The Streets: The Hardest Way to Make a Living

On this, The Streets third album, Mike Skinner gives us a blend between the sophomore genius of A Grand Don't Come For Free and the frosh Original Pirate Music: A very loose story line and yet a varied musical sound.

The british rapper/hip-hopper sound is strangely enjoyable. Skinner's lyrics are simple, yet emotive while the music and beats he's laid underneath it perfectly accentuates the thoughts and feelings he's trying to convey.

The album comes out of the gate sluggish with the good-but-not-great Pranging Out, but it turns around quickly on the fun and witty War of the Sexes, where you learn that "cigarette lighters were invented before matches" is a great piece of small talk with a woman.

Skinner's life view on Momento Mori (Latin: "Remember that you are mortal.") gives us something to tap to while taking us through a quick trip of his materialistic mind.

While When You Wasn't Famous is the first single off the album (and is worth it), the best lyric on the album comes from the melancholy sounding Never Went to Church, about Skinner's dad, with:
"Two great European narcotics:
Alchol and Christianity.
I know which one I prefer."

Admit it: that's a great lyric.

In the end: This latest offering from the Streets definitely is lyrically strong and musically well-built, but the disc lacks the cohesive feeling of A Grand Don't Come For Free, which was the perfect vehicle for Skinner's spoken sing/rap. Pick up Grand first, then you'll enjoy this album.

Technorati Tagged: The Streets | Mike Skinner | Brit-Hop

Gnarls Barkley: St. Elsewhere

I'm proclaiming now: this will be the sleeper hit of pop music's summer.

Hip-hop artist Cee Lo and producer/dj extraordinaire DJ Dangermouse come together to create a solid album that runs between the hip-hop and R&B lines, complete with head boppin' beats, a Top40-friendly track or two, and a solid theme running behind the album.

Aside: For those that don't know, Dangermouse (not to be confused with the 80s british cartoon hero) is one of the brilliant artists behind the DangerDoom album (with MF Doom), The Mouse and the Mask and the genius who gave us the unnofficial release, The Grey Album. With the work he's put out, he's sure to be a rap/hip-hop super producer in the not to distant future.

The big radio play tune, Crazy, is the one of the best head boppin' tunes, will rule the summer radio, and shows the keen ability of music to cross genre gaps. The Boogie Man is a haunting tune who's lyrics that remind me so very much of the Sesame Street book "The Monster at the End of this Book," but not silly. Feng Shui has a certain 90s early hip-hop/rap sound to it that goes down smooth and just does such a great job of unconciously making you move to the music.

In the end: Look. I already said. This will own the summer radio waves and prove Dangemouse to be a key player in rap/hip-hop/R&B circles. The albums got solid beats, some amazing lyrics, and a genius organization. Listen to Crazy and Feng Shui. You'll be all over this album in no time.

Technorati Tagged: Gnarls Barkley | Dangermouse | Cee Lo | Hip-Hop

Jewel: Goodbye Alice In Wonderland

After seeing the video for the first track, Again and Again, I was quite happy. It was good to know that her experimentation with sugar pop from 0304 was just a fad. She's back to her folk-ish, acoustic-guitar driven adult pop. It's not the most inventive, not the most exciting, but she does a good job at what she does best.

With 13 tracks coming in just under 55 minutes, Jewel reminds us what she's good at, and that her soft rock talents have been missed.

Alice in Wonderland has a feeling, a strong "summer" feeling. If albums have seasons, this one belongs in the early summer just as spring turns warmer. It conveys that airy feeling you get, sitting on a porch, afternoon sun streaming in, light breeze across your face. It's no Zep IV, but it's good.

Arguably, the worst tracks on the disc are Again and Again and the title track Goodby Alice in Wonderland.

On the other side, there's the good stuff: Long Slow Slide reminds me, a bit, of a track off of Van Morrison's seminal work, Astral Weeks; Good Day bounces between singing and narration, with a soft beat in the back. It's a bit cutesy, but it really works; something about Last Dance Rodeo sticks with me. It's not the greatest tune, but the lyrics stick with me, especially the use of the "You're no longer human // you're an insatiable hole" lyric.

In the end: This is a great summer album, as I mentioned and it continues in Jewel's tradition of creating soft, somewhat soulful music. It plays nicely in the background, and does not offend the musical sense when it's brought to the forefront.

Tehnorati Tagged: Jewel Kilcher | Summer Albums | Folk Rock