Hereís the best of whatís around now and whatís to come.
Recommended New Albums:
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – TAKE THEM ON, ON YOUR OWN
3 Stars
The leather-clad, sunglasses-wearing badasses of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are back, this time more pissed off than downhearted. Though itís a step down from the reverb-drenched melancholy of their excellent debut BRMC, the new album boasts a heavier sound led by garage stomp to temper their more pensive moments. The woozy, smoke-drenched vocals of Peter Hayes and Robert Turner drift over sexy, sinister bass lines while the heavily distorted but unflashy guitar playing and Nick Jagoís steady backbeats color the music with images of urban alienation and resentment.
The album lulls a bit in the middle with lazy arrangements and performances, but the last four tracks make up for its weaknesses, from the grungy ballad “”And Iím Aching”” to the angry post-punk rant “”U.S. Government.”” You wonít always believe them when they sing, “”Weíre all in love with something that we canít see,”” but itís nice to know that there are still bands trying to make a difference and succeeding more often than not. “”We donít know when to stop,”” they sing on the lead single, “”Stop.”” Youíll hope they never learn.
The Mars Volta – DE-LOUSED AT THE COMATORIUM
3 1/2 Stars
Iíve heard quite enough about failed promise. You havenít heard? The Mars Volta, the band Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler Zavala formed after their former band At The Drive-In disbanded, have failed to live up to their obvious potential.
Agreeing with this statement would refute these two facts: The Mars Volta are among the most enthralling performers alive, and DE-LOUSED IN THE COMATORIUM is nothing short of consistently engaging, if uneven. Like the TREMULANT EP released last year, it points at greater things to come. This is a new band, after all, having undergone lineup changes and the death of sound manipulator Jeremy Ward, and the album still sounds fantastic.
A medley of “”son et lumiere”” and the single “”inertiatic esp”” open the album with gorgeous electronics followed by a tight but adventurous fast-paced rocker. Most of the albumís other eight tracks are over four minutes, one of them 12 minutes, but they maintain the energy and dynamics of the albumís powerful opening. Whereas At the Drive-In fused emo, punk and art-rock, The Mars Volta takes the sound a step further by allowing themselves to stretch beyond pop conventions. By employing aspects as Latin percussion, alternating mathematically precise and wildly atonal musicianship, and showcasing Bixler Zavalaís wild Geddy Lee-ish vocals, The Mars Volta come up with something truly original and memorable.
Even if the songs arenít as distinguishable as one would hope and the bandís pretenses can grow tiring (12-and-a-half minute song called “”cicatriz esp,: anybody?), The Mars Volta have proven their hype justified and will likely continue to create unique, challenging music such as this. Theyíre just getting warmed up.
The Raveonettes – CHAIN GANG OF LOVE
4 Stars
By now everyone must have heard of The Raveonettes. Bassist Sharin Foo is gorgeous and six feet tall. Theyíre from Denmark. Theyíre marketed as a boy/girl pair but are actually a quartet (and incidentally sound nothing like The White Stripes and are not romantically linked). But have you heard them yet? Hereís the spoiler: if youíve heard The Jesus and Mary Chain, youíve heard The Raveonettes. They sound even more like them than BRMC does.
But guess what? It doesnít matter ó not when the results are as consistently enjoyable as CHAIN GANG OF LOVE. Opener “”Remember”” is a dead-ringer for “”Just Like Honey,”” the opener of The Jesus and Mary Chainís landmark debut PSYCHOCANDY, with its somber beat, slowly strummed electric guitar, and bummer vocals. But “”That Great Love Sound,”” the second song and first single, is entirely their own. Guitar hiss and sampled screams give way to a bone-simple three-chord romp with early í60s pop-inflected vocals cooing softly about wanting to “”scream and shout.””
Other highlights include “”The Love Gang”” (unmissable lyric: “”here comes the love gang/two delinquents in love””) and “”Little Animal”” (second unmissable lyric: “”my girl is a little animal/she always wants to fuck””). In both cases, the sound of frontman Sune Rose Wagnerís and Fooís interlocking harmonious boy/girl vocals singing í60s melodies over screaming guitars highlights the tension of the lyrics, of the decadence lying just below the sweetly innocent surface.
They donít have their own sound yet, itís true. They get close on “”The Truth About Johnny,”” which utilizes a pulsating German-inspired bass line to augment their sound. What theyíve achieved is a lovely homage to the America of early í60s B-movies through the vein of their sometimes painfully obvious influences. Most of the songs are similar sounding, most of them are unoriginal and most of them are somehow great anyway. Whatís astonishing is that they get away with it; CHAIN GANG OF LOVE is consistent all the way through.
The Raveonettes play the Casbah on Oct. 3. Sorry kids, itís 21-and-over.
Also Recommended:
Grandaddy – SUMDAY, 3 1/2 Stars
Itís not as great as their last album but still pretty enough with some great indie-pop tunes. “”Now Itís On”” buzzes like a fridge in all the right places, with layered acoustic guitars, squealing synthesizers, and AM Gold vocals, only itís more uplifting than previous Grandaddy releases. Ditto the rest of the album, which manages to be both accessible and adventurous.
The Neptunes Present: CLONES, 4 Stars
One of the yearís best hip-hop albums is a compilation of current and soon-to-be hits from the Neptunes. The best songs are Ludacrisís “”It Wasnít Us,”” which features the Neptunesí most adventurous beats to date that are so demented theyíre practically atonal, and Pharrell and Jay-Zís “”Frontiní”” with Pharrellís endearingly bad-in-a-good way singing voice and a gorgeous bridge. There are also three terrible rock songs. Ignore them. The hip-hop songs, more often than not, are among the best the Neptunes have worked on (and thus, the best around).
M83 – DEAD CITIES, RED SEAS, & LOST GHOSTs, 4 1/2 Stars
Available only on import, this album will be more widely available on Sept. 22 (shh, it can also be downloaded on the website WWW.ILOVEM83.COM). Why the hooplah over this little-known French duo? Because the album fuses electronic textures with classic shoegaze rock structure to create an album of absolutely astonishing beauty. Songs like “”Unrecorded”” find a comfortable middle ground between My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Ros and Air, while maintaining their own identity. There is little vocal work and guitars are buried in the mix, but the music is overflowing with such emotion that even the most obstinate guitar-rock fan will be touched. Well worth the search, itís one of the yearís best.
Upcoming Releases:
OutKast – SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW; Sept. 23
By the time this newspaper is released, OutKastís new album will have come out and you will have bought it. Rappers Big Boi and Andre 3000 have opted to release a double album of solo material from each of them (Big Boiís is SPEAKERBOXXX, Dreís is THE LOVE BELOW) and release multiple singles at the same time. Current singles “”Hey Ya,”” “”The Way You Move”” and “”Ghettomusick”” are so good it hurts, mashing up rap, rock, funk and a little bit of everything else with ecstatic energy. Their style has now become familiar to listeners, but itís no less startling or groundbreaking than on previous releases; itís just been perfected. The rest of the album had better live up to the precedent set by its impossibly good singles.
Other upcoming hip-hop releases: G-Unit – BEG FOR MERCY, Nov. 4; Missy Elliot – Title TK, Nov. 25
The Strokes – ROOM ON FIRE, Oct. 21
Is the new Strokes album gonna suck? ìHell no,î says the new single “”12:51,”” which I swear canít be longer than a minute but is in actuality over two minutes. Itís got a tight little synthesizer riffÖ thatís actually a guitar! Does it matter? Not really, but itís pretty cool to think about. Other new songs previewed on the road such as “”Meet Me in the Bathroom”” and “”The Way It Is”” also appear on the album. They sound exactly like the songs on IS THIS IT? In other words, they are awesome, and The Strokes will not fall on their faces like the naysayers hoped.
Other rock/indie releases: Oct. 7 is the release date for the much-anticipated albums by Belle & Sebastian (DEAR CATASTROPHE WAITRESS) and Death Cab for Cutie (TRANSATLANTICISM). Death Cab play The Scene Nov. 16 with Nada Surf. Get your indie-pop ass in gear.
Ryan Adams – LLOR N KCOR, Nov. 4; LOVE IS HELL, PART 1, Nov. 4; LOVE IS HELL, PART 2, Dec. 9
Check it out, Ryan Adams fans: the alt-country hearthrob is coming out with three new albums. The ever-prolific Adams whitled over 60 tracks to produce last yearís meandering collection, DEMOLITION, but LLOR N KCOR (Rock N Roll backwards!) is billed as Adamsí official follow-up to 2002ís GOLD after LOVE IS HELL was reportedly rejected by his record label. But that record is also coming out anyway, in two parts. In addition to a heavier rock sound, the album has guest appearances from Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins member Melissa Auf Der Maur, and, uh, indie screen goddess Parker Posie. Iím assuming he slept with all of them.
Other upcoming triple releases from singer-songwriters: Paul Westerberg (former Replacements frontman and major Ryan Adams influence), releasing DEAD MAN SHAKE under his rockiní alter-ego Grandpaboy, and COME FEEL ME TREMBLE, a soundtrack to his documentary about his 2002 tour, both in Fall. Heís also releasing another new one FOLKER next year and released two albums last year. And you thought Adams was prolific.
Greatest Hits Albums!
In every holiday season, greatest hits albums are everywhere (stocking stuffers!). The overuse exclamation mark is justified; these greatest hits albums look like theyíre the real deal.
Tori Amos – Title TK, Nov. 18
Rage Against the Machine – LIVE AT THE OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM, November 18
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Title TK, November
R.E.M. – IN TIME: THE BEST OF R.E.M. 1988-2003, October 28
Sheryl Crow – THE VERY BEST OF SHERYL CROW, November 4
Stone Temple Pilots – THANK YOU, November 11
Teenage Fanclub – FOUR THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY SECONDS: A SHORT CUT TO TEENAGE FANCLUB, October 7
Upcoming Shows:
Other than the shows previously mentioned, these shows should have you jumping and crying for the Fall Season. Just go with it.
October:
1: Q and Not U – Epicentre
Catchy, spazzy post-hardcore. Good stuff.
3: Interpol – Soma
Interpolís delightfully gloomy post-punk first wooed the critics with 2002ís excellent TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS. Now itís everyone elseís turn to hear them as they constantly tour behind it and are finally seeing real radio and MTV airplay. Donít miss out. (Attention: first Interpol article ever not to mention that they sound like Joy DivisionÖ too late)
5: The Stills – Epicentre
Kind of like Interpol except Canadian, indebted to the same bands (Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division). Their debut album will be released Oct. 21.
9: Longwave – The Scene
Still struggling to get noticed amongst all the hyped New York bands, Longwave
plays shoegaze-influenced anthemic rock with shades of U2. They could easily make it big and probably deserve to with all the touring theyíve done behind their notable release “”The Strangest Things.”” They also put on an excellent live show.
17: TheWaifs – California Center for the Arts Escondido
Two girls and a guy (but no pizza place) from Australia make charming little folksy tunes. Yes, charming.
29: Queens of the Stone Age – RIMAC
You know these guys, right? They played WinterFest. They rock ó hard. Theyíre one of the best bands around, live and recorded. Enough said.
November 23 & 24: The Polyphonic Spree/The Sleepy Jackson – The Scene
The Polyphonic Spree is a band – literally. A band of 20 people clad in white robes who sing the kind of “”teenage symphonies to God”” envisioned by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, complete with theremins, glockenspiels and everything in between. Thereíll be no ritualistic sacrifices, but the Sleepy Jackson will be there. Their debut album of quirky pop in the vein of The Flaming Lips and Badly Drawn Boy has critics such as ROLLING STONE fawning over them.
Emo attacks!
October 23: Cursive – The Scene
October 25: Saves the Day/Taking Back Sunday – Soma
November 3: Thursday/Thrice – Soma
Thatís all for now. See Queens of the Stone Age again, check out the indie shows, buy the new Strokes and Outkast albums, and for peteís sake, avoid the new John Mayer album like the plague.
