
The Curtains: Calamity
Calamity works as an eccentric hodge-podge of quirky pop songs, avant-garde sounds, and out-of-nowhere, straight forward, shed rock.
Calamity works as an eccentric hodge-podge of quirky pop songs, avant-garde sounds, and out-of-nowhere, straight forward, shed rock.
He will not remain undiscovered for long. James Morrison’s debut album revamps the heyday of soul with a voice reminiscent of Stevie Wonder– but with a cleaner, crisper sound thanks to today’s technology. At a young age, this English soul singer turned to music as a way of channeling a painful upbringing – the result is a positive yet openly raw deliverance.
From the opener, “Can't You Hear It Call,” which borrows a riff directly from the Stones' “Brown Sugar,” merged with a heavy modern flair of The Dandy Warhols, The Colour come off a bit low in originality. But where they lack in innovation, the L.A. quintet shines in swagger and energy. With that formulaic mix, their debut – Between Earth and Sky- might have been better appreciated five years ago; a time when the rock revival thing, courtesy of The Hives, Vines and the Strokes was the “new” sound.
With way too many questionable tracks between the truly magical gems, Mos Def’s True Magic falls a bit short of his more impressive works like Black Star or Black on Both Sides.
From tranquil introspection of “Lifetime Ranger,” to the soaring crescendos of “Merit,” Law digs deep into emotion, and draws out a cycling soundscape of highs and lows; those peeks and valleys that are an inherent part of life.
Critical reviews of retrospectives and B-sides/rarity compilations often carry a common label: “For completists.” Gomez has managed to fit just within that context with Five Men in a Hut (Singles 1998-2004), a double disc exploration of the British band’s work spanning five albums and focusing largely on the singles released in the United Kingdom.
With minimal accompaniment covering traditional folk songs, 900 Mile's interpretations by Bethany and Rufus cover new ground.
Trying to find an innovative artist in the current country music scene is akin to searching for an honest politician. That makes it all the more exciting when a talent like Luke Doucet rises above the crowd. With Broken (and other rogue states), Doucet delivers 13 tracks of liquored-up heartache – hardly new subject matter for country music – each resonating with a pained beauty that instantly engages the listener.
Eliot Morris’ debut album on Universal Records What’s Mine Is Yours, produced by Tony Berg, is one of the most underrated pop/rock albums of 2006. The Birmingham, Alabama native hit a major homerun with this album, but it is one which most people have missed out on through the year.
The self-titled debut release from the New York City based quartet Pagoda, embraces indie-folk dimensions and merges it with alternative rock gales.