The Fray comes to life in ‘Scars and Stories’
After spending thousands of dollars on trips abroad, alternative pop-rock foursome The Fray has brought its travels and observations into their newest effort “Scars and Stories.”
For the most part, the album appeals perfectly like a picture book.
Upgrading to Brendan O’Brien, the producer known for his work with Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam, the catchy Coldplay-reminiscent piano ballads have been turned down a bit in “Scars and Stories” and have been replaced with optimistic guitar ballads and down-beat piano tracks, creating a more dramatic tour through the album.
They’ve never sounded better on a record. While they’re still relying on a chilled, atmospheric blend of Coldplay’s blaring and Rob Thomas’s grunge-rock voice, agitated with a little bit of Three Days Grace influence, O’Brien helps The Fray spin its ideas into a coherent album that gives definition, muscle and depth to the recording.
The second track on the album, “The Fighter,” speaks of a woman begging her lover not to go off to fight. Adorning the chorus with, “Maybe we were meant to be lonely, lonely/Maybe we were meant to be on our own/Loneliness has always been with me/But maybe we don’t have to be alone.”
It’s been said several times to write what you know and what sets this album apart from The Fray’s previous work is the songwriting. It’s purely observational and arranged in a world tour set to capture the soul – and not written only about what they know.
While fans of the Fray may be a little shocked to see this maturity within the group, this album requires a certain amount of contemplation to truly understand the music and lyrics.
Finally, the Fray has experimented with something different and this time, it’s not about “How to save a life” but rather the similar experiences that other cultures go through.
Album Scars and Stories
Artist The Fray
Label Columbia
GENRE ALT. ROCK
No disappointments from the dividing line
After two decades of crusading for social awareness and change, Ani DiFranco has retained the universal appeal to continue her musical message of equality and justice for people of all ages and walks of life.
While the singer-songwriter continues to put out quality, thought-provoking music – as evidenced on her latest release “¿Which Side Are you On?” the groundbreaking artist has sadly not given herself much room to grow.
But the same old sound does not deter listeners from enjoying the overall brilliance of her newer work.
Still Relying on intricate acoustic guitar work, with added flourishes of fuzzed-out guitars and studio tricks, Difranco’s words are still the focus. While she may not be tackling the common thread themes of rape, abortion and human rights, her strong push for a wider understanding of a contemporary feminist dialogue is still intact. For old fans of DiFranco, the disc is a welcome addition to her catalog. New fans will find joy in a modern classic.
However, the disc still draws a dividing line. Listeners looking for the angry rallying cry of early Alanis Morrisette and DiFranco’s first few albums may not be able to comprehend the overly positive lyrical and sonic compositions on “¿Which Side Are you On?” The music requires a certain amount of introspection and prior exposure to the strong subjects displayed on the album, which could make newer listeners uncomfortable.
This is not a negative reflection on her output itself, but rather on a society that still exudes the same patriarchal and cultural stereotypes that prevent women like Difranco from being fully accepted by a wider audience.
But these pressures hardly affect her state of mind, and a wider appeal would only hurt DiFranco’s hard-fought struggle for her social status as folk’s most “righteous babe.” If you are willing to take the time to explore a new way of thinking, all you have to do is buy this disc, and ask: Which side are you on?
GENRE FOLK ROCK
LABEL righteous babe records
ITUNES $11.99
AMAZON $11.99
Initially typecast as a Christian-Rock equivalent to U2, Mutemath has been steadily gaining more mainstream recognition, building an easily identifiable sound that defies modern cliché’s and the pretentious failings of the past.
On “Odd Soul,” Mutemath cultivates a lyrical philosophy that rocks hard with surprising operatic fullness, while still allowing the band the dissonant space needed to not overcomplicate their simply constructed pop songs.
Don’t let the hard-edged exterior and low-in-the-mix guitar leads fool you; this is just sophisticated pop wrapped in the layered textures of synthesizers, orchestral strings and compressed guitars – all of which are staples of the smart pop music of David Bowie and The Talking Heads. These subtle mixtures even capture the advantageous post-rock sound of Tortoise, which is impressive for a band that had to engage in a lawsuit with label heads at Warner Bros. Records for a mainstream marketing effort.
Aside from the technical aspects of the music’s construction, “Odd Soul” gives Mutemath a naturalistic staying power. The rhythmic nature of the first half of the disc is apparent in every drum roll and fill, relying heavier on the drummer’s virtuosity than any other instrument. Innate and overwhelmingly tight grooves are the glue that holds “Odd Soul” together, and without it, all of the fancy trickery mentioned would just seem like an un-enjoyable phantom mist of mismatched tracks.
In fact, the album spans so many different genres in one sitting, it would be hard to pinpoint what kind of band Mutemath really is. The painfully dated vocals help give listeners clarity. This can be seen as both a negative and a positive, and can be the truest litmus test of who will enjoy the music or pass it off as another failed attempt at bringing retro elements back into music.
However, these head-scratching abnormalities make Mutemath, a band known for writing theme songs for movies like “Transformers” or “Twilight,” that much more inviting, and interesting to listen to.
The pop queen Britney Spears hasn’t been doing anything new lately. She is even rereleasing albums with a few new songs instead of recording a whole new record. Her latest album, “Femme Fatale,” isn’t terrible, but it seems like every song fades into the next. Only a few of these songs, particularly the ones with guest artists, offer a twist.
Britney doesn’t always get it right, but she attempts to fuse her style with other genres. “Big Fat Bass,” featuring Will.i.am, offers some rap.
She also did a song with Sabi, “(Drop Dead) Beautiful,” that has a very new sound as well. It’s nice that she stepped a little bit outside her comfort zone when she did this song. However, this particular song isn’t great.
While many of the tracks on the album were released over the summer, the deluxe edition of the album, featuring several new tracks, hit shelves recently. With songs like “’Till the World Ends” and “I Wanna Go,” most of this recording has the same sound Spears has made for years. For much of this album, the beats were catchy and the lyrics were cute, but it was still the same thing Spears has been doing her entire career.
The new single “Criminal” is something different. Instead of only a beat and her singing, there is guitar and drums in the mix. It’s a different sound fused with her usual style. The music video is also very unique. It’s a story about Spears meeting a criminal, falling in love with him and then becoming one herself. It’s good to hear something a little bit new from Spears, as sometimes her songs can get monotonous.
While many of these songs have been played endlessly on the radio, some of the less popular are the best. “How I Roll” is one of the songs that has a slightly different sound, but that makes it better. It’s a fast song for the most part, but the chorus really changes pace.
Those who love Spears may enjoy the album, but the repetition of similar sounds gets boring. Don’t go for the whole album, just buy one or two songs.
No one ever expected a rapper like Common to stay spiritual and smart for too long. However, that was the precedence that the Chicago emcee set up early on in his career. With so much riding on the burgeoning, socially responsible hip-hop scene, Common had the pressure weighing down on him to never give in to the temptations of anesthetized-minded rap music.
Sadly, the last time we heard that Common was on his 2007 release “Finding Forever,” which epitomized Common’s hip-hop self-actualization. Two albums later, coming off the heels of the mainstream failure, “Universal Mind Control,” Common is trying to rebuild his credibility as hip-hop’s Marcus Garvey with his newest release, “The Dreamer/The Believer.”
Yet again, the rapper has come up short.
It is clear that Common has become less of a messianic prophet preaching rags-to-riches fame and conscious reflection on the state of black men and women in America. The beats are well-produced and uplifting, with tinges of gospel soul and turntable trickery to give it the quintessential hip-hop sound, but the rhymes don’t even begin to reach the high bar set by the instrumentals. This imbalance leaves sour tastes in Common’s own mouth, as he spits about expensive cars, shoes and a ghetto that has not changed even post-Obama.
One rhyme states that most of his fans have lost their grip on who Common really is, and that anyone who doesn’t understand his struggle can butt out. In the same breath, however, Common begins another onslaught of no-brainer one-liners and reveries about getting his drink on.
While there are many jabs that fans can take at “The Dreamer/The Believer,” the saving grace on the disc is Common’s unwavering morality and his ability to tell the truth. Very little has changed in the world in terms of the plight of minorities living in lower socio-economic conditions. Rhymes about shoes and money may be part of his gag reel, but they are used as ironic parallels to what the rapper sees within the black community.
It becomes apparent by the end of the disc that Common has not gone mainstream at all. Rather, he has become a parody of it, mocking and shaking its core. “The Dreamer/The Believer” becomes more of a case study into the decadent world of new hip-hop instead of a sad tragedy of a man brought down by the system he gave everything for.
Tribal, pounding drums and an angular, two-note bass line encases listeners as “El Camino,” thrusts out of their speakers, turning music into electricity.
Without abandoning its roots in classic, American rock music, The Black Keys’ newest release marks a commercial continuation in the genre while still harkening back to the gods of the 1970s. Adding space-age synthesizers and a trio of female back-up vocals to their bluesy, guitar and drum experiments, the band brings energy to the mass’s ears and achieves a modernized sound that is sure to sell.
Beginning with the lead single, “Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys establish a fast pace early on. Laden with a wall of girly back-ups during the chorus, the song charges away as sharp, sparse guitars are accented cleverly with occasional blips and beeps from the keyboard.
Like the rest of the album, the opener hovers within the three to four minute mark. Perfect for a single, and the same as almost every Beatles song.
Pop repetition aside, energy is maintained effectively with second track, “Dead and Gone.” Featuring more pulsing, tom-heavy drums and minimalist bass, the song quickly cultivates The Black Keys’ stab at establishing a new sound for rockers and poppers alike.
The second track’s clean, jazzy guitars are engulfed in a twinkling of synths and guitarist, Dan Auerbach’s soulful crooning. More female back-ups are placed beneath Auerbach’s vocals, for a slightly slower, but more heartfelt continuation of the “new” sound. Hand-claps are utilized in the same way Lionel Ritchie did 30 years ago and begin to carve out a very strong, if somewhat corny, presence on the album.
If the first two tracks established the band’s latest approach to commercializing rock music, the third and fourth pay homage to The Black Keys’ arena rock influences, for fans who may be scratching their heads after the odd beginning.
“Gold on the Ceiling” creates a fuzzy, blue-rock pop venture, much like Brits Marc Bolan and T.Rex. The fourth track, “Little Black Submarines,” could have just as easily been a cover of “Stairway to Heaven,” but no one, no one does that.
Ignore the lyrics, they are an emotionally depressing claw at the mysticism of past rockers, Led Zeppelin or maybe a little Hendrix even. At least these guys know what has worked in the past.
The Roots is arguably one of the most recognizable bands playing hip-hop in recent years, and not just because of its regular gig on Jimmy Fallon’s talk show.
In the early 2000s, The Roots offered a healthy alternative to hip hop bands, mixing in different elements here and there for flavor, not fashion.
The Roots have always been the contrary: a real hip-hop group that just happens to play all of its own instruments. And let’s be honest, after rap rock, everyone was hungry for the funk.
Lately The Roots have lost the uplifting, funky exploration of albums past. Upon a quick sampling of the band’s output in the last few years, save for the joyous Obama Year One themed “How I Got Over,” it is apparent that the band is absolutely pissed off and much more aggressive. But at whom? These questions remained unanswered until “Undun.”
On The Roots’ latest disc, we find the band in a precarious place, marginalized almost by hip-hop as a whole. There is no room for being overly happy or funky any more. Of course not, as emcee Black Thought points out, on tracks like “Sleep” and “One Time.” Now is the time for reflection and personal appraisal– the message of “Undun.”
When the future is uncertain, don’t panic, and don’t resort to desperate measures; this is a message almost unheard of from socially conscious rappers who cite the spirit of revolution more frequently than understanding.
The theme alone shows the spiritual growth of the group, and how the culture of underground hip-hop has evolved post-Obama. The dream was realized, just not finished, and there is plenty of more work to do, explains Black Thought on “Make My.” But that work doesn’t need violent or stark resistance. The solution is diplomacy and emotional appeal, and finally, The Roots seems to understand that.
Oh, and about the music: the band has dropped funk. Think less Roots and more organic-sounding alternative, more akin to Radiohead than hip-hop.
Simply put, Florence is a machine in “Ceremonials.” Two years ago, when Florence Welch burst onto the music scene, it was crystal clear that she was someone to take seriously: a vocalist with the extra strength to charge through love songs.
With that said, “Shake it Out” will be the “Dog Days are Over” of this album. Welch navigates through “Shake it Out” with a dark, robust edge by using a maze of old stories and an explosive chorus. By adding her own dark twist by touting, “I am done with my graceless heart/ So tonight I’m gonna cut it out and then restart/ Cause I like to keep my issues strong/ It’s always darkest before the dawn,” Welch is able to relate this song to the heartbroken and the spiritually rebirthed.
Take notice of her hooting and roaring through tracks like “Only If for a Night,” a folk-story somewhere between classic soul and funk designed to make you think as well as feel.
Musically, “Ceremonials” isn’t as assorted as “Lungs,” but it makes up for it with an immaculate flow. “Breaking Down” delivers an up-beat tempo with a classic strong violin, but the lyrics are literally lonely. A feeling we’ve all felt before. Welch strongly cries, “All along, even when I was a child, I’ve always known, there was something to be frightened of,” moving in and out of major and minor chords to beautifully bring her lyrics to life.
“Lungs” was the perfect debut album for Florence and the Machine, but “Ceremonials” takes it up another notch through strong singles and musical flow. It can be listened to as singles or experienced from start to finish. “Ceremonials” has a heartbeat that no other album of 2011 has. “Ceremonials” kicks acts like Coldplay and Adele off the main stage like no other in this rivetingly personal album.
Welch has matured on this sophomore album. She’s outdone herself this time around, and it’s truly something worth embracing.
Coldplay’s latest release may be its most unique.
While Chris Martin, the band’s front man, had every intention of creating a name for the album that so far had no hits on Google, the group now has more than 100 million hits on Google for “Mylo Xyloto.”
For die-hard Coldplay fans that have been a part of the experience from the beginning, “Mylo Xyloto” doesn’t completely abandon the former sound of sappy, crazy-in-love lyrics.
The album not only delivers high-energy songs, but experiments with some somber, mellow tracks like “Paradise”, which speaks of a young girl running away to a better life. “Paradise” not only intends for you to feel for this unnamed young person, but forces a look back to your younger days to remember those feelings.
Tracks such as “Charlie Brown” and “Up with the Birds” bring the soulful sounds similarly heard on earlier albums. But the album is definitely not shy of booming anthems, either.
The track “Every Tear is a Waterfall” resembles a bring-me-back-to-life anthem in every way. The lyrics begin with “I turn the music up, got my records on. I shut the world outside until the lights come on.” This song is clearly designed to suit many moods and personalities.
Initially, I was surprised at Coldplay’s new mainstream, pop-star-like sound. After several listens, a love and appreciation for the new sound will surely unfold. It should be acknowledged that Coldplay has abandoned most of its sappy love songs that made its music so boring 10 years ago. It’s nice to see the group finally singing about something different.
Interestingly, one of the unique qualities of this release is that it hasn’t been aired on Spotify, Pandora, or any other streaming website.
Although Coldplay followed in Adele’s footsteps to not release its songs as individuals to streaming websites, it will turn out to be the right choice. “Mylo Xyloto” wasn’t designed to be listened to as a group of singles, but rather as a start-to-finish composition – something that is long-forgotten in the mainstream music industry today.
Finally, Coldplay has gotten something right.
The main symptom associated with late ’90s pop-punk is that anyone making the music or listening to it didn’t have to grow up. The whole genre, manufactured to prolong evergreen, prepubescent angst and loathing in post-adolescence, offered nothing more than an avenue for pretty boys with guitars to seem deeper than they were.
With the advent of post-post-hardcore – yes, this is a genre – the pop-punk scene has become less about power-chords and cut-time drumming and more about tattoos, girl-pants, screaming and ripped-off Metallica riffs. And if the music didn’t follow that path, it went even further into ’80s style Goth rock, which can rarely ever be emulated properly.
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