Editor's Picks
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CLINTON JORDAN: Arrivals and Departures
It's not uncommon to hear albums that are simply an unfocused journey through various contemporary styles of music: here's a rock song, here's a pop song, there's an R&B song. But it's truly rare to find an album (such as this) that is so focused and united in its genre-blending sound, yet hard to classify. There's the Outkast-ish "Supa Man", which makes dancing irresistable; a few songs later, there's the jazzy chromatic electric piano & frantic gospel drums holding down the looped groove on "Waiting". Then there's the dancey Justin Timberlake-with-funkier-beats of "Your Ways". The prog rock workout of "Monsters" sounds like Tool with a choir of Freddy Mercurys singing; it's fascinating stuff. As a whole, it's a concept album, dealing with arriving on earth and getting to heaven in the end. The musical journey on which it takes the listener is a wild and wonderful ride, made up of excellent musicianship, stellar singing, and first rate production that places the sound firmly in 2008, while still keeping an eye on the history of soul, rock and R&B music. It's a good thing to hear an album that blends genres so seamlessly. With 24 tracks and almost 80 minutes of music, the album is a thorough exploration of ecstatic gospel, R&B, and pop styles, and at the end, you'll want to take it again.
CD price: $14.00
STEVE DAWSON: Telescope
If an artist is going to make an instrumental album and expect people to listen to it as something other than background music, it had better be darn interesting. Thank god Steve Dawson was aware of that when making this album. Telescope is full of sonic subtleties in the mix that encourage (if not demand) close and repeated listens. As you listen, you can practically hear the band around you, and you're placed in the middle of the room as the four-piece band weaves jazz, folk, rock and country elements together, enveloping your senses. It's a wonderful thing. Upright bass, organ, drum kit, and Dawson's highly evocative pedal steel guitar work as a seamless tapestry of musical genres that are hinted at, played around, and finally explored, to varying degrees. From the lazy western swing of "Chris Gestrin", to the hip-hopped folk-funk of "Speaker Damage", this album gets it right. The mood of the album is cheerful but inquisitive, with enough melancholy to satisfy Willie Nelson fans. Bill Frisell and Daniel Lanois are likely influences, but Dawson isn't derivative; this album is fresh and original, while respecting the genres that paved the way for it.
CD price: $13.97
THE MEN WHO CONTROL THE WEATHER: The Mesoamerican Dream
If you're looking for an album to top off that "Songs To Dance To As The World Crumbles" playlist you started on your iPod a while ago, this is it. Self-described as "a subversive paramilitary dance-rock band," this Minnesota five-piece is fun and fury, with a sound that makes you wonder if their pre-recording ritual doesn't involve huddling in a bunker for a few weeks, and eating freeze-dried coffee while watching an old VHS copy of "1984." Something's going to happen, everything is coming to head, but before it does, these chaps would like to have some fun with you. Let them. These songs are, more than anything, just good ol' rock 'n' roll that's been jacked up and spun around a few times. So, the jams are sufficiently kicked out, but so are some unexpected harmonies and keyboard/piano parts that are skillfully adjusted tonally to fit the feel and message of each track. Like any good fast-paced rock band, they get in and get out, with most of the songs hovering around the three minute mark. (The exception is "Urban Hunting Ground," which grooves and screeches for an even five, and it doesn't drag.) They've harnessed the chaos, and they're ready to show it to you. Take a look, while there's still time.
CD price: $12.97
N.Y.C. AKA NEVER YET CONTESTED: ... In Retrospect
In hip hop, you can always take it back to the essence. All you need is a thick beat laced with some potent lyrics, and the sound is bound to resonate with true fans. No matter what you've heard, those fans are still out there, and this Brooklyn-bred MC knows it. Wisely skipping the oft-obligatory intro, he jumps knee-deep into the rhyme pool on "Who I Be," an 808-driven track that thumps, rings some bells, and allows ample room for the man to let us know what he's about, and what he came to do. Don't worry, he's not here to sermonize ("I'm not a preacher, but a brother who knows...," he says on "Probable Cause"), but if you want to listen, he's got some ideas. "Wake Up" gets deeper into the conscious aspects of his style, urging folks to take a hard look around. The rest of the disc is the follow-through of these opening statements, getting specific on the downside of television ("Boob Tube"), the blurring effects of drinking ("Intoxication"), and the harsh realities of the streets ("21"). It's serious business, but he balances things out with "Clap for Me," a golden-era style party anthem that keeps it partially old school, but completely relevant. It makes for a great balance, a great track, and one more reason why this is such a great album.
CD price: $9.99 / MP3 price: $9.99
KEN WILL MORTON: Devil In Me
On his third solo outing, Americana troubadour Ken Will Morton plugs in his trusty telecaster and really turns up the juice. Whereas his first two critically lauded releases centered on jangly pop rock and introspective folk with polished production techniques, Devil in Me trades precision for the ragged, rough n’ tumble enthusiasm of The Replacements. This time around it’s all grit and grime. The loose, raw, and naked basement recording captures an electrifying band with blistering blues-rock bravado to spare. Exercising subtly and restraint, these stripped-but-energetic arrangements provide ample room for Morton’s gravelly voice, reminiscent of Steve Earle or Paul Westerberg, to ring out with world-weary wisdom.
CD price: $9.97