Living Colour "Live at CBGB" (Epic/Legacy) Sounds like: Sly Stone wandered into a Van Halen recording session.
B
In the late '80s and early '90s, Living Colour was less a band and more a phenomenon. After many years of witnessing a popular music scene that staunchly segregated traditionally black forms of music and white-dominated heavy metal and rock 'n' roll, Living Colour smashed taboos by incorporating R&B and blues vocals with borderline heavy metal sensibilities.
"Live at CBGB" captures them at the height of their popularity and relevance in 1989 after their debut album, "Vivid," was released the previous year. "Live at CBGB" starts out with Living Colour's claim to fame, the single "Cult of Personality," which has basically been drained of all meaning and turned into a corporate anthem. However, it's pretty indicative of their unique blend of Hendrix-style hard rock and soulful lyrics.
Truth be told, though, the first half of this album is good but unexceptional, with "Funny Fight" and "Pride" standing out only during instrumental solos. It's the second half of the highlighted performance where vocalist Corey Glover and guitarist Vernon Reid truly stand out. Glover's Sly Stone-like voice shines on "Little Lies" and "Soldier's Blues," with Reid's psychedelic guitar progressions accompanying songs where R&B is more naturally dominant than heavy metal.
Living Colour sounds dated in some significant ways if you listen to their material fresh out of the recording studio. "Live at CBGB" reflects the more revolutionary nature of the group, placing it in a live setting where the innovative aspects of its fusion is displayed more significantly.
-NEAL FERSKO
Against Me! "We're Never Going Home" (Fat Wreck Chords) Sounds like: Actually also looks like Kut U Up, the band featured in the documentary "Riding in Vans with Boys."
B
Have you ever wondered what the antics and debauchery of a small punk-rock tour would be like? Many documentaries have dealt with this subject, but not so many have also featured the incredible effort of major labels to sign the bands on these tours.
"We're Never Going Home" documents the up-and-coming punk band Against Me! on a cross-country trip. The band has slowly gained a fan base through relentless touring, and several major record labels have noticed. The documentary combines live performance clips with funny band behavior and the wining and dining the band receives from its major label suitors.
The live performances by Against Me! are decent and will appeal to fans of throaty punk music. The band's drunken behavior is often funny, yet sometimes gross and unappealing. The most interesting part of the film is the relationship between the wary independent band and the seemingly friendly industry people. It is a fascinating and fairly undocumented angle that is common in the music industry.
-JORGE DEL PINAL
Jean Grae "This Week" (Babygrande) Sounds like: Eve, if she were smarter.
A
You can still call her conscious, but you should call her regardless. Jean Grae returns with her first full-length in two years, and she does so with a bang. The female emcee straight out of New York City spits her strong-willed, powerful, empowering and creative creations of word art all over the hour of "This Week." As explained in the liner notes, the album follows the plot of an average week in the life of the rapper where "some days, nothing happens or possibly too much happens." The lyrics on the record do run the gamut from paranoia to falling in love, from serious to joking to pissed off. Every track is pretty decent, but highlights are found in the Motown sounds of "Give It Up" and the creepy "Going Crazy," with a funky Eminem-ish beat and a hook that's far too catchy. It's in any hip-hop fan's best interest to give this album a shot - it's not all that often that a solid female emcee comes around.
-MATT RAJPUT
Dogs Die in Hot Cars "Please Describe Yourself" (V2) Sounds like: "Oranges & Lemons" and "Rise & Fall" mashed together, drained of relevance and originality, and lightly dusted with stale irony
C+
If only "Please Describe Yourself" was an excellent album. That sort of stuff writes itself: "Why, don't let the bizarre/confusing/simply terrible band name scare you off! These Scots are the band you've been waiting for - a totally awesome one!"
Dogs Die in Hot Cars' debut album starts off promisingly enough, with the ska-tinged single "I Love You 'Cause I Have To." Yes, children, ska can be acceptable in well-measured doses, and it is here. Singer Craig Macintosh's plaintive vocals soar in the chorus as his bandmates harmonize, effectively upping the song's drama.
Unfortunately, Macintosh too often falls into a flat Andy Partridge (XTC) impression. Other times, Dogs Die in Hot Cars recalls a (post-ska) Madness, both in vocals and their mid-tempo pop-rock. At their best, they combine elements of both bands. The casually bouncy "Apples & Oranges" is particularly refreshing, and it's worth ignoring the "US Weekly" redux lyrics of "Celebrity Sanctum" for the infectious melody.
Many of the tracks of "Please Describe Yourself" recall other '80s/'90s British bands so strongly that they only create cravings for the originals. This is the album's main shortcoming. Retreads can be nice enough, but never excellent.
-LINDSAY BERNIER
Devendra Banhart "Ni¤o Rojo" (Young God Records) Sounds like: the most magical of fantastical beasts in the deep woods joining the clear chiming of all fishes in the great blue sea and the planet's murmurs keeping tempo. Beautiful.
A-
"Ni¤o Rojo" is the second part of a double release, following this year's "Rejoicing in the Hands." Though the songs on this album aren't nearly as raw as "Rejoicing," they wash over the listener with the same chilling beauty. Dark, folksy, poetic, resonant. Devendra's voice is both thick with ageless certitude and timorously vulnerable. He has Leonard Cohen's unsettling sensuality, Nick Drake's dusty mystery, and the ghostly detachment of Songs: Ohia.
Regardless of one's musical leanings (yes, even if they be in the direction of hardcore), Banhart shouldn't be mindlessly pinned as "another one of those singer-songwriters." He's like the stories grandparents tell, a bit of oddity and a bit of fantasy. There is a weird elegance that is typically not made available to musicians in their early 20s.
Banhart began recording his music only a few years ago and has put down dozens of songs. "Ni¤o Rojo" follows in the tender narrative path of his previously recorded material; Banhart strips down without complete confession. Listeners brush up against something somber, but Banhart refuses to let them get too close. The album therefore remains distantly soft, faintly pained and eerily inviting.
-ADRIENNE MULLINS
Man Incorporated "Machine" (Times Beach Records) Sounds like: Totally uncreative moaning about unsatisfactory conditions with the heavier of heavy pounding. Rock 'n' roll is no excuse. Smart idea done stupid.
C-
Get mad! Complain about stereotypes, materialism, mass culture, yuppie WASP scum! "What the f*ck am I supposed to be if I'm not supposed to be what I am?" Who is this dude and why does he have a large stick up his rear? Matthew McGuire (aka Man Incorporated) is one angry man, one angry man with an angry bass guitar and an angry bass drum. Sounds cool and different, right? One could only hope. Unfortunately, the only thing neat about this Man is the thick distorted sound of such a bass-centric instrumentation, which quite honestly gets a little repetitive after the first few songs.
"I don't need no badges. No marketing device. It's pure rock 'n' roll." Ok, sure. Rock 'n' roll. It's supposed to be idiotic, noisy and vulgar. Lester Bangs once wrote that "grossness" is an essential ingredient in rock 'n' roll. McGuire's gross all right - he's loud, irritating and abrasive, and he spits through more than a few curse words on every track.
Unfortunately, he's just a caveman looking for chicks and booze, whose complaints get irritating with their unoriginality and insincerity. In the end, he comes off sounding like a spoiled, snotty grade-schooler whom no one wants to play with (result: one-man band).
Even with lyrical criticism aside, the music's not even that great for violently thrashing around like a brainless rag doll. Numskulled conclusion: Idiocy without fun is just plain dumb.
-A.M.
Burning Brides "Leave No Ashes" (V2) Sounds Like: A trip through rock's history, from classic to metal to grunge.
B-
The Burning Brides follow up their brilliant "Fall of the Plastic Empire" with "Leave No Ashes." This is a good CD, but it does not compare to the first release.
"King of the Demimonde" and "To Kill a Swan" are the highlights, where the Burning Brides find a style that works. In "King of the Demimonde," the Brides combine the cyclical structure of Nirvana's "Aneurysm" with Thrice-like metal to create perhaps their best song to date. Other songs recall Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Cheap Trick. But the Brides are not a cheap rip-off by any means, as they are able to maintain innovation and freshness through their song-writing skills.
"Leave No Ashes" falls short in some areas. For one, the CD is a little overproduced, with vocals and guitars that sound cleaner than necessary. Also, various parts are pretentious, with some incomprehensible message about Vietnam in "Alternative Teenage Suicide" and the insertion of fake crowd noise in the title track. Is it irony? It's just pointless. The Burning Brides still know how to rock, just not as well. - GARRETT KARRBERG
The Delgados "Universal Audio" (Chemikal Underground) Sounds like: Sunshine after the rain.
A
The Delgados sound happy. Not completely happy, but their new album, "Universal Audio," is genuinely uplifting - something considerably shocking for a band known for making misery sound desirable. Their 2003 album, "Hate," was a mood-laden dip into darkness, though it did contain moments of elevation. On "Universal Audio," however, the band has crafted sweet, lilting melodies that rely more on keyboards than strings, unlike its other albums. Singers Emma Pollock and Alun Woodward share vocal duties, allowing the album to shift back and forth between Pollock's languid intonations and Woodward's more moody tones. "Universal Audio" retains some of the Delgados' sense of overcast melancholy, but ultimately, it is a dulcet pop album that showcases several truly upbeat tracks, most notably the first single, "Everybody Come Down." Luckily, happiness suits the Delgados; they skillfully embrace their new tone, proving that, for them, change can produce excellence.
- EMILY ZEMLER
