Ten CDs: I just want to sign to a major label
Rilo Kiley "Under The Black Light"
Jenny Lewis kinda sounds like Annie Lenox on the first track. And pretty much sounds like everyone else but herself on the rest of the album. You know, it's alright, but it's missing the heartbreaking quality that made the group's earlier stuff so special.
(Apropos of nothing: "Between Christian Rock And A Hard Place" is the absolute best album name I have ever heard.)
Two Gallants s/t
I was in love with these guys for about two minutes in 2005. The angst-filled, hardscrabble, Dylan-esque sound really resonated strongly with me. Again, for about two minutes. Now I think these guys are talented kids with potential, but they're just too damn whiny.
Bell Hollow "Foxgloves"
The 15-billionth coming of The Smiths.
more after the jump...
Ingram Hill "Cold in California"
Soulless radio-ready pop country.
Jonathan Rice "Further North"
For some reason, I keep thinking Jonathan Richman when I read this kid's name — Rice is playing all over the place this week. Obviously, its the same first name, first last initial thing that's throwing me (I also, for a time, conflated Marshall McLuhan and Malcolm McLaren; I'm not very bright).
Well, the two Jonathans don't sound anything alike — nor should they. But Rice does kind of remind me of another "J"-named rocker: Jacob Dylan. It's very Wallflowers-y: straight-forward rock and roll with just a dash of dive-bar honky tonk. It's also an inescapably '90s sound. Which isn't a bad thing, I just didn't think we were doing this kind of thing anymore. But I guess now — with the return/researgence of Dino Jr, Spoon, Foo Fighters and everyone else — is as good a time as any to start the '90s revival.
And he does have moments of brilliance. "THC" is a hard-rocking, psychedelic trip. And also, this is probably the most I've ever written about a "10 CD" CD, so that probably means something...
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings "100 Days 100 Nights"
This album popped up in my iTunes labeled as Rihanna's Umbrella album. The songs were all labeled correctly, just album/artist were wrong. Weird. Diva-in-training Rihanna could learn a little something from Ms. Jones. I am absolutely loving this album. Funky old Motown with an energetic freshness.
Her biography is fascinating, btw. Apparently, she spent time as a corrections officer at Sing Sing, and an armored car guard for Wells Fargo Bank.
Manu Chao "La Radiolina"
I heard a lot of both good and bad about this album, so I didn't really know what to expect. But it's a strong showing from Manu Chao.
Stars "In Our Bedroom After the War"
Famously, the Canadian indie group decided to skip the leak phase of this album's production and just offer up the whole thing for free online, so you may have already heard it. They've packaged the physical album with a limited edition bonus DVD, which is a nice, fan-respecting motivator to get people to actually shell out some money for their lives' work. I didn't watch it, sorry. I just don't care about music DVDs. Even Ben Folds — who is my absolute favorite musician on the planet — couldn't get me interested in his bonus DVD with ... "Ben Folds Live," I think it was. I only half watched it once. But some people are interested in that kind of thing...
Butsoanyway, Stars isn't always my favorite group. They have their moments — their cover of "Fairytale in New York" is awesome, scroll down on this page to find it — but sometimes I just find them kind of blah. But this album seems as good to me as anything else they've done.
"Take Me to the Riot"
... Actually, this is really growing on me.
Liars s/t
I like this, very much. Deconstructed rock with palpable menace.
Thurston Moore "Trees Outside the Academy"
This is a pretty damn lazy way to characterize this album, but it's late so, if Sonic Youth was more chamber pop, they'd sound like this solo effort from Mr. Moore.
Final score: Six out of 10. I may have stacked the deck a little, but ... it's my game, I'll play it how I like.
eh.www.amNY.com
