Archive for the ‘Artists’ Category
Album Review: Broken Bells – “Broken Bells”
It’s a shame that Broken Bells had to release their debut album on the same day that Gorillaz dropped their latest, Plastic Beach (which I reviewed yesterday).
That’s because, as I’ve mentioned before, Broken Bells sounds strikingly similar to their cartoon counterparts much of the time, but without the wild eccentricity and excitement. Those comparisons are inevitable since one half of Broken Bells is Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, who produced Gorillaz’ epic album Demon Days. The omnipresent analog synths that are Gorillaz’ trademark are present here as well, which usually leaves the singers as the only major difference between the two groups.
But that’s a significant difference. Whereas Damon Albarn plays off his hushed, melancholic croon in Gorillaz, James Mercer, of the Shins, adds a greater range to the styling of Broken Bells.
But Broken Bells is not a rip-off of Gorillaz and deserves to be judged on its own merits.
If my math is correct (and it usually is), legendary El Paso alt-punkers At the Drive-in would have been putting the finishing touches on one of the finest records of the last decade; if not of all time, at this time ten years ago. So with that (and a little coincidence too, as you’ll see) in mind, I decided to write this little piece about it.
Last week, I was growing a little tired of playing (fantastic) ‘Kezia’ by Protest the Hero on repeat, and looked for the nearest CD to switch into my stereo. Due to my laziness and a recent change of address, that CD was ‘Relationship of Command’. Instantly memories of this fantastic record came flooding back. The summer of 2001, just a few months after my first foray into nu-metal, was dominated by ROC. I’d played the CD so much that it was scratched beyond belief and I was given a new copy that Christmas by my surprisingly hip parents. I remember being at that stage in life where you can’t help but feel frustrated – feeling like an adult but still just a kid – and something about ROC’s raw intensity and hypnotic lyrics helped me feel connected to something at a time when I felt apart from everything. So I immersed myself in its ferocity, its cryptic imagery, its fleeting moments of beauty. And despite my young age, I’d like to think that I really understood the album; and that’s what made it so important to me. continue reading
Plastic Beach – it’s the new compound for the cartoon characters which make up Gorillaz (and what you see on the album cover). According to a press release, it’s “made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity. This Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet.”
And that’s an absolutely fitting place for this group of misfits to take up residence since Gorillaz make some of the most genre-melting and unique pop music you’ll hear. They don’t fit in anywhere but on their own unnatural island somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
It’s just too bad that the album starts off like its inspiration, and by that I mean a big pile of garbage.
Plastic Beach starts off harmlessly enough with a minute-long and rather unnecessary orchestral intro before segueing into the second track which is basically another intro track, only this time we get to hear Snoop Dogg phoning in some of the laziest rhymes he’s done as he welcomes everyone to the fictional island. With track three, “White Flag,” we finally get a real song. Unfortunately, it’s downright annoying and easily the worst song on the album. It features two British rappers, Bashy and Kano, who sound like two amateur freestylers struggling to come up with something clever to say over a lousy beat.
That’s over eight minutes of at best useless and at worst annoying music to start off the record. When you dig a hole that deep, it’s damn near impossible to get out. But Damon Albarn finally shows up on track four, and all is well with the world again.
Having purchased the tickets months ago, I’d been looking forward to seeing the bloody lovely Mumford & Sons right in my own city; folking it up like the scruffy chaps they are. I was not disappointed. First up was Andrew Davie: a man endearingly out of his depth in a packed venue. Despite the incessant chatter during his set, the warm applause from members of the audience enamoured with his smooth vocals was great to hear. Davie’s simple lyrics and instant accessibility point to a performer with plenty of potential.
Main support came from Fanfarlo, who are one of the country’s best-kept secrets. Mixing the whimsy of Arcade Fire with the delicate ease of Noah and the Whale, the band strum, yelp, bash and toot their way through a short but sweet set of enjoyable indie-folk. Their soaring harmonies and instrumental wizardry captures the attention of an increasingly impatient audience, and in the end the band come away having impressed just about everyone in the room. Get hold of their records now, they’re well worth the investment. continue reading
Back in January, fellow writer Dan argued that Dave Grohl is the greatest rock artist of at least the modern era, if not ever. So he should be ecstatic to hear that Grohl’s main band, Foo Fighters, are preparing to record their seventh album.
Grohl announced the news on Friday at the Independent Spirit Awards, saying that Butch Vig would produce the record.
In a change of pace from previous albums, which were recorded in a high-tech studio in California, the new disc will be recorded entirely in analog in Grohl’s garage. No release date has been set, but September has been discussed as a possibility. The album will be accompanied by a documentary on the band’s history and the making of the newest album.
And of course, the news was accompanied by the obligatory, and profusely infuriating insistence that, according to Grohl, “I think this could be our heaviest album yet.” I really need to start keeping track of how often that phrase is used in the run-up to a new album.
-Sam
HammerFall Rocks NYC
One of Sweden’s top metal bands, HammerFall, performed last night at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in Manhattan. I attended the concert along with my younger brother and best friend.
Like most of the classic metal bands, the top power metal bands around the globe sound incredible live in concert. HammerFall was no different. They were crisp, clear and not too loud. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like loud shows, but in such a small venue with such a huge band, the volume was perfect. The bass did not overpower the guitars and the drums and vocals were on point.
HammerFall’s overall performance was outstanding. They were so much fun to watch and sing along with.
If you enjoy fun music, give them a listen.
HammerFall homepage: http://hammerfall.net/
The real reason why Howard Jones had to leave KsE’s tour may now be coming to light – and it is tabloid worthy.
Quick recap before I get to the real news so that everyone is caught up.
I went to Killswitch Engage’s first show of their headlining tour this winter back on February 4th. After just five days, lead singer Howard Jones suddenly dropped off the tour due to “unforeseen circumstances” as the band’s official press release put it. That led to much speculation about Jones leaving the band.
But replacement singer Phil Labonte said that he was just filling in until Howard “gets better,” leading most people to believe that he was just hurt or sick. It was then reported that Jones had fallen on some stairs and hurt his back and that was why he left the tour. OK, that’s understandable. Still, if that was the case, the band should have come out and said that instead of letting damaging rumors swirl.
But now ThePRP has exclusively learned the alleged real reason as to why Jones left the tour:
IMPREGNATING A PORNSTAR!
Hahaha, who says they don’t make rockstar debauchery like they used to?
The pornstar in question is Allie Foster (pictured), who took to Twitter yesterday to announce:
Howard Jones of Killswitch engage, meet TMZ and your bitter baby momma coming with sweet sweet fuckin revenge you dirtbag.
Hmm, that sounds like good inspiration for a Killswitch song, but I digress.
She then goes on to Tweet that Howard is married and that he has been pressuring her to get an abortion. Of course, there is a post on her Twitter today which claims that her account was hacked and that she did not post any of that. So who the eff really knows? I mean she did post a picture of her baby bump.
I doubt this is the end of what has become a wildly interesting story of cover-up and deception. But come on Howard, bag it up next time!
-Sam
With the 82nd Annual Academy Awards taking place tomorrow night, it’s time for a movie/music mash-up, courtesy of Rolling Stone.
Judging by the approximately $700 bazillion that Avatar has raked in at the box office it’s safe to assume that every living creature has seen this movie.
And even if you’ve been trapped under a chunk of unobtainium and haven’t gotten out to see it yet, you probably know that it features blue cat-like people.
So RS has answered the question everyone had after seeing the movie: What would some famous musicians look like as Na’vi aliens? (You all asked yourself that, right?)
So here’s Britney and the Beatles. See the entire gallery at RS.com.
Here’s a sampling of some interesting stuff going on in the world of metal:
* Mudvayne has debuted their new video for the song “Beautiful and Strange.” It’s the second video in a three part series. And it didn’t take long for the video to be banned from all major outlets. One viewing and you’ll understand why. Censors don’t usually take kindly to buried-alive fallen angels digging up the graves of surprisingly full-chested naked, dead women and then proceeding to mount them and bang them silly all while images of torture and a girl actually getting her lips sewed together flash on screen. But hey, that’s fuckin’ metal! Go watch the necrophiliac’s dream over on VampireFreaks.com.
* Killswitch Engage have a new song, “My Obsession,” on the new God of War video game. Stream it at Noisecreep. (It’s really good.)
* Check out the cover art for Sevendust’s new album, Cold Day Memory, and prepare to be severely underwhelmed. Seriously, that’s the best you could come up with?
* Deftones have released the track list for their new album, Diamond Eyes.
* If anyone (like me) was hoping Limp Bizkit might return to the sound of their first album and/or their last album (aka more emphasis on the band, less on Fred Durst and rapping) this news should dash those hopes: Rappers Raekwon and Paul Wall will both have guest appearances on Gold Cobra.
* Dutch violin player, Karianne Brouwer, has a really cool cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”:
http://www.vimeo.com/9758791-Sam
Whenever bands take a long time between records and then come back with a drastically different sound, they take a serious risk in alienating their audience and jeopardizing their career.
That’s exactly what happened with Taproot, who, after a really good debut album (Gift) and a mediocre follow-up two years later (Welcome), took three years before making their next album, Blue-Sky Research, which scrapped nearly all of the band’s chugging riffs and unique screams and instead saw the band trying to reinvent itself as some kind of radio-friendly alternative outfit. The move was a complete disaster. The music was so watered down that it just came across like a puddly mess, and more importantly it angered a lot of the group’s core audience, myself included.
Look, I’m definitely not saying that bands should never change their sound. I don’t think that’s true at all. But bands should at least be able to gauge their own strengths and weaknesses and not seek to make music that they cannot pull off – like Lil’ Wayne’s “rock” album. I mean, “Prom Queen” is one of the most hideous musical abominations I’ve heard in recent years, but I digress.