CD Reviews
AFX
Hangable Auto Bulb
Warp Records, 2005
4½ out of 5
AFX is the occasional alias of groundbreaking electronica weirdo Richard D. James, better known under his other stage name of Aphex Twin. AFX is the name Aphex Twin uses when he wants to release something that’s experimental and weird even by his standards. Consider the ramifications of this for a second before we continue.
Hangable Auto Bulb is a re-release combining two 1995 EPs into a full-length album — well, ‘full-length’ here unfortunately meaning 34 minutes, but work with me. If you’re big into the different subgenres of electronic music floating around nowadays — drum-and-bass, drill-and-bass, IDM, glitch, acid house, et cetera — and you’ve been wondering how these styles developed, this album is an essential purchase. The material here blazed multiple new trails, not only furthering existing styles but flat-out inventing new ones, and it’s not hard to understand why this work was so influential; it’s a bizarre, haunting, brilliant electronic maelstrom.
Of course, to understate the matter dramatically, it’s not an album of universal appeal; there are no real instruments, the arrangement is all but incomprehensible to an unaccustomed listener and many people would no doubt be aggravated by all the thumping and pounding. It’s unlikely that this album will suddenly convert people into fans of electronic music — but if you already know and love the genre, Hangable Auto Bulb comes highly recommended.
James Howard Volunteer Staff
Alter Bridge
One Day Remains
Wind-Up Records, 2005
1 out of 5
Alter Bridge is Creed minus lead singer Scott Stapp, and they sound no different. Alter Bridge strives for the epic and grandiose feeling that Creed achieved with such singles as “With Arms Wide Open,” using the similarly styled melodic rock. Now headed by Myles Kennedy, their debut One Day Remains features a number of power ballads, but by power I mean the loud and boisterous guitar solo that sounds identical in each of the songs in which it appears, and heavily uses a treble pickup in the six-minute “Burn It Down.” Not only that, but merely three songs clock in under four and a half minutes from the largely uninspired album that’s riding on the wave of Creed’s success.
Kennedy’s vocals lack the weight of Stapp’s baritone, as he falters in his attempt to lift the band’s material to a more serious level. Overall, Alter Bridge brings little if anything new to the heavily crowded music world. Not only are they replicating Creed’s sound, but they also repeat their own guitar riffs and bass lines on nearly every song throughout this debut. Currently, the band is hard at work on their follow-up release, which shouldn’t be too difficult to record if it’s going to sound anything like this dud.
Cory Anderson Volunteer Staff
Faith Evans
The First Lady
Capitol / EMI, 2005
2½ out of 5
Well, it’s Faith Evans’ fourth album, but my question is, how does this compete with all the new up-and-coming R&B divas? Women like Ciara, Keyshia Cole and Amerie are bringing a fresh new era to R&B, and Faith is not. Faith has a powerful voice, but the tracks don’t do her voice justice. The lyrical content isn’t unique (track 2, “Again,” is the one exception), as she sings about nothing other than romance and doesn’t cover the varied aspects of a relationship.
The first few tracks, “Goin Out” (produced by Pharrell Williams), “Again,” “I Don’t Need It” and “Stop N Go” started off with a bang by either offering that club vibe or playing on one’s heartstrings, so I was enthusiastic to hear the rest of the songs. But as the next few tracks played, the feeling of déjà vu hit. The rest of the songs, except for the last collaboration with Twista, were repetitive, from the simple lyrics to the background music, and lacked individuality. I was disappointed that a woman who has been in the business for over 10 years didn’t showcase her expertise with her latest CD. Overall, The First Lady is just a sufficient R&B album; it isn’t one that will challenge other artists to surpass what it has offered to the genre.
Jennifer Christie Ilkew
Ginuwine
Back II Da Basics
Epic / Sony, 2005
4 out of 5
Can you believe that most people are only familiar with Ginuwine’s song “Pony,” when he has put out some of the best R&B albums in recent years? Back II Da Basics is destined to be a classic, with tracks that are smooth, sweet and, overall, sexy. I’ve been a fan of Ginuwine since the beginning, so there was a certain amount of anticipation, and Ginuwine did not disappoint. Making a regular rotation on BET and other music stations, “When We Make Love” is one of my favourite tracks, with its sexually suggestive sounds complementing the lyrics. “Secrets” and “The Club” are also enjoyable, because they cover topics besides romance and love. The best part of his music is when he sings about treating your woman right; you can’t help but believe him because his voice is sultry and confident. The album also maintained my attention from beginning to end, since there was enough diversity between the tracks. From heartache to break-ups, each song presented a different perspective about relationships. Back II Da Basics even has some club joints, so I was not bored with the album. The lyrics were intelligent and rang true to real life situations, so one can easily relate to at least one of the tracks. I recommend Back II Da Basics to anyone who enjoys a love song album that doesn’t come off sounding cheesy.
Jennifer Christie Iklew
Goodshirt
Fiji Baby
Cement Records / EMI, 2005
3½ out of 5
For the fully immersive experience of this review, stop reading it at various intervals and restart it five or six times before dropping and picking up the newspaper twice. You, too, can live the dream of trying to review a copy controlled CD on every piece of equipment in your house!
This never happens to me with the really bad CDs, of course. No, the copy control always kicks in right when I’m starting to enjoy an album; perhaps their insistence on keeping me from hearing it is secretly a guarantor of quality.
Such is the case with Fiji Baby, the sophomore album of New Zealand synth-pop-rock quartet Goodshirt. Goodshirt definitely has a quirky Pavement tinge to it, both in its peppy songwriting and its stripped-down production values (the whole album, incidentally, was recorded and produced in a garden shed). Trying to follow in Malkmus’s footsteps can be — and often is — a recipe for disaster, but Goodshirt pulls it off pretty well; strangely enough, it’s when Goodshirt slows the pace down and plays it more seriously that the album drags a bit.
Still, when the copy control crap slapped on by the record label is the worst thing on your album, you’re in pretty good shape. Fiji Baby isn’t world-shaking, but it’ll likely put a smile on your face.
James Howard Volunteer Staff
Lady Sovereign
Vertically Challenged
Chocolate Industries, 2005
4 out of 5
Emerging from the U.K. grime scene (I use the word “grime” loosely, for lack of a better, all-encompassing term), Lady Sovereign quickly caught the industry’s attention with her tongue-in-cheek attitude and unique sound. That buzz echoed across the pond and caught the ear of Jay-Z, who inked her to a contract with Island/Def Jam. With her debut album on the way sometime this year, the Vertically Challenged EP serves as an introduction of sorts, and is comprised of a few previously released tracks and a couple of remixes.
The opening cut, “Random,” is hands-down one of the best tracks of the last few years. Over a beat so infections that Timbaland would be jealous, Sov comes out swinging and state-side emcees aren’t her only targets; U.K. emcees get slapped for sounding too much like their American counterparts: “Some English emcees get it twisted / start sayin’ ‘cookies’ instead of ‘biscuits!’” Other highlights include a remix of “Random,” “Ch Ching,” and “A Little Bit of Shhh.”
Unfortunately, a few of the remixes are bland, and other fan favourites, such as “Hoodie” and “9 to 5,” are nowhere to be found. Regardless, Vertically Challenged is a much-needed breath of fresh air, and with Jay-Z on her side, it’s only a matter of time before Lady Sovereign becomes a household name.
Daniel Camaclang
Lil’ Kim
The Naked Truth
Atlantic Records / Warner, 2005
3½ out of 5
In the world of hip-hop, Lil’ Kim is a bona fide superstar. After collaborations with Christina Aguilera, Carmen Electra and others, she has established herself as the new millennium material girl accepted by Hollywood, MTV and the pop music world.
Lil’ Kim (AKA Kimberly Jones) released her fourth album, The Naked Truth, after being convicted and sentenced a year in prison for both conspiracy and perjury. Despite the copious amounts of skits and unnecessary designer fashion references, The Naked Truth is a solid effort.
On the album, Kim displays her versatility while still maintaining her street credibility. The same variety is also her downfall. Repetitive addressing of her enemies and haters on “Slippin,’” “Whoa,” “Last Day,” “Quiet” and “Shut Up Bitch” do tend to get tired. The requisite weed song, “Kronik,” featuring none other than Snoop Dogg, is a feeble attempt to appease West Coast listeners. When Kim visits the Dirty South on “Get Yours” and “We Don’t Give a F**k ,” both her and her respective featured artists, T.I. and Twista, deliver uninspired performances. On the other hand, Kim flows naturally on the reggae-tinged “Durty” and the hit single, “Lighters Up.”
Ms. Jones is at her raunchiest on “Kitty Box” and “Gimme That,” where she freely talks about her sexual encounters. In the end, she sounds best boasting her classic braggadocio on “I Know You See Me.”
Navin Bahl Staff
Samina
How I Feel
Orange Music, 2005
2½ out of 5
If Sade’s smooth, vocal light-jazz were reclassified as its own genre — as in, if “Sade” were a specific category to file albums under at the store — then How I Feel, the debut album from Canadian singer Samina, would invariably be placed on that rack in every single store. You will never meet anybody who hates Sade but loves Samina, in much the same way you’ll never meet anybody who hates MAD magazine but loves CRACKED magazine.
How I Feel is eight standards and four original pieces; of these 12 tracks, maybe three or four of them are any better than decent. The highlights of the album are an interesting bossa cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love” (unfortunately, Madeleine Peyroux has already done this, and better) and an endearing rendition of Jobim’s “Corvocado.” Beyond that, though, the rest of album is just passable. Everything is performed properly, and Samina’s voice is reasonably strong (if terribly thin at times), but the arrangements are uninspired and there’s nothing new going on with this disc.
If the “adult contemporary”-laden COOL FM playlist usually makes you gag, then this album will leave you on the ground gasping for air like a dying trout. Samina, despite her best efforts, is not Sade. Hell, she isn’t even Coral Egan.
James Howard Volunteer Staff
Unwritten Law
Here’s to the Mourning
Lava Records, 2005
3 out of 5
Here’s to the Mourning is the fifth studio album from pop-punk act Unwritten Law, and though they borrow liberally from a great many places, they nonetheless put up a mostly enjoyable showing on this disc.
The influences are patently (and sometimes blatantly) obvious from song to song, and most of the 12 tracks pull this off well. Unwritten Law’s greatest strength is their harmonizing, bouncing between Offspring and AFI in the delivery. They don’t use it nearly often enough, but when they do, it makes for the best tracks of the album (particularly “Because Of You,” resembling a brilliant punk reinterpretation of early Weezer songwriting). There are also acceptable traces of other ‘90s luminaries, such as Soundgarden and Faith No More — and the band particularly shines when following in Filter’s footsteps, instrumentally as well as vocally with lead singer Scott Russo’s uncanny resemblance at times to Richard Patrick.
It’s not all roses with this disc, though; attempts to channel the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alkaline Trio and Green Day backfire astoundingly. And they may want to consider hiring somebody to write their lyrics for them, because the writing here ranges from stupid to practically stolen. (“Come entertain us / So stupid it’s contagious”? How dare you.)
Here’s to the Mourning has some serious flaws but still carries some quality material.
