rich boy
Rich Boy
On his new album, Maurice Richards (under the moniker Rich Boy) attempts to establish his hometown of Mobile, Alabama as the new epicenter of Southern Rap hotness. Running through the checklist, Richards seems to have procured all the right ingredients: Lil John production, a raucous track on the absolute necessity of large rims on Cadillacs ("Throw Some D's") and lyrics sexually overt to the point of absurdity: "If I put you in first class, can I touch that ass?"
While the production is essentially just recycled southern rap fare á la Ying Yang Twins and the Eastside Boyz, there are some unconventional moments. The presence of heavy and downright flatulent synth on "Role Models" and the rustic Spanish folk sample on "Get to Poppin'" could be slight and evanescent flecks of genre-breaking potential. Besides these few intriguing artistic choices, however, the album seems devoid of any real innovation.
On the other hand, it has occurred to me that a white Ivy League student from Montana may not have been the target audience Rich Boy and similar Southern contemporaries had in mind upon entering the studio. So while my personal intuition says rusty rehash, the Crunk-o-Meter may very well read triple-platinum.
-Joseph Yeakel
wintersleep
Wintersleep
On Wintersleep's self-titled album, most of the elements of good artsy alternative sound are in place. Strong and varied drum sequences form the framework of most of the songs, with thoughtful guitar chords patterned over. Like Radiohead, the sound is full but minimalist at the same time. Unlike Radiohead, there's a wonderful economy of words in the lyrics. They've been written to convey the wistful darkness of the songs without making too much of a fuss.
All of that is fine and dandy until the voice of lead singer Paul Murphy is smeared all over the album. His voice smacks of Chris Cornell (formerly of Audioslave), giving it a familiar tone. Unfortunately, over the course of the 11 tracks, his voice starts to get a little too familiar. His deep warbles rarely change in style or pace through the album, homogenizing the diverse work of the instrumentalists.
The record is a success in terms of cohesiveness in theme and style. It has a clear aesthetic effect and chances are that if you like one song, you'll like them all. Some of the exceptional pieces "Jaws of Life" and "A Long Flight," each represent the two predominant moods of Wintersleep: blustery noisemaking and quiet inner reflection, respectively.
Ultimately, the album starts to form a metaphor for itself, oscillating in that region of heartache: just better than mediocre, just short of brilliant.
- Monisha Chakravarthy
land of talk
Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
At some point in any movement, the whole shebang jumps the shark. When listening to Montrealers Land of Talk, you can hear why their brand of indie rock's already up and done it. They sound like a watered-down version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and they'll probably be famous for related reasons: a moderately catchy lead single, a sexually aggressive front-woman, foreignness.*
Especially apparent on the lead single, "Speak to Me Bones," a strictly delineated structure and a ruthless sound technician have given their material a repetitive, danceable beat. Adding a layer of fuzz on top via aimless feedbacking adds the requisite indie credibility. But all that just makes them derivative of recent-vintage British bands like Bloc Party or Franz Ferdinand.
Additionally, they lack a coherent sound. Half the songs are art-punk dance riffs. The rest are mid-tempo crooners for cowboys who went to fashion school. Adding to the oddity is that the strongest track, "All My Friends," is buried at the second-to-last spot, suggesting that the band (or their distributor) are not confident in their own abilities.
Ultimately it's not clear why listeners should care about Applause Cheer Boo Hiss. Anyone listening to music in the last four years has heard this album a dozen times and will hear it a dozen more. Land of Talk's lyrics are mundane and their sound is respectable, but not memorable. The result is the sort of hype-EP that's important to bloggers and no one else.
-Matt Walsh
*The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are actually from New York. They only sound foreign. Much like many New Yorkers.
land of talk
Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
At some point in any movement, the whole shebang jumps the shark. When listening to Montrealers Land of Talk, you can hear why their brand of indie rock's already up and done it. They sound like a watered-down version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and they'll probably be famous for related reasons: a moderately catchy lead single, a sexually aggressive front-woman, foreignness.*
Especially apparent on the lead single, "Speak to Me Bones," a strictly delineated structure and a ruthless sound technician have given their material a repetitive, danceable beat. Adding a layer of fuzz on top via aimless feedbacking adds the requisite indie credibility. But all that just makes them derivative of recent-vintage British bands like Bloc Party or Franz Ferdinand.
Additionally, they lack a coherent sound. Half the songs are art-punk dance riffs. The rest are mid-tempo crooners for cowboys who went to fashion school. Adding to the oddity is that the strongest track, "All My Friends," is buried at the second-to-last spot, suggesting that the band (or their distributor) are not confident in their own abilities.
Ultimately it's not clear why listeners should care about Applause Cheer Boo Hiss. Anyone listening to music in the last four years has heard this album a dozen times and will hear it a dozen more. Land of Talk's lyrics are mundane and their sound is respectable, but not memorable. The result is the sort of hype-EP that's important to bloggers and no one else.
-Matt Walsh
*The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are actually from New York. They only sound foreign. Much like many New Yorkers.
