Garbage – Not Your Kind of People (Album Review)

In 1995, alternative rock was hitting its commercial pinnacle.  Grunge had replaced pop at the top of the charts and angst ridden, flannel wearing guitar bands were ubiquitous.  In the middle of it all was a small, but powerful group of women redefining their gender’s traditional role in the music industry.  Brandishing an explosive sexuality and snarling rage, Shirley Manson stomped to the front and center of the scene and introduced us to Garbage.  Garbage took the alt rock template and injected it with the beats and blips of the burgeoning electronica trend.  The result was as surprisingly catchy as it was aggressive.  Four albums later, the band announced an indefinite hiatus and many fans, myself included assumed that they were finished.  Fast forward to now and Garbage is back.

The new album Not Your Kind of People sounds like it is stuck in 1995 in the best way possible.  Garbage has never been afraid to play with their initial sound, even if some of the results were decidedly mixed.  Not Your Kind… is “vintage” garbage.  Most of the tracks would fit right along previous hits like “Only Happy When It Rains” or “I Think I’m Paranoid.”  The furious percussion, aggressive guitars, and lusty vocals remain gloriously Garbage.

Songs like “Control” and “Felt” are examples of the buzzing, bombastic anthems that the band deliver like no other, while the title track exposes the dreamier, halcyon-infused side of their sonic palette.  Across these 11 new tracks Garbage have rekindled their ability to have you gyrating and sweating one moment, then lulled by Manson’s hushed, brooding and sensual delivery on a song like “Sugar,” which could easily be the drugged sister of their debut album’s closer, “Milk.”

The album’s highlight, for me, is “I Hate Love.”  The arrangement is all sexual menace, driving and anxious.  Manson’s vocal delivery is scarily sweet, initially floating, nearly detached, over the the top of the track before diving into the chorus and filling up all of the spaces between the heavily digitized beats.  It’s the most modern interpretation of the band’s signature sound on the record.

And therein lies the only complaint I have with the record.  While it is, in many ways, wonderfully nostalgic to dive back into a record that feels so completely Garbage, I wonder how much more I would have enjoyed the band pushing things forward just a bit more.  Their sound was bracingly original in 1995.  While it remains exhilarating today, I can’t help but wonder how much more I would have enjoyed a bit more experimentation.

Not Your Kind of People is out May 15th everywhere.

Amanda Palmer Announces New Album

If you’re asking yourself, “Who is Amanda Palmer?” shame on you.  Amanda Palmer is a one-of-a-kind powerhouse artist that has been challenging her fans for over a decade.  As one half of the punk cabaret sensation, The Dresden Dolls, she blazed a trail of dynamic performance art that melded the classical and contemporary into a jarring, mesmerizing  aesthetic.  Her virtuosic piano skills and aggressively confessional lyrics have helped her amass a legion of loyal fans, of which I am proud to be one.

After the release 2008 solo album, “Who Killed Amanda Palmer,” Amanda successfully fought to be released from her contract with Roadrunner Records, citing the label’s incompatibility with her brand and artistry.  Since then she has released all of her music independently, relying on the loyalty of and word-of mouth from her fans to purchase and promote her efforts.

Palmer is a prolific tweeter and operates an active Facebook page, blog, and forum that allows her constant communication with and connection to her supporters.  She has nearly 550,000 followers on Twitter and, while that isn’t a drop in the bucket compared to a Lady Gaga, Amanda Palmer has learned to motivate and inspire her followers in ways larger pop stars have yet to embrace.

Last year, wanting to embark on a small tour with new husband, writer Neil Gaiman, Amanda utilized online fundraiser Kickstarter, to raise money to record and distribute the performances to her fans.  3,873 people responded with pledges ranging from $1 – $2500 and successfully funded the project, exceeding the original goal of $20,000 by 666% (heh).  As a backer myself, I can say that the package I received exceeded all of my expectations:  a glorious 3 CD set, signed and beautifully packaged with stunning artwork, a gorgeous poster, a bonus CD featuring even more music, and, of course, a digital download of all the recordings.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, Amanda is at it again.  She has recorded a new record of original songs and she is ready to release it to the world, tour, and basically kick all of our asses with her art.  In order to do this, she is asking for our help again.  She has set up a new Kickstarter project to give you the opportunity to support her, the artist directly.  Her original goal has already been surpassed in only 2 days and the number of pledges continues to grow.  The thing is, knowing Amanda, her commitment to her supporters, and her fierce love of art, I know that with each dollar given the quality of the output produced continues to grow.  I can not even imagine what she has in store, but, as a passionate as I am about music, I also can’t imagine not supporting this project.

Be a part of this revolution…and I do think it is a revolution.  Amanda Palmer is showing artists how to create art outside of the mainstream studio model AND how to do it successfully.  That is something I can’t help but get behind.  It costs as little $1 to participate… JUST DO IT!  Click here to read all about the project and to hear some snippets of the music!

Santigold – Master of My Make-Believe (Album Review)

It’s been four years since Santigold’s stellar eponymous debut album.  That album, with it’s genre-bending, skewed perspective of indie pop, felt like a revelation.  Fast forward to today and Master of My Make-Believe.  The same tentpoles that held up Santi’s debut are still here:  stuttering raps, sweetly sung hooks, dancehall infected beats, kisses of new wave synths, and an overall atmosphere of experimentation.  But in a world populated by Nicki Minaj and other pop tarts that are welcoming in their embrace of the off-kilter, this new collection doesn’t sound as fresh as it could.

That’s not to say the songs aren’t well done.  While Santigold’s sound might not register as original as it once did, the artistry behind her work still shines through.  The opening punch of “Go” kicks things of with a driving immediacy.  Karen O’s feature on the bridge gives the track a much needed melody injection.  First official single, “Disparate Youth,” follows with a breezier feel that belies the more serious minded lyrics.

Santigold is a master of mid-tempo, sonically adventurous electropop.  But while her debut featured quite a few whiplash inducing exclamation points to break this up, Make-Believe almost stalls out in its languor.

“Freak Like Me” tries to shake things up, but it instead comes off rather empty.  “Look At These Hoes” is baffling.  As smart as Santi is, the lyrics here, just as the title suggests, border on insipid.

However, buried in the middle of the album are two earworms that easily rank with the best tracks of Santigold’s career.  “This Isn’t Our Parade” and “Riot’s Gone” showcase the artist at her yearning, emotional best.  The layered, complex production of both add a much needed warmth and richness to the collection.  While neither are tracks that drive the listener to the dancefloor, they certainly wouldn’t be out of place being played at full volume while driving with the windows down this summer.

While Master of My Make-Believe isn’t the game changer that her debut may have been, there are plenty of things to be excited about.  Despite a few missteps, this is a welcome, albeit a bit darker, serving of Santigold and that is always a good thing.

Master of My Make-Believe is out on May 1st!  You can listen to a stream now on NPR!

Fiona Apple – Every Single Night (Single Review)

Fiona Apple is a maddening artist to be a fan of.  Between her erratic behavior and even more erratic release schedule, she makes it sometimes difficult to root for her.  Yet, few singers are able to craft such beautiful expressions of their neuroses.

Her new single, “Every Single Night” shoots for that transcendence, but falls somewhat short.  Take a listen.

Yes, Apple is still as petulant and affected as you remember.  The arrangement here begs the listener to picture the singer as a cracked porcelain doll with it’s warped music box chimes and somewhat tilted production.  But when that deep, haunted voice shines through, all sensuous and desperate, one can’t help but be drawn into Fiona’s world.

Her lyrics explicitly detail her inner struggle for balance.  It’s clearly a battle that she is losing, as detailed i the “chorus”:

Every single nights a fight
With my brain

I just wanna feel everything

I just wanna feel everything

I just wanna feel everything

That confessional style continues with one of Fiona’s famously baroque metaphors likening her chest to an egg, with the ribs the shell and her heart the yolk, with which she makes a meal for her and her lover to “choke.”

It is all a bit over the top, but that is the nature of Fiona Apple herself.  Without that beautiful instrument of a voice, she would be quite easy to dismiss.  However, once caught up in it’s languorous thrall, it’s easy to forgive her more melodramatic tendencies and convoluted lyricism.

Apple’s The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do, the followup to 2005′s Extraordinary Machine, is due June 19.  I, for one, will be happily hopping on that crazy train for a ride.

Norah Jones – Little Broken Hearts (Album Review)

It’s been 10 years since Norah Jones crooned her way onto the radio and carried out an armload of awards for her debut album, Come Away With Me, and its ubiquitous lead single “Don’t Know Why.”  A startling talent was recognized, but then quickly relegated to background music at dinner parties or as the soundtrack to montage scenes in primetime television.  Throughout her discography, this judgement loses much merit.  Ms. Jones has crafted quite the collection of adventurous compositions, symbiotic collaborations, and stunning lyricism.  On Little Broken Hearts, her fifth studio album, Norah has crafted what may be her most dramatic and rewarding departure from that early “signature” sound.

Working with mashup legend/producer, Danger Mouse, Norah Jones has embraced an atmosphere of sultry, dark mystery to encase her story of heartbreak.  Yes, at it’s heart, Little Broken Hearts, is breakup album.  Lyrically, the territory mined is quite similar to Adele’s 21.  Jones’ words never shy away from staring down the wreckage left behind after a relationship ends.  Raw and honest, but always delivered softly, they pack a softer, though no less emotional punch.

While the music adheres to the compositional build of classic jazz, there are flourishes from the Danger Mouse playbook that pull the album squarely into the modern.  Snatches of spy guitar add a sense of urgency.  Washes of dark synths accent the bleaker passages and provide an echoing depth from which Jones’ lovely voice emanates.

Little Broken Hearts isn’t an easy album to really listen to.  Even the jauntier cuts, “Happy Pills” and “Out On the Road,” skate into edgier territory emotionally.  However, for those seeking something rich in honesty and artistry, it is must.  It might be bleak, at times, but this striking collection of heartache is the brightest Norah Jones has shined in a long time.

Little Broken Hearts is out on May 1.

Scissor Sisters Mega Post

The release of the fourth LP from Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour, may still be over a month away, but the information around it is coming fast and furious.  Yesterday, we were treated to a new piece every hour on the hour as the band released first the cover art and then the tracklist, one song at a time.

1. Baby Come Home
2. Keep Your Shoes On
3. Inevitable
4. Only The Horses
5. Year of Living Dangerously
6. Let’s Have a Kiki
7. Shady Love
8. San Luis Obispo
9. Self Control
10. Best in Me
11. The Secret Life of Letters
12. Somewhere
13. Ms. Matronic’s Magic Message
14. Fuck Yeah (BONUS TRACK)
15. Let’s Have a Kiki – DJ Nita remix (BONUS TRACK)
16. Fuck Yeah – Seamus Haji remix (BONUS TRACK)

Jake Shears described the collection as “a sweet joyful mélange of beat-driven future-pop.  It style-hops all over the place unabashedly.”  Featuring a diverse group of producers and collaborations like Calvin Harris, Boys Noize, Diplo, Pharrell Williams, and Azealia Banks, the album was recorded over the last year in New York and London.

I have been a Scissor Sisters fan since their beginning and can’t wait for this release.  I’m already dying of “Let’s Have A Kiki” and I haven’t heard one note.  Their last album, Night Work, was my favorite yet, so I have high hopes!

Also released this morning, the official video for “Only The Horses!”  Check it out below!

Florence + the Machine – MTV Unplugged (Album Review)

Do kids these days even know what MTV Unplugged is?  Tuning into the channel these days, I find it quite doubtful that the once powerful brand holds much cache.  I clearly remember my CD collection being littered with stripped back offerings from Alice in Chains, Nirvana (of course), Maxwell (still in regular rotation, just now on my iPod), and 10,000 Maniacs among others.  Though now artists performing acoustic renditions of their material is quite common, upon its inception, MTV Unplugged offered fans a rare, intimate glimpse into the soul of popular artists material.  It was appointment television for me and I miss it today.

Let me also get this part out of the way, I freaking love Florence + the Machine.  I will never forget the gut-punch feeling I had after stumbling upon her debut album Lungs.  Her poetic lyrics and dramatic delivery spoke to me in a way few artists in my adult life have.  Last year’s sophomore effort Ceremonials took my favorite pieces of Lungs and blew them up into a bombastic, operatic full length that easily made my top 10 list at year’s end.  All of this being said, Flo is a lot to take.  Her voice, that magnificent instrument, easily reaches places that most can not, but, at times, borders on too loud, too much.

The beauty of this new MTV Unplugged release is that the pared back arrangements force Florence to reign in her more emotive flourishes and dramatic tendencies.  Here some of her most loved tracks take on a hushed communion with the listener.  The emotional richness of her lyrics develops organically through their content rather than through her delivery.  Her reverent take on “Try A Little Tenderness” is reason enough to purchase the LP.  Her love of soul music shines here in this plaintive arrangement that allows her voice to float and dip into the darker corners of the song’s story. Likewise, “Cosmic Love” and “Never Let Me Go” shine brightly in their new incarnations.

While mostly successful, there are a few missteps, most notably “No Light, No Light.”  Easily the centerpiece from Ceremonials, the shattering original remains, at least for me, the quintessential Florence + the Machine song.  Raw, emotional, and devastating, the song careens at a breakneck pace as it chronicles the annihilation of a relationship. Here, stripped of all urgency and bleached out, it is little more than a middling piano ballad and you can hear Flo struggling to underplay her delivery.  “Dog Days Are Over” is similarly neutered and drained of the infectious euphoria that helped secure Florence’s mainstream breakthrough.

For those of us that love Florence + the Machine, MTV Unplugged offers much more for us to embrace.  For those that haven’t been able to embrace the more audacious aspects of Flo, this allows an entryway through which they can enjoy her heartfelt poetry.  Overall, the greatest gift of this album is that the Unplugged concept remains a welcome outlet to hear previously released material in a new light.  Here’s to hoping there will be more entries in the series soon.

 

 

Scissor Sisters – Only the Horses (Single Review)

Just in time for spring, Scissor Sisters are back.  After ringing in the new year with the sleaze-tastic “Shady Love,” the Scissters have unleashed a new, totally-different taste of May’s Magic Hour, their 4th LP.

The first official single “Only the Horses” dropped Friday afternoon in an exclusive spin on BBC Radio 1.  Co-produced by “We Found Love” soundsmith Calvin Harris and Boys Noize mastermind Alexa Ridha, the pop-tinged “Horses,” with its euphoric crescendos and longing vocals, fits nicely with the more dance flavored singles populating today’s Top-40 radio.   Like Night Work‘s “Fire With Fire,”  “Only the Horses” feels like a gateway to the album for the  more mainstream leaning public.

The difference between “Horses” and just about anything you hear on the radio today is the beating heartbeat in the lyrics.  Unabashedly romantic, the song celebrates an idealized expression of love that pushes past all borders and explodes ecstatically.  Harris and Ridha’s production highlights this feeling perfectly with a delicious bed of glowing synths and gently propulsive beats.  “Only the Horses” not only invites you to swoon, it begs you to dance.

Recent interviews with frontman Jake Shears promise Magic Hour to be an eclectic grab bag of beats.  Based on our first two tastes, he isn’t lying.  I can’t wait to hear what else the Scissor Sisters have up their shears.  No doubt, it will be delicious.

Enjoy a listen below and learn the lyrics.  That sound you hear echoing across Atlanta is me belting out the chorus…

Madonna – MDNA (Album Review)

It’s been four years since Madonna released her last full length album, Hard Candy.  For many fans, myself included, that album was a disappointment.  My main complaint was that it felt like M was working to keep up with the trends rather than setting them.

The first single from MDNA, “Give Me All Your Luvin’” was premiered to much fanfare during her glittering Super Bowl halftime spectacular.  The song, produced by French DJ Martin Solveig, is a cute, frothy pop confection that disappeared as quickly from memory as it did radio playlists.  I was worried…really worried…that we were headed towards another lackluster full length.

My fears have been assuaged.  Hell, I feel like I should ask forgiveness for even doubting Madonna.  MDNA is a return to form in every way for the Queen of Pop.  In fact it plays like a love letter to her fans, full of references to classic moments from her 30 year career, while remaining fresh and urgent.

Opening with second single “Girls Gone Wild,” Madonna plants us firmly in the club and there we stay for the majority of the record.  Beats throb and woosh and Madonna’s trademark vocals wrap around squelches and squeals.

While things start light and fun, they quickly take a detour into the dark drama of “Gang Bang.”  A filthy, deep house beat finds a severely pissed Madonna hunting down a lover with a gun.  The track is punctuated by sirens, gunshots, and shell casings hitting the ground before devolving into a downright brutal dubstep breakdown.  It brings to mind the cold, calculated Dita persona Madonna adopted for Erotica, while remaining completely unlike anything we have heard from her before.

We return to lighter fare for the next few tracks.  “I’m Addicted” is a digital age rave up that starts very minimal and builds to an all out hands-in-the-air monster jam.  Madonna’s vocals are tweaked and distorted and, at one point, become part of the music.  The song climaxes with a fierce chant of the album title that will sound absolutely amazing when the sold-out concert crowds surely sing along.

“Turn Up The Radio” is destined for Madonna classic status.  An  modern day “Holiday,” the song pulses and shines with liberation and empowerment and, dare I say, even glee.  Martin Solveig’s joyous production allows Madonna’s voice to take center stage and invite us to lose ourselves with her in sheer abandonment on the dance floor.

Madonna isn’t just here for fun though.  She opens up in a truly confessional way on “I Don’t Give A.”  Successfully redeeming herself for the regrettable rap foray on “American Life,” Madge deftly catalogs the challenges of daily life for a single mother.  Here, she seems to be explicitly addressing her divorce from Guy Ritchie, particularly in the heartbreaking couplet:

I tried to be a good girl, I tried to be your wife

Diminished myself and swallowed my light

I tried to become all that you all expect of me

It’s a rare glimpse into the heart of this famously guarded artist.

The back half of the album is dominated by tracks featuring longtime collaborator William Orbit, famously of the Ray of Light era.  His productions here bring to mind that creative zenith and you can especially feel their easy comfort with one another on the breezy “I’m A Sinner.”  The song fits easily as a tongue-in-cheek companion to “Beautiful Stranger.”  It’s good, not-so-clean, provocative fun.

While it’s always a treat to listen to Madge and Orbit have fun together, they are at their best together when mining more emotional terrain.  The wonderfully weird and poignant “Love Spent” tackles the demise of a relationship with Madonna plaintively asking…no begging…her lover to “love me like your money, spend until there’s nothing” and, most affectingly, “Would you have married me if I was poor?”  It would be remiss not to mention the song’s eclectic arrangement.  Beginning with what sounds like a banjo and some “Papa Don’t Preach” strings, the song quickly turns into a bubbling mid tempo electro ballad with an absolutely luminous finale.

As MDNA closes, William Orbit and Madonna deliver another treasure in “Falling Free.”  Here, over minimal strings and subtle electronic flourishes, Madonna delivers her best vocal performance on the album.  Clear and unprocessed, she sings about the hope and devastation that can be found in letting go.  It is a quiet and powerful lament that once again finds Madonna opening her heart for the world to see.

MDNA is everything one could want in a present day Madonna album.  It is by turns exhilarating, fun, challenging, and heartbreaking.  It should decisively silence those that believe her to be passe or no longer relevant.  MDNA once again establishes Madonna’s dominance of the current pop landscape and reiterates her rightful ownership of the title Queen of Pop.