Album Spotlight: JANELLE MONAE--The Electric Lady

There have been many reviews of Janelle Monae's recent albums written and published.  So why do I feel so possessed to write another one?  Because Monae's talent is so undeniable, that regardless of what style of music you are into, you should not deny yourself the ability to experience her music.  Growing up through much of her childhood in Kansas City, KS (go Kansas!), Monae's father had drug problems, and her mother was a housekeeper in a hotel, a job Janelle also took alongside her as a teenager.  Using music as an escape, Janelle eventually got to go away to college in Atlanta where she met many of the people in her band that still play on her records.  Sean Combs (P. Diddy) was so impressed, he took a chance and signed her to his record label, which would allow her the artistic freedom to explore all sides of her music personalities.  While artists like Stevie Wonder and Prince loom large in the Monae-verse of inspirations, other styles she inhabits include pop, jazz, funk, hip-hop, folk, psychedelic rock, rockabilly, R&B, Bond-style balladry, and all shades in-between.  Her visual style sees her in numerous uniform-style outfits and tuxedos (mostly black and white), throwbacks to her uniform-wearing days from her hotel job.  She has the stage presence, energy, and dancing ability of James Brown or Prince in their prime.  The Electric Lady is technically her second album, although she had an early EP (Suite I) previously released.  That effort featured a few tracks which collectively introduced the Archandroid concept that Monae has mined ever since.  A Messianic android from the future (2719 to be exact), Monae has been genoraped and cloned, then time travels back to our current world as Cindi Mayweather, the android who will lead the oppressed out of Metropolis (another inspiration), alter the course of the future, and be reunited with her true love, Sir Anthony Greendown.  (This is further explained in the liner notes from her last full length, The Archandroid (2010), featuring Suites II and III).

Admittedly, all of this highbrow conceptualism would hopelessly fail if Monae didn't have the musical chops to back it up.  She does, and then some.  The Electric Lady is a tighter record than it's predecessor, and while it does feature many of similar stylistic diversions, they are less expansive, allowing Monae to clarify her vision a bit more.  While moments of wild experimentation from the previous album ("Mushrooms & Roses", "Wondaland", BaBopByeYa") are less prominent, Monae amps up the energy a bit here, still has her experimental moments, and does so without veering too distantly from her template.  The specter of Prince still looms large, and here he even guests on opening dirty-funk track, "Givin Em What They Love".  Tracks that follow continue in the funk genre with guests like Erykah Badu (the supreme "Q.U.E.E.N."), Solange (the title track), and Miguel (the Prince-ly ballad, "Primetime").  "We Were Rock and Roll" and "Dance Apocalyptic" flesh out Suite IV, with the former a pop-rock track and the latter a kooky retro-futuristic smash in the waiting.  The suite closes with the Bond-esque ballad, "Look Into My Eyes", which Shirley Bassey would have been proud to sing.  The track is kept at a minimal 2:18 in an effort to streamline the album so it does not drag, but this song certainly left this listener wanting even more.

Suite V (as with Suite III from the last record) is more varying with tempo and character, however this group of songs feels the most indebted to a singular artist:  Stevie Wonder.  Songs like "It's Code" and "Victory" have an ease and affability with their quietly melting chord progressions and instrumental parts, including more guitar solos from her supporting cast.  "Ghetto Woman" and "Can't Live Without Your Love" are pure-70's Stevie, while "Sally Ride" and "Dorothy Dandrige Eyes" add to themes of female empowerment and history simultaneously, and the optimistic "What An Experience" closes the album in what harkens back to songs like Janet Jackson's "Whoops Now", the hidden closing track at the end of her 1993 blockbuster, Janet.  We feel like we have come so far with the Cindi Mayweather story, and while we aren't sure if there will be more story or not (yes, please!), it is a time to stop and reflect on the happiness we have felt through her musical journey so far.

The other Janet-referencing additions to this album are the hysterical comic skits which take place at an urban radio station from the future.  Radio callers either support or criticize the android cause, questioning whether or not they can actually function or embody similar values as humans (It's all a bit Battlestar Galactica-Cylon-ey).  When a caller insists "Robot love is queer", and the DJ runs to defend androids, one cannot help drawing parallels to the gay community today and how they are becoming able to marry and have equal rights (in some cases) that straight people have had for centuries.  It's just one more deep and provocative angle on Monae's vision.  Her records may have yet to sell in stacks, but Monae is a unique and special talent deserving of our attention.  She really is an artist ahead of her time.

Best albums of the Third Quarter (or July--September 2013)

Maybe you've been wondering, 'where is that album of the week?' for the past couple weeks.  Maybe you have not, and unless you are among the few brave souls that read our updates here, you probably could not care less.  That's all fine and good, but we care enough to have taken a few extra days here to ruminate about the best music we've heard in the past three months.  A quarter of a year goes by in such a flash, but the amount of great music being made always seems to be a full meal.  While the third quarter is typically one of the slower release periods of the year, some really great music is usually unleashed during this time as artists are usually wanting to hit the road to promote their projects from late summer into early autumn.  2013 seems to be no exception, and we could probably make a best-of-the-year list out of what's here alone, but we will be gearing up for that in December.  (You may have seen our extensive half-year list a few months back.)

So, here are our favorites.  Remember, this list is TOTALLY subjective and only reflects our opinions.  You may have an opinion of your own.  That's fine, and we would like to see your lists as well if you feel like adding a comment.  We're sure there will be some great lists by the end of the year.  Here's a recent roundup then:

20) MAN MAN--On Oni Pond
19) BASTILLE--Bad Blood
18) EDITORS--Weight of Your Love
17) HAIM--Days Are Gone
16) FRANZ FERDINAND--Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
15) ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ROOTS--Wise Up Ghost
14) LITTLE BOOTS--Nocturnes
13) ELTON JOHN--The Diving Board
12) ARCTIC MONKEYS--AM
11) JULIA HOLTER--Loud City Song
10) OH LAND--Wishbone
9) JANELLE MONAE--The Electric Lady
8) NEKO CASE--The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Try, The Harder I Try, the More I Love You
7) CHVRCHES--Bones of What You Believe
6) HOLY GHOST!--Dynamics
5) GOLDFRAPP--Tales of Us
4) VV BROWN--Samson & Delilah
3) JAGWAR MA--Howlin'
2) NINE INCH NAILS--Hesitation Marks
1) PET SHOP BOYS--Electric

Album of the Week #7: Goldfrapp--Tales of Us

Fall has arrived and so has a landslide of new music titles.  This week, I'm taking a look at Goldfrapp's sixth album, Tales of Us.  If you are not familiar with who Goldfrapp are, it's OK.  America has yet to really wake up to this band, and they seem to like it that way.  They tour rather infrequently, and are most certainly not out to compete with Lady Gaga or Katy Perry for chart domination here.  Alison Goldfrapp was a sometime singer with UK trip-hop artist Tricky, and Will Gregory mainly a studio musician who played saxophone on Tears For Fears Songs from the Big Chair (see "Working Hour").  Will also played keyboards (lots of them), and Alison was a songwriter with operatic training, and they eventually formed a partnership that sees her as the face and stage presence aside Will's cinematic soundscapes.  Their first album, Felt Mountain, appeared in 2000 to rave reviews.  An atmospheric record, it featured lots of haunting strings, a bit of dark acoustic guitar and bass (courtesy of Portishead friend Adrien Utley), and a little bit of electronica on songs like "Utopia".  This sound was blasted open with their sophomore effort, Black Cherry (2003), filled with buzzing synthesizers and slamming drum machines ("Strict Machine" for one).

Goldfrapp (the band) made it clear that every album would be a little bit different from here.  Supernature (2005) blended sounds from both albums into a great hybrid that brought them their biggest sales in the UK, while Seventh Tree (2008) recoiled from all the synthetic dance music, opting for pastoral English countryside folktronica, coming off like a mix of Cocteau Twins etherealism and Nick Drake's sad reflection.  Head First (2010) has now been criticised by both Alison and Will for being too hastily recorded and too blatantly pop.  To some extent, they may be right, although that album isn't nearly as bad as they would have you believe, as it was their most direct statement, written while Alison was very in love, and it shows.

Like all other Goldfrapp records, Tales of Us is a reaction to what came before, and is Goldfrapp's most elegiac and haunting record yet.  The cover art sets the tone, with Alison strolling through a group of parked cars at night, headlights trained on her, in black and white.  It's in stark contrast to Head First's pinky-blue sky with her head floating in the middle, and the music is just as representative of the cover art as the cover art is of the music.  All the songs feature one word titles, namely names (a possible indirect reference to Cocteau Twins' Treasure album, in which every song featured a Greek name).  It's a mood piece and a collection, one that works much more effectively as a full length album than single tracks.  "Jo" sets the tone with a much more acoustic based sound than the previous album's pop-tronica.  It's quickly followed by "Annabel" and "Drew", two of the best and most beautiful songs on the album.  The former is quite sad, based on a harpsichord riff, and spins at length in sonic reference to Felt Mountain's lush textures.  The latter is a melodic centerpiece of the first half of the album, and features some of Alison's most intriguing lyrics and beautiful lyrics and singing to date.  "Ulla" and "Alvar" round out the first half with lush strings and Goldfrapp's sensual coo.  It becomes apparent that she disguises many of her lyrics through the delivery so the listener can make their own conclusions as to what she might be saying.  It's an open-ended gambit, but makes you want to listen closer just to pin down the meaning in the lyrics.

"Thea" has been described as a traditional Goldfrapp stomper, although I think that is a bit of a misnomer and an oversell.  It is, however, a great song, and the most energetic moment to be found here.  "Simone" and "Stranger" are quite different in character, but both have beautiful melodies and string textures.  "Laurel" is the most ambiguous song on the album, with Alison's lyrics quite obscured, and "Clay" ends things on a musical up note, with rushing melodies and a bit of synth pulse underneath the epic arrangements.  However, while "Annabel" is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel about a hermaphrodite forced to choose to become male, "Clay" is about a true story of two young male soldiers who met and fell in love during WWII, only for one to be quickly killed by the enemy, leaving the other to live on in sadness.  In these tales of us, nobody gets out unscathed, and nobody can be truly happy.  Loss is a theme that haunts this record just like ghosts of our loved ones that refuse to leave.  It's an amazing concept for a pop record, and may be the most truthful Goldfrapp album yet.  Where they go from here is anyone's guess.

Album of the Week #6: Nine Inch Nails--Hesitation Marks

Pennsylvania native Trent Reznor returns this week with one of the best albums of his career, Hesitation Marks.  Coming off a five year hiatus from the band, Reznor has started a family, begun a new band with his wife called How to Destroy Angels (their debut album was released a couple months ago), and recorded movie soundtracks for high profile films The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (the former won him an Academy Award).  One other major change was getting sober in 2005, and after years of already great music, it seemed like he was tired and just needed a break.  All of these elements combine here to create one of Reznor's most mature and focused efforts of his twenty-five year career.

Nine Inch Nails have always been known for the ability to synthesize rock and technology by going from a whisper to a scream instantaneously.  That happens here as well, but in more subtle ways, and with fewer histrionics.  "Copy of A" is a great example of a song that glides and builds from moment to moment, and while it's a masterclass in programming, it also moves along effortlessly, showing just how well Reznor has internalized his craft and the ability to construct a song.  This is followed by "Came Back Haunted", the lead single from the album--one of the catchiest and most insistent songs here.  The fact that the David Lynch directed video came with a disclaimer that epileptics may be in danger of seizures might make it difficult for some to watch, but it's one of Reznor's best lead singles in a while, yet in a world with Miley Cyrus, he may have to keep working harder to get your attention.  "Find My Way" follows with a sound that is generally more indicative of the album by melding softer keyboard lines and tuned percussion to a lightly throbbing beat.  Here, Reznor find a seamless way to integrate his soundtrack skills and his industrial side into a passionate whole with tinkly piano lines and moody atmospherics.  "Everything", serving as a mid-point palate cleanser, is noteworthy not only for it's brevity and buzziness, but also for being the first song this writer can recall that he has written in a major key, echoing his newfound cautious optimism.

"All Time Low" and "Satellite" address the more aggressive and funky sides of NIN respectively, while "Disappointed" is all clangy precussion and softer rhythms.  While "Various Methods of Escape" is one of the most melodically tuneful songs here (and would make a good single), "I Would For You" and "In Two" are two of the albums best songs, coming late and showing how far Reznor's writing has come since the days of "Head Like a Hole" (Bow down before the one you serve/You're gonna get what you deserve).  They are aggressive without hitting the button marked ANGER, and are followed by the most alarming song on the album, closer "While I'm Still Here".  Notable in its quietude, this song plays like a mantra expressing Reznor's current mental state, and features a skronking sax riff by Reznor himself.  There is also a bit of guitar noodlery courtesy of Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham.  In fact, Buckingham, along with guitar maestro Adrien Belew, appear all over Hesitation Marks.  These might seems like strange reference points, but they integrate perfectly into the sonic palate Reznor envisions.  There are also songs tucked within like "Running" that feature nobody else but Reznor (with the possible aid of a studio tech), and illustrate just how self-sufficient and talented this man is.  Now in his early fifties, it feels like he is finally reaching his stride.  Hesitation Marks is a mini-masterpiece sonically more connected to Pretty Hate Machine than anything else he's done, bringing his sound full circle.  Here's hoping the next album isn't another five year wait.

Album of the Week #5: Franz Ferdinand--Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

Four years in the making, Franz Ferdinand have finally returned with their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.  At the dawn of the millennium, much of what was considered "Britpop" was either changing (Oasis, Suede) or disbanding (Pulp, Blur, Suede).  FF were at the forefront of a new wave of punchy and groovy guitar rock with indie cred with a slighty punk edge (they would be snapped up by Sony quickly).  After a minor breakthrough in the US with their debut and the hit single "Take Me Out", they quickly had loads of competition and imitators in other bands like Kaiser Chiefs and the Fratellis.  Their biggest competition came in younger form a couple years later as Arctic Monkeys took the rockier edges of their sound and amped them up with darker lyrics.  FF spent their next couple albums trying to stay in the game, but struggled a bit by album number three while looking to synths for new sounds and rhythms to add to the mix.  They recorded the album twice, and while it was a good record, it lost a bit of their energy in the process.

Back with the indie label, RTRWRA does a bit of restoration in that department, as the songs bounce along with lighter feet than recent offerings, and much of the sonic structure shows a band very confident in their abilities and open to new influences without letting them overtake the party.  The opening title track is a case in point, where the rhythm gets a little funkier than in the past, but the song by way of repetition becomes completely embedded in your skull after one hearing.  Other songs like "Evil Eye" sort of reference the sound that FF came up with on their debut, albeit with a bit more of a haunted vibe.  "Fresh Strawberries" is one of the most upbeat rock ballads they've come up with, while "Bullet" and "Treason! Animals." are just the type of quirk and cheek we've come to expect from them.  It all ends with the spooky ballad, "Goodbye Lovers and Friends", leaving one to wonder if it is an epitaph to the album, this particular style of FF, or the band themselves.  It's just one reason we keep coming back to them, as their lyrical ambiguity always keeps us on our toes.  Every time we wait three or four years we are reminded why we like them, but wonder why they can't keep the momentum more regular.  In any case, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is another enjoyable album in their repetoire, and hopefully not the end.

Album of the Week #4: Pure Bathing Culture--Moon Tides

Once in a while a new sound strikes you as reminiscent of something you have heard before, yet still retains an originality to distinguish itself from previous releases.  That tends to be the case with the lush new release from New Jersey-by-way-of-Portland's Pure Bathing Culture, Moon Tides.  If you are into bands like the Shins, Beach House, or Cocteau Twins, you really should take note.  Recorded in a mere ten days at Richard Swift's (Shins) studio, the duo features Sarah Vesprille's beguiling vocals, Daniel Hindman's chiming guitars, and while less histrionic than Liz Fraser's gliding bird calls of yore, there is something a bit sweeter and uplifting compared to Cocteau's or Beach House's darker material.  The difference is very apparent on songs like the spinning opener, "Pendulum" and the melodically poppy "Only Lonely Lovers".  "Scotty" goes one further by (strangely) quoting a Benny Mardones hit of decades ago, "Into the Night", and works it seamlessly into the song.  These tend to be the more grounded songs on the record, while tracks like the Cocteau-esque "Even Greener" has more ethereal guitar work, and closer "Temples of the Moon" is akin to some of that parent band's darker closing album tracks.  Heck, "Twins" may even be an indirect tribute of sorts.  What sets this apart is A)The fact that their vocals are in decipherable English, and 2)There is a warmer, more earthly connection than in much Cocteau work, which puts it more in the aforementioned Beach House territory.  With that being said, if you are looking for a lazy and gorgeous record to wind up your summer daze and you like the bands I've mentioned, Moon Tides might just do the trick.  "Scotty" is streaming below:

Album of the Week #3: August 5th, 2013

John Cale is most known for his work as a member of the Velvet Underground and producer who has worked with stars such as Patti Smith and Brian Eno.  A classically trained musician, once Cale no longer was part of VU, he began a solo career with the LP Vintage Violence, a sort-of homage to Americana coming from a British born artist.  This was followed by his most famous album, Paris 1919, which put him alongside unique songwriters of the day like Randy Newman.  Meanwhile, Cale had been producing stark records by former Velvets singer Nico and edgy legends like the Stooges and the Modern Lovers.  That sound finally spilled over into his own work on Fear, his first for Island Records in 1974, a year on from the previous LP.

Fear opens with the chugging title track in which Cale repeats "Fear is a man's best friend" like a mantra.  It's a statement of purpose that will carry Cale through all of his Island albums which follow.  Cale really lets go toward the end of the song where he begins shrieking over and over, showing a darker side that will also surface a bit in Patti Smith's Horses, which he was working on around the same time.  "Buffalo Ballet" follows as a bit of a throwback to his more western glancing material.  "Barracuda" (not the Heart song) and "Emily" follow with more of a quirky Roxy Music vibe (Phil Manzanera, Andy MacKay, and Brian Eno all guest on this album, as does Richard Thompson).  "Ship of Fools" with it's cascading piano melody is one of the cornerstones of the album, and predates Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom by a few years.

Side 2 (or part 2 if you have the CD), begins with the 8-minute rocker, "Gun", a song featuring an amazing dual guitar solo by Manzanera being shadowed (or messed up) on synthesizer by Eno. Eno and Cale would continue their working relationship on Cale's next couple of releases, and they would record the great collaborative duet album Wrong Way Up in 1990, the same year Cale would reunite with ex-Velvets Lou Reed for another collaborative album, Songs for Drella.  (Siouxsie and the Banshees liked "Gun" so much, they covered it on their Through the Looking Glass covers album, and then asked Cale to produce parts of their final studio record from 1994, The Rapture.)  The Beach Boys-esque lark "The Man Who Couldn't Afford to Orgy" comes next to lighten the mood considerably, followed by the stunning "You Know More Than I Know", another overlooked gem.  "Mommama Scuba" closes the album on a dark glam-rock note.

Fear was a turning point for Cale, and while struggles with substances have been somewhat documented, it is a leap of confidence into something new for him, becoming as interesting as the artists he was producing.  The next two Island albums, Slow Dazzle and Helen of Troy follow suit with the template Fear sets out with.  It's a remarkable body of work from an artist who tends to get marginalised compared to other 70's luminaries of the genre such as Bowie and Talking Heads.  Now in his 70's, Cale continues to experiment and grow as an artist, releasing last year's interesting Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood LP and the Extra Playful EP.  He refuses to retire or rest on his laurels, and Fear is a fantastic and somewhat overlooked rock record.

All of Cale's three Island solo releases plus his collaboration with classical artist Terry Riley (Church of Anthrax) have been recently remastered and reissued by the Culture Factory label.  Here's a short, fan-made version of a series of comic book covers to the song "Gun":