thoughts.bjsintay.com

I listen to a ton of music, so when hot young groups (especially) put out second albums I take note. The sophomore release is bound to either make or break a band. Two recent selections (among many!) are the popular Augustana and Death Cab for Cutie releases which I purchased from Amazon.com’s MP3 store.

Augustana’s new release “Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt” features the same lovable melodies from the first album - minus the hit song (remember “Boston”?). In my opinion, the songs have all of the right ingredients for a great pop rock album. The problem is that they seem to just be that: ingredients. I found that the album lacked the big passionate moments from “Stars and Boulevards” that made the former release come together as a massive hit. The combo has a nice melding of deep hooks, raspy vocals, and expansive melodies, but I am left expecting a bit more. A few of the songs such as “Hey Now” and “Twenty Years” show some depth but are offset by extensive low moments that are repetitive and tired. This album only lasted a week or so in my regular lineup before I moved on. Maybe time will bring it back around.

Another highly anticipated album for 2008 is Death Cab for Cutie’s “Narrow Stairs”. Three years in the making, Death Cab’s progressive feel is clear. But much like Augustana, I feel that most of the songs on this album lack passion when compared to the first major label release “Plans”. This album definitely has some high moments such as the remarkable song “I Will Possess Your Heart”, a song that easily sticks. That is the kind of stuff that made “Plans” so good. Unfortunately, most of the soul stops there.

In my opinion, the rest of this album is forced and shallow. In a time where bands like Wilco are revolutionizing the soundscape for mellow, simple albums, “Narrow Stairs” seems to fall into a completely different league - the minors. On the flip side, I think this album will be a helpful progression for the group as they venture further from their semi-emo sounds. Still, the tracks are stale. If you’re not a huge Death Cab fan, save the bucks and buy the hit single instead of the full album.

I’ve bought a few CDs on iTunes “Plus” recently - all of which I promptly burnt to a CD and listened to that way.  For me, iTunes’s puny 128kbps standard encoding is too poor to enjoy much of the music that I like.  So when iTunes Plus, featuring “DRM-free music tracks featuring high quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality” came out I was thrilled.  The new tracks I downloaded seemed to stand up to my library - all encoded at 320kbps.

Today I purchased an album by the Doves on iTunes Plus.  I didn’t have the time to burn a CD, so I just threw my DRM-free tracks on my portable HD and headed into work.  Then I tried to play the files in Windows Media Player.  No luck.

I researched the iTunes Plus file format (.m4p) and discovered that WMP doesn’t play this type of file.  This is somewhat astonishing to me.  Obviously, it is good for Apple to not have their tracks playable on Microsoft software such as WMP, a direct competator.  But what made me frustrated is their DRM-free label.  A quick google search reveals various converters and even some “codecs” that I have read varying degrees of success about.  But why, Apple?  Why not give us what we all want…???

…the MP3

I guess I’ll go back to Amazon.com’s MP3 store.

I know I’m a bit late in reviewing Death Cab for Cutie’s 2005 debut (non-indie) album, but I’ve just recently discovered this great disk.  Plans is an excellent emo-ish rock album performed by a seasoned group of musicians.  My favorite tracks include “What Sarah Said,” “Summer Skin,” and “Soul Meets Body.”  I like many of the songs on this album because of their experimental nature.  The album is generally mellow and smooth, emitting an emotional overtone.  The production is crisp and clear.

I was directed to this album by recommendations by my music player based on my current library.  My conclusion?  The boot fits.  Get this album if you like mellow experimental music!

Until June released its first full-length album (self-titled) this past week after years of hard work to get their name out there.  Signed to Flicker Records in late summer of 2005, this band shows promise for a new generation of music from Flicker.  Their sound is somewhat subdued, mimicking the lighter rock that’s been emerging in recent years (Coldplay, Keane) especially from the UK.  Vocals are flawless and smooth, with excellent falsettos and harmonies.  They almost sound like Watashi Wa with smoother (and probably better) vocals.  I have enjoyed my initial listening experience with this album.  I would not call it a smashing hit, but it does earn a respectable 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.  Herdman of Flicker should be proud.

http://www.untiljune.com

Jonny Lang has an incredible success story.

  At the tender age of 14, Lang released his first solo record with the band he had joined after starting guitar lessons only months before stepping on stage.  A year later Lang released Lie to Me which became his mega-hit debut solo album.  The album went multi-platinum and Lang became known instantly as a blues guitar legend.  I remember seeing Lang and his signature setup including a 1972 Fender Telecaster Thinline always paired with a classic Fender amp.  You couldn’t open a guitar (or music) magazine that didn’t have a shot of Lang in it.

Nearly a decade later Lang has released a new gospel, yes I said gospel, album: Turn Around.  I was instantly interested in this album.  How has time changed Lang?  What does a Lang gospel album sound like?  Why gospel!?!?

I had to adjust my listening senses for a minute - traditionally I would not be listening to an album with this style.  The choir background vocals, smooth falsettos, rocking organs, all were a bit out of place in my music library.  In fact, the first go around I can sum up my expression: “what!?”  I listened again.  I found that the melodies quickly became stuck in my head.  His bluesy guitar and musky voice (you would mistake this guy for someone many, many years older) is not disappointing.  Tracks such as “The Other Side of the Fence” and “Turn Around” are rocking gospel-blues tracks that define Lang’s progressive style for the record.  I never really appreciated Lang’s perfectly smooth falsetto until this album.  “My Love Remains” and “Only a Man” are darn-near flawless.  They are an envious performance by any artist’s standards; enough so that Lang took a 2007 Grammy for the Rock Gospel Album of the Year (a no-brainer in my opinion, although Red would have been an excellent choice as well).  Lang cites his own personal sprituality as his reason for the gospel album.  His lyrics are pure and heart-felt. 

Lang sings, “The grass always looks greener, on the other side of the fence, but the dog over there might be meaner, on the other side of the fence… Stay in your own yard, play in your own yard.”