Gaslight AnthemAmerican Slang
SideOne Dummy
How much real rock'n'roll is out there right now? Yeah, not much. And then, there’s New Jersey’s The Gaslight Anthem
. While the group’s debut Sink or Swim did have a punkish garage rock ethic about it, the 2008 follow-up The ’59 Sound was a move forward, and now there’s the band’s third album, American Slang, confirming the emergence of a great American rock’n’roll band. Singer-guitarist Brian Fallon, guitarist Alex Rosamilia, bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz get even more ambitious, but are never pretentious. Far from it.
Chop Shop Atlantic
The movie was the one guys could finally watch and the soundtrack, out for a few months now, is still in rotation in the wife's car and like the first two from the first two films, is a fine cross-section of major label (yet "alternative") and indie artists. You'll find the very Queen-like "Neutron Star Collision" by Muse, not one of the best, but okay, while the stripper pole bump-grind-and slither of The Black Keys' "Chop and Change" is mighty cool. Also of note are "Heavy in Your Arms" by Florence+The Machine, whose nu-soul-rock deserves a breakout before the year's end, and The Dead Weather's (aka Jack White's latest outfit) "Rolling in on a Burning Tire." There are some solid song picks from Sia, Unkle and Band of Horses, too, among others. Everything's tagged at the end with a taste of the score in Howard Shore's effective "Jacob's Theme," if if you're not on his "team." What really makes it work? It's a soundtrack where it doesn't matter at all if you've seen the film. Also available: The Deluxe Edition
and Twilight: Exlipse the Score
.
Katie Melua
The House
Dramatico
The come-hither cooing of Katie Melua, which made her first three blues-colored pop albums (especially 2006's Piece By Piece) so inviting gets a heavy production treatment her from William Orbit. Still she hasn't gone all dance/electronic here. Yes, there are beat on the rise in "The Flood" and there might be a spinning glittery ball aboce in "Plague of Love," but if anything it's more of a slight shift into Sarah Brightman territory (as when she did Harem
) rather than a full-on dance diva move. The best tracks harken back to her prior records, especially the acoustic "I'd Love to Kill You" and torchy waltz, "A Moment of Madness" and pining "The One I Love is Gone." Melua is almost sinister is "Twisted" then pulls back for the ending atmospheric and semi-ethereal title track.
Fools for Rowan
Twisted, Tied Up Tangled
Lava Lamp Records
Discovered this band popping up on my Jango one day and I clicked the make 'em rather than break 'em. Fronted by singer Erin Mullins, think Paramore a few years ago and you'll get the idea. Fools for Rowan, out of Nashville, pretty much plays straight-ahead rock rather than punky suff, a touch decorous at times, yet honest. The stand-out tracks are "Burnt Around the Edges," which was a single and the riff-slinging semi-title track "Tangled," along with bouncy "It's Alright," and racing "Living Dangerously." Pretty good stuff here, check 'em out.
. While the group’s debut Sink or Swim did have a punkish garage rock ethic about it, the 2008 follow-up The ’59 Sound was a move forward, and now there’s the band’s third album, American Slang, confirming the emergence of a great American rock’n’roll band. Singer-guitarist Brian Fallon, guitarist Alex Rosamilia, bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz get even more ambitious, but are never pretentious. Far from it.Touchstones like brother Bruce (they are from the Garden State, after all), Paul Westerberg and the like can still be found but the band’s truly arrived at its own distinctive sound, also at times recalling the early ‘90s, less polished Goo Goo Dolls.
(they are from the Garden State, after all), Paul Westerberg and the like can still be found but the band’s truly arrived at its own distinctive sound, also at times recalling the early ‘90s, less polished Goo Goo Dolls.From opening rush of “Stay Lucky” to the plaintive challenge of “Bring It Out,” to the finger-snap soulful “The Diamond Church Street Choir” and almost baroque “The Queen of Lower Chelsea,” the band smokes, cooks and also knows when to retreat for reflection. Other highlights include the killer anthem charge of “Orphans” and “Boxer.”
Sure, you can play spot the influence a bit, but it's a good thing. Think of artists past early on where inspirations have colored their records. With American Slang, The Gaslight Anthem has delivered one of the year’s truest rock’n’roll albums. And really, we don’t get many of those anymore.
Chop Shop Atlantic
The movie was the one guys could finally watch and the soundtrack, out for a few months now, is still in rotation in the wife's car and like the first two from the first two films, is a fine cross-section of major label (yet "alternative") and indie artists. You'll find the very Queen
-like "Neutron Star Collision" by Muse, not one of the best, but okay, while the stripper pole bump-grind-and slither of The Black Keys' "Chop and Change" is mighty cool. Also of note are "Heavy in Your Arms" by Florence+The Machine, whose nu-soul-rock deserves a breakout before the year's end, and The Dead Weather's (aka Jack White's latest outfit) "Rolling in on a Burning Tire." There are some solid song picks from Sia, Unkle and Band of Horses, too, among others. Everything's tagged at the end with a taste of the score in Howard Shore's effective "Jacob's Theme," if if you're not on his "team." What really makes it work? It's a soundtrack where it doesn't matter at all if you've seen the film. Also available: The Deluxe Edition and Twilight: Exlipse the Score. Katie MeluaThe House
Dramatico
The come-hither cooing of Katie Melua
, which made her first three blues-colored pop albums (especially 2006's Piece By Piece) so inviting gets a heavy production treatment her from William Orbit. Still she hasn't gone all dance/electronic here. Yes, there are beat on the rise in "The Flood" and there might be a spinning glittery ball aboce in "Plague of Love," but if anything it's more of a slight shift into Sarah Brightman territory (as when she did Harem) rather than a full-on dance diva move. The best tracks harken back to her prior records, especially the acoustic "I'd Love to Kill You" and torchy waltz, "A Moment of Madness" and pining "The One I Love is Gone." Melua is almost sinister is "Twisted" then pulls back for the ending atmospheric and semi-ethereal title track. Fools for RowanTwisted, Tied Up TangledLava Lamp Records
Discovered this band popping up on my Jango one day and I clicked the make 'em rather than break 'em. Fronted by singer Erin Mullins, think Paramore
a few years ago and you'll get the idea. Fools for Rowan, out of Nashville, pretty much plays straight-ahead rock rather than punky suff, a touch decorous at times, yet honest. The stand-out tracks are "Burnt Around the Edges," which was a single and the riff-slinging semi-title track "Tangled," along with bouncy "It's Alright," and racing "Living Dangerously." Pretty good stuff here, check 'em out.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment