Be Here Now: New Album Releases Snapshot Review 11-5-13

Goddess

Matangi – M.I.A. – This isn’t any better than Vicki Leekx, but it isn’t any worse, and it has “Come Walk With Me”, a potential dance crossover hit and so many beats it’s gonna seriously shake up your life – A

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 – Eminem – Wow, can this guy rap? What flow, what stamina, what style. Subject matter is still pretty pathetic – A-

Night Time, My Time – Sky Ferreira – Now it’s available on Spotify… not bad pop album, “Love In Stereo” is pretty excellent for one… B+

Love Me Back To Life – Celine Dion – “At Seventeen”? Why is Celine covering Janis Ian??? Stevie sounds good, so does Ne-Yo, both excellent singers, and nobody serious questions Celine’s pipes but these songs are oversung mush. I know people make a case for her, good, because I can’t do it… I did mentionj the Stevie Wonder track, right? – D

Word Of Mouth – The Wanted – After getting severely trounced by 1D for two years now, this is where they breakaway. It isn’t all that good but it hits a couple of hits that places them as a harmony Maroon 5 -meaning they are on the money – C

Magic Hour – Luscious Jackson – First rate alt rock hip hop rhythms goes 1990s rockers by the reformed band. much much better han you think it would be, the nail song after song with three beats on the drum – B+

Antiphon – Midlake – Midlake exist so people who were hip once can like em and think they are hip now. Now, here’s the moral: they are right, excellent folk psychedelic acoustic experimental beauty – B+

Moon Landing – James Blunt – Unlistenable, true, dreary heavy duty ballad after heavy duty ballad. But occasionally who hits a catchy melody, twice by my reckoning. It still blows because he can’t arrange a track to save his life. For instance, the chorus of “Miss America” is pretty in an Elton Johnish way, but the rest of the song is terrible – C-

Free You Ass – Cuty Copy – My tech pop band to hate on, though on the strength of this catchy album, I could be wrong – B

Mellowhigh – Mellowhigh – Drug music, everything is slow, stoned with dubby drums and draggy rapping. Great live, the equal on alum, – B+

The Next Day Extra – David Bowie – I didn’t say I dislike The Next day, I said it was better than his early 00s, but I did say it wasn’t a hit and it wasn’t. This Extra adds an album worth of songs, including an excellent James Murphy’s “Love Is Lost” remix and a song as good as anything on the album problem “God Bless The Girl” – B+

Jamaica Plain EP – Soro Eros and Kurt Vile – Robert Robinson joins former band mate for some string ambience – B