Album Review: HolyGhost!

Holy Ghost! first peaked the ears of audiophiles with "Do It Again," a first-class slice of sonic wizardry crammed with shimmering synths, a ferocious bassline and beats all topped off by an "oh oh oh's" that could only be described as deliriously psychotic baby laughter.

The duo provide plenty of heading spinning tricks on other tracks. "It's Not Over" and the ironically titled "Slow Motion" practically spill over with stacks of  booming tom tom drums, frenetic keyboards and at one point, an oddly poignant brass solo. "Static On The Wire," features an elastic bass, smooth falsetto vocals, warm chords and fiery guitar solo, provides a sleek, sultry groove ideal for late nights, and the breathy "Say My Name" give offs a cool, laid back vibe.

But the album's focus turns consistently to pop melodies and more traditional song structure. This was a wise choice, as pulling back the production theatrics leaves room to concentrate on the lyrics, which focus on themes of love, betrayal and loss. "Well you promised/To be honest with me/Were you being honest/Tell me honestly," singer Alex Frankel pleads in "Wait and See." Backed by heavy synthesizers and a slowing pumping bass, the track rides a twinkling melody that echoes in the guitars, samples and keyboards and builds into a giant, Phil Specter-esque melodic sound wall.

Dripping with early 80's new wave sheen, clean, angular guitars and all, "Hold My Breath" mines the same paranoid territory, with Frankel repeating "Took some money from the joint account/I know I know I know I'm runnin' out but/I found a woman in a photograph/Good guess, good guess, good guess." The emotional "Jam For Jerry" laments the untimely death of the band's drummer. "It surrounds me/Drowns me in it/If I change it all I would/If only I could," he sings mournfully.

If any track seems to meld Holy Ghost!'s pop ambitions with sheer sonic audacity, it's album closer "Some Children." Somber chorus harmonies weave in and out over a bouncy, grooving bassline, while jittery synths flutter by and rise and fall from the shadows. All while Michael McDonald serves as guest star vocalist....oh yeah, that Michael McDonald. The song manages to be cutting edge, catchy, joyously danceable and beautifully melancholic all at once.

Holy Ghost! is a frighteningly hooky, compulsively listenable debut that dares you not to bust a move.

5/5

Album Review: Hot Sugar: Muscle Milk

Hot Sugar creates a fun, adventurous landscape on his debut EP. The opener "Violence" seems like an ironic title for the first minute in, all bird calls and twinkling bells, before cavalcade of crushing synths, snapping snares and stuttering drums that rattle like rusty tin blades. "The Seagull" manages to be both playful and menacing, with deliriously high pitch distorted tones warbling in and out beside foreboding stabs of fat brass.

Versatility and coherently combining opposite musical tones seems to be Hot Sugar's specialty. "Not Tonight" and "Tarzanite" are R&B workouts that simultaneously sound organic and digitized, while "Color Wars," featuring Aaron Earl Livingston, dives headfirst into the kind of soulful psychedelia perfect for zoning out at the club or zoning out from reality.

One of Muscle Milk's standout cuts however, is the industrial-hip hop mashup "Don't Cut Down My Tree." By turns claustrophobic and spacious, the track is full of twisting, grinding and suffocating samples, whizzing synthesizers, spliced up drums and a bassline so filthy that you'll have to wash your ears out afterward. Next to this, "Motorcycle Man," a piece of bubbly electronic pop, sounds like kid stuff. Hot Sugar still has an Ace in the hole though, the delightfully nasty and laid back "F*ckable," featuring a thumping memorable bass that springs out of the speakers and a well of guitar funk so deep it'd make Prince shed a tear, or at least give a certified falsetto shout.

The only problem with Muscle Milk is that the party ends much too soon. But ultimately that's a good thing, because it only creates anticipation to see what Hot Sugar can do with a full-length album.

4.5/5

Album Review: Verse The End

On their debut EP Heavy Hearts And Counterparts, Nyack, New York-based quintet Verse The End bring together the often disparate worlds of pop, rock and metal. Combining pop melodies, crushing riffs and metallic power chords, the band creates a sound reminiscent of Killswitch Engage and Jimmy Eat World, or the Foo Fighters at their heaviest.

Double time bass drums abound on "Garden State Romance," while gentle piano keys glide alongside gargantuan guitars and retching screams on "Misery Missouri." Soaring harmonies and winding riffs mark "Scratching The Surface," which also incorporates a bit of synthesizer.

"Ripe With Envy," the EP's last track, switches up the formula slightly, shifting tempos from waltz-style swing to driving aggression. Lyrically the band consistently turns to themes of betrayal, heartbreak and other heavy-hearted material. "Seeing you with him/Has me exposed/Feeling diposed," vocalist Michael Berean sings on "Ripe With Envy" while "Garden State Romance" offers a similarly dim view of romance. "Just when I thought/You were something/Something I could hold onto/I'm finding mistakes/And fault lines."

 While the tracks can occasionally sound a little samey, Heavy Hearts and Counterparts is a hard, hooky gem that showcases a talented band with plenty of potential to become the next big thing.

4/5

Album Review: A Brilliant Catastrophe (Beta)

"One year I can save a nation/Now I'm reduced to my orientation/Tell me why did you change your mind," B Slade sings in album opener "Brian's Lament," a somber starting point for the follow-up to A Brilliant Catastophe's alpha version. The album's emotional lyrics spin a loose narrative of isolation, loneliness, determination and spiritual redemption.

Album Review: 40 Watt Hype Push

"Only the strong survive," vocalist/MC/multi-instrumentalist Aaron Wall sings on the album opener of the same name. While he's talking about life in general, he could also be referencing his status as a white guy maneuvering in the worlds of rap, R&B and Spanish-flavored music.

"Can U Dig" and the bilingual, Latin-style "Tu Bien Sabes" continue the will-to-survive theme with lyrics detailing breakups and baby mama drama. Wall flexes his storytelling muscles on the somber "Echoes," detailing the trials of inner city life with lines like"5 to 1 says you don't make it out the gate/4 to 1 says you don't make past the 12th grade/3 to 1 says you don't make to see 23/2 to 1 says you end up in the penitentiary." The bouncy "Mas y Mas," mines similar territory, criticizes those who "All the freedom but/Don't want the fight."

Musically Wall and his band also hold their own. The album is a melting pot of genres, featuring straight-forward hip hop ("Feel My Music"), mid-tempo R&B/soul jams ("The Messenger, "Wannabe") and Latin tracks "Mas Y Mas" and "Tu Bein Sabes," complete will exotic horn riffs, conga drums and Wall's Spanish flow, which rings with authenticity and respect for Latin music.

"Echoes," with its full, rich backing vocals courtesy of the Grace Gospel Choir, takes on an anthem-like tone. Overall Push is a diverse, fun effort that should leave little doubt about 40 Watt Hype's survival.

3.5/5

Album Review: Otis Grove: The Runk

Remember crunk? That mix of booming 808 bass, drum machines, sinister samples and screamed, one-syllable chants that gave birth to countless strip club anthems ("Get Low" anyone?) and provided the soundtrack to countless nightclub brawls? Which would account for about 80 percent of Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys' music. Well maybe not 80 percent. But at least 50 percent tops.

Well make way for runk, a mix of funk and rock birthed by Boston trio Otis Grove. Drawing on those genres as well as R&B, jazz and hip hop, the band comes up with some truly unique sounds. Album opener "Monark," with its blistering, distorted riffs and maniacal organ, sounds like Metallica dropping in on a New Orleans church service, while the collision of twin guitar solos and whirling, eerie synthesizers sound like a long lost Red Hot Chili Peppers track.

The laid back guitar licks and bright organs of "Uncle Runky" would feel right at home at a afternoon barbecue. "Waiting," crafts a seductive mix of minimalist licks and sharp drums before surrendering midway to a monstrous groove of floor-shaking bass, fiery, frenetic guitar solos and a wailing wall of organ sound. Brash funk freakout, "Fausto" with its fuzzy distortion, rubber-band bass, is another standout track.

Otis Grove are clearly talented musicians, able to both improvise and snap back into the melody at a moment's notice. Sam Gilman coaxes a endlessly array of sounds out of his organ, electronic piano and mellotron, while guitarist Tyler Drabick and drummer Blake Goedde display enough versatility to keep with Gilman's experimentation. It would be interesting to hear what the band would sound like with words and vocal melodies. But Otis Grove have provided more than enough ways for listeners to get runk.

4/5

Album Review: Big Jaw: Appetite For Construction

You'd never expect a guy dressed like Don Draper to rock, but Clint Roth, the mastermind behind Big Jaw, proves he's up to the task. Though only six tracks long, Appetite For Construction shows great versatility and personality.

"I'm Gonna Take You Home Tonight" mines gritty, blues-based rock territory in both sound--a wall of huge power chords and searing solos--and lyrics, with Clint singing "I know you're feeling/What I'm feeling/Just know that I'm gonna take you home tonight." "One Thing" continues in the same vein, combining monster riffs with an "I'll make you mine" lyrical manifesto.

"Darla" shows a flash of introspection, as Roth nervously contemplates the idea of always and forever. "It always seems like no one's ever happy/With what marriage brings/Why would we mess with a good thing," Roth sings to his lover, encouraging to her to take mind off matrimony and live in the moment. The new wave sounding "Wait," with its tender "doo doo" background vocals, bouncy, harmonic guitars and subtle electronic effects, is another standout.

Roth returns to blues-rock for the explicit kiss-off "#8," and album closer "We Can Have It All." The latter track finds the singer both reminiscing over and trying to mend a broken relationship. "Come be with me/Let's try to have it all/At least right now," Roth pleads. Perhaps Roth is more like his fashion inspiration in more than just appearance. Like Draper, he's living like there's no tomorrow, because there isn't one. Appetite For Construction transforms this urgency in a fun, versatile album.

4.5/5

Album Review: The Hours: It's Not How You Start It's How You Finish

"Everybody gets knocked down/How quick are you gonna get up," Hours' vocalist Antony Genn asks in "Ali In The Jungle." In actuality it's not a question so much as a command. Genn and bandmate Martin Slattery's debut release It's Not How You Start, It's How You Finish, contains many more of these self-empowerment platitudes.

"When you're goin'  through hell/You gotta keep going," Genn urges in "These Days," another take-life-by-the-balls anthem. "I need something to believe in/Before I lose my mind," he sings with an undercurrent of urgency. And if there is one recurring lyrical theme on It's Not How You Start, it's that there's little time to waste. For The Hours, the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and its time for humanity to rise up and save both it and ourselves. Apathy is a dirty word. As Genn sings in "Big Black Hole," "It's time to cut the umbilical cord/And stand up on your own."

Album Review: B Slade: A Brilliant Catastrophe

It's certainly been an interesting journey for B Slade, the artist formerly known as Tonex. Last year he became the first gospel singer to come out of the closet, a decision that effectively ended his working relationship with the mainstream gospel music industry. However, with wardrobes consisting of multi-colored mohawks, furs, scarfs and platform boots, and music that embraced everything from R&B to electronica-inspired pop, B Slade never fit the mold of a traditional gospel star. Even Kirk Franklin never strayed that far from the format.

Album Review: Le Vice (Self-Titled)

The words “live band” and "organic" have become increasing rare in describing R&B and hip hop acts, as many artists have journeyed into the land of Auto-Tune, drum machines, and purely electronic production, never to return. San Francisco-based foursome Le Vice seek to bring live music lovers back to the promise land however, blending sampling and DJ techniques with a sound that combines dance grooves and indie rock guitars. Hip-hop hipster funk if you will.

Album Review: Tera Melos Pantagonian Rats

It's hard to pin down the sound of Tera Melos' full-length debut Pantagonian Rats. The songs--with titles like "The Skin Surf," "Aped," and "Trident Trail"--include everything from crashing guitars drowned in distortion to eerie background vocals and a jazz combo. And perhaps that's the point. But what is clear is that Tera Melos know a good musical hook when they hear it, and Pantagonian Rats is full of them.

Album Review: Priscilla Renae Jukebox

Twenty-one year old You-Tube sensation Priscilla Renae has more to her than meets the eye. While her first single, the independence anthem, "Dollhouse" sounds like standard issue dance pop (very good standard issue dance pop thank you very much), the rest of her debut Jukebox, is a diverse exploration of her musical influences.

The Florida native channels piano-heavy pop ("Love Sick," "Bacon and Eggs") acoustic ballads ("Pretty Girl," "Stone Garden") and hip hop-soul/funk mash-ups("Rockabye Baby"). Insecurity is the topic on the album closer "Fixing My Hair," where Priscilla feels she may not measure up to her man's expectations. "Either way you tell me I'm so pretty/I need to hide all of my insecurities."

"Rockabye Baby," tells of the woes of teenage parenthood, playing on old nursery rhymes with the lyrics "Little Miss Mary Mack/Got buttons all down her back/She let Georgie loosen them up/And now her belly's fat." Things don't get much better for Georgie and Mary by the third verse. "Screamin' Georgie Pordgie let me in/Saying not by the hair of my chinny chin chin/She scribbled down I hate you on his subpoena papers."

The bouncy "Mr. Workabee" takes to task a workaholic boyfriend who forgets he's "got a queen at home,"  and call outs the potential cheater, singing "The buzz around town is you creep around/So what are you workin' on." But it isn't all broken teenage dreams and heartbreak. The playful kiss-and-make up jam "Bacon and Eggs" and head over heels pop rock of  "Love Sick" balance out the more somber moments. Although she can really let loose vocally, Priscilla smartly exercises restraint, only giving the tracks what they need instead delving into diva belting.

If Jukebox has any flaws, it's that it gets a little too ballad heavy towards the end. Having another uptempo dance track could've broken up the album's slow pace. It'd be easy to compare Priscilla Renae, who played most of the album's guitar and piano parts, to Sara Bareilles, FeFe Dobson or a pre-Rated R Rihanna. While she's certainly has similarities with those artists, Jukebox proves she has her own identity.

4/5

Listen to a few of Jukebox's best tracks below:

Dollhouse

Lovesick

Rockabye Baby

Fixing My Hair

Album Review: Big Boi Sir Luscious Left Foot...Son Of Chico Dusty

In bands or duos, fans and critics always find a way to relegate the individual members, no matter how talented, to individual roles. In the case of Outkast, Big Boi was cast as the earthy, street everyman to Andre's 3000's P-Funk mothership fashion statements and extraterrestrial lyrical prowess. While 2003's Speakerboxx showed Big Boi's knack for making smooth, futuristic funk, Sir Luscious Left Foot, his first proper solo disc, proves there's room for more than one musical genius in Outkast.

Album Review: The Limousines Get Sharp

"The kids are disco dancin'/They're tired of rock n' roll/Don''t bother telling them that drum machines ain't got no soul," vocalist Eric sings in The Limousines' Buggles-inspired "Internet Killed The Video Star." Don't take this statement at face value however. The San Francisco-based act, made up of Eric and beatmeister Gio, seem set on proving that the groove is not only in the feet but in the heart as well.

Pink "Funhouse" Review

"So what/ I am a rock star/I got my rock moves/And I don't need you tonight," Pink roars in "So What," a classic mix of the singer's trademark sarcasm and smart-ass attitude. Newly single, it would seem that Pink would be ready to mingle, and while Funhouse offers up her usual bravado ("So What" and "Bad Influence"), lyrically the album consistently turns inward.

"I don't wanna be the girl that has to feel the silence/The quiet scares me/Cause it screams the truth," she sings over booming drums, atmospheric backing vocals, strings and sparse electric guitar on "Sober," one of several tracks hinting that while she and ex-husband Corey Hart are back together now, it was a hell of a journey from divorce court to video cameos.

"I Don't Believe You" mines similar introspective territory. "Looks like/You've given up/You've had enough/But I want more/No I won't stop," Pink sings somberly, suggesting that it wasn't easy for her to throw in the towel. In "Mean" she gets more explicit: "The shower it reminds me you'd undress me with your eyes/ And now you never touch me and you tell me that you're tired."

Musically, the album is a mix of straightforward pop/rock("Please Don't Leave Me"), acoustic jams ("Crystal Ball") and hip hop/dance/rock mashups ("It's All Your Fault," "Funhouse"). My only compliaint is that the album could've have used one more "So What"-style anthem to balance out the ballads. Whatever genre she chooses to play with however, it's clear that Pink hasn't let the mirrors in her funhouse distort her true emotions, and delivers an honest, if less upbeat, album.

4.5/5

Kanye West: 808's And Heartbreak

To the average rap fan, it looks like Kanye West has lost his mind. After spending three albums establishing himself as a credible MC (although he's still no Rakim or Andre 3000 on the mic), Ye' ditched rhyming for singing, picked up an Auto-Tune, the current scourge of rap, and abandoned his College Dropout theme(for the uninitiated, this album was supposed to be Good Ass Job). Top all that off with his current Half-Pint glasses wearing, knatty suit and Captain Ahab beard look, and you have a recipe for a falling off of epic proportions.

If first single "Love Lockdown" was any indication, Late Registration this ain't. 808's and Heartbreak more than lives up to its title, as booming basslines collide with other-wordly samples and strings to provide a fresh canvas for West to spin tales of love drama and regret.

"My friend showed me pictures of his kids/And all I could show him were pictures of my cribs/ He said his daughter got a brand-new report card/And all I got was a brand-new sportscar," West sings in "Welcome To Heartbreak." No longer the fame-hungry new kid on the block, West now seems all too aware of the downsides of stardom. "Do you think I sacrificed a real life/For all the fame and flashing lights," Wests asks in "Pinocchio Story" the live freestyle that closes the album. Now in his early 30's the Louis Vitton Don seems to looking inward, questioning if it was all worth it. Bragging and ego-trips are few and far between.

Heartbreak, both romantic and otherwise, is another recurring theme. "Didn't you know i was waiting on you/Waiting on a dream that'll never come true," West sings in "Bad News" one of several tracks detailing the dark side of love. "Tell every one that you know/That i dont love you no more," he growls on "See You in My Nightmares," while in "Robocop," West fires off sardonic lines at a neurotic girlfriend hell bent on knowing his every move.

Undoubtedly the death of West's mother Donda West influenced the album's subject matter, and serves as inspiration for "Coldest Winter." Backed by sparse instrumentation and tribal drumbeats, West questions whether he can ever love again and ponders past actions. "If spring can take the snow away/Can it melt it away all our mistakes."

While the album's emotional honesty makes it a compelling listen, West could've done more with the tracks. Some come across as too flat and don't match West's dynamic delivery. Other tracks, such as "Say You Will" lumber on for too long and disrupt the album's flow. And does Lil' Wayne have to be on everyone's album this year. I mean did 'Ye really pay $75,000 for that verse? Also it wouldn't have hurt to have dropped at least a couple of 16's.

These complaints aside, with 808's and Heartbreak, West drops the bravado and endless boasting to deliver his most personal and revealing work.


3.5/5