Straight from RCA
records is Shea Seger, an artist who hails from the gusty winds of
Texas, but has been living in England for the last two years. The
21-year-old Ft. Worth native's debut album entitled The May Street
Project is named for the suburban Ft. Worth street she lived on
during her early childhood. Her soulful, soft, and sultry voice
with traces of bluesy and folk-like sounds makes Shea Seger's debut
album spectacular. Her catchy rhymes make her stand out among all
female artists. There's no one particular sound on this CD; it
touches on just a bit of everything, including techno, blues, folk, pop,
and rock.
The first track off the album is "Last
Time." The track opens up mid-tempo with techno-flavored
styles as she openly declares that "if I wake up with you, It will
be the last time,/ and if I still adore you, it will be the last time.”
In "Clutch," her gentle voice sounds like Dido meets
spoken-word gem Poe. Seger croons with honesty "I love your
touch and that voodoo that you do so well,/ it's got me spinning around
and round."
"Shatterwall," a spoken-word track similar in
style to poet and artist Poe, comes in beautifully like the sound of a
long Indian summer. The song takes you back to youthful memories
of long campfire sing-alongs.
Seger maintains the energy of her music with an interlude
featuring techno breaks and light percussion that lead you right into
"I Love You Too Much," with similar beats and melodies.
The song, a slow goodbye letter, is evident of a young women that needs
her independence: "I love you too much baby, for you to be with
me." The track shows off her talents, touching on a bit of
everything.
"Wasting the Rain" diverges from the rest of the
album. It begins as a breaking radio news report about Russia
denying an escalation of cold breaks. But the subject quickly
changes to holding onto a lover, as she softly cries "Come on Baby,
we're wasting the rain." She still reaches out for him to
give "one kiss for every moment that remains." She
shines again on this track; her tender voice leaves you with an easy
feeling. This album has a lot to offer the listener, and Seger
will surely be a star in her own league. -Janet
Pak
Links: www.sheaseger.com |
| Silverstein
When Broken Is Easily Fixed
Victory Records
Music
Head Rating: 
|
 |
|
How do I go about contradicting every single critic’s review of
Silverstein’s When Broken is Easily Fixed? Well, I’ll start
by saying that the sticker on the outside of my shiny new CD had me
pretty darn excited; a comparison to Saves the Day and Poison the
Well is not only intriguing, but also a pretty big compliment in my
eyes.
Silverstein, formed in 2000, is named after the author
Shel Silverstein, for whom the band members each had a particular
affinity. The band cites Mr. Silverstein as an important influence
in their music and lyrics. Silverstein fuses hardcore, emo, and punk
in an attempt to break down existing walls and create their own
sound. You’ll be glad to know that they have certainly
succeeded—sort of.
When I finally got around to listening to the CD, I was
given exactly what was promised: Saves the Day and Poison the Well,
not to mention the styles of about sixty other popular punk bands.
The music was beautiful. Shane Told’s voice was melodic and very
much what you’d expect from a good emo/punk band. The lyrics were
wholly depressing yet poetic and truthful which you can see from
these carefully chosen lyrics from the song “November”—“I caress
flesh with severed nerves/I go veiled in darkness and disease.”
However, despite the likeable familiarity of
Silverstein’s music, there was one major fault that basically
managed to ruin the band’s entire appeal for me: the incessant
screaming amidst what would otherwise be good music. The screaming
was entirely out of place (barring what I consider a few lucky
moments) and not at all melodic or interesting. There was a total
lack of emotion in what I assume was meant to be the screams of a
truly distraught and emotional person. Don’t get me wrong. I
like the earsplitting sound of bands like Poison the Well just as
much as the next person, but they at least have it together.
Silverstein was like biting into a delicious ripe apple
and finding half of a worm in it. If it wasn’t for the band’s lame
attempt to “be different” and solidify themselves in a genre that,
despite what some critics might say, does in fact exist (in bands
like Thursday and Brand New), Silverstein might actually be worth
listening to. -Kaitlin
Snyder
Links:
www.silversteinmusic.com
www.victoryrecords.com |
For a group who have opened
for so many acts who have hit it big, Smartbomb has finally hit the big
league with their new release, Yeah. Well, Anyway...
Smartbomb has opened for several bands who have gone on to achieve
acclaim in the music industry- Matchbox Twenty, Fuel, and Smashmouth,
just to name a few. The running joke with Smartbomb is that if
another group wants to hit it big, they should just schedule Smartbomb
as their opening act. At this point in the game, however,
Smartbomb is ready to join their predecessors. The band's musical
genius comes shining through in euphonious voices that demand to be
heard. Don't be fooled by the first musical note from the leadoff
track, "Acetylene." The first five beats are harsh to
the ears; however, they are not representative of the quality of music
that is to come. What is to come is foot-tapping, finger-snapping
music that is the real deal. One such track is a remake of Faith
Hill's "Breathe." Smartbomb gives it a more upbeat
tempo, which is about two beats faster than Hill's version. In
fact, most of the songs on this CD have a tempo that resembles some of
the top musical groups in the pop and rock world such as Three Doors
Down and Nickleback. Just like "Breathe," "Complicate
It" and "Movie of the Week" are two songs that have not
only a catchy beat but intriguing lyrics as well. Both of these
songs tell of love gone astray with lyrics such as, "As I stand
here defenseless, your apathy disillusions me when I can't understand
that the words you say are not the things you mean."
Metaphorically speaking, this entire CD can only be compared to
chocolate- sinfully delicious and addictive. With the release of
this CD, we can only hope to see this band move quickly up the ladder of
musical success. -Rhonda Thomas
Links: www.smartbombonline.com
www.razorandtie.com |
|
SR-71
Tomorrow
RCA Records
Music
Head Rating:
|
 |
|
It’s been 2 years since Right Now pounded
itself into America’s collective consciousness, and in that time
SR-71 has had time to grow and expand on the sound they built on
2000’s Now You See Inside. Unfortunately, with
their new album Tomorrow, the band has only taken to
treading water with an
“if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it-and-scream-because-it’s-hip”
approach.
Several songs here sound sonically identical: from the
opening rocker “They All Fall Down” to “My World,” to “Goodbye,”
lead singer Mitch Allan traipses the current soft-loud-soft
dynamic that seems to be the rage with nü-metal bands. Angry
yelling is also something that Allan picked up in the interim
between albums. While it sounds fine on songs like “Broken
Handed,” it’s almost distracting on other tracks. During the
title cut you might actually stop the song and wonder why he’s
shouting. In the most non-creative moment on the album, the
band apes their own sound on “Lucky,” which might as well be
called “Right Now Part 2.”
Lyrically there is nothing as clever as their Butch
Walker co-penned success. Almost everything is a
less-than-inspired rehash of classic girl problem laments, which
Allan exploits to limited success. The major exception is
“Truth,” another in a line of September 11th-inspired
musings.
The album is not without some highlights, though. “In
My Mind” is a step back to the days of the rock ballad with
pianos and guitar solos weaving through a tale of a man whose
mind is the only place where love still exists. “Goodbye” riffs
hard and steady and could possibly be another lukewarm success
for the band.
Overall the
album is a decent throwaway of rock. Slickly produced, not
terrible, but not amazing. You probably won’t take anything
deep and provocative away from this, but you won’t run screaming
from it either. It’s middle of the road rock for people who
aren’t aggressive enough for Linkin Park, but too mature for
Blink-182. -Matthew
Little
Links:
www.sr-71.net
www.rcarecords.com |
|
Stroke 9 Rip It Off
Universal Records
Music
Head Rating:
|
 |
Oh, the crucial sophomore album. Just imagine being Stroke 9
right now
—
a potential
one-hit wonder standing on-deck waiting to test their batting
skills against a smarter rock audience than their last at-bat.
Since making it big with their gold-selling debut,
Nasty Little Thoughts, Stroke 9 have come out of hiding to
find nobody was really looking for them. Back with Rip It
Off, the band attempts to again distinguish themselves among
the throngs of pop-rock bands with numbers in their names.
The album starts off swinging with “Latest Disaster,” a
foot-stomping anthem that sets a light-hearted mood and pace for
the album’s first half. However, in “100 Girls,” vocalist
Luke Esterkyn turns trite, forcing predictable one-syllable rhymes
on us. The next few songs follow the same formula — cheeky pop
with clean and choppy guitar licks, cymbal-smacking vehemence, and
satirical lyrics.
After the album’s mid-life crisis, it gets serious,
introspective and interesting. Esterkyn stretches his pipes,
loudly proclaiming he “Just Can’t Wait.” Electronic beats
add a new flavor to Stroke 9’s short list of musical taste, but
again, when Esterkyn starts shoving rhymes into our faces, the
song loses its luster.
The album rebounds with its greatest song, the
beautiful and string-laced “Reject.” On previous songs, and
on Nasty Little Thoughts, Stroke 9 took the happy angle at
a sad subject. But in “Reject,” spidery guitars dance around
a chaotic violin singing behind Esterkyn as he croons, “Do you
really think I wanted this to fail?” The song is a perfect
portrayal of temperamental depression, transitioning from
worrisome to pissed, and from spacey to fervent.
The album closes with a pair of aces in “Lead the Way”
and “California,” with the former building to a climatic ending
with fuzz-draped guitars and synth beats under Esterkyn’s
passionate shrieks, “You lead the way/away from here!”
When it comes time for Stroke 9 to step up to the
plate, a few things can happen. If they try to bleed their
cute/funny/rhyming jingles, they’ll whiff into oblivion. If
they release their new and better material hiding at the album’s
end, they’ll hit a homer. But realistically, Rip It Off
will land a single into right field, but the boys of Third Eye
Blind will steal the show when they decide to return.
-Mike
Caggeso
Links:
www.stroke9.com
www.universalrecords.com |
| Sugababes One
Touch
London-Sire Records
Music
Head Rating: 
|
 |
What do you get with
three teenage girls and a bubble-gum pop sound? Sugababes,
the newest UK pop group to hit the scene. This group of
three girls--Keisha, Mutya, and Siobhan--blends techno beats and
catchy lyrics to create a unique sound with both ballads and
up-tempo tracks. The album is nothing like Eden's Crush.
Instead, they attempt to create a pop album with an R&B feel
and fast-paced beats. The CD surprises you with the first
track "Overload" because the music sounds very
familiar, like it was taken from the Madonna song
"Beautiful Stranger." Although the music may be
similar, the lyrics are clearly different, reflecting the
creativity of these girls: "Train comes I don't know its
destination/It's a one-way ticket to a madman's situation."
Lines like that reflect an experience and paint a picture that
the listener connects with the song. The track is upbeat and has
you running high on adrenaline. Their single "One
Touch" is a softer song with nice guitar sounds and much
better vocals than tracks like "One Foot In."
This song sets itself apart from the other tracks because of the
incorporation of instrumental support. The sound itself
stands out, but the vocals seem to lack stamina. It is
evident that the lead singer sings most of the part while the
other two girls are just support background vocals. "Lush
Life" fared slightly better during the listening test,
probably because the song did not sound as repetitive as
"Overload." The beat was still the same, but the
group's harmonizing helped support the song vocally. My
personal favorite is "New Year," because it truly
blends the voices of the three girls, and the lyrics hit you so
hard it might be too much. Lines like "I'm older than
my years/Drowning in my tears, Surrounded by the fear" make
you realize how quickly time can pass. Lyrical creativity
clearly seems to be the strength of the group. Overall,
Sugababes is not your average pop group. Once they learn
to harmonize better, their lyrics and their sound will be more
soulful, yet still have that sugary pop sound. -Janet
Pak
Links:
www.sugababes.com
www.london-sire.com |
With a name like Sugarcult
and a single called "Stuck In America" ("everybody's
talking 'bout blowing up the neighborhood"), many people may walk
away with the wrong impression. So allow me to set the record
straight. -- Sugarcult is not an "America-hating” band preying on
young, impressionable minds. Rather, Santa Barbara, California's
Sugarcult, made up of Tim Pagnotta (vocals/guitar), Ben Davis
(drums/vocals), Airin (bass/vocals), and former Ataris guitarist, Marko
72 (guitar), is a patriotic, pop-punk band who simply took their name
from a group of lesbians living next door. And when it comes to
explaining this and the meaning behind "Stuck In America," Tim
Pagnotta said it the best in a statement issued on their website after
the September 11 terrorist attack: "'Stuck In America' is not a
political song. It is simply a song about youthful boredom and
rebellion. Both my parents served in the US Military so I have a
deep respect for patriotism." Now that that's out of the way,
I can tell you about Sugarcult's debut CD, Start Static.
Start Static is an album exploding with
emotion. With their catchy pop hooks and thrashing '70's-style
punk guitars, Sugarcult makes their emotions known not only through
their tone and lyrics, but also through Pagnotta's adaptive voice.
In "How Does It Feel," Pagnotta's anger and sense of revenge
can be felt when he sings: "you cannot control me like before;
you've been replaced by a prettier face." Furthermore, those
of you who have ever been dumped by someone you truly cared about will
surely relate to Pagnotta's pain in "Lost In You" ("six
months went by, I almost forgot your face til they played that song
tonight").
Although the majority of Start Static's songs deal
with relationships gone astray, Sugarcult also touches on some social
issues. "I Changed My Name" deals with feelings of
depression, whereas, "Bouncing Off the Walls" seems to deal
with drug addiction. The album concludes with a bonus track, #12,
which immensely strays from Sugarcult's typical sound. On this
track, Sugarcult uses a saxophone along with soft drums, mellow guitar
strums, and Pagnotta's sultry voice to create a jazz-inspired, soothing
experience.
If you're looking for a timeless album, I strongly
recommend Start Static. CNN has already proclaimed
Sugarcult a "band to watch." So what are you waiting
for? Pick up Start Static today! I guarantee that if you
give Sugarcult a chance, they will quickly become one of your favorite
bands. -Kristal Austin
Links: www.sugarcult.com
www.ultimatummusic.com
|
Back
to CD Reviews
|
|
