Staff Reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 23, 1998

Music Meltdown

Lo$ Umbrello$

Flamenco Funk

(Flex Records)

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of months, you've probably heard "No Tengo Dinero" a trillion times on your local radio station. After a while, you begin to wonder if you will ever hear a new song from Al Agami, Mai-Britt and Grith, better known as Lo$ Umbrello$.

It's pretty safe to say that the trio has cashed in on its 15 minutes of fame. Hell, it probably got a couple of extra minutes that it really didn't deserve.

The album, Flamenco Funk, proves that originality is not necessarily a requirement to get a record deal these days. The tracks show little difference from one another, while Mr. Agami offers up lame lyrics, most of which have been hijacked from other emcees.

The title track, "Flamenco Funk," pathetically attempts to interpolate Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" - it's enough to make any old school hip-hop fan cry.

Lo$ Umbrello$ also try their best in an attempt to remake Ric Ocasek's "Drive." No such luck. Finally, the trio tries to use "The Theme From Rawhide" in "Running." Man, somebody better call the sheriff.

In essence, if you have heard "No Tengo Dinero," you've heard all 10 songs on this album, as each track uses weak Latin swings and corny lyrics.

Is there even one track that stands out as being decent? Yeah, but you have already heard it. If you really like the song and aren't sick of it yet, buy the single.

Chalk another one up for the one-hit wonders.

- Joel Flom

Madonna

Ray of Light

(Maverick)

Are you a Madonna junkie? Dig out Bedtime Stories and listen to "Bedtime Story." That's the gist of her new album.

Ray of Light is Madonna's most intimate self-portrait since 1989's Like a Prayer. She's a mother now and the song to her daughter Lourdes ("Little Star") contains the words, "You make my spirit whole." With motherhood, Madonna's outlook has evolved. In "Nothing Really Matters," she confesses, "Looking at my life / It's very clear to me / I lived so selfishly."

Meanwhile, "Mer Girl" is Madonna's struggle to find her identity. The queen of transformation is finally trying to transform into herself. And her new religion is found in "Shanti/Ashtangi," with lyrics taken from the Yoga Taravoli.

Madonna succeeds in creating a new sound for her music, infusing it with whispers of electronica, but she still has some solid dance tunes ("Candy Perfume Girl" and "Sky Fits Heaven") and the obligatory sex song ("Skin").

The music is slower, and ethereal in many places. Occasionally, it sounds like a new age meditation album. "Frozen" is the most orchestrated piece and the Spanish influence that exploded in "La Isla Bonita" is still apparent in the maracas rhythm of "To Have and Not to Hold." Madonna's stint as Evita is evident in the fuller vocals and the clear pronunciation of lyrics.

This is a kinder, gentler Madonna - the Gothic Madonna, if you will - and it rings true. She ends the album with "I'm Still Running Away." Her tracks are worth following.

- Erin Kirsten Stein

Trunk Federation

The Curse of Miss Kitty

(Alias)

Trunk Federation is from Phoenix, and in the face of the dreaded Arizona summer, what could be more refreshing than an Arizona band that doesn't emit that sweaty and bitter anger that stems from hanging out in an un-air-conditioned garage for too long?

The Curse of Miss Kitty is well-crafted pop that sounds vaguely familiar, like some band you know of, but whose name is just out of reach. And then you realize why: because it's pop and that's the beauty of it - songs vaguely familiar enough to pull you in, but equally new enough to be interesting.

Turn on the fan, pop in The Curse of Miss Kitty and you'll find yourself tapping your feet to catchy tunes like "Trunk Lover," "Apples" and a stirring rendition of the Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays" with a melodramatic '90s cynicism to it.

The album has an underlying eerie tone - the songs will stop and start again, as if the band suddenly thought of something bad and had to reconsider. Nonetheless, a jig called "Magnifico the Magician," complete with a screeching fiddle, streaks through towards the end of the album to remind you (just in case you forgot) that pop is, on the surface, goofy.

The Curse of Miss Kitty has a consistent buzz with all sorts of different instruments adding accents here and there - kind of like a sugar high obtained from a variety bag of candy. "Devil in a Catskin" pushes off the album with a call-to-arms marching band circa "Yellow Submarine," and "the Reluctant Thief" plays around with neat high-pitched feedback-like noises and la-la-las to wrap up the field trip.

-Annie Holub

Pure

Feverish

(Mammoth)

My first Pure experience occurred when I listened to the "Hurricane Streets" soundtrack a while back. Their track "Denial" was on the album between Marcy Playground and Supple, two dull indie bands. Pure at first appeared to be another faceless indie rock outfit although after a while I began to groove to the melodies and wailing guitars. The new album, Feverish, isn't really a good indicator of the level this band could reach. The songs lack a sense of originality and all ring with the same tone, monotony.

The first track, "Chocolate Bar," is possibly the best track on the album but really doesn't say much for the band. It appears that the group has talent but it is generally being wasted churning out bollocks like this. Going back to "Denial," it is clear that they decided to change style and leave true ingenuity in the mud. "Feverish," the title track, is not much to chew on with weak lyrics and a dull sound. One song that does break the mold is "The Elvis Hooker." The song itself isn't that good but the name is terrific. If I was a hooker I would be an Elvis hooker, dressed up in a jumpsuit with long burners and three chins. I'm sure someone would pay me ... everyone loves Elvis.

Feverish is dull; pick up another album instead. If you can't afford one, become a hooker. An Elvis hooker.

- James Casey