Akon, Common, Fall Out Boy, Keyshia Cole and Kevin Rudolf
the music press
sun 1/4/2009
- Senegalese-American singer-rapper Akon returns with Freedom, an album filled with "extremely breezy, Caribbean-tinged songs that are less hip-hop than lucid pop," according to The Boston Globe. "[H]is best songs [are] light, expertly constructed and just a touch insipid," writes The New York Times. Rolling Stone calls Freedom "pure melodrama about love and love lost, delivered in a hooting style over synth-swamped beats that are closer to early Peter Gabriel than to 2008 hip-hop."
- Rapper and actor Common drops Universal Mind Control, his eighth album. Spin magazine loves its retro sound: "While we're used to Common in the role of poetic prophet or self-righteous rhyme slayer, Universal Mind Control is primarily a rhythmic celebration, paying tribute to Afrika Bambaataa and Jonzun Crew jams." The Los Angeles Times applauds his new direction: "Common tries to break away, taking on a harder, naughtier persona and dipping his typically dusty grooves in executive producer Pharrell's cold chemical wash. For part of the album, the techno gambit blows fresh air into Common's paisley pondering."
- American pop-punkers Fall Out Boy release their fifth album, Folie à Deux (Madness For Two). "For all the negatives said, written or blogged about Fall Out Boy (and trust us, there are a lot), it's damn near impossible to fault the Chicago-born band for their creativity, ingenuity and willingness to try just about anything," gushes Alternative Press. The Onion's AV Club gives the album an "A" while underscoring that the band is overshadowed by bassist Pete Wentz's tabloid escapades: "While the adulation of millions of kids has made the Chicago quartet a platinum-selling arena act, the group inspires equally passionate disdain from non-fans, who made 'Wentz' slang for 'douche.'"
- California R&B singer-songwriter Keyshia Cole is back with a new hairdo and a new album, A New Me. USA Today calls it "sexier [and] more playful," featuring "much less pain than on previous works." Entertainment Weekly thinks she's "chosen an odd way to escape" the Mary J. Blige comparisons, since Cole "turns her focus from heartbreak to happiness only a few years after Blige promised she was done with drama." Allmusic digs the change of pace: "Cole pushes herself into new territory and becomes a more versatile songwriter and vocalist in convincing, frequently thrilling, fashion."
- Miami based producer and rocker Kevin Rudolf releases In The City, an album that "cribs tricks from both rap and rock 'n' roll, not in the pursuit of a bastardized Limp Bizkit-type hybrid, but with the intention to produce a crossover rock record with modern hip-hop tools," according to the BBC. Despite the album's flaws, hip hop webzine Rap Reviews enjoys Rudolf's Cash Money Records debut: "In the City offers good production, excellent melodies, and – of course – the same song, ideas, and kinds of guest appearances many times over. Still, I'd recommend it as a blueprint for potential."
Kanye West, Beyonce, Ludacris, Guns N' Roses and The Killers.
the music press
tue 12/2/2008
- Kanye West follows last year's chart-topping Graduation with his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak. The album is a "meditation on realness as it's been defined by materialism and machismo in the hip-hop world, and by love and sorrow in the larger one," according to the Los Angeles Times. The Guardian UK compares it to Radiohead's Kid A and applauds Kanye for "finishing the work begun by producers Timbaland and Pharrell Williams in drawing on areas of black music thought sissy by rap's still macho core audience."
- R&B diva Beyonce drops I Am... Sasha Fierce, featuring Beyonce on the first disc and her alter-ego, Sasha Fierce, on the second CD. Entertainment Weekly thinks the move "ultimately seems like a marketing gimmick." Beyonce's alter-ego leaves Vibe magazine puzzled: "It’s unclear when multi-faceted became multiple personality disorder … but this double CD raises some interesting questions. For instance, how can a sexy singer who makes sexy up-tempo tracks have an alter ego that also makes sexy, up-tempo tracks?"
- Ludacris is back with his seventh release, Theater Of The Mind. "Though he's acting more than rapping, Luda wants to prove Hollywood hasn't softened his skills," writes Rolling Stone, which gives Ludacris three and a half stars for being a "fine horn-dog comedian." Prefix mag has nothing but good things to say: "Ludacris has never recorded a verse that could legitimately be called 'wack' and Theater of the Mind keeps that record intact."
- After 15 years without a new album, L.A. metal rockers Guns N' Roses release the long-awaited Chinese Democracy. Is it worth the wait? "The answer has to be no, of course not, how could it be? That said, it's an exhilarating album," writes The Boston Globe. Webzine Popmatters sums it up with one question: "[W]hen you’re standing in front of that drinking hole jukebox a decade from now and you’re deciding whether to spend your last quarter on Appetite for Destruction's 'Sweet Child O’ Mine' or Democracy's 'Madagascar,' which one are you inevitably going to choose?"
- Las Vegas rock band The Killers return to the fray with Day & Age. Paste magazine says although it "may occasionally miss the mark," the group's third studio release is "the sophomore album they should’ve made two years ago." Spin magazine agrees: "[B]y becoming more comfortable with their glitzy roots, they've actually found the pulse of something more authentic. After all, you can't take the Vegas out of the showmen."
T-Pain, Calle 13, David Archuleta, John Legend and Q-Tip
the music press
thu 11/13/2008
- Florida rapper T-Pain is back with Thr33 Ringz, a "polished and self-fulfilling collection of hip-pop singles" that are "drenched in what already sounded like last year's sound a couple years ago," according to Slant magazine. T-Pain has had "his Auto-Tuned swagger jacked by everyone from Kanye to Lil Wayne, but he has kept his sound fresh with a bottomless bag of hooks and a grainy rasp that the computers can’t buff away," applauds Blender.
- Puerto Rican hip hop-reggaetón duo Calle 13 drop Los De Atrás Vienen Conmigo (The Ones Left Behind Me Are Coming With Me). The Houston Press can hardly contain its excitement: "Combining the fun of its debut with the follow-up's sonic adventurism, Conmigo is a genre-redefining — if not genre-shattering — triumph." The New York Times is just a wee bit more reserved: "Few hip hop or urban acts, in any language, match so much ambition to so much fun."
- American Idol runner-up David Archuleta releases his self-titled debut. Described as "one of those once-in-a-decade pop voices" by Billboard, the 17-year-old singer is "too sweet to be sexy," according to Rolling Stone. "[Y]ou glimpse hints of how his innate tenderness might triumph if he weren't saddled with the most generic writing and production money can buy," laments Entertainment Weekly.
- R&B singer and longtime Kanye West collaborator John Legend releases his third album, Evolver. "Even when soul singer John Legend is proposing one of the traditionally worst ideas in romance — sleeping with his best friend — he still makes a pretty convincing argument," chuckles The Los Angeles Times. "Smooth to a fault, Evolver solidifies Legend's standing in the pantheon of good soul singers, but greatness continues to elude him," writes The Onion's A.V. Club.
- Former A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip returns with The Renaissance after a 10-year "hiatus." AllMusic calls it a "worthy comeback for the man who's arguably done more to make hip-hop enjoyable than any other figure," while U.K. newspaper The Guardian underscores that the "album's frequent changes of mood and direction dazzle." Spin magazine agrees: "Up-tempo and uplifting, this largely self-produced record blurs distinctions between accessibility and avant-gardism."
Nelly, Pussycat Dolls, T.I., Gym Class Heroes and Jazmine Sullivan
the music press
sun 10/12/2008
- After a four-year hiatus, St. Louis rapper Nelly delivers his fifth album, Brass Knuckles. The Village Voice says he's playing second fiddle to his guests, "many of whom, uncomfortably enough, have eclipsed their host in the public consciousness (Fergie, Rick Ross)." The Boston Globe thinks he waited too long: "Four years is a long time to be gone. The market he had essentially cornered since 2000 was in middle school the last time he released a record."
- Girl-power pop combo Pussycat Dolls deliver their sophomore effort, Doll Domination, a "collection of electro-pop songs that are the opposite of sex: belligerent come-ons and odes to singledom stripped of pleasure, adventure or anything resembling fun," according to the Los Angeles Times. "After the inexplicable 'failure' of Nicole's solo album … it was smart to spotlight the, uh, talents of the other pussycats this go 'round," observes Slant Magazine.
- Atlanta's T.I. drops Paper Trail, an album in which he "mostly dispenses with the Tupac-wannabe gangsta-confessor pretensions to deliver catchy, tight, bombastic pop-rap," according to Rolling Stone. T.I. finds the "perfect balance of comedy and tragedy, swagger and humble attitude, pop music and hardcore hip-hop," and "[lives] up to the nickname 'Jay-Z of the South' in a big way," gushes webzine Rap Reviews.
- New York rap-rockers Gym Class Heroes return with their fourth album, The Quilt, a "misguided effort to be taken seriously as a hip-hop band," according to Entertainment Weekly. "It's the kind of benign mall music that's likely to be played ad nauseam at trendy chains like Wet Seal and Forever 21 while tweens shop for colored denim and leggings." Spin magazine agrees: "These dudes … are the Black Eyed Peas of the Warped tour set."
- R&B newcomer Jazmine Sullivan flexes her songwriting skills on her debut, Fearless, an album "just two songs shy of being a benchmark classic in the annals of music history," proclaims Soul Tracks. "Sullivan may be just 21, but the singer-songwriter proves herself a veteran in the game of love," declares Billboard.com. Sullivan's vocals are "perfection," raves Vibe magazine.
Young Jeezy, The Game, Metallica, Jonas Brothers and Solange
the music press
wed 9/3/2008
- The ATL's Young Jeezy drops his highly-anticipated third album, The Recession. "Previously criticized for strange rhymes and repeating lines, Jeezy delivers some great turns of phrase," commends Billboard.com. "Jeezy’s improvement as a lyricist is obvious. It’s almost hard to believe that there was a time when the highlights of his songs were his adlibs," gushes Vibe magazine, adding, "the Snowman has proven he won’t melt under the pressure of flashing lights."
- Beef-loving L.A. rapper The Game releases LAX, his follow-up to the platinum Doctor's Advocate. The Los Angeles Times thinks it misses the mark: "The Compton-raised rapper's conservative inclination to stick to the gangsta tropes of money, drugs and guns feels limiting at times, as does the album's bloated 1-hour-and-16-minute running time." URB magazine begs to differ: "Sure, it turns into some serious namedropping (almost always), but it’s also the reason why he’s three-for-three in the category of dope, dope records."
- After a five-year hiatus, veteran metalheads Metallica return with Death Magnetic, an album that is "the musical equivalent of Russia's invasion of Georgia — a sudden act of aggression from a sleeping giant," according to Rolling Stone. Music blog The Quietus says Death Magnetic "rinse[s] away the painful memories of watching Some Kind Of Monster, [which shows] Metallica as a bunch of whining, apron tied clowns with no social skills."
- Tween superstars Jonas Brothers release A Little Bit Longer. Entertainment Weekly gives it a "B+" and congratulates: "Assuming each generation gets the teen idols it deserves, then today's kids must have done something good — God knows what — to have merited the Jonas Brothers." Blender gives the trio 4 out of 5 stars for its feel-good pop-rock: "Becoming a teenager is confusing and scary. The Jonases offer a friendly road map."
- Solange Knowles attempts to shake the "Beyoncé's little sister" tag with Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, "a peppy album, rich with thumping horns, crisp percussion and light piano melodies." Despite a whiff of praise, The New York Times concludes "Solange can’t quite keep up." Allmusic disagrees, calling it "one of the year's more entertaining and easily enjoyable R&B releases," because it's "fronted by … someone who is slightly more concerned with raw emotion and clowning around than technical prowess and polished product."
Lloyd, Miley Cyrus, Black Kids and One Day As A Lion
the music press
thu 8/7/2008
- Lloyd "isn't your average R&B smoothie — he's much hornier," writes Rolling Stone. Billboard says the New Orleans R&B singer has "come a long way" on his new album, Lessons in Love, but The New York Times is disappointed: "Unlike its predecessor, which gave Lloyd’s tender alto room to breathe, much of the production here is gooey and distracting, too dense for Lloyd to make a dent in."
- Miley Cyrus sheds her Hannah Montana alter-ego on Breakout, an album that "finds the Disney Channel star returning to her factory setting of trying to please most of the people most of the time, without completely obscuring her own songwriting voice," according to The Boston Globe. "Though she's only 15, Miley's voice is rich and expressive as she dumps the same guy a dozen songs in a row," deadpans The Village Voice.
- Rage Against The Machine vocalist Zach De La Rocha teams up with ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore to form One Day As A Lion. The duo's self-titled EP is a "five-tracker with bite, with venom; it’s a reminder that while de la Rocha might age like the rest of us, the fires in his belly haven’t come close to being doused by mundane revivals of his most famous group’s mosh-happy hits," gushes Drowned in Sound. Webzine Stereogum notes that it "falls squarely within the realm de la expectation: still that ratatating delivery, still those allusions to class struggles, politics, and religion, etc."
- Florida indie dance combo The Black Kids release their debut, Partie Traumatic, "the type of record that claims not even the Apocalypse can stop the party," according Slant magazine. "[T]eenage yearning couldn’t hope for a much better vehicle than their pouting power pop," proclaims The Phoenix. "Flanked by his sister and friends, Reggie Youngblood sings catchy tunes about dancing and desire with a yelp that suggests … the Cure's goth godfather Robert Smith," observes Spin magazine.
Nas, Weezer, G-Unit and David Banner
the music press
wed 7/16/2008
- Nas drops the racially-charged Untitled. The album, controversial and much delayed, was originally titled N****r. "In a summer of 'Lollipop,' it's refreshing to hear a complicated record that doesn't shy from grown-up ambition," writes Entertainment Weekly. "For every moment of clarity on this album," warns The New York Times, "there’s an eyebrow-archer to match." Slant magazine backhands Nas with: "[His] flow is still the high-water mark of hip-hop lyricism. So even if the lyrics are vacant, at least they're pretty."
- Geek rockers Weezer return with another self-titled release dubbed The Red Album. The Onion's A.V. Club loathes the band's sixth record: "The breathtakingly stupid Weezer begs the question: Is this for real? Or are the over-processed hooks and lobotomized lyrics intentional self-parody?" Rolling Stone is a bit more forgiving: "Just download the good stuff or buy the album and don’t expect much from [Weezer] because [they] never really gave you more than a few minutes of cheap thrills in the first place."
- 50 Cent's dwindling crew, G-Unit, drops its second album, Terminate On Sight, after a five-year hiatus. Underground Online says although "T.O.S. shows G-Unit at their best," maybe "they were trying too hard to make a hit, and forgot to have fun." The Boston Globe thinks 50, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and former member Young Buck were affected by the long layoff: "It's just hard to figure out why these guys are important anymore."
- Louisiana rapper and sometimes actor David Banner releases his fifth album, The Greatest Story Ever Told. IGN.com advises the Southern MC with a "split personality" to pick a style and stick with it: "Banner struggles with his identity crisis while he flip flops more than thong sandals between political activist and wannabe Top 40 hit-maker." The New York Times agrees: "If he’s really worried about the dumbing down of hip-hop, he could start by changing his own songs."
Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Usher, N.E.R.D. and Katy Perry
the music press
mon 6/16/2008
- Coldplay make their inevitably big return to the charts with the Brian Eno-produced Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. The Village Voice observes "Viva La Vida is the moment where they want to be taken seriously, and they've used just about every bell and whistle at their disposal to reach that goal." The Chicago Tribune struggles to compliment the album as "a big, stadium-sized rock record" with "nuances." NME makes peace with the band's debt to U2, calling the second half of Viva "stratospheric," "magnificent" and "overreaching" -- but in a good way.
- The preternaturally prolific Lil Wayne finally releases... an album: Tha Carter III. The Guardian UK gushes that "trying to keep up with Wayne's mind... is a thrill." Entertainment Weekly is less enthusiastic, lamenting it's not a "thought-out lyrical masterpiece... [t]hough it certainly way better than most rap albums in the past year." Remarking that his album proper is less cohesive than the 77 songs he released last year, the Washington Post speculates "Perhaps he's become a little bit bored by his own brilliance."
- After complimenting Here I Stand, Usher's follow-up to the hit Confessions, as "consistent," the LA Times notes "Usher might be naturally gifted, but he's not a visionary like Prince or prime-time Jackson." The New Yorker magazine finds a similar vein to tap, describing the album's pleasures as "rarely raw, surprising, or complex, but they are reliable." Even BallerStatus joins the choir of "ho-hums" with the feint praise: "So here Usher stands, proving that he has every right to still be... standing."
- N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams and his on-again, off-again partner-in-crime Chad Hugo, deliver their third album Seeing Sounds. Rolling Stone takes a closer listen to the album's vocals and asks for a do-over: "[I]f they want their rhymes to keep up with the strength of their tunes, they need to dig a little deeper than this." In a review that borders on self-parody, Pitchfork wonders if "every track [is] a battle to see whether P first gets bored of his lyrics or his melodies." The BBC, however, finds more than a few moments of genius shining through calling Seeing Sounds "beautiful in places."
- With her video for "I Kissed a Girl" predictably drawing millions of oglers on YouTube, Katy Perry is poised to make a big debut with One of the Boys. Billboard is positively ecstatic: "Not since Jagged Little Pill has a debut album been so packed with potential hits." Not so much is Rolling Stone which offers a tart: "Perry has a heart, but it sounds like her bustier's too tight for her to use it."
Mariah Carey, Tony Dize, Lil Mama and Madonna
the music press
tue 5/13/2008
- R&B and pop diva Mariah Carey releases E=MC2, her eleventh studio album. Blender calls it her "most fun" album and gives it four stars: "Mimi has definitively been emancipated – from her need to decorate every damn song with more octaves than Maria Callas." The Los Angeles Times compares it to her previous album, The Emancipation of Mimi: "E=MC2 is a little better – the songwriting is more consistent, the feel a bit more natural – but it too lacks … artistic vision.”
- Reggeatonero Tony Dize drops his debut album, La Melodía De La Calle. The Hard Data blog digs a couple of dance tracks but is annoyed by the boasting and self-promotion: “I hate to break it down to you, but Calle 13 is 500 years ahead of you and all your friends." Billboard en Español says despite some reggaetón clichés, the experimental tracks like "Permítame" will "undoubtedly leave the listener sweaty."
- Lil Mama releases her debut album, The Voice Of The Young People. The Associated Press says Lil Mama is not a typical ringtone rapper: “Her lip gloss may be poppin', but she's got more to say than that.” Rolling Stone gives the album three stars for proving "there's more to her than bubble gum," adding, "let's hope she's got a few more years to give us the rest.”
- Veteran pop queen Madonna releases Hard Candy, the "kind of album a record company longs for in the current embattled market: a set of catchy, easily digestible, mass-appeal songs by a star who’s not taking chances,” proclaims the New York Times. “[Madonna] doesn't reinvent pop; she defines it,” gushes Pitchforkmedia, before complaining that “nobody involved in Hard Candy is anywhere near their creative peak.”
Akwid, Day26, Panic at the Disco and Ill Niño
the music press
tue 4/8/2008
- Akwid returns with La Novela, featuring guest appearances by Los Tucanes De Tijuana, "El Flaco" Elizalde and Voces Del Rancho. "It's the first Akwid album that contains explicit lyrics," observes La Vibra, which calls it "their most adventurous release yet." "This mix of grittiness and sophistication strikes just the right note," writes Billboard.com, "achieving cohesiveness despite a changing cast of guest acts."
- "Making The Band" act Day26 drops its self-titled debut. DJBooth.net asks: "Is this album truly the second coming of the Age of the Black Male Super Group? Not really, but it’s close enough to make me hopeful, and that’s going to have to be enough – for now." The Village Voice writes Day26 can "slow it down nicely," the group is "leaderless," leaving the vocals "sounding more crowded than harmonized."
- Emo rockers Panic at the Disco release their sophomore album, Pretty. Odd. "Like any growing emo band, Panic want to make a Seventies-style art-rock epic," chides Rolling Stone, noting the album "sounds cheerful, with a broad sense of humor." Entertainment Weekly agrees: "The band may occasionally outpace themselves in an eagerness to make a Big Important Record… but they succeed an impressive amount of the time."
- Latin nu-metal band Ill Niño delivers its fourth album, Enigma, after a five-year delay between releases. Tunelab Music thinks it was worth the wait: "The heavies are the heaviest Ill Niño has ever been, while the mellow moments are the band’s most serene and sultry." Rockfreaks.net can't help but enjoy it: "When the songs are as well written and executed… you tend to forget about the lack of originality."
Danny~! Says:
