Tuka - Feedback Loop - released October 2012 (Big Village records)

Genres: Alternative Rap

This is an extremely well put together album from an artist I had no idea existed in a genre I don't usually think of Australian's fitting too often. Australian hip-hop artists have always perplexed me as our accents are a little goofy for this kind of music. The artist Tuka (pronouced tuck-a) flows very well with the music and can , on occasion, sing, although with not much range. The music behind him is tight and concise with a bounce that feels more of the world that Kool Keith and Aesop Rock inhabit.Tuka doesn't overstep himself or try to force his writing so as to come off as 'edgy', the focus is on the rhyme to accentuate the beat. Lyrically he's a little juvenile at times but it's in a charming fashion.

Tuka is part of a trio known as Thundamentals (their site is linked here)  and this is his second solo effort. How he punctuates his own identity away from the group is lost on me as I only know of this album. I will say that Tuka's presence is the most noticeable on the entirety of the album and the occasional guests don't move the spotlight away from him. Tuka's timing an tone are all of a high-calibre

Usually Tuka quick-fires his rhymes and this can make the verses blend together until they've been listened to a few times. The first half of the record has the strongest ideas and major choruses with 'Time & Space' ,'Die a Happy Man' and the title track but the second half has a few memorable moments in 'Dodo Bird', 'Next Door' and 'Mr. Inside'. .

If I could level a few criticisms at the record it would be to point out that there is not too much range to the presentation, the tempos are mostly similar and this can make the final parts of the album seem longer than they are.

All in all, this was well worth more than one listen through and I might be listening for a while longer.

RATING: 4/5 

Below is a video for the track 'Die a Happy Man' 

Noah and the Whale - Heart of Nowhere - released May 6th 2013 (EMI/Virgin)

Genres: Folk-pop, soft-rock

This album is apparently paired with a short-film of the same title which may be able to provide some context but that is all lost on me as all I get is the music and this music is so out of place in 2013 it is just weird. I had never heard of this band before purchasing this and looking at the cover of seven people all in the same white jump-suit with corporate logos I thought it was some kind of arty-rock or possibly something that had a dark focus. What I got was a horrible folk-pop album which sounds like the mid-1980's in a really bad way. I am not exaggerating, the sound of the 1980's is on this disc, in all its plastic glory. All the drums sound inorganic which brings the 'folk' part of the genre I put these guys into above into question. The singing is of the 'whinge & whine' variety. The melodies are tempos are from soft-rock or possibly roots-rock genres. The lyrics are the folk genre standards of regret and melancholy and the for the most part are generic 'you went with the other guy but you were wrong' nonsense. This album is far too precious about everything and feels calculated to fault. 

FIRST IMPRESSION: What the f**k is this s**t? It sounds like the Travelling Wilburys without any personality. 

FINAL IMPRESSION: It's really boring and is someone else's nostalgia. It's just weird. Avoid this unless you like moping around in cold/wet weather and wondering why your one-true-love doesn't feel the same about you as you do about them. 

RATING: 2/5

Here is the song 'There will come a Time' from the album Heart of Nowhere by Noah and the Whale. 

Soundtracks that were better than the movie - He Got Game 1998

He Got Game was directed by Spike Lee and released in 1998 and was not an entirely bad film but it was a very unfocused one. 

The plot is Denzel Washington plays a guy named Jake Shuttlesworth, who has an incredibly talented athlete for a son (played by real life basketball star Ray Allen) who is said to be the best prospect for college basketball as he is just exiting high-school. Jake no longer talks to his son or has any kind of working relationship with him because of his violence against and murder of his spouse and mother of his child that landed him in a long-term prison sentence. Jake is given a deal that if he can convince his son to pursue his college basketball career through the state governor's favorite team he can have a shorter sentence. He is given one week of parole to convince his son to do this. 

The plot of this movie is not the problem, the problem is the extreme amount of layers of ideas and talking points that are shoehorned into this sports-drama. Issues such as African American youth being exploited for their bodies instead of their minds by rich white people, the lust for money, the changing relationships as you grow-up, learning to deal with the past, poverty, structural racism, etc. Spike Lee loaded this film with details and it weighs down the entire mid-section. The mid-section of this overly long film tries to convey the confusion felt by Ray Allen's character on who he should trust and what does he actually want but it is laborous to sit through. Denzel Washington's character should have been the focus as he is facing the prospect of trying to reestablish a relationship with his son only because he wants to use him to get out of prison and this is explored and it is far more interesting to watch. The movie just meanders through its mid-section where you know the inevitable show-down between father and son on the basketball court is going to happen and it just takes too long for it to transpire. 

The main problem with the movie is that professional sports using young disadvantaged kids as prospects for rich white men to profit from is a very real topic but a drama involving the father possibly manipulating his son just muddies the water. This topic has been dealt with better in other places, it was dealt with head-on in the excellent 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams directed by Steve James and more lightheartedly in the 1996 romantic-comedy Jerry McGuire directed by Cameron Crowe where the issues underscored the reality of the situations involved so people could comprehend why Tom Cruise's sports-agent character was so conflicted.  

Click this link to watch the entire movie on youtube

The soundtrack was anything but unfocused. 

This soundtrack showed that Public Enemy in 1998 were just as talented as when they were the hot-topic in the late 1980's and early 1990's. It also showed that they hadn't mellowed out their political raps or become decadent by rhyming about hedonistic lifestyles that had become cliche in the rap genre even at this time. All the issues in the film are dealt with better and more entertainingly in this album, the movie should have stuck to the drama felt by its characters, it should not have dwelt on showing the drama the world that surrounded them created.

The issues in the film are here - sports agents profiting on black misery is in 'Politics of the Sneaker Pimps' and the excitement but ultimate dispossibility of those who are young, gifted and black is in 'What You Need is Jesus' and 'Go Cat Go'. PE also tackle how they and many other rappers became obsolete when rich executives felt they weren't profitable enough in the song 'Is Your God a Dog' which also touches on rappers killing each other to add to the conflict. PE address themselves as they hadn't been visible since around 1991 in 'Resurrection', 'Unstoppable' and 'Game Face' where they declare their intentions of not compromising and not backing away from the self-awareness they always preached.

On this album PE showed that they were senior heads at the business of making rap music as the music here does not hold-back but is always tasteful.The beats and music are clear, they have none of the noise and controlled-chaos that characterised their earlier work. They also show that they are seasoned pros at marketing by tactfully modernising their sound without destroying it. PE one-up Puff Daddy (later called P. Diddy then just Diddy but always Sean Combs) by doing the pop-rap staple of taking a well known musical hook and building a rap song over it better than the others with the track 'He Got Game' which uses the tune from Buffalo Springfield's song 'For What it's Worth'. This song was the obvious single and I remember it back in 1998 as getting decent airtime in Australia.

All in all, the soundtrack was focused and hard-hitting. The movie was muddled. 

Here's the song 'Is Your God a Dog'. It doesn't have a real video as the only music video made from this soundtrack, the song 'He Got Game' isn't available in my country. 'Is Your God a Dog' is bit less accessible for the uninitiated but is the stronger song, 

Harry Connick, Jr. - Smokey Mary - released February 2013 (Columbia)

Genres: Jazz-Funk, Vocal Jazz

This album is about celebrating New Orleans and its music. There is a lot of traditional standards type material on this album which has been tuned towards uplifting funk songs that sound like a street party in The Big Easy. Pre-Bop era jazz is mixed with the jazz-funk of the 1970's to give the music a nostalgic and lighthearted bent. The sound of the horns is very bright, clear and ever-present. 

This is the first album Harry Connick Jr. released in 2013 with the second coming out a few weeks back called Every Man Should Know which I'm told isn't as loose or funky as this one but is a bit deeper. This is very light music all the way through. Even the love-lorn songs on this album are dance numbers. In the linear notes Connick tells the tale of starting a 'krewe' or 'parades members' to party with each year called The Orpheus Krewe and enjoying the cultural melting pot of his hometown during celebration time. On this album, he uses lively jazz to sing little clever songs that sound very easy for everyone involved. The centre of attention is Connick's voice and he carries the show along quite well. The music is probably a bit safe but that isn't the point, the point is to carry a party along. 

The train on the front cover is float at Mardi Gras, the album is named after it. The first song is the title track at it signals the start of  reveling. 'S'pposed to Be' is a big happy gospel love song, as in "I'll be with you when I'm s'pposed to be". 'Cuddina Done It', 'The Preacher' and 'Mind on the Matter' are faster funk workouts. 'If I Were Him' is charming and has the line "I'm scared of crying so I sing". 'Dang You Pretty' is corny but at least Connick knows this and has some fun with it. 'Angola (At the Farm)' has a memorable shuffle. 'Nola Girl' makes good use of  flute to have choppy funk line and has some ragtime piano at the end with plenty of low lap-guitar. 'City Beneath the Sea' is a great way to toast New Orleans. 

It ain't nothing but a party. 

RATING: Worth the price of admission. 

There doesn't look like there were any released singles off this album but here's a video of 'City Beneath the Sea' which is an excellent song and can get tears flowing. 

EDIT: I found out that 'City Beneath the Sea' was actually recorded for Connick's 1995 album Star Turtle (so was the song 'Mind on the Matter'). I thought I might add a track from the Smokey Mary album. Below is the title track 'Smokey Mary (Boogie Woogie Choo-Choo Train)' with a stopgap video that isn't official. 

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - released May 20th 2013 (Columbia)

Genres: House, Electronic, Dance

Daft Punk, the French duo of producers/musicians, return to add some nostalgia for your ears. In this outing Daft Punk have looked to recreate many of the sounds of the 1970's, 80's & 90's for today and on the whole their synthesis works. This is light and sweet music meant for times of extroversion. 

Daft Punk so supply a lot of the vocals on the record with the help of a vocoder to make them sound like robots but they rely heavily on guest vocalists to lift the songs away from sounding cold and inhuman. These guest vocalists provide a lot of the best moments. Pharrell Williams gets the best straight dance numbers with two songs 'Lose Yourself to Dance' and 'Get Lucky' where the idea must have been to recapture the vibe of Michael Jackson's Off the Wall album because the mix of nostalgia and excitement is the same. Paul Williams comes in to do a kind of singer/songwriter mini-rock-opera that lasts for over eight minutes and sounds like something off a Jim Henson production. It does have the telltale gurgle of Daft Punk's synthesisers and then vocoder vocals leading the close to the song but they are in the background for the first four minutes. Panda Bear lends some chant-like vocals to accentuate the song 'Do'in It Right'. Julian Casablanca of The Strokes for some reason has his vocals through a vocoder but his song 'Instant Crush' is enjoyable, it sounds like Daft Punk's work from their 2001 album Discovery. I think the only misstep is 'Fragments of Time' with Todd Edwards as it just sounds too much like Jamiroquai to sound distinctive. 

The best moment on the album is the mostly instrumental track 'Giorgio by Moroder' which  has Giogio Moroder talking about getting started in music and his approach with electronic music. Moroder says that he wanted to do an album with sounds from the 50's, 60's, 70's and the sound of the future and this is what led him to the synthesiser. The music behind this little snippet of dialogue sounds exactly like Moroder's work on the Midnight Express soundtrack and other things. This idea of synthesis of different sounds from different decades is the basic idea of the album. 

RATING: 4/5

Here is the song 'Get Lucky' 

Bring Me the Horizon - Sempiternal - released April 1st 2013 (RCA)

Genres: Alternative Metal

The life-problems of teenagers get a workout on this metal album. For this band's credit, they try to make ugly death-metal inspired music sound melodic with toning down the aggression and turning up the electronics to underscore the choruses and adding actual singing. What acts against the band is that this is very much directed at teenagers and young adults. This limits its appeal but this market will probably be lucrative enough to sustain many bands like this. The opening track 'Can You Feel My Heart' sounds like it was made to be put on a Resident Evil movie soundtrack. This song is very much like the kind of stuff put out by bands such as Evenessence and Linkin Park a few years back but with a more shout-a-long chorus. This formula is reused in other tracks such as 'Sleepwalking',  'Empire (Let the Sing)' and 'Go to Hell For Heaven's Sake'. In the song 'Antivist' the singer calls-out people who conform as "c**ts" and on 'Crooked Young' he screams "f**k your faith". This is all tailor made for young people to annoy their parents with. Unfortunately for the band I don't live with my parents anymore and I don't really want to annoy my partner.  

RATING 2/5

Here is the video for the song 'Shadow Moses' 

Alkaline Trio - My Shame is True - released April 2013 (Epitaph)

Genres: Punk-pop, Alternative Rock

This album sounds a lot like the Ramones if they went all sappy and only sung about love - which is not to say this sucks - it's quite good and will probably get you shamelessly singing along much like the Ramones can but the sentiments are all gooey. I had heard a lot of words being said about this band before I picked this album up but none of them convinced my to buy one of their albums until I started this blog.I'm glad with this purchase as the melodies are simple and the performances are energetic and concise. Some of the lyrics have a charming 'heart-on-sleeve' quality that is a little naive but endearing. I heard that this band is of the 'emo' genre (as in 'emotional')  which to me is ill-defined and really vague as all punk-rock and most pop/rock are always about emotional outbursts but I digress. 

The opener 'She Lied to the FBI' is wonderful. It's a ridiculous and simple story of taking the fall for a woman. The following song 'I wanna be a Warhol' blends humour with sincerity and ends with the words "still hung-up on you". The song 'Only Here to Disappoint' never stops being catchy and fun even though its lyrics are a bit of the sad-sack variety.'Kiss You to Death' is a big sappy love song that describes a stock-standard motorcycle-riding-dude and his flame having a big moment. This song probably has the biggest radio friendly chorus on the album followed by 'Only Love' and  'The Temptation of St. Anthony'. There are plenty more highlights in 'I, Pessimist' and 'Torture Doctor' but there is nothing on the album that is terrible. 

This album is brief and gets-in and gets-out in 40 minutes. The music is not anything revolutionary but very enjoyable. Never does the occasionally sappy emotional focus of the lyrics ever take away from this. 

RATING : 4/5

Here is the video for 'I Wanna Be a Warhol' (with Milla Jovavich in it!)

Jose James - No Beginning No End - released Jan 2013 (Bluenote)

Genres: Soul-Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Rhythm & Blues

Jose James sounds a lot like D'Angelo but with more jazz influence, I picked this one out cause it looked interesting and was released by Bluenote who have been behind some of my favorites. There is wide appeal in this album but nothing that could be called selling-out to an R&B radio crowd, this is high quality soul-jazz with a slightly funky R&B feel. James doesn't do anything too crazy on the record, there are no long spoken word tracks or needless soloing by the band behind him, this is tightly composed music for James vocals to shine. With that said, there is a varied approach taken on the album which is quietly adventurous.

Every track on this album is great. The opening track 'It's All Over Your Body' is sexy and smooth without being explicit. 'Sword + Gun' has a slight latin-feel to the horns and is more tense, the vocals wordlessly drone to great affect. 'Trouble' seems like adventurous pop music in that it is almost an R&B song from the 1970's but there is definite jazz leans and modern production. 'Vangaurd' sounds like something A Tribe Called Quest would sample as it is smooth as butter, James's voice drives the thing and he shines brightly. 'Come to My Door' seems like another R&B style single with a big chorus and pop-arrangement. There is a second arrangement of this song at the end that is quieter and is more striking. 'Make it Right' is a funk workout.'Tomorrow' builds it's intensity with spoken word and Jame's singing carries the whole thing gracefully.

I really enjoyed this and I'm glad I picked it up.

RATING: 4.5/5

Here is the song 'Trouble' sung at the Allsaints Basement

David Bowie - Where Are We Now?

Here is another fine video and song by David Bowie's new album I reviewed a few posts back. He quotes German words that make the whole thing seem like a walking dream.

Alice in Chains ' The Devil put Dinosaurs Here' released May 28th 2013 (Capital/Virgin)

Genres: Alternative Metal, Post-grunge

Doom-mongers Alice in Chains return to follow-up their 2009 reunion album with a no-surprises minor-key stare into the darkness. Nothing on this album is truly bad it's just that there is nothing on it that is startling either. The last album these guys made was exactly what was needed from a band that agreed to carry on after their initial vocalist died of an overdose, it was pointing the way to new and fresher music without losing the feel of their best albums from when grunge was the hot-topic. I always felt that the mostly acoustic 1994 EP Jar of Flies was the best thing that this band ever produced and sadly the quieter approach of that album only appears on a few songs here in 'Voices', 'Scalpel' and 'Choke'. These songs have the strongest melodies on the record. Elsewhere the album churns with oppressive guitars that plod along in a morose way. The best doom and gloom songs come from tracks 'Hollow', 'Stone' and 'The Devil put Dinosaurs Here' which you can head-bang really slowly to if you are so inclined. 

There really isn't anything else to be said about this album. Either you're a fan and you'll like it or you're not and will tire pretty quickly of it.  

RATING: 3/5

Here is the video for 'Hollow'

Depeche Mode - Delta Machine - released March 2013 (Columbia Records)

Genre: Alternative Rock, Synth-pop

Filled with emotional extremism, Depeche Mode have crafted a very tense and sexy record. First up, this isn't the most manly record as the lyrical themes are all about self-destruction, trust and obsession but all the songs are filled with tension that suggests various bondage related activities. I really enjoyed it as a guilty pleasure. Thankfully, you don't have to be into leather to enjoy it but it might help, I don't know.

The songs are all slow and tightly wound. There is a lot of silence used and the noise is sparse. The mood suggests harshness but never journeys far into it, which is to say the production value is very high. David Gahan's singing is in line with the synth-pop music from the 1980's which Depeche Mode have mutated from (they have been making music since early 80's) and he sings in the smooth and cold tone that typified that type of music. The single 'Slow' is a real standout that has a kind of smirking sadism and swagger that is enjoyable. Other good moments are up front on the album 'Welcome to My World', 'Angel' and 'Heaven'. All the other tracks are worthy of a listen or two. Only once do the lyrics cross the line into plainly creepy territory which is on the song 'Child Inside' which isn't catchy and seems to be detailing someones abused psyche or something like it. This song seems less 'on a troubled path but down for it' mood that the rest of the album has.

RATING: 4/5 

Here is one of the singles 'Soothe My Soul'. Remember, always practice safe sex. 

Billy Bragg - Tooth and Nail - released March 2013 (Cooking Vinyl)

Genre: Folk

Billy Bragg delivers a uneven bunch of songs that occasionally sound like a bored version of country music but at other times find the sweet middle ground where folk, country, and blues connect. The joke I remember about Billy Bragg is that he had nothing to write about in his political songs after Margaret Thatcher left office because his demon and muse was finally gone. The songs here don't try to mess with politics too much, the political messages that get mentioned are used to colour the character's world but not to rabble-rouse all too much. Bragg has taken a specific approach here, he uses country music as a background to his folk songs and it works for the most part but it is a very laid back version of country music to go with the soul-searching and contemplative mood of the album.

The albums highlights do outnumber the wrong or less engaging moments. 'January Song' is a great lead track. 'No one Knows Nothing Anymore' continues the good work. Then 'Handyman Blues' comes on with its jokey lyrics and really boring arrangement and the flow stops immediately. 'I Ain't Got No Home' picks back up the quality with the world weary and mature approach allowing the slow song to unfold with appropriate gravitas. 'Swallow my Pride' is another good spot much in the same mold. Then there are four songs that aren't especially memorable, 'There Will Be a Reckoning' tries to have the drama of a brash political song but sounds too laid back to work. The reaming three songs are intimate and lovely.

Overall, I think Bragg had a good idea but didn't execute fully. The best moments on this disc were worth the price of admission but this album is for a specific mood and may not appeal to everyone.

RATING: 3/5

Here is the video for Billy Bragg's 'Nobody Knows Nothing Anymore' 

The Flaming Lips - Look The Sun Is Rising (Live)

The Flaming Lips - The Terror - Released April 2013 (Lovely Sorts of Death/Warner Bros.)

Genres: Alternative Rock, Psychedelic-rock, Dream Pop

This is not a 'fun' record but it is a good one. The themes of the album are loneliness, desolation and futility.The band finds ways to push what are essentially pop-songs outward into a kind of lonely hypnotic ambiance. There is a lot of silence used with sudden punctuated melodies. The music only gets noisy in a few places with some scratchy guitar work. Dark and off-kilter, I treasured the little trip this album took me on. It  was not fun but it was thrilling. 

I have never heard the Flaming Lips be anything but weird and exuberantly happy on a record which makes this album a bit of a shock. The music takes a while to get under your skin but it rewards repeated listens. The opener 'Look...the Sun is Rising' sets the stage, sounding free but very lost and alone. 'Be Free, A Way' sound further down the spiral or further out in the desert. The sighing vocals push this song along as a tape pulse wavers too far in the background to give any rhythm, it more sounds like a constant wobble. The wobbling is present in the next song 'Try to Explain' and serves much of the same purpose but the chorus is bigger and twinkles a bit. This song too ends in sighing loneliness. 'You Lust' sounds kind of late-night and is quite creepy. 'Butterfly, How Long it Takes to Die' has a lingering weirdness that makes it another stand-out.

Overall, the album is cohesive in its mood. The vocals sore out of the hypnotic music but always seem to sigh back into them just as quickly. This was a very rewarding listen. 

RATING: 4/5 STARS