Be Here Now: Snap Shot Reviews Of New Album Releases, May 27th, 2014
Mariah Carey’s Album Of The Week
Playlist: The Very Best of – Adam Lambert – The American Idol cuts are head and shoulders above the album cuts and all the huge potential we saw in the man back in 2009 has failed to materialize. Perhaps the reason is his crap taste in music – C+
The Secret – Austin Mahone – When last seen he was opening for Taylor Swift, turn your back on him for a year and the kid who made his bones covering Justin Bieber is releasing dance oriented pop EPs. Not that much but it should please its target audience – C
Sorry I’m Late – Cher Lloyd – You can tell she won the UK not US X Factor because she has that cheeky chirpy stuff US dance pop stars don’t bother with. Now if she only had another song as good as “Want U Back” – C+
Total Fucking Darkness – Cradle Of Filth – Remastered 1992 early release so you can hear em bark harsher – C+
Neon Steeples – Crowder – Former leader of the David Crowder Band and long the most talented guy in CCM, this is his first solo album and it is a very effective slice of electronic folkie Christian rock – B
Initiation – Haunted Hearts – Married couple Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls and Brandon of Crocodiles working together and since I am not a huge fan of either band, I was surprised at how pleasantly dreamy this album is – B+
The Feast Of The Broken Heart – Hercules And Love Affair – Strong albeit old fashioned collection of ready for the club tracks – B
Our Year – Kelly Willis And Bruce Robison – A little slower and less steady than last year’s Cheaters Game, not bad, but more like what they had left in the tank plus covers – B
40 – Kiss – A song an album from the beginning of time to prove one thing only, if they never got any better they never got much worse either – C+
Me. I Am Mariah The Elusive Chanteuse – Mariah Carey – At 75 minutes in length, this is too long, and it pays the price by wearing out its welcome long before you reach the finishing end. But that not withstanding, what works, and most of it does, is world class Mariah Carey from the stunning “Cry.” -a full own ballad, that opens the set, through Nas, Wale, Miguel (yes, you know it), Mary J Blige, and R. Kelly duets, it is a tour de force of Mariah type songs. Her first album since 2009 is her best since 2005 -ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A-
Wild Heart – Mindi Abate – Okay AOR soul sound – B-
In Conflict – Owen Pallett – This soulful electronica by the classically trained musician sounds like a whole lotta people covering similar territory but mostly like Panda Bear and yet there is constantly something unique here to make you pay attention. Strange album but I really like it – B+
The Bad And The Better – The Ready Set – One more emo band with a better than average ear for melody – B-
Are We There -Sharon Van Etten – A sorta female the National (knee jerk, I realize) with a large sonic compelling sound; too doomy to be pretty, too intense to be a bore – B+
No Peace – Trash Talk – Fair to mindling for these guys, they’ve done the same only better thrash metal in the past.
