Tuesday Is New Music Day
Okay, so I secretly (oops, not anymore) want to make this a music blog. Every week, I'm going to review a new CD, and if there are multiple new CDs that I want to review, I'll do a couple. Then, every week or two, I'll review an older CD that not all my palberts may be familiar with (a la my entry on Astral Weeks). Today, I'll be reviewing Cat Power's The Greatest.
In case you don't know anything about Cat Power, I'll give you a brief rundown. Cat Power is basically just one person (sort of how Bright Eyes is just Conor Oberst), a southern gal by the name of Chan Marshall. Yes, she is gorgeous. She's on Matador Records, which is one of the big names in indie-rock (Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney, et. al.).
Despite the title, The Greatest is not a greatest hits compilation or anything. It's just a regular old album. Well, maybe "regular" and "old" aren't the best words to describe it, but you know what I mean.
Marshall has a great, soulful voice. This album really showcases it well. It was also recorded in Memphis, which should give a hint as to the feel of the music on the album. The piano has that old saloon feel to it, a lot of the guitar has a country twang to it, and the drums are low-key if present at all. The album is just about the definition of stripped-down. It's got a very nice aesthetic to it.
The problem with stripped-down albums, however, is that the vocalist really has to put out a great effort. Like I said, Marshall has a great, soulful voice, which really suits the music. However, she pulls her punches with her lyrics a bit. They're not laughably bad or anything, but they're pretty basic. I suppose that also goes along with the stripped-down aesthetic of the album, but it's not very impressive. Simple lyrics work in the blues genre because generally in a blues song, the instrumentation is the focus. On this album, the music is just as simple as the lyrics, so despite Marshall's vocals, the songs fall short.
Still, it's a very nice album. Marshall's charm and the Memphis soul aesthetic are cool enough to make it a 7/10.
Guess what? Today's one of those special days where I'm reviewing two CDs. The second CD on the docket this week is The Elected's Sun, Sun, Sun.
Now, for some background info on The Elected. The band is the side band of Blake Sennett. If you don't know who Blake Sennett is, trust me, you probably do. Ever watched Boy Meets World? Remember Joey the Rat? Yep, that's Blake Sennett. He's also a member of Rilo Kiley, for whom he plays guitar and is overshadowed by the utter hotness of Jenny Lewis.
The Elected isn't all that much different from Rilo Kiley, except that they're not fronted by an uber-hot chick. Sun, Sun, Sun is a solid album, though. Sennett's vocals have shades of Elliott Smith, and the guitars have some Wilco-style alt-country twang to them.
The title and cover art for this album are fitting. The sound is bright, and the art (which reminds me of Disney World's Frontierland) suits the laid-back feel. While it could easily come off like a Jack Johnson acoustic surf album, it stays unpredictable enough to make each song feel like its own. It's not going to blow you away, but it's a nice, fun album without overdosing on sugary indie-pop. "Biggest Star" has a great crescendo, closing the album perfectly. I give it a 7.5/10.
In case you don't know anything about Cat Power, I'll give you a brief rundown. Cat Power is basically just one person (sort of how Bright Eyes is just Conor Oberst), a southern gal by the name of Chan Marshall. Yes, she is gorgeous. She's on Matador Records, which is one of the big names in indie-rock (Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney, et. al.).
Despite the title, The Greatest is not a greatest hits compilation or anything. It's just a regular old album. Well, maybe "regular" and "old" aren't the best words to describe it, but you know what I mean.
Marshall has a great, soulful voice. This album really showcases it well. It was also recorded in Memphis, which should give a hint as to the feel of the music on the album. The piano has that old saloon feel to it, a lot of the guitar has a country twang to it, and the drums are low-key if present at all. The album is just about the definition of stripped-down. It's got a very nice aesthetic to it.
The problem with stripped-down albums, however, is that the vocalist really has to put out a great effort. Like I said, Marshall has a great, soulful voice, which really suits the music. However, she pulls her punches with her lyrics a bit. They're not laughably bad or anything, but they're pretty basic. I suppose that also goes along with the stripped-down aesthetic of the album, but it's not very impressive. Simple lyrics work in the blues genre because generally in a blues song, the instrumentation is the focus. On this album, the music is just as simple as the lyrics, so despite Marshall's vocals, the songs fall short.
Still, it's a very nice album. Marshall's charm and the Memphis soul aesthetic are cool enough to make it a 7/10.
Guess what? Today's one of those special days where I'm reviewing two CDs. The second CD on the docket this week is The Elected's Sun, Sun, Sun.
Now, for some background info on The Elected. The band is the side band of Blake Sennett. If you don't know who Blake Sennett is, trust me, you probably do. Ever watched Boy Meets World? Remember Joey the Rat? Yep, that's Blake Sennett. He's also a member of Rilo Kiley, for whom he plays guitar and is overshadowed by the utter hotness of Jenny Lewis.
The Elected isn't all that much different from Rilo Kiley, except that they're not fronted by an uber-hot chick. Sun, Sun, Sun is a solid album, though. Sennett's vocals have shades of Elliott Smith, and the guitars have some Wilco-style alt-country twang to them.
The title and cover art for this album are fitting. The sound is bright, and the art (which reminds me of Disney World's Frontierland) suits the laid-back feel. While it could easily come off like a Jack Johnson acoustic surf album, it stays unpredictable enough to make each song feel like its own. It's not going to blow you away, but it's a nice, fun album without overdosing on sugary indie-pop. "Biggest Star" has a great crescendo, closing the album perfectly. I give it a 7.5/10.
posted by Kevin A. Doran at 8:24 PM
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