Rise Against "Appeal To Reason" (Interscope Records) Sounds Like: An album worth forgetting
History teaches us that punk and politics mix pretty damn well. From the Sex Pistols' release of "God Save the Queen" during her Silver Jubilee to today's Bush-driven leftist tirades, punk's mainstay focus has always been on the way politicians rule the world. The populist's genre has gotten noticeably worse over time, however, leaving very few to take up the arms put down by bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag. This brings us now to Rise Against and their third release on a major label, "Appeal To Reason."
Rise Against has scrapped together a bit of success in the last few years by laying down the tried-and-true punk power chords of their hardcore influences and mixing them with their own particular strand of political belief. Their few attempts at entering the mainstream through acoustic ballads have been met with positive results and even a little radio time, allowing the band to expand upon the simple song structures of the post-grunge hardcore market and begin mixing genres a bit. But on "Appeal to Reason," any deviation from the standard song-writing machine seems to be cut out.
Songs like "Audience of One" and "The Strength to Go On" are middling at best and instantly forgettable at worst. In fact, most of these songs could be interchanged with each other and it wouldn't make much of a difference. The same old riffs mixed with often Godwin's Law-inducing lyrics do not make a great album. The stand out song on the album is the acoustic "Hero of War," a strongly worded letter about the Iraq War scored with soft sounds of the guitar and little else. It's the only song that shows both restraint and promise on an album that is too tangential and monotonous to be enjoyed.
-Michael Richardson
Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs "Dirt Don't Hurt" (Damaged Goods) Sounds Like: If Dolly Parton and Jenny Lewis had a baby
"Dirt Don't Hurt" is British singer-songwriter Holly Golightly's umpteenth - 14th, really - album, second collaboration with one-man-band Lawyer Dave from Texas and first American release. The album opens with "Bottom Below," in which Golightly invokes Jenny Lewis's sweetness and Dolly Parton's deep-fried Southern sound. With that combination and the accompaniment of the Bob Dylan-esque rasps of the Brokeoffs, Dave's moniker, we are suddenly transported to the aging front porch of Dixie in 1962.
"Dirt Don't Hurt," recorded in five days in Spain during a 50-date tour, is freckled with the toe-tapping sound of folk and bluegrass, yet still translates as stylishly modern to the listener. You can still hear Golightly's garage-band songstress vocals from her stint as a member of the all-girl Thee Headcoatees underneath the bluesy-country resonance. This is especially evident in "Up Off the Floor," a bittersweet track that will please all Rilo Kiley fans, as well as those craving Patsy Cline's confidence.
But it's Golightly and Dave's uneven harmonies and fetish for banjo-driven tracks that are the foundation of "Dirt Don't Hurt," and what ultimately make the album such a gem. The most noteworthy of the songs is "My 45," in which Golightly and Dave create magic reminiscent of June Carter and Johnny Cash. It's those tracks, like "I Wanna Hug Ya, Kiss Ya, Squeeze Ya" and the opening "Bottom Below" that contrast their gritty vocals and catchy rhythms that make "Dirt Don't Hurt" a foot-stomping delight.
Dave commented in a press release that "Dirt Don't Hurt" might come across as over-produced due to the extra day of production, but the only hint of that is on "Getting' High for Jesus." It's catchy all right, but it sounds manufactured and rushed in comparison to the flow of rest of the album.
While the album isn't perfect, it comes close. The authentic Southern rockabilly sound of "Dirt Don't Hurt" is worth your time if you're in the mood for a fresh slice of old fashioned Americana pie.
-KELLY HOLLIDAY
Rachael Yamagata "Elephants ... Teeth Sinking Into Heart" (Warner Bros.) Sounds Like: Another female-with-piano combo
"Elephants ... Teeth Sinking Into Heart" is a collection of 15 tracks spread out over two discs from Rachael Yamagata, a D.C. area native. In the first disc, "Elephants," Yamagata inspects the risks of entering a relationship, with a poetic title track and subsequently mellow, dreary-sounding next eight songs. Unfortunately, for the first part of the disc, her effective, warm vocals are often muffled from either bad mixing or too much instrumentation. Thankfully, halfway through the CD the tempo and enunciation pick up - a subtle preparation for the grittier second disc, "Teeth Sinking Into Heart" - before dropping back into the remaining drawn out ballads that aren't entirely unsuccessful due to Yamagata's evident emotional investment, particularly in the 15-minute-long "Horizon."
But that changes for the second part of Yamagata's album. No song is longer than five minutes and the five tracks feature confident, quick lyrics, tighter musical production and a far more engaging sound than the first disc. If "Elephants" is Yamagata's introspective take on all that happens during a relationship, "Teeth Sinking Into Heart" is her anger at the realization that relationships suck. The grinding, sliding "Accident" attacks a man, driving for revenge as she sings, "There's nothing better than watching him go down."
With such a strong second half, the logical decision would've been to intersperse selected tracks from "Elephants" into "Teeth Sinking Into Heart," which would have resulted in a far more engaging final product. As it is, few listeners will take the time to visit "Elephants" when "Teeth Sinking Into Heart" is right next to it.
-TRACI J. BROOKS Jack's Mannequin "The Glass Passenger" (Sire Records) Sounds Like: Life on display - Andrew McMahon's personal diary set to piano chords and powerful vocals
Launching his second studio album since his split from Something Corporate in 2004, Andrew McMahon is out to prove that Jack's Mannequin is more than a one-album-wonder side project. Characterized by a stunning display of stylistic diversity, his debut album, "Everything in Transit," was released in 2005 to critical acclaim and was received enthusiastically by fans that were initially skeptical of his departure from Something Corporate.
While the band's debut album lyrically centered on life post-Something Corporate, "The Glass Passenger" serves as an intimate portrait of McMahon's bout with leukemia; the album's fast-paced opening track, "Crashin'," begins with a demand: "I wanna hear some music" - a desperate plea from McMahon, who was forced on a two-year hiatus from writing and touring because of the battle. Although some have criticized his lyrics for being too simplistic, their straightforward nature gives the listener the sense that McMahon seeks to hide nothing, placing the intimate details of his life on display and creating a deeper connection with his audience. This is especially prevalent in "Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)," in which McMahon chronicles a series of conversations with an old friend.
The two singles off the album are "Swim," a power-pop ballad featuring McMahon's desperate and powerful vocals and "The Resolution," an unexciting three-minute standard. But the real gem of the album is the closing song, "Caves." This dizzying, seven-minute piece opens with bare piano notes accompanying McMahon's shaking, quiet falsetto and reaches its cathartic climax with the entrance of the full Jack's Mannequin band.
"The Glass Passenger" neither displays the musical variety or catchy hooks of its predecessor, nor does it feature the climactic choruses characteristic of Something Corporate. But its 13 songs come together to form a cohesive, mature album with a definitive Jack's Mannequin sound.
-KATRINA CASINO
Deerhoof "Offend Maggie" (Kill Rock Stars) Sounds Like: An album that is equal parts challenging and enjoyable
Right from the get-go in the early '90s, Deerhoof had a polarizing effect on its audience. Some hated how the spiky guitars mixed with the subdued vocals of Satomi Matsuzaki. Many more loved the dense nature of their songs, trying to pick apart the layers of fuzzy guitars and buzzing bass lines. As the band released each new album, their style changed drastically and drew inspiration from all corners of the musical encyclopedia. By doing so, they gathered media attention from both the indie community and mainstream publications like Rolling Stone. Their newest album threatens to grab even more attention from a music community searching for something new.
"Offend Maggie," Deerhoof's impressive follow-up to "Friend Opportunity," continues this tradition of change while keeping the core of the group's aesthetic intact. At times, the album seems to be lashing out at its listener, alternating rhythms and beats at whiplash speed. Within a single song, the entire structure can change multiple times. All of this is overlaid with Matsuzaki's endearingly jumbled vocal style. Matsuzaki doesn't sing words so much as syllables; if you've come for deep lyricism, look elsewhere. Instead, the vocals are as part of the music as anything, abandoning the idea of words having meaning and reshaping them into a diverse instrument serving the purpose of the guitar's pop sensibilities.
If all of this makes the album sound hard to listen to, it's because it almost does. To newcomers, the sound might be too impenetrable. But when it comes down to the individual songs, the album is unbearably catchy. The group takes the slow-fast dynamic of '90s alternative to task in songs like "Fresh Born," upending the form to fit its own agenda. On the title track, punk-inspired power chords smother acoustic finger picking, rarely working together, but letting each other emerge in fitful bursts. The album slows down on songs like "Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back," a weak point if only because it can't match the rest of the sonically impressive album.
"Offend Maggie" works well because it's so enjoyable on a basic level. It doesn't want to be deciphered or figured out. It doesn't want to be parsed and picked apart. It would much rather stand on its own and be listened to superficially, washing over the listener with waves of noise and harmonies. In the end, they're waves worth riding.
- M.R.
