Norah Jones—The Fall
VVVV
Right from “Chasing Pirates,” the first single off Norah Jones’ latest album, you can tell that her sound has evolved. The jazzy, melancholic tunes that dominated her previous albums have been replaced by songs that are funkier and more upbeat, yet still heartfelt. When describing The Fall, Jones notes in her press release, “For this record, I just had a sound in my head. I wanted the grooves to be more present and heavy.” It also helps that she collaborated on the album with producer Jacquire King, who has also worked with Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse, and Tom Waits.
The album’s catchiest song, “It’s Gonna Be,” has a memorable opening guitar rift and melodic chorus. Other tracks are more personal, even reminiscent of diary entries: in the soulful ballad “You’ve Ruined Me” Jones tries to deal with a break-up, crooning, “I’m trying to part with what’s in my heart.” The nostalgic “December” is a sentimental lament about yearning for the simplicity that the end of the year brings. “Man of the Hour,” however, features a pitch-perfect parody of the concept of “the perfect man” who only appears to be so.
All in all, The Fall is a catchy, lyrically powerful album and a winning contribution to Jones’ discography to date.—Marianna Ferri
Gazpacho—Tick Tock
VVV
Tick Tock, the sixth album from Norwegian group Gazpacho (yes, named after the soup with a peculiar combination of ingredients), has an epic feel to it. With the resurgence of progressive rock on their side, and following on the heels of their highly regarded 2007 album, Night, Gazpacho (best served cold) achieves moments of both solid musical talent and of plain, ordinary rock.
“Desert Flight” starts off with a convincing electric guitar rhythm from Jon-Arne Vilbo and an almost egotistical drum line courtesy of Robert R. Johansen. But when Jan-Henrik Ohme belts out the grand lyrics, his voice is, to be frank, generic. Don’t get me wrong, this band has talent, and they sound better than most other progressive rock bands out there. But they resemble other groups a little too closely without ever hitting the same level: they have a similar feel to Radiohead, but lack Thom Yorke’s brilliant song composition and style. Gazpacho also shares the same vocal sound as Travis, but again, are missing the trademark catchy hooks and lyrics.
Gazpacho does manage to cut across the musical spectrum, incorporating many different sounds into a coherent whole. The album itself is put together well, including four parts with songs divided into their own layers. (There are three in the case of “Tick Tock,” which features clock sounds reminiscent of the metronome in the piano lessons of my youth, only less annoying.) And perhaps most impressively, with all the different sounds used, each track flows quite flawlessly into the next.—Josh Staav
Various Artists—The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack
VV
Last year’s soundtrack to the Twilight film was an incompatible mix of modern rock’s hits and misses. Cuts from girl-power emo band Paramore and nu-metal survivors Linkin Park felt as awkward as Kristen Stewart’s MTV award acceptance speech. With this year’s New Moon, the saga continues, except with a far more cohesive soundtrack featuring indie rock’s trendsetters and arena fillers. There’s just one problem: will Twilight fans give a shit?
Where Twilight’s first single was the appropriate “Decode” by Paramore, this year the execs have forced Death Cab for Cutie on the millennials. Sadly, the usually reliable Death Cab deliver a dud in “Meet Me On the Equinox.” Teasing a potentially strong chorus and ending abruptly with the line “everything ends,” you can’t help but have the feeling that Ben Gibbard so doesn’t get Edward’s eternal love for Bella. Next, Thom Yorke continues his self-aggrandizing solo project with “Hearing Damage.” Unfortunately, the song title isn’t expository in nature and it fails to explain why Yorke hasn’t written a good song since OK Computer. Featuring his typical “haunting” melodies that sound more lazy than ghastly, the minimalist electronica feels like youthful experimentation that’s lost its naiveté.
Still, the album isn’t without highlights. Band of Skulls and Hurricane Bells deliver solid pop-tinged indie rock that is danceable rather than dour. OK Go bring the collection’s stand-out track, the Moog-tinged acoustic “Shooting the Moon.” With its awkward drumbeat and subtle keyboard inflections, the band’s trademark sense of humour is present in spirit, if not in execution.
Although the New Moon soundtrack is infinitely more cohesive than last year’s dreadful Twilight mix, the album feels like it lacks context. How do these songs relate to the hyper-emotional fans of the Twilight series? This is less of a soundtrack than a calculated marketing plan, devised for teeny boppers graduating from the rank and file of hormone-imbalanced teenagers to college students seeking acceptance via skinny jeans, angular haircuts, and sexual experimentation.—JP Kaczur
