Init_Music

Replay: Fanny Fink - Mr. Romance

2012-02-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

It was via the Pastel Music 5th Anniversary compilation that I first encountered the music of Fanny Fink. Their lone representative song in the set was a Casker remixed "좋은 사람", which captivated me to the the point that I went ahead and made a point to purchase the album. Fanny Fink is yet another band that fits well into the Pastel Music mold of pretty female vocals over semi-electronic music, but they do it well, so I can't blame Fanny Fink or Pastel Music for their choice to work together.

It's very obvious from the start of Mr. Romance the kind of sound that Fanny Fink is going for, creating a pop rock undertone for Myoi's delicate and pretty vocals on the opening track "24" before turning more electronic for the similarly pretty pop of "향을 담은 비 (For Haru)". And like many of their peers, the group also takes an infusion of Latin sounds (via samba) on their third track, "Sweet" which has Myoi emoting vocally over the busy rhythms before declaring her love. And much of the rest of the album follows this overall vibe, varying between electronics ("11월") and acoustics ("널 만나러 가는 날") in the composition and arrangement of the songs.

Mr. Romance is a very atmospheric album most of the time, not quite reaching the depths of expression to be more than really nice coffeeshop or lounge music, however, the band's ballad tracks are actually surprisingly potent with Myoi pulling out some depth in her vocals, like in the gorgeous aforementioned song of desire "좋은 사람" and also in the breakup song "다신". And I think it's those genuine moments that really help elevate Mr. Romance beyond just being a collection of pretty songs for soundtracks or background music, the diversity of the tracks helping to keep the album's sound from becoming stale over its play.

It's hard to say that Mr. Romance is an essential of any sort when it comes to Korean indie music, but it is quite emblematic of the kind of music championed by Pastel, especially during the mid 2000's and Fanny Fink does this kind of music very well. What's more, they actually manage to find some more depth to their music and escape being merely pretty music with some of their more substantial songs. And that's enough for me to suggest them to anyone that's looking for this kind of sound. 8/10.

Tracklist:

24
향을 담은 비 (For Haru)
Sweet
좋은 사람
Signal Lamp
11월
Railroad
널 만나러 가는 날
다신
민트 하늘의 꿈
바람의 노래를 들어라
Lucia

Links:

Artist website
Artist Facebook
Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at iTunes, MrKwang, and YesAsia

Inbox: Casker - Your Songs

2012-02-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

New for me

Casker's second release with Pastel Music is this EP entitled Your Songs. Your Songs holds a unique distinction in Casker's discography as Yoongjin's involvement is the compositions of its songs is at its peak with her having a hand in six of the eight tracks on the EP. As short and diverse as it is, the EP does struggle a little to define itself with two of its tracks being different versions of their previously released singe, "향", but even if the whole listen doesn't quite hold a strong identity, the various tracks are still of the high quality that Casker brings to move of their music, so Your Songs is still an enjoyable listen.

As short as it is, Your Songs isn't quite able to establish an overall theme for the EP and the music is pretty diverse, so there's not much to gel it together except for the overall clean and pretty Casker sound. The music arranges from mid-tempo soft pop like the opening "창밖은 겨울" and the title track to dance, like the Latin rhythm infused "Let It Shine" and the more techno "Pluto". I do really like the short piano piece "녹턴" that's included as a break between the two dance tracks.

I don't find the alternate version of "향"'s waltz to be immensely different from the original and it still holds its shine as a lovely acoustically oriented track. The acoustic version highlights the strength of the songwriting on the piece as taking away the electronic atmospherics still results in a lovely song with a piano, guitar, and a melodica creating a convincing sound.

All the same, with so many different kinds of music briefly represented on Your Songs, I'm still unsure how to take in the final EP, except as a simple collection of different songs perhaps loosely tied together by lyric-based themes, but not strong enough to form a concept. But even without a strong overarching vision for the EP, the songs are quite pleasant and fans of Casker's sound will no doubt appreciate this album's pretty tracks. It's a nice listen, just simply not as compelling as the albums both before and after it due to a weak unifying identity. 7/10.

Tracklist:

창밖은 겨울
밤의 이야기
Your Song
향 (Alternate version)
Let It Shine
녹턴
Pluto
향 (Acoustic version)

Links:

Artist website
Artist MySpace
Available at iTunes, MrKwang, and YesAsia

Replay: Casker - Polyester Heart

2012-01-31T13:31:00.001-08:00

Revisiting music

Polyester Heart marks a notable change for the electronica duo Casker as they switch labels from Lupin to Pastel Music. But the album also show some growth in the sophistication of their electronic sound in particular as the band develops an even more distinct electronic voice that very much reflects the album's title. This results in perhaps an even stronger overall album than Between although Polyester Heart's individual tracks don't quite stand out as brightly as the best of Between.

The album's title clearly gets across the two natures of Casker's music, the electronic (Polyester) and the acoustic (Heart) and this album in particular does of better job than Between in blending the two together into a more seamless experience. It does open up more electronic, with the electronic thump and floating synths of "빛의 시간" supporting Yoongjin's gliding space-faring vocals and setting a good impression of the rest of the album. This establishment of tone is significant because while Yoongjin has a larger vocal range than you hear on this track, the album intentionally focuses her vocals towards this more narrow sound and subtly lets her stretch out as the music moves closer to the Heart side of the music.

But the most dramatic improvement from Between is the distinctiveness of the electronic music, which simply just feels more original than the more straight lounge/house fare of Between. The electronic oriented music is quite simply "pretty" and at times even affecting, like the shimmering electronics that surround the delicate, but gorgeous and affecting ballad "칫솔", layering Yoongjin's warm vocals and adding in acoustic piano to ground the electronics, giving the whole song a sense of breathing.

And the music, like Between, also half contains more acoustically oriented compositions, most notably starting with the lounge jazz of "아무도 모른다", but blends in electronics, giving the change and shift of electronic to acoustic a more natural and organic progression. More significantly, while the middle of the album is the more acoustically oriented, there is a smooth progression in the amount of electronics present between the tracks and never shifts mood too harshly or permanently; the samba of "비밀" doesn't feel unnatural next to the more electronically arranged "너를 삭제" perhaps because of Ha Donggyoon's rich guest vocals, and the presence of both electronics and acoustics in both the preceding track and the following "틈" results in a smooth progression.

And the reason I find Polyester Heart so successful is quite simply how coherent the entire listening experience it is. Now it is a touch on the long side, approaching almost an hour over sixteen tracks, but the music stays pretty varied and interesting, even if the individual album tracks aren't single-quality. Even dips into more traditional approaches, like "Adrenaline"'s house antics, still manage to hold closer to the album's overall aesthetic, contributing to the whole. This makes Polyester Heart an alluring, organic, and complete album, thanks to a consistent overall sound and theme. And that makes Polyester Heart a fantastic listen. 9/10.

Tracklist:

역광 (intro)
빛의 시간
You
칫솔
2월
아무도 모른다
비밀
너를 삭제 (with 하동균 of wanted)
틈
이명
만약에, 혹시
빙빙
Adrenaline
너와 나 (prelude)
Polyester Heart
Polyester Heart (Hidden reprise)

Links:

Artist website
Artist MySpace
Available at iTunes, MrKwang, and YesAsia

Inbox: 美親리쌍 - Leessang, Special Jungin

2012-01-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

New for me

In the recent development of my appreciation for the music of Leessang, I've been blind buying their albums and I was surprised to discover that this particular album, Leessang, Special Jungin, is actually a compilation. I'm going to speculate that this was in part released after Jungin parted ways with Leessang as their soul vocalist of choice with ALI taking over for Leessang starting with Library of Soul and Jungin moving onto G.Fla. It appears that during her time with Leessang, however, she did release a couple singles and so those are collected here along with some other loose singles that weren't on Leessang of Honey Family and 再啓發.

Of the eighteen tracks on Leessang, Special Jungin, only four have not been previously released on one of the previous Leessang albums. As a result this is a bit of an off-putting release for serious fans of Leessang, especially because two of those tracks are Jungin's solo tracks and so serious fans would be looking to purchase this album for pretty good R&B oriented "Sad Song" and the somewhat silly "남자이야기 - My Way" which features Leessang's old team, Honey Family.

On top of that, another draw might be the VCD that's included that features a number of Leessang and Jungin's music videos from the era encompassing their first to albums. However, these videos are encoded at a rather tiny resolution and are effectively visually inferior to YouTube videos, although the sound is noticeably better. It would've been better if they had released a DVD with higher quality encoding, but as it is, the VCD is not going to be a convincing reason to most.

Now casual appreciators of Leessang will find this compilation a pretty good value as it collects all the hits and a good number of album tracks from the first two albums, although the albums are really strong enough to hold up to listens without being compiled. Serious fans of Jungin will probably appreciate this release since it does collect Jungin's otherwise unavailable singles as well as her work with Leessang from this early phase of their respective careers, however, they will be swimming in a large number of tracks that don't serve their interests either.

As such, I'm not exactly sure who this compilation is supposed to target. Were it a more compact release that only focused on Jungin's work with the group or perhaps an EP that collected the first four tracks (the only unique ones), then it might serve serious fans better. But it's none of the above and so Leessang, Special Jungin doesn't serve any group particularly well as casual listeners will be confused to find the pair of Jungin solos up front rather than sprinkled throughout the tracklist and there doesn't seem to be a really meaningful organization of the tracks besides the unreleased/released division. Both casual and serious fans of Leessang and Jungin will want to consider whether this is worth the purchase. 6/10.

Tracklist:

CD:

정인 - 사랑은
정인 - 그댈 묻고
Sad Song (feat. The One)
남자이야기 - MY WAY (feat. Honey Family)
Rush (feat. 정인)
출사표 (feat. Bobby for Buga Kings, 디기리)
조까리 마이싱
7477 (Ma Frenz) (feat. Drunken Tiger)
Luv... (Real Story)
으라챠챠 Wake Up (feat. CB MASS)
인생은 아름다워 (feat. BMK)
리쌍부르쓰 (feat. 정인)
SPAIN (feat. 성훈 from Brown Eyed Soul)
Slow Down (feat. 김범수)
건 life (feat. NaNa)
알콜Man
831.
Fly High (feat. 정인, 河琳)

VCD:

사랑은 M/V
Sad Song M/V
Rush M/V
리쌍부르쓰 M/V
인생은 아름다워 M/V
Fly High M/V
리쌍부르쓰 M/V NG장면모음

Links:

Artist website
Artist Facebook
Available at YesAsia

Replay: Casker - Between

2012-01-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

Between has the distinction of being the first Casker album I've heard. Having missed my opportunity to purchase Skylab before it went out of print, I rushed out and bought Between to prevent another such failure, but after listening to it, I was quite glad to have purchased it as it contains some rather gorgeous music, crossing electronica, lounge, and jazz, sounding quite organic for electronica thanks to the heavy use of real instruments and often blending the electronic pop music with Latin and European sounds all recorded and produced to a glossy shine.

The musical influence on the album is clear from the intro track, "Nuevo Cancion", which hands the album over to "인형", which opens up with accordions and piano, dropping in a heavy tango flavor as Lee Yoongjin provides dramatic vocals. The rest of the first half of the album does a lot to incorporate these sounds, like the samba of "모든 토요일" or the bossa nova of "정전기" and, as a result, leaves the first half of the album extremely attractive and alive.

The second half of the album dips much more into the electronic pop world with "달", a low-key groovy pop song drenched in gurgling synthesizers. Casker tries a variety of more electronic sounds too, like the mid-tempo house of "Night People", taking advantage of Yoongjin's vocal capacity. However, this second half doesn't quite have the power and expressiveness of the first half, despite providing classy lounge-friendly electronica. Furthermore, the distinct division of the A and B sides of the album leads to a less continuous feeling album, dividing the effect of the album into two halves.

However, that's of little complaint when you consider how strong the best songs on Between are. The first half of the album is dramatic, captivating, and gorgeous, brought to life by the Latin-infused arrangements, live instruments and Yoongjin's solid vocals, which reach deep, matching the music well and giving the A-side a great deal of class. The B-side, while not as remarkable at the first, is still full of decent electronica tracks that you could easily imagine being bumped in a hip modern lounge, never quite the kind of electronica you'd dance to, but quite cool with its beeps and electronic scribbling. And, as a result, if you're looking to see what Casker's music is like, Between is actually a great place to start as later works tend to focus on one of these two elements (Polyester Heart = electronics) or the other (Tender = acoustics). A very strong album and great intro to the group. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Nuevo Cancion
인형
가면
모든 토요일
나비부인
정전기
달
Night People
NU (feat. kjun)
말할 수 없는 이야기
Soul:free
후유
망부가 忘夫歌
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[silence]
[hidden track]

Links:

Artist website
Artist MySpace
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Inbox: Sweetpea - 하늘에 피는 꽃

2012-01-28T11:08:00.001-08:00

New for me

Sweetpea's second solo effort resembles his first in many ways, also echoing some aspects of his work with Deli Spice on some tracks. As such, those that appreciated his neverendingstories but wanted more than its brief eight tracks will find much more here to appreciate, including a small handful of covers and a mix of music that all tends towards the more mellow side, but still providing a variety of calmer, more soothing music.

Sweetpea's continuation of his smooth, calming style is evident from the opening track, "침묵", with its simple acoustic folk. However, Sweetpea doesn't limit himself to folk and branches out into rock on "멀어져간 사람들", however, even with some distorted guitar solos, his voice retains that same smooth quality and so the rock is never raucous, but merely adds a little energy to the album. This is apparent from Sweetpea's surprising mid-tempo rock cover of Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It", which is delivered in Sweetpea's paced style. The most unique moment (and perhaps the most energetic one) on the album comes from "뱀파이어는 이렇게 말했다" with its undulating guitars and rhythm, rock solo and alternating low-voiced spoken lyrics against high-pitched falsetto singing, another surprising moment on the album.

However, the album largely follows the mix of acoustic folk and some mellower rock that those who have experienced neverendingstories would be familiar with. Sweetpea's sound is pretty distinct at this voice, obviously well attuned to his own smooth vocals. And if that's the kind of music you're looking for, then Sweetpea's second album is going to continue providing what he started on the first. The mix of music keeps the album from becoming too narrow and it even contains a couple of surprising moments, but overall, Sweetpea continues his soothing sound here. 7/10.

Tracklist:

침묵
멀어져간 사람들
Kiss Kiss
Whiskey in the Jar
하늘
잊혀지는 것
뱀파이어는 이렇게 말했다
눈길
We're Not Gonna Take It
Orange
돌이킬 수 없는
강릉에서
당신의 그 아버지처럼

Links:

Artist Twitter
Available at iTunes, MrKwang, and YesAsia

Replay: Sweetpea - 거절하지못할제안

2012-01-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

A lot seems to have happened in the years between Sweetpea's first solo album and his third. With the demise of the Moonrise label, Sweetpea moved to Pastel Music and that ended up influencing his sound just a little in terms of his guest collaborators which include Casker and Taru. While you can tell from his music that this is still one of the principal members of Deli Spice, the sound is quite diverse on An Offer You Can't Refuse which makes it an interesting listen, even though I didn't find it necessarily compelling.

At the core of the music, Sweetpea's folksier sound is still present, like the bouncy upbeat opening track, "하루", and hypnotic guitar plucking alongside the pretty piano of the single "떠나가지마", which features Taru on duet vocals. However, the music goes much broader, dropping into Latin rhythms for the second track, "안타까운 마음". The album also features a pure instrumental in "은하수", featuring Jung Jichan on sitar, which still manages to sound like a Sweetpea piece and manages to sneak in a rock guitar break. Another interesting break are the ska-rhythms that fuel "운명", giving it a bit of nervy energy when combined with Sweetpea's trembling verse.

I find it interesting how Sweetpea incorporates these different sounds into his music and how his voice is still quite dominant over the sounds, ending up supporting his musical style rather than leading it. When at his best, Sweetpea creates some rather pleasant music. He even manages a rather smooth cover of Sanullim's "너의 의미" on the album. At the same time, I personally find the music just a little too smooth to have a strong impact on me, but I imagine that a lot of indie music listeners will appreciate the kind of softer music that Sweetpea makes and the breadth of incorporated sound on An Offer You Can't Refuse. 7/10.

Note: Those that purchased the initial release of An Offer You Can't Refuse receive a mini CD single with many different versions of the album's lead single, "떠나가지마", which is definitely an overload if you're listening to them all back to back. Some of the remixes on the single are more successful than others. The more recent re-release eschews the mini CD for adding the radio edit of the single as a bonus track.

Tracklist:

하루
안타까운 마음
떠나가지마 (feat. Taru)
인어의꿈
은하수
데자뷰 (feat. 이석원)
운명
봉인
너의 의미
사진속의우리
한번만더
가장어두운밤의위로

떠나가지마 Single:

떠나가지마 (Extended mix)
떠나가지마 (Acoustic mix)
떠나가지마 (Less Vocal mix)
떠나가지마 (Demo 2005 mix)
떠나가지마 (Floor mix)
떠나가지마 (Solitaire mix)
떠나가지마 (Juju Club mix)

Links:

Artist Twitter
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Inbox: Lee Ssang - Black Sun

2012-01-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

New for me

After listening to Black Sun, I'm starting to come under the opinion that Leessang simply cannot do wrong. With Black Sun, the duo take their jazz-soul based sound from Library of Soul and add some bumping Latin influences to it, in some ways bringing their sound closer to their Movement peers, Buga Kingz, while still remaining true to their own sound. As previously, Leessang's music is enormously accessible and yet doesn't lose the specificity of hip hop, giving it rather broad appeal.

The album opens up with "007" which strikes a similar sound to "광대" from Library of Soul with its swinging jazz sound, but the album quickly moves into the major sonic development of Black Sun with "Ballerino" with its Spanish guitar and Latin/Afro-Caribbean percussion. This sound continues onto the bouncy "부자 (Project)", accented by some woodwinds and the following "Sunshine" where the music gets some lovely horns. And while much of the music is soaked with the rich tones common to Leessang's style, the duo breaks out into a brighter more pop-funk style with Vagabond LeeSSang and mellow out a little, delving more into their soul sound from their previous albums on "Dead Phone".

As with Library of Soul, Leessang has recruited ALI as their principal chanteuse and she does a good job of bringing her clean soul vocals onto the tracks that she's featured. Meanwhile, Garie and Gil divide their duties as before with Garie handling the spiky rap delivery and Gil handling the low end rap and ragged soul vocals on the hooks.

In the end, Leessang's Black Sun will be familiar to anyone that follows this duo's music, staying true to the rich soul sound that they've produced since their debut, but this time accented by a touch of Latin on a number of tracks. As before, Leessang doesn't really specialize in bright pop-styled hip-hop, but they have a great knack for hooks and incorporating genre music into their style such that the result is highly attractive and accessible to those that are not deep into the hardcore hip hop scene, while still staying true to the hip hop ethos. This makes Black Sun as solid an album as their previous ones, creating the image that Leessang simply doesn't make bad or even mediocre music. 9/10.

Tracklist:

007
Ballerino
영화처럼
강변살자 (skit)
부자 (Project)
Sunshine
살아야 한다면
Vagabond LeeSSang
Dead Phone Intro
Dead Phone
투혼
누구를 위한 삶인가 (사생결단 ost)
내가 웃는게 아니야 (remix)

Links:

Artist website
Artist Facebook
Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Progress Report: Queen - Hot Space (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

Following after their soundtrack experiment, Hot Space proves to be a rather large change of pace for the band as they undertake a transformation into a dance oriented band largely for the A-side of the album, incorporating funk and dance-pop into their compositions, but the band does not forget themselves either, retaining their rock roots in the B-side of the album. In terms of the success of their efforts, I feel that Hot Space's dance side is a bit uneven, although they do manage to stay true to themselves in the songs, and then considering that after that short section we return to Queen's regular style, it almost feels that the band couldn't decide to commit. As a result, Hot Space isn't entirely convincing in one way or the other, but that doesn't stop Queen from including some solid songs on it.

The album opens up with the synthesizer heavy "Staying Power", a spare funk tune that doesn't quite convince, but the synth driven funk improves on the following track, "Dancer", although I still don't think it quite reaches a particularly dance-able range. It isn't until the more groovy, R&B touched "Back Chat" that the band finds a stronger musical moment. Still, I don't think it's until the band reaches the more dance-pop oriented "Action This Day" that they are able to really take advantage of their own strengths and place them into a dance context with its backing vocal fueled choruses.

And I think that track also signals a change back towards a more traditional sound for the band. That said, the traditional sound isn't entirely as strong as their better works as well, although "Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)" has a good callback to their sound and "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" kind of recalls "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)". However, in some ways it sounds like the band is trying too hard to channel their past music as well.

Interestingly enough, I feel the final two tracks represent the strongest songs on the entire album. The surprisingly successful disco slow jam "Cool Cat" is the most convincing cross genre attempt for Queen on Hot Space, drawing inspiration from the Bee Gees' turn at disco. And then there's their big hit from this album, their collaboration with David Bowie, "Under Pressure", which also represents a change of pace for the band as the collision of styles results in a fantastic record.

All in all, Hot Space doesn't quite hold together as well as their other albums, in part because the band's lack of focus leads to an inconsistent tone throughout the album and the backpedal to comfortable sounds mostly doesn't sound fresh. However, the songs on Hot Space aren't bad. This is especially demonstrated by the live performances of their songs, available on the bonus EP, which gain a lot of liveliness via the energetic rock arrangements. 7/10.

The bonus EP contains a trio of live tracks which prove that Hot Space's songs are actually pretty good in performance, especially when rock driven and so they are a solid complement to the album. It also contains the B-Side, "Soul Brother", which is a pretty solid Queen track, as good as most of the tracks on the album.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Staying Power
Dancer
Back Chat
Body Language
Action This Day
Put Out the Fire
Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)
Calling All Girls
Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)
Cool Cat
Under Pressure

Disc 2:

Staying Power (Live at Milton Keynes Bowl, June 1982)
Soul Brother (B-Side)
Back Chat (Single remix)
Action This Day (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)
Calling All Girls (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)

Links:

Set index
Artist website
Artist Facebook
Artist MySpace
Artist Twitter
Artist YouTube
Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: t - Best

2012-01-24T16:22:00.000-08:00

New for me

t has been performing music at least since her debut with Uptown in 1996, both as a singer and as a rapper, forming the duo Tashannie before going solo in 2001. Between 2001 and 2002, t went on a quite the recording spree, releasing three albums before conflicts with her company and/or label resulted in a long hiatus. In 2003, not too long after her last album under her previous contract, To My Love, was released, a compilation of her two year solo career was organized and sold and since then, t's albums from her early solo career have been out of print. I was lucky enough to find a good used copy of Best via auction and aside from digital distribution, there is no other common means to acquire her albums or her compilation.

While listening to a compilation does lose some of the statement that you'd get from an album, it's kind of also clear from listening to t's Best that her music, prior to her third album, was a little less distinctive, often falling into standard Korean pop ballads that have space for t's more R&B styled vocals. Not to say that they're bad, but there's often not a great amount of space for t's own unique personality to shine through, which is too bad because the more personal, self-produced effort of her third album was quite convincing.

Some of her music does break from the straight ballad composition and those are the ones either from her hip-hop album, Gemini, or the ballads produced by Bobby Kim, which sometimes feature Bobby, but even when they don't, they have that groove that frequently appears on Bobby Kim and Buga Kingz' tracks. And it's those tracks that I'm more attracted to; despite that t is a perfectly adequate pop singer, it's when the music has soul, R&B or hip-hop more deeply woven into it that the music comes more alive.

As for the compilation's organization, it's a little curious is that it puts the majority of the ballads up front in the first third and mixes up the hip-hop and ballad tracks in the bottom two thirds. It makes for a bit of an uneven experience and while I won't argue for a chronological compilation because her solo career was so compact when this was released, a think a more thoughtful approach to the flow the compilation would have helped the listening experience, considering that it runs over an hour.

That said, when t is on her game, the music produced during this early phase of her solo career is quite enjoyable, although it sometimes lacks the freedom and sincerity of her more recent efforts. Those who love this rapper/singer should take the effort to hunt down this compilation, or perhaps for more dedicated fans, find the three individual albums. However, while the music can be quite enjoyable on Best, I feel like the t of today is still a step beyond her earlier works and so her music from this era is only essential for fans (of t or just the specific songs) and music historians. 7/10.

Tracklist:

To My Love
바보
시간이 흐른 뒤 (As Time Goes By)
선물
끝없는 바다 저편에
남자 남자 남자
Tuesday
Concrete Jungle
행복한 나를
집으로 와
I Miss You So
G 火 자
Wonder Woman
Because I Love You
찬 바람아!
하루 하루

Links:

Artist website
Artist Facebook
Artist Twitter
Available at YesAsia

Replay: t - Yoonmirae

2012-01-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

It was because I was enthralled by her many guest performances as perhaps the strongest female rapper in Korea that I sought out t's albums, but found that every single one of them, when I started searching in 2007, was out of print. t has been pretty active following the disbanding of Tashannie from 2001 to 2003, releasing three albums in that time, before taking a hiatus from recording albums. Fortunately, the drought ended for me in 2007 when t released her third album, named after her Korean name.

Although I know t best for her rapping, her long career has actually been largely focused on her capacity as an R&B singer and her third album reflects this, having only a pair of really dedicated rap songs and the rest being R&B. Fortunately, the R&B tracks are fairly varied and while there are a number traditional relationship/romance ballads, that's mixed up with soul, funk, and upbeat R&B-pop, which is clear from the opening track, "Black Diamond", which blasts with open with bombast before spinning into a fluttering verse, cutting into foreshadowed, explosive chorus. It's kind of an R&B track with hip hop ethos and I think it serves well as an introduction.

In terms of the ballads, there are many good ones, like "잊었니..." which is a straight romance reminiscence track or the closing hope-filled "Good Bye Sadness, Hello Happiness". But I find the more diverse tracks more interesting, like horn punched funky "What's Up! Mr. Good Stuff", where t finds a little piece of James Brown or the groovy "Gimme Gimme!!! (이기주의자)", punctuated by some funky flutes. There's even a lovely acoustic pop track in "Who".

And while hip hop lovers might be saddened to find only two rap tracks from t here, the two that are here are solid, from the horn-blasting, hand-raising, thumpfest of "Pay Day" with t showing just how much brass she's got in her flow to "검은 행복"'s ("Black Happiness") moving account of t's finding hope and comfort in music while struggling with racism, a little recording of advice from her father adding to the warm uplift of the track.

And it's tracks like "검은 행복" and "Black Diamond" that center the music on t, not merely just being a collection of R&B tracks, fully justifying the title of Yoonmirae. While not every ballad rises above being merely okay, the album is punctuated by so many different moments, that it's a convincing listen from start to finish. And even the modest ballad tracks like "나니까" still having some interesting elements, like the gayageum's presence in the opening. Yoonmirae is much more than just an R&B and hip hop album, but it is at times quite personal to Yoonmirae, the singer, the rapper, the daughter, and the woman, and as a result, is a fantastic work that acts as justification of t's high status in the Korean music industry. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Black Diamond
What's Up! Mr. Good Stuff
잊었니...
Honeymoon
Gimme Gimme!!! (이기주의자)
Pay Day
시간은 눈물과 흐르고
나니까
검은 행복
Who
Good Bye Sadness, Hello Happiness

Links:

Artist website
Artist Facebook
Artist Twitter
Additional Reviews: McRoth's Residence
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Inbox: Huckleberry Finn - 까만 타이거

2012-01-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

New for me

In reviews of their previous albums, I noted that Huckleberry Finn has largely stayed true to their sound and the development of it was measured in inches rather than feet. However, it's with the release of 까만 타이거 (Black Tiger) that the band's music makes a noticeable, even if still subtle shift. Some of this musical development had been years in the making as it's clear from the Live album that some of these songs and their accompanying sounds were being performed at least as early as 2009, but they arrive in strong form on the band's fifth album, enlivening their particular brand of alt rock with a burst of energy.

There are two really noticeable shifts to the band's music. The first is the regular incorporation of electronic sounds, noticeable in the opening track, "숨 쉬러 나가다", handled in practice by regular band keyboardist, Lune, and likewise, the broadening of the band's instrumentation to include more keyboard oriented sounds, broadening the musical palette of the band beyond the basic guitar, drums and bass setup. The second element is noticeable in the undulating bass of the second track, "쫓기는 너", and that's an incorporation of dance rhythms and verve into a number of their tracks, which is further aided by the presence of electronics via keyboard.

Lee Soyoung adapts well vocally to this slight paradigm shift, not losing her expressiveness at all, but channeling her energy into the melodic and shorter notes, although she still gets her high power vocals off tracks like the closing "폭탄 위에 머물다". It's apparent that band songwriter, Lee Kiyong, is plenty capable and building these more dance/synth inflected songs while somehow still staying absolutely true to the Huckleberry Finn rock sound. The howling chorus of "Girl Stop" is pure Huckleberry Finn, but the song itself is built on a syncopated ska beat and the synthesizer is a more frequent presence than guitars, gurgling and warbling along the pulsing rhythm section and Lee Soyoung's passionate vocals.

With Black Tiger, Huckleberry Finn has successfully managed to stretch out their sound, making it surprisingly modern and energetic, but without losing a single bit of what distinguishes their songwriting, accomplishing this by broadening their rhythmic constructs and use of instrumentation. And when you listen to songs like the exhilarating "도레미파" or the angular "Time to Say" it's clear that Huckleberry Finn has more than successfully made the expansion of their sound. But it's clear from alt rock underpinnings of tracks like "빗소리" or the title track that all this development is built atop the solid foundation of Huckleberry Finn's already existing alt rock style. And that makes 까만 타이거 a magnificent album that's both new and still distinctly Huckleberry Finn. Highly recommended! 10/10.

Tracklist:

숨 쉬러 나가다
쫓기는 너
Girl Stop
까만 타이거
도레미파
Time to Say
빗소리
비틀 브라더스
시간은 푸른 섬으로
Too Young
폭탄 위에 머물다

Links:

Additional Reviews: Korean Indie, wakesidevision
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Replay: Huckleberry Finn - 환상... 나의 환멸

2012-01-22T00:42:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

It's apparent from the initial rumbling of the opening track, "밤이 걸어간다", which opens up into a power rocker, that three years from the studio since Olengpio's Star has not dulled this band's talent as Huckleberry Finn's fourth studio album, 환상... 나의 환멸 (Fantasy... My Disenchantment) is a mighty fine rock statement.

While the opening track continues the traditional Huckleberry Finn alt rock sound, the songwriting and arrangements continue the little adjustments found on Olengpio's Star, like the way that Lee Kiyong and Lune's up-paced background vocals on the opening track create a more modern energy. This is continued with Lee Kiyong's vocal lead on the second track, "내달리는 사람들", his cool, but expressive singing containing an undercurrent of nervy energy that's a subtle development for the band. Another noticeable track is "푸른 수평선" which its trumpets and surprisingly easy going vibe, or at least as easy going as you can get with Lee Soyoung's intense rocker vocals.

One thing that's noticeable, though, is the band's emphasis on the alternative rock roots of their sound on this album, staying true to the Huckleberry Finn sound that they've been making for four albums. In that way, 환상... 나의 환멸 is a rather classicist album, tight in its rock and roll, full of intense alternative rock, derived in part from a grunge sound, although the depth of the grunge factor in the band's music is reducing, especially in their slower songs. But, despite the continuation in mostly making the same music, 환상... 나의 환멸 doesn't like the band is either out of energy or ideas, but rather that it knows what it does well and continues to create their music around that. When you hear one of these new songs by Huckleberry Finn, you might think you're actually listening to one of their old classics simply because they are so fine tuned and recognizable in their sound, but so well written and performed that many of these songs simply feel like classics.

There is a loose confidence on this album that serves the band well and the small new touches, like how background vocals are used, keep their sonic formula from getting stale. But, what's most telling about this fourth album is Huckleberry Finn had long since found their space and strength as a band and continues the mine the depths of the wellspring of music there. And this album is evidence that Huckleberry Finn's music ages well and doesn't lose a drop of intensity and power as the band continues making it. 9/10.

Tracklist:

밤이 걸어간다
내달리는 사람들
그들이 온다
죽은 자의 밤
낯선 두 형제
푸른 수평선
알바트로스
휘파람
오나비야
60's
환상환멸

Links:

Available at YesAsia

Inbox: Huckleberry Finn - Live

2012-01-20T18:56:00.000-08:00

New for me

There's something very tangible from catching a band live that you simply can't get from their studio albums (except in the rare cases where the band simply doesn't have the teeth for live music) and while I have dearly enjoyed Huckleberry Finn's studio album, they are also a live club playing band and prior to the release of this live album, the only way to see their performances live was through streaming clips from their shows online. And while the sound quality of those clips might not be pulse-poundingly good, it was clear from watching them that Huckleberry Finn is powerful and dynamic live.

It's for this reason that I'm grateful for the release of this live album, as it gathers recordings from a number of their concerts dating from 2004 through 2009, including a number of performances featuring some special guests, hinting at just how fantastic the band is live, immensely valuable for all the fans that simply can't get to Korea to catch the band live. What's more is that a several of the songs feature some high profile guests, including Park Jonghyun from Galaxy Express, Ha Hyunwoo from Guckkasten and more! But one of the best parts about this Live album is that it also includes a DVD with a good amount of the band's 2009 Yellow Concert.

It's apparent from the start what you gain from the live album as you have Lee Soyoung break open the first song, "빗소리" with a "rock and roll" scream, instantly amplifying the audible crowd and grabbing your attention. Live is going to be a great rock experience and the band doesn't disappoint from there on. The guest spots are also pretty impressive, with Park Jonghyun providing some classic rock guitar pyrotechnics, Ha Hyunwoo taking over lead vocal duties with his powerful voice, Kingston Rudieska's wind section warming up some songs, members of the Seoul Electric Band giving some instrumental punch, and Cha Seungwoo of the Moonshiners also providing some vocal lead and guitar. Now, some of the guests are a little better matched than others for the parts they play, but it's largely a good time and hard to decry.

But the guests don't usually take the focus off the band, which is raw, muscular, and the live recordings give the music a strong amount of dimension. Especially notable is just how dynamic Lee Soyoung is as a lead vocalist, howling like she's possessed by the music and engaging the audience with frequent shouts and calls to join in. It also acts as a compilation, demonstrating just how strong the rock songwriting of the band is, even though it's firmly entrenched in the harder edge of alternative rock.

The DVD is also a fantastic document of the band because it gives you a great idea of what the band's live shows are like. Even though I was by myself in my living room while watching it, I ended up bouncing up and down and moving with the fantastic music, aided by the visible energy of the crowd and the band. Furthermore, you get to see how capable the band is in engaging the crowd through their music as they rarely play up their show--even the usually wild Park Jonghyun is relatively contained when playing with Huckleberry Finn. Yet, it also shows how strong Lee Soyoung is as a frontwoman as she largely abandons her guitar to engage the audience, dance and throw her body into the performance. And finally, there is a performance of "불안한 영혼" that features a puppeteer, an interpretive dancer, and a poet, which is the kind of visual element you could never get from merely listening to a live album, but that performance itself actually moved me, not because of the visual guests, but the powerful vocal performance by Lee Soyoung.

I'll make this simple: If you like Huckleberry Finn, you have to see one of their shows, because the band is simply stunning live. However, if you're not in a good position to catch one of their shows, or if you just want to bring the band's live performances with you, this album and DVD is essential. It provides a visual and aural document of the band's fantastic rock prowess and was worth every penny. 10/10.

Tracklist:

CD: 6 Years of Live History 2004-2009:

빗소리 ('09 Yellow Concert)
낯선 두형제 (feat. 박종현 from Galaxy Express) ('09 Yellow Concert)
밤이 걸어간다 (feat. 하현우 from Guckkasten) ('09 Yellow Concert)
Em ('08 Good Vibration)
I Know (feat. 박종현 from Galaxy Express) ('09 Yellow Concert)
그들이 온다 (feat. 김정근, 성낙원, 오정석, 최철욱 from Kingston Rudieska) ('09 Yellow Concert)
오나비야 ('08 Yellow Concert)
내달리는 사람들 (feat. 차승우 from The Moonshiners, 김정욱 from 소울전자음악단) ('09 봄의 피로)
A (feat. 차승우 from The Moonshiners) ('09 봄의 피로)
사막 (feat. 신윤철 from 서울 전자음악단) ('09 봄의 피로)
갈가마귀 ('09 봄의 피로)
불안한 영혼 ('04 Yellow Concert)
환상환멸 ('08 Yellow Concert)
죽이다 ('08 Yellow Concert)

DVD: 2009 Yellow Concert DVD:
(Many of the embedded videos are not from the DVD but are fan cams. The official DVD has noticeably better sound and picture.)

환상환멸 (feat. 하현우 from Guckkasten)
밤이 걸어간다 (feat. 하현우 from Guckkasten)
그들이 온다 (feat. 김정근, 성낙원, 오정석, 최철욱 from Kingston Rudieska)
휘파람 (feat. 김정근, 성낙원, 오정석, 최철욱 from Kingston Rudieska)
낯선 두형제 (feat. 박종현 from Galaxy Express)
I Know (feat. 박종현 from Galaxy Express)
빗소리
물안한 영혼 (with 김경주 (poet), 성경선 (actor), 최애웅 (mimist))
죽이다
푸른 수평선 (feat. 박종현, 하현우, 김정근, 성낙원, 오정석, 최철욱)

Links:

Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at YesAsia

Replay: Huckleberry Finn - 올랭피오의 별

2012-01-20T01:44:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

Huckleberry Finn's third album begins a little more mellow than its predecessors with the introspective "Time", which might make listeners worry that this grunge rocking band has gone soft, but the moment you reach Lee Giyong's blasting distorted guitars and Lee Soyoung's howling on "I Know", you can rest be assured that the band you loved is still present on Olengpio's Star. However, there are some subtle developments in the band's music here that keeps it from becoming stale and make Huckleberry Finn's third album as strong of a listen as its predecessors.

Part of the band's musical progress lies in the band's development in their slower tracks, including the opening track, but other solid mid-tempo tracks, like "연", which never rocks out and is warmed by the presence of strings, but still manages to have great emotional build, in part because of Lee Soyoung's great vocals have fantastic dynamic range, but also because of the band's increasingly interesting arrangements, like the interesting plinking piano lines giving the back of the music some color.

There are also some interesting points where the band plays with new sounds, like the keyboard synthesized bits on "물고기", which also feature some low-key harmonized vocals from Lee Soyoung and Lee Giyong. And then there's the almost shoegaze/post-rock extended opening to "물안한 영혼", before the distortion comes on and points to Huckleberry Finn's core sound, but the track doesn't stay there, switching back to the space-like echoing guitars and adding some gorgeous strings before going back back into the core alt-rock sound.

You can see in the music that the band doesn't neglect the grunge alt-rock sound that they're exceptionally good at, but it's starting to blend and meld with some of the sounds and arrangements that the band is trying out here and it's coming across quite successfully. In all truth, there are a few less of the harder songs here, but like champions, the band closes out with the steam-blowing rock workout of "자폐". Huckleberry Finn works its third album well, by neither neglecting that element of their music that they're especially good at, but keeps tweaking and pushing their music forward bit by bit, and that makes Olengpio's Star a mighty fine addition to the band's discography and a highly enjoyable alt-rock listening session. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Time
I Know
물고기
연
Hey Come
불안한 영혼
K
올랭피오의 별
춤추는 고양이
민요
자폐

Links:

Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Inbox: G.Fla - G.Fla

2012-01-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

New for me

I became aware of G.Fla (which stands for "Groove Flamingo") because of Jungin, the band's vocalist, who I was introduced to by her various appearances on Korean hip hop albums, most notably as Leessang's chanteuse for some of their biggest hits. And while G.Fla's album has been out of print for a while, I managed to find a copy on the auction circuit and snapped it up right away and I'm pretty happy to have done so, because G.Fla is quite an enjoyable blend of funk, soul, and rhythm and blues.

Musically, the band tends more towards R&B in composition, but Jungin's vocals are very soul-oriented giving many of the songs a bit of a hybrid feel, especially since the band keeps a light dusting of funk in many of the arrangements. However, sometimes the band pumps up the groove and can sound like a sister of Asoto Union, like on the groovy opening track "자연히" and the funky second track, "City". Dynamic Duo even shows up to spice up "사랑을 하고싶어". Jungin performs well on these tracks, channeling her sandy neo-soul vocals into the smooth tunes. However, her vocal style does show a bit of a limit to the top end of her voice, especially in the compositions.

However, when Jungin is given a song where she's allowed to open up more, particularly the ballads, like "Love Story" or "우리", it's clear that she had greater dynamic range than the more clipped vocals in her funkier songs. There are times where the songs are merely okay, especially towards the end, in the more sparely arranged neo-soul of "Cure" and "나는 너", but overall, the album is pretty solid, with a great flow over its course, changing from funk bounce to soul songs and back again over its run. If it were a bit shorter, cutting a couple of the lesser tracks, it would've been a rock solid listen.

That said, if you're looking for more soul, funk, and R&B in your Korean music, G.Fla is another great, even if short lived, source of that music, with a bevy of enjoyable tunes led by Jungin's lovely soul vocals and buoyed by some groovy funk underpinnings from the band. 8/10.

Tracklist:

자연히
City
Love Story
우리
원더풀
다시 한번
氷炭之愛 (빙탄지애)
사랑을 하고싶어
옥탑방
June
G-Flaaaa (intermission)
True Love (English version)
Cure
나는 너
우리 (Acoustic version)

Links:

Available at YesAsia

Replay: Huckleberry Finn - 나를 닮은 사내

2012-01-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

Huckleberry Finn's 나를 닮은 사내 (A Guy Who Looks Like Me) line-up is the debut of new lead singer, Lee Soyoung, and the solidifying of the band's sound with Lee Giyong taking over the majority of the band's songwriting. The result is a much more consistent album, which might not be as wild as the first, but certainly more focused and still rocking hard.

Lee Soyoung ends up being a great lead singer for the band as she brings serious rocker chick swagger and a voice that carries a similar huskiness to Nam Sangah, allowing her to fit right into the band's existing music and take over vocal duties for those songs. Musically, the core sound of Lee Giyong's songwriting is intact, meaning that 나를 닮은 사내 carries a grungy alt rock style of music, although the arrangements are occasionally a little more elaborate than the first album, like the strings that show up on the opening rocker "사막" and the slow burn "길들여진 개", which boasts piano in addition to strings. And then there's the sampling and turntables on "Shaker", which mixes surprisingly well with the alt rock in its spare presence.

There is no dire rocker like "죽이다" from their first album, but 나를 닮은 사내 also simply is packed full of potent rock songs ranging from slow and more mellow tracks, like the Lee Giyong fronted "Somebody to Love", to mid-tempo rock like "고양이" with its "Heart-Shaped Box"-like guitar screeches. Overall, the diversified arrangements do make the album feel relatively softer, at least inasmuch as you might say that grunge can be soft, but that certainly doesn't make 나를 닮은 사내 a soft album. It's packed full of pretty awesome alt rock and Lee Soyoung fits right into the band perfectly, making this album a dependable staple of early Korean alt rock. 8/10.

Tracklist:

사막
Somebody to Love
A
길들여진 개
훌라
Shaker
Em
Oz
길을 걷다
고양이
Silver

Links:

Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at MrKwang and YesAsia

Inbox: Monni - This Moment

2012-01-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

New for me

I'm not entirely sure how I came to be aware of Monni, but I have to admit that I purchased their second album simply on recognition of their name alone, wanting to try something different. Interestingly enough, Monni's music ended up being quite familiar as opposed to different, following in the latter day britpop tradition, putting the band close to early Coldplay, Snow Patrol and even Nell in terms of musical flavor. In some ways, this does mean that the band doesn't sound especially unique, but I think their strong songcraft makes their music enjoyable nonetheless.

This Moment is actually a rather long album with fourteen tracks spanning over fifty one minutes and after a couple listens, I have to admit that it actually feels long, even though the music does has some diversity beyond the britpop sound. However, the britpop sound does come at the front of the album in "나 지금 뛰어가고 있어" with Kim Shinui's voice frequently breaking up into near Kim Jongwan like distortion, but carrying a bit broader depth. Despite the comparisons, the music is all quite pleasant traversing in mood from longing, to introspection, to contentedness.

But because there's so much music, it's the deviations that are most notable and they are fortunately peppered through the album, like the chugging piano rock of the second track, "그대와 함께" or the rocker "가줄래" which has a more swingy verse breaking into an semi-angsty chorus. The band hits a little harder on "요조숙녀", although there's a point where I was hoping for some screaming and I got "bah-bah-bah"'s instead. The most unusual track features Lee Inkyung on filtered vocals, adding drum machines, giving the track an almost alt-dance sound, similar to the effect of Deli Spice's Welcome to the Delihouse.

I think that fans of the Korean take on britpop will easily find much to appreciate about Monni and the music is smooth enough that casual listeners will probably find it quite accessible. That said, the music isn't especially distinct as it follows a well worn style, already blazed by a more prominent Korean band, so I don't know if Monni is really going to appeal to anyone that's not already listening to this particular style of music already, unless it's a first encounter. Even if the album is a little overloaded, it's good music, just a touch familiar. 7/10.

Tracklist:

나 지금 뛰어가고 있어
그대와 함께
제자리
일기
울지말아요
눈물이 마르면
나를 떠나가던
톡톡톡
가줄래
비밀
요조숙녀
I Know You
My Girlfriend
흔적

Links:

Artist website
Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at YesAsia

Replay: Huckleberry Finn - 18일의 수요일

2012-01-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

Over the last decade, Huckleberry Finn has proved to be a reliably awesome Korean indie rock band, featuring some intense, grungy alt rock, with kickass vocals from Lee Soyoung. However, the lineup for Huckleberry Finn was a little different on their debut album, 18일의 수요일 (Wednesday the 18th), Lee Kiyong being the continuing member, but also featuring Kim Sangwoo on drums and Nam Sangah taking lead vocals, both of whom would go on to form 3rd Line Butterfly.

This degree of talent was big enough to fill *two* bands later and it's apparent from listening to Huckleberry Finn's debut album that this combination was still quite potent, although it was also clear that there were two different strains of music present on this album, foreshadowing Nam Sangah's later departure.

The tracks by Lee Kiyong are classic Huckleberry Finn tracks, favoring distorted helicopter guitars and aggressive, deep vocals on the faster tracks, like on the explosive rockers "죽이다" and "풀", sounding like a musical relative of the late Nirvana. On the less intense tracks, like the band name track, the band becomes wonderfully mellow, although retaining edge thanks to the rock arrangements and expressive vocals.

In contrast, the tracks written by Nam Sangah are wilder, featuring her angular and unpredictable melodies and well the bouncy rhythms and touches of psychedlia that marked 3rd Line Butterfly's oeuvre. And yet the compatibility between the two songwriters is apparent on the Nam Sangah-written buzzy hardcore rocker "불을 지르는 아이". Nam Sangah is a fantastic vocalist for both types of music on the album, pressing the more disciplined for of Lee into her throaty, raw style and going wild for her own, with proto-Swallow Lee singing lead on the band name track.

All this is quite compelling and easily a starting place to end up following both Huckleberry Finn in its subsequent incarnation as well as 3rd Line Butterfly as both songwriters prove themselves. Quite simply, Huckleberry Finn rocks and they rock hard. And when they're not rocking hard, the potency of their expression via Nam Sangah's powerful voice and frequently interesting melodic choices is still captivating. This band, which debuted in the late 1990's is an essential of Korean indie rock, both in terms of the history of two prominent bands as well as simply continuing to be simply fantastic rock music. 9/10.

Tracklist:

보도블럭
첫번째 곡
당당
불을 지르는 아이
Huckleberry Finn
풀
갈가마귀
사마귀
Teacher Says?
Work
죽이다

Links:

Available at iTunes

Inbox: Slow 6 - Grand A.M.

2012-01-14T23:31:00.000-08:00

New for me

After seeing the names "Slow 6" and "Slow June" credited with helping on Deli Spice, Sweetpea and Sweater's albums, I decided to grab his album and learn a little bit more about the music of the man who worked with some classic Korean indie groups. What I found was a mellow singer songwriter. While Grand A.M. will unlikely be accused of being a particularly mindblowing or moving experience, it's at least a comfortable male Korean singer songwriter album, filled with peaceful tunes.

A lot of the music on Grand A.M. is grounded in Slow 6's acoustic guitar and supported by Sweater (sans Earip), with Mellowyear on drums, Im Yejin on keyboards, and Shin Jihyun on bass. This actually gives the album a bit of a Sweater flavor, especially the programmed strings, which pop in and out, highlighting songs in a way that's quite reminiscent of Sweater's albums. However, while the arrangements often, and understandably, resemble the work of Sweater, the songs are grounded in male singer songwriter music, with Slow 6's acoustic guitar setting the pace and Slow 6's mellow vocals.

While most of the music follows the pop-touched singer songwriter style, there are excursions on Grand A.M., like or "숨바꼭질", which almost resembles Tearliner's music, with its pretty piano and downplayed vocals. The music is closest to Sweater's own music on "모노로그" thanks to a mild splash of funky guitars and groove. Since most of the music is fairly light, "졸린봄"'s stronger vocal presence is also quite noticeable as well as the electric guitar on the opening "Stupid Days".

However, most of the time, the music is sunny singer songwriter music, either at a peppier tempo, like the second track, "Dear" or mellower, with a small splash of jazz, like "졸업". This means that Grand A.M. is a bit slight. It's the kind of music that will appeal to those that might appreciate a mellower Sweater or EZ Hyoung, perfect for background music on a lovely spring day as you read a book while sitting outside at your local cafe. If that sounds good to you, than you might like Grand A.M. 7/10.

Tracklist:

Stupid Days
Dear
그림자
아침
숨바꼭지
졸린봄
모노로그
졸업
함께 걷는 길
운동화
그 여름 가장 조용한 바다
Greeting (instrumental)

Links:

Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: Queen - Flash Gordon (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

Here's the deal. I'm not fond of the movie Flash Gordon. When I saw it so many years ago, I thought that it didn't have enough reflexivity to sell all the camp and you were certainly not going to enjoy it straight. But it has been a while, so apparently during that time, I had forgotten that Queen was responsible for creating the soundtrack for the film. And then, after listening to the soundtrack, I realized just how genius it was for Queen to handle the soundtrack, simply because they were great at creating dramatic, rock opera-esque music.

That's not quite the direction of the soundtrack, which largely moves beyond Queen's music as it was prior to this soundtrack, but it's still surprisingly impressive. Obviously, the title track with its ridiculously memorable "Flash (AH-AHHH!)" part is going to stick in your head a lot more than you'd expect and the band really brings everything you might want from a Queen driven soundtrack into it. Most of the rest of the album features moody orchestral and synthesizer driven pieces which fill in the role of the score. This is noticeable as it's the first time that the band really indulges in synthesizers. But it's largely the theme tracks that the most impressive, with "Ming's Theme" wonderfully ominous on a heavy humming synth. Likewise, "Vultan's Theme" drives well under the percussive drumming from Taylor and the heroic synthesizers, blending well into the rocking "Battle Theme".

This soundtrack does feature a lot of dialog and sound clips from the movie, making it an almost mini-radio show version of the movie and while that doesn't make for particularly convincing listening if you listen to the separate tracks on their own, in the context of listening to the whole soundtrack, it helps anchor the moments from the movie easily into the work, telling the story. However, I do think a "clean" version of the album would be nice, to really be able to follow the compositions without the distraction of conveniently placed dialogue.

In the end, the soundtrack to Flash Gordon is actually surprisingly enjoyable, in part because Queen's dramatic compositions work well with the camp level of the film and, in the format of simply listening to the soundtrack, actually helps to tell the movie's story. Now purists might not appreciate that the dialogue and sound effects were cut into most of the tracks and those looking for a regular Queen album will definitely not find what they want here. However, as a soundtrack, Queen actually seems to capture the kind of campy space opera feel of the film and it works well with their music. The result is a surprisingly enjoyable soundtrack; for me, even more enjoyable than the movie it supports. 7/10.

The extras on the deluxe edition's bonus EP aren't particularly special since most of them are actually available elsewhere. The early demo versions of "Football Fight" and "The Kiss" are interesting, but certainly only something that diehard fans would be interested in.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Flash's Theme
In the Space Capsule (The Love Theme)
Ming's Theme (in the Court of Ming the Merciless)
The Ring (Hypnotic Seduction of Dale)
Football Fight
In the Death Cell (Love Theme reprise)
Execution of Flash
The Kiss (Aura Resurrects Flash)
Arboria (Planet of the Tree Men)
Escape from the Swamp
Flash to the Rescue
Vultan's Theme (Attack of the Hawk Men)
Battle Theme
The Wedding March
Marriage of Dale and Ming (and Flash Approaching)
Crash Dive on Mingo City
Flash's Theme Reprise (Victory Celebration)
The Hero

Disc 2:

Flash (Single version)
The Hero (October 1980... Revisited)
The Kiss (Early version, March 1980)
Football Fight (Early version, No Synths! - February 1980)
Flash (Live in Montreal, November 1981)
The Hero (Live in Montreal, November 1981)

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: Leessang - Library of Soul

2012-01-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

New for me

Leessang didn't have any trouble in making a fan out of me with their first two albums and their third one catches my ear from the intro and first track, keeping my attention throughout the whole album, a diverse affair that stays true to Leessang's soul, R&B, and blues sound, with one wonderful exception. While a couple songs on the album feel a little similar to previously existing hip hop songs, Library of Soul is still a most welcome return for the charismatic hip hop duo.

The album opens up with a tantalizing intro that leads directly into an instant single in "내가 웃는 게 아니야" with Gil holding down the bluesy chorus and ALI guest featuring for some pre-chorus and background vocals. ALI is the one guest singer that shows up for a pair of tracks, her R&B style vocals matching well with their respective tracks.

There are a couple points where the music is a little too familiar. This happens in the back to back tracks "광대", which comes across as a sibling of Outkast's "The Whole World", with its springy bass, clappers, piano and swinging hook and "개리와 기리" which is a departure for the duo in being a bright hip-pop track channeling 45RPM's insanely catchy "즐거운 생활", complete with clippy guitars, energetic cutz and crowd shout choruses. That said, these tracks never really cross over into full on imitation and are quite fun in themselves. I just have to mention it since they are the two points where the music isn't quite as original.

One of my favorite moments on the album comes with the Movement Crew track of "화가" which brings in Tiger JK, Sean2Slow and Dynamic Duo all together on the chorus, giving the music a generous breadth of voices and all the solo verses all having great punch to, all attached to a groovy, multi-part, backing track. In fact, the tracks are so largely strong that it's hard not to appreciate most of the album; the only other deviation being ALI's second featured track, "Never Never Say Goodbye", which is a straight up R&B track with Gil and ALI on duet and Gaerie showing up only for a rap and I have to admit that it's the one lackluster track on the album, suffering from sounding just a little too generic.

But with so much of the album being full of rich, diverse tracks, largely staying true to the soulful sound that Leessang championed from their debut album and providing probably more than one hit, Library of Soul is definitely an essential of Korean hip-hop listening. It's hot. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Intro
내가 웃는 게 아니야 (with ALI)
도시싸이클 (with 박예은)
광대 (with B.M.K.)
개리와 기리 (옛 version)
JJJ (with 정표)
화가 (火歌) (with Tiger JK, Sean2Slow, Dynamic Duo)
의정부 (with t)
야바위 (skit)
야바위 (with TBNY)
청춘 30 (with Bobby Kim, 하림 (Harmonica))
Never Never Say Goodbye (with ALI)
Outsider (with Double K)

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Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Progress Report: Queen - The Game (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-11T16:56:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

If Jazz is the album that teased some of the changes that Queen's music would undergo, The Game is the album that really demonstrated it. The album half stands in the band's grand rock tradition and half wanders out to try some different things, many successfully. But it's not really the identity crisis of sounds that weakens The Game a little. It's the overall feeling that the band is trying too hard to appeal on some of the tracks on the album that diminishes the album just a little. However, I can't really deny that it's still a rather fun album with even the weaker songs still being of modest fun.

The tracks that follow Queen's grand style of the previous decade are still quite engaging, with "Play the Game" and "Save Me" capturing that classic Queen sound well and smartly opening and closing the album respectively, keeping the listening experience rooted in Queen's sound. However, the music takes a number of detours, especially with John Deacon's songs, which, by virtue of being less prevelent on their albums, naturally sounds different. These include the popular dance rock number, "Another One Bites the Dust", which is Queen most successful experiment outside of their usual style, as well as "Need Your Loving Tonight" which is a bit of a plain pop rocker.

The Taylor-written classic rocker "Rock It (Prime Jive)" is a bit of fine and Mercury's rockabilly run of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is even more fun, but "Don't Try Suicide" is a little over earnest in its message. And while the album is mostly filled with strong tracks, it's the weaker ones that are especially noticeable since on prior albums, the band's more modest album tracks were usually pretty strong.

The stylistic changes the band undergoes are actually fairly well done, but unlike previous albums, the entire album isn't consistently strong. This doesn't make The Game a bad album by any means. When Queen works on this album, it's a lot of fun to listen to, but it's just not quite as shiny as previous albums and with the music changing, it's also more noticeable that the band has been continuing to make the same kinds of songs for a while now. Still, The Game is an album I'm generally happy to play. 8/10.

The bonus EP included with the deluxe edition provides a couple good rarities, including the B-side "A Human Body" and the spontaneous music created in the studio in "It's a Beautiful Day", which made an appearance on the band's final album. The live cut of "Save Me" is pretty fun too.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Play the Game
Dragon Attack
Another One Bites the Dust
Need Your Loving Tonight
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Rock It (Prime Jive)
Don't Try Suicide
Sail Away Sweet Sister
Coming Soon
Save Me

Disc 2:

Save Me (Live in Montreal, November 1981)
A Human Body (B-Side)
Sail Away Sweet Sister (Take 1 with Guide Vocal)
It's a Beautiful Day (Original Spontaneous Idea, April 1980)
Dragon Attack (Live at Milton Keyenes Bowl, June 1982)

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: itta - DISCOVER

2012-01-10T17:33:00.001-08:00

New for me

itta's been busy working with Marqido on their duo project, 10, but having been enchanted by her solo work, I was quite pleased when I found that she was preparing another album. This particular album is internet distributed, directly by itta via email, so I sent her an email after seeing her post on Twitter about it and she personally responded by sending me the album. On DISCOVER, itta approaches a completely new concept: a cover album, which was quite intriguing, but after looking at the list of artists and songs covered, it turns out that the songs as well picked in terms of their compatibility with itta's own experimental style.

In terms of the kind of music you can expect on DISCOVER, it leans much closer to personal experimental approach of 11 than the instantly catchy stylings of Re:Pops, however, since all the songs are covers, they are largely (Yoko Ono's "Don't Count the Waves" being the biggest exception) built on more readily accessible pop structures and consequently none the tracks reach the same level of wild experimentation that was on 11. However, the arrangements are decidedly itta-flavored, especially with her processed, sometimes murmuring, echoing, layered vocals.

Some of the choices for covers were precisely the ones that I thought would be good matches for itta: Nico, Portishead, Bjork, Cibo Matto and Yoko Ono each carry a kind of quality that lines up well with itta's aesthetic. In terms of arrangement, itta places the organ front and center on every track, giving DISCOVER a dense sound, which works perfectly with tracks like Portishead's "Roads", giving an intense ground upon which itta played the songs vocals, with relative straightness in the lyrics parts, but creating almost operatic sections of vocal play, drawing a similar drama as the original, but in a uniquely itta fashion.

Some of the more surprising cover choices are actually some of the more interesting ones. itta takes on J-Pop with Perfume's "Butterfly", creating a melodic caterwaul with looping harmonized title repeats alongside atmospheric synths. And her slow, deliberate pronunciation of the lyrics creates an image of the titular butterfly emerging from its cocoon. itta also takes on a jazz standard with "On the Sunny Side of the Street", using the hollow tones of her organ in a gorgeous crystalline manner, drenching the background in bird chirps as she sings, her voice processed to be distant, but in combination, creating an immensely pretty track.

Now, that's not to say that I can say that everyone will appreciate DISCOVER, especially since the arrangements are often quite dense because of the organs and itta vocal style and effects retain an unusual kind of vocal expressiveness that, even though is pop, is also avante garde. Some of the selections and their arrangements are a bit predictable as well, by the time "Don't Count the Waves" shows up, it's nothing you don't expect because of the direction of all the previous tracks. DISCOVER's consistency in its arrangement approach is absolutely distinct and memorable, but at the same time, occasionally threatens to make the whole listen sound like one unrelenting song, which will likely be too much for casual listeners to appreciate and does cry a little for diversity, which is perhaps why I noticed the unexpected cover choices so much more than the expected ones.

Of those that appreciate itta's past releases, fans of the more experimental 11 might find the songs a bit too pop and traditional, if they tend towards elitism. Likewise, anyone who goes into this looking for another hook laden, catchy Re:Pops will probably not be able to take the deep difference between that album and DISCOVER. So I think I would say that those who appreciate itta as a musical stylist and vocalist in particular (not itta the experimental musician or itta the pop musician) will be the audience that appreciate DISCOVER. Even if a touch exhausting on repeated listens, I often found myself mesmerized, so you can count me in that camp. 7/10.

Tracklist:

The End (The Doors/Nico)
Roads (Portishead)
Cover Me (Björk)
Astro Boy (Blonde Redhead)
Apple (Cibo Matto)
Don't Count the Waves (Yoko Ono)
Incense (Erykah Badu)
Butterfly (Perfume)
Bohemian (Lee Sang Eun)
Golden Green (UA)
On the Sunny Side of the Street (Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields)

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Available exclusively via email: see 10rgb.com for the email address to request a copy

Progress Report: Queen - Jazz (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

Jazz is the Queen album that, like Sheer Heart Attack, denotes a transition in sound for the band. Featuring a few new sounds for the band on a few of the tracks results in an album that is still fairly vibrant, keeping the music from becoming overly entrenched in the style of the last four albums, but not at all being a reinvention of the band. And, in fact, the biggest hits on the album fit under the classic Queen rock style.

This willingness to change and experiment is apparent with the opening track, "Mustapha", which builds in heavy Middle Eastern and North African musical influences along with (at least) Arabic and Persian lyrics, merging that with their own prog rock sound. There's also the funky dance rock track of "Fun It", which the band will revisit in the future. However, these are just small inklings of change as the bulk of the album fits right in with Queens past few albums, including a pair of thematically interlinked arena rockers, "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race", the former being more of a dirty rocker and the latter embracing the grander camp stylings that marked Jazz's predecessors.

It seems like the band is going for sheer entertainment at this point as the lyrical themes tend towards the rock and roll basics of good times, most apparently pointed at by the self-referential rocker "Let Me Entertain You" as well as the album spanning track blender "More of That Jazz". In some ways, because of this, the album doesn't quite reach the explosive heights of their past albums, although the propulsive piano rock party anthem "Don't Stop Me Now" is perhaps the most ridiculously fun song that they've written.

Although I can see why Jazz isn't considered a great Queen album, because of it marks the softening of the band, at least thematically, as well as marking the beginning of the musical identity crisis that the band would later encounter, it is still a highly enjoyable album, packed with some big hits and solid album tracks that will easily appeal to Queen fans and even more casual audiences will still probably find a lot to enjoy here. I certainly did. 8/10.

The bonus EP included with the deluxe edition of Jazz is a little less impressive than some others. The single mix of "Fat Bottomed Girls" is ubiquitous and the instrumental version of "Bicycle Race" is probably only good for a couple listens unless you want to sing over it. The guitar version of "Don't Stop Me Now" is interesting for reference, but not especially different. The only particularly interesting bonus would be the live version of "Let Me Entertain You" which gives some additional vivacity to the song.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Mustapha
Fat Bottomed Girls
Jealousy
Bicycle Race
If You Can't Beat Them
Let Me Entertain You
Dead on Time
In Only Seven Days
Dreamers Ball
Fun It
Leaving Home Ain't Easy
Don't Stop Me Now
More of That Jazz

Disc 2:

Fat Bottomed Girls (Single version)
Bicycle Race (instrumental)
Don't Stop Me Now (with Long-Lost Guitars)
Let Me Entertain You (Live in Montreal, November 1981)
Dreamers Ball (Early Acoustic Take, August 1978)

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: Queen - Queen 40 Limited Edition Collector's Box Set, Volume 3

2012-01-08T16:51:00.000-08:00

New for me

Having purchased the first two volumes of Queen's 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Collector's Box Sets, I've gone from casual fan of the band to a more serious one, quite pleased with what I've heard so far.

The deluxe editions of the final five albums in their career are actually only available via the third volume box set as they didn't get individual releases. I can sort of understand this because these five albums were not very popular in the US and contain a smaller number of hits as a result. Even though I'm not especially fond of their songs from this era, the band has managed to surprise me so far with the overall quality of their albums, so I'm going to hope that they are still pretty decent.

The set is similar to the others, with a simple cardboard slipcase and small poster and is also, like the second volume, an Amazon.com exclusive. The case is red, a contrast from the two previous and more elegant black and white cases. And, in the case of this last batch of albums, casual fans, especially those in the US, will see little here to interest them, so this set is for earnest Queen fans. 7/10.

Disc List:

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Available at Amazon

Progress Report: Queen - News of the World (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

It's highly difficult to make two great albums in a row, let alone three, but Queen managed that with Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races. News of the World shows that Queen was one of those bands that had a lengthy period of making fantastic albums as News of the World provides a great set of songs, even if still using the template established by Sheer Heart Attack. The reason this works so well is because the band is both dynamic and diverse, each member of the band providing their own unique styles both to the band as a whole as well as having the songs they write for the band be markedly different than the ones from the other members.

News of the World opens with the one-two punch of classic Queen rockers "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions". That's right, they come one after another on this album and do a pretty good job of setting the more rock-oriented tone of this album. One element of note is the absence of showhall music from Freddie Mercury, although the lounge jazz of "My Melancholy Blues" that closes the album is relatively close. In fact, "Sheer Heart Attack" (the song, not the album), is a Taylor-styled hard rocker that follows directly after "We Are the Champions". It isn't until "All Dead, All Dead" that the album lets up a little on the rock for a piano driven light prog rock dirge.

Even Mercury gets in the rocking act with the overtly sexual "Get Down, Make Love" and May provides the great blues rock of "Sleeping on the Sidewalk". The album also has a pair of more dramatic, following "We Are the Champions" in the depressing escapist note of "Spread Your Wings" and the rock opera of "It's Late", continuing the Queen musical tradition.

And while by this point, the album doesn't quite reach the same vaulted heights of its preceding pair, News of the World is still quite an astoundingly solid album from start to finish, decidedly rocking harder than its predecessors and yet never losing sight of what makes the band work so well. This album will easily appeal to fans of the classic Queen era of music and is a classic of its era for a good reason. 9/10.

The deluxe edition comes with a bonus EP which includes a take of the never finished track, "Feelings Feelings" and some decent live cuts, with the fast version of "We Will Rock You" being a noticeably different version. That said, the deluxe edition is probably best for serious Queen fans (which, I admit I'm becoming), even if News of the World is strong enough for casual fans.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

We Will Rock You
We Are the Champions
Sheer Heart Attack
All Dead, All Dead
Spread Your Wings
Fight from the Inside
Get Down, Make Love
Sleeping on the Sidewalk
Who Needs You
It's Late
My Melancholy Blues

Disc 2:

Feelings Feelings (Take 10, July 1977)
Spread Your Wings (BBC Session, October 1977)
My Melancholy Blues (BBC Session, October 1977)
Sheer Heart Attack (Live in Paris, February 28, 1979)
We Will Rock You (fast) (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: 브로콜리 너마저 - 보편적인 노래

2012-01-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

New for me

After admiring their low-key music for a couple years and purchasing a couple of their smaller releases, I finally went out and purchased Broccoli, You Too?'s debut album. After listening to it, I was wondering why I didn't purchase it before since it's one of those albums that's sweet without being cloying and cozy without being small. There's an intangible kind of warm musical comfort on this album that makes the music instantly familiar and comfortable, but with enough hooks that keep the album continuously interesting.

The opening track, "촘" exemplifies the comforting music that the band provides, with Dukwon's warm male vocals providing the kind of internal, familiar perspective on the relationship dance with Gyepi coming into harmonize beautifully on the chorus, echoing vocally the dance in the lyrics. This kind of comforting music shows up again on the title track, also led by Dukwon and the duet of "유자차". However, this is only a small slice of the band's music.

In fact, most of the music is led by Gyepi's also warm vocals and can get pretty catchy, like the second track, "이웃에 방해가 되지 않는 선에서", with its bright keyboards, bouncy rhythm and Gyepi's lighthearted delivery, augmented by Dukwon's harmonies. And the band even incorporates a little auto-tune and rap on the following track, "봄이오면", into what still fundamentally remains a pop-rock track, staying upbeat for the following jumpy "두근두근" which is probably as energetic as this group gets, but made interesting by punchy horns via keyboard and a one-two rhythm perfectly resembling the song's title. In some ways, Broccoli, You Too? resembles the warmer, fun side of Deli Spice on their more energetic tracks, especially with Dukwon who channels both Yoon Joonho and Sweetpea on different tracks, although the band is nowhere near as experimental nor rocks as heard.

But the band also delves a bit into more traditional rock songs, like the steady "2009년의 우리들" and the title song. The band even detours a little into bossa nova territory (a favorite for Korean acts) with "편지". The production on the album isn't perfect and is even rough at times. The use of keyboard synth instruments (especially those horns) takes a little bit of the energy out of the music and flattens it, which is also not helped that the mix is very up front leading to a bit of flatness and lack of space on the songs. This results in the more straightforwardly arranged songs sounding more real than the more fanciful ones.

What I do like is that the whole band contributes to each track, with the four ladies in the band coming in on the chorus of "2009년 우리들" and the band manages to have spoken asides during songs which are just rough enough to sell as awkwardly cute. Hyanggi's guitar especially cuts in well on most of the tracks, creating musical highlights and occasionally handling musical solo duties, frequently warmed by a ringing echo.

Broccoli, You Too?'s willingness to utilize production effects never comes across as an attempt to be cool, but as playfulness, which is echoed by the spoken dialogues and the more obviously playful songs. However, the sometimes flat and cheap production hampers some of these tracks as well and the most consistent tracks on the album end up being the warmer, more acoustically oriented tracks, where the songwriting and performances shine brightest. Broccoli, You Too? then is kind of like a cup of your favorite coffee on a cold winter's day, warm, familiar, comforting, but providing a little energy as well. And this is all delivered with awkwardly cute earnest, resulting in a charming album. 8/10.

Tracklist:

춤
이웃에 방해가 되지 않는 선에서
붐이오면
두근두근
속좁은 여학생
2009년의 우리들
말
안녕
편지
앵콜요청금지
보편적인 노래
유자차

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Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at MrKwang and YesAsia

Progress Report: Queen - A Day at the Races (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

Named after a Marx brothers film, like its predecessor, Queen's A Day at the Races is positioned as a sequel to that landmark album by Queen. As the bar is set so high, it would be difficult for the band to reach it again, but the band makes a concerted effort and the results are fantastic. While A Day at the Races doesn't have a stunner on the level of "Bohemian Rhapsody" or "The Prophet Song", it provides its own set of songs that are appreciable for the same quality songcraft that made A Night at the Opera such a fine album.

In some ways, A Day at the Races is an even broader set of songs as it's not dominated by showhall music, containing only one solid example: "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", which is a fantastic piece of piano-rock pop, itself providing a surprisingly varied amount of musical sections in less than three minutes. Rather, Queen's progressive rock inclinations resurface on this album, driving "Long Away", "You and I" and "Drowse". Likewise, the band also indulges in a good amount of straight rock, opening the album with the lumbering metal of "Tie Your Mother Down" as well as on the accusatory "White Man" where the band shows a willingness to make a political statement.

There are a couple of usual works on this album, like the almost a capella "You Take My Breath Away" as well as the rock-waltz hybrid "The Millionaire Waltz" that sounds like precisely the kind of music you might expect from a band named Queen. However, the standout on A Day at the Races is the near epic "Somebody to Love" with its fantastic musical builds, guitar solo from May, perfect moments of catharsis and dynamite vocal performance from Freddie Mercury. The album also closes with "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)", the kind of epic anthem that you would expect the audience to hold up lighters to while singing along with the perfect chorus, which is itself sung in Japanese. A grand way to close out a grand follow-up to their masterpiece. 10/10.

The bonus EP for this album offers a handful of solid live tracks and a high definition version of "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)". Well worth it for serious Queen fans but probably not worth it for more casual ones. As with A Night at the Opera, this album is admittedly more than strong enough that less serious Queen fans will be able to appreciate it standing on its own.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Tie Your Mother Down
You Take My Breath Away
Long Away
The Millionaire Waltz
You and I
Somebody to Love
White Man
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
Drowse
Two Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)

Disc 2:

Tie Your Mother Down (Backing Track Mix 2011)
Somebody to Love (Live at Milton Keynes Bowl, June 1982)
You Take My Breath Away (Live in Hyde Park, September 1976)
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Top of the Pops, July 1977)
Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (HD Mix)

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Inbox: Queen - Queen 40 Limited Edition Collector's Box Set, Volume 2

2012-01-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

New for me

Listening through Queen first five albums had made it clear that Queen wasn't just merely a rock band with killer singles, but one that made some strong and even great rock albums. Having gotten through the first five albums, I realized that Queen's career of making hits continued long beyond their classic years and so I picked up the second volume of their 40th anniversary remasters and found many many more classics on these albums.

I actually think this five album set is a meaningful division of their career as well as it demonstrates Queen's transition from their classic rock sound into their more pop rock oriented sound in the 80's, with News of the World (holding the classic duo "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions") still hanging onto that rock sound, but by the time the band reaches Hot Space (which features their Bowie collaboration, "Under Pressure"), we see that their music is changing with dance music being its theme. This set of albums also contains their clunky soundtrack to Flash Gordon, wherein the music isn't so much a problem as just how much dialog from the film is cut into the music, making it a bit of a tough sell, especially to those, like me, who aren't fond of the 1980 space opera.

This set, which is currently an Amazon.com exclusive, merely includes an elegant white slipcase for the five discs as well as a small poster, so perhaps it's really for die hard collectors and Queen fans, although it does seem a tiny bit cheaper than buying all the deluxe edition albums separately. However, unlike the first volume, this one isn't quite a "must buy" as a set due to the inclusion of Flash Gordon, which some might not find as appealing and the price not being significantly better in buying the set versus the individual deluxe edition albums.

That said, the band is still relatively strong throughout this set of albums so I don't find this to be a bad purchase for those who like the band. And this set will certainly be of interest to fans who will want all the albums anyway as well as collector types who want the poster and slipcase. More casual fans, again, might be better off with a compilation or to purchase the individual albums that their favorite hits are on. 7/10.

Disc List:

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Progress Report: Queen - A Night at the Opera (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

A Night at the Opera is the album that makes Queen. Sheer Heart Attack was a solid album that showed what the band was capable of, but everything that the band had done up to that point solidifies on this immense album. It is swirling with ideas, taking upon itself multiple kinds of music from great hard rock, to more pop-oriented songs, to skiffle, to vaudeville and at one famous point in the album, incorporating these multiple distinct pieces into one.

Everybody in the band contributes well to the songwriting in this album, with Roger Taylor providing the almost the over-the-top rockstravaganza of "I'm in Love with My Car" and John Deacon penning the most pop rock song on the album with the feel good "You're My Best Friend". Contrasting to that song is the diss track, "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated To......", perhaps the most brutal kiss off I've heard yet from the era and certainly the most brutal song from Queen.

Queen's prog rock background doesn't go lost on this album either with the fun "Sweet Lady" and the positively epic "The Prophet's Song". But it's the Mercury-driven vaudeville aspect of the band that dominates the album, mixed in and swirled together with prog rock and metal to form what people recognize as the classic Queen sound. And each of these songs, even when campy, are still great fun. Brian May even gets into the fun, although not with vaudeville, but by using the Americana roots music of skiffle to tell a sci-fi story on "'39". But the whole album cultimates on one of Queen's most popular songs, "Bohemian Rhapsody" which goes from vocal chorale to piano rock ballad to prog rock guitar solo to opera to metal. It's a song that is a true kitchen sink song from the band that comes together so well, lyrically with the music bridged perfectly into the various parts of the rhapsody.

Even though the album is named after the Marx brothers' film, A Night at the Opera is a fitting title for the album, not just because of the presence of actual opera on "Bohemian Rhapsody", nor because of the prevalence of showhall=type music on the album, but simply because it's a continuous, complete musical experience, full of dynamism (as expected from a metal oriented band) and a diverse set of immensely attractive songs with many telling narrative stories through the lyrics. It's a rock opera itself and one worthy of listening to in its completeness, even for casual Queen fans, but especially for those who love to rock. Queen takes the form into a level of grandeur here that perhaps might never be matched. 10/10.

The deluxe edition features a bonus EP which includes an alternate take of their debut album's "Keep Yourself Alive", which was recorded in 1975, some interesting new mixes of existing tracks--with the guitar and vocal mix of "I'm in Love with My Car" showing just how hard the original song was and a couple live tracks. The crowd really helps give new life to the South American live version of "Love of My Life". A great pick for fans.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to......
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
I'm in Love with My Car
You're My Best Friend
'39
Sweet Lady
Seaside Rendezvous
The Prophet's Song
Love of My Life
Good Company
Bohemian Rhapsody
God Save the Queen

Disc 2:

Keep Yourself Alive (Long-Lost Retake, June 1975)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Operatic Section A Capella Mix 2011)
You're My Best Friend (Backing Track Mix 2011)
I'm in Love with My Car (Guitar & Vocal Mix 2011)
'39 (Live at Earl's Court, June 1977)
Love of My Life (South American Live Single, June 1979)

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Inbox: Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

2012-01-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

New for me

I came to know of Danger Mouse via his work as producer of the Gorillaz' second album, Demon Days, which I thought was a fantastic listen and Cee-Lo Green from various guest spots on hip hop albums as well his mega-hit from last year, "Fuck You". So it was only natural that I would eventually become interested in their collaborative duo, Gnarls Barkley, only boosted by the ubiquitous hit single, "Crazy". Both Danger Mouse and Cee Lo have discographies that buck genre trends so their resulting debut album itself is an addictive amalgam of soul, hip hop, rock and pop. I might be five years late to the St. Elsewhere party, but it's still quite the party.

Part of what works so well about this duo is how they capitalize on Cee Lo's classic soul vocals and Danger Mouse's love of 60's era rock, pop, jazz samples, along with Italian soundtrack samples, which mesh together seamlessly. The album bursts through the gates with the propulsive opening track, "Go-Go Gadget Gospel", with a punchy horn sample as the track continues to soar higher and higher under Cee Lo's declarations of "I'm free", backed by an uplifting gospel choir. And the song immediately then jumps into the album's big single, "Crazy", build on an Italian soundtrack guitar loop as Cee Lo describes his descent into insanity straight into the song's killer hook.

If that's not enough, the following track "St. Elsewhere" merges soul, trip hop and a touch of psychedelia into an atmospheric brooder before going straight into catchy-as-hell cover of The Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone" and then the band goes for a new take on old school Motown R&B on "Smiley Faces". The album features some darker subject matter with depression, necromancers, monsters and madness as common topics, but done with an energetic and freewheeling spirit, never letting the music get as dark as the lyrics would get.

Cee Lo is a knockout vocal performer here, burning his vocals with his soul-glow, scatting, growing, going from explosions of mania to menace. Likewise, Danger Mouse has a keen ear for amazing samples to build the music around, done in such a way that peppers the tracks with great atmosphere and keeping Cee Lo's performances front and center, but with such great synergy that it's clear the two belong together. There are times that St. Elsewhere goes into similar ground covered by Andre 3000 of Outkast's The Love Below, but with less Prince, thanks to their shared old-school inspirations, so I imagine fans of one will appreciate the other.

Even the more hip-hop oriented tracks buck the trends of the music and explode with creative style, like the kinetic "Transformer". Another strength to the album is that Gnarls Barkley knows how to keep their songs short and to the point, never letting their hooks outwear their welcome with most of the tracks under three minutes and the album less than forty. The best energy on St. Elsewhere is present at the front of the album, but the album tracks keep the party rocking until the end. A great debut and collaboration. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Go-Go Gadget Gospel
Crazy
St. Elsewhere
Gone Daddy Gone
Smiley Faces
The Boogie Monster
Feng Shui
Just a Thought
Transformer
Who Cares?
Online
Necromancer
Storm Coming
The Last Time

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Progress Report: Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2012-01-01T17:18:00.001-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

Sheer Heart Attack is a transitory album for Queen as it marks their general departure from the progressive rock side of their music, which dominated their first two albums, moving more into and expanding upon the rock elements of their first album. Sheer Heart Attack also sees a broadening of the bands sound, including kinds of songs that the band had no performed before and results in a tight, fun, album that more casual fans of the band will recognize the band for.

But all that's not to say that the band has abandoned their prog rock leanings altogether, as the atmospheric experimentation of the genre still makes its presence known on tracks like "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettos)" with its ethereal production sound as well as the themes of the dramatic "In the Lap of the Gods". However, that latter track actually also showcases the way that the band takes their earlier prog rock experimentation into a different world as the Mercury written piece, with its multi-part progression, vocal-heavy arrangement pushes the rock instrumentation into the background.

The album features a number of rock tracks, like the opening "Brighton Rock" from May, with its guitar heavy solos and fantastic chorus; the more traditional youth and rebellion rock track, "Tenement Funster" from Taylor; and the aggressive, heavy and fast "Stone Cold Crazy" from Mercury.

However, the tracks that are the most distinctive Queen tracks would be the absolutely bombastic "Killer Queen", throwing in oodles of pomp and theater, blending the bands hard rock with vaudeville into one of their massive hits. There's also the one-two punch of the dark "Flick of the Wrist", with its sometimes sinister vocals, followed by the comforting piano-accompanied "Lily of the Valley", a vocal dominated affair. The showhall element that Freddie Mercury brings to the band's arrangements and songwriting becomes obvious with the presence of the goofy "Bring Back that Leroy Brown", with its multiple Mercury vocals, "woo woo"'s.

But all that actually adds to Queen's music as the band generally is able to fuse Mercury's theatricality with May's guitar virtuosity and Taylor's heartier rocker attitude to produce the multi-dimensional music that they're loved for. And Sheer Heart Attack is a great testament to that mix, featuring more than a couple tracks worthy of hit status, including classic rocker "Now I'm Here" and the closing, dramatic "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited" with its great sing-along chorus section. This album established the Queen that became an internationally recognized rock legend and for a good reason. It's a great album and the first of Queen's albums that would appeal to more casual fans thanks to its inventiveness and hits. 9/10.

The deluxe edition features a bonus EP like the others, which features some alternate and live versions, which are definitely interesting. Listen to the stadium sing along with the chorus of "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited" to highlight just how epic this song would've been in concert or the a capella mix of "Bring Back that Leroy Brown" to see just how impressive Mercury's vocals were for that track. Well worth it for fans.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Brighton Rock
Killer Queen
Tenement Funster
Flick of the Wrist
Lily of the Valley
Now I'm Here
In the Lap of the Gods
Stone Cold Crazy
Dear Friends
Misfire
Bring Back that Leroy Brown
She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettos)
In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited

Disc 2:

Now I'm Here (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
Flick of the Wrist (BBC Session, Octoer 1974)
Tenement Funster (BBC Session, October 1974)
Bring Back that Leroy Brown (A Capella Mix 2011)
In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited (Live at Wembley Stadium, July 1986)

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Inbox: The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

2011-12-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

New for me

It's sometimes hard to find words to describe unique sounding bands like The Shins. There are times, like on the acoustically firing "Mine's Not a High Horse" that they can sound a little like The Decemberists, and Mercer's sometimes higher pitched singing can run reminiscent of Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips or Daniel Smith of Danielson, but each of these referred bands are quite their own thing as well, and of them, The Shins is probably both the most accessible and the most pop oriented. Chutes Too Narrow, the band's followup to their indie hit debut, Oh, Inverted World, finds the band's music shined up with higher production values, but there shouldn't be any concern about a mainstreaming of their sound because the band takes their new gloss into newer territory without losing their established character.

One of the things that comes through immediately is that The Shins music takes on a new degree of energy on Chutes Too Narrow. Mercer's multi-layered wailing high pitched vocals get a workout on the rocking "So Says I", boasting a great deal more electric guitars than their debut album and the opening track "Kissing the Lipless" builds a fantastic energy for the album under the thumping drumming. And then there's the tumbling rock and roll of "Fighting in a Sack", speeding along as the fastest song on the album with a great "bom bom bom" vocal highlight after the chorus.

That's not to say that The Shins' acoustic strength is lost. On the very "Fighting in a Sack" is driven by a country-folk acoustic rhythm, complete with a harmonica solo and "Mine's Not a High Horse" similarly is propelled about acoustic guitar rhythms, but it's the slower songs that highlight the band's acoustic sensibilities, like the lovely "Young Pilgrims". There's also a great steel guitar underlining the country-touched "Gone for Good".

But for all its diversity, the best thing about Chutes Too Narrow is just how sticky the music is. The guitar punctuation of "Saint Simon" combined with the "la la la" backing vocals give the song a bit of prettiness, accented by violins and the Merseybeat rock and roll of "Turn a Square" are just two more examples of how catchy this album is, especially given the band's now greater energy. Chutes Too Narrow's clean sound combined with its attractive pop-rock songwriting is the kind of music that could possibly appeal beyond indie-loving hipsters. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Kissing the Lipless
Mine's Not a High Horse
So Says I
Young Pilgrims
Saint Simon
Fighting in a Sack
Pink Bullets
Turn a Square
Gone for Good
Those to Come

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Progress Report: Queen - Queen II (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2011-12-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

Queen's second album sees a strengthening of their sound, having been granted focus by making their second album a two-sided progressive rock concept album. While the band still doesn't fully evade the stereotypes of prog rock and proto-metal of their times, the result is still tighter and more atmospheric than their first album, losing a bit of Queen's playfulness in its focus.

The A-side of the album could be called the "white" side, as it's more positive and marked by the presence of the track "White Queen (As It Began)", a slower mystical piece. Despite being the positive side of the album, it's pretty serious, with "Father to Son" being a story about the titular pair set to progressive rock quiet and thunder. The harder prog rock style of Queen drives them closer in comparison to Led Zeppelin than other prog rock bands and they don't do much to dissuade this comparison, especially when you flip to their B-side.

Whereas the A-side was written by May and Taylor, the B-side was written by Mercury and it shows. Featuring a very mythic/mystical progression of songs, starting from the darker "Ogre Battle", the many tracks are quite vocally oriented, complete with falsettos and lots of background vocals, like in the multifaceted "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" and the theatricality of "Nevermore", edging the album closer to rock opera territory. This edging completes with the white queen's counterpart, "The March of the Black Queen", which features some great guitar solos from Brian May in its epic often galloping course. The album concludes with the completed version of "Seven Seas of Rhye", perhaps the strongest of their mythic prog rock songs, featuring a great combination of the bands various talents.

With all the talk of fairies and ogres and mythic creatures, Queen II does tend to blend in with the many post-Tolkien influenced prog rock and proto-metal bands, at least lyrically and thematically. In their unique blend of classic rock virtuosity and high theatrics, however, they continue to stand out, even though much of the latter is weighed down a bit by the concept, but the Mercury-written tracks, in particular find that level of theatricality still evident. However, the of the more playful, fun elements from their first album (which would become even more evident on their following albums) get lost here because of the need to tell these tales of creatures and folklore. And, while the music is decent, I think Queen is strongest when they are embracing their wilder edges.

The deluxe edition of Queen II comes with a bonus EP featuring alternate versions, the B-side "See What a Fool I've Been" and live takes, some of these songs getting a real boost of energy from live performance, and is well worth it for fans of the band or this album in particular. As usual, casual fans will not be served by the deluxe edition and perhaps not even the main album itself. Despite the lessened amount of fun on the more serious Queen II, I think the music is still quite strong and enjoyable, as far as progressive rock goes, given both a heavier metal edge as well as theatrical vocal wallop. And that makes it interesting enough for me. 7/10.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Procession
Father to Son
White Queen (As It Began)
Some Day One Day
The Loser in the End
Ogre Battle
The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke
Nevermore
The March of the Black Queen
Funny How Love Is
Seven Seas of Rhye

Disc 2:

See What a Fool I've Been (BBC Session, July 1973 - Remix 2011)
White Queen (As It Began) (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
Seven Seas of Rhye (Instrumental Mix 2011)
Nevermore (BBC Session, April 1974)
See What a Fool I've Been (B-Side Version, February 1974)

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Inbox: The Flaming Lips - Transmissions from the Satellite Heart

2011-12-29T15:49:00.001-08:00

New for me

My reaction to hearing this album, my first focused encounter with The Flaming Lips is: what in the world did I just listen to? Chock full of quirky lyrics, The Flaming Lips' music is a ear-catching, diverse blend of alternative rock, which dips into the pop handbook to make the songs oh-so-accessible, but goes off the deep end at times, sounding like The Pixies gone space rock. And all this is a very good thing.

The Flaming Lips are immediately noticeable just because their sound and their lyrics are simply different from what you could expect. Simply reading the track titles suggests a band that isn't interested in making straightforward music. But there are regular elements that really distinguish the band, at least circa Transmissions. First is bandleader Wayne Coyne's often high-pitched, strained, and sometimes off-note vocals. Then there are the fuzzy guitars. And finally there are lyrics that are as strange as the song titles suggest.

The band blows up the opening track, "Turn It On", with lumbering guitars driving to a backing vocal filled chorus, a perfect introductory track to the album. And like the first track, the band is able to find some pretty catchy hooks for their off-kilter songs, like their hit, "She Don't Use Jelly" with some rather gross imagery, but attached to some of the catchiest alt rock verse-chorus-verse structures I've heard. The album traverses a few other musical courses as well, like the hazy, floating textures of "Oh, My Pregnant Head" or the folk of "Chewin the Apple of Your Eye" or "Plastic Jesus", complete with interesting dynamics of instruments in the background.

However, the band is most fun when they are bashing away to the crazy music that they make, like the Beatles-in-space pop of "Be My Head" or the chuggy guitar of "Moth in the Incubator" along with the druggy backed vocals and half a dozen crazy layered sounds. The Flaming Lips make very unique music and Transmissions from the Satellite Heart highlights this well. With a well paced and diverse collection of catchy alt rock, wrapped around some interesting sonic textures, unique singing and stranger lyrics, this might not be a band that will appeal to all, but for musically adventurous types that like their music to be addictive along with interesting, Transmissions from the Satellite Heart's got you covered. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Turn It On
Pilot Can at the Queer of God
Oh, My Pregnant Head
She Don't Use Jelly
Chewin the Apple of Your Eye
Superhuman
Be My Head
Moth in the Incubator
Plastic Jesus
When Yer Twenty Two
Slow Nerve Action

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Progress Report: Queen - Queen (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

2011-12-28T15:01:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

Queen's debut album boasts not a single major hit for the band (unless you count the opening track, "Keep Yourself Alive", which isn't a major hit, but a hit of some sort. Yet, the remarkable thing is everything that identifies the music of later, more popular Queen is all present here, making this debut album an interesting listen for fans, even if the songs themselves aren't quite as concentrated as they would become later.

The album opens up with the album's lone stunner, "Keep Yourself Alive", introducing the band's proto-metal heaviness and especially Brian May's particular overdrive guitar solos and small fragments of Freddie Mercury's theatrical vocal style, all together with rousing chorus. Overall, the album itself mostly stays in the progressive rock world, complete with its penchant for mystical and religious themes ("Great King Rat", "My Fairy King", "Jesus") with a tendency for the heaviness of a metal band, giving Queen quite a bit of bite. When added to the theatrical vocals of the band, complete with falsetto backing vocals and Freddie Mercury's capacity for drama (check out "Liar"), it does establish a rather unique sound for the band.

Unfortunately, despite the strong musicianship and distinguishing sound of the band, the songwriting doesn't really escape the trappings of generic progressive rock and so hardly does much to impress beyond the bands peers. There is a bit of a crunchy music blast in "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" led by Roger Taylor that's a near relative of punk in energy, although the execution still includes prog-style guitarwork.

Perhaps then, one of the most interesting tracks is "Jesus", which itself relates various stories from the gospels about those who "go down to see the Lord Jesus" in full band chorus to stompy verses, before going off on a prog rock instrumental trip with spacey production, yet all within a four minute track, escaping the lengthy scale of similar prog rock epics. In its theatricality, sounding almost like a musical, I think it hints well at the band that is to coem, although there's no better clue than the unfinished version of "Seven Seas of Rhye..." that concludes the album.

The 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is a two disc affair, the first including a remastered version of the original album and the second disc including six tracks, with five demo versions of the music that would make its way onto the debut album as well as the song "Mad the Swine", which was recorded in part at the time, but not included with the original album as the band wasn't able to finish it. Fans will appreciate hearing the earlier version of the music as well as for "Mad the Swine", which, with its acoustic guitars, vocal focus, and more "pop" sound makes it quite different from the rest of the tracks on the album.

I think Queen's debut album is a strong blueprint for the band, especially in establishing its sound and its songs are pretty strong, even if a bit generic. Still, because "Keep Yourself Alive" is alone the hit from the album, it's certainly one that might appeal most to fans of the band in particular and perhaps fans of prog rock. A good album and one that hints at what the band is capable of accomplishing, but itself is not there. 7/10.

Tracklist:

Main Disc:

Keep Yourself Alive
Doing All Right
Great King Rat
My Fairy King
Liar
The Night Comes Down
Modern Times Rock 'N' Roll
Son and Daughter
Jesus
Seven Seas of Rhye...

Bonus EP:

Keep Yourself Alive (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
The Night Comes Down (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
Great King Rat (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
Jesus (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
Liar (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)
Mad the Swine (June 1972)

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Inbox: Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

2011-12-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

New for me

Coldplays returned in 2011 with their fifth album and it was actually an album I wasn't anticipating. Perhaps, because after Viva La Vida and Prospekt's March, I was wondering if they would be able to keep to my expectations or if they would produce another slightly tired affair like X&Y. Well, Mylo Xyloto, with its crazy name came out and I finally put my ears to it and have to say that, although I'm not quite as impressed as their better efforts, I still found it to be an enjoyable listen as the band has found yet another angle to their music and produced a set of accessible pop songs.

Musically, Mylo Xyloto is infused with even so light touches of electronic dance, most noticeable on the second track "Hurts Like Heaven" with its steady dance beat and electronic manipulation of Martin's energetic vocals, the synths that drive the anthem, "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall", or the minimalist pounding bass that grounds Martin's falsetto vocals on "Up in Flames". It also marks the release of the band's most pop song, the electronically humming "Princess of China", with a wall of "ooh"'s, synth instrument orchestra floods and a pounding one-two kick-snare and none other than Rihanna on duet with Martin.

But even these electronic touches don't do much to pull Coldplay away from their core sound; the synth bass on "Paradise" doesn't stop it from capturing that dynamic falsetto driven contrast chorus to the basic verses. And you can hear the drive of "Life in Technicolor" pushing the acoustically pulsing "Charlie Brown". However, the album doesn't quite have the altitude of peaks as its predecessor: once it reaches the first tripped down track track, "Us Against the World", a comforting escapist track, the album overall takes a dip in continued momentum, with "Every Teardrop"'s chorus and "Major Minus" almost Achtung Baby-ish dance-infused energy still not quite able to pick up after the energy, not that it needed to, but there's just something too even about the musical progression from there. The album does rally a bit with "Don't Let It Break Your Heart", but even then few of the individual songs are as magical as Coldplay's best.

As an album, I found Mylo Xyloto lyrically interesting as it does tell a kind of story: a bright, optimistic, comforting one; the kind of uplift that I think draws many to Coldplay. But there's something just a touch too slight about it to reach the levels of grandeur I think the music's arrangements aim for. Still, it is a comforting and largely enjoyable set of songs that won't disappoint those looking for the kind of optimistic, comforting pop-rock that Coldplay is known for. Mylo Xyloto is not another noticeable step forward for the band, but the band is still putting together some pretty decent songs with what it has and where it's at. 7/10.

Tracklist:

Mylo Xyloto
Hurts Like Heaven
Paradise
Charlie Brown
Us Against the World
M.M.I.X.
Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
Major Minus
U.F.O.
Princess of China
Up in Flames
A Hopeful Transmission
Don't Let It Break Your Heart
Up With the Birds

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Replay: Coldplay - Prospekt's March EP

2011-12-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

Coldplay was very productive during the sessions that produced Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, so much so that there were a number of songs that simply didn't make that album that were strong enough to demand a release as this followup EP, Prospekt's March. Accordingly dressed with another war-themed painting from Delacroix, containing a couple variants from Viva La Vida ("Lost+", "Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix)") and a batch of new songs, Prospekt's March is indicative of just how inspired Coldplay was during this session of songwriting and recording as the EP itself is a fantastic listen.

The retreads from Viva La Vida are actually the weakest points of Prospekt's March, "Lost+" gaining a lackluster guest performance from Jay-Z and the Osaka Sun remix of "Lovers in Japan" not being remarkably different from the original (although no longer stuck to "Reign of Love", helping it to stand alone as a single track listen). "Life in Technicolor II" is actually a full, lyrics and vocals added version of the instrumental in Viva La Vida and the song opens up well to becoming a complete song of its own.

In terms of the new songs: "Glass of Water" has an almost latter-day U2-like capacity for explosiveness in its chorus; "Rainy Day" uses a winding guitar hook, tying together with some shimmering electronics and orchestra to create a broad, multi-textured song that's quite enjoyable and the title track is a gorgeous acoustic-orchestral ballad.

But the best thing about Prospekt's March is that it resists merely being a collection of Viva La Vida cast-offs, building in itself a coherent musical passage, with the simple acoustic closing track, "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground" echoing the lyrics of the opening "Life in Technicolor II" and the instrumental "Postcards from Far Away" wonderfully transitioning into the songs in between. The result is a wonderfully complete listening experience from start to finish, a perfect companion to Viva La Vida and highly recommended to those that liked the album. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Life in Technicolor II
Postcard from Far Away
Glass of Water
Rainy Day
Prospekt's March
Lost+
Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix)
Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: Queen - Queen 40 Limited Edition Collector's Box Set

2011-12-25T11:15:00.000-08:00

New for me

In their twenty-year long musical journey (in their original incarnation), Queen has made some monster hits that most people recognize to this day. Birthed in the 1970's, they traversed through progressive rock, pop, and a variety of other sounds as they progressed through their fifteen album discography. That said, their albums weren't without their flaws: the sound track to Flash Gorden was drenched in dialogue clips from the movie and in their latter years, despite still making a few hits here and there, they lost much of their spark and focused too much on making accessible radio-friendly hits.

I like Queen. I like their dramatic theatricality in their earlier songs and their ability to create some fantastic pop and rock in their middle years. I liked Queen enough to purchase their double compilation, Greatest Hits I & II and after a while, I decided that I wanted more, so when I noticed that the limited box of their first five albums was on sale, I snapped it up.

The box itself is rather unremarkable: it's a simple black slipcase and it comes with a small poster. However, its contents are the draw: the first five Queen albums in their recent deluxe edition versions, each coming with the original release remastered as well as a second disc of rarities, consisting of demos, live tracks and alternate versions, perfect for collectors and die hard fans. These albums are available separately although at a greater cost, so if you don't really like any particular album(s), you don't have to buy the set, but there is a cost savings per album if you do decide to buy them altogether and even though I wasn't perfectly familiar with every song on every album, that's what I decided to do.

This box set in particular benefits from collecting the progressive rock to theatrical rock sound that Queen specialized in during the early part of their career and includes a number of their classic hits (especially once you reach Sheer Heart Attack's "Killer Queen"). That said, this box is really for more serious fans of the band's music as there is a lot of music on here and their album tracks don't all that have same zing factor as their popular singles, so casual fans would do best sticking to Greatest Hits I and/or II, but for serious fans or those that would like to take a dive into their catalog, this is a great starting point. 7/10.

Disc List:

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Available at Amazon

Replay: Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

2011-12-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

As of X&Y, Coldplay had perfected its Britpop formula, writing hit single after hit single, but in some ways, these otherwise well written songs seemed a bit tired, familiar, and safe. I think the band was aware of their potential for musical stagnation, so for their fourth album, they enlisted the aid of the venerable Brian Eno as producer and went off and experimented with the musical textures and structures of their songs resulting in a renewed vibrancy in their music.

This sonic makeover is apparent from the moment the dulcimers introduce the opening track, "Life in Technicolor", which itself defies Coldplay's past by being an instrumental. Drawing inspiration perhaps from their cover painting, Martin and company build songs that often evoke a sense of the past, like the second track "Cemeteries of London", which also pulls in Latin style percussion and high energy acoustic guitars. Then there are the North African elements (drums and musical structures) that grace "Strawberry String", which ditches the verse-chorus-verse structure and works to build atmosphere before transforming at the half into a soaring musical vessel.

That's not to say that Coldplay has abandoned its emotive songwriting that give them such immense success. It courses through most of the songs on the album, like on "Viva La Vida", sweeping, but intimate, with a gorgeous soaring chorus. Yet, the orchestral arrangement with its heartbeat kick drum and sometimes interesting instrumentation still give the song a kind of dramatic edge that makes it much more fitting with its company of songs in this album than with Coldplay's previous work.

Its ten tracks include a number of gems, like the stomping ode to hope on "Lost!" or the percussive, tack-piano driven "Lovers in Japan", which continues propelling forward until a segue into the warm, piano-accented "Reign of Love". And every song fits well with its peers, evoking a sound specific to this particular album and Coldplay. It might be too much to say that Viva La Vida is an all out reinvention of the band, but it is a leap in musical development for them, captivating in their new experimentation, but also retaining the strength of their songwriting and building these experiments on the backs of already strong songs. And that makes Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends a very welcome metamorphic return for these international superstars. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Life in Technicolor
Cemeteries of London
Lost!
42
Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love
Yes
Viva La Vida
Violet Hill
Strawberry Swing
Death and All His Friends / The Escapist (hidden)

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: Pedro the Lion - Whole EP

2011-12-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

New for me

After discovering that Pedro the Lion had released an EP prior to their first album, I had to snatch it up to see where PtL started and I was surprised to find that the band's sound was fully formed by the time of the first EP. This might be in part due to David Bazan's overall creative control of the band, but the first EP is also a concept EP, traveling along the spiritual journey of a man from a intellectual disagreement with Christianity to a desire for it, all set to PtL's slowcore style.

Again, the lyrical emphasis is where PtL's writing really shines, with a complete progression of story from the opening intellectual rejection of Christianity on the steady "Nothing". The more relaxed indie rock of "Fix" follows the narrator's descent into heroin and the EP peaks on the wrenching "Almost There", where the emptiness of drug addiction takes over, building in a screamo element into the music, intensifying the anguish. The broken narrator then seeks help from the "hole-fixing man" on "Whole". But the ending track of the cycle, "Lullaby" while comforting, isn't an admission that all is perfect when turning to Jesus, confessing that "I want to be like Jesus / but it seems so very far away". The final track, "Hymn" is an instrumental piece much in line with the PtL sound with a little bit of a build on the back on a military snare beat, but generally a refrain of the album's musical direction.

I love that the EP presents so complete a narrative journey and one that's extensively honest and first person, defying the usual "everything's perfect" of CCM-style songwriting and it matches well with the bleak, defeated indie rock sound of PtL, although the intensity of "Almost There" really surprised me. The production on the EP is comparatively weak though, with the mix just a little fuzzy and the dynamics on the album kind of flat, making the listen seem a bit distant. Given the Christian theme so potent on the album, this might not be as interesting to those who find religion an anathema, but Bazan isn't at all keen on conversation, but merely the relating the story of one character's life experience insofar as his relationship to Jesus goes, and done so well with PtL's style of music, it's hard to dismiss. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Nothing
Fix
Almost There
Whole
Lullaby
Hymn

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Replay: Pedro the Lion - It's Hard to Find a Friend

2011-12-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

The title of It's Hard to Find a Friend is actually quite descriptive of the album that stands as Pedro the Lion's debut album. The band, the project of David Bazan, immediately establishes itself with its downbeat sound and focus on thoughtful lyrics with Christian themes. And it's this strength in its thoughtful lyrics combined with genuinely winning indie rock sound that makes Pedro the Lion and this first album such a pleasure to listen to.

The opening track, "Of Up and Coming Monarchs", immediately establishes the kind of downbeat slowcore sound of Pedro the Lion, the lyrics painting a picture of a desire to escape from depression. There's also the picture painted of a failing relationship on "Bad Diary Days" to a steady guitar hum. Aside from the slow and often spare compositions, David Bazan's own hurt vocals really help to establish the unity of sound on the album.

Sometimes Bazan becomes critical in his lyrics, like on "Suspect Fled the Scene", pointing a finger at the wounds often caused by ostensibly Christian communities or a criticizing of the cult of beauty on "When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run".

But there are also warmer moments on this album, like the conciliatory narrative between a vengeful son and his patient father on "Big Trucks" and hope springs up in tiny places on more religiously attuned tracks, like "Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives", taking inspiration from the writings of the prophet Hosea with God as the patient husband to the wandering wife, or the concluding pair of songs, like "The Well" which goes along with the slowcore sound until near the end where the ringing guitars add a little hope and "Promise" which somehow pumps a little energy into its mildly rocking chorus.

It's Hard to Find a Friend isn't for everybody; the critical and aware lyrics might put a rain cloud over someone's bright sunny day. Nevertheless, for those that do appreciate honest and thought out lyrics and find comfort in the almost bleak nature of Pedro the Lion's slowcore sound, there's a lot to appreciate about this album. Indeed, it might be hard to find a friend, but I think this album is trying its best to be that friend, at least musically. And I love it all the more for it. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Of Up and Coming Monarchs
The Longer I Lay Here
Big Trucks
Suspect Fled the Scene
Bad Diary Days
The Longest Winter
When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run
Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives
The Bells
Secret of the Easy Yoke
The Well
Promise

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Inbox: The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat

2011-12-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

New to me

The Velvet Underground's sophomore release was a rather eventful one as their collaboration with both Nico and Andy Warhol came to an end. The resulting album is in someways, rougher, harder rocking, full of noise at times and almost devoid of the accessibility of their debut. This makes White Light/White Heat a challenging album to listen to, especially where the noisy elements really come to the forefront, but with that challenge comes an abandon to create the kind of music they wanted, the results of which can be rather fascinating for those with an interest beyond more accessible music.

Much of the six-track album is actually still quite accessible, with the rock and roll of the opening title track rolling away on a guitar and piano dropped rhythm. The second track, "The Gift", is a bit more unusual, being a lengthy narrative about a man who mails himself to his girlfriend set to an extended rock jam, full of screeching guitars and a chugging rhythm section. The third track, "Lady Godiva's Operation", continues the thick noisy music, underscored by buzzing guitars and droning viola, becoming almost psychedelic with Reed's clean vocals striking a contrast to the intensity of the music.

It's the one-two punch of the screaming guitars and pounding tempo that transforms an otherwise standard rock and roll song of "I Heard Her Call My Name" into something else. Then there's the epic, over seventeen minute "Sister Ray": a noisy, multi-passage continuous jam session during which Lou Reed pops in now and then to sing about his search for his mainline. This is the kind of track that will turn away casual listeners and split critics. It's probably too much for casual listening and too noisy for background music. It's intense enough to demand attention, but so chaotic sounding that it's often overwhelming.

And that's the essence of White Light/White Heat. I think it's possible to appreciate it as a whole and it definitely strikes a strong contrast against the album it follows as well as the album that it precedes. It's not for everyone and even those that like the other Velvet Underground albums might find this one a tough swallow, but I think there's a lot of interesting work done under its noisy, thick layers and those that have the tolerance for it will find it rewarding. 7/10.

Tracklist:

White Light/White Heat
The Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

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Replay: The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground

2011-12-20T21:51:00.000-08:00

Revisiting music

The Velvet Underground's eponymous third album is actually a bit of a change from their debut (as well as their even noisier second album, White Light/White Heat), taking the music deeper into beautiful and accessible music, no doubt a result of John Cale's departure from the band and Lou Reed's resulting songwriting dominance on the album. However, even as the sound of the album is more tempered, the band doesn't forego its rock edge and even has one rather edgy track. So, while the Velvets might have changed since Cale's departure, they are not a radically different band. And their third album is still a highly impressive listen.

The opening track, the brooding pop song, "Candy Says", with its gorgeous guitarwork, creating a sense of floating on drug-addled clouds, does a great job of setting the tone for the album. A similar mood floats through songs like "Pale Blue Eyes" and the plaintive "Jesus". However, the band still rocks it out on other tracks, like the more celebratory rock of "Beginning to See the Light" or the organ soaked extended rock jam of "What Goes On".

The only somewhat challenging track on this album is "The Murder Mystery", which contains an extended psychedelic rock jam, with a narration about the titular murder mystery, multiple voices tagging in, sometimes obliquely and some dissonant vocals, and several change-ups throughout its course. But it actually arrives well, giving the album a bit more kick than the more straightforward music present on the album. And, as a great contrast, the album closes with Maureen Tucker leading the absolutely cute "After Hours", tagging the album almost perfectly.

I won't say that the Velvets' third album is the kind of mindblowing work that they epitomized with their first and second albums, but the focus on largely accessible music, beautifully written and emotionally performed, still makes it a fantastic listen on a different level. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Candy Says
What Goes On
Some Kinda Love
Pale Blue Eyes
Jesus
Beginning to See the Light
I'm Set Free
That's the Story of My Life
The Murder Mystery
After Hours

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: Blondie - Parallel Lines

2011-12-19T19:17:00.001-08:00

New music for me

Blondie's third album, Parallel lines, opens with a raucous cover of a little known song by a little known band, "Hanging on the Telephone" by The Nerves, and proceeds to traverse through many different sounds over its twelve tracks, establishing themselves as one of the progenitors of the New Wave movement and managing to still weave together one impressive, catchy and enjoyable album while doing so.

I came across Blondie partially due to my passing knowledge of a couple of their singles from this album in particular: the shimmering disco-rock of "Heart of Glass" and the fantastically aggressive and stomping "One Way or Another" and that was enough to get me to start here. And Parallel Lines is said to be a significant album in the context of the band, even without the context of their musical development, Parallel Lines is a remarkable effort, showing the wide strengths of the band in crafting some incredible pop music that can range from fierce to pretty.

This sort of internal contrast throughout the album can also be seen in individual tracks like "Fade Away and Radiate" which features frontwoman Debbie Harry's often pretty vocals gaining strength as she adds to the back of her voice and tying it with some taut almost progressive guitars. The song also emphasis the breadth of the band's musical ability as it ends trailing with reggae rhythms. Even as the band can produce some lovely 1960's rock and roll fueled pop music, like the steady "Sunday Girl" or the rollicking near punk of "I'm Gonna Love You Too", they can turn around and rock a littler harder as well with "I Know But I Don't Know", which features a pretty hearty almost metal-like guitar section following its speak-song chorus, itself a precursor for some of the New Wave sound.

Debbie Harry is a wonderfully versatile singer, being able to growl and tough it on "One Way or Another" and sing like crystal on its antithesis single "Heart of Glass". And the band comes up with some fantastic original pieces that reach back into previous decades for inspiration but surges it with a power pop precision giving every track on the album the kind of energy that shows that the band really enjoys the music that they're making. And that makes Parallel Lines a fantastic album from start to finish. 10/10.

Tracklist:

Hanging on the Telephone
One Way or Another
Picture This
Fade Away and Radiate
Pretty Baby
I Know But I Don't Know
11:59
Will Anything Happen?
Sunday Girl
Heart of Glass
I'm Gonna Love You Too
Just Go Away
Once I Had a Love (aka The Disco Song) (1978 version)
Bang a Gong (Get It On) (live)
I Know But I Don't Know (live)
Hanging on the Telephone (live)

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Replay: The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico

2011-12-18T23:09:00.001-08:00

Revisiting past music

I was introduced to The Velvet Underground initially via the Korean film The Contact, which features their song "Pale Blue Eyes" from their eponymous third album throughout the film. Not long after, I attended one of Jon Brion's great Largo shows and was captivated by his take on "Femme Fatale", which was enough for me to decide to pick up their first album, which is a collaboration with vocalist Nico, produced under the guidance of Andy Warhol. And after listening to it, I'm glad I bought it, because I was blown away.

There is a lot going on in this album and you definitely don't want to expect that the almost pop-rock of the opening track "Sunday Morning" sets the tone for the whole album. And the bits like the production effects on the vocals and the presence of the strings in the background hint that there's more going on here than accessible pop. But, the band is still quite accessible all the same, as the second track, chugging rocker "I'm Waiting for the Man" draws in with its percussive keys and drums.

However, once you reach "Venus in Furs", you realize that The Velvet Underground are not just about catchy music with a little experimentation. The droning viola from Cale, layered and accented with slashes somehow blend so well with the psychedelic rock guitar, tambourine, and vocals, creating a whole sonic experience. That viola shows up again on the ode to one of their drugs of choice, "Heroin", which itself an interesting piece, dynamic in volume as well as tempo as it mirrors the effects of a drug rush and come down in a rock song, but takes off to experimental levels as the band floods their song in guitar and viola noise towards the ends, amping the intensity.

But, in some ways, it's that tension between accessibility and experimentation that gives this debut album such an edge. Following the folksy pop rock of "I'll Be Your Mirror" with the more experimentally influenced folk of "The Black Angel's Death Song" gives an impressive contrast just between two songs. Granted, I think some of their more experimental tendencies might not rub well with casual music listeners, but the noise and experimentation combined with sterling songwriting is a potent mix that will likely convince sincere music fans, especially when they collide on a single track, like the closing epic, "European Son". This is a remarkably forward album for the late 60's when it was released and remains a startlingly impressive album to this date. 10/10.

Tracklist:

Sunday Morning
I'm Waiting for the Man
Femme Fatale
Venus in Furs
Run Run Run
All Tomorrow's Parties
Heroin
There She Goes Again
I'll Be Your Mirror
The Black Angel's Death Song
European Son

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Inbox: Lucite Tokki - A Little Sparkle

2011-12-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

New music for me

Lucite Tokki's second album largely continues the precedent set in their first album, but pairs down the sound a little more, resulting in a cozier, even smaller sound. While this still results in a cute and largely enjoyable album, it also flattens the diversity of the album, resulting in a listen that can come across as more monotonous to some, especially with a lack of the more vibrant pop hooks like in the previous album.

While the lounge, jazz, and rock elements remain, the rock and dance pop elements have largely been pared away, leaving only a few examples of these. The opening low key indie pop track, "생일" largely sets the tone for the rest of the album, acoustic, swinging just slightly, lacking strong pop hooks, but providing a soothing delivery. The album never really takes off from there, the closest thing to a mid-tempo pop track is the slightly dance-fused "Christmas Next Day", built on an acoustic guitar hooks, electronic percussion and bleeps and bloops. The edgiest the duo get is the electric guitar and filtered vocals of "B.I.S.H", which has a noticeable echo of Roller Coaster's "숨길 수 없어요" in the jazzy rock rhythm and delivery.

Although her vocal breaking did exhibit slightly on Twinkle Twinkle, it seems as though Jo Yejin's vocals don't quite stay as consistent on A Little Sparkle, sometimes leading her to play too small on some of the more energetic or dynamic tracks, like the aforementioned "B.I.S.H" or "Driving". However, that same voice works well on the smaller pop tracks, which dominate the album. The jazz-touched pop tracks are probably their most successful, like the bossa nova of "바보마녀의 하루" or the vibrant chorus of "Christmas Carol (제1탄 크리스마스 트리의 신비한 힘)", aided by a burst of horns.

Still, I think the more languid pacing and tracklist of A Little Sparkle does slow down the listen, especially since the album doesn't have any strong pop hooks or enough buoyant moments in between the mini-pop and folk-pop to be especially convincing. This will still probably play well to fans of the cozy indie pop segment, but it does seem to lack some of the charm of their debut and might not be as appreciated by a broader audience as a result. A modest little indie pop album. 7/10.

Tracklist:

생일
바보마녀의 하루
손꼭잡고
나에겐
Driving
B.I.S.H
하프물범 (Letter to Arctic)
잊혀진 이야기
Christmas Carol (제1탄 크리스마스 트리의 신비한 힘)
Christmas Next Day
손
The Sweetest Loser (hidden track)

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Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at iTunes, MrKwang, and YesAsia

Replay: Lucite Tokki - Twinkle Twinkle

2011-12-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

Revisiting past music

Lucite Tokki released their first two albums on Pastel Music before moving onto their current independence, but the music they released during their time at Pastel makes it obvious why Pastel was interested in their indie pop sound.

Musically, they have a little in common with other Pastel Music peers like Belle Epoque and Love & Pop, blending elements of jazz, pop, rock, and electronica into warm musical ear candy. The more pop oriented tracks are engaging. The opening track, "수요일 (Piano Lesson)", blends acoustic guitars, electronic percussion and keyboard with Jo Yejin's warm vocals into a bouncy fun song and the appropriately titled "디스코" ("Disco") conjures up a lovely little dance tune. Sometimes this electronic sound takes precedence, leading to the skittering "미래도시".

But the duo trade more in intimate pop, like the fireplace pop of "12월", the jazzy lounge of "비오는 날", the sassier jazz-rock of "토끼와 자라" or the folk-pop of "봄봄봄", using combining Jo Yejin's capacity for mousiness with warm acoustic guitars. However, they prove capable of evoking a little emotion on their mildly rock infused ballad, "북치는 토끼", showing off the upper range of Jo Yejin's vocal capacity.

The diversity of tracks makes Twinkle Twinkle an easy listen from start to finish as they are all tied together by an intimacy of sound, Kim Sungyoung's guitar and Jo Yejin's vocals. The pop is engaging enough for focused listens, but excels as atmospheric music, perfect for coffeeshop studying and personal dance parties. A lovely album from these rabbits. 8/10.

Tracklist:

수요일 (Piano Lessons)
In My Tin Case
12월
미래도시
꿈, 여름
꿈에선 놀아줘
비오는 날
북치는 토끼
토끼와 자라
디스코
봄봄봄
수요일 (Piano Lesson) (hidden acoustic version)

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Available at iTunes, MrKwang, and YesAsia

Inbox: Trampauline - This Is Why We Are Falling for Each Other Remix

2011-12-15T23:58:00.000-08:00

New music for me

I was originally going to cover this limited edition bonus remix album with my review of Trampauline's This Is Why We Are Falling for Each Other, but seeing that this has it's own unique KOMCA number and barcode, I felt that it was a separate work that just happens to only come packaged with the second album. That said, you get a twenty-eight minute remix disc for no extra coast by buying the first printing of Trampauline's album, so that's quite a value, especially considering how interesting this remix album is.

The kinds of remixes vary from song to song in this seven track release, but all the songs are sourced from the second album. Every track has its own unique remixer, resulting in a unique sound from each track. Swann (I believe of Yellow Kitchen) provides a spare experimental pop "A Professor" remix of "Anthro. In Trampauline's own Quarkpop remix of "Love Me Like Nothing's Happened Before" throws in scatters in skittering beats and thumping electronics and filters, giving the track a bit more of a catchy edge thanks to the glitchy new rhythms.

Mimyo plays with dissonant synths on the Dusty Wing remix of "History of Love"; Lobotomy throws up echo effects and keyboard squeaks highlighting the New Wave sound of "Bike" on their Saracen remix. Both Ssighborggg and Woomin (aka Elena) play with breath-like tones in their remixes and Byul.org (the only other musician I recognize aside from Swann) flanges out and modulates Cha Hyosun's voice in a warm electronic glow instrument, paring down the music with filters, giving it a rather unique flair.

And while some of these remixes are fairly experimental and indie in taste, so they won't really appeal to mainstream tastes, I found them quite lovely. They are thoughtful remixes that, even when blurring out the original, as in Byul.org's Bestiality remix, still somehow manages to retain Trampauline's humanity, even as the music is adjusted to fit a related, but different musical vision. And given the synth-pop of Trampauline's original pieces, I feel that it only makes sense to draw out more towards these experimental remixes rather than the usual dance oriented remixes.

In some ways, I almost think this bonus album is worth picking up on its own, because of the strength of some of these remixes. However, I definitely will say that it's not for everyone. The experimental style of several of the remixers are relatively accessible because they are grounded in pop, but are still quite different from less adventurous ears. Those who do appreciate experimental and avante garde music might find the remixes a touch on the pop side, but I still think it's a great mid-point and a fantastic bonus for those who buy This Is Why We Are Falling for Each Other. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Swann - Anthropology (A Professor remix)
Love Me Like Nothing's Happened Before (Quarkpop remix)
Mimyo - History of Love (Dusty Wing remix)
Lobotomy - Bike (Saracen remix)
Ssighborggg - D.B.R. (Chopped & Screwed remix)
Woomin (aka Elena) - Love Me Like Nothing's Happened Before (Mad Rabbit remix)
Byul.org - Be My Mom's Lover (Beastiality remix)

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Progress Report: 산울림 - 다시듣기: 청춘

2011-12-14T15:41:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

The third and final disc of Sanullim's Another Listen collection is entitled Youth, but it's not precisely clear why, except that this volume is the hardest rocking of the three, perhaps suggesting that rock is a thing for the youth. That and it contains the song of the same name within its volume.

Sanullim's highest volume and the hardest rocking tracks are present here, including the psychedelic multi-part "문 좀 열어줘", the screaming "특급열차", the synth rock of "내가 고백을 하면 깜짝 놀랄 거야" with its almost haegum like synthesizer, and the speeding rock and roll of "지금은 작 생각나질 않네". I like the steady rock of "기타로 오토바이를 타자" with its train-like drums and buzzing guitars.

But all those high energy songs are thankfully broken up by mid-tempo tracks as well as slower numbers, like the folk song "독잭", the volume title track, the intricate guitars of "취중연가", or the bopping "아니 벌써". Another thing that this volume makes clear is that Sanullim really liked to push their voices, at the higher range straining to deliver and Kim Changwan hadn't yet developed his now signature explosive shout capacity, although you can hear some of it on the title shout of "가지마오".

Like the other two volumes, there's a bit too much on this disc for a single listen, at seventy-three minutes over eighteen tracks and there doesn't seem to be any meaningful sequencing for the tracklist. Also, like the rest of the collection, the recordings were struck with obviously dated equipment so sometimes the sound is a bit thin, especially having heard Kim Changwan Band live.

Tracklist:

비디오만 보았지
문 좀 열어줘
불꽃놀이
독백
숨길 수 없네
특급열차
왜 난 고민이 없나
취중연가
청춘
누가 그랬었나요
내가 고백을 하면 깜짝 놀랄 거야
내 마음 (내 마음은 황무지)
나 어떻게
지금은 잘 생각나질 않네
기타로 오토바이를 타자
가지마오
아니 벌써
길엔 사람도 많네

Links:

Set index

Inbox: Trampauline - This Is Why We Are Falling for Each Other

2011-12-13T21:41:00.001-08:00

New music for me

I missed the first release of Trampauline's first album completely and hadn't really become aware of the synth pop duo until I caught some performances by the duo via RECANDPLAYNET's channel on YouTube and then became intrigued. However, at the time, their first album was out of print so when I saw an opportunity to purchase their second, which comes with a limited edition remix album, I decided to pick it up in short order and I was glad that I did because this duo's New Wave revival sound is a wonderful in a soothing and intimate way.

As it is synth pop, the music is dominated by synthesizers and electronically generated sounds as well as a single electronic guitar. The opening synth hits of "Little Animal" make it clear the kind of music we're in for, sitting somewhere close to Tom Tom Club, with its "oohs" and "ohs", complete with a spoken finish to the song. And that's the kind of pop that Trampauline makes, small, but warm, thanks to Cha Hyosun's mellow voice, which stays quite even-keeled throughout the album.

The album includes "You Are My Sunshine", inspired in part by the original song of the same name. There are some slightly lounge-like vocals on "Love Me Like Nothing's Happened Before" and the incredibly catchy verses of "Be My Mom's Lover". I will admit that it's sometimes difficult to make out what Cha is singing in English at times and the lyrics don't always make perfect sense, but is close enough to get its messages across.

And even though the album runs forty minutes over nine tracks, it neither feels short nor long, giving just the right amount of its synth pop, neither becoming wearisome due to over exposure of the same sound, but having just enough of it to be interesting, and the shorter tracklist is beneficial because of the longer length of many of the tracks. As such, This Is Why We Are Falling for Each Other is a lovely little synth pop album that I can recommend to all those who have an affection for New Wave and New Wave revival music. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Little Animal
Anthropology
Bike
Love Me Like Nothing's Happened Before
A Rose with Thorns
D.B.R.
History of Love
You Are My Sunshine
Be My Mom's Lover

Links:

Artist website
Artist MySpace
Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: 살울림 - 다시듣기: 추억

2011-12-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

While the second volume of Sanullim's Another Listen compilation is entitled Memory, that being the point of a retrospective compilation, it's hard to figure out exactly what the cohesive glue that binds together this themed disc is. Unlike Comfort, this disc does feature some mid-tempo rock songs, apparent from the opening track, "아마 늦은 여름이었을 거야" with its title phrase burst in the chorus and its Byrds-like instrumentals. However, slower tracks like gentle folk of "초야" disrupt what might have been considered a "rock" compilation.

The music on display is impressive. From the backing howls in the chorus of "가을에 오시나요" to the comforting gentle folk of "꼬마야", the volume displays the breadth of Sanullum's oeuvre. The tense vocals on the driving psychedelic rock of "웃는 모습으로 간직하고 싶어" might almost seem to be from a different band than the one-two country-folk of "창문너머 어렴풋이 옛 생각이 나겠지요". And despite the strength of much of the music, that also shows a bit of a lack of grace in the presentation of the music here as the sequence of tracks still doesn't seem to follow any meaningful order.

There are a few songs, including the volume title track that do reference memories, but there's hardly enough to build a twenty track theme disc from. And so I feel the actual compiling here isn't particularly well thought through and, again, reaching over an hour of music, it all feels too much to really stand as a single continuous listen. At least the music speaks well for itself in isolated listening.

Tracklist:

아마 늦은 여름이었을 거야
가을에 오시나요
초야
그래 걷자
웃는 모습으로 간직하고 싶어
누나야
해바라기가 있는 정물
비. 비. 비
백일홍
찻잔
꿈
배추꽃 메밀꽃
당신이 날 불러주기 전에는
어느 비내리던 날
내게 사랑은 너무 써
꼬마야
추억
동화의 성
창문너머 어렴풋이 옛 생각이 나겠지요
안녕

Links:

Set index

Inbox: 안녕바다 - City Complex

2011-12-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

New music for me

Whenever Fluxus picks up a music group, you know that they've got to have some kind of mainstream-friendly appeal, so it's no surprise that Bye Bye Sea's music is a kind of pop rock. But the band actually manages to create a kind of music that has a specific flavor, distinguishable in part to the sprightly arrangements, unique vocals of bandleader and frontman Namu that helps the band stand out from other more mainstream oriented pop-rock units out there.

While listening, I was trying to figure out why Bye Bye Sea sounded so familiar and then I realized that it was because Namu's vocalization and timbre are quite similar to Kim Jongwan of Nell. This is obvious from the opening bars of tracks like glistening modern rock of "별빛이 내린다", with Namu's sensitive, delicate vocals, turning into an anguished wail in the bridge. At times, this makes Bye Bye Sea sound a little like the Nell that went pop, since the music is often complementary to Namu's vocals.

However, the band doesn't stay in the same musical space, except where shared on a few more rock oriented tracks. The band has soft, warm acoustic tracks like "창 밖은 평화로운 식탁", energetic synth-graced power pop in the opening "Never Stop", and even closes out with big band fused alt dance on the title track.

There are times where City Complex becomes just a little too soft in the pop, like on "You & Me", displaying an over-polish to the sound, resulting in a loss of stronger sonic character, which is a weakness common to many Fluxus artists. Still, I think the diversity of the album, the accessibility of the catchy pop hooks, Namu's pronounced and articulate vocals and the sometimes beautiful songwriting make City Complex a lot of fun when it works, which is for most of the album. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Never Stop
내 맘이 말을 해 (reprise)
창 밖은 평화로운 식탁
You & Me
오늘도 생각이 나네요
청혼
Fight Club
별빛이 내린다
눈물바다
Liar
베개를 적시다
City Complex

Links:

Artist website
Artist Twitter
Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: 산울림 - 다시듣기: 위로

2011-12-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

Reporting on sets of music as I listen to them

The first volume in the Sanullim compilation, Another Listen, is called Comfort and from a listen it's easy to see why. While the volume doesn't shy away from Sanullim's psychedelic rock sound, evident on the second track, "빨간 풍선" and then throughout the rest of the volume, this volume also has a noticeable amount of Sanullim's more folk and folk rock oriented songs, like the emotive "화상" and the pretty "비의 마음".

The opening track, "너의 의미" instantly gives voice to the kind of music the compilers meant with "Comfort". The collection of twenty songs is culled from a large section of the band's career and is composed of the band's quieter, more introspective songs. Even when the more dissonant psychedelic tones show up, the music is still paced at a reflective tempo. Even when Kim Changwan is belting it out on the chorus of "지금 나보다", it's done as an contrasting emotional release from the quieter verses. This is underscored by a handful of meditative instrumental works, like the psychedelic guitarwork of "오후" or what likely a later more classical composition in "하얀 밤".

Clocking in at over seventy-two minutes over twenty tracks, it does feel a touch weighty, being more of an archive rather than feeling designed for a single listen and that might prove the volume's (and perhaps the compilation's) weakness. Now, the music is good and the sequencing, well, it seems a little haphazard, not following any meaningful reason, especially as a neophyte delving into Sanullim's music, but at least it does well in holding up to its theme.

Tracklist:

너의 의미
빨간 풍선
둘어서
더. 더. 더
그 얼굴 그 모습
아무에게도 말할 수 없소
무감각
그대 떠나는 날 비가 오는가
비의 마음
멈추지 않는 눈물
못 잊어
이 노래가 끝나기 전에
지금 나보다
오후
골목길
한밤에
회상
하얀 밤
여기 있어 그대
백합

Links:

Set index

Inbox: Donawhale - Dive to Blue

2011-12-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

New music for me

After a strong first outing, I was glad to hear that Donawhale released a second album and while it took me a little while to purchase it, after giving it several listens, I'm quite glad that I did. Donawhale's second album, Dive to Blue, makes some minor adjustments to their indie rock formula in arrangement and production, and the result is a highly attractive and addictive album.

One very noticeable adjustment is in the production, which was a bit spacey on their debut album, but now, even with the reverberating and echoing guitars and electronics that rumble through the music, the band is more immediately present, giving Dive to Blue a bit more of a snap than their debut and this goes well with their more accessible and pop-touched songwriting on Dive to Blue. This adjustment in songwriting and arrangement can be seen from the opening track, "안녕", which is an acoustic instrumental introduction, instantly establishing a new acoustic touch that shows up throughout the album, a mild shift from the electric heavy debut and also better sets up the variation of arrangements throughout the album.

One of the most successful of these acoustically tuned adventures is "도레미" with its acoustic-fueled shuffling sound and ridiculously addictive chorus--you know that this is pop song when the handclaps show up to accompany the lively keyboard solo in the instrumental breakdown. And then there's the spare "언제라도 너에게" which has Jinyoung singing to an acoustic guitar, piano and the sounds of waves crashing on the beach.

The crystal production helps center in on the emotional content of songs like the vocally driven "cloud", but donawhale's more rock oriented songs are still quite present on Dive to Blue as well, like the anguished guitars colliding with peppy keyboards on the instrumental workout of "NaNa" or the more expected "검은 양" with its popping rhythms and echoed and reverberating gutiars, transforming into moments of keyboard led clarity.

But it's the reach that makes Dive to Blue so successful, making the album more of a journey and each song song a unique step in it. Dive to Blue can be enchanting, melancholy, anguished or pretty, not just over the whole of the album, but even within many songs and following these musical transformations is rewarding, just as appreciating the often gorgeous songwriting and affecting arrangements. Dive to Blue is a fantastic successor to their debut album as it retains what made the band work so well, but expands the subtly into new territory and can very well win them new fans as a result. I wouldn't be surprised if, like in the lyrics to the lovely bonus song, "우주보다 좋아해", you might come to love this album more than the universe. 9/10.

Tracklist:

안녕
반딧불 소년
도레미
cloud
숨막혀
NaNa
언제라도 너에게
snow drop
검은 양
shiny day
byebye waltz
우주보다 좋아해

Links:

Additional Reviews: Korean Indie, wakesidevision
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Replay: Donawhale - Donawhale

2011-12-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

Revisiting past music

Donawhale is one of several Korean indie rock units I was introduced to via the soundtrack to Cracker. However, the band's single inclusion on the soundtrack, the folksy "A Spring Day", also found on this eponymous debut, didn't particularly excite me, but I purchased this album anyway and was surprised to find that the rest of the album fell much more into the world of rock, much like their former labelmates, Misty Blue and Tearliner.

Led by the willowy voice of Yoo Jinyoung, this trio builds textured rock songs that border on pop rock, but are cut with alternative rock influences. Yoo's vocals, and the band's music, often produced with a degree of echo and space, do provide a solid amount of intensity, but even on their most rocking songs, like the sparkling "Hole" or the steady "아카시아", they don't quite explode with catharsis, resulting in a more meditative album than the crunchy guitars might suggest.

The album takes an interlude in the middle for a pair of simple piano driven songs with the instrumental "비오는 밤" and the aforementioned "A Spring Day". And, as a break in the album, it works well, acting as an aural respite from the layered synths, strings guitars and electronic production that underline most of the album. Consequently, the album builds into a complete listen well, focusing on constructing a series of songs that don't quite resemble an arc, but rather as a continues play on their particular sound.

Donawhale's debut album is the kind of atmospheric and meditative rock that suits low-key activities well and serves as a solid listen from start to finish, with cohesive songs and a meaningful track progression. The melodies and much of the songwriting is accessible and pretty enough to be appreciable by a larger audience, with songs like reverberating "Echo" being pop bait, but the tuned production and roots in layered sonic textures make it a bit more complex than that. And a fine piece of Korean indie rock. 8/10.

Tracklist:

close your eyes
hole
foolstar
echo
비오는 밤
a spring day
running
picnik
아카시아
feb
꽃이 피다
echo (Jellyboy remix)

Links:

Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Inbox: 산울림 - 다시듣기

2011-12-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

New music for me

Sanullim is one of Korea's rightfully celebrated rock bands, born into psychedelic rock in the 1970's and having had a fourteen album career. And while the band no longer operates together, with one of the brothers having passed away and the other changing careers to work in business, lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Kim Changwan keeps the fire of his music going on. Having witnessed Kim's concert, where he played a mix of Sanullim and his post-Sanullim work, I came to the realization that I loved this music and while I initially wanted to purchase the complete collection of their albums, my father gifted me with this three disc compilation as a starting point.

Housed in three jewel cases with each disc having a particular theme and all that in a simple cardboard band, the set provides over eighteen tracks per disc for a total of fifty-eight tracks from Sanullim's long career. However, even though the tightly packed volumes contain some great music, I feel that there's almost too many songs on each disc to make for a convincing listening experience. Furthermore, sequencing doesn't seem to follow any thoughtful reason, neither grouping the songs chronologically or by sections and so it's hard to really get a picture of the band from the track sequencing. Memory is the weakest of the volumes, being unable to offer up a consistent these, sandwiched behind the slower and more folksy Comfort and the rocking Youth.

Given that the title of the compilation is Another Listen, perhaps it wasn't really aimed at casual fans, especially considering the volume of tracks, but all the same, some kind of consistency in the track sequencing selection would have been nice. Furthermore, a few notable tracks, like "개구장이" from one of their children's albums, are absent and even as I understand that there's only so much room per disc, their inclusion would have been nice.

As such, I can only say that this is a mediocre compilation of great songs. I think if I were a new listener, I'd start with a more abbreviated compilation, if available, or go straight for the albums instead as I think they will provide a more complete listening experience. However, for Sanullim fans who want a ton of songs all in one place to then rip onto their computer and make mixes, Another Listen isn't a bad choice. 6/10.

Disc List:

Disc 1: 위로 (Comfort)
Disc 2: 추억 (Memory)
Disc 3: 청춘 (Youth)

Links:

Available at YesAsia

Replay: Coldplay - X&Y

2011-12-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

Revisiting past music

After appreciating their first two breathtakingly amazing albums, I was looking forward to their third album. And then the singles got released and I listened with rapt attention. They were good. Good, but something felt missing. And then I got the album. I liked the music. I really did. I played the album over and over, and enjoyed it, but there was still the feeling that something was missing.

There's a lot going right on X&Y. The album is packed with strong singles and album tracks, from the "Clocks"-like tremor of "Speed of Sound", the fantastic build of "Swallowed in the Sea", and the cathartic explosion at the climax of "Twisted Logic". But even with its engaging bridge, the sentiment of "Fix You" seems almost cloying in its earnestness and perhaps lyrically, X&Y is just a bit soft. "What If" asks its question floppily and "Talk" asks its subject for just that, as some kind of panache for troubles. X&Y perhaps prescribes too much advice.

Musically, the band seems to be searching for a sound, but hasn't quite found it. Synths are brought in and it also softens the music. The band throws references to musical forbears here and there and when you tie it with the lyrics, it almost seems as though the band is undergoing an identity crisis, bending underneath their immense fame and expectation. Perhaps previous confidence or earnestness is what went missing.

And despite that X&Y disappointed me, it's still a fine album. Even with its almost patronizing lyrics, the band are still remarkable performers and songwriters. It's hard not to be taken by the rhythmic pulse and ringing guitars of "White Shadows" or to fail to appreciate the simplicity of "A Message". The acoustics of the hidden track "Til Kingdom Come" (originally written for Johnny Cash), intentionally or not, even hints a little at the direction the band would take with their followup. And all that still makes X&Y the kind of album that will still please the band's followers, both ardent and casual. Seeing how well it's sold and how well its songs have become known, I'd say it did just that. 7/10.

Tracklist:

Square One
What If
White Shadows
Fix You
Talk
X&Y
Speed of Sound
A Message
Low
The Hardest Part
Swallowed in the Sea
Twisted Logic
Til Kingdom Come

Links:

Artist website
Artist Facebook
Artist MySpace
Artist Twitter
Artist YouTube
Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Seen: The Jungle Concert in LA, December 2, 2011 at The Wiltern, Los Angeles

2011-12-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

Reporting on the shows I see

Yesterday night was quite a significant moment for both myself and Korean hip-hop fans in Los Angeles, because yesterday night, I got to see one of the founders of Korean hip-hop in concert in Los Angeles, the city of his origin. The show was the Jungle Concert in LA, which was put on by CJ Entertainment and featured the veteran roster of Jungle Entertainment, which included, for the night, R&B/soul singer Jungin, hip-hop duo LeeSsang, emcee Bizzy, Korean hip-hop legend Drunken Tiger, and rapper-R&B singer t aka Yoon Mirae. An all star line-up of hip-hop and urban music pioneers in Korean music pretty much guaranteed an unforgettable night and that's what I walked away with.

The show was in the cavernous Wiltern auditorium, which was packed with fans, including a visible number of non-Koreans. Despite the large space, the acoustics were decent and visibility of the stage good although the mezzanine probably took a pounding from the hopping hip-hop fans as my seat was quaking at points during the night.

Before the show began, a local emcee, whom I failed to identify, warmed up the crowd briefly with an introduction and a little freestyling and then the show began with a short solo set from Jungin, whose Macy Gray like soul and R&B singing I've a soft spot for since I put ear to her past group, G.Fla. She sang a few of her lovely recent songs like "사랑은" and "장마" and also pumped up the energy in the middle of her set with a cover medley, including songs like Lee Munsae's "붉은 노을", which was excitingly done, and Sanullim's "개구쟁이", which was excitingly performed, but a little mis-fitting Jungin's strengths. It was clear from the start that the speakers were blowing a little hot for the mezzanine because much sonic detail was lost and Jungin was blowing out when he reached the top end of her dynamics, but I still found myself quite enchanted with "장마" and want to pick up some of her music while I can. Jungin herself was quite charming during her set, obviously singing with all that she could and getting into the faster songs with a little dancing.

When Jungin's set ended, she thanked the audience, but also noted that it wouldn't be the last the audience would see of her. And as soon as she was off, LeeSsang took the stage not losing a single beat. As I'm only really familiar with LeeSsang's early work, I didn't fully know every song they performed, but they had a full set enciting frequent shouting snd screaming from the audience. After a couple songs including one where they performed in the dark, causing me to wonder if the lighting failed for the song, Jungin quickly came through on her promise, joining her longtime collaborators on stage. Many hits, including "개리와 기리", "우리 지금 만나", "내가 웃는게 아니야", "LeeSsang Blues", and "헤어지지 못하는 여자 떠나가지 못하는 남자", taking the audience through the duo's history before stepping off the stage. LeeSsang's set was quite dynamic, taking the audience from their more energetic hip-hop tracks although not hitting the hardest they LeeSsang had ever produced and staying closer to the more pop-hook laden mainstream hits and they were clearly a beloved act. As per hip-hop entertainers, LeeSsang wasted no time in organizing the audience into call and response sections, frequently turning the mic to the audience during ascribed parts of their songs. After they finished their act, they actually came back on stage for a four song encore, including a performance of their recent hit, "TV를 껐네..." from their seventh album, riling the fans up even more. Then the curtains fell to cheers for a very brief intermission.

When the curtains rose, Bizzy was on stage and he immediately went into a self-effacing disclaimer, noting that no one knows who is, but asking the audience to participate with him in his songs, which the audience gladly obliged. His brief solo set had a pair of full sounding produced songs, but was half also seemingly a performance act with Bizzy working with the DJ and interacting with the audience. His performance, while engaging much of the audience drew at least one heckler near me and you could see the energy was a drop from LeeSsang's set, but Bizzy very effectively created a moment of tension whereupon Tiger JK ran onto the stage for a rendition of Drunken Tiger's classic "너희가 힙합을 아느냐?" getting the entire audience up on their feet for the first time in the evening, hands in the air. Bizzy with Tiger JK alongside seemed to come more alive with the duo delivering a crowd raising performance. But JK himself also was a bit self-effacing, wondering if the audience could hang through the night after witnessing LeeSsang and the audience reassured him.

The duo would transition to "Jet Pack" where the first crowd pumping surprise would drop for the night as longtime collaborator and Sunzoo cohort, Stylistic Jones, as well as Korean American Angeleno favorite Dumbfoundead jumped onto stage to join in the song. After some introductions, JK noted that the crowd really responded well to the surprise guests and promised that since we liked them so much, they wouldn't be the only surprise guests of the night. But after some high energy tracks with Bizzy at his side, Tiger JK would get a solo for his ode to his mother "8:45", during which he was at a couple points at a loss for words, although it wasn't clear why, ducking some of the potency of the normally emotional track.

And then the energy came right back up for yet another earlier hit song, "Good Life", where I found myself shouting along enthusiastically and then a shout from the crowd erupted as a young man who I would shortly recognize as Jay Park (Park Jaebum) rushed onto stage halfway into the song, eliciting screams from a certain large demographic in the audience. And just when the crowd settled down again, the music of "True Romance" came out as Tiger JK and Bizzy started and then right on cue for her chorus, t saunters onto the stage for her only singing part of the evening. Of all the emcees in the night, t blows up the mic like no one else, with a kind of ferocity and presence that clearly wins her the admiration and acclaim in the Korean music industry. Despite having a number of solo ballads, the now trio on stage keep the music focused on hip-hop numbers instead of t's ballads with an explosive performance of "Pay Day".

t remained a fixture on stage for the rest of the night as the three emcees shuffled between Drunken Tiger tracks and t's singles and during this time, producer/R&B singer Ann joined on chorus for a few songs. And while she wasn't well known by the audience, Tiger JK and t introduce her well as a frequent collaborator and singer and she takes the chorus on songs like t's "검은 행복", a song about the troubles t faced growing up as a black biracial woman in Korea.

Jungin would grace the stage once more towards the end of the night for a couple songs, including a performance of "Monster". Now, both JK and t would admit to being nervous about their first performance in Los Angeles and having a bit to drink. In their stage banter, Tiger JK was frequently feigning disappointment with the audience in order to rile the audience up to shout louder and swore with some frequency, which is surprising to me only because you don't really hear it on the albums nor in television performances, due to censorship in Korea. Tiger JK also mentioned that he'd come back the following year for a free concert, although I'm not sure as to whether they'll be able to pull it off. After they left the stage, a loud encore call brought them back and the crowd blew up when it was hinted that the encore song would be "난 널 원해", which got the house on their feet and singing/rapping along. Being the only song the entire night that I knew most of the lyrics to, I was right there with them. And with that, the show ended a little before midnight.

Overall, it was a pretty exhilarating night with some solid performances by the Jungle Entertainment artists. The sound was a little blown out so it was at times difficult to appreciate the music, but most of the performers shook up the stage really well and the surprise guests and frequent collaborations really helped the concert seem like more of a family of performers than merely a label. Although the energy was a little uneven and a couple minor tech problems, including monitor level failure and some feedback did detract from the show, the opportunity to see some legends of Korean hip-hop, live, on stage was easily worth it. I wouldn't miss a chance at seeing any of these performers live in concert. 8/10.

Links:

Label website

Inbox: The Quiett - Q-Train

2011-12-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

New music for me

The Quiett's second album, Q-Train is the most unique album in his discography and a rather rare album in general when it comes to Korean hip-hop, because it's producer's album, the Quiett himself doesn't rap on it, but not only that, the album is predominantly composed of instrumentals with some guest deejays and emcees on a couple tracks. And, yet, the focus on instrumentals really highlights the Quiett's talent as a producer, putting together a set of jazzy and soulful tracks that sound so strong, you often don't actually want to put a lyric track on top of them, which is pretty high praise indeed.

Of the fourteen tracks on Q-Train, three actually feature guest emcees: Mad Clown's hard rhymes show up on the accordingly hard-style, but accordingly brief "Interlude", P-Type's mid-toned hanging flow accompanies the jazzy, dramatic "Take the Q Train Remix" and, finally, Notorious Kid's youthful-sounding, but very gangsta raps join along with Friz and Pumpkin's cutz on the emcee and deejay showcase of "뭐". DJ Silent gets a couple opportunities to show off his skills on the jazzy "The Streets" and the boss sound-track derived "Martial Beat Arts". The final guest is crooner junggigo providing the soul for the hip-hop and soul love story "그 남자 그 여자".

And all of those tracks are pretty strong in themselves, but the true highlights of this album are the Quiett's instrumental productions, opening instantly with the sample punched soul-based "Go", moving onto the jazz-piano hooked "대면", complete with some great horn draws. While many of the tracks are strong explorations of hooks, beats and loops, some tracks deviate from the standard orchestration for hip-hop, like the waterfall like pianos that drive "City Cats", which get taken through a journey of filters and then there's the classical guitar solo on "뒤척임", courtesy of Lee Byungho, giving the track a lovely relaxed vibe. The Quiett even takes a short diversion to a dance track with "Sunshine Luv", which has a great little piano tinkle loop, although the track is less suited to dancing and more to pure listening, despite the four-beat dance rhythm, complete with kick-clap.

Q-Train is not the kind of album you bump when you're looking to party or to hit the club. Its instrumental nature is too laid back and its tracklist doesn't contain any club bangers. Even the couple harder tracks and the dance track don't really elicit a great deal of energy. However, as instrumentals go, the Quiett easily proves himself a talented producer and the set of tracks that he's put together here mostly capture a great chill vibe, the kind that makes both for great background music and backing tracks, the loops and hooks building into a concentrated cool. And that show of talent, even despite what's normally expected of a "main" hip-hop album, makes Q-Train a worthwhile listen for anyone who appreciates the genre. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Go
The Streets (feat. DJ Silent)
그 나자 그 여자 (feat. junggigo AKA cubic)
대면
Dolphin Dance
Interlude (feat. Mad Clown)
Martial Beat Arts (feat. DJ Silent)
뭐 (feat. Notorious Kid, Friz & Pumkin of unknownDJs)
Music
Take the Q Train Remix (feat. P-Type)
City Cats
뒤척임 (feat. 이병호)
Sunshine Luv
다음에 만나요

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Available at YesAsia

Replay: Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head

2011-11-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

Revisiting past music

I really don't know how Coldplay did it. After the enormous success of their gorgeous debut album, they returned with A Rush of Blood to the Head in 2002 and album that's so reassured in its grand sweep, its delicate emotion and its simple, but effective, musical beauty that it quickly establishes Coldplay as a band not only with promise, but one that delivers on those promises. A Rush of Blood to the Head is a prime example of everything going right on a sophomore album.

While Rush of Blood does largely follow the template laid down by Parachutes, building intimate, personal songs with a delicate, emotional touch that are instantly accessible and captivating. Melancholy love songs like the piano-fueled "The Scientist" exemplify everything that Coldplay did best on Parachutes coming back for Rush of Blood, but given a broader, grander sweep, accented by an orchestra and for a more intimate moment, you have the acoustic guitar of Buckland accompanying Martin on "Green Eyes".

But a Rush of Blood also explores subtly new territory for the band, broadening its sound with a grander musical approach, which is evident from the opening track of "Politik", with its stormy guitar, piano, bass, and drums pounding out a march with strings providing tension behind it all. This approach seems to influence most of the tracks opening up the once intimate sound and granting the band a nervy intensity that they didn't previously have, with works electrically on "Clocks" and echoes again on "A Whisper", bending towards an Oasis-like sound on the title track.

And while "Amsterdam" can't quite be called an anthem, it, like Parachutes' "Everything's Not Lost", closes out the album with the kind of involving, comforting and yet still sing-along inducing track that makes you feel like you've just experienced something complete. A range from the driving expectations of an idealistic youth to the humble reflections in age. And that's the grandeur imparted to A Rush of Blood to the Head that makes it merely more than just a simple follow-up to Parachutes, taking the band's sound, but giving the album its own unique identity, pierced with moments that are core to the band. From the opening notes to the closing, A Rush of Blood to the Head is a moving experience, simply impressive in both its reach and its vulnerability, and consequently, a fantastic album from a remarkable band. 10/10.

Tracklist:

Politik
In My Place
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
The Scientist
Clocks
Daylight
Green Eyes
Warning Sign
A Whisper
A Rush of Blood to the Head
Amsterdam

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: Kebee - Poetree Syndrome

2011-11-28T19:41:00.001-08:00

New music for me

Kebee is another Soul Company emcee that I'd only previously heard as a guest on other performers' tracks. His second album, my first from him, reveals a rather attractive, soulful hip-hop sound, fitting in with all the best production strengths of Korean hip-hop and tied together to a distinguishable and smooth flow. This results in a rather smooth and enjoyable album that might get your head bobbing and your hands waving, while still being a great album for chilling out.

Among the tracks there are some truly unique productions, especially for Korean hip hop, like the Espionne produced "틈", featured ultra-stylish lounge beats, although I feel that guest singer Eunha's vocals were a touch weak. There's also the rambling chug-a-lug of "Step Up", which features some interesting melodic structure on the chorus. This makes the album at times rather interesting and different.

The majority of the album focuses on more soul-driven tracks, like on the Pe2ny produced "One Way" with its Kanye style sped-up soul vocal samples, smooth soul chorus, and soul-string hits or the love jam "Feeling You", which features some slightly underwhelming vocals from guest singer SetByul. Even the tougher braggier tracks are interesting, like the workout with The Quiett on "마부" which has the duo talking about how they are great coachmen, taking us on a hip-hop journey.

And among the bunch there are a couple interesting slower moments too, like the pretty "덩어리들" or the near poem-like delivery of "Beautiful Memory", boasting a jazzy musical track from Tablo and Pe2ny. And I think it's this musical sweep, from the more energetic moments to softer moments like these, all brought together by Kebee's smooth, but at time vulnerable delivery, which can push towards the fun and even a slight hard edge, fueled with soul and jazz, that makes Poetree Syndrome such a strong album. It might not impress those with more hardcore tastes, but it does speak well to what Korean hip-hop has found that other hip-hop flavors around the world have often lost. And that's a great prize. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Take Sea
One Way (feat. Verbal Jint, Soulman)
Step Up (feat. Beatbox DG)
Feeling You (feat. 샛별)
마부 (feat. The Quiett)
마부 (feat. The Quiett)
틈 (feat. 은하)
Heavenly Break (feat. Mithra眞)
Twisted Words (feat. Zito, E-Sens)
덩어리들
잃어버린 아이들의 숲 (with 넋업샨)
Beautiful Memory
Constellation (feat. Ra.D)
덩어리들 (Acoustic version)

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Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Featured: Apollo 18 - Apollo 18 [Black]

2011-11-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

Music I've been invited to review

Apollo 18 won me over early with their mindblowing post-rock debut EP and I'd anticipated every album they'd release then, and it became clear that the trio's albums and EPs each carried a kind of musical concept that was the focus of each release, whether the epic post-rock of the red EP/album, the explosive raging workout of the blue album, or the heady math rock of violet and, like the images on their covers, they combined to create a picture of Apollo 18 as a whole: a multi-faceted group that exists to melt faces with unapologetic, intense, powerful sonic experiences. So, with the trio moving on from their original three part concept, I didn't know what to expect with their follow-up. And then I laid ears on black and realized that the first three releases were an introduction to the groups sounds; their black album is the integration of those parts into an immense unified sound. Meet Apollo 18.

The new EP, graced with an appropriately space-like black cover, is suitably short with four tracks adding up to twenty minutes, but this is twenty minutes of everything you've seen from Apollo 18 before, except all together at once in an impressive harmony. "Sonic Boom", the opening track opens with an aggressive, almost punk-like machine gun guitar and rhythms before exploding into the screaming that marked the blue album, but with the kind of interesting guitar riffs used in violet and then suddenly going into an emo-like vocal section complete with pop backing "ooo ooo"'s, packed with muscular instrumental sections. With its intensity and diversity, it's a great opening to the EP.

The second track "Deadend" is the epic track of the bunch, starting with a post-rock sweep, the guitars and bass layering onto each other, sounding like an orchestra with a visceral bite, drums crashing and thundering when not creating a tension with a stream of hits for music to break through. And yet, the track creates some valleys of relatively tranquility to go with their stormy peaks, with its non-common time signature and more angular musical passages recalling elements of the violet EP.

The third track, "Corpse Flower" opens up with a dirty, aggressive sound, but then opens up for some spacey guitar works, channeled with some propulsive rhythm work and sounds like the kind of track that the band's name has been looking to match with. Add in some screaming and you have the most aggressive track on the EP. "Mur", the closing track is perhaps the most unique for this EP, with its minimal indie rock sound that recalls the work of Pedro the Lion and, in another first for the band, vocals front and center, sung with a Thom Yorke-influenced stretch and distortion, giving a nice peaceful close after three powerful tracks.

Apollo 18's black EP is the culmination of the band's work this far, creating a powerful, intense and perhaps all too brief sonic experience by integrating the lessons learned from their past three releases into one impressive twenty minute multi-faceted rock sojourn. And although it may be short, that's all that I needed for my appetite for their music to be whetted and I greatly anticipate the kind of sonic journey that we might see from the trio on their next full length album. After listening to the black EP, perhaps you will too. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Sonic Boom
Deadend
Corpse Flower
Mur

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Additional Reviews: McRoth's Residence, Korean Indie, wakesidevision
Available at YesAsia

Replay: Cracker: Compilation for a Bittersweet Love Story

2011-11-17T15:39:00.000-08:00

Revisiting past music

Early into my interest in Korean indie music, Pastel as a label took great prominence in my music collection as they were prolific and held a solid stable of artists. Once of Pastel's greatest early successes was the production of the soundtrack to the Korean drama, Coffee Prince, under the guidance of Tearliner, who was with them at the time. However, Pastel produced a number of strong soundtracks, but one of their most notable soundtracks for me was one for a comic book called Cracker.

While I haven't been able to get my hands on the actual comic, so I can't comment as to the success of it as a soundtrack to a comic book, the soundtrack itself is a rather strong compilation of Pastel's artists and music from artists they distribute in Korea, including a handful of Japanese acts, capturing a coherent overall atmosphere, one that is very close to the overall sound that Pastel represents as well. This is a rather significant compilation to capture for fans of the included artists as some of these tracks are exclusive to this album, like Swinging Popsicle's amazingly catchy "Sad Melody" (which Taru would later remake for her first album), and Low-End Project's lovely duet vocals on "연애를 망친 건... 바로 나라는 것 알았다", as the duo has yet to release an album of their own.

And while most of the songs retain that charming, pretty indie quality that Pastel fosters, Cracker's soundtrack also boasts the peppy exclusive electronic folk of Oldfish's "혼잣말", the Highlight's rock and roll on "바보 둘의 행진", the bloopy pop of the Tearliner piece, "소행성 B612" and the alt rock of Jellyboy's "Nothing Can Change My Life" and Cloud Cuckoo Land's "다시". Furthermore, the album works as a great introduction to a few of Pastel's foreign artists that they distribute, like Mondialito and Lamp.

Being one of the few albums where you can find lovely Korean indie tracks, like Misty Blue's "여름 구정" or Sogyumo Acacia Band's "Elliott Smith" all forming a coherent musical statement, means that Cracker is indispensable for Pastel Music fans, just for the exclusives. But being such a coherent musical statement makes the compilation stand well without the comic book, which looks nice from the illustrations in the disc and case artwork. Adding on as a great introduction to the included bands (except Donawhale, who has their unrepresentative "A Spring Day" present on this album), means that Cracker is a solid purchase for fans of the included artists, for fans of the comic book, as well as people just getting into Korean indie. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Donawhale - A Spring Day
Misty Blue - 여름 궁전
Low-End Project - 연애를 망친 건... 바로 나라는 것 알았다
Swinging Popsicle - 哀しい調べ (Sad Melody)
Oldfish - 혼잣말
Mondialito - le temps bas
어른아이 - Sad Thing
The Highlights - 바보들의 행진 (feat. Jundoy in CopyMachine)
푸른새벽 - Tabula Rasa
소규모아카시아밴드 - Elliott Smith
Tearliner - 소행성 B612
Lamp - マーガレット (Margaret)
Love & Pop - 나른한 오후에 취해
해파리소년 - Nothing Can Change My Life
Belle Epoque - May
Cloud Cuckoo Land - 다시 (Acoustic version)

Links:

Available at YesAsia

Inbox: 버벌진트 - 무명

2011-11-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

New music for me

After hearing a number of Verbal Jint's guest spots on a number of Korean hip hop albums, I decided it was time to give the man's own body of work a try, so I ordered a copy of his first album, 2007's 무명, and gave it a listen. 무명 turns out to be quite a diverse ride as Verbal Jint's album covers a number of different styles of hip hop and even wanders into rhythm and blues just briefly. I do think it effectively shows that Verbal Jint has many talents and sides, but at the same time undermines the album just a little in not providing a coherent vibe to the whole affair.

The title could mean many things, but I'm going to translate it at "Anonymous" since it seems to the fit the low profile of the artist at the time of release. While you wouldn't guess from the opening track, the Dynamic Duo powered "Favorite (Gettheride remix)" which also features our emcee on the vocal hook, 무명 is largely grounded in hip hop fundamentals. In terms of sound, Verbal Jint edges into an interesting mix of both a harder sound, which is noticeable on the ten-minute multi-guest horn-buzzing workout "Overclass7" or the twitchy minimalist boast track "Cold as Ice" and a variety of other sounds incorporating elements of pop, like the auto-tune highlights on "Trouble", full of percussion and claps, or electronic gurgling soul on "시간". Verbal Jint actually goes as far as to write and perform an R&B track, "무비스타". He also goes to the basics and spits an a capella (freestyle?) flow on "게꼬장".

Verbal Jint as an emcee is pretty decent. While his flow isn't exceptional, he manages to carry himself well and deliver with an edge so it's surprising that he also has a decent singing voice to go along with it. I do think that the album suffers a little from a lack of sonic unity, bouncing from R&B reflection to tougher energy on the sped-up sample highlighted "삼박자" and then the more mellow pop-friendly "Unused Piece for Ten Ten Club".

But it's clear that Verbal Jint loves music and he crafts his productions with care, throwing shoutouts to the many musical acts that have played a part in his life, culminating with the nostalgia ode to the 1990's in "90년대에게". And I think that attention to musical detail is enough to overcome the mixed-up nature of this debut release. Verbal Jint might be lacking a little in vision for the album, but he clearly has talent and 무명 shows off plenty of it. 7/10.

Tracklist:

Favorite (Gettheride remix) (feat. Dynamic Duo)
투올더힙합키즈 투
시간 (feat. VON)
Trouble (feat. B-soap & E-Sens)
Overclass7 (feat. Nodo, TB, Ja, youngcook, Warmman, Steady B, VON, Giant, B-soap & Kjun)
무비스타
삼박자
Unused Piece for Ten Ten Club
개꼬장
Cold as Ice (feat. Swings & Warmman)
90년대에게
Favorite (Gettheride instrumental)
주올더힙합키즈 투 (instrumental)
시간 (instrumental)
Trouble (instrumental)
Unused Piece for Ten Ten Club (instrumental)
투올더힙합키즈 투 (a capella)
삼박자 (a capella)

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Available at YesAsia

Replay: Batman Forever: Original Music from the Motion Picture

2011-11-15T15:04:00.001-08:00

Revisiting past music

I generally abhor the film Batman Forever. It was an eyesore camp affair that didn't leave a whole lot to care about, except getting my two hours back after the credits rolled. However, the film did have exactly one thing going for it: it's soundtrack. That's right, Batman Forever is one in a long line of films whose soundtracks easily eclipse the film it accompanied.

Batman Forever's soundtrack accomplishes this feat by drawing in a number of original commissioned songs from a then little known indie emo artists like Sunny Day Real Estate, to one of the biggest bands in the world at the time, U2, spanning a diverse range of genres, from PJ Harvey's nervy alternative rock of "One Time Too Many" to Massive Attack's trip-hop remake of the Marvelette's "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game". Yet, despite this kitchen sink approach to the compilation of songs, there is a distinctly selected verse that causes the disparate songs on the soundtrack to cohere to a dark, though not hopeless atmosphere, splitting between darker moments like Method Man's villain call of "The Riddler" and Mazzy Star's resigned folk/dream pop of "Tell Me Now" and more hopeful moments, like Seal's classic "Kiss from a Rose" and The Flaming Lips kooky closer, "Bad Days".

Not every track is even, the obvious hits are U2's glam rock spectacle, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and Seal's ballad. I feel that Method Man draws too straight a track and Michael Hutchence doesn't fully grasp Iggy Pop's "The Passenger". Some of the inclusions don't fit as well as the others, like the Devlins' "Crossing the River" and its smooth chorus. Still, I think the set of songs here is strong and fairly exclusive, making this is a pretty solid purchase for fans of any of the included artists and while only a few tracks really scream "Batman", I think most of them are well selected to create a mood. Too bad the soundtrack's film was abysmal. 7/10.

Tracklist:

U2 - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
PJ Harvey - One Time Too Many
Brandy - Where Are You Now?
Seal - Kiss from a Rose
Massive Attack with Tracey Thorn - The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game
Eddi Reader - Nobody Lives without Love
Mazzy Star - Tell Me Now
The Offspring - Smash It Up
Nick Cave - There Is a Light
Method Man - The Riddler
Michael Hutchence - The Passenger
The Devlins - Crossing the River
Sunny Day Real Estate - 8
The Flaming Lips - Bad Days

Links:

Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

2011-11-14T17:25:00.001-08:00

New music for me

I had no idea that this was coming from Kanye. 808s & Heartbreak is a far cry from any of Kanye's previous three albums, being more of an electronic pop album than a hip hop album and taking the normally boisterous, boastful, and brash Kanye West into a world of mourning, reflection, and darkness. In some ways, it's akin to Beck's Sea Change, in that personal life events drove the performer to take a heavy move away from the music they made in the past to create a deeply personal and, yes, depressing album. And, like the aforementioned album, 808s & Heartbreak will definitely not resonate with the fanbase that West built up, on the other hand, it somehow becomes a fascinating journey into the mind of a hip hop superstar.

The most immediate and distinct change on the album is that the tracks are surprisingly minimal, primarily sung by West with the assistance of Auto-Tune and almost exclusively focused on relationships. The bleeps and bass that open the album on the pre-breakup song "Say You Will" morosely set up a song about a relationship on the rocks with Kanye taking the whole song via Auto-Tune vocals. This stripped down, rumbling, gurgling production style dominates the album, soaking it in an alienated electronic landscape. Even when the album peps up on the synth-driven mid-tempo "Paranoid", there is a distinctly gloomy cast over the song, staying true to the overall thematic and sonic atmosphere of the album.

This is also not to say that the album is devoid of hip hop. Kanye himself breaks into bits of speak-singing and guests like Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne provide some anguished raps over the beats. But despite all the tremendous change in sound, this is clearly a Kanye West album, because like the Kanye of the past albums, this Kanye is happy to buck mainstream commercial hip-hop trends and make whatever kind of music he wants with whoever he wants. Kanye West wanted to make a dark depressing album all about relationships, and only with his ego, his brashness, would such a successful hip hop artist dare to do that. The introspection that we've seen snippets of on previous albums blows up in full force here and while the music might not have the addictive hooks and beats of his previous albums, it's a hypnotic and fascinating listen all the same.

808s & Heartbreak is focused on its musical mission and I think it pays off, even though it threatens to be a bit wearisome because it's hardly broken up by anything else. Then again, this is essentially a concept album and it succeeds on that mark. Sticking with a gloomy electronic soup, but adding a pulse via tribal drums on "Love Lockdown" or strings on "Welcome to the Heartbreak" makes the music dark, but alive. I don't know if I could say it's an enjoyable album, but it's definitely one that will resonate with those who are suffering from the titular heartbreak. It's a concept album that wins on its focus and delivery. Kanye West doesn't prove himself to be an impressive singer on this album, but that was never the point. He was never a stellar emcee either. The compositions are tortured, intense, and accompanied with equally dark production. 808s & Heartbreak is definitely not for everyone, but I think as a dark electronic pop album from a hip hop superstar that's cohesive, expressive and carefully wrought, it's still quite impressive. 7/10.

Tracklist:

Say You Will
Welcome To Heartbreak (feat. Kid Cudi)
Heartless
Amazing (feat. Young Jeezy)
Love Lockdown
Paranoid (feat. Mr. Husdon)
RoboCop
Street Lights
Bad News
See You In My Nightmares (feat. Lil Wayne)
Coldest Winter
Pinocchio Story (live) (hidden track)

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Available at Amazon (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Replay: Kanye West - Late Registration

2011-11-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

Revisiting past music

After the enormous success, you'd expect Kanye to change in some way. Listening to Late Registration, there's a lot that's still the same. Late Registration still features some really hot production with great sample choices. It still features an enormous chip on Kanye's shoulder when it comes to higher education. It still features an interesting mix of self-consciousness when it comes to his internal contradictions. But what has changed is that West has become more ambitious and his music broader.

Late Registration opens up with a skit, "Wake-Up Mr. West", that leads directly into the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood sampling "Heard 'Em Say" featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5. That's right, Kanye's reached out beyond the hip hop circuit for a funk-pop-rock featured singer and the resulting tune is quite soulful. That's ambition, to reach beyond his previous boundaries. This ambition is highlighted by the following track, "Touch the Sky", featuring Lupe Fiasco, which is boosted by some great horn samples and a booming bass line as Kanye looks back at where he was and where's gone since. The soulful approach shows up again on the Etta James sampling "Addiction" which has some rather interesting songwriting for a hip hop track. And then there's the poignant ode to his mother in "Hey Mama" in one of the drives for his own ambition.

Interestingly, another change is that Kanye backs away from the sped up samples that helped drive a lot of his successes on The College Dropout, showing that the rapper-producer is looking to continue developing musically. But that doesn't mean he avoids hip-hop fundamentals with harder tracks like "Drive Slow" and "Crack Music" catering towards those who are focused on the genre. There's also the (possibly misogynistic) warning track "Golddigger" with Jamie Foxx back on the catchy hook. Finally, Kanye doesn't abandon his social awareness, which comes back on one of the album's "message" singles, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" which informs listeners about conflict diamonds as well as another take on materialism inherent to the greater culture Kanye plays a part in. And this highlights the continued contradiction in Kanye as he becomes aware of this trouble but refuses to give up his diamonds. It also shows that West can't turn down a good sample even if he bases almost the whole track around it.

As for the chip on his shoulder against higher education, it becomes more playful on Late Registration, making fun of a fake broke fraternity on the four skit tracks throughout the album. Like The College Dropout, Late Registration is a long album, running over an hour and twenty one tracks, but it's a pretty wild ride throughout, changing up the mood, song type and energy throughout. It can get a little tedious, like the previous album, over a few listens, but the strong tracks on Late Registration are such ear worms that they're hard not to like and even many of the album tracks are quite strong in their own right. Late Registration will definitely please fans, but I think its increased ambition is actually largely met by the talented West and the resulting set of tracks might actually convince more listeners than The College Dropout. A refinement and a tightening for West, Late Registration is a catchy, impressive sophomore album that reaches high and manages to actually touch the sky. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Wake-Up Mr. West
Heard 'Em Say (feat. Adam Levine)
Touch the Sky (feat. Lupe Fiasco)
Gold Digger (feat. Jamie Foxx)
(skit)
Drive Slow (feat. Paul Wall & GLC)
My Way Home (feat. Common)
Crack Music (feat. Game)
Roses
Bring Me Down (feat. Brandy)
Addiction
(skit)
Diamonds from Sierra Leone (remix) (feat. Jay-Z)
We Major (feat. Nas & Really Doe)
(skit)
Hey Mama
Celebration
(skit)
Gone
Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Late

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Available at (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes

Inbox: 2NE1 - To Anyone

2011-11-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

New music for me

Even though I'm not normally an idol pop listener, I still managed to enjoy 2NE1's debut mini-album, so, naturally, I picked up their first album. I wasn't sure whether their pop-hip-hop-dance style would be able to survive a full length LP, but I was pleasantly surprised by the result.

While the album has a total of twelve tracks, the final two are bonus tracks, featuring alternate versions of "I Don't Care" and "Can't Nobody". Also, three of the included tracks aren't proper 2NE1 tracks, but solo or duo tracks from the four members, which is nice coverage of the groups individual releases during the time. The resulting album is consequently high on singles, which leaves only two album tracks and consequently quite tight.

Unlike the previous mini-album, the production duties are spread around a bit more and while Teddy features on many of the tracks, additional producers add to the overall album, but the result is pretty cohesive all the same thanks to the initially diverse sound, generally sticking to some combination of pop, hip-hop and dance music. This is most obvious on the opening brag track "Can't Nobody" which features some fierce rap by CL, singing from the other members all to a electro-powered dance beat which morphs into an addictive anthem towards the end of the song. The album also features to comparable boast tracks in the more hip-hop focused call to clap your hands on "박수 쳐" fueled by handclaps itself and the similarly focused "날 따라 해봐요".

The group gets a pair more straight dance-pop tracks with the modern album track "사랑은 아야야" and break-up anthem "Go Away" featuring some great auto-tuned rapping from CL with equally fun lyrics. "Go Away" also features some slight rock undertones in its chugging and ringing guitars, which also feature on the bridge of "난 바빠", but this track is an interesting beast that is mostly dance but features some heavy hip-hop moments. Finally, 2NE1 also provides their first genuine slow pop song in the also post-breakup track "아파 (Slow)" which features some pretty decent (though possibly auto-tuned) singing from the quartet to a solid piano-driven beat.

The solo tracks don't actually drift far from the 2NE1 template, from Park Bom's "oh oh oh's" on her "You & I", which does feature some strong singing from the quartet's vocal lead, to the sassy hip-hop track "Please Don't Go" from CL & Minzy and the modest pop of Sandara's "Kiss". Aside from slightly ill-fitting reggae arrangement of "I Don't Care", the weakest tracks on the album are the modest ones, "사랑은 아야야" and Sandara's "Kiss", which aren't bad, but just unimpressive next to the other tracks which feature fierce attitude, catchy production and great energy or expression.

One thing that does become clear on To Anyone is that the group's leader, CL, thanks to her dual talents as singer and rapper, tends to get the greatest spotlight on the album, especially since she is clearly the strongest rapper of the four and delivers some pretty great lines as a result. However, this does slightly unbalance the album a little putting the other three in the background, although that's fixed a bit by the inclusion of the solo and duo songs. But I think that's small complaint for an album that's pretty strong, especially with the abundance of strong singles on it. If you like 2NE1's sound, you're likely going to enjoy To Anyone and the album will especially appeal to those drawn to CL's rapping as she features prominently on many of the tracks. I think that most mainstream oriented listeners will still find a lot of fun to be had on To Anyone, but I don't think it will make converts of anyone who didn't appreciate their debut mini-album. A solid pop album with some great attitude and production. 8/10.

Tracklist:

Can't Nobody
Go Away
박수 쳐
난 바빠
아파 (Slow)
사랑은 아야야
박봄 - You & I
CL & 민지 - Please Don't Go
산다라 - Kiss
날 따라 해봐요
I Don't Care (Reggae mix version)
Can't Nobody (English version)

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Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
Available at iTunes and YesAsia

Replay: Kanye West - The College Dropout

2011-11-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Revisiting past music

From his smash hit debut album Kanye West proved himself to be a bundle of contradictions, contradictions that he even recognizes in himself. And while that's quite a fascinating tension within the man, it manifests within his music by causing him to broach topics that other hip hop acts of his station either avoid or don't even recognize and tied together with his immense production skills, results in an album just as fascinating.

The album, measuring at eighty minutes, is an extended opus, with seven thematically relevant skit tracks layered throughout its twenty one track run. The album is meaningfully wrought with West displaying his enormous chip on his shoulder about being a college dropout on the album via the many skits, but also on tracks like on "We Don't Care" where West notes both that kids are going to play the fool if they take away afterschool programs, while still extolling the virtues of making it on his own, by dropping out of school, or even more on his reflecting on his experience in college on "School Spirit".

This tension with his status as a dropout shows up on the stunning "All Falls Down", where his story of an indecisive woman in college turns into a critique of materialism while admitting that he himself is trapped by that same culture. And I think some of this thoughtfulness came as a result of his work with socially conscious emcees like Talib Kweli and Common, both of who ironically appear as Kanye tries to pick up a woman on the anthem track "Get Em High". West brings in a few other guest emcees of both greater and lesser renown, including fellow Chicagoan GLC, Consequence, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Mos Def and more, each providing a strong verse without overshadowing West thanks to a West's strong songwriting and production.

And this is obvious on the show-stopping gospel-fueled "Never Let Me Down" where J. Ivy drops a powerful verse before Jay-Z himself drops in with a boast that, at the time, perhaps only he would've been able to pull off. And you would think that having the speed-rap of Twista on a track titled "Slow Jamz" would be unfathomable, but West creates a clever entry as a woman asks him to go faster and West notes that he can't go that fast, but he knows someone who can, introducing Twista, who blows up track. Oh yeah, and Jamie Foxx sings the vocals on the track. Also notable for daring is yet another hit for West, "Jesus Walks" where West drops a religiously oriented track while noting his own tensions with his own faith, but drops it in good faith knowing that religiously oriented songs are suicide on mainstream radio. Turns out a hot track like "Jesus Walks" with its military march hook can't be ignored, even my mainstream radio.

West's greatest daring then, is his ability to expose himself, contradictions and all and the autobiographical content of the film three tracks highlight just what makes The College Dropout so impressive. West reflects on life with relatives on "Family Business" and concludes the album with an over twelve minute track where he tells the story about how he went from making demo tapes to his debut with Roc-a-Fella. And that fire that drove him forward on his career is the same fire that caused him to write and spit rhymes with his mouth wired shut after a car accident on the bluntly titled "Through the Wire". Kanye West never needed to prove he had the chops as a producer, his smart pop and hip-hop samples and song construction easily help drive tracks to listeners' brains. And even if West doesn't exactly have the hottest flow of the emcees, I think he makes up for it with his daring willingness to expose himself in all his contradictions through the lyrics in his music. That makes The College Dropout not just an ear-grabbing album for just the hot beats, but a courageous artistic statement as well. 9/10.

Tracklist:

Intro
We Don't Care
Graduation Day
All Falls Down (feat. Syleena Johnson)
I'll Fly Away
Spaceship (feat. GLC & Consequence)
Jesus Walks
Never Let Me Down (feat. Jay-Z & J. Ivy)
Get Em High (feat. Talib Kweli & Common)
Workout Plan
The New Workout Plan
Twista, Kanye West & Jamie Foxx - Slow Jamz
Breathe In Breathe Out (feat. Ludacris)
School Spirit Skit 1
School Spirit
School Spirit Skit 2
Lil Jimmy Skit
Two Words (feat. Mos Def, Freeway & The Harlem Boys Choir)
Through the Wire
Family Business
Last Call

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Available at (CD) / (MP3) and iTunes