Review: White Lies - Ritual

My first introduction to the London band White Lies was seeing them open for Kings of Leon in Birmingham Alabama in October of 2009. I had never heard of them but learned after their first song they had opened with their best song off their debut album To Lose My Life. The show sort of puttered out after that. That pretty much sums up the bulk of their catalog to date and this album is no different. Their sound encapsulates 80's synth and singer Harry McVeigh has a baritone that's more Chris Isaac than Robert Smith. It's too bad that his lyrics are often nonsensical and don't make any sense. Sometimes they are downright trite and, well...bad. The overall sound and production of this album is improved from their debut, and their musicianship has also improved as well. That being said I wouldn't say this album is better. If only every song were as big and aspired to soar and succeed as much as "Farewell To The Fairground", the very song they opened with and seemed to go downhill from. If that were the case they would have an initial catalog and a stable of memorable songs to build from. The song "Bigger Than Us" comes close but it's not something you haven't already heard done bigger and better many times over. If you've got a couple of bucks burning a hole in your pocket do pick up those two songs, the rest you can leave in your favorite respectable music store catalog. 2 out of 5

Review: Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

Chicago's Smith Westerns are normally a "lo-fi" sounding group, with their second LP they have cleaned up their sound considerably. There is still enough reverb and echo to make this album decidedly indie. The album opens up with "Weekend", the first few notes a tinkling throwback to the Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice" then breaks into a rousing and fuzzy guitar lick. The John Lennon homage "Imagine Pt. 3" is a perfect mix of synth and guitars with dreamy overlaying vocals from frontman Cullen Omori. The song "All Die Young" starts off with with organ piping before breaking into 70's psychedelic excess. The album is rich with a guitar rock sound with the right amount of polish. The vocal work comes off as almost woozy and love-struck at times and it works beautifully with the dueling guitar lines and classic indie percussion. My only problem is the length, at 10 songs the album leaves you definitely wanting more. The band has put together a groovy and classic sounding rock album that is sure to improve you mood and makes you want to sing along. 4 out of 5

Review: Louis C.K. - Hilarious

Louis C.K. is a funny man, there's no other way to say it. His humor is many things, self-deprecating, honest, unconventional, and at times absurd. 2010 was a great year for Louis which made sure if you hadn't heard of him and his comedy before, his TV show "Louie" on FX, and the film that coincides with this album will change that. Hilarious the film is also the first ever stand-up comedy film to be accepted at the Sundance Film Festival. Louis' material delves into the absurdity often found in the mundane, and takes it even farther. He eschews about the hypocrisy and lazy lifestyle choices of white America, talks about the heft of a coin, and even fits in a shit joke or two. This is in my opinion is by far the best material he's ever done. Having been a fan of his for about 16 years I can say that he's grown into one of the best and irreverent comics of our time, if not the best. One of my favorite bits is him talking about how spoiled and fat Americans are, how with all this amazing technology around us we still find things to bitch about. He points out societal imbecility, like how it's ok to hit children but not dogs. He is the absolute best at pouring out his most messed-up inner thoughts. His everyman way of talking about topics such as religion, homophobia, divorce, fatherhood, and society in general speaks for all of us in a way. More of my favorite bits are when he talks about how he tries to have a filter when he talks to his kids and fails miserably. It's harder than it looks, to know what to say and have to be careful about being too honest and balance sparing their feelings at the same time. It shows a different side of him that we haven't seen in his early material. After 25 years of doing stand-up comedy he is able to come off as almost endearing, he can talk about the idiocy that inhabits our world without alienating his audience, he does it without bitterness, he does it without being smug. Right now I think he's doing it better than anyone. 5 out of 5

Review: Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids

In the dawn of the "gangsta rap" era, when Dr. Dre, 2pac, and Snoop Dogg were getting all the attention, airplay, and accolades that come with ushering in a new style and putting their West Coast brand on hip hop, something else was happening. On the other side of the country, a group from Staten Island, New York known as the Wu-Tang Clan were emerging with their own sound as well. While their album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) didn't achieve the same commercial success as their Western counterparts, they were no less influencial. What they did was make hip-hop underground again. For every 100 times they played a Dr. Dre video on Mtv you might get one showing of Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." at 3 am, if you were lucky. With 9 members and an honorary quasi-member in Cappadonna, you got a sense that someone should have come to the forefront and shown everyone who was the best out of all of them. While RZA had the producing chops, GZA releasing one of the greatest hip-hop albums of the 90's with Liquid Swords, Ol' Dirty Bastard being goofy and comical, Method Man with his signature voice, someone had to step up and be the best. In their solo projects and offshoots someone needed to shine, and 2 of the members stepped up to take that distinction; Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. Just as luck would have it, when Ghostface Killah released his first solo album Ironman he took Raekwon and Cappadonna along for the ride with him. It has his name on it but it doesn't feel so much a solo effort as a collaborative effort between the best minds the group had to offer. A few great albums and several forgettable ones followed and he has returned triumphantly with Apollo Kids. The album is classic Ghostface, classic Wu-Tang offshoot as noisy, raw, and gritty as the city they hail from. It's strange listening to someone you grew up listening to make references to iPhones and Barack Obama, a guy who stepped out of a time machine and started waxing poetic about the world, like a caveman driving a Prius. As strange as it is, it works beautifully. His signature basslines, soul samples, and blaxploitation guitars are present throughout the album (along with his mysogyny). Cappadonna and Raekwon make appearances as well, along with Busta Rhymes and The Game. It's like a class reunion where you actually look forward to the people you haven't seen in a while getting together again. That being said I had a blast listening to this album and getting to know the gang again. The song "In The Park" is the highlight of the album for me, the fuzzy guitar and olympic, ostentatious rapping is as classic Ghostface as you can get, the foundation laid down and built back up again. My only complaint is the length of the album, 12 songs, barely 40 minutes in length. When the last song "Troublemakers" is over, after Raekwon and Method Man have brought you back to 1993, you half expect another song to start, yet it leaves silence and wanting. After the last few forgettable releases this is definitely is a great way to start over. For what the album lacks in length it makes up for in breadth and intensity. I give this album a 4.5 out of 5.