2 posts tagged “review”
If what happens again, you ask? If the band attempts to upstage the headliner, that is. Last night, Raleigh's Annuals opened for Montreal's The Dears at the Cat's Cradle. I was introduced to both bands last year, and have become a big fan of The Dears, after having heard their song "Whites Only Party," from the Gang of Losers album. I've become fond of the fairly simple melodies to which songwriter Murray Lightburn attaches political/social observation and wistful nostalgia for young love, gained and lost. Many compare Dears to Morrissey and The Smiths, and such comparisons are apt, but there also exists a tendency to explore cinematic anthems and sonic tropes of shoegaze that is much more explicitly delved into by Annuals.
This is a band to watch.
The Dears are also worth watching, but they would much rather be listened to, and with this I find no fault.
Attempting to add to an album review I threw together for a friend:
In the album's best moments, I'm reminded of old Black-Eyed Peas, all the stuff they did before Fergie, back when they had something resembling a social conscience, but were also able to make a party jump. They're still trying to reach out to their old audience, while introducing themselves to any newcomers, but the result is an album that looks back far too often and doesn't seem to acknowledge any forward movement.
That being said, there are some good tracks to be found, but the album as a whole never really gels, in my opinion. I get the feeling that they are trying to remold their sound in an attempt to pick up where BEP left off philosophically, if not sonically (which is something I can really dig), but without an explosive personality to guide the proceedings (J5 don't have anyone who'd fill a Will.I.Am slot), they're just left holding someone else's sloppy seconds.
- "Baby Please" is fun, even if it feels like a retread of territory already covered by Kanye's "Golddigger" (to a certain extent) and "Side to Side," from 2005's The Craft.
- "Back 4 U" gave me goosebumps when I first heard it, I'm not going to lie. There's something about giving a listen to a new album, that you know can be a return to familiar territory; when that album opens with a warm welcome and re-introduction, well, that's hotness.
- "Work It Out" is basically the first single from the album, and rightfully so, it's a perfectly benign track that should fill new ears with warm fuzzies. And if they're fans of Dave Matthews Band, that couldn't hurt sales, right? The track is catchy, I gotta admit, but that strange knocking sound underneath everything almost makes me skip past it when the song starts. Almost.
- "Red Hot." Must be the effect of surf guitar, I dunno.
- "Canto De Ossanha," For reminding me of BEP's "Karma."
