The Wordy Album Review #3

Well, I just can't seem to make up my mind. First it's a few words; now it's sentences; who the hell do I think I am?! While I still like the "wordy review" idea, I can't help but write a few extra lines to flesh out my thoughts. Ahhhhhh, humor me. Also, every time I go online I find out how to do a little bit more. And although I am certainly HTML illiterate, the creators of sites like blogspot and IMEEM are really dumbing it down for people like me. So, now you can listen to tunes right here, which is great because myspace pages are more cluttered than ever. I also figured out how to add a playlist to the sidebar--the death of Five Star Songs before it even got started. That's the speed of life these days, get used to it!

Oh, and if you feel so inclined, I really do love comments--the more the better!

Johann Johannsson - Fordlandia
@myspace
johannjohannsson.com

Dramatic Electro-Classical. Cinematic. Skyscraping. Tidal. Solemn.

If you have patience and are prone to crying yourself to sleep, Forlandia will undoubtedly be rewarding. However, I find my ears begging for some levity; it’s quite heavy going through much of the album. Johannsson is clearly not aiming for cheerfulness here (he is Scandinavian after all), but a little less gravity would have given it some balance.

Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
@myspace
lookingforgold.com

Pabst-Fueled Basement Rock. Obnoxious. Unrefined. Balls-Out. Merciless.

While this band’s balls are proudly displayed at center stage, visible to all, sweaty, ready to rock, they are conflicted balls. On the one sac (“lefty”), you get a tenacious, excitable, kick ass punk band that serves as the perfect soundtrack to your drunken night out. On the other sac (“righty”), you get a plain ‘ol noisy, dumb rock band. Let’s just say “righty” is bigger and hangs lower than “lefty”.

Dido - Safe Trip Home

@myspace

didomusic.com

Sultry. Smooth. Subtle. Tasteful. Tepid. Tame.

Even with her silly name, I admit that I liked and purchased Dido’s debut album No Angel. It held my interested with memorable melodies and sincere performances from Dido. After her success, I expected her to only write catchy hits. On her third album, she’s basically the same performer, but isn’t reaching for the charts, which is refreshing. So, on the plus side, Safe Trip Home is not an obvious collection of attempted hits and creates a nice mood throughout, but it is unfortunately not exactly captivating either.

B.B. King - One Kind Favor

@myspace

bbking.com

Rhythm & Blues. Authentic. Woeful. Heavy Hearted. Muzzled. Routine.

Make no mistake, B.B. King knows what he doing and he’s doing it well. The band sounds keen, King’s voice is gravely and great, and the songs are romantically cathartic like the blues should be. The problem is that it sounds too professional, too calculated, too easy. It’s a safe set of blues tunes. I like my blues to be chunky, feisty, rough around the edges, and usually loud as hell. This is blues for the adult contemporary crowd, thrown into the basket along with the new James Taylor and Chris Botti, played in the background at dinner parties.

Wordy Album Review #3