In listening to all the new music collected in my inbox.

First up: The Killers - Sam's Town




Man, does this new album suck balls or what? Biggest drop off in recent memory from their great fun debut Hot Fuss. It's always perplexed me how a band can put together such a great debut then follow it up with a such a dud (see also Dirty Vegas now that I think about it) What a flaming piece of shit. I should've known by that crappy single "When We Were Young" that this was going to be bad news. And what's with that Mexican girl video I happened to catch on tv? Is this album supposed to have a "south of the border" feel to it? This has got more liquid brown in it than a night of gorging at Taco Bell.

Oh well, it could've been worse. I could've of bought it sight unseen. I'm glad I didn't.

rating: 0/10

Next up:

Brazilian Girls - Talk To La Bomb



I had listened to their first track "Jique" for about a month straight and though I initially enjoyed it like a brand new lover, now I have to say that I'm pretty tired of it. No staying power.

"All About Us" - Sort of jazzy but with too repetitive vocals that get annoying quick and I'm not even done with listening to this song yet. Ok, next.

"Last Call" - Nice dubstep beat. I want to hear this remixed. Brazilian Girls need to have all the latest DJ mixing wizards jump over all of their stuff like what was done with Goldfrapp.

"Never Met A German" - What's with the anti-German sentiment in this? Check out these lyrics: I read it on the newsstand that they, that the tanks were rolling. Next thing I remember, is that I'm walking in the army. Following instructions, it isn't very charming. What, are the Brazilian Girls JEWS??? Does Germany even have an army anymore? I think this band has been smoking too much pussy, pussy, marijuana.

The rest: Eh. I think this band, particularly the singer has this fixation with foreigners and speaking in foreign accents but anyways fuck the lyrics cause I don't care. Sprinkled throughout this album are some nice beats and jazzy danceable rhythms but overall it doesn't quite stand up to it's far better debut album.

Best: "Jique", "Rules Of The Game", "Problem"

Rating: 5/10

DJ Shadow - The Outsider



If there's one thing I wish I had the power to stop, it would be all those stupid rap skits and "interludes" that plague so many albums these days. They are annoying at best and consistently break up the flow of what might be a listenable experience. This shit is funny and clever TO NO ONE, DO YOU HEAR ME? Who the fuck started this? Ice-T? It needs to seriously end right now, I don't give a shit about your theme or whatever what artistic statement you're trying to make. Just sing/play/write SONGS, motherfucker. Anyways, this album starts out with an "intro": a grave British announcer voice proclaiming the end of the world that serves as a prelude of things to come.

"This Time" - I think this is my favorite track from this album. It sounds like something off of a 70's blacksploitation flick soundtrack. It rolls along nicely. I wonder how he did this? I mean, how he put this together...did he get a soul singer to sing over some old beats and rhythms he found?

"3 Freaks" - OK, the rap invasion has started now. I don't know what this hyphy shit is but if it's the new face of rap I'd prefer it be covered up like a facial burn victim at a crowded gathering.

"Droop-E-Drop" - Again, FUCK YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE INTROS. GAH!

"Turf Dancing" - This is pretty fierce. For those that don't know I'm not a big fan of the new rap/hip hop pimp and ho braggadocio stuff but every now and then I find something that I can appreciate.

"Keep 'em Close" - Dude. When the beats start, start rapping. Don't use the beginning part of the song to thank God, your crew, your momma, or whatever else that's currently on your mind like what you ate at Burger King this afternoon. No one is interested in that stuff. Anyways, this sucks a big dick. It's complete with the cliche police sirens, machine gun fire, and sounds of beatings being handed out. Why is DJ Shadow doing all this rap stuff anyways?

"Seein' Things" feat Bruce Banner - Bruce Banner? Like in the Incredible Hulk? BWAHAHAHA. What a lame stage name. Maybe it's his real name though, I don't know but man you should to change that, maybe to Peter Parker. Actually, I like the backing beats to this but not the rap itself. I think he should've have released this as an instrumental. For the most part I think Shadow should stick to his old methods of turntablism and stop with the rap collaborations.

"Broken Levee Blues" - Oh Christ. More political statements as an intro. Fuck you in the ass for that. What's with the guitar piece, is Shadow trying to show how diversified he is in his music tastes? Eh.

"Artifact" - WTF? Nice double bass drums man, get it all out of your system.

"Backstage Girl" - (snore)

"Triplicate Something Happening That Day" - This is just sonic collage stuff, sort of ambient and free-floating with nice dramatic piano dirges. I think that out of everything here this is closest to what Shadow used to be doing. Go back man, go back.

"The Tiger" - You know, with every track it seems he's trying something different. This is probably the by product of working with so many different people for this album. I don't like this much though but I give you points for trying.

"Erase You" - Another sorta interesting experiment but certainly nothing I would ever need to hear again.

"You Made It" feat Christina C. Spoken word intro:I speak from the heart. I fear beginning. I must go, broken and soaked. Yeah, you do. And let me do it to you.

"Enuff" feat Q-Tip and Lateef Truth Speaker - This can't be possibly right. Did someone switch the tags here? This sounds like Coldplay. I think I got that early version of this album that was sorta fucked up.

OK, anyways this album is all over the place and really hit or miss. Mostly miss though.

Rating: 6/10

Kasabian - Empire




I like Kasabian and I make no apologies for it. They know how to write a pretty good catchy little tune. They are neither the best new thing or the anti-christ.

Stand out tracks from this album include "Shoot The Runner", which I listened to for over a month on a mix cd I made and now unfortunately I'm a little too overfamiliar with it now.

Also good are "Sun.Rise.Fire.Flies", "Seek and Destroy", and "Stuntman".


Rating: 7/10

Man. Based on your review of DJ Shadow, I am surprised to see you gave it a six of ten.

yeah - the new killers record sucks....i like 2 songs and thats it

The intro sounds like it belongs on a Manowar album.

This Time I heard that he got the vocals from an old song and put it over his beats.

3 Freaks & Turf Dancing are the only good rap songs on the album besides Seein' Thangs, which features David Banner.

I like Artifact. It's one of the only songs that sounds like old DJ Shadow.

I thought You Made It was an Enya track.

Mogwai - Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait




I think it's kind of interesting that Mogwai of all people were asked to score a soundtrack for a movie about a soccer star but well, I'm just happy to have some new music of theirs to listen to. (Special thanks to Dalen for hooking me up with this). Now that I think about it though it's not so strange, especially considering Explosions In The Sky's "Friday Night Lights" and Massive Attack's work on the "Danny The Dog" soundtrack.



"Black Spider" - A nice slow burn groove, beautifully done. I don't know how it's possible, but Mogwai keeps on improving with every album they do. In a sea of mediocrity and one-hit wonders, this really impresses me. If one looks all the way back to Young Team you can see they've truly grown and fulfilled the promise that can be heard at that early period of their musical careers.

"Terrific Speech 2" - A quiet, intense, piano and bass driven dreamlike pulse. Moody and foreboding like only Mogwai can do.

"Wake Up and Go Bezerk" - Doesn't quite live up to its title. Sort of a mess sonically, quiet chaos mostly with lots of in and out fading guitar feedback. Not a fan of this one.

"Terrific Speech" - Variations on a theme here.

"7:25" - Starts off kind of dull and then surprises you by transforming itself midway through. Gets louder and more intense then goes back down in an ebb and flow. Nice.

"Half Time" - Another one with quiet intensity and mostly piano work. Pretty good but it goes on far too long I think.

"I Do Have Weapons" - Pretty good. I'm running out of words to describe each individual song but still I carry on while reading a paperback copy of "The Epic Of Gilgamesh".

"Time and a Half" - Nice though this is starting to get sort of repetitive. Nothing different stylistically. I think baasically there's only 5 different songs on this album but each one was redone in a slightly different way.

"It Would Have Happened Anyways" - Slightly evil and middle-eastern sounding. I like it.

"Black Spider 2" - another variation on a theme. Still good though.


Rating: 8/10

They're all crazy mad Scottish football fans, what's interesting about them scoring a soccer film?

i want to say that it was actually de la soul that started those skits.

Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City




Maybe I'm just in an uncharitable mood this evening but as I find myself patiently plowing through this new Bloc Party album the experience is not unlike pulling my own teeth out. Gone are the awesome drumming, the great riffs, the sense of urgency, and in general the excellent tunes found on their last album, Silent Alarm which was one of my absolute favorites for 2005. This has major letdown written over it. Let's begin with the tempo. This album is mostly slow. And when I say slow I mean, like slooooow. Bloc Party are in full ballad mode with this new album and I'm sorry to say that it's a huge disappointment. WTF? Take the tune Kreuzberg for example. It has "radio-hit ready" for all those Coldplay fans salivating for another dose of vanilla ice cream favored ballad pop. Not that I'm a big hater of Coldplay, it's that they're just so plain and could be much better than what they currently are. Anyways, the last band I thought to go this route would be Bloc Party, who to me, represent kinetic bursts of wild energy and nervy experimental brilliance. Or well, used to that is. There's barely a hint of what they used to be here and that's a bad, bad thing.

Highlights: Well, there aren't really many here for me obviously but the song "The Prayer" doesn't want to make me vomit at least.

Rating: 2/10

it's no secret that i have a love affair going with Bloc Party, but believe me, the new album is just incredible after you let the new tunes soak in. sure there are quiet moments and more pop influenced bits, but they're very well done.

and the drumming on the new album is fucking brilliant. Waiting For The 7.18, Hunting For Witches, On....all perfect examples of his talent. there's some very intricate playing throughout the album.

give it another few listens sp. if you're a fan of Silent Alarm i can't imagine this not hitting you as well.

oh, stoked that you're into the Mogwai as well. lovely music from them.

LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver




Okay, so I couldn't find the album cover but look at these guys, they look like ordinary shmoes like you or me. Anyways, LCD Soundsystem is back! And unlike Bloc Party they continue to deliver the goods. The album starts off with a foot stomper "Get Innocuous" that is infectious booty groove material. Remember the slow burn groove elements of old Underworld songs?...start off with a little pulse that captures your interest and then keep adding things on to it until rumbles on and culminates into a freight train of rhythm that completely sweeps you up and batters you with its wheels of motion? Yeah, well that's what's going on here. And I absolutely love how they've done the retro new wave swoony echo vocals and that live drum fill sound. I can't wait to hear this remixed. This is probably one of my favorite dance grooves of the year.

The next track, "Time To Get Away" brings the playful funkiness. Nice.

"Northern American Scum" starts out with the casiotone and then delves into a tongue-in-cheek rant about what is apparently their perceived view of world wide hatred of Americans over a pulsating bass danceable beat. I can't help but hear shades of T. Rex/Tommy Bolan in the chorus when I hear this song. It works.

"Someone Great" - Man, this synth bassline comes straight out of The Some Kind Of Wonderful movie soundtrack or something. I'm glad to see that there are other people out there that are still fishing out those great synthesizer sounds of the 80's and combining it with new electronic elements. Excellent.

"All My Friends" - Hey, it sounds like a loop of me playing a piano chord badly. Then, what's this? A Bono like vocal over a frenetic high hat beat? Well, if that sounds awful written on paper the fact is that LCD Soundsystem can take little bits of things and put them together in way that work in surprising ways.

"Us vs Them" - It's a mantra: THE TIME HAS COME, THE TIME HAS COME TODAY....and apparently it's full of cowbell.

"Watch The Tapes" - More looniness abounds. LCD Soundsystem has a lot in common with the Scissor Sisters, no? They should tour together.

"Sound Of Silver" - I don't know what to make of this. It sounds like they're channeling the kookiness of Beck lyrics over a beat experiment borrowed from 808 State.

"New York I Love You" - Okay, so this album sort of ends out on a bad note as this is just a sappy piano driven paen to the difficulties of living in NYC. Still overall this album is an extremely fun listen and I've said I can't wait to hear the furious remixes that are sure follow and enhance some of these songs.

Rating: 8/10.