CDs: THE REVIEWS
Broken
Social Scene
Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)
It's not an easy album. Sprawling Toronto indie-rock
collective Broken Social Scene's followup to the Juno-winning You
Forgot It in People journeys farther into ambience and cluttered
noise, thumbing its nose at the obvious, intermittently indulging
the delectable, planing hooks it casts in its slumber. Three
songs in, on 7/4 (Shoreline), we soar alongside Feist, who lends her
wispy voice to the achingly lovely, irregularly timed anthem. It is
one of the more straightforward moments. For the most part,
melody and mess struggle for space, each emerging from the other,
before ceding right of way. Neither ever wins, but they battle on.
It's intuitive, sleepy, dreamy, tireless, a tad unwieldy, but
pleasant, and admirably uncompromising. The album is out in
stores Oct. 11, but is already ranked no. 1 at
amazon.ca.-
Reviewer: Tcha Dunley.
Franz
Ferdinand
You Could Have It So Much Better
(Domino/Sony BMG)
"I love your friends / They're all
so arty." Do tell. As your bitchy, all-too-knowing guide to the
Underworld that follows instant stardom, Alex Kapranos has a
question to answer: do the Franzies have a heart, or is it death by
style? The high-stepping dance-glam single Do You Want To proves
they still have clubby energy, and a brilliant kiss-off to the
scenesters in What You Meant proves Kapranos still has a voice rich
with banked contempt. People on YCHISMB are coming, going and being
asked to leave, with the band indulging in and exposing the
disillusionments, hookups and bad behaviours of new pop glory. Flash
and too slick at first hearing, and yet despite some more fussy
time-changes, this is ultimately a winningly energetic followup.
-Reviewer. Marc Leupage
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Extraordinary
Machine
Fiona Apple (Epic)
Fiona Apple's long-overdue third
album, Extraordinary Machine, doesn't match up to the more
minimalist unfinished version that was leaked on the Internet months
ago. But on its own merits, Extraordinary Machine is a good album
and properly returns one of the most talented singers on the planet
to the spotlight. Apple and her handlers handed over the production
reins to Mike Elizondo after Jon Brion took a swipe and failed to
impress someone, somewhere, in a suit. It's unfortunate for those
who appreciate giving Apple room to shine, instead of saddling her
with production room bluster. Red Red Red is an exceptional song
about a relationship slowly changing, and the quest for emotional
harmony without compromising individual identity. It's a slow-paced
track, but infused with fire behind Apple's soulful voice. She's
never sounded better vocally. However, Elizondo took the sting out
of many of the tracks. He botched the steamy song O' Sailor by
adding some corny background vocals where none were needed. And he
took the energy out Please Please Please, a punchy potential hit now
stuck with a lot of drum cymbals work and less of the whimsical
staccato pace that made the leaked version shine. This is still good
music mind you, but it's been better. The leaked album sounded like
a bunch of talented youngsters snuck into an abandoned orchestra pit
and made some beautiful music when no adults were around to give
them "direction." The official release sounds like an annoying kid
with Pro Tools tagged along.- Reviewer: Ron Haris
Z
My Morning Jacket (ATO/RCA Records)
Jim James sings on the opening
track of My Morning Jacket's solid new album, Z, "We are the
innovators, they are the imitators." But are they? My Morning
Jacket, who usually perform barefoot and headbang with their long
brown hair, plays a '00s kind of southern rock -- what you might
call a leaner, smarter Lynyrd Skynyrd. They aren't going to wow you
with new ideas, but they'll rock just the same. The real difference
of Z from My Morning Jacket's three prior albums is that the reverb,
which typically draws out James's voice, has been tampered down.
It's a welcome change from the previously suffocating, pristine
vocals. It's immediately noticed on the first song, Wordless Chorus
-- a striking, organ driven, soft groove that, true to title, has a
chorus of only "ahhh." It sounds unlike anything My Morning Jacket
has done before -- James even throws in some high, Michael Jackson-esque
shrieks at the end. The other standout is Off the Record -- which is
really three songs in one: a James Bond theme, an Elvis Costello
single and a Portishead outro. The three parts, surprisingly, all
work together to make a hell of a tune. My Morning Jacket still
finds room for some reverb-soaked vocals and headbanging anthem
(Anytime), but the band are easy to parody for such self-conscious
rocking. Instead, they should keep the co-producer of Z -- John
Leckie -- and stick to their new, more straightforward sound.
-Reviewer: J. Cole
