When Katy Perry released her debut album, the self-titled Katy Hudson (her real name) way back in 2001, who would have squared her the measure of her California pop potential beside that gospel-rock record?
Nine years and a handful of record companies later with a Top 10 album under her belt, Perry returns with heavy expectations from the record industry and new release Teenage Dreams.
Even before you press play, Perry promises coquettish fancy wrapped in a candy-coloured cloud on the cover. Less than fifty minutes later, expectations fall more than a little flat. Instead of seductive tunes, we’re firmly in sub-par Stefani territory, with none of the subversion that Perry aches so very hard to extoll. Exhibit A - Peacock.
Are you brave enough to let me see your peacock?
Don’t be a chicken boy, stop acting like a beeotch
I’ma peace out if you don’t give me the pay off
Come on baby let me see
What you’re hiding underneath
I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock
Your peacock, cock
Your peacock, cock, cock
Your peacock
I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock
Great pop songs never fail to sound fresh. Now, I can imagine an army of just-there teenage girls rejoicing in the 99% wit-free lyrics with aplomb, but give the song five, ten and fifteen years and then measure its effect. In an effort to out-schlock I Kissed a Girl, Perry firmly misjudges.
Even with the criticism leveled, there are bright spots like Firework produced by the Norwegian production pair Stargate that demonstrates the ballsy singer Perry is turning into. It’s playfully foreshadows where Katy should do next. The remaining songs flit between middling Britney fillers and incidental music from The Hills which is shame. This hasn’t done a bit of damage on the initial commercial response with Teenage Dream jumping to number 1 in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland and Australia. Let’s see what happens long-term!
Verdict: The overall effect is patchy, with Perry shining in unexpected ways. Let’s hope the next album is more fully-fleshed out.
I’m unbashed Björk fan, so checking out Robyn covering Hyperballad at last night’s Polar Music Prize show in Stockholm was essential. Oh, the pressure when Herself is front and centre. Check out her outfit from top to toe!
This years, the Polars recognised Björk and Ennio Morricone for their contribution to music. Past recipents of the prize include Sir Paul McCartney, Quincy Jones and Sonny Rollins. Anyways, enjoy!
Disclosure – I received a review copy of this album.
Live From Orensanz by Taking Back Sunday is the latest live album from this American rock band. This album is the band’s second live collaboration but it’s their first acoustic. Everything sounds better acoustic. Lesser bands stick to studio enhancements, when a band records a live acoustic album, they’re confident that they don’t need studio effects to appeal to their fans. There’s something raw, primal, about a live show. You see a band give it their all, for their enjoyment and yours.
I’ve never come across Taking Back Sunday in the musical sphere before. I’ll be honest, they left me a bit chilled. For a band that has been jamming together over a decade, I was expecting more. I can’t describe what more. Just more. What makes them unique against any other band? It just felt there was something lacking, perhaps I’m being too critical and Live From Orensanz is an isolated incident.
Live From Orensanz became a muddle of tracks, the aural pleasures listed below have a bit more of an acoustic kick. Nothing in particular stood out as revolutionary for rock music. Perhaps that’s one of the downfalls of playing acoustic is that new listeners have no grounding in previous collaborations.
If you’re a massive fan of Taking Back Sunday, you’ll be pleased to hear that if you order Live From Orensanz from their website, you’ll receive a DVD of the entire Orensanz show.
Just not my cup of tea.
Verdict: If you’re a fan of Paramore, you’ll like Taking Back Sunday.
Let’s kick off this review by trotting out all of the Rumer comparisons. Tipped the next Karen Carpenter and Carole King, she has a heavy mantle to assume. Even Burt Bacharach is a fanboi. Tall billing for a young singer, indeed!
And onto the Slow, Rumer’s debut single. It’s impossible to ignore Karen Carpenter in Slow’s world-weary, pop maneuvers.
Rumer cites a starry team as influences – amongst the inevitable nods to Carpenter and King, up pops unexpected references to Cilla Black, Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson and the entire cadre of the Laurel Canyon in the 60s. Those influences shine through in Rumer’s vocals. Smooth like glossy marble she defines arches for the structure of the Slow to sit on. One wonders what Rumer would sound like a capella or with just a brush of a snare.
Just like its companion video, Slow is steeped in languid moods. You can smell the Summer sun. Accompanying percussion cuts softly through piano and guitar, but Rumer pulls the tune out of itself before it becomes predictable with a soft punch of her feathery vocals. Undeniably, Rumer is a star in the making.
Slow goes on release on August 23rd. Free download of Rumer’s cover of Paul Simon’s Long, Long Day.
Rumer plays Dublin’s Academy on October 16th supporting Joshua Radin.
Kanye has always been a dichotomous figure: great production but lazy MC skills and irrelevant lyrically, even the production values have began to slip in recent years as he expanded his empire and began collaborating and working for so many other fledgling stars, especially his friends signed to the G.O.O.D label. Here however, we’ve something reminiscent of his “College Dropout”. Warm and soulful, it’s hard not to bop along. Granted the track straddles the line between familiarity and simply emulating the music he made his name with but it certainly is nice to see.
Having never warmed to the previous track “Bang Bang Bang” by Ronson and his Business INTL, this collaboration with Ghostface Killah just flows in a way it never could. Whereas the first was trying too hard (Sorry Q-Tip, we all make mistakes), this works on a far simpler level, especially given that Ronson sings the midsections himself. Now I’m looking forward to the September 27th release date just a little bit more because I can see beyond the calculated cool of “Version” to “Here Comes The Fuzz”.
In other news, we’re very pleased to hear that Arcade Fire will be playing at Dublin’s O2, with supporting acts Vampire Weekend and Devendra Banhart. Tickets for the O2 gig are on sale Friday 20th August, with a price tag of €55.80.
Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs is the third album recorded by the Canadian rockers. I had the pleasure of discovering Arcade Fire earlier this year, but it’s with a heavy heart I’ve to say The Suburbs is lacklustre compared to the earlier Funeral and Neon Bible.
Many of the opening tracks aren’t memorable but even with the poppy melodies, a haunting edge remains in the lyrics. The track Empty Room deserves a hat-tip with lightning fast tempo, as it’s a track you can easily run to or rock out to. The latter half of the album dusts itself off, clawing back into form. Half-Light II is a track to put on repeat for hours. Just getting over Suburban War when Month of May bursts onto the stage as a QOTSA-esque track with deep riveting bass lines. Arcade Fire proves they’re not just an indie band, easily crossing the chasm into rock ‘n’ roll.
We Used To Wait is a must-add to the playlist. It’s so good, it gets its own paragraph.
If earlier tracks from The Suburbs was cut, it would have improved immensely. Arcade Fire’s earlier albums in their entirety are permanent fixtures on the music playlist but I’m not so sure about The Suburbs.
Verdict: Get over the hump to get to the good stuff. A change is as good as a break, right?
Before I turned on Jedward’s debut album, I took precautions. One has to be careful.
I made sure it was bright outside and that I had a full bottle of wine to dampen the rush of blood to the senses. Once a girl guide, always a girl guide.
But I have to admit it, I was disappointed. Disappointed that I couldn’t hate the record. It’s actually just a bit of fun. A roll in the long grass. A pop quickie.
Planet Jedward is a slice of the pop duo’s best cuts from The X Factor – Ghostbusters and Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) beside tunes you couldn’t believe them covering, The Beastie’s Fight For Right To Party and The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks. And it’s those unexpected indie covers that end up being the weakest links on the album. Is it any stretch to suppose that Jedward are happiest at home on planet Pop?
The strongest song on the record is undeniably a cover of The Strangeloves’ I Want Candy. John and Edward jump aboard the Bo Diddley beat like flies on shit and it’s completely infectious!
The problem with the record is that it sounds like it’s in mono. Jedward are all about optics. Without Jedward hamming it up, the songs while synth and poptastic, never reach their true potential. Yes, and the bottle wasn’t totally obliterated on first listen.
A respectable debut that Jedward fans will eat alive. Us neutrals will swing from lukewarm to it’s not actually that bad.
When Katy Perry released her debut album, the self-titled Katy Hudson (her real name) way back in 2001, who would have squared her the measure of her California pop potential beside that gospel-rock record?
