Tag: solo effort

New Releases


Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi Present ROME
Rome stays fully on-message from beginning to end, accurately mimicking the style, sound and recording techniques of the film scores from classic Westerns. Many of the tracks are instrumentals, but Jack White adds his Bluegrass-inspired vocals to a handful of songs. He first pops up on “The Rose With the Broken Neck,” somewhat taking on the persona of the prototypical “depressed badass” cowboy to stay with the theme. Read the full review on Hop Hop DX


Hank Williams III – Hillbilly Joker
First things first: If my bootleg Hank III collection (what, you don’t have one?) is to be believed, a large percentage—80%, to be exact—of the tracks on Hillbilly Joker have been floating around the interwebs in a quasi-legal status since 2003 under the album title This Ain’t Country. (Some tracks also appear on III Shades of Hank; use this information however you’d like.) That said, even with a new moniker, the old This Ain’t Country is a pretty apt title—as Williams fans who dig his hard rock side project, Assjack, know, there’s more to the man than his souped-up, hellbound take on his grandfather’s genre. Hillbilly Joker splits the difference between Hank III proper and Assjack, and as a result, will either offer something for both sets of fans or disappoint them, depending on your level of cynicism. Read the full review on Pop Matters


Ben Harper – Give Till It’s Gone
The 10th studio album from L.A.-based rocker Ben Harper suggests a cathartic confessional. Pointedly a solo effort (previous Harper albums have largely co-billed backing bands the Innocent Criminals and Relentless7), it’s also his last with longtime record label Virgin and comes after a very public split with his wife, actress Laura Dern. (Yes… that Laura Dern… we know.) Read the full review on the LA Times

New Releases


James Blake – James Blake
While the songs are the magnetic center here, Blake’s musicianship and sonics are equally striking. A “dubstep” producer with a gentle piano touch and an ear for granular synthesis so sharp it will make fleets of laptop toters envious, his toolkit is seamless. The two-part “Why Don’t You Call Me” / “I Mind”, for instance, opens with only voice and piano, played with the studied delicacy of a classical student. But Blake cuts it short 30 seconds in by splicing and resampling the piano line. He then bends his own voice and sings the lone verse twice, editing and re-shaping it into a new form that bears only the faintest resemblence to its opening source material. In the suite’s second half, the vocals become spinning smears that fall into the background. It’s the only time on the album where the drum clicks, static bursts, and piano splashes become the essential motion. It’s the type of track you might have heard on one of his recent EPs– the kind Blake purists lament this album’s supposed lack of. Read the full review on Pitchfork


The Strokes – Angles
Angles finds the band at times sounding very much like the Strokes of old, and other times, experimenting with its signature sound in familiar Strokes ways. For the former, look no further than “Under Cover Of Darkness,” a rollicking throwback to the leather-jacketed urban cool of Is This It by way of Steely Dan’s “Bodhisattva.” Or the snaky album opener “Machu Picchu,” where the intricately strummed riffs of guitarists Albert Hammond, Jr. and Nick Valensi interlock and explode over a faux-reggae shuffle with the precision of military movements. Then there’s “Games,” a synth-pop sparkler that initially sounds like an outtake from Julian Casablancas’ 2009 solo effort Phrazes For The Young. Read the full review on AVclub


Greenday – Awesome as Fuck
The album launches into the title track of Green Day’s last studio album and is a perfect start, with each note being hit with precision. The next two tracks are also off of “21st Century Breakdown”; “Know Your Enemy” and “East Jesus Nowhere”. Both tracks are pulled off well, Billie Joe knowing exactly how to rock an audience. Next up is “Holiday”, which was a pretty big hit a few years ago. Again, Green Day’s stunning live performance ensures that this is a great version of a modern punk classic. It mellows out a bit for “!Viva La Gloria!”, which is a beautiful track with an awesome piano introduction riff. Read the full review on Resonance UK