TV on the Radio – Dear Science (Interscope)
TV on the Radio have always been enigmatic. Yet their startling vocal rhythms, jarring guitars, and inexplicable titles (Return to Cookie Mountain) are part of the fun of figuring them out. And damned if they can’t throw together a deadly single—anyone who could resist grooving to 2006’s “Wolf Like Me” is hardly human.
On their third album, the quintet manages to keep the funk while eschewing the prog sidelines that were Cookie Mountain’s only misstep. The biggest surprise, however, is “Family Tree,” the band’s best ballad since 2004’s achingly wanton “Dreams.” Over a hushed beat, vocalist Tunde Adebimpe murmurs the history of love, loss, and lynchings. Suffice to say this isn’t your typical Coldplay single.
Dear Science is strong all the way through to the insanely sexy closer “Lover’s Day,” in which each instrument rises to meet climactic lyrics like “there are miracles/under your sighs and moans.” You can practically hear the panties sliding to the floor.
Beneath all the desireis a band so adventurous that they deserve all the accolades that have been pressed on them for years. It’s only fitting that the boys dedicate this album to science—the most mysterious and engrossing study of all. Album of the year? Quite possibly.
—Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy
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Oasis -Dig Out Your Soul (Sony BMG)
By now, most of us are sick of hearing the same deluded refrain that comes with every new Oasis album—“Their best since Morning Glory!” So let’s dispel that moronic notion right away: Dig Out Your Soul cannot be considered among the best of Oasis’ seven records. It seems chief songwriter Noel Gallagher has been searching for inspiration and grasping for straws since the coke-fuelled mess that was 1997’s Be Here Now. While it may have been decadent, unlike recent efforts, it produced noteworthy results.
With each new Oasis release, Britpop fans (myself included) pine for a return to form. Hope is offered by arguably their best single in a decade, the propulsive “The Shock of the Lightning,” but the album is undone by plodding psychedelic touchstones on “The Nature of Reality,” and “Waiting For the Rapture.”
Mercifully, there are a few highlights buried in the mire. Noel’s “Falling Down” starts as a whispery ballad and ascends to the kind of anthem that was abandoned in favour of pub ditties on 2005’s Don’t Believe the Truth. Liam’s mildly pleasant ballad “I’m Outta Time” pilfers shamelessly from John Lennon, but it’s got a hummable melody, and on a record like this one, that’s saying a lot.
Don’t let the brainwashed Britpop boosters fool you—Oasis haven’t got their mojo back, and its return is looking less likely all the time.
—Rob Duffy
Rise Against – Appeal To Reason (Geffen)
For a time in the mid ‘90s, political punk took a hit due the well being of the economy. It was hard to sell a bleak outlook on civilization when things seemed so rosy. Fast-forward to the current economic landscape, and Rise Against may finally be taken seriously.
As far as the music is concerned, Appeal To Reason is familiar territory for the Chicago quartet. The album starts off with the blistering rocker “Collapse (Post-Amerika),” designed to incite thinking man’s mosh pits all over the Warped Tour. The melodic choruses keep coming in the form of repetitive radio-friendly punk rock like “From Heads Unworthy,” which takes an up tempo verse and careens out of nowhere into a dramatic, slowed down refrain complete with gang vocals. But it wouldn’t be a proper Rise Against album without a randomly out-of-place ballad like “Hero of War,” a stripped-down acoustic number with lyrics taken from letters by soldiers serving in Iraq. Unfortunately this half hearted effort only secures Geffen’s ballad clause in the band’s contract after the success of “Swing Life Away.”
Rise Against deliver their treatises on the environment, the military, and animal rights capably and with ample conviction. They haven’t progressed much musically, but they’ve outdone their peers simply by avoiding the tired George W. Bush observations they were making five years ago.
—JP Kaczur
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Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue (Warner)
Jenny Lewis combines introspective country-twinged songs that recall her first solo effort, Rabbit Fur Coat, with instrument-heavy, melodic gems to create a perfect combination on Acid Tongue.
The album is strengthened by a variety of contributors including Elvis Costello, Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes), Lewis’ boyfriend Jonathan Rice (pardon the gossip) and Jason Boesel (drummer for Lewis’ day job Rilo Kiley). Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward (of She and Him) make an appearance on “Pretty Bird”, with Deschanel providing backing vocals on a number of tracks. This indie-darling team up of Deschanel and Lewis seems almost inevitable—both grew up as Southern Californian actresses who eventually explored their passion for music.
Where her last solo album focused on Lewis’ mother, Acid Tongue gives us a glimpse of her father, particularly on highlight “The Next Messiah.” “See Fernando” has been around for years as a performance favorite, but only now sees the light of day on record. The album’s unquestionable standout is “Pretty Bird,” which showcases Lewis’ songwriting talent, fully formed.
Though the songs sound similar to Rabbit Fur Coat, Lewis proves she has a style all her own.
—Shauna C. Keddy
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Senses Fail – Life Is Not A Waiting Room (Vagrant Records)
Longtime screamo whipping boys Senses Fail can officially be considered rock veterans with the release of Life Is Not A Waiting Room on indie powerhouse Vagrant Records. The band members hadn’t finished high school when their first EP From the Depths of Dreams was released in 2003, yet they’ve admirably managed to stay afloat, improving their musicianship and songwriting with each release.
While their third full-length gets off to a slow start with the meandering opener “Fireworks At Dawn”, it kicks into overdrive with single, “Family Tradition.” The song functions as an entry into the annals of arena emo, complete with a massive chorus and deeply personal lyrics that read like a candid AA meeting transcript The album’s standout is the ballad “Yellow Angels,” showcasing guitarists Garret Zablocky and Heath Saraceno’s penchant for atmospherics and lead singer Buddy Nielsen’s vocals. While Neilsen’s voice has long been a point of contention (he’ll never be confused for Mariah Carey), it’s come a long way.
Senses Fail has not produced a transcendent album by any means, but it’s hard to fault a band for developing a simple, winning formula and sticking to it. They have developed from a laughing stock into a respectable band with an improving catalogue and likely, a lengthy career ahead.
—JP Kaczur
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