Iron and Wine
"Woman King" EP
(Sub Pop)
Sounds like: The melancholy of his earlier work with the polish of Our Endless Numbered Days
A
Sam Beam came out from nowhere. The Floridian film-professor was quietly and prolifically recording songs by the dozens on his four-track, when his demos landed in the hands of someone who passed them to someone who passed them to Sub Pop. His lo-fi banjo tracks with hushed accompaniment were dated and timeless, beautiful and heartbreaking. The first batch of these demos would surface on "The Creek Drank the Cradle," and the rest on P2P networks.
His sophomore outing saw a moderate step up in production overdubs, harmonies, piano and strings that, in comparison with "Creek," felt big-budgeted, pro-tooled and lush. This is where "Woman King" comes in. Beam has stepped it up again (even with electric guitar!) but this time he's more conceptual, thinking about the ladies. Here's hoping he won't slow down.
- CONSTANTINE CALOUDAS
Death From Above 1979
"I'm A Machine, You're a Robot"
(Vice)
Sounds Like: Throwing a White Stripes vinyl in a meat grinder with Frank Zappa
B+
If those who take music seriously follow an obscure, local act of choice to MTV 2 and eventually the Billboard 40, they've heard an album like this before. 'I'm a Woman, You're a Machine" is the good album before the great one and Death From Above 1979 is the band that rocked your socks on MP3 before they blew everyone's mind through Clear Channel. The recently renamed Toronto duo of Drummer/Vocalist Sebastain Grainger and Bass/Synth player Jesse F. Keeler take garage music to the gutter and have no problem kicking its teeth in. They don't really play their songs; bands that do that actually put faith in electric guitars and more straightforward melodies. Death From Above 1979 assaults each track with a narrow range of chords and few enough lyrics to make slightly more harmonic duos like The Black Keys look positively bubblegum.
Both men know the limits of what they can do, but they still explore excessively and to the point of maddening clarity. Sometimes this approach proves to be too reckless or loud, but the energy they bring to drum and bass music is more than welcome and unique in its own right.
The best hooks are found on the tracks "Romantic Rights" which does the best job in highlighting the potential of Grainger's vocals within their granite-hard arrangements and "Black History Month" the most relaxed selection that gives the Keeler room to breath and experiment with a garage-like blues riffs.
It's really hard to find much of point of comparison for a lot of the songs on "I'm A Woman, You're a Machine" and many music fans will struggle as to what puts Grainger and Keeler apart from most of the indie rock scene. But while the difference may seem elusive, the music on display here is anything but complicated. The energetic swagger and unfaltering execution of each song won't really be pleasant on the first listen, but the listener will be hooked all the same.
-NEAL FERSKO
Virginia Coalition
"OK to Go"
(Bluehammock)
Sounds like: A perfect collage of musical styles.
A
Bluegrass, R&B, rock and hip-hop all come together in Virginia Coalition's album, "OK to Go." It falls under the category where Barenaked Ladies, Counting Crows and the Wallflowers reside. In this CD, all four members write the songs and play most of the instruments to create this perfect array of music. It should come as no surprise that the band is from the D.C. area.
Highlights include "Walk to Work," "Mason Dixon," "Places People/No Diggity" and "Bumpin' Fresh." The vocals from Andrew Poliakoff and guitars from Paul Ottiginger really come out strong. There is also a banjo playing, but don't be alarmed - it just adds to the diverse musical style of this album.
- JASON ALREDGE
Mr. Hyde
"Barn of the Naked Dead"
(Psycho+Logical)
Sounds like: Awful and disturbed hip-hop.
D
Mr. Hyde's solo debut album, "Barn of the Living Dead," is supposedly hardcore hip-hop. This proves not to be the case in its rough, harsh lyrics, making the entire album downright awful. There are recurrent themes on blood, guts or body parts, among other not so impressive stuff that makes the sounds fall flat. Even worse is that irritating introduction of the album in every song.
The inspiration for the album most definitely would have come from Mr. Hyde's passion for horror movies. His friendship with underground rapper Necro would also account for this. Mr. Hyde made a number of appearances in Necro's two albums, "I Need Drugs" and "Gory Days."
Avoid this album at all costs, or if you choose not to heed this warning, at least avoid the title song, "Barn of the Naked Dead."
- JASON ALREDGE
Emiliana Torrini
"Fisherman's Woman"
(Rough Trade)
Sounds like: The female Nick Drake.
B+
Emiliana Torrini matches Maybelline looks with a haunting whisper of a voice. She molds her syllables with deliberate pronunciation; her guitar playing is stripped bare and eerie. She challenges a world where Jewel and Norah Jones currently form the dull landscape of "powerful" female musicians.
Torrini's first album, "Love in the Time of Science," has a driving synth-beat that pervades each song. Her latest is a departure from that more produced sound. "Fisherman's Woman" focuses on guitar and vocals, with roots in jazz, folk and bossanova. "Heartstopper" resembles the classic "Girl from Ipanema" in syncopation and melody, while "Nothing Brings Me Down" matches the hollow echoing of folk-rock genius Nick Drake.
Torrini's artful and heartfelt lyrics melt over the subtle streaks of her chord changes. "I never married / Never had those kids / I loved too many / Now heaven's closed its gates," she croons, like milk and honey, on "Sunnyroad."
She paints in warm colors on "Today Has Been OK," with words like "wind has burned your skin / The lovely air so thin / The salty water's underneath your feet."
"Fisherman's Woman" is wholly feminine and delicate, from the placement of Torrini's fingers on each plucked string to her longing, romantic murmurs. The entire album teems with her incredible talent, her soft lilt a perfect bedtime companion. Snuggle with a pillow for this one.
- REBECCA ARMENDARIZ
Aslyn
"Lemon Love"
(Capitol)
Sounds like: What Ashlee Simpson would sound like if she had a good voice.
B
Move over Ashlee, there is another pop princess ready to steal the spotlight, and she can actually sing! Aslyn, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter who released the hit "That's When I Love You" for the 2003 teen drama "How to Deal," is back with an entire album of similar songs.
Aslyn, a Florida native who began learning classical piano when she was only 7, has traded in her Beethoven CD to explore the world of contemporary music.
The album's name, "Lemon Love," is a metaphor Aslyn uses for both her unpredictable car and her love life, which she describes in almost every song. Although her lyrics seem repetitive, it is obvious that Aslyn has some vocal talent, separating her from her pop-princess counterparts.
"Lemon Love" is an upbeat collection produced by Guy Chambers, who worked with Robbie Williams and Jewel, and Eric Valentine, who helped launch SmashMouth and Third Eye Blind.
With popular songs like radio hit "Be the Girl" and "Just Enough," Aslyn will probably make it on TRL's top ten, but then become another forgotten teenager. How many songs is it possible to make about love and drama-filled relationship break-ups? Aslyn gives us twelve. At least Aslyn can sing - she probably wouldn't embarrass herself on Saturday Night Live in front of the entire nation like Ashlee.
-JENNIFER VARADI
The Decemberists
"Picaresque"
(Kill Rock Stars)
Sounds like: A sadder "Her Majesty the Decemberists."
A-
Some advice for those unfamiliar with the Decemberists: Listening to one of the band's albums is not like listening to something by one of the Decemberists' contemporaries. Sure, they sing songs about love, loss, failure and the whole mix, but who else would do so while pretending to be a ship-wrecked mariner trapped inside a whale's stomach?
On "Picaresque," the Decemberists latest release, the band pushes its flair for literary lyrics even further. The result is a solid mix of some happy and some excruciatingly sad songs about military wives, sports teams and true loves lost at sea.
Lead singer Colin Meloy's voice has that ageless quality - he could be a weathered old man or an eager college-grad, which makes his lyrics all the more poignant.
Just after the bouncy, upbeat "16 Military Wives," Meloy brings a note of sadness to "Picaresque" with "The Engine Driver" and "On the Bus Mall." Who else but Meloy could make the lyrics, "In bathrooms and barrooms, on dumpsters and heirlooms/ We bit our tongues, Sucked our lips into our lungs 'til we were falling/ Such was our calling" sound so good?
In comparison with "Her Majesty the Decemberists," "Picaresque" has its faults. It lacks catchy singles like "Billy Liar" and "Los Angeles, I'm Yours" and epics like "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground." But if it's taken as its own album, "Picaresque" is nearly perfect.
-BLAIR PAYNE
