Album Review: Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork

Posted on June 9, 2013 by bgibs122

Six years is a long time between albums for almost anyone, so it’s hard to imagine what it felt like for the typically prolific Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. To be fair, Homme spent the time between 2007’s Era Vulgaris and now mostly busy: a rerelease and tour for Queen’s self-titled album, a new Eagles of Death Metal album, an album with supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, another child with wife Brody Dale, and a brief stint recovering from being, er, dead. Even after the medical treatment period, Homme spent awhile going through a sort of musical recovery of getting to the point where a new Queens album was a possibility.

Part of this process was retooling the band’s line-up. Bassist Michael Shuman, a last minute addition to the Era Vulgaris sessions and tour, multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita (Jack White’s go-to keyboardist), and a trio of drummers–Joey Castillo, Dave Grohl, and Jon Theodore–were recruited for the album, with Theodore going on to join the band for the tour. This line-up, plus longtime member Troy Van Leeuwen on guitars, makes for one of the most taut, and muscular versions of the band yet.

…Like Clockwork also features a battery of contributing backing vocalists from long term Queens associates like Mark Lanegan, Nick Oliveri, and Brody Dale to newcomers Trent Reznor, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, and Elton John, who also contributes piano. These collaborations are more “friends hanging out for a day and recording material” than “Queens of the Stone Age featuring ______”. That’s not to say it isn’t entertaining to hear Reznor on the chorus of the dementedly poppy “Kalopsia”, or John, Lanegan, and Oliveri howling in “Fairweather Friends”, but the guests never define the tracks they appear on like we’re used to with musical cameos.

So, with all of this involvement from members in and out of the band, how does …Like Clockwork compare to the rest of Queens’ discography? It’s one of their most cohesive albums, and deftly, their most ambitious; even if …Like Clockwork isn’t the band’s longest or most sprawling work, it feels the most deliberate, almost as though it could be a concept album. It’s less playful than Era Vulgaris, more focused than Lullabies to Paralyze, and not as kooky as any of the band’s more “stoner rock” albums. The sunbeaten production and tones are still present; guitars both distorted and clean still sound bone-dry and the drums still punch their robo-funk rhythms mercilessly.

From the sinister fuzzy bass, sparse guitars, and bleak vocals of opener “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” to the somber closing track, …Like Clockwork isn’t afraid to get dark. Penultimate track “I Appear Missing”, a six minute epic that is arguably the best song on the album, has a psychedelic but menacing mood, including a guitar solo and outro that ranks as one of the band’s finest moments. “Kalopsia” bounces between some of Queens’ quietest, prettiest verses and their own twisted interpretation of pop rock. The album’s biggest misfire, “The Vampyre of Time and Memory” comes in as track 3, but its off-kilter carnival piano throws the pace of the album’s first half.

The record’s first half is mostly groove-heavy rockers. “I Sat By The Ocean”, with it’s catchy riff and lean beat, could pass as a solid single, whereas the taunting “If I Had a Tail” gets closer to the band’s past sleazy decadence. This half culminates in the blistering rush of lead single “My God Is the Sun”. The second half of the album gets more experimental; in addition to the previously mentioned songs, “Fairweather Friends” features Elton John adding a bit of piano to the loosest jam on the album, and “Smooth Sailing” delivers funk and falsettos that sound like a long lost sister to Songs for the Deaf.

On the first few listens, …Like Clockwork satisfies enough to keep you interested, but it gets better with each listen. It’s not wholly perfect, but it packs a hell of a punch, and Homme’s lyrics, vocals, and playing are in top form here. Few bands sound this energetic six albums in, and here’s hoping that it doesn’t take as many years for Queens’ next effort; 4/5.

tl;dr: Hail to the Queens, 4/5

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Radio Rant: Icona Pop feat. Charli XCX – I Love It

Posted on June 4, 2013 by bgibs122

Hello, and welcome to Radio Rants. New face today, right?

Icona Pop’s a Swedish duo form in 2009, and while “I Love It” got some online praise last year–Pitchfork and Rolling Stone put it in their top 50 songs of 2012–it didn’t set the world on fire until this year when it started appearing in (deep breath): Snooki and JWoww as the theme song, an episode of Girls, another episode of The Vampire Diaries, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, cell phone commercials, website commercials, Glee, movie promos, projected onto the sides of big city buildings, shot into space, and in the State of the Union Address. At this point, you’re just as likely to hear it on your TV as you are the radio.

I get the broad appeal; “I Love It” has a little something for everyone. The P-fork crowd can swoon over the Euro-EDM and sneered vocals, it’s impossible to keep still since the song is 70% massive dance hooks, and the simple chorus of “I don’t care/I love it” gets enough reverb to sound like an army’s singing it, not two people, making it a natural sing/shout along. And, with a runtime below three minutes, it never burns itself out during one listen. That and the song’s just so damn fun.

The song opens with a wave of synth buzz before giving way to the…verse? Not exactly, since it uses the same lyrics as the chorus, but the music here uses a quieter beat and keyboard combo than the all out assault used in the chorus. More than most songs, “I Love It” doesn’t follow a verse-chorus-bridge structure as much as a not chorus-chorus one where the not-chorus exists just as a quick breather so that the meat of the song doesn’t lose its punch.

And what a punch it has. Over an announcement of “I don’t care!”, the intro synth comes crashing back in with a dance beat underneath it and vocals pumped up to eleven. The wide-eyed and blissed out music, layered and processed vocals, and singsong bratty melody sound like MGMT before they started trying to alienate as many casual fans as possible. The beat and synths initially lure you in, but the brash vocals are what turn it from a decent club banger to the wild hit it’s become.

By the way, what are those vocals saying?

“I got this feeling on a summer day when you were gone” Oh hey, it’s a breakup song. Are we gonna get into some good ole fashioned revenge?

“I crashed my car into the bridge/I watched, I let it burn” Maybe the ex bought them the car and that’s why they’re ok with it? Otherwise…at least you didn’t crash your car off the bridge.

“I threw your shit into a bag and threw it down the stairs” Hell yeah, now we’re getting to “Fuck You!” territory!

“You’re so damn hard to please, we’ve gotta kill this switch/You’re from the 70s, but I’m a 90s chick” Yeah, Icona Pop, you break up with that douche because no one knows about cheap nostalgia like a 90s chick! Wait, “90s chick“? Oh no, you don’t end the last line with “switch” and then go with “chick”. Kids, cover your ears, can we get the unedited version, please?

“You’re from the 70s, but I’m a 90s bitch!” There we go, much better.

Those are the only lyrics worth noting to “I Love It”. There’s a pair of lines about being better than the ex, but those are the only ones I skipped. We’re not looking at a Dylan tune here, but eh, the delivery without abandon works for the song.

Let’s not make any bones about it, “I Love It” is empty calories even by pop standards, but you know what? Sometimes you want those empty calories. Not every dance has to be a “Mirrors” or “Get Lucky”; sometimes you just want that Twix instead of Godiva. “I Love It” probably won’t go down as a classic, but it sustain itself long enough to be this year’s “Pumped Up Kicks” or “Lights”: the left-field summer jam that everyone likes.

[ed: Credit for “90s chick” joke goes to Michelle B.]

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Album Review: Kate Nash – Girl Talk

Posted on May 29, 2013 by bgibs122

Kate Nash was not my first choice in the “Most likely to release an Alternative Nation Record” Category in 2013 (the correct answer would be Wavves), but it’s hard to describe Girl Talk as anything else. Gone are the outside collaborators, the major label backing, the piano pop hooks, and blue eyed soul, and in their place is an underproduced punk rock band where Nash plays bass that calls Pixies and Bikini Kill to mind less than Regina Spektor. In hindsight, the signs pointing to the alternative rock/riot grrl sound of Girl Talk are all there: Nash’s lyrics have always had a feminist bend, she’s not afraid of letting her songs have freakouts, and jarring rock isn’t entirely new for her.

That’s not to say that opener “Part Heart” isn’t disarming. The song’s underpolished drums and bass stagger the song forward as guitars come in to cause a racket more than anything else. Meanwhile, Nash numbly riffs through a list of things she’s done to forget you from doing her nails to drinking, but “I still feel the same/It doesn’t matter”. “Part Heart” has a strong undercurrent of willful abrasiveness to it ala “Tired of Sex” or “Serve the Servants”; it’s meant to scare away casual fans looking for a hit, and daring everyone to stay.

Despite the easy comparisons to Alternative Nation-era albums (Nash wails like a young Courtney Love on “Sister”, and “All Talk”‘s outro straight up ganks the riff from “Violet”), Girl Talk never plays like an “I Love the 90s” comp. It feels like jagged, confrontational, abrasive record that Nash would have made even if there weren’t artists to name check. Among other things, this is a back to basics record; common drum beats, root note basslines, and simple but effective guitar lines. But at the same time, Nash tries to get as much mileage from the set up as possible, and there are plenty of pop moments on Girl Talk. Lead single “3 AM” is a mindlessly catchy headbopper, and even though it feels like two songs pressed together between the verses and chorus, “OHMYGOD” has some of the most tuneful moments on the album.

But Nash doesn’t always play so nice. “Fri-End?”, “Sister”, “All Talk”, “Conventional Girl”, and “Cherry Pickin'” make the bulk of Girl Talk‘s “powerchords and screaming” material. Like the rest of the album, the quality is a little scattered: “Cherry Pickin'” and “Conventional Girl” fall short, whereas “All Talk” and “Sister” excel, with “All Talk” delivering the most quoted lyric on the album of “You have a problem with me/Because I’m a girl/I’m a feminist/And if that offends you/then fuck you!”. Feminism gets another explicit mention in “Rap for Rejection”, which is probably the most polarizing cut here. It’s a brilliant “best-of” of 21st century twenty-something sexism encounters, but the piss-take rap and music behind it are almost cringe-worthy. Feminism and empowerment have always played into Nash’s lyrics, but her themes and writing as much clearer on Girl Talk. You could dismiss it as heavy-handed, but it all works in context: Nash’s brand of feminism hits for the every woman, and her frustration at keeping life together in the face of blatant sexism is bound to piss anyone off.

If anything, the music lets Nash down more than the lyrics do. Every Kate Nash album has had its share of filler, and even the non-glamour change up to alterna-punk doesn’t cover it. With maybe 35 to 45 minutes of ideas stretched to 53, Girl Talk feels redundant; surely with “Oh”, “Labyrinth” could have been dropped, and the two closing acoustic/orchestrated tracks feel tacked onto the end of this noisy record. Nash put all of herself into this batch of songs, and she’s clearly got a lot to say, but another round of editing would have helped her say it sharper.

The more I think about it, Girl Talk would make for a great “Feedback” record. It’s likely going to be a singular entry in Nash’s career, but still shows a great deal of development and style. From the fan funding to the darker, indie/punk sound, this album was made to turn people away, and it might, albeit not for the reason that Nash intended. It’s a blatantly anticommercial record at a time when anticommercialism almost sounds quaint. In that way, her new sound is more underwhelming than overwhelming, three stars out of five.

tl;dr: Kate Nash’s new album bring punk rock fire, but burns out before she does, 3/5.

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Album Review: Daft Punk – Random Access Memories

Posted on May 26, 2013 by bgibs122

Random Access Memories is, believe it or not, only Daft Punk’s 4th proper studio album, and their first non-soundtrack record in eight years. And somewhere in those eight years, the French electronic duo became a cultural institution able to promote Random Access Memories with more hype than the year’s similarly maximalist and (surprisingly) arty The 20/20 Experience. But, whereas Justin Timberlake kept a highly visible public image between records, it’s hard to say the same for Daft Punk; their most lasting contribution of the last five years was getting sampled by Kanye West.

But, in any case, Random Access Memories is here in all of its 73 minute long glory. Daft Punk have never been a group to recycle their ideas, so now that the EDM soundscape that they helped inspire is in vogue, they’ve retreated into the sounds of the late 20th century. The overriding influence is disco, as shown by the bright, summery lead single “Get Lucky” with it’s funky bass, soulful vocals by Pharrell Williams, and infectious beat. It’s a decent and mindlessly catchy throwback jam that only gets really interesting once it adds vocoder vocals and extra drumming at the bridge, synthesizing the old with the new. It’s a great single, but not the best song with Williams on it. “Lose Yourself to Dance” settles into a stronger, slower groove while looped synths and modulators pour over the top of the track. The disco beat, added digital elements over it, and Williams’ falsetto make for a hypnotic combination.

Even if you missed hearing “Get Lucky”, opener “Give Life Back to Music” oscillates between prog rock breakdowns and disco refrains; “One More Time”, it ain’t. But it does hold the album’s missions statement: “Let the music in tonight…Let the music of your life/Give life back to music”. Random Access Memories is Daft Punk’s auteur “let us write our love letter to what inspired us” album, and all of the self-indulgence that comes with it. Long, lush, meticulously structured tracks without discernible hooks, recruiting studio pros, live instruments, high-as-the-sky concepts, and audiophile sound quality define RAM, not chart busting EDM.

The high-art approach can make RAM somewhat of a pass-fail album: either you’re on board with the disco/funk/jazz/New Wave studiousness that makes the majority of the album, or you’re grabbing one or two of the catchier numbers and moving on. There are less engaging songs scattered through the album, but through a combination of sequencing, the tracks themselves, and listening fatigue, “Beyond”, “Motherboard”, and “Fragments of Time” make up the record’s slowest section. “Beyond” and “Fragments of Time” offer the same genre found elsewhere, but in a less entertaining way. “Motherboard” is interesting as a proggy instrumental with exotic instrumentation, but crawls by without sticking.

But some of the album’s boldest and best ideas wouldn’t work without the high-art. Specifically, I’m talking about “Giorgio by Moroder” and “Touch”. “Giorgio by Moroder” is a nine minute track beginning with a monologue by Moroder (a pioneer in disco and dance production) with electrodisco playing underneath it. Once Moroder starts talking about his choice to put a click track on, the music reduces to a click itself. After the monologue, the synths kick back in for what’s probably the Daft Punk-est part of the album. That is, until an orchestra joins in the mix, and the song jams out in a spectacular outro before going back to, you guessed it, the click track.

“Touch”, the album’s clear centerpiece, is similarly multi-suited, but with sci-fi overtones of a robot looking for meaningful emotion and touch. The joyful disco jam halfway through and the choir towards the end–not to mention Paul Williams’ yearning vocals–give heart to a mechanical record; this is one you have to hear.

A pair of indie rock standbys get redemption rounds on RAM. Julian Casablancas of The Strokes turns up for the breezy “Instant Crush”, albeit processed beyond all reason. The song’s laid back, sunset tone fits Casablancas’ blearly vocals, and even though the song’s a bit too long at 5 and a half minutes, it’s still enjoyable enough. Meanwhile, Panda Bear of Animal Collective’s penultimate “Doin’ It Right” is one of the most minimal cuts, but the psych-pop number is an effective breather before closer “Contact” (and shortlisted for most likely to get stuck in your head).

As detailed and studied as it is, parts of Random Access Memories feel, well, random. There is a lot of material here, and some of it is absolutely phenomenal. At other times, the album readily sinks under its own ambition. Daft Punk clearly love the music that inspired them want to bring it to their fans to make memories of their own, but blending those elements into something new and engaging becomes a challenge as the album goes on. If I want a dance album stuffed with references to the past, I’ve got three LCD Soundsystem albums ready to go. Random Access Memories isn’t a dud by any stretch, but isn’t the instant classic it wants to be remembered as, three and a half out of five stars.

tl;dr: Random Access Memories is sometimes brilliant, and sometimes dull, 3.5/5.

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