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Street Sweeper Social Club
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Published: June 25, 2009
Updated: 06/24/2009 08:20 pm
Street Sweeper Social Club
Street Sweeper Social Club
Label: Warner Bros./ILG
If you like: Revolutionary hip-hop
Song to download: "100 Little Curses"
Former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Boots Riley of hip-hop set The Coup form the perfect marriage on the fiery, politically charged Street Sweeper Social Club.
For Morello -- a Harvard graduate who majored in political science -- the disc is in the vein of Rage's anti-capitalism approach and his recent CDs as The Nightwatchman.
The innovative axman -- playing both guitar and bass -- keeps things simple with his trademark dirty riffs, allowing Riley to maintain a tight flow. And Riley, who with The Coup wrote the controversial track "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO," continues his Marxist takedown of America.
Riley spits hate at the wealthy on "100 Little Curses" ("Off the breaking backs of others is where you got all your bucks/Til we make the revolution/I hope your life sucks") and on "The Squeeze" he closes with repetitious shouts against right wingers: "Cuz they vote with their guns."
The onslaught is relentless but brisk. Other standouts include "Fight! Smash! Win!," the grinding "Nobody Moves Til We Say Go," the lyrically acrobatic "Good Morning, Mrs. Smith," and a swipe at the entertainment industry's glorification of gangsters on "Clap for the Killers."
On the stomping "Promenade," Riley turns the idea of the dosey-do on its head and manages the tough task of making you laugh and think at the same time.
With endless wars, a corrupt economy and angst throughout politics, the timing couldn't be better for Street Sweeper Social Club.
Kasabian
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Label: RCA/Sony
If you like: Electronic psychedelia
Song to download: "Underdog"
Kasabian's mix of electronica and psychedelic rock is on full display on their third CD, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.
Comparisons to Primal Scream and The Stone Roses have followed Kasabian since the release of its 2004 debut. Ably blending rock hooks with layered electronics, Kasabian's sound can definitely be described as, well, primal.
What stands out are the poetically charged vocals of frontman Tom Meighan, who has never been shy about touting his band's chops and offers plenty of innuendo about everything from sex and stardom to drug use and its inevitable comedown.
"Underdog" opens the disc with fist-pumping electronics (as Meighan boasts "Kill me if you can") before sliding into the trippy and pulsating "Where Did All the Love Go."
"Fast Fuse" is all fuzzed-out cockiness; "Take Aim" hits a tight groove with dirty acoustic guitars; and "West Ryder Silver Bullet" offers lush orchestration floating over a simple rhythm. "Secret Alphabets" manages to rock behind sweeping atmospherics; "Fire" alternates between minimal acoustic guitars and funk-rock swagger; and disc closer "Happiness" builds into a gospel-choir spiritual.
Lead single "Vlad The Impaler" is a sexy stomp that could own any dance floor and mightily boasts "We are the last beatniks."
Unwise comparisons may follow Kasabian, but these lads from Leicester are proving a singular force to be reckoned with.
Jonas Brothers
Lines, Vines and Trying Times
Label: Hollywood Records
If you like: Cute musical boys
Song to download: "Black Keys"
Yes, millions of teenage girls helped the Jonas Brothers rise to fame, but they're also the reason why the group isn't taken seriously, musically speaking.
The musicianship of Nick, Kevin and Joe is often overlooked, but that may finally change on their fourth studio album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times.
The follow-up to their breakthrough CD, 2008's A Little Bit Longer, Lines includes a cool collection of songs primarily written by the JoBros, including such groovy ones as "Hey Baby," "Much Better" and the first single, "Paranoid."
But the best songs are the slow jams, such as "Turn Right" and the exceptional "Black Keys," solely written by the youngest Jonas, 16-year-old Nick. Definitely listen to "Black Keys," the smoothest and most impressive song the CD offers.
The CD is produced by John Fields (Miley Cyrus, Switchfoot) and executive produced by poppa Jonas, Kevin Jonas Sr.
Lines, Vines and Trying Times is not without its missteps, though. Where the boys try to take artistic leaps -- like collaborating with rapper Common on "Don't Charge Me for the Crime" -- they fall short. The country-sounding "What Did I Do to Your Heart" is also dismissible.
Angel Taylor
Love Travels
Label: Columbia
If you like: Top-notch Lisa Loeb
Song to download: "Spinning Wheels"
Angel Taylor's debut album, Love Travels, is a lush and lilting treatment on pop. It's a sugarcoated production to be sure, but honest enough around the edges to keep things from becoming too sappy.
Of course it's all about love and dating and the occasional heartache. What pop song isn't, really? What Taylor brings to the table that sets her apart is a voice with enough quirks to make her stand out in a crowded genre of wannabe Lisa Loebs.
Take "Like You Do," a light track about love affirmed. Taylor employs a gorgeous husky whisper at times, and pours on the vocal energy as the pace quickens. She keeps the track from succumbing to the session musician bore it might have otherwise been.
"Spinning Wheels" is one of the top tracks on the album, with its winning hook. "I'll keep you locked up so tight in my pocket/ until you decide to slow down I'll keep spinning wheels," Taylor sings as the song races along. Love is always tested on Taylor's songs, but never defeated.
Taylor's voice, with its adorable squeaks sprinkled here and there, is the secret weapon here and makes Love Travels one of the top debut albums of the year.
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