March 17th, 2010 by admin
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The long-awaited fourth Lostprophets disc, “The Betrayed”, is polished for commercial appeal like its predecessor, yet darker and more apocalyptic in tone, making it in some ways the Welsh band’s best album. Coming off two previous smashes, Lostprophets produced “The Betrayed” by themselves when their previous album’s producer, Bob Rock (Mötley Crüe, Metallica), was unavailable. Holing up in the Los Angeles home of bassist Stuart Richardson, LP enjoyed the freedom self-production gave them, feeling that the album is “totally representative” of the six members, rather than being “diluted with someone else’s vision”. Perhaps too pop-oriented for some hard-core fans, the lilting ska track “For He’s A Jolly Good Felon” is the disc’s latest single.
by Mark Emge
March 17th, 2010 by admin
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After riding a “Stand By Me” sample to No. 1 with 2007’s “Beautiful Girls”, roly-poly 19-year-old reggae-pop charmer Sean Kingston strived for maturity on his follow-up, “Tomorrow”. Cuddly classicism was replaced by club-friendly synths and hip-hop’s version of growing up, courtesy of producers like J.R. Rotem and RedOne. Kingston’s mix of young-adult desire and disco heat showed he could cross over in unexpected directions. But non-album single “Eenie Meenie” totally reverts to the playground, Kingston sharing his sandbox with Justin Bieber.
by Mark Emge
March 17th, 2010 by admin
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Yann Destal’s beginnings in music were flute lessons at age 5. From there he moved on to piano and clarinet, joining his first band at 11 as the…drummer! Destal was soon recording original songs on a 4-track, where he played and sang all the parts, the perfect prelude to enrolling at Paris’ American School of Music. He formed Priors with Raw Man, who picked up the guitar at 13 and had his own jazz-rock fusion group by 15. Numerous bands later he was introduced to Destal, and the second track they ever worked on is “What You Need”.
by Mark Emge
March 16th, 2010 by admin
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Twelve years and six full-lengths into their career, London dance duo Groove Armada has produced their dark album, a record that translates the dense, frenzied sound of Anglo-American dance-pop of the ’00s into the context of the duo’s highly stylized productions. There’s a clear focus to the record, virtually all of it centered on mainstream dance of the ’80s hi-NRG synth-pop variety, including nods to Bronski Beat, Soft Cell, and Human League. Although there aren’t as many varied guest-star vocal features as in the past, Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry pops up on “Shameless”.
by Mark Emge
March 16th, 2010 by admin
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Opera-trained pop singer Nina Zilli was born at night and prefers to sleep during the day. She’s a natural soprano who prefers rock and roll; an Italian girl at heart who spent part of her childhood in Ireland and moved to the States after high school; a huge fan of ’70s punk and metal who converted to rocksteady reggae beats; a former MTV VJ who really wanted to be the one singing in the videos she presented. And now she’s the old soul who just won the newcomer’s award at Sanremo with “L’Uomo Che Amava Le Donne”.
by Mark Emge
March 16th, 2010 by admin
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Album No. 2 comes with high expectations–debut “Panic Prevention” was Mercury-nominated, after all–and “Kings And Queens” mostly confirms that Jamie T (for Treays) is much more than a Streets rip-off, with a music career in front of him if he wants it. Fortunately, Jamie hasn’t matured out of his core strengths: His vitality, expressiveness, and knack for twisting the vagaries of everyday life for urban youth recall forebears Joe Strummer and Billy Bragg. The acoustic ballad “Emily’s Heart” is the most affecting song of Jamie’s young career.
by Mark Emge
March 16th, 2010 by admin
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Full-length debut “The Listening” finds vocalist/songwriter Valerie “Lights” Poxleitner delivering a steady flow of gentle indie-electronic alt-rock that showcases her sweet voice. Bringing to mind a more subdued Cyndi Lauper, Lights’ music leans heavily toward melodic and catchy midtempo anthems that percolate keyboards, beats, and light guitar accents, something along the lines of a Daft Punk-junior dorm room chanteuse. To these ends, tracks like the brightly pulsating lead-off cut, “Saviour,” make for perfect late-night, low-key disco.
by Mark Emge
March 15th, 2010 by admin
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After the mainstream breakthrough of their last album, “Puzzle” (2007), Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro doesn’t change much on follow-up “Only Revolutions”, which finds the band at their most accessible. Once again they work with hard-rock producer Garth Richardson (Skunk Anansie, Rage Against The Machine), who restrains the prog tendencies of Biffy’s early recordings and keeps the songs short and concise. Featuring Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stone Age on second guitar, “Bubbles” has it all– hammering riffs, adventurous jams, an ear-pleasing chorus, and sharp dynamics make it easily the disc’s most satisfying song.
by Mark Emge
March 15th, 2010 by admin
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Thanks to a bravura guest spot from Eminem, “Drop The World” is the lone redeeming track on the universally panned (metacritic.com) “Rebirth”, rapper Lil’ Wayne’s failed bid for rock credibility. Weezy kicks drugged-out rambles about leaving Earth on a spaceship and claims he’s going to “pick up the world and drop it on your head”. Continuing his recent hot streak, however, Em delivers scorching couplets that make Wayne-O look like an impostor. Lil’ Wayne should return to what he does best–and soon. Oh, wait…
by Mark Emge
March 15th, 2010 by admin
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Italian singer Marco Mengoni won the ‘09 third season of Italy’s “X Factor”, then parleyed that success into a third-place finish at this year’s 60th anniversary edition of the Sanremo Music Festival with the song “Credimi Ancora”. His two albums, 2009’s “Si Vola” and the brand-new “Re Matto”, have both gone Platinum in Italy, the latter containing Mengoni’s Sanremo highlight and concluding with a live cover of Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven”.
by Mark Emge
