All right. Back to it. Break is over. Normalcy returns.
Plus, I have to hurry up and get these done so that I can break my Lenten fast and buy some new iTunes music. ;)
So.. here is a long overdue music review: one newer one, and half of the uploads from J2 that I accessed over Christmas (it's fun to see what the boy listens to in the car as he drives. Gives me some insights into what he thinks.) :)
Devendra Banhart - "Rejoicing in the Hands": I can't figure out if this guy is a deep-south blues man, a Django Rheinhart disciple, or is better categorized as world music, alternative, or straight folk. Whatever he is, he sure is interesting. :) What he's not, is background. You kind of have to listen. He doesn't let you contentedly snooze. Favorites: This Is The Way, Sight To Behold, Dogs They make Up The Dark, This Beard is for Siobhan, Fall, Todo Los Dolores, There Was Sun, Autumn's Child. Two thumbs up - fascinating musician.
And now the J2 stuff:
Various Artists - "Listen to Bob Dylan (A Tribute)": From Jason Mraz to James Blunt to Anberlin, kind of a mixed bag here paying tribute to Dylan. At least these people can sing. Unlike old Bob. ;) Never a real fan of Dylan, I'm not that crazy about the songs, either, even if they're sung well. But, a few highlights: Rainy Day Women is just goofy fun, no matter who sings it. Dave Melillo does a nice job with It Ain't Me, Babe, and Positively 4th Street is done fine, too. To Ramona is nice, done by Days Away. Steel Train does both I Shall Be Released and Don't Think Twice (It's Alright) well. Anberlin's Like A Rolling Stone is good. Finally Jason Mraz's 8 minute-plus version of A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall is swell - he sounds like Paul Simon at his most reflective. :) One thumb up for this 2-CD set.. unless you really like Dylan, then it's probably better.
Scary Kids Scaring Kids (eponymous): They're coming to The Varsity on May 16th. I, um.. don't think I'll be going. Screamers. :( Not that they can't make decent music. Watch Me Bleed and Goes Without Saying are fine. But they can't seem to do an uptempo hard rock number without turning vocal quality into a wall of white noise. Arghh. Retain some semblance of melody, will you? Back in the day I used to refer to this stuff as "head-banging" music. Do they call it that anymore? Regardless, I get enough headaches as it is, without trying to develop more. No thumbs up for this one.
Paramore - "All We Know Is Falling": My first impression of this straight-ahead (non-screaming) rock band is that I'm not sure that the female lead singer has the chops to hang with the intensity of the music. On the loud passages she sounds thin and overwhelmed by the guitars. But on the softer parts, she sounds like she'd be good to listen to if she sang more singer/songwriter acoustic stuff like Laura Viers or Tori Amos or Imogen Heap or any number of the current crop of girl singers. But maybe that's why she does this instead.. there's too much competition as a solo girl singer. Nothing all that remarkable about this CD - middle of the road in quality and energy and sound, I'd say. I kind of like Brighter a bit above the rest as individual tracks go. Catchy. My Heart is not bad, either.
Silversun Pickups - "Carnavas": Yawwwwwn. Hm. I don't see the appeal. The vocals are ragged (not in the "distinctive" sense, either, just.. not good), the sound seems to over-emphasize fuzz, and the songs are mediocre. Hm. Not much to recommend here, J2. What do you like about this, anyway? Oh, I guess Waste It On isn't too bad. And I've heard worse than Three Seed. So, a couple of highlights here.
Matchbook Romance - "Stories and Alibis": Now this is more like it. :) Straight rock, but with good vocals, plus strong playing, interesting arrangements, a mix of energy and chill. While the lyrics aren't all that clever, they're good enough to engage the listener; and while the lead vocals are not the strongest voices, there are two of them working together, and the combination does the trick. Good stuff. And for a debut album, no less. Favorites: Tiger Lily, Stay Tonight, If All Else Fails, Promise, She'll Never Understand. No bad tracks, except... the bonus track. It's no bonus, it's just - dumb.
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