Wolf Eyes "Human Animal" (Sub Pop) Grade: A- Sounds Like: Those night terrors you had as a kid set to demonized jazz music.
Wolf Eyes is a noise trio out of Ann Arbor, Mich., that for the past decade has been screwing with people's minds and making them sleep with the lights on. While their previous major studio effort, "Burned Mind," was a total assault on the senses, their latest album, "Human Animal," is a more accurate depiction of the credo that Wolf Eyes operates under. As member John Olson puts it, it will "fucking destroy your mind."
Though their self-released albums showcase a more improvisational style of disturbing noise, Wolf Eyes uses its major releases to craft a more polished, accessible brand of noise. "Human Animal" is the first Wolf Eyes album to brilliantly mix its hallmark mayhem with its studio-based brand of annihilation, giving us a true sense of who Wolf Eyes is as a band.
Tracks like "A Million Years" and "Rationed Riot" are perfect examples of the band's style. Lines like "I'm growing old, like a rotten stomach," will have listeners holding their tummies wondering if everything is OK.
The album finishes up nicely with a cover of No Fucker's "Noise Not Music." By the end of the album, you might want to grab the person next to you and give them a big hug.
-CHRIS MORENO
ÂForward, Russia! "Give Me A Wall" (Mute) Grade: B Sounds like: Un-forward thinking Brit pop.
It's usually hard to get an idea of an album based purely on its cover, but irony practically leaks from "Give Me A Wall," the debut from Leeds-based pop outfit ÂForward, Russia!.
It's not just the band and album name. Every song title is a number, but only "Eleven" corresponds to its track number. The third track is called "Fifteen pt. 1" and the 10th is "Fifteen pt. 2." Crazy Brits and their metric system.
But it's all right that the songs lack real names, because they pretty much run together into one big chunk of post-punk clatter anyway. Several moments are genuinely rocking and the band's ability to make catchy lyrics about lechers and being "lost in a sea of conjunction" is astounding, but none of the material is as immediate as the best of peers Bloc Party, Maximo Park or The Futureheads.
"Give Me A Wall" is a solid pick for those already invested in the exciting UK rock scene, but will likely alienate everyone else.
-ADAM BENDER
KMFDM "Zuck Rock" (Metropolis) Grade: C Sounds Like: An amusing glimpse into the eclectic side of these industrial legends.
KMFDM is best known for revolutionizing the genre of industrial, alongside bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. Their desolate brand of Kraut-Industrial has spawned many imitators such as the hilariously bad outfit Rammstein. KMFDM's latest studio release "Hau Rock" was a solid effort for the band and to capitalize off the album's recent success, KMFDM has released a compilation of remixes from "Hau Rock" titled "Zuck Rock." What follows is an interesting and at times not so interesting look into the other side of KMFDM, one that is political, dance-like and, yes, at times swinging.
The album starts off with a generic industrial remix of the song "Free Your Hate," whose title conjures images of goth kids wearing long oversized clothing and Skinny Puppy T-shirts. The second track, however, is the swing (that's right, swing) remix of the song "Mini, Mini, Mini." It is the album's strongest track and it is the most fun to listen to. Who would have thought a band as cold as KMFDM could make a song that would make Brian Setzer "jump jive and wail?"
The rest of the album is a bevy of hit-or-miss tracks as remixes of the songs "Professional Killer and "Hau Rock" give us a glimpse of what KMFDM would sound like with Goldfrapp or Kraftwerk mixing their stuff. Tracks like "Der Mussolini" and "Ansage," however, will just have you laughing at how hideously bad KMFDM is at being political.
Irony aside, KMFDM's "Zuck Rock" is not a bad album and it is a must-have for any KMFDM fan. Besides, who in their right minds could ever pass up an opportunity to hear KMFDM play swing music?
-C.M.
Dirty Pretty Things "Waterloo to Anywhere" (Universal International) Grade: B- Sounds Like: A mathematical equation for gritty, yet tidy, pop-rock.
Dirty Pretty Things is fun, plus cool, minus the wow. The sound is dead-on hip. Put on their first album, "Waterloo to Anywhere," and you'll immediately communicate a desirable aesthetic ? la London street rock.
But don't be fooled. It's a very tidy cityscape. The band tries to project counter-culture disarray with its punk cover art and raucous lyrics, but this massively popular British band is oh-so-carefully crafted. Repetitive sing-along choruses, as seen in their hit "Bang Bang You're Dead," seem aimed for mass appeal and not artistic satisfaction.
Dirty Pretty Things' lineup is straight from the puddle-jumping billboard toppers The Libertines, but without their notorious former vocalist Pete Doherty. This time around, the limey chaps don't manage to pair their continued solid musicianship with the same braggart charm.
-MOLLY NORRIS
Bob Dylan "Modern Times" (Columbia) Grade: B+ Sounds Like: Um, Bob Dylan. Come on!
With the release of "Modern Times," Bob Dylan once again has critics speaking of a creative resurgence and another late-career masterpiece. Coming on the heels of at least eight classic albums, it is hard to separate this latest release from the sine wave that is Dylan's career.
"Modern Times" begins with "Thunder on the Mountain," an intro that truly sets a tone for the album. It has a meandering but purposeful feel, following a country/blues path, with great lines such as "I've sucked the milk out of a thousand cows." Elsewhere, while nothing may astonish like TOOM's "Love Sick" or "Standing in the Doorway", there are a few tracks that elevate themselves above the rest.
"Spirit on the Water" feels like a re-recorded demo from "Blood on the Tracks." For eight minutes, Dylan pines over an old love while letting his voice hit a damaged vulnerability only hinted at on Love and Theft. "When the Deal Goes Down" takes the lovesick pain of "Spirit on the Water" and looks to an afterlife that Dylan appears ready to enter.
At the same time there are some undeniable flaws on "Modern Times." Ultimately well-executed, super-generic songs like "Rolling and Tumblin'" and "Someday Baby" linger too long and serve as place-fillers instead of points of interest.
Dylan has succeeded at making an album that does justice to his name and adds to his legacy. This late trilogy may go down as one of his greatest periods once people accept that a man in his 60s can be as relevant as he was in his 20s.
- JOSH LEVITZ
The Rapture "Pieces of the People We Love" (Universal Motown Records) Grade: C+ Sounds Like: A breathtakingly fresh and danceable sound (if this were 2003)
"Pieces of the People We Love" is the third LP by NYC post-punks The Rapture. Their last album, 2003's "Echoes," caused frenzy back in the days when dance-punk was the new electroclash. That album was an adrenaline rush of undeniably danceable grooves and wailing vocals that even landed it as Pitchforkmedia.com's top album of the year (an honor generally associated with indie mega-stars such as Sufjan and Arcade Fire).
The biggest difference between the two Rapture albums is the absence of the DFA production team on the latest release and the subsequent cleaner and downright cheesier sound. Paul Epworth and Ewan Pearson produced eight tracks, while the ubiquitous DJ Danger Mouse is blamed for the other two.
While the album is a minor disappointment, there are some incredibly brilliant tracks. "The Devil" and "W.A.Y.U.H." pay homage to the first half of the Talking Heads' "Remain in Light" with exuberance. Luke Jenner moans and emotes recklessly on these tracks, bringing the grit and energy missing in nearly every other track. "Get Myself Into It" is a decent first single while "Down For So Long" has an excellent stuttering beat.
On the other end of the spectrum the title track and "Calling Me" suffer at the hands of Danger Mouse, possibly the most overrated producer in music today. They sound like a neutered version of dance-punk and lack the awkward sincerity of the Rapture's previous attempts.
The Rapture and this album may just be four guys who are a little confused and bewildered by the backlash from the movement that they led a mere three years ago.
-J.L.
