Note: This is the debut album from the band fronted by Daron Malakian (System of A Down guitarist/vocalist/songwriter). SOAD drummer John Dolmayan joins him on drums. At this time, their much more famous band has no plans to record or tour, but isn’t officially broken up. Since SOAD’s “indefinite hiatus” began, their frontman also put out a record, 2007’s Elect the Dead. So the future of the premier metal act of the last decade is uncertain at best.
Sound: They bounce between slick, arena-ready metal; stomping, more aggressive punk; reserved, mid-tempo rock; and power ballads. The bizarre, theatrical, progressive tendencies and political/social/environmental commentaries of System of a Down are still present, but Scars on Broadway is more melodic and less frenetic.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “3005″; “Enemy”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Universe”; “They Say”; “Funny”; “Exploding/Reloading”; “Cute Machines”
Recommended: If you’ve found System of A Down a little too in-your-face intense, Scars on Broadway is easier to digest. However, they’re missing some of the danger and standout tracks of SOAD. Plus, Daron’s front-and-center lyrics feel a little lazy and silly at times, which can be distracting. And, the second half of the album is stronger than the first (i.e. the backloaded sequencing can make it harder to get into). Still, the music on here is more accomplished and invigorating than most aggressive rock/metal out there these days.
Grade: B+
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Note: This the debut EP from the duo that consists of Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha (vocals, keyboards) and former The Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore (drums).
Sound: Armed with only Jon Theodore’s drum kit, Zak de la Rocha’s grinding, assaultive keyboards and his ferocious vocals (both fiery, confrontational rhymes and ominous, reverberating melodies), the duo whips up a furious, socially-conscious mix of rap rock and aggressive rock. It’s an impressively dense racket from a band of two. The rap-heavy songs sound pretty similar to Rage Against the Machine (despite having no guitar or bass), while the more melodic songs resemble the proggy cacophony of The Mars Volta.
Heavy Rotation track: “One Day As a Lion”
Medium Rotation tracks: “If You Fear Dying”; “Wild International”
Recommended: Though not much different than Zack’s work with his other, much more famous band, it is quite refreshing to hear him back on the mic (it’s been nearly nine years since he last released original, studio material). The Rage-like songs are the best on here, but The Mars Volta-esque tracks suggest promising new avenues for the future. Hopefully a full-length album sees the light of day soon.
Grade: A-
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Note: Nas originally planned to call the album Ni**er, which caused a media backlash and strong encouragement from the powers-that-be to change the controversial title. Instead of offering a new name for his 9th album, he decided to leave it “untitled,” essentially allowing its original title to be implied.
Sound: The beats are a mix of vintage soulful and funky flavors, orchestrated somber reflections and slick, modern, electro bangers. Meaty rap rock guitars show up on track 7 “Sly Fox,” Nas’ attack on Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and the channel’s parent company News Corporation.
Lyrics: Nas spends the majority of the album contemplating African Americans’ history in the U.S. and their current status in society. His words aim to educate and empower black people, and advocate change in our government. On the album’s final track “Black President,” he contemplates a world with Barack Obama as President of the United States.
Look For: Track 2 contains interpolations from “Message from a Blackman,” a song that was originally recorded by The Temptations and included on their 1969 album Puzzle People. It has since been covered and sampled many times. Interestingly though, RZA just paid homage to the song by sampling it on the first single – “You Can’t Stop Me Now” - from his recently released album Digi Snacks. It’s unfortunate for both Nas and RZA that the classic song was reinterpreted on tracks prominently featured on albums they released just three weeks apart from each other – kinda steals the thunder for both of them.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Sly Fox” (Top 20 Songs of 2008 Candidate); “N.I.*.*.E.R. (The Slave and The Master)”; “Fried Chicken” featuring Busta Rhymes
Medium Rotation tracks: “Untitled”; “Y’all My Ni**as”; “Black President”; “You Can’t Stop Us Now” featuring Eban Thomas of the Stylistics and The Last Poets; “Testify”
Recommended: For an album that makes such strong, provocative statements on race and politics, it’s very unfortunate that much of the first half is mired with lighter, radio-friendly, subpar tracks. Surely, Def Jam wanted to temper some of Nas’ heavy commentaries with some softer tracks, but the diluted stuff could have been pushed to the back. On the other hand, if you start with track 6 “America” and listen to the end, you’ll have a quality experience with a strong finish. Nas is still one of the greatest MCs in the game, too bad he wasn’t able to push through a whole album that captures the fire burning inside of him.
Grade: B+ (1st half = B- ; 2nd half = A)
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Note: After five indie label albums, Alkaline Trio makes their major label debut with Agony & Irony.
Sound: Don’t expect a dramatic change due to the move to the big leagues. Their punk-rooted, death-obsessed, melodic rock has had a poppy polish for a couple of albums now anyway. The difference here, though, is that Alkaline Trio has lost a bit of their dangerous edge. The lyrics can still be simultaneously morose and clever while catchy harmonies soften the gloomy tendencies. But there’s a much more hopeful, positive vibe on here than usual.
Heavy Rotation track: “In Vein”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Love Love Kiss Kiss”; “Calling All Skeletons”; “Over and Out”
Recommended: Alkaline Trio can still write quality catchy tunes, but they’ve lost some of their unsettling bite this time around. Mellowing out and cheering up (a little) doesn’t necessarily suit them. Agony & Irony feels disappointing in light of the promising strides they made on 2005’s Crimson.
Grade: B
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Note: The Baseball Project is the brainchild of Scott McCaughey (former Young Fresh Fellows and current The Minus 5 frontman; and touring R.E.M. musician) and Steve Wynn (best known as frontman of ‘80s rockers Dream Syndicate). The two baseball lovers collaborated to write an entire album’s worth of quirky, narrative-heavy tunes that document anecdotal nuggets about the sport’s rich history.
Also Note: R.E.M. guitarist and The Minus 5 bandmember Peter Buck plays on here.
Sound: Bouncy and bright indie pop, stomping and driving barroom rock, jangly and breezy alt country and more.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Harvey Haddix” (Top 20 Songs of 2008 Candidate); “Gratitude (For Curt Flood)”; “Satchel Paige Said”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Past Time”; “The Death of Big Ed Delahanty”; “The Yankee Flipper”
Recommended: The Baseball Project makes learning parts of the history of the game fun, kind of like the way educational kids’ music teaches and entertains simultaneously. But this stuff is certainly quite a bit edgier, headier, more tongue-in-cheek and more adult than your average toddler-friendly, sing-along song. Though there’s a bit of a lull as the album reaches the halfway point, it eventually rallies in a big way. Overall, it’s an informative and amusing listen with many highlights.
Grade: B+
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Note: The album was produced by Danger Mouse, who’s known best for his production work as a member Gnarls Barkley and on albums like Gorillaz Demon Days.
Sound: A mix of punchy, tight grooves and woozy, trippy chill-outs that feature a patchwork of jangly acoustic guitars, chugging electric riffs, hypnotic organs, skittering electronic beats, grandiose orchestration, floating background vocals and more. Over these various, often looped, backdrops, Beck sings loose, distorted rockers and somber, airy ballads with strong melodies. He doesn’t indulge his tendency for his slacker, stream-of-consciousness raps.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Volcano”; “Chemtrails”; “Youthless”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Gamma Ray”; “Modern Guilt”; “Orphans”
Recommended: The Beck/Danger Mouse collaboration makes a whole lot of sense on paper and the pair of music visionaries delivers the goods. Modern Guilt has a healthy mix of upbeat and melancholy moods, an exciting collage of sounds and just enough memorable tunes.
Grade: A- (Top 20 Albums of 2008 Candidate)
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Sound: Craig Finn’s in-your-face narratives and the band’s meaty riffs, dancing piano, driving organ and boogie-inducing horns are still present. But this time around, they add many new flavors – skittering harpsichord, whimsical synthesizer, metal-power-ballad guitar solo, brooding mandolin, even a talk box (think Peter Frampton’s “Do You Feel Like We Do” or Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart”).
Heavy Rotation track: “One for the Cutters”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Sequestered In Memphis”; “Slapped Actress”; “Stay Positive”; “Lord, I’m Discouraged”; “Joke About Jamaica”; “Yeah Sapphire”; “Both Crosses”
Recommended: It’s exciting to hear The Hold Steady branch out and successfully add so many surprising and bold colors to their palette. Stay Positive is a very consistent album, but it’s a little short on standout tracks – which puts it just a notch below Boys and Girls in America (my #7 album of 2006). And though Craig Finn’s tales of partying, relationships, religion and death are always compelling, they’re not quite as gripping as they were on previous albums.
Grade: A-
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Note: This is the Wu-Tang Clan mastermind’s third solo album as the character Bobby Digital. It’s been seven years since his alter ego’s last full length release, 2001’s Digital Bullet.
Sound: Most of RZA’s beats have a hypnotic quality – whether they’re mystical and psychedelic, sexy and soulful or spacey and swirling. He also throws in one track with ominous piano and another with spooky synthesizer.
Vocals: There’s a hefty roster of guest MCs – most of them are pretty under-the-radar and none of them outshine RZA with his nasal, deliberate, left-field pearls of wisdom. The guest singers, however, have a more commanding presence with their soul/r&b hooks. Recurring collaborator Thea van Seijen makes the biggest impact with a captivating and seductive croon reminiscent of Erykah Badu.
Heavy Rotation track: “Try Ya Ya Ya” featuring Monk
Medium Rotation tracks: “Straight Up the Block”; “Booby Trap” featuring Dexter Wiggles; “You Can’t Stop Me Now” featuring Inspectah Deck; “Drama” featuring Thea van Seijen and Monk; “O’Day”
Recommended: RZA’s beats and rhymes and Thea van Seijen’s frequent vocal contributions are definitely worth your time – along with a couple of other guest hooks and verses. But there are a lot of lackluster appearances from the featured MCs that dilute the quality of the songs. At a lengthy 16 tracks, the album on the whole is underwhelming.
Grade: B-
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Sound: David Berman’s deep, weathered and twangy baritone once again narrates a few more oddball American tales. Lookout Mountain is definitely brighter and more hopeful than the last Silver Jews album (2005’s Tanglewood Numbers) as it jumps from breezy alt country to jangly roots rock to quirky indie rock, and Berman’s wife Cassie frequently chimes in with spunky background vocals. They do, naturally, leave some room for a couple mellower and more despondent tunes.
Heavy Rotation track: “We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Suffering Jukebox”; “San Francisco B.C.”; “Aloysius, Bluegrass Drummer”
Recommended: There’s nothing too surprising or exceptional on Lookout Mountain, but it is another quality, consistent effort from the grizzled veterans.
Grade: B
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Sound: Arty and progressive indie rock with strong musical hooks – whether it be choppy guitar riffs, nimble guitar flourishes, pounding piano chords, driving organ pulses, cheap-sounding keyboard flutters, danceable drum beats and more. The ragged, yelping vocals aren’t as crisp and defined as the instrumental accompaniments, but they do have a strong sense of melody and are more refined than they were on their debut album, Apologies to the Queen Mary.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Fine Young Cannibals”; “Soldier’s Grin”; “California Dreamer”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Call It a Ritual”; “Kissing the Beehive”; “The Grey Estates”
Recommended: Wolf Parade has cleaned up much of the intentionally lo-fi production from their first album and come back more focused. Their top-notch songwriting shines through, and they spread out and explore more epic and anthemic arrangements. At Mount Zoomer may not have too many obvious, memorable choruses (there were a few more last time), but as you’re listening, the music is fully consuming. Far more consistent than Apologies to the Queen Mary, At Mount Zoomer is a big improvement on their promising but overhyped debut.
Grade: A- (Top 20 Albums of 2008 Candidate)
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