Frenchy’s Fracas

General Description
Artist/Band: N*E*R*D || ||
Album Title: Seeing Sounds
Year: 2008

Comeback kids?

How I Got Into This Music
This band has always been on my radar since I discovered the Neptunes products. I thought they wouldn’t release anything after the Fly Or Die album and the lackluster solo CD of band member Pharrell. But to my surprise, here’s Seeing Sounds..

Reviews: || ||
Videos: ||
Have a listen on:

Tracks that got my attention:
Time For Some Action
Funny TV theme music combined with some Pharrell wackiness introes the first track, nice. The track itself? Hmmm.. Not so good, it’s a tip of the hat to different genres and to the Purple One, but that’s not enough. I like the heavy and cheesy 80s keyboards used in the bridge, but.. meh..

Everybody Nose
Heheh.. Mixing up quite some great styles, creating an unforgettable instant anthem! There’s some Miami Bass feeling from the Too Live Crew brewing combined with a smidgen of drum&bass. Again, the break/bridge: a sweet work of art! Followed by a great singalong ending.
It took me some time to get used to it, but this is one of the best tracks!

Windows
Pop rock, punk-pop, some bits reminding me of Heroin Is So Passe by the Dandy Warhols.

Anti Matter
B O O M ! !
A great female vocal sample, reminding me of the Real Roxanne. Real drum&bass mixed with some rough guitars. And again, the changeup’s a doozy! Closing bits are perfect singalong (or, shoutalong) material.
I don’t know where these guys get them big brass balls, but they do wear them with pride..

Spaz
Didn’t like this one, really didn’t like it at all. There’s nothing here that stands out, doesn’t work for me. Way too sloppy work on the whole track.
And then, Hieronymous Fox and me are chanting the chorus during our first day at the North Sea Festival.. Every friggin’ forty minutes.. Heheh, nuff said!

Yeah You
Best track on the album. A lot of style similarities with the Frontin’ track they produced with Jay Z. It’s got that same weird laidback feeling to it. I got some weird internal references with the chorus; its bass line keeps taking me to A Rollerskating Jam Called Saturday by De La Soul , even if it actually doesn’t really match.
And the vocals and lyrics on that chorus keep reminding me of Al Green’s version of Light My Fire, yeah, I know, weird..

Sooner Or Later
No, not again.. Crap, I do get tired of these ballads: much too formulaic, leave the Beatle references alone, please?
Then again, I caught myself humming this song a few times, scary.

Love Bomb
Never hummed this one and I’m sure I never will..

Conclusion
Well.. The great tracks on this album are very, very great. But they have to carry the mediocre and crappy songs and that’s quite a heavy load to bear. I know I’ll play this record more than their previous album, but it’s getting dangerously close to Predictable Stuff.
N*E*R*D still is a great band of musicians and producers; they need Pharrell’s ego to front the whole thing, but their collective effort is what stands out.
Still wanna see them perform live some time.

Rating:

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: Buika || ||
Album Title: Niña De Fuego
Year: 2008

More than just a pretty picture..

How I Got Into This Music
I just didn’t have any choice. LadyTO kept nagging me about this artist, and I kept ignoring it. Then she gave me this CD and continued nagging me into submission. After a month or so, I decided to cave in in a manly way and listen to the album.

Reviews:
Videos: ||
Have a listen on:

Tracks that got my attention:
La Falsa Moneda
Thirty seconds into the track and you get a clear idea of what you’re gonna get with this album: soft tones, lazy summer breeze and an incredible voice. Believe you me, I do not like the whole Spanish guitar hero & gitano traditional crap, but as usual, there are a few exceptions..

Culpa Mia
It’s that voice.. the intro of this song is beautiful and when the guitars join in, it’s also sweet!

Mienteme Bien
Some parts remind me of stuff my parents use to play when I was a kid, and I didn’t like it that much then and I still don’t..

Arboles De Agua
H O L Y S H I T ! !
The intro, when her vocals get in on the song, the whole track: wow, goose bumps!
Break both my legs and play me this song, you have a great chance I won’t be pissed at you.
This is such a great feel good track, there’s no way you can be sad or angry after listening to it.
(Still break your limbs later on, but that’s a small detail..)

La Niebla
Ohman, that voice.. Mellow work on the piano too.

Volver Volver
More of the ranchera stuff I don’t really like. The mixup with the almost jazzy trumpet is a nice touch.
By the way, don’t know if ranchera’s the right category to use.. It’s that cry-cry type of music from Mexico that this song’s reminding me of.

Mentirosa
Hmm, a nice and unexpected change of style: a bit of easy latin with some brass on the side. Works for the European crowd, I guess.

Conclusion
I saw five minutes of her show at this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival and it’s a shame I didn’t see more of her (in more ways than one, yep..). And, as I said before, I’m officially in love with that face
Macho bull aside: I really enjoy listening to this album and this artist. The way she uses her voice on this record is fantastic, the musicians are solid and the production is nice and subtle. Some tracks are just a bit too cheesy for my snobby tastes, but I can recommend the whole product.

Oh, LadyTO? You were right.

Rating:

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: Roy Hargrove Quintet || ||
Album Title: Earfood
Year: 2008

Excellent trumpet man..

How I Got Into This Music
Been listening to his Hard Groove album for quite a while now; saw him at the North Sea Jazz Festival last year and I really enjoy his different styles, beit his groove funk mixup or his more traditional jazz work.

Reviews:
Videos: ||
Have a listen on:

Tracks that got my attention:
I’m Not So Sure
Like Last.fm’s DocterD said:
What an Intro
Short and simple, he’s right. Incredible intro setting up a great jazz groove, making you want for more. The piano is almost gospel.
The trumpet and sax solos are great.

Strasbourg - Saint Denis
Well, if you want to make jazz really accessible then a track like this would work. It’s got this complicated Walk In The Park feeling to it, that would work in any lounge bar.
Love the piano on this track.

Starmaker
Nice and simple theme, again, the piano works superbly. Just love the short choppy stuff on the keys halfway.

Mr. Clean
Hmmm.. It’s big and bad approach that dominates the track, but it doesn’t really work for me.

Style
Sweetness when Hargrove puts that horn to work. And the lovely breaks through the song..

Divine
Wow, that laidback trumpet again on this lovely ballad!

Bring It Home To Me (Live)
Great Sam Cooke tribute.

UPDATE NOV2008: Here’s some stuff on youtube.

Conclusion
You want to hear a tight band perform? Listen to this album or go see them play live. Everything is performed professionally and with a lot of love. This album has a coupla tracks that really stand out but what I really enjoyed was the fact that I could put the record on and leave it to play all day long, without boring me for one minute.
Don’t lose sight (or hearing) of this artist!

Rating:

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: José González || ||
Album Title: In Our Nature
Year: 2007

Talented singer..

How I Got Into This Music
Funny thing, I’ve ignored this album for almost a year. I didn’t mind his vocals on the Zero 7 album The Garden, but it wasn’t something that got me all enthousiastic to go listen to other stuff from this guy. Hey, that’s how things work sometimes in my head!
Anyway, coupla months back I heard a small part of his cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop and that triggered quite a lot of interest on my part. So, I had a listen.

Reviews: || || ||
Videos: ||
Have a listen on:

Tracks that got my attention:
How Low
Love this opening track: a single guitar and those deep, dubbed vocals give a great threatening/sad mood to this song. Walking happily drunk through a minefield.

Killing For Love
Love the guitar, annoying repeating bit at the end.
Great lines:
You’ve got a heart filled with passion.
Will you let it burn for hate or compassion.

In Our Nature
Sweet title track. Another simple anti-violence song.

Teardrop
Just listen to it (the vid’s a bit crappy, but still..)
Here’s the Teardrop video at youtube:

It’s brilliant because Gonzalez doesn’t try to better Elizabeth Fraser’s vocals, he makes the song his own..

The Nest
Beautiful vocals, mellow track.

Cycling Trivialities
Beautiful vocals, mellow track.
(No, not a copy/paste error..)

Conclusion
It was fun (re-)discovering this version of Teardrop. I mailed friends of mine about it as if it was one of my greatest achievements in finding this song and telling them about it. But.. They already knew the song and had the album.. An ego is such a silly, fragile thing, heheh..
Back to the album. I played it for a month without getting bored by all the syruppy sweetness and that’s something in my book. For this review I played it all again and still find it enjoyable, something I really didn’t expect.
Like the album and the artist!

Rating:

Share This

General Description
Artist/Band: Feist ||
Album Title: The Reminder
Year: 2007

Talented singer..

How I Got Into This Music
Well, it was one of those TV discoveries, that still works occassionally
Saw this funny video called One Two Three Four and the song and the video registered somewhere in my brain. Then I saw it again somewhere, and I gave the album a listen.

Google Search for reviews of this album || Album details at Artistdirect.com || Answers.com ||

Tracks that got my attention:
I’m Sorry
Wow, an opening track that sounds like a closing track
There’s a great vibe and a kinda 70’s feeling with this song.

Feel It All
Ah, bad choice of style. The up-tempo is going nowhere and the slower parts are.. meh..

My Moon My Man
Great balance between the soft vocals and the rest of the band. The chorus is also almost electro, nice.

The Park
Love the simple guitar intro and when her vocals take over. The whole track is very well supported by her vocal talents.

Sea Lion Woman
A nice change of pace and of style. It’s simple and catchy.

Past In Present
Second track that reminds me waaaay too much of Sheryl Crow, and that’s one too many. The buildup’s great, solid guitars, great beat, too bad.

One Two Three Four
Brilliant! I like the background vocals during the chorus, love the sweet and soft bits with the violins and banjo and the horns halfway the track. Tender vocals, beautiful!

Brandy Alexander
Very intense song, love it! There are more than one explanations for the title, have a read here.. I’m guessing it’s the cocktail
And again, her voice is excellent, wow..

Intuition
And in came a heatwave
A merciful save
You choose, you chose
Poetry over prose
Not sure what’s being told, but it’s beautifully performed, chills..
Even bigger chills: the background vocals at the end of this track; I have to restrain myself from skipping to the end, love that part that much, but it won’t be fair to the whole track.

Conclusion
First things first: her vocals. With almost every track I’m racking my brain thinking about a specific singer she’s reminding me of. That’s not always a negative, mind you. But sometimes, it can get on my nerves, especially when you trigger memories of artists like Sheryl Crow and Dido.
Still, I’ve been playing this record now for a while and it doesn’t get boring at all. It’s an excellent album to play when you’re having people over for dinner. Of course, shops like BarStucks will use the record too and play till everybody gets homocidal, I’m afraid..
So, not a bad album, definitely not a bad singer. Just nothing too much above average, easy listening to the max.

Rating:

Share This