Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins "Rabbit Fur Coat" (Team Love) Sounds Like: A decidedly secular white southern spiritual, and with twins! A-
Jenny Lewis is the asymmetrical haircut dude's dream girl and the indie grrl's goddess, and has managed to convince about half the population that hot pants might possibly be cool again. She has not disappointed yet, and with her solo debut, the child star/Rilo Kiley frontwoman and her fellow songbirds, the Watson twins, have cranked out an album (via Conor Oberst's label, Team Love) that will, regardless of fame or fortune in the indie geek world, establish Lewis as a world-class artist.
"Rabbit Fur Coat" is a serious diversion from Lewis's prior efforts with Rilo Kiley. Her lyrics combine the realms of the personal and the spiritual more than they ever have in albums past, and as with the track "It's a Hit" on Rilo Kiley's "More Adventurous" in 2004, her music delves into the realm of the political with powerful lyrics referencing everything from AIDS to the Evangelical Right.
Perhaps the most impressive part of "Rabbit Fur Coat" is Lewis's vocal transformations. She proves to be a first rate singer even without the band to back her up, and her Ozark-style harmonies with the Watson Twins are soulful and vulnerable. As Lewis sings in "Rise Up With Fists!!!": "And I will take what's mine, mine, mine." Oh, you've taken what's yours, Jenny, including our hearts.
Some standout tracks include the ballad "Happy," the southern spiritual-style "The Charging Sky," title song "Rabbit Fur Coat" and the harmonious "Born Secular."
-ANNIE REBEKAH GARDNER
Dimmu Borgir "Stormblast" (Nuclear Blast Records) Sounds Like: Melodic, atmospheric black metal (sung in Norwegian!!!). A-
Dimmu Borgir's status as black metal bigwigs was cemented following their mainstage run on 2004's OzzFest tour, when they exposed American metalheads to symphonic misanthropy from the frozen wastelands of Norway. The band has released seven full-length records since 1995, each more ambitious than the last. Traditional black metal lovers may have felt that 2003's "Death Cult Armageddon" was too polished and that they were forsaking their roots. For those fans, and any fan of black metal and extreme metal in general, there is this year's re-recording of 1996's classic "Stormblast" album.
This album is a combination of many aspects of black metal, with one major difference. The production quality is vastly different from traditional black metal. The tendency has been for bands to intentionally make the records sound very cheap and noisy. The new "Stormblast's" sound is crystal clear, making it an excellent way to hear all the intricacies of the music, of which there are many. The vocals are pure black metal. Vocalist Shagrath's hisses drip with unadulterated misanthropy and hatred, despite being screamed entirely in Norwegian. The guitars slash out riffs that resemble the buzzing of a pissed-off swarm of locusts and also signal the slow but imminent coming of the apocalypse. The keyboards add a very creepy atmosphere and even provide an element of melody, and session drummer Hellhammer (timekeeper for black metal murderers Mayhem, who have killed themselves, eaten each other's brains and killed former band members) provides absolutely inhuman double bass work, lightning-fast rolls and punishing blastbeats. The music doesn't remain fast throughout like most black metal; rather, the band knows that slowing down sometimes and adding clean acoustic guitars and keyboard lines are effective at making the listener feel like an isolated Norseman, pondering to himself about why organized religion must be torn down and why the world needs to end. These musical elements have been used to their fullest potential and they remove any argument as to why this album is now considered to be a classic of the black metal genre, along with Venom's genre-defining "Black Metal" and Immortal's "Sons of Northern Darkness."
-ANDREW YONKI
The Plastic Constellations "Crusades" (Frenchkiss) Sounds Like: Les Savy Fav and Hot Snakes teaching Slug from Atmosphere how to not suck. B-
For those who like reading too far into song titles and searching for (and possibly manufacturing) a theme for concept albums, then The Plastic Constellations' new release "Crusades" might be an interesting candidate for the "Best Album about Don Quixote Ever." With song titles like "Sancho Panza," Belly of the Beast" and, um, "Quixote," it kind of hits like a ton of bricks if you let it.
Leastways, this album is catchy and vaguelydanceable, with a lot of shout-along choruses. Though main vocalist Aaron Mader has a way of intoning and accenting words and phrases that's vaguely reminiscent of the notorious white rapper Slug from Atmosphere, it's forgivable. Other than the fact they're both from Minnesota, that's the only similarity to anything but solid rock.
Opener "Phoenix and the Faultline" is a good example of the Constellations' signature sound. The drums provide not just a rhythmic foundation, but a compliment to the vocal and guitar melodies - an equal partner in the mayhem. The songs are thick with guitars and those drums, and the anthemic intensity of the tracks is pretty consistent. At some points, the album sounds like an overt tribute to "Go Forth"-era Les Savy Fav (whose bassist also runs the Constellations' label), but that might be a good thing. There's nothing particularly original or mind-blowing in "Crusades," but what the band does, it does well.
Highlight tracks are the aforementioned opening song and "Iron City Jungles," which is one of the album's most raucous tracks. Some of the songs drag, like the instrumental "Reunination." But since there's so much going on in each song, and the choruses are so fun, it's obvious that these guys must put on a pretty sweet show. Which is neat, because conveniently they will be at the Black Cat this Wednesday, Feb. 1.
-CHRIS DeWITT
We Are Scientists "With Love and Squalor" (Virgin Records) Sounds Like: Dance punk?! C+
So how overblown is the phrase "dance punk" these days, anyway? As if The Rapture ("More cowbell!!" jokes aside) didn't make it gag-worthy a couple years ago, it's pretty much refusing to die no matter how many people with fancy haircuts say that it should. Here come We Are Scientists as a sort of lame attempt to refute the naysayers.
There is really nothing substantial about "With Love and Squalor." The jams the Scientists want to kick out are mediocre at best, full of wimpy call-and-response bursts and grossly misplaced bass solos ("Callbacks"). The drummer, Michael Tapper (get it?), pretty much knows one beat and sticks to it from the super-poppy first track/hit single, "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt," all the way through to the weak closer, "What's the Word."
Every single song is a sort of jangly, rather frenetic mix of driving guitars. You can practically see the band prancing about like little Franz Ferdinands in suit jackets and whatnot. "The Great Escape" has a vocal line that is lifted directly from that one Killers song you've probably never heard of - "Mr. Brightside?" Yeah, it's pretty underground. So, it's actually upsetting how much each We Are Scientists song sounds like the one before it. That's probably the oldest music review clich? in the book, but it's just depressing when it's actually true.
Fortunately, the self-proclaimed Scientists really have it all together to be a successful band in today's scene. One guy even wears ironic glasses. So all in all, this probably won't be the last from these guys.
-JEN TURNER
