Burton feeds everything through the usual washed-up electronic filter (then tacks on dub bass), but the results are uncharacteristically stilted.
Choice Cuts: 'Vaporize', 'Your Head is on Fire'
5/10
BRMC – Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
Shouty garage rock noise meets blues stomp with the occasional point of interest – namely ‘Bad Blood’ and the meditative ‘The Toll’, which sounds like the Jesus and Mary Chain singin’ the country-blues. As is customary with this vastly over-egged band, however, their couldn’t-care-less disappointment and ability to make two chords sound like such a chore eventually conspire to grind out another failure.
Choice Cuts: ‘Bad Blood’, ‘The Toll’
4.5/10
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach perhaps, but this is no plastic pop – the irony of Blur’s demise is that Albarn is now too smart to push his (increasingly forlorn) hooks too far to the front. Duly, he mixes things up with a Mick Jones here and a Bobby Womack (!) there, burying the Gorillaz-as-band continuity, but can’t resist marrying the whole together with an eco-harmonious back story. As always, no-one else would’ve dared, or bothered.
Choice Cuts: ‘On Melancholy Hill’, ‘Some Kind of Nature’, ‘Empire Ants’
7.5/10
Titus Andronicus – Monitor
Punk concept records (an oxymoron, surely?) are a bit like algebra for toddlers. Even the smarter ones, of which Titus Andronicus must rank – they like history, for chrissakes – struggle with the step-up. Unfortunately, the American Civil War deserves better treatment than “you will always be a loser, man” repeated ad infinitum, and clocking your songs in at 7 minutes doesn’t constitute ‘maturity’. Disappointing.
Choice Cuts: ‘A More Perfect Union’, ‘Theme from Cheers’
5.5/10
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
James Mercer (Shins’ voice/strummer) and Danger Mouse (ubiquitous producer type Brian Burton – see Gnarls Barkley; The Good, The Bad and the Queen) team up for this debut collaboration. Muso matchmakers expect a soaring majesty of cred and class, substance and sheen. Neither materialises – Mercer’s vocal yelp is familiarly adequate, whilst Burton feeds everything through the usual washed-up electronic filter (then tacks on dub bass), but the results are uncharacteristically stilted.
Choice Cuts: 'Vaporize', 'Your Head is on Fire'
5/10
BRMC – Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
Shouty garage rock noise meets blues stomp with the occasional point of interest – namely ‘Bad Blood’ and the meditative ‘The Toll’, which sounds like the Jesus and Mary Chain singin’ the country-blues. As is customary with this vastly over-egged band, however, their couldn’t-care-less disappointment and ability to make two chords sound like such a chore eventually conspire to grind out another failure.
Choice Cuts: ‘Bad Blood’, ‘The Toll’
4.5/10
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Short Cuts! - New Releases 23/11/09
*** 50 word run-downs of this week’s new releases, including track recommendations from THE POPSCENER***
Note: Don’t get your hopes up for this week...
Adam Lambert – For Your Entertainment
Overly long sheen-heavy pomp-rock record for teenage girls and 3rd generation Bon Jovi fans. Lowlights: Pitch perfect reprisals of Matt Bellamy’s vocals in ‘Soaked’ and risible Peter Frampton-esque talking guitar in ‘A Loaded Smile’. Unfortunate line: “I was born with glitter on my face” from ‘Sure Fire Winners’.
Best Tracks: ‘Pick U Up’, ‘Broken Open’
4/10
Rihanna – Rated R
“Baby I’m a rockstar” protests Rihanna on ‘Rockstar 101’. She’s not of course, actually she’s a better than average Thriller-era synth-pop temptress, abetted by dark license and liberal doses of sex. This one lacks the songs of its predecessor and consequently may not sell as many despite the “Brown-gate” intrigue. Mystifying lyric: “I may be dumb but I’m not stupid” from ‘Stupid in Love’ – but ofcourse!
Best Tracks: ‘Wait Your Turn’, ‘G4L’
6/10
Susan Boyle – I Dreamed a Dream
Unlikely to be adorning many teenage boys’ walls in the near future, Simon Cowell must think she can rely on her not inconsequential warble and jerking enough tears from the over 50s in the lead up to Christmas. The cover of ‘Wild Horses’ is oddly listenable; the rest is dross. Minus one point for poor grammar (er, it’s ‘Dreamt’ thanks). Biggest disappointment: realisation that ‘Cry Me a River’ wasn’t a JT cover – rats!
Best Tracks: ‘Wild Horses’
3/10
Blogged with the Flock Browser