Iggy Pop
Preliminaires
(Virgin)
Iggy Pop has several musical personalities, most notoriously as that of a rugged rocker, but that character seems to have been purged (temporarily) by the reunion of The Stooges. For here is Iggy the crooner, a Bing Crosby incarnation underlined by the Serge Gainsbourg French ballad, "Les Fleures Motes" to open the album. This tells the listener right away that this isn't the usual hit-or-miss Pop but one that is subdued. It's not all low-key seduction, there is the odd howl and the spoken word of "A Machine For Loving," which may be a tender eulogy for a dog a la Elvis' "Shep" but still manages to sound menacing. Romance rarely sounds this risky.
Rating: 2.5/5
--Stuart Derdeyn, CNS
The Jonas Brothers
Lines, Vines and Trying Times
(Hollywood Records)
There are enough hits on the fourth album from these teen heartthrobs to put many a "serious" rock band to shame. "Paranoid" is as good a commercial hit as will arrive this summer and it's not the only one out of the 12 tracks (the 13th track, "Keep It Real," is the brothers' TV series' theme). Some enterprising punk act out there should work out a cover of "Poison Ivy," which could've been a Cheap Trick smash back in the day. "Before the Storm" with Miley Cyrus hurts and what was Common smoking to agree to guest on "Don't Charge Me For the Crime?"
Rating: 2.5/5
--Stuart Derdeyn, CNS
Rhett Miller
Rhett Miller
(Shout Factory)
Ahead of your time? A compliment. Ahead of yourself? A shame. And that's where American alt country pin-up boy Rhett Miller kind of finds himself on his latest solo album.
An often dark, guymotional relationship rock record, the 12 tracks from The Old 97s frontman are smarter than their subject matter but musically never quite as good as they could or should be.
If only Miller could turn a tune, twist an aural phrasing the way he can with words, images and even his vocal inflection, then he'd have the complete package.
Instead, inspired sentiments, such as "Hollow your heart out and hold out your hope/God give me strength and a good length of rope" and "She wanted things that I couldn't afford/Like a house filled with laughter every night" inhabit competent, sometimes catchy, rarely memorable melodies and compositions.
Here's hoping Miller catches up to himself eventually.
Rating: 3/5
--Mike Bell, CNS
Sonic Youth
The Eternal
(Matador)
Is it really album 16? The world’s fave alt-rock act -- one that can claim to have invented the mislabelled genre -- still sounds on top of its game. In fact, such tracks as the six minute-plus “Anti-Orgasm” present the full force guitar onslaught that this group’s many, many copiers wish they could re-create better. The layers upon layers of de-tuned, feedback drenched chording at times overpower the sung/spoken vocals, but it all blends into a sweet Velvets-meet-art drone. All of the dozen tracks are distinctly SY and find the group still willing to take chances to get results. Cooler than the rest for sure.
Rating: 3.5/5
--Stuart Derdeyn, CNS
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