Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, September 2, 2004
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Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous | 8 out of 10 |
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Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
Indie rock has reached a high-water mark, wherein either bands start to streamline their music, show markings of maturation, or drown.
The champions of indie, the listeners, will one day tire of choppy songs, mediocre vocals, spotty lyrics and a general lack of fine musical craftsmanship.
Thanks be to Rilo Kiley, as they have raised the bar exceptionally high.
Just as the late Elliot Smith did, Rilo Kiley has flaked the scales of inexperience and noisemaking from their hides to create More Adventurous, an album that is, well, pretty goddamn fantastic.
Cry to it; drink in the dark to it; dance around your apartment like a jackass to it; play it for your mother. Just make certain you own it.
A smart and impeccably timed humor comes through on tracks like "It's a Hit," while also seeming to convey some tongue-in-cheek social commentary.
Then the album switches gears on songs like "Ripchord" and "I Never," which are throwbacks - putting one in the mind of a honky-tonk or smoky crooner bar.
Once you think you've put your finger on the pulse of the album, there's a song like "Portions for Foxes," an up-tempo rock track that solidifies Jenny Lewis' vocal abilities - which are seemingly infinite.
Not only is More Adventurous the perfect album at the perfect time in Rilo Kiley's career, it is also the perfect opportunity to expand their fan base.
This is their first album backed by a major label, which may catapult them into the consciousness of a far larger listening base.
As for selling out? Good music is good music, so who the hell cares if they one day pop up on TRL in $600 Hollister "thrift store" clothes.
This is a wonderful and dense album, full of smart, engaging surprises to keep one interested. More importantly, it will keep you on your toes.
- William Whitaker
Modulator - Don't hold out on me
Modulator - Don't hold out on me | 2 out of 10 | Sounds Like - A High School break-up on CD.
See Also - The Cardigans, Wheatus - "Teenage Dirtbag" |
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They were wrong - a famous producer does not make a good band. This easy- listening synth pop sadly boils down to shallow love lyrics and repetitive, boring lollipop sounds.
Neither talented nor sexy, Modulator is desperately trying to get a jump by latching on to well-known producer Ed Buller.
Don't Hold Out On Me, a 10-minute EP containing three tracks, is the result of their collaboration. The first song, "Major Malfunction," is enough to scare the listener away from the whole CD. Lead singer Julie Zamora tries to convince us with the sweetest voice that she is actually a computer - "I was never programmed to be your girl/ but then a major malfunction occurred."
She foolishly repeats the same melody pattern, backed up by sounds that are totally run of the mill.
Track number two, an attempt to be more experimental this time, doesn't make it any better - Julie complaining like a teenager that she can't get a hold of her guy is straight up bad.
Luckily, there is a third song. The lyrics are still cheesy and absolutely immature, but the composition has more overall drive and diversity.
This EP is definitely very well produced and happy teenagers going on a road trip to California in a convertible might even like to wave their arms and sing to it. But it's another easy, undemanding effort for people who have no worries in their life but the good ol' heartbreaking romances.
- Djamila Noelle Grossman
Shifty - Happy Love Sick
Shifty - Happy Love Sick | 2 out of 10 | Sounds Like - LFO attempting to rap.
See Also - Crazytown, Oakenfold. |
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Why Maverick Records ever signed "Shifty" for a solo project will remain a mystery. But the description of his debut album closely resembles his name. Just replace the "f" with a "t."
Happy Love Sick follows the one-hit wonder success of Crazytown, his former band, and their single "Butterfly." And what a wonder that hit was. But this album ends up sounding like an LFO summer tune, with "oohs" and "ahhs" like a boy band and a little bit of rap.
The album contains no variety, neither in subject matter nor the beats used in each song. The majority of the songs seem to be about a girl and use clichéd, vulgar language to talk about true love.
In "EZ Cuz You're Beautiful," Shifty serenades, "no more lonely nights like Bob Marley." This line is a disgrace to the entirety of reggae music. I hope Marley is too high in heaven to hear that line.
The album doesn't offer any redeeming qualities, not even from the single, "Slide Along Side." Although the album claims to be a throwback to the days of Sublime, Shifty seems to be stuck somewhere in between a pop world and a rap fantasy.
It's obvious that he was cramped for another song, because he included the somewhat successful collaborative single with Oakenfold, "Starry Eyed Surprise." I assume he was hoping to get some sales with that alone, but my advice is to buy Oakenfold's record instead; it's on that.
Although the cover is colorful, do not be deceived. Stay away from the brightness, Happy Love Sick will make you just that... sick.
- Lauren Hillery
Young Buck - Straight Outta Ca$hville
Young Buck - Straight Outta Ca$hville | 3 out of 10 | Sounds Like - He supports firearm use.
See Also - G-Unit, 50 Cent, Lil' Flip. |
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Welcome to Ca$hville muthafuckas. As charming as that may sound to some, this album is definitely not the best G-Unit's very own Young Buck has to offer. Or maybe it is ... and he just sucks.
I'll admit, some songs are tight, including "Look at Me," which features nice vocals by Denaun Porter and a sweet beat. But for the most part, the songs are clichéd, the beats redundant, and Young Buck doesn't rap about anything that has not been rapped before.
It's no shock that this album serves as a portal into thug life, black-on-black violence, nine-millimeters, drugs, imprisonment, rape and pimped-out rides. But hey, rapping about all of the above launched 50 Cent's career, so why not?
Young Buck's first single, "Let Me In," of course, includes an appearance by 50 Cent, as do "I'm a Soldier" and "Do It Like Me." The album begins with the aforementioned welcome on "I'm a Soldier," which also features 50 Cent singing the chorus.
"Bonafide Hustler" features, you guessed it, 50 Cent and also G-Unit's Tony Yayo. But, like every track, ain't nuthin' original about repeating lines like, "I'm a bonafide hustler/nigga get outta line I'll cut ya/me, I'm 'bout my paper, it's fuck ya/if you play games with mine/I'll come at you from behind with my nine."
On second thought, that is kinda catchy, huh? Formulas will always sell, I guess.
After leaving the nest to pursue a solo career, Young Buck proves that practically any thug from any project with any rapping ability whatsoever can make it in the music industry as long as he's got connections. Being original and refreshing, however, are apparently not prerequisites.
- Kylee Dawson
Palomar - Palomar III: Revenge of Palomar
Palomar - Palomar III: Revenge of Palomar | 8 out of 10 | Sounds Like - Making out with your camp counselor.
See Also - Yo La Tengo, Azure Ray, Mates of State. |
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The beginning of classes marks the end of summer. But with its new record from Brooklyn, N.Y., the quartet Palomar comes out of its jewel case greasy with sunscreen and woozy with heat stroke.
Most of the record consists of mildly upbeat indie-pop reminiscent of Yo La Tengo in "Sugarcube" mode. Much of the record's charm seems to emanate from the two-, three- and four-part female/male vocal harmonies. While maintaining a distinctly sunny edge, the vocals never tip over into the dumb ebullience of a Polyphonic Spree or Apples (in Stereo).
On "Not Earned" the band glides along over straightforward, watery chords as the vocal harmonies lilt just subtly enough to bring out the melody. One song later, on "The Lost Freshman," a restless bass-line wanders in and out of the bubblegum rhythm and straining, repetitive solo lines.
Though Palomar III - Revenge of Palomar boasts 14 tracks, the record clocks in at a slim 37 minutes. The band seems to have a rare and intrinsic sense of economy in their songs, never superfluously repeating choruses or throwing down a guitar solo that doesn't seem like a structural necessity.
Side two of the album continues in much the same way as the first. There really aren't any surprises, save for the wonderful loud/soft dynamics of "Minory Song." During the loud instrumental breaks between verses, shades of darkness seem to creep in over that almost-pervasive sun until we realize that they had been there all along, waiting in the melody, like the end of summer.
- Mark Sussman
