Album Review: Born to Die - Lana Del Rey
This is a bit of a disappointment if I’m honest. I was sold on this girl as soon as I read the ‘Gangsta Nancy Sinatra’ tag last year, her image and what she’s trying to create makes Amy Whinehouse look like a parody. All the Old Hollywood stuff and a bottle of Jim Beam made her very, very cool. The self made videos were part of the charm.
Like so many, the more exposure this lassie gets the further her creditability slides. It’s the curse of the studio album. If she put the publicists, modeling assignments and chats shows to one side, this girl would be so damn mysterious she’d be the most famous singer on the planet.
Older songs have been ‘revamped’, new stuff has appeared, and better stuff has been excluded. ‘Million Dollar Man’ my highlight but a couple of missing songs I picked up from YouTube last year ‘Kinda Outta Luck’ and ‘Queen of the Gas Station’ are better than a lot of the new stuff. As I said this album is not bad its just a bit dull and over polished. Still a better shout than anything by Adele.
Album Review: Bad as Me - Tom Waits
When a new Tom Waits album comes around it rarely fails to disappoint. For nearly 25 years now these releases tend to fall into two categories the stand alone and the sound track. The ‘stand alones’ tend to be the real gems and just as the case with 2004’s Real Gone, 1999’s Mule Varaitions and 1994’s Bone Machine, Bad As Me is no exception.
Bad as Me croons, it terrifies at points, its reserved at moments, it’s a full bag of tricks. The knack with Waits is he manages to sound completely unique to anyone else on the planet, the only comparison is with himself which is forever changing anyway.
‘Hell Broke Luce’ is a terrifying cross between a limerick and a rap. For the closer ‘New Years Eve’ we get another interpretation of Auld Lang Syne in ballad mode. You get a take on the Rolling Stones (including name checks for Jagger and Richards) in the bluesy ‘Satisfied’.
The originality in every thing Waits does is unique to him, nobody else sounds like this, nobody else writes songs like this. The physical release comes in a book format, even the quirky album launch video is a classic.
Ok I admit I’m a massive Waits fans, but there was nae chance of this album being anything other than epic.
Album Review: Last Words: Final Recordings - Screaming Trees
Screaming Trees recorded this in 1998 and is only now just seeing the light of day. Listening to it it’s hard to believe it wasn’t released at the time, even just as just a swansong when the band was coming to an end. Stories of the band failing to find a label might have been something to do with it but these songs are not off cuts, ‘Last Words’ is a completed album.
Mark Lanegan has since gone on to establish himself as the go to gravely voiced guy, popping up most prominently with Queens of the Stone Age and Isobel Campbell. It’s refreshing to hear ‘Last Words’ not just because the current ‘new’ music as a whole is dire the now but because I like the band.
Tom Perry’s wonderful review for Drowned in Sound likens it to ‘a letter from a forgotten friend’, ‘a phone call from beyond the grave’. I don’t expect the band to reform, record new stuff or tour the world. It’s just good to be given this unexpected reminder all these years later.
Album Review: Mirror Traffic - Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks
Last years Pavement reunion tour might have been seen as a welcome return by many but in reality it was the same as any other band reunion, making money. There was no new material, not even the slightest mention about reforming officially; it was purely another chance to fleece fans one more time all while pretending they were celebrating some sort of anniversary.
By no surprise this sounds a lot like Pavement. If like me you like Pavement that’s not a bad thing, you have take this album for what it really is. Stephen Malkmus isn’t Frank Black, he’s not gonna go out and start making country rock albums. Stephen Malkmus is Pavement, this album could be a Pavement album. By using the “and the Jicks” part of the title he‘s safe guarding himself from any real critism as its NOT technically Pavement while being very similar at the same time. This is the album Pavement would make if they were to have another shot. It’s not as good as the best Pavement albums but I’m really not that fussed, it’s always good to hear reminders of former greats and as a stand alone album ‘Mirror Traffic’ isn’t all that bad.
Album Review: Several Shades of Why - J Mascis
Dinosaur Jr. front man, J Mascis has released a solo acoustic album and is rather good. Ok this isn’t a massive surprise, Dinosaur Jr. has always been the missing link between Black Sabbath and Neil Young, I suspect he’s always had this album in him.
In this more stripped back setting, Mascis’s voice is really haunting. The usual lyrics of self loathing and despair are given extra force through the lack of swirling background noise. This is taking lo-fi to a whole new level.
The songs are along the lines of the quieter and more tender Jr. songs which isn’t a bad thing. The album title track sounds like its drowning in a bucket of sorrow, real melancholy but still catchy none the less. Mascis is one of the greatest guitar players ever even managing to make the acoustic instrument sound dynamic. He couldn’t resist sticking a bit of electric solo on the odd one though. The contrast between these two instruments sounds brilliant on ‘Is it Done’ in particular.
Since reforming to the original lineup in 2006, Dinosaur Jr. has proven in my opinion to have pulled off one of the greatest ever musical comebacks. I know this is a solo project but Mascis goes to show class is permanent, form is temporary. Several Shades of Why is the kind of album you stick on after a hard days work when in reflective mode. Its makes me yearn for yet another Dinosaur Jr. album. Ten songs of heartbreaking bliss done right, this would never get played on Radio 2.
Album Review: With Love from the Men’s Room - 50 Foot Wave
50 Foot Wave are a ‘power punk trio’ formed by Throwing Muses lead Kristin Hersh. So far over the period of three EP and an album they’ve managed to produce continuously good rip roaring audio assaults.
First thing to be said is how great a band 50 Foot Wave is. Not because of their top class songs or sound, not even because of their Kristin Hersh legacy. But purely because they give all their music away free of charge from their website. ‘With Love from the Men’s Room’ has been released over a period of months rather than as a oner, which in its self is different to convention. I’ve looked forward to these snippets as they’ve come along but now the EP has seemingly been finished.
If you like 50 Foot Wave, you’ll love this new effort (personal favourite for me is ‘Grey’. If you haven’t heard the band before, you have nothing to lose by looking them up. This EP and their entire back catalogue are available to download for free at http://50footwave.cashmusic.org/.
Album Review: Raven in the Grave - The Raveonettes
One of the great things about the Raveonettes is how their style, visual character and identity have stayed the same and if anything will outlive them even when their music dries up. It’s comforting to know that after 10 years the band is still doing what they do. Unlike similar Mary Chain styled band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club the Raveonettes at least still sound like there trying. Raven in the Grave isn’t anything special, it’s not a touch on their previously albums, it’s just good to know a good band can still be bothered after their time and the music have moved on.
