’Tis the season for no new music and greatest hits releases. Traditionally, record companies don’t like releasing new music by big name artists right before the holidays, so what fans are usually left with are greatest hits compilations.
Americans love Japanese culture. From anime to action figures, people stateside can’t help but import every little thing that comes out of the land of the rising sun. And often, that fetish for the other culture goes both ways. Just as things such as “Dragonball,” “Pokémon” and “Gundam Wing” have fused with our Saturday morning cartoons, American pop and rock music has merged with Japanese entertainment.
The first question you need to ask yourself when perusing this week’s new releases is a simple one: “Do we really need this album?” The first answer you should come to is, “no, no we most certainly do not.” Perhaps the only redeeming quality to this album is that it features two brand new songs.
Lit Atomic RCA Lit is one of those bands people love or hate. Either way, it’s hard to deny it writes some catchy stuff, and this album is a vindication of why it is such a popular outfit. It doesn’t matter that the percussion work is minimal and amazingly simple, but perhaps that’s the point.
Green Day International Superhits! Reprise Records Once upon a time Green Day was a great band - back in the day when it was all about Lookout!
Sloan, quite possibly one of the few great things to come out of Canada besides Labatt beer and fellow rockers Our Lady Peace, has come out with its long-awaited release, “Pretty Together.” Plain and simple, this is a disappointing album, not because it’s bad, but because it fails to match earlier releases.
The latest effort from Lenny Kravitz picks up right where he left off with his 1998 release, “5.” In fact, the albums could almost be mistaken for one another.
Woven “EPrime” (EP) Interscope Sometimes EPs are better than full LPs for the simple reason that it creates a desire within the listener for more.
Incubus “Morning View” Epic Incubus has done it again. It somehow managed to marry one of the greatest voices in modern rock with a generous dose of sweet alternative rock. From the fist-first heavy chords of “Nice To Know You” to the dreary and innocent conclusion of “Aqueous Transmission,” Incubus has taken yet another step in establishing itself as the premiere rock band of the new decade. “Wish You Were Here,” the band’s first single from the record, is only a small indication of the magnitude of this effort. “Circles” has an introduction familiar to most rock outfits, but varies its time signatures and vocal patterns to create something inventive and in a league of its own while “Just A Phase” is a quieter song driven by an interesting sample.
R.L. Burnside “Burnside on Burnside” Fat Possum Live records have their assets and their faults. Too many artists release live records as another reason to get an extra paycheck.
New Order “Get Ready” Reprise It’s difficult to tell if New Order knows what it is doing.
Much like its other three releases, its 1995 self-titled debut, 1997’s “Nasty International” and 2000’s “Do Things,” the latest ditty from New Wet Kojak, featuring Scott McCloud and Johnny Temple, better known for their work with indie-rock masters Girls Against Boys, is signature of its reputation. It focuses on creative drum lines that sound out of tune but magnificent, but manages to stick in vocals like a free-style poetry reading.
Electronica and groove-based music with repeated loops is a delicacy.
Shepard’s Follyself-titledSometimes in the bustling nonsense that is the music industry, it’s easy to overlook the wonderful talent right in our frontyard. Meet Shepard’s Folly, a local Celtic group which features former MSU Professor Phil Shepard, who retired in 1999 after teaching for 30 years. The album is chock full of inspiring and uptempo tunes which manage to stay confined to some extent. Too many times a group like this will find itself getting too busy with its sound, trying to package numerous instruments together to form a unique sound - Shepard’s Folly does it by simply letting each instrument shine. The quality of sound on the disc is perfectly mixed, allowing each instrument to shine and have its own 15 minutes of fame. The songs on the effort range from traditional Celtic to guitar ballads with male and female harmonization to tunes based solely on a mesmerizing violin slivering in between complex guitar chords.
Dogwood“Matt Aragon”(Tooth and Nail)Punk rock, if done right, can rock. Punk rock bands who aspire to sound only like MxPx and NOFX can get annoying. Dogwood falls in between, aspiring to some features of both of the above mentioned bands, but still managing to hold an occasional original effect. For instance, the albums opening track, “1983,” has some brief breakdowns in the middle and kicks around some obscure push-pull methods with its chords. As the album progresses, it gives way to a more pop-punk edge, featuring some decent soloing and something besides the quick NOFX-influenced drum line. The band knows how to introduce each song, using various techniques to give each song a strong chapter title, but fails to write an effective piece through each page.
The Juliana Theory“Music from Another Room”(Tooth and Nail)If The Juliana Theory is any indication where modern rock and roll is headed, then fans of the craft are in for a treat. Its latest release is a collection of songs that didn’t make it on to its powerful 2000 release “Emotion is Dead,” and various B-sides. For fans who have watched the band grow from its earlier recordings, it’s a nice addition to their collection. “Moments
Leona Naess I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll (MCA) Every cookie cutter, token female solo vocalist falls into one of two categories. She either gets lumped with the plethora of come-and-go artists that have made blips on the music radar over the last few years: Natalie Imbruglia, Aimee Mann and more recently Shea Seger and Emiliana Torrini. Or she could, possibly, get compared to those few vocalists who manage to become queens of the music industry: Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple and Bjsrk come to mind. Group Leona Naess into the latter category. Stylistically Naess reminds one of a Liz Phair, specifically from the “Whitechocolatespaceegg” era.
Long Beach Dub Allstars Wonders of the World (Dreamworks) The Long Beach Dub Allstars have succeeded in creating one of the most eclectic and thoroughly enjoyable albums of the year in “Wonders of the World.” Featuring an incredible mix of punk/ska/reggae jams, the album also delves into areas previously unexplored by the band.
Like Eve 6? Nope me either, so you might as well quit reading. However, if you are one of those Eve 6 faithful, you may want to read on. Way back in 1998 Eve 6 released its self-titled debut and helped redefine an entire genre in the business - bad music. But if you were one of the many who rushed out on impulse to pick up Eve 6’s CDs, you will probably like Athenaeum - one of the worst clones of crappy mainstream music that I have heard in quite some time. It cannot be helped if your voice sounds like someone else’s.
They sound like Lit. They’re touring with Lit. They’re signed to Lit’s own RCA-distributed Dirty Martini label. They look like Sum 41 or a PG-13-rated Rancid. Go figure. Handsome Devil is riding the recent pop-punk wave like a Sum 41 or Blink 182.