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Resolutions
By
John Brodeur
New Year’s Day is just around the corner. You might
not be able to see it through all the Christmas hoo-ha, but
it’s right there, staring us down like a stalker through night-vision
goggles. I’m getting an early jump on it this time around—my
desk is full (again) of CDs that may never get a “real” review,
so I’ve allotted them each a few words here, after which I’ll
set them free . . . or on fire.
Lloyd
Banks
The
Hunger For More (G Unit/Interscope)
“On
Fire” pretty much sums up how things are going for Banks and
his G-Unit cronies, but if it weren’t for 50 Cent’s enormous
commercial clout, the odds of this album getting made would
have been slim. Let’s face it—the expressionless Banks doesn’t
exactly exude star power. Occasional forays into early-’90s-style
G-funk (“I Get High,” “Karma”) and guest spots from 50 and
Eminem try and make up for Banks’ lack of character, but the
weak tracks (“When the Chips are Down,” “If You So Gangsta”)
sound tossed-off. Where’s Dr. Dre when we need him?
 Jimmy
Eat World
Futures
(Interscope)
These guys practically defined the emo sound with their first
two records (Static Prevails and Clarity), which,
admittedly, were darn good. Then the Brinks truck backed up
to their door upon the release of 2001’s Bleed American
(or Jimmy Eat World, as it was known post-9/11). It
wasn’t half bad, but a few dumbed-down overtures toward the
mainstream (see: “The Middle”) made it anyone’s guess what
they’d do next. On Futures, they’re trying to be everything
to everyone, and the results are mixed. The sensitive sing-alongs
(“Kill”) and slow-burning epics (“Drugs or Me”) are as good
as anything on Clarity, but attempts at edginess (lead
single “Pain,” for instance) sound forced. Be what you are,
boys—if that means embracing your inner Morrissey, so be it.
Helmet
Size
Matters (Interscope)
Sure, size matters, but quality, apparently, does not.
Eleven songs in the key of suck. Terrible.
John
Wesley Harding
Adam’s
Apple (DRT)
Until now, Wes seemed unable to decide if he wanted to be
a pseudo-activist folkie (he did swipe his pseudonym from
a Dylan album, after all) or a Difford-and-Tillbrook-influenced
mod-popper. Now he’s gone whole hog toward the adult-pop sound
he began to practice with 2000’s The Confessions of St.
Ace. He still has a knack for the occasional sly turn
of phrase, and the recording is spotless, but it’s more than
a little disappointing overall. One major bright spot: the
string-quartet-driven “Sussex Ghost Story,” a delectable murder-fantasy
tale.
 Elvis
Costello and the Imposters
The
Delivery Man (Lost Highway)
It’s strange to use the words “return to form” when describing
a songwriter as prolific and classification-shy as Elvis Costello,
but following a collection of syrupy piano ballads (North)
and an overcooked “comeback” album (When I Was Cruel),
this is a welcome return to basics at the very least. Recorded
in the Deep South, The Delivery Man crackles with an
energy not heard from Costello since 1994’s Brutal Youth,
perhaps even Blood and Chocolate. Never fear, fans
of Elvis the Eccentric: This album was released simultaneously
with Il Sogno, Costello’s first full-length orchestral
work.
Midtown
Forget
What You Know (Columbia)
Forget what you hear.
Northern
State
All
City (Columbia)
I’ll be damned—I thought Luscious Jackson broke up years ago.
This is kinda fun if you dig lame mid-’90s party-rap. The
three girls of Northern State drop awkward monotonous rhymes
over beats by Muggs (Cypress Hill), Pete Rock, and Ahmir “?uestlove”
Thompson (The Roots). Best track: “Summer Never Ends,” which
features a guest spot by Har Mar Superstar. Try and guess
why it’s the best track.
TV
on the Radio
Desperate
Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Touch and Go)
I’m amazed and confused. It’s the MC5 on ecstasy. Too cool
for words.
Various
Artists
Confuse
Yr Idols:
A Tribute to Sonic Youth (Narnack)
How do you cover a band best known for their unorthodox guitar
tunings, feedback-drenched odysseys, and half-spoken, half-sung
pseudo-poetry? Half the bands on Confuse Yr Idols think
purity is key, mimicking Kim Gordon’s sultry slur and Thurston
Moore’s disaffected drawl, while re-creating every skronk
and ping of the original recordings (see New Grenada’s “Eric’s
Trip”). More effective, at least in spirit, are the bands
who take the other route: unhinged reinvention. Rapider Than
Horsepower’s “Little Trouble Girl” comes drenched in queasy
strings; Tub Ring turn “Kool Thing” into a snarky grunge-lounge
mess.
The
Exies
Head
for the Door (Virgin)
Formulaic modern rock, Á la early Stone Temple Pilots: heavy
on the guitars and drums, light on content and melody. They
don’t sound as much like assholes as Nickelback, but maybe
that’s why Nickelback are selling millions, while the Exies
can’t even get a spot on the Warped tour.
 Trevor
Dunn’s Trio Convulsant
Sister
Phantom Owl Fish (Ipecac)
Any friend of Mike Patton’s is a friend of mine. Trevor Dunn
typically hangs with Patton in Fantômas and Mr. Bungle; on
his second record as a bandleader, his trio (Mary Halvorson
on guitar, Ches Smith on drums) careens through 11 tracks
of avant-jazz that will have you screaming “Mommy!” (or, perhaps,
“Dali!”). They show a great deal of nuance and restraint on
a version of the Ellington/Strayhorn composition “The Single
Petal of a Rose,” then challenge the very concept of nuance
by dropping in menacing blasts of mind-shredding noise. Solid.
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