Spektral Music
Common wisdom tells us that a plethora of vocal ticks set against alternatingly opulent and cutesy orchestration doesn’t make for a successful album. But if the title of her 2004 album Soviet Kitsch is any indicator, Regina Spektor seems to have come to terms with the arrangement and made it work in her favor. The Russian-born singer-songwriter makes a strong case for that fact with her 2006 follow-up, Begin to Hope, an album that asks you to love it, warts and all. The good news for Spektor is that she makes it near impossible to refuse.
I Have a McPheever
At right is the list of most-viewed articles today on Blogcritics.org, the “sinister cabal of writers” that I’ve been doing music and movie reviews for over the past few months in exchange for swag. I know, I know, it seems more likely that I’d be shamelessly promoting my own story on the demise of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but my article is actually the one right above it: a review of the debut album from American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee. Earlier today, it was the number one most read story. Am I ashamed that I had to write a review of “popular” music to get that kind of readership? Sure. But at least I got to start a flame war with a bunch of Taylor Hicks fans.
Back later today (or at least tomorrow morning) with regularly-scheduled programming.
Music Review: Katharine McPhee – Katharine McPhee (Blogcritics.org)
Update (1:25 p.m.) – And now it’s officially gone from the top 5. Maybe the Soul Patrol will leave me alone now.
Barenaked Ladies Are Everyone
I gave the Barenaked Ladies a lot of flak for their most recent release, Barenaked Ladies are Me, but as I have listened more and more to the CD, I’ve found it more and more tolerable. What I’m really impressed with, though, is the Ladies’ embracing of digital technology, releasing the album on thumb drives, encouraging fans to dub their voices over the studio instrumental tracks, and now rounding up a boatload of YouTube non-celebrities to perform the music video for what appears to be their new single, “Sound of Your Voice.” It’s one of the better songs on the album, and it’s made all the better by an innovative video idea. Check it out after the jump. Click the play button on the screen, not the “watch” link.
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Oh, Inverted Expectations
It seems like so much fewer than three years ago that Natalie Portman was convincing us that listening to the Shins would change our lives (let’s face it: no review of the Shins will ever again be written without mentioning Garden State, so it’s best to get it out of the way early). But while Portman was quirkily winning Zach Braff’s heart by hypnotizing him with cuts from their first major release, Oh, Inverted World, the Albuquerque natives were turning themselves into indie pop powerhouses with the growing popularity of Chutes Too Narrow. With the release of Wincing the Night Away, many fans expected the band to build on the sunny, melodic, unbelievably catchy tone of Chutes. What they got is an album that’s reminiscent of Oh, Inverted World and has some of the same mood of Chutes, but unlike any Shins material ever heard.
Token of Appreciation
Perhaps the best — and worst — thing anyone could say in describing the Trolleyvox is that they sound like the New Pornographers with a boost of girl power. This isn’t to say that the Philadelphia-based power-poppers are a band content with riding the rock coattails of other groups, nor is it to cast the growing shadow of Neko Case onto Trolleyvox lead singer Beth Filla. Indeed, the similarities suggest that the Trolleyvox are a band poised to make the jump from relatively unnoticed underground rockers to… well, appreciated underground rockers. Their newest release, The Trolleyvox Present the Karaoke Meltdowns, is certainly a step in the right direction.