Kings of Leon - Only by the Night

Kings of Leon's fourth cd 'Only by the Night' came out in 2008 during a year which somehow cemented their position as one of the bigger bands in the world. They headlined Glastonbury and toured extensively. I've had a soft spot for them based on the last two releases before this one - I never really cared much for their first cd.
'Closer' is the opening track and is a typical brooding, mid paced offering by the band. 'Crawl' has a slight electronic edge and clearer vocals than usual by Caleb Followill but doesn't really do much for me. 'Sex on fire' was the first single and the vocals and guitar make it feel like it could be a song by Canadian band Tragically Hip which is a good thing. 'Use somebody' is a stronger song and it could have been the first single despite verging on Razorlight type territory.
'Revelry' is a good mellow slower paced ballad which I can't decide if I like or loathe after a few listens. 'I want you' is a bit dull and doesn't really go anywhere interesting. 'Cold Desert' is a gentle ballad which ends 'Only by the Night' on a high note.
The songs seem to be written to fill arenas with bigger choruses and more straightforward music. Something has been lost in the translation to a stadium band but there is still a quirkiness to their music which means that they still sound like outsiders. Sometimes it is difficult when you like a band who all of a sudden become more well known and popular because it feels like you've lost something special to you.

Source: Spotify

Phosphorescent - Pride

Mathew Houck is the sole member of Phosphorescent. 'Pride' is his third full length release and his first on the Dead Oceans label. 'Pride' should be listened to late at night as it is a dreamy, fragile collection of songs which reach out to you in a cracked, warbling voice. 'Wolves' is a brilliant creaking tune which wouldn't sound out of place on a Bonnie'Prince' Billy release. Matthew Houck's voice and song arrangements sound like a cross between Bon Iver and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy in the best possible way. 'Pride' is a wordless choral song which ends the cd complete with yelping and a campfire vibe. My favourite tracks are 'Wolves', 'A picture of our torn up praise' and 'the waves at night'.

This is a cd which I really liked the first time I heard it but suspect that I will enjoy even more with further listens. Highly recommended if you are a fan of ghostly folk music.

One Month In / All Request Sundays

So I've managed to keep up (more or less) the daily music reviews for one month and not completely lost it yet. It has been more challenging than I thought it would be but I'm kind of enjoying it and hopefully my reviews will get better and I'll come across more good stuff I can share with anyone checking this out.
I've decided to set aside Sundays as request days and will take on all comers. If you've got something you think I might like to hear let me know.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant

'Cage the Elephant' is this Kentucky band's first full length cd which came out in mid-2008. I was given a copy for my birthday yesterday from two of my kind and generous friends.

'Ain't no rest for the wicked' was the first single released and is catchy with indie riffs and blues guitar but never really explodes the way I thought it might. 'Tiny little robots' sounds influenced by the View and the Strokes but is not as good as either band. 'Lotus' and 'Back against the wall' try to be as literate as the Arctic Monkeys and use a similar vocal style but fall well short. There are a lot of obvious influences which doesn't have to be a problem but if nothing new is added it makes for quite a generic cd. 'Back stabbing Betty' has a blues-y vibe and uses swear words to try to make it more interesting.
There are a number of bands playing this variety of music and Cage the Elephant don't do enough on their first cd to stand out from the crowd. 'Free Love', the last song on the cd is one of the better ones (along with 'ain't no rest..' and 'James Brown') and it brings it to a frenetic but overall unsatisfactory finish.
Nothing to write home to mom about and although I really appreciate the present they aren't quite interesting enough yet. Thanks to Claire and Dan for all the cds though.

Various Artists - Guilt by Association

This compilation cd came out in 2007 and has a number of indie musicians covering a variety of pop songs which are either cheesy or classics depending on your mood/drunkeness/level of honesty.
Petra Haden sings 'Don't stop believin' using only vocals to mimic the instruments and vocals of the Journey song to great effect. Petra did something similar to the Who Sell Out album. 'Two tickets to paradise' was orginally a pop rock classic but in Geoff Farina's capable hands it becomes something much more forlorn and lovely. 'Say my name' by Destinys Child becomes an indie rocker courtesy of Superchunk but doesn't improve on the funkiness of the original song. 'Chop Suey' by System of a Down becomes a ballad. 'Don't look back in anger' is covered by Devendra Barnhart and he turns it into a childlike woozy hippy wonder. The Take That song 'Back for Good' is given a Scandinavian makeover courtesy of the Concretes as they make it an even better love song. They don't do such a good job on 'Viva Forever' but still improve on the original.
An uneven, ironic?, set of covers with a few versions improving on or finding new ways of expressing the themes of the originals make this a reasonably good compilation.

Indigo Girls - Indigo Girls

Indigo Girls second cd and first on a major record label was this self titled release which came out in 1989. The duo's harmonies and folk-style guitars along with their involvement in grassroots politics and the fact that they are both lesbians made them a popular band with American college students.
'Closer to fine' is the best song on the cd and has members of the band Hothouse Flowers providing backing instruments and vocals and which has great vocals by Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. Michael Stipe of R.E.M provides his typical backing vocals to 'Kid Fears' not adding much to the song.
There seems to be a balance of songwriting and singing within the duo which works well. 'Tried to be true' sounds a bit more country and western than some of the other songs on the cd but most of the music is quite similar and in a folk/rock vein. 'Love's Recovery' is a gentle bruising love song and one of the better songs on it. 'Land of Canaan' is the closest thing to a rocker and not too bad for it. 'Indigo Girls' is a pretty decent cd but too many of the songs don't stand out from one another and 'Closer to fine' is head and shoulders above all the other songs.

Apparently they were nominated for a Grammy for Best New Act but lost out to Milli Vanilli. Not sure if they corrected the Academy corrected their mistake and returned it to a more worthy band. Also according to their website they will be giggin on a tour ship in the Carribbean in spring 2009 playing with other musicians including Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt and other roots/folk/rockers.
Thanks to Jonathan for the request. Sorry I didn't review the live cd.

Spice Girls - Spiceworld

As requested by a 'friend' I will listen and review 'Spiceworld' by the Spice Girls which I believe was the soundtrack to the movie of the same name and came out at the height of their fame in 1997.
'Spice up your life' gets the party started with a tropical upbeat vibe and catchy ridiculous lyrics. Not a bad song. 'Stop' is the second track and uses horns and harmonies to complement the dance which I seem to remember going along with it. A decent enough pop tune and it probably works quite well with the opening track at hen nights all over the world. 'Too much' is a smoochy ballad which is supposed to sound sexy but fails to do so. 'Saturday Night Divas' was never released as a single which marks it out as one of the weaker tracks. 'Never give up on the good times' tries hard to be funky and catchy but doesn't quite work. 'Move over' sounds like it should be used to sell cola of some sort. 'Do it' implores me to do it - not certain what. 'Denying' just passed me by without leaving any kind of lasting impression either way. 'The lady is a vamp' leans towards a Chicago (the musical) kind of feeling but feels too forced. 'Viva Forever' has classical guitar playing and a slightly latin vibe and is an understated ballad which has pleasant vocal harmonies.
Not something I'll likely listen to again of my own free will, but okay for what they were trying to do. Considering it sold something like 20 million copies around the world I'm sure the ladies won't lose any sleep over this review.
In answer to the inevitable questions: Geri 'Ginger' Spice.

Scarlett Johannson - Anywhere I lay my head

Is this just another vanity project by an actress/model/UN ambassador type who decided to dabble in music or is it a labour of love? Is 'Anywhere I lay my head' any good?
Ten of the Eleven songs are Tom Waits covers and one song is an original which was co-written with the producer Dave Sitek, of TV on the Radio.
The opening track 'Fawn' is an incidental instrumental. 'Town with no cheer' waltzes along moodily with pretty good vocals by Scarlett. 'Falling Down' was the first single and has a contribution by David Bowie as does 'Fanning Street'. Bowie's vocals don't add much except for some credibility. The one original 'Song for Jo' fits in nicely with the overall tone of 'Anywhere I lay my head'. My favourite tracks are 'I don't wanna grow up' with its disco-lite vibe, the title track and the last song 'Who are you' with shared vocals with Dave Sitek.
Tom Waits is such an individual performer that it isn't easy for someone to cover his songs and leave their own identity on them. Tom's vocals are a mix of growling, singing and bellowing and his lyrics tell such strong tales that covering him was not going to be straightforward. Scarlett makes a good effort and the production works well to create a strong flowing tribute to Tom and his music. Not as quirky as the originals are but surprisingly good.
Next up should be a cd of Leonard Cohen songs.

Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak

Kanye West's fourth cd '808s and Heartbreak' is a departure from his earlier hip-hop/pop music with big songs and catchy hooks. Kanye split up with his long term fiance in 2008 which forms the basis for many of the lyrics on it. Interviews with Kanye seem to show a complicated person full of self belief (possibly too much) who has been knocked back by the end of his relationship with his fiance and the death of his mom in the same year.

The first song on the it 'Say you will' sounds like a low key song from the TV show Miami Vice and bleeps along with Kanye's auto-tuned vocals. In 'Welcome to Heartbreak' Kanye sings about his material possesions but lack of family and his regret about this. 'Heartless' and 'Paranoid' have more of Kanye's traditional hip hop vocals. 'Love lockdown' has Kanye using the auto-tuner on his vocals and stands out as one of the better songs on the cd.

There is more singing and less rapping on '808s and Heartbreaks' which makes for an interesting cd but the lack of big catchy hooks is noticeable. It is more understated and different from his earlier releases but he should be acknowledged for trying something new.

I respect Kanye for his comment during Hurricane Katrina for going off message and saying that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." as well as his putting money and his energies into trying to help people in the black community with his foundation.

Big Audio Dynamite - This is Big Audio Dynamite

'This is Big Audio Dynamite' is B.A.D's first release which came out in 1985 and the 5 piece band has lead vocals by Mick Jones from the Clash and Don Letts creating sound effects. 'Medicine show' uses samples from Western films and a very 80's sound with keyboards and Mick's poppy vocals. 'Sony' follows this up with a focus on Eastern culture which continues on from the Clash's interest in this area of the world from the 'Combat Rock' cd. 'E=MC2' was the highest charting single off the cd which came in at number 11 in the UK and is the clearest pop song on it. I'm sure at the time it seemed very futuristic but a lot of the rest of the songs on the cd don't make much impact.

The lyrics don't always make sense but Mick's vocals and the kitchen sink pop music on it make it a decent 80s document. I'm not sure it is something that will stand the test of time because it already sounds quite dated. It is always difficult to judge someone based on what they may have done in the past but 'This is Big Audio Dynamite' doesn't hold a candle to his work in the Clash so doesn't match my high expectations of what he is capable.