]> http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/editorial/albumreviews/0,,,00.html Most Recent Album Reviews on ARTISTdirect 86400 Fri, 16 May 2008 13:57:39 PST en-us http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/movies/title/0,,4397887,00.html#review When the teaser trailer for Cloverfield was unveiled to millions before Transformers on a sweltering Fourth of July weekend, it didn’t even have a title. Instead, it was comprised of jagged, static-filled clips of some sort of party, an explosion, and, most ominously, a shot of the Statue of Liberty’s head rolling through a decimated New York city block. The audio that accompanied this carnage? The same that would be on the tip of America’s collective tongue for the next six months: “What is it?” "It," as it turns out, is the next generation of monster movies. Produced by J.J. Abrams (LOST) and directed by Matt Reeves (Felicity), Cloverfield is the Blair Witch equivalent of a big action flick, a cinema vérité spasm of a film. At its center is clean-cut Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David), whose acceptance of a job in Japan has inspired a farewell party and, in turn, the video that we’re now watching. Several handfuls of well-wishers turn up on camera to wish Rob all the best, among Fri, 16 May 2008 13:57:39 PST 4684939 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4641063,00.html#review Swedish vocalist Lykke Li, or Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson, gives us a sneak preview of what's to come with this tasty four-song EP. Little Bit was produced by Bjorn Yttling of the indie-rock trio Peter Bjorn and John, and features three unpretentious pop gems excerpted from her debut full length Youth Novels (out in Sweden already, but there is currently a bidding war over the right to release it domestically) and one exclusive track "Everybody But Me." While Lykke has been outspoken about her ambition to be the blogger generation's Madonna, her songs are way too fragile and gentle to exude sexuality and manipulation. There's an inherent youthful naiveté in "Dance Dance Dance" [listen here] a minimalist groove ride about the need to do just that, and the loungey "Everybody" epitomizes shyness and insecurity, with confessional lyrics about jeans being too tight and finding comfort by standing in the corner. This Swedish vocalist is more likable when she's not parading Fri, 16 May 2008 09:09:35 PST 4684879 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4667648,00.html#review After a three-year delay, the kinetic East London grime MC Dizzee Rascal defies expectations with Maths + English, delivering a pop-influenced, vaguely mainstream album, drawing almost as much from various American rap styles as he does from the deep and gnarled scene from which he emerged five years ago. Maths + English, available since last summer in the U.K. but only now getting a full Stateside release with some exclusive tracks, is a surprisingly melodic album, with fuller and more rounded beats than the tinny, lo-fi sounds that defined Dizzee Rascal’s debut album Boy in Da Corner or its 2004 follow-up Showtime. The heavy, unrelenting rock foundation of "Sirens" marks a significant step away from Dizzee Rascal's original minimalist grime roots, and a track like "Suk My Dick"–a decidedly to-the-point title–is bouncier, quicker and more playful than anything he's done in the past. The synths and drills of grime take a backseat on "Where Da G's," which features Houston crew UGK in Thu, 15 May 2008 16:51:58 PST 4684838 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/movies/title/0,,4035692,00.html#review A documentary about fonts hardly seems like scintillating material, but under the direction of Gary Hustwit, this film about the famed sans serif typeface excites tastemakers, fans of graphic design, and anyone who’s ever used Microsoft Word. Since its inception in 1957, Helvetica has been a cultural staple, whether or not the public recognizes its ubiquity. Hustwit often flashes sequences of advertisements, corporate labels, street signs, and the like across the screen, providing visual evidence of the font’s staggering infiltration of our everyday lives. Co-opted by everyone from American Apparel to American Airlines, Helvetica is everywhere, and Huston probes how its smooth curves, deliberate balance of positive and negative space, and clear lettering piques consumer interest and appeals to our subconscious optical desires. The movie opens with a throwback to old school typeface production methods: a man places steel-cut letters side-by-side, rolls out fresh black ink, and stamps Thu, 15 May 2008 12:30:43 PST 4684804 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4602260,00.html#review Kudos to Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner for truly comprehending the concept behind a side project. As one half of the Last Shadow Puppets, along with the Rascals' Mile Kane, the debut album The Age of the Understatement is the polished refinement to the Monkeys’ unrehearsed and punky angst. Influences and references throughout the record are obvious upon first listen: like Scott Walker fronting an Ennio Morricone orchestra, the crescendos are dramatic and the choruses are thrilling. Sure, it seems strange for a young artist as relevant to the British youth as Turner to invest time in a collaboration that sounds as intentionally retro as this, but then again that's why Understatement is exponentially more commendable. The young songwriter could have easily recorded these songs on an electric guitar and slapped "Arctic Monkeys" on the packaging, but instead chose to employ a 22-member London Metropolitan Orchestra. There’s nothing understated about the merit of this debut. —Arye Thu, 15 May 2008 07:10:18 PST 4684759 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4618797,00.html#review Accomplished artists have worked under alter egos before.  (Garth Brooks’ "Chris Gaines", anyone?)  But while English soul sensation Jamie Lidell asks us on this, his third outing, "To call him Jim," he isn’t quite playing such a name game.  Rather, the switcheroo seems made more in the pursuit of a rowdy good time, wherein Jamie, someone somewhat composed, becomes Jim, the guy at the party who jumps on the coffee table to get the party started. Then again, perhaps "Jim," simply a familiarization of "Jamie," is solely a reference to how this album grasps a much more straight-ahead heart and soul sound compared to its predecessor, Multiply.  Either way, instead of dabbling with the electronic elements that made previous tracks, like the highly commercial "A Little Bit More", so ubiquitous, JIM chooses to retro rock out—and harder (“Hurricane”) than ever before.  Pounding piano artistry, throbbing electric guitar riffs and Lidell's powerhouse voice Thu, 15 May 2008 07:05:55 PST 4684758 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/movies/title/0,,3715335,00.html#review Reprise begins with vast possibility. It opens on best friends Phillip (Anders Danielsen Lie) and Erik (Espen Klouman-Hoiner), a pair of twenty-something literary wunderkinds who are preparing to send their manuscripts off to the publishing gods. The moment is hopeful, filled with the allure of youthful prospects, fame, and personal validation—in broad terms, the potential for greatness. The film, which is wont to rapid temporal movements and frenetic editing that mirrors the frenzied speed of young life, quickly fast-forwards to months later, when Phillip has been published and attained cult status, Erik has not, and their relationship has all but ruptured. Mental illness afflicts Phillip, while Erik, on the other hand, must filter through feelings of inadequacy, pride, and rejection, and the two struggle to reconnect as their lives drift across the jarring plains of adult life. The film, directed by Joachim Trier, deals in dualisms: creative impulse versus business Wed, 14 May 2008 16:26:29 PST 4684669 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4594207,00.html#review Lately, the U.K. has been producing pint-sized singing powerhouses like nobody's business: Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, Adele, and now Duffy. Is something in the water? Perhaps. Like Winehouse and Adele, Duffy channels the soulful sounds of the '60s, taking hints from acts like Bettye Swann, Etta James, and Candi Staton. But unlike Winehouse, who has her tales of addiction, and Allen who has her cheeky bits about pot-smoking brothers and window-shopping nanas, Duffy has neither drama nor shtick, just songs about plain old heartache and heartbreak. But like her feisty compatriots, Duffy makes it clear that she's not going quietly into the night. The Dusty Springfield look-alike doesn't resort to foul language like some of her fellow chanteuses, but manages to get her message across just as forcefully as her more boisterous counterparts; she's not going to let some guy push her around. Another difference between Duffy and her peers, all of whom attended the Wed, 14 May 2008 07:10:12 PST 4684541 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4615055,00.html#review Arm's Way finds Islands setting sail distinctly away from the indie-yelping that characterized their debut, Return to the Sea. The Montreal band spends most of their sophomore effort shifting gears between various styles, opening up with a string of songs featuring spaghetti western guitars and ominous lyrics. In the middle of the album, though, Islands turn to blissful ‘80s pop for inspiration, and in channeling The Cure and The Cars, they really hit their stride. "Kids Don't Know Shit" and "Life in Jail" are two of the album's best, and the latter features a classic Nick T. lyrical non-sequitur: "If you want to be a shark / you better learn to stay awake." Though Arm's Way is a resounding success when it's joyful, the album hits a high note with a darker song (in name and melody). "I Feel Evil Creeping In" is a slow, haunting expression of diary-only darkness, including the confession, "My blood is dirty / and I like it." Islands sound like a band who are willing to try Wed, 14 May 2008 07:04:58 PST 4684540 Album Review http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,4595092,00.html#review Let's go ahead and say you like Coldplay. You find their inoffensive take on Bends-era Brit pop rather charming, and why shouldn't you? It fixes you when you need a quick interjection of nice-guy music. But you have a darker side—namely, Depeche Mode, and have always wondered what the two would sound like as a super group. Look no further, because Kansas City (of all places) has yielded the answer in The Republic Tigers. Knowing these reference points, it's a bit weird to think that Keep Color was born from Americans minds; there are a few cultural reference points from the good ole US of A, such as the song "Air Guitar," a tongue and cheek tune about the odd subcultural rise of playing with the imaginary, but that said, the overarching '80s, synthy sound gives most of the album a very serious, brooding feel that's more fish 'n' chips than burgers and fries. Highlights include the futurist sound of "Feelin' The Future," a modest discussion about jet packs and hovercrafts, and Wed, 14 May 2008 07:04:09 PST 4684539 Album Review