PJ Harvey: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

My on-again, off-again affair with Polly Jean (PJ) Harvey began in the Summer of '96. Magic the Gathering's Alliances set had just released. Batman Forever had come out the previous summer, and on the sountrack was a tune by U2 that I finally decided I must have. I went to Newbury Comics Saugus with my mother, one of my many "pseudo"-cousins and her friend. I got a pack of Alliances and the soundtrack. I must have played the U2 tune hundreds of times.

But, then something else got my attention. Well, many somethings, but in the context of this review, it was the PJ Harvey tune, "One Time Too Many."

It was much harder than anything I was listening to at the time. The guitar was rough, very rough; her voice heavily distorted. But there was a sexual energy to it all. And a solid beat, if slightly hidden by distortion.

Being poor and ignorant at the time, however, I did not follow up with any more of Harvey's work until 2001 when I begin my first N. American tour with U2. Seeing that she'd be opening for them, I picked up her latest album, this one, and played it on loop. It was good, but nothing impressive. Or so I thought at the time.

After seeing her live, and listening to a large portion of her catalogue, I found that this gal really knew what she was doing. I came back to Stories and found I was a huge fan of it.

On the album, PJ has anger, love, hate, some longing, and beauty all in her voice. It's clear she's more comfortable with the louder, alt-rockin' side of her voice, but she holds her own on the quieter vocals.

The lead off track, Big Exit, does it's job being a loud, rockin', attention getting tune that keeps your head bopping. Good Fortune, the second track, has a simplistic but steady rhythm section that raises it from an mediocre ditty to something much better. The duality of Kamikaze, where Harvey goes from quieter, sweet-ish voice, to loud, expressive and back again, makes this another track to listen for. And, anyone familiar with Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back will immediately recognize and enjoy This Is Love.

In the End: From what I understand, this is PJ's "poppiest" album, and that really kinda says something to the rest of her catalogue. But I think this does a good job of straddling her normal style and the pop-rock genre without compromising her integrity and being able to bring in people who wouldn't normally listen to her.

On the Web: MusicisArt has tracks from PJ's recording sessions dubbed The Black Sessions.

Technoratu Tagged: PJ Harvey | Female Vocalists | Soundtracks

Jem: Finally Woken

It'll be hard for you to believe, I know, but Jem came to my attention by way of my friend Sean. Yes, another album he made me aware of. Go fig.

Getting past that, my first impressions were ones of enjoyment, of being impressed, and being curious where she'll go next.

The album plays with interesting sonic accompaniments to Jem's sweet, sometimes smokey/jazzy vocals, and the end result is something beautiful and fun.

Yes, fun. Some of the songs have a certain playful tone to them, such as Finally Woken and Wish I.

On other tunes, there's almost a sense of urgency in the music, the lyrics. 24 and Falling For You immediately spring to mind.

Turn your listening skills to 11 on the following tunes: Come On Closer, Finally Woken, Just A Ride (whose lyrics should be listened to by all), and Flying High (where Jem is not accompanied by any electronica, just studio instruments).

In The End: Yes, this is a few years old. That doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Jem's sweet vocal talents, the album's excellent production, and the track order all make this album work just right.

On the Web: The Hype Machine comes through again with a number of great tracks, including Just A Ride.

Technorati Tagged: Jem | Electronica | Female Vocalists

Nick Drake: Bryter Lyter

One of the things I've learned from my musical sage, Sean, is that albums, like weather, are seasonal. Nick Drake, it seems, is sensational at creating autumnal albums.

Much like Van Morrison's Moondance, both this album and Pink Moon convey the autumnal season sense. A cool, brisk evening. Leaves falling. You can feel the fall morning frost.

That being said, this album feels like it fails a bit where Pink Moon succeeded. Coming two years before Moon, I feel like Drake may have seen where to take things differently to get it right.

Bryter Lyter gets it right enough to get it overall, but falters in a few spots. Hazy Jane II just doesn't work quite right inside of the context of the album; neither does Sunday.

On the other hand, Hazy Jane I, One of These Things First, Poor Boy, and Northern Sky seem to nail that sound right on the head.

In the end: Even being a lesser Nick Drake album puts this far above anything else out there. Enjoy Pink Moon first, then this one.

Technorati Tagged: Nick Drake | Folk Rock

Ray LaMontagne: Live At Bonaroo 2005

Once again, Ray is an artist I was introduced to through Sean. LaMontagne has a sweet sound, powered by guitars and his smokey voice.

For my first voyage into the world of Ray LaMontagne, I figured I'd see how he was live with this 6-track collection from the 2005 Bonaroo Festival. If his recorded skill is half what his live talent sounds like, this guy can go places.

The 6-track EP bounces between sad sounding and up-tempo diddies. Trouble, Empty, and Forever My Friend keep the album up-beat with on-the-road bluesy/folky sounding tunes, while Burn, Shelter, and Jolene bring it down-tempo with very bluesy/almost-gospel sound.


In the End: This is a beautiful primer for the works of Ray LaMontagne. His songs are constructed musically simple and lyrically genius. His live stuff showcases his true skill, I feel. If you can, listen to some of the songs listed above as well as "All the Wild Horses" and his cover of "Crazy."

On the Web: While I have no bootlegs currently of Ray, you can find a number of tracks for download off of The Hype Machine.

Technorati Tagged: Ray LaMontagne | Rock | Bonnaroo

Ryan Adams: Gold

It seems I am about 5 years behind the time. I've been trying to find the time to take this album down, but I just now got to listening to it, front to back. Turns out I've actually heard most of these tunes in random places before because the rest of humanity has known about him for a while. Sorry, I've been under an Irish rock called U2 for a while.

The interesting sound of Adams ends up being sweeter Bob Dylan, with hints of country built in. At points, the music is almost painfully Dylan-esque. It's a wonderful sound that you should all mock me for not enjoying sooner.

Gold keeps a nice rhythm, rising and falling in what feel like, all the right places, and adding a banjo for good measure. Because, really, when does a banjo make a song worse? The answer, obviously, is never.

New York, New York starts the album off in a nice pop-rock way, with a love song to ol' NYC. I've heard Rescue Blues so many times, and it never stops being beautiful. When the Stars Go Blue is a tune I know from the Corrs/Bono performance moons ago. I didn't know it was Ryan Adams' at the time, however, and his version is much better. The slow country feel of Wild Flowers works just right, I feel, and gives me a feeling of a being at a house in a wide open field.

In the end: holyshitw00t! Ryan Adams' Gold is amazing. Front to back, it's a solid album. Anything more or less than that just wouldn't do justice. This guy is amazing, and, from what I understand, his more recent work is even better.

On the Web: Archive.org currently has 68 Ryan Adams bootlegs for legal, free download.

Technorati Tagged: Ryan Adams | Rock | Archive.org

Lily Allen: Alright Still

I've told a number of people about this before, but Lily Allen really feels and sounds like the female version of The Streets.

That Brit-Hop charm? Check.
The every-day lyrics? Check.
Solid, bopping beats? Check.

So, there you have it. Lily Allen is the lady-fied version of The Streets. Except she can actually sing as well as do the fun talk-sing-brit-hop thing.

As is the case with so many artists in recent times, The Hype Machine gave me access to this amazing talent. I forget what got me to listen, but I'm quite glad I did. This gal is a load of fun.

Smile is a fun little tune about feeling good about yourself after a break up; LDN which takes a head boppin' look at that which hides just beneath the surface; Shame for You has a feel to it that screams angry Tori Amos or Fiona Apple; Alfie is a goofy little tune about the singer's fictional brother who always smokes pot.

In the End: The album straddles a few genres, and does it well. There's something for a lot of people on this album, and you should give it a go. She's another great new star rising.

On the Web: Lily's on myspace *and* you can find a bunch of tracks off of The Hype Machine.

Technorati Tagged: Lily Allen | Brit-Hop | The Streets