Firstcoastnews.com Music Reviews

Handosme Furs Cash In Sound Kapital

djpaulpop — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 03:33:00 GMT

The Handsome Furs are a husband wife duo who channel their inner Reid Brothers, their inner goth, dabble with synths, and put it all together into the form of life changing pop songs whose distorted hooks will linger with you for an eternity. Their third album, Sound Kapital is a brilliantly put together work of pop that's slightly dark and yet optimistic. It's an album packed to the rafters with tales of innocence and experience that clearly lives for the moment.

Sound Kapital is a rich pop record whose hooks are far from subtle and manage to reel you in within seconds of their refrain. It's a sugar coated darkly delicious treat that sounds raw and rough but allows it's songs to shine through. This is the sort of record that begs the question, if Mates and States are the cuddly couple of indie rock, does that then make the Handsome Furs the dysfunctional, screwed up couple who are stuck in counseling?

Recorded exclusively on keyboards the album apparently forced the band's hand by challenging them to write songs outside of their comfort zone and after about fifteen minutes into Sound Kapital you realize this was a very good thing. In fact, this record is so good here's hoping that they never pick up a guitar again. Sound Kapital is a great record that probably shouldn't be but The Handsome Furs are so proficient at what they do, it can't help but be anything but good. From the pseudo-industrial hit, "What About Us," to the noisy disjointed nature of, "When I Get Back," Sound Kapital rarely disappoints. And that’s capital you can bank on!

Pistolera's El Desierto y La Ciudad

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:55:00 GMT

Pistolera's El Desierto y La Ciudad is as diverse a record as you are likely to hear. This New York based group, influenced by its surroundings and the wide open spaces far away from them have created a massive widescreen kind of record that barely seems to fit on just one disc. Translated into The Desert and The City, it only makes sense that the album seems to wander between the two worlds rather freely.

Sung predominantly in Spanish, El Desierto y La Ciudad is a gorgeous record that you don't need to understand to appreciate. With accordions, horns, acoustic guitar, seductive vocals and a beautiful sense of atmospherics, El Desierto y La Ciudad captures your imagination and ears with ease. This is a stunningly gorgeous record that stretches from the metropolis to the plains as if they were one and the same. Encompassing a range of emotions and a sound palette that includes, folk, rock, Latin, and dance Pistolera weave it all into something that's almost too good to be true.

Put together as one work made up by many pieces, the album is a bit traditional in the sense it's designed to be listened as a whole. And that's the best way to listen to it, all the way through. El Desierto y La Ciudad is an evocative and gorgeous record that will play with your emotions and grip your heart...it's a great record that's easy to understand despite not being able to understand most of it.

A Tribute to Billie Holiday

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:38:00 GMT

Like remix albums, tribute albums are usually hit and miss and when it's someone that's HUGELY famous, you can't help but be a little skeptical about them. I have to admit that’s how I was about A Tribute To Billie Holiday because let’s face it, some artists you just don't touch. Well, skepticism aside, I'm happy to report it's not all that bad...and yes, it is hit and miss as one would suspect.

A Tribute To Billie Holiday is interesting because interspersed within this record are excerpts from Ms. Holiday's life story which gives some depth and personalization to the record and the fact that it's all narrated by Angela Bassett makes it that much better. It's almost as if Billie herself is introducing each of the songs here and giving her approval, so it’s kind of cool.

As for the songs themselves, there are 14 of them here and are predominantly sung by female artists. What's cool about this is that the artists who pay tribute to Billie here come from every which genre...heck even a few guys get involved in the act. From Deborah Cox, to Shelby Lynne, to Esperanza Spalding, and Boz Scaggs...it's interesting to hear how Billie Holiday influenced each of these artists. Among my favorites are Shelby Lynne's out of the ballpark rendition of "You've Changed," the light jazzy feel of Esperanza's "I'll Look Around," and Frida Payne's nearly traditional take on, "Billie's Blues."

Far from disappointing, A Tribute To Billie Holiday is a fitting tribute to a fantastic artist. While none of the artists that appear on A Tribute To Billie Holiday are as good as Billie herself, they do provide and entertaining tribute to one of the greatest artists ever.

Hail Mary Mallon Is Going To Eat

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:34:00 GMT

Hail Mary Mallon, is the latest side project from Aesop Rock what the name is all about is beyond me…but why question it. With his project's strange name and an even stranger album, Are You Gonna Eat That, Aesop's crew crank out the indie hop with the usual flair and quality you'd expect from him. Dark, broody, and as gritty as the cover would suggest, Are You Gonna Eat That is a post-great recession album for our age.

With songs about depression, violence, and frustration Are You Gonna Eat That is anything but the feel good album of 2011. Grimy beats and aggressive rhymes push the record into dark territory while odd synth stabs give the record a bit of eerie atmospherics. This is a good record that unashamedly takes things in a disturbing direction and loves doing so. That being said, it's not all gloom and doom, there are moments of respite. "Breakdance Beach," for example, is a crazy tune that could level a dance floor and is so rooted in 1985 you can almost imagine Run DMC leaping out of their Addidas.

Be it Hail Mary Mallon or his own work, Aesop Rock is one dude that could build hip hop gold out of a broken record and a mixer with a short. Are You Gonna Eat That is a strange off center hip hop record that's brilliantly gloomy and proves once again that Aesop is one of the best hip hop artists on the planet.

Liquid Stranger Traverse Arcane Terrain

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:28:00 GMT

Looking like an Iron Maiden spinoff but sounding NOTHING like Maiden at all, Liquid Stranger is about as close to metal as Montovani is to jazz. Instead of being metallic, Liquid Stranger take dubstep and globalize it by harnessing it's power and surrounding it with a village of influences, sounds, and vibes that take it off the dance floor and into the chill out room. This voyage into dubstep under the name of The Arcane Terrain is a tsunami of bass sounds and chilled atmospherics that will challenge the sustainability of any stereo system.

Absolutely massive in its scale and scope, The Arcane Terrain, covers traditional sounds around the world by utilizing ambient textures from the orient, Middle East, and the rain forest. No stone is left unturned as Liquid Stranger spares no expense finding sounds and ideas to put together the songs that make up this record. With dub beats easing next to birds chirping and sitars plucking, The Arcane Terrain hints back at times gone by in such a brilliant fashion that it's hard to walk away.

This is a dubstep record that's been redefined, refined, and redone away from a dark smoky club. The Arcane Terrain, instead, seeks to take us on an imaginative journey that leaves ones soul cleansed and mind refreshed. Liquid Stranger pretty much succeed on that level and so many more. This is a fantastic record that's as chill as it is dubby and that's why I love it...it's the best of both worlds.

Metal Mother Hypnotizes

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:22:00 GMT

Metal Mother is the alter identity of one Tara Tati. This singer/songwriter isn't you're usual coffee house denizen with an acoustic guitar. Oh no, Metal Mother is a disembodied spirit wondering purgatory singing songs of melancholy with broken beats and rhythms. Her album Bonfire Diaries is an impressive work that's so completely out there that it's not fair to label her anything approaching a singer/songwriter.

So what’s all this mean? Well, Metal Mother is essentially the American answer to Bats For Lashes. With odd time signatures, dispossessed vocals, eerie melodies and an otherworldly feel, one suspects in listening to Bonfire Diaries that Tara is not of this earth. Folks, if she's a singer/songwriter then I'm the President. Simply put, Bonfire Diaries is a spooky and spectacular listen and Tara's strange approach to writing and constructing songs will either scare you to death or mesmerize you.

Metal Mother has constructed something magical here and the eleven songs present are truly something to be in awe of. Lush, strange, and exceptionally good, Bonfire Diaries is a musical adventure that's filled with creativity, etherealness, and beauty.

Afrobeta Comes From Under The Streets

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:15:00 GMT

In a shocking turn of events, yet another great band has emerged from the 305. For a city that once had no live music scene, there seems to be an abundance of quality talent roaming NE 2^nd Ave and South Beach. This is a good thing. Miami's Afrobeta are a stunningly sexy electro pop act that creates songs as seductive as a South Beach night. With an eye on the dance floor and a sound that's so poptastic it's about ready to explode Afrobeta's album, Under The Streets, is destined to be anywhere but underground.

With sparkly synths, Miami-like beats, well-polished production and absolutely massive songs, Under The Streets is a stellar debut that's as slick as its cover would seem to indicate. Packed to the gills with huge hooks, instantly memorable choruses, and melodies that melt in your ears, there's so little the matter with this record that it might just be perfect. At times sounding like New Order in a dance off with Expose, Afrobeta are completely modern while being influenced by the sound of Miami’s present and past; they are truly awesome at what they do.

Under The Streets is too good to be left underground. This is a record with aspirations that are far too great to be contained by tastemakers...this is the definition of a huge pop record and the fact that it comes from my home town makes it even more special. Afrobeta are simply destined for great things and for Miami's music scene that's awesome.

The City and Colour's Little Hell

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:09:00 GMT

City and Colour are a moody bunch. Their album, Little Hell is a slowly churning, dreary eyed record that wearily maneuvers its way through the eleven songs that make it up. Residing somewhere between folk rock and manic depression City and Colour are as bleak as their native Canada is in January.

With brooding guitars, plucked acoustics, and a really downtrodden vocal approach, it's hard to see this bunch as optimistic. The whole feel of Little Hell is something out of a post-grunge, post Mother Love Bone nightmare that refuses to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They could be singing about flowers, rainbows, and love but you would never know it by the pacing, down tuning, and overwhelming sense of gloom that surrounds this Little Hell.

If this record would have come out in 1992, I probably would have loved it's grimness but now in my "old" age, I need some affirmation rather than a Little Hell. If you like moody, unstable rock with a side order of desperation you'll absolutely love City and Colour and their little slice of hell.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Shine

djpaulpop — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:03:00 GMT

Denmark's The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are a quirky pop band in all the best possible ways; think a more accessible Moloko and you’re on the right track. Utilizing a squeaky voice that's so darn cute you want to hug it, the band skip, hop, and hurtle their way through sugary sweet pop tunes as if bubblegum pop was the most important thing ever. Their EP, The Golden Age is a bright ray of sunshine that glimmers and shines with so much pop sparkle that it will blind you.

Clocking in at six songs, the whole thing is a jumpy danceable mash up of influences that combine together to provide you with the soundtrack to the rest of summer. That should really be no surprise though, because the Asteroids have already soundtrakced an Ipod commercial, wound up on American TV and become minor You Tube sensations.

The Golden Age is bubblegum for the 21st century and is so irresistibly sweet that it'll cause gingivitis in all who listen. Depressingly short at less than 26 minutes, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour will leave you wanting more and more and more!

What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

djpaulpop — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:23:00 GMT

When the title of your album is What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? you kind of have to wonder what to expect. I expected something a bit extraordinary because the buzz around this bound is redonkulous and that's exactly what I got something redonkulous. The Vaccines on their debut album bring some snotty punk attitude to their pop and let it run rampant all over their songs with amazing results.

Sounding something like the Editors, White Lies, Interpol or Glasvegas if they were all a bunch of brats, The Vaccines tap into their inner Mary Chain, let the riffs fly, crank it up to ten and create a series of anthems that will linger for ages. What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? is snarly and distorted, but so ridiculously easy to latch on to it's hard not to like it. Simplistic and surfy in its approach but with huge memorable riffs and choruses, this is the sort of record that follows you around everywhere whether you want it to or not.

With love on the rocks, begging for forgiveness, somewhat happy returns, and post break up sex, The Vaccines have apparently not been inoculated against the female of the species and have no problem writing about it. Featuring one tale of woe after another, you have start to wonder if The Vaccines shouldn't seek out some sort of counseling. If you think you've got it bad, just listen to this album. There's hope for you yet.

What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? is fantastic. It's an awesome debut from a darkly depressing band that can do no wrong. Just when I give up hope on Britpop (and mind you that's ALL I listened to for eight years) a band like this comes along and has me flying the Union Jack proudly once again. Easily one of the best albums of 2011.