Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat
(Team Love)
Everyone’s favourite former Troop Beverly Hills star and Rilo Kiley vocalist Jenny Lewis seems to be the current indie It Girl with her new solo release on Conor Oberst’s Team Love label. Rabbit Fur Coat will likely continue to establish Lewis as the go-to girl for the type of beautiful and haunting tracks fans have come to expect from her.
Enthusiasts of Rilo Kiley’s more country-influenced tracks like “I Never” or “The Good That Won’t Come Out” will be pleased with the old-time-y sound of this record, which benefits from backing vocals by the torchy Watson Twins. From the opening bars of “Run Devil Run,” it’s apparent that the songs’ modern Americana style suits Lewis well.
Standout tracks include “Melt Your Heart” (an apt title given Lewis’ velvety vocals), or lead single “Rise Up With Fists” (the video for the song features hilarious comedienne Sarah Silverman and is better than anything you might catch in heavy rotation right now). The only fault of this album is that at a brisk 37 minutes, the listener is left eager for more.
-MARK MERCEREAU
Nightwish – Highest Hopes: The Best of Nightwish
(Universal)
This retrospective comes at a time when this Finnish metal band is just beginning their rise to Lacuna Coil-like status in North America. Their last album, Once, was a big hit on this side of the Atlantic, and this compilation is a good way for new fans of the band to get a taste of their music-but it’s a shame they will never get to hear operatic lead singer Tarja Turunen perform the tunes live, as she was recently ousted from the group.
The greatest hits package contains a good blend of tracks from each Nightwish album, from Angels Fall First through to Once. It’s unfortunate the tracks are not in chronological order, as that would have allowed listeners to hear the development of the band’s sound over time. It’s also too bad the new version of “Sleeping Sun” appears on the CD, as the older one was much stronger and more heartfelt.
Highest Hopes gives the listener a good sense of the theatrical style of the band-an approach that listeners either really love or passionately hate. “The Kinslayer,” “Bless the Child,” “Over the Hills and Far Away,” and “Deep Silent Complete” provide a good overview of the range of Nightwish’s sound.-MATT SOMERS
