Alright, this week is almost completely full of female-vocalists from a wide range of genres and styles. We'll just jump right in.
New Releases:
The Ting Tings - Sounds From Nowheresville
Label: Columbia Records
Released: 3/13 2012
Genre: Synth-pop, Rock
A sticker on the front claimed this as "Possibly ... the album of 2012." Well, there's a suspicious statement this early in the year. It's going to have to be mindbogglingly good, or create a whole new genre on its own. It is neither. It is good, verging on excellent. But not spectacular to a whole new level. It has the same electro feeling of Broken Bells, but bounces genres around more, a little bit of everything sneaks into this album. For all that diversity it doesn't come across as excessively schizophrenic as I might've thought. It all keeps close enough to a synth-pop aesthetic to keep the thing cohesive. The album of 2012? Doubtful. Good and definitely worth checking out? absolutely. This is good music.
Recently Released:
New Years Day - The Mechanical Heart
Label: Hollywood Waste
Released: 1/23 2012
Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Another 2$ EP from the label, a good strategy. This is also some really good, solid, rock music. It isn't a female lead vocal in front of a rock band, they just happen to have a female lead singer. Subtle difference, but there they carry themselves on the weight of the entire band, it's a rock'n'roll package, unlike some bands that play music and then forefront the singer. They aren't amazing, but they are good, the kind of rock band that has a sound that can go the distance, hopefully it's enough to keep them making music for a good long time. Some punk and pop seeps it's way in, which will also hopefully keep them close enough to get a solid large following. A band worth checking out.
Adding To The Collection:
The Black Keys - Brothers
Label: Nonesuch Records
Released: 2010
Genre: Rock, Blues-Rock
Blues-Rock duo the Black Keyes put out another drum and guitar laden album. This is the second album from them I've purchased (I don't always get in on the ground floor...), and it's a solid shot. Not as bluesy as I imagined it might have been, but not bad. A good solid groove to get into, plays well all the way through. The thing is, here, nothing really jumped out at me, it's just an album. A good one, one I'm glad is in the mix, but that's just about it, in the mix. Really good for filling out long stretches of a playlist you need to occupy a few hours or more of time. Maybe down the line I'll fall in love with a single track, but in this first set of listen through, nothing amazing jumps out. Still, add it to your collection, it's good to have on hand.
Florence And The Machine - Lungs
Label: Universal Republic
Released: 2009
Genre: Rock
The debut album from Florence + The Machine. And you can tell, it's not quite as polished as the second album, not quite as comfortable. And some of the song content verges on a little creepy, the lyrics can make you uncomfortable as they're sung in an almost sweet manner. You can easily see why everyone immediately liked her, powerful singing, mixed with good music, percussion heavy, she doesn't drown it in guitars, but doesn't let it wallow in pop-banality either. The second album is definitely better, but only by extension of reaching further. You'd be making a mistake not checking out Florence.
Hydrogyn - Deadly Passions
Label: DR2 Recrods (Self-Released)
Released: 2008
Genre: Heavy Metal
The album opens with solid thrash-metal, Julie's vocals give the genre an extra dimension. Not the soaring female vocals of the classically trained, and not the low rumble of a female vocal trying to fit into a Heavy Metal Mold. Nope, Julie is straight forward, almost a pop-singers style, a little rough, and she can be pissed off without growling. The music is pure Metal, the kind we had back in the 80s that just pounds on at a good pace and let's the guitar go wild. Hydrogyn handily gets on with the business of making heavy metal, from slow to fast. Also, on this, is a cover of Alanis Morisette's You Outta Know, which they own. Julie sounds the supremely pissed off that the songs needs, and the heavier music suits it much better. Compared to this cover, the original is just whining. They aren't signed to a major, or even small, label yet. For good or ill, they're flying under the radar and deserve exposure - especially if you're a fan of a more raw metal sound.
Bonus Track:
Vaski - The Island feat. Sara Laske
Label: self-released Soundcloud download
Released: 2012
Genre: dubstep
Vaski put this out on his Soundcloud for release. It starts as a rather normal sounding club track with opening vocals, and just where you expect the thing to bang out a boring house beat, it drops. Like any really good dubstep track it knows the balance between the beat, the vocal, and where to drop the beat instead of picking it up. Vaski is a producer worth finding - most of his stuff is digital, with a few vinyl 12" singles around.
Next Week:
Hard and Soft collide - Industrial Rock from Germany, Hard Rock from the US, Classical music, and Flamenco by way of India...
Also, Hydrogyn has a new album coming out in April I'll be checking out for you, but I can tell you already it'll be more of the same good metal they've always made, worth checking out.
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