Brand Spankin'

 
Whoa. Where did this come from? Wasn’t Santogold (Santi White) supposed to be a carbon copy of M.I.A.? Listening through her new self-titled release instead I’m picking up elements of No Doubt, Tegan and Sara, Rilo Kiley, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and yes, M.I.A. as well. After being written off as an M.I.A. clone for months based on a couple tracks, Santi finally gets a chance to strut her stuff, and strut she does. 

Santogold is far and away more diverse than anything M.I.A. has done. Santi is able to go from the danceable and M.I.A.-esque, addictive “Creative” (one of my favorite songs so far this year) to “You’ll Find A Way”, echoing early No Doubt (read: good No Doubt). The most impressive part out of all of this is she is talented at every type of music she tries. Of course any album as genre-spanning and ambitious as this is going to have a few weak spots. As versatile an album as it is, it is hard for it to feel coherent, it feels more like a mixtape than a planned out album. However, that isn’t to discredit the quality of the music, it just doesn’t flow very well at times. If you can get past that though, you’ll find 12 tracks running the gamut of indie music, and doing all of it superbly. Maybe Santogold should take on a Sufjan Stevens-esque project, but instead of doing states, she could do genres? What do you say Santi? You can thank me in your liner notes.

What’s the big deal?

Cave released Grinderman’s self-titled debut last year to great reviews, and this record is its poppy little brother. But this little brother is just as big a pervert, don’t worry. Cave has a way of disguising his sick and realistic sense of humour as catchy pop ditties on this one, catching you off guard and then sucking you in for classic Bad Seeds tunes.

Who’s behind it?

Nick Launay produced. A constant fixture in the Nick Cave world, he’s also worked with Talking Heads, PIL and most recently the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

What’s the big deal?

Kim and Kelley. The Deal sisters are back for the first time in seven years, with a new rhythm section and a sober outlook. The disc is drastically different from anything they’ve done before. Mellow and sparse, it’s a far cry from the manic pop we’re used to from the sometimes-Pixies bassist.

Who’s behind it?

Super-producer Steve Albini. He’s worked with Kim before in numerous capacities. He’s also worked with the man that wanted to be Frank Black, Kurt Cobain (among many, many others).

Is it worth a damn?

For the casual listener, not so much. For those of us who enjoy a band that evolves and doesn’t deliver the same disc time after time, yes. A sprawling drone follows you throughout the record, on the repetitive “Bang On” (a tune that describes Kim’s relationship status, or lack thereof) and the closing title track that lulls you off to sleep. Teetering on the edge of rocking out are only a few tracks, “German Studies” is sing

Singer-songwriter king Jason Mraz will release We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. on May 20th – his first full-length in nearly three years. With that on the horizon, he has cruelly decided to tease us with the first of two EPs to be released before the album, with a third being released on the same date as the full-length.

We Sing features four intimate takes of tracks to be featured on We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. First up is the single “I’m Yours” which has already hit radio and been a fan favorite live for years. Mraz fans will undoubtedly recognize this song and appreciate the Live at Java Joe’s laid back feel to this version. Next is “Live High” which I was able to take in live this past fall when Mraz was trying out a few new tracks on his tour. This is my favorite track off of the EP as if it feels like it was written in the same vein as Mraz’ pre-Waiting for my Rocket to Come material; simple, catchy, with a clear focus on Jason’s vocal stylings. Following that is “A Beautiful Mess” which has the same type of vibe as “Sleeping To Dream” from Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live At The Eagles Ballroom. And again, no need to hold your breath as it is pure Mraz through and through. The EP finishes up with “If It Kills Me”, another song channeling his pre-Waiting material on which he pains over an already taken love interest. He proclaims, “We get along much better than you and your boyfriend,” and then pauses as if to let the fact sink in.

Big Dipper had a short-lived heyday from 1985-1990, including one album on Epic, Slam, after which the band, (in an ironic play on words), disbanded. After being dropped by Epic, however, the band continued to record, much of which had been assumed to be lost in the annals of history. However, to astronomers’ delight, Merge Records has resurrected these seemingly lost recordings, along with the band’s formal releases (sans Slam) into a 3-CD, 49 track package. Their various stylings of indie rock are seemingly the ancestors of your current indie rock heroes.

What’s the big deal?

Former Pitchfork contributor Rollie Pemberton’s second album drops in Canada a year after his debut Breaking Kayfabe was released in the US on Epitaph. His first disc was nominated for the Polaris Music prize and was the equivalent of punk rock in the hip-hop world (not in the way the Beastie Boys were fifteen years ago, more so the punk rock aesthetic). Armed with an arsenal of some of the most relevant and clever rhymes I’ve heard in years (who else drops references to the Dandy Warhols, Ian Curtis and Iggy Pop?), Weapon’s sophomore disc seems like anything but. Operating as a rap record or a dance party instigator, Weapon only comes off soft during a few moments – but perhaps that’s all part of his charming plan. “Tattoos (and What They Really Feel Like)” is a perfect example of this. Weapon shows he’s human, likeable and ready to rock the mic right all at once.

It’s been too long.

Four years after the release of Around the Sun (a slow paced record the band almost disowns) the trio from Athens have put out a record not of this time. Fans and critics alike had been wondering if REM had a best before date that expired at the end of the century; but I am here to tell you that this is their most important offering since 1996’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi. That disc had its share of rockers, but it was their previous disc, 1994’s Monster that is their definitive and classic sounding rock record.

The romantically linked duo that is Wye Oak – Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack – take what some may call shoegaze and push it in a vast swath of directions. If Children constantly flirts with folk, without being able to commit. It ranges from the jangly, distorted, feedback-laden single, “Warning”, to the laid back, sleepy-eyed, “Archaic Smile”. Surprisingly, both Jenn and Andy lend their voices to the album without anything lost when trading off songs. For a twosome, the Baltimore couple makes a considerable amount of noise on the album

What’s the big deal?

It’s surprising, but this is only the fourth official full length from the band and the man that share the name Danko Jones. In the past decade they’ve released consistent, in your face records and toured endlessly around the world (they’re huge in Europe). This disc shows some diversity though; on tracks such as “Take Me Home” Danko (the man) sings instead of his usual “talk/sing/growl” combination. He actually can sing as well. Guests on the record include John Garcia (Kyuss) and Pete Stahl (Goatsnake) on the standout track “Forest of the Trees”.

Who’s behind it?

A favorite producer of Jones’, Nick Raskulinecz has worked on albums by Rush, Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver. He’s even a Grammy winner.

What’s the big deal?

Recorded very independently and simply, the disc strips down pop and rock standards from the last thirty years to the acoustic standards they’ve become. Karaoke this is not though, Doyle is an incredibly gifted vocalist, and getting her away from the abysmal pop trio Shaye is a good thing. Covering the Foo Fighters, Tragically Hip and most importantly Joy Division on a heartbreaking coulda-been-cheesy-but-escapes-that rendition of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” keeps this disc out of Canadian Idol style cover territory.