Major Label Release Roundup
Posted on | May 11, 2005 at 11:17 pm | 4 Comments
I’m really proud of myself for figuring out the answer to the season-long murder mystery on Veronica Mars, a couple of weeks before the season finale last night. I rule! I look forward to seeing what they come up with for next year.
On musical matters, here’s a few short bits on the last four CDs I bought…
Beck: Guero
I’ve never really been a big Beck fan, though I appreciate his sensibility. The only previous CD I had was Sea Change, and that was because it was available in a SACD/HiRez/Surround version and I really liked the song Lost Cause. But mostly that album was a bit too much of a downer and many of the songs sounded too similar. Guero, on the other hand, mixes things up a bit. You’ve got the slower songs with the slide guitar and stuff like on Sea Change, and you also get the trickier, hipper stuff with the beats and all. Nevertheless, it’s all pretty catchy, especially after several listens as the songs become familiar. My favorite song may be Hell Yes, which is one of the strangest and also most far afield from the kind of thing I usually like. There’s just something about that chorus, with the “please enjoy” in it that gets me every time. I bought the Deluxe Version with the HiRez DVD-Audio disc, and the surround mix is very involving without being too gimmicky (hard to pull off on an album that is so full of effects).
Garbage: Bleed Like Me
The first Garbage album is a favorite of mine, and I felt that the subsequent discs Version 2.0 and Beautiful Garbage didn’t nearly measure up. But this new one comes close. Some reviews I’ve read have mentioned how Garbage sounds stuck in the post-grunge 90s or something, which is a ludicrous criticism. Even if it’s true, what’s wrong with that? I like the high production values and the sudden walls of guitar noise. It’s all good. Favorite song: Why Don’t You Come Over, which has an extremely repetitive chorus vocally, helped out by a cool rhythm guitar riff. The closing song, Happy Home, is a tour-de-force. So, anyway, good return to form for Manson, Vig and the guys.
Hot Hot Heat: Elevator
This one is taking a little while to grow on me, but I’m definitely coming around to its charms. It’s got that ultra-compressed vocal style (first popularized by The Strokes, I believe) which I’m getting kind of tired of (it was the one thing I didn’t like about The Killers). Most of the songs have a fast tempo – always a plus for me. Favorite song: Elevator. Even if I didn’t like any of the other songs, this one song would make the whole album worthwhile. Killer chorus.
Kaiser Chiefs: Employment
Now this is what I’m talking about. Oh yeah. Modern Retro BritPop at its best. I’m sure this will make my top ten for the year, even though the year is only just over a third over. The whole thing just makes me happy happy happy. The closest comparison I can think of is to Madness, but they’re better than that. The only thing I don’t like is that the synths often sound cheesy (blip blip blip) and unnecessary. The guitars and vocal harmonies are more than enough to carry the songs. Favorite song: Oh My God, which I like for a lot of the same reasons as the favorite Garbage song above: repetitive chorus vocally with a great rhythm guitar riff.
I’ve submitted a massive online CD order which I’m still waiting on, and I’m hoping there’s going to be some stuff in there that is as good as the above. Chances are good.
Also, eMusic has really been getting in a lot of new stuff lately, and has added albums from Merge Records (including the new Spoon, Gimme Fiction). So I had to upgrade my account there because my “save for later” list is growing way too large.
Will 2005 be as good as 2004, music-wise? Looking good so far.
Latre.
Comments
4 Responses to “Major Label Release Roundup”
May 12th, 2005 @ 1:29 pm
Rog: so glad you’re a-likin’ the K-Chiefs! That album makes me happy, too. I can endorse Spoon’s new one, too, which is lush and warm and lovely.
May 12th, 2005 @ 4:11 pm
Paula, it was from your blog that I first heard about the Kaiser Chiefs, and your description intrigued me enough to put the disc on my “must buy” list. So thanks! Of course, right after that, they became a Buzz Band and I saw them mentioned everywhere favorably.
Will download the new Spoon as soon as my eMusic downloads recharge. Bradley likes it a lot too.
May 12th, 2005 @ 7:27 pm
Didja know that it’s Christina Ricci saying “Please enjoy” on Beck’s “Hell Yes”? Well, it is!
May 12th, 2005 @ 9:22 pm
Hell No!