Music Review: Human Again
Album cover for Human Again by Ingrid Michaelson
If this were ten years ago, Ingrid Michaelson would be the go-to girl for tv themes and teenage dreams. She might single-handedly be keeping the singer/songwriter genre alive in a period where people are going for the stripped-down vocalist stylings of Adele or the multi-layered electro-pop sound of music by David Guetta. Nearly everyone else has either vanished from the scene or given in and altered their sound to suit today's pop.
Being a fan of Ingrid is also very rewarding as her output of music is anything but minimal. Between her albums and EPs, Ingrid also occasionally releases one-off singles to iTunes...just because. Human Again is her fifth album since 2005 and first full-length record in a few years. This time away from the studio full-time has done her some good. There's instantly a sense of growth in comparison to what she has released previously, judging by the development of these songs. The opening track Fire is immediate as it is backed by supportive strings that pulse before the beat kicks in as she announces "I'm walking in/I'm walking in the fire with you." I'm Through is a beautiful and touching post-breakup ballad that highlights Ingrid's vocals which soar through the piano as she expresses that she "would rather feel the sting/than never to have felt a thing." She doesn't fully lose the folky sound that accompanied much of her earlier songs but rather fuses them with a more complete mix as is evidenced by Ribbons which has the full-sounding chorus sandwiched with more stripped-down verses.
Vocally, I didn't notice it until this album but Ingrid is reminiscent of Canadian singer/songwriter Damhnait Doyle (of Shaye) and at times there are hints of Shawn Colvin (check out Do It Now for this one). Despite these reminders of the 90s, the music doesn't sound dated. It's more like Ingrid reminding us that this once-popular genre still exists and that we actually do yearn for it. While Ingrid Michaelson has a recognizable name to some degree, she still goes largely unnoticed. Human Again is evidence that it's only a matter of time until she is known by the masses, even if it is little-by-little. 
Tracklisting
1. Fire
2. This Is War
3. Do It Now
4. I'm Through
5. Blood Brothers
6. Black And Blue
7. Ribbons
8. How We Love
9. Palm Of Your Hand
10. Ghost
11. In The Sea
12. Keep Warm
13. End Of The World
Music Review: Making Mirrors
Album cover for Goyte's Making Mirrors
By now, most people have heard Somebody That I Used To Know in some form, whether the cover version by Ontario band Walk Off The Earth, an amateur YouTube cover or the original by Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter Gotye. The song was a hit for him in Australia, New Zealand and Belgium, among other countries last summer. Since December, it has been spread through the Facebook feeds of nearly everyone else while storming the Billboard charts and, surprisingly enough, Alternative radio.
The song follows a rather minimalist approach with just a guitar and xylophone supported by a minor beat. It does sample a song called Seville by Luiz Bonfa but even that keeps the recording nearly bare bones. Add in a second verse by up-and-coming New Zealand recording artist Kimbra and you still have a basic sound that is still able to sum up the post-breakup emotions written by Gotye about past relationships.
With such a simple sounding song to represent him, I would have pinned Gotye as a pure guitar-and-vocals kind of guy. Someone whose entire album is carried by the same style of recorded song with little variation. As it turns out, there's a lot more to Gotye than meets the ear with that one runaway hit.
State Of The Art is an absolute cheese-fest but the manipulation of the vocals pitched down for the entire song with the playfulness of the lyrics that I imagine are being literally spun around the instruments make the song so fun that it becomes the new baseline for my interpretation of what type of artist Gotye is. He's a sound puppeteer on this song. "Now we can pretend/that there's an orchestra in the loungeroom (cue orchestra sound)/I put the Genie Bass on/so my left hand can play the choir (cue choir sound)". Any limitations I would have placed on him for Somebody That I Used To Know have been completely removed. First impression out the window. That's not to say he doesn't occasionally get carried away. Smoke And Mirrors can be a bit overwhelming with the production that seems to overpower the song itself.
When the production on Somebody aren't being compared to Peter Cetera, Sting or Peter Gabriel, he does offer a couple of tracks that sound directly from the Motown era with the 1-2 punch of I Feel Better and In Your Light. The former sounds like it could have been a Jackson 5 classic complete with a young Michael Jackson instead of Gotye on vocals. Meanwhile, Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You is an almost sinister song placed over a light paranoid beat that increases very lightly in intensity toward the end.
Gotye is a very versatile recording artist who uses his production skills very liberally on Making Mirrors. If there's one thing that can't be said about him is that his techniques are boring. While the resulting songs aren't of the same calibre as Somebody That I Used To Know, he has a handle on the music he makes and for that I give him props. 
Tracklisting
1. Making Mirrors
2. Easy Way Out
3. Somebody That I Used To Know [featuring Kimbra]
4. Eyes Wide Open
5. Smoke And Mirrors
6. I Feel Better
7. In Your Light
8. State Of The Act
9. Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You
10. Giving Me A Chance
11. Save Me
12. Bronte
Music Review: Born To Die
Album cover for Lana Del Rey's Born To Die
Lana Del Rey is in what one might call popularity limbo as the release date of her first full length album arrives. Following the buzz of her initial musical output in 2011, Lana was dubbed one of the singers to look out for in 2012. The hype surrounding her seemed to match that of Adele just a year earlier. However, her much-publicized and criticized Saturday Night Live appearance brought everything to a halt at the most critical point, mere weeks before the release of the record Born To Die. So much so that her chance at mainstream success could be tarred by that one performance before she even has a chance to begin. Is there a way for Lana to fix it? I think there is. What she needs to do is do another prime-time performance that is so incredible, there's no way everyone can't be won over. Of course, this task may be nearly impossible as her critics may be looking for any and every opportunity to point out her flaws. Despite earning name-recognition, most of it is surrounded by negative reviews. It's an uphill battle but one I'm taking personal interest in to see whether she can overcome and how.
Of course, the saying all press is good press may also work here. Her name is perhaps one of the most recognizable amongst newcomers in music at the moment so if anything, the curiosity factor is there. So even if the live performance on SNL bombed, maybe there's something more in the recorded work. Curiosity worked on me so I decided to give Born To Die a chance.
In using one word to describe the record, dreamy might be what comes to mind. But it's such a limiting word as a quality that really only applies to a couple of tracks, and even then, only musically. Essentially, what Born To Die is made of is the fusion of dreamy, ambient pop with electronic and hip-hop influences. At first, it's refreshing to hear so many styles blended together but eventually, this mix feels forced and awkward as the album goes on. It's as if this style was kept for songs that didn't necessarily need this blend and wasn't suitable in the best interest of those songs. In a sense, it's part of an effort to try to come off as being edgy, more so than she needs to be, such as with Radio.
Some of the best examples of this blend of musical fusion come with the new single, and title track Born To Die, which has a curious beat that cuts through the floor of strings supporting Lana's reverberated vocals. When listening to this song for the first few times, the arrangement of the words in the pre-chorus reminded me of a song that I couldn't quite put my finger on... and I had to wreck my brain for days before I realized it was Laughing With by Regina Spekter. I might be the only one to ever notice that but I thought it was a neat comparison.
Without limiting myself to just one word, describing Lana Del Rey might involve saying she is the vocal-twin of Nicole Atkins, along with her dreamy musical backdrop mixed with a hint of M.I.A., as seen in National Anthem, topped off with the sauciness of Kate Nash as channeled through Nellie McKay as is heard in Off To The Races. That's a mouthful!...resulting in a record that doesn't have as much life as one would expect with so many sounds combined into one. There are times when Lana sounds bored and disinterested. The aforementioned National Anthem might be the album's best song and should be the focus of this new artist rather than trying to break into the American mainstream with ambient pop songs like Video Games. Lana has strengths that are met on this album. They just don't necessarily coincide with the same audiences that were won over last year by Adele's vocals. In time. 
Tracklisting
1. Born To Die
2. Off To The Races
3. Blue Jeans
4. Video Games
5. Diet Mountain Dew
6. National Anthem
7. Dark Paradise
8. Radio
9. Carmen
10. Million Dollar Man
11. Summertime Sadness
12. This Is What Makes Us Girls
Music Review: People And Things
Album cover for Jack's Mannequin, People And Things
Andrew McMahon hasn't recorded an album with his original band Something Corporate in nearly a decade but in that time has lessened his focus on their emo-rock style in favour of a much lighter rock sound of Jack's Mannequin.
With a centralized piano-rock song in the vein of Gavin DeGraw or perhaps a more upbeat Coldplay, Jack's Mannequin continues to fill that certain void between the arena rock and piano pop sounds, rather, fusing them together for a style that Jack's Mannequin can almost call its own. In each of the first two albums, this sound had found its niche but being it seven years since the release of Everything In Transit, the sound carries that sense of been-there, done-that.
That's not to say that People And Things is a step down from either of the previous two records. Though there seems to be nothing adventurous going on with the record as a whole, there's nothing disappointing either. Songs like Release Me can fit comfortably next to Swim and I'm Ready, while Hey Hey Hey (We're All Gonna Die) takes an uncertain, philosophical look at not knowing what the future brings ("hey hey hey, we're all gonna die someday") while relaying this realization and perspective as McMahon toured for the previous album, The Glass Passenger: "Through the lens of my Polaroid camera/The label looked proud/the New York shows sold out."
Jack's Mannequin is in a good place right now as a band. Their last two albums entered in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart so they have a solid fan-base, however, they haven't reached that status that allows them to be considered a household name. I would argue that with them, that's perhaps a good thing. The music that makes up this album hasn't been compromised with over-production. Even after three albums, Jack's Mannequin still has the natural sound that sets them apart from other pop/rock bands. Should they ever suddenly get a hit that places them at Train or OneRepublic-like popularity, the same stigma that many music fans might place on those aforementioned bands would be placed on Jack's Mannequin. As of right now, it's not so they can have their cake and eat it too.
People And Things offers the familiar sounds that Jack's Mannequin brought to the table with their first two releases. A good mix of lighter soft rock and upbeat piano rock, they continue to be dependable with their musical offerings.
Tracklisting
1. My Racing Thoughts
2. Release Me
3. Television
4. Amy, I
5. Hey Hey Hey (We're All Gonna Die)
6. People, Running
7. Amelia Jean
8. Platform Fire
9. Hostage
10. Restless Dream
11. Casting Lines
Music Review: Voyageur
Album cover for Voyageur by Kathleen Edwards
Voyageur acts as Kathleen Edwards' "divorce album". Following the theme of breaking up and moving on, she captures the emotions with bitter ease. This record is a vast change from her last one, 2008's Asking For Flowers, which contained her stabs at some political and social themes that are completely void on Voyageur. What also isn't present is the sassiness that she offered on each of her previous three records, most notably what made up Westby from Failer (2003). While Kathleen seems musically subdued, she is more personal and open on this record than she's ever been before.
The first single Change The Sheets is Kathleen in familiar territory but rather than relying on the usual punchiness of songs like The Cheapest Key and Back To Me, it is Kathleen meets The Fall-era Norah Jones. A very fresh sound for her. And speaking of Norah Jones, the smooth jazz turned adult-alternative-rock singer/songwriter makes a guest appearance on the album's notable closing track For The Record where Kathleen simply exclaims "for the record I only wanted to sing songs."
Sidecar, the most upbeat track on the album, also serves as a discrepancy on a record of breakup songs except for the undertones of it perhaps being her denial song. A final grasp of hope and the desire to stay together by wishing "you and I will be sidecars/there to chase down the hard stuff." But the second verse she is calling out "wait up wait up/you let me show you all of the monsters I was holding on to." The following song, Pink Champagne, she is once again accepting as she reveals "I don't want to feel this way". Should the right strings be pulled, Sidecar might be her first major radio hit since Back To Me made waves in 2005. If she so desired. The potential is there in the connections as the album is co-produced by Justin Vernon, the frontman for current new Grammy favourite Bon Iver.
For those familiar with Kathleen before, this album serves as a sober reminder that while she can write killer songs with killer melodies, she is still a songwriter and has that duty to express her own experiences as they arise. Voyageur isn't as drastic a step away from her discography as The Baroness was from Sarah Slean's, for example, but like that album, this one lays out the hurt and disappointment from the relationship in plain view without relying on lyrical tricks and musical abilities that can be distracting when expressing a message is the main priority. The simplistic route is the most effective.
Consistency is key on Voyageur which helps to make it an early contender for the year's best and her most even record since Failer, if not ever, but there's also the desire that Kathleen hasn't fully given up on her clever cheekiness and backroads balladry that made her one of Canada's most dependable musicians.
Tracklisting
1. Empty Threat
2. Chameleon/Comedien
3. A Soft Place To Land
4. Change The Sheets
5. House Full Of Empty Rooms
6. Mint
7. Sidecar
8. Pink Champagne
9. Going To Hell
10. For The Record
Music Review: Talk That Talk
Album cover for Talk That Talk by Rihanna
Rihanna and camp know how to make a hit. Ever since her first album came out in 2005, Rihanna has put out a new record every year since with the exception of 2008 when instead it was a re-release of Good Girl Gone Bad (retitled: Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded) which contained the new hits Take A Bow and Disturbia. December 2011 saw the release of her sixth record Talk That Talk.
With Talk That Talk, she continues her upward trend of improving upon herself. Immediately with one listen, this record is sonically superior to last year's Loud (read my review here), with more uptempo tracks and a varied selection of songs. Of course, having the list of producers she had for this record are the reason for this sound. Only two tracks from super-hitmaker Dr. Luke to make room for a few from Stargate and of course the man behind the smash We Found Love, Calvin Harris. Whatever happens, this album was made to produce hits and that's what's going to happen.
We Found Love opened Rihanna to a new sound featuring house and dance influences that is en route to becoming her biggest hit to date. The entire album follows suit to the progression of We Found Love. Strong start to a very promising recording but once it takes off, it doesn't really go anywhere beyond that. Not quite disappointing but you feel set up, wanting more but not getting anywhere.
Songs like Cockiness (Love It) takes a page from Katy Perry's Peacock with its not-at-all-subtle sexual innuendo but it is undeniably the hottest song on the album. Produced by Bangladesh, the guy behind some of the grittiest hip hop hits in the last decade including What's Your Fantasy (Ludacris), A Milli (Lil'Wayne) and Did It On'Em (Nicki Minaj), Cockiness is Rihanna finally oozing personality and owning this song rather than singing facelessly, which nearly all of her prior songs have been - very little personality. And Birthday Cake brings her back for seconds, even at just one minute eighteen seconds.
Much of Talk The Talk is sitting at the forefront of the coming year of music based on what 2011 brought. You Da One continues with pop's current obsession with dub-step, leading the way for what might be the next era in mainstream music as electro-pop and dance takes its final breaths for this era while songs like Where Have You Been and Roc Me Out are safe bets for hit-status should the music landscape change direction. Even the title track is reminiscent of Nicole Scherzinger's Right There from last year, should radio suddenly decide that's more of what they want. All bases are covered and Rihanna is going to have another great year.
Talk That Talk definitely has more hits than forgettable tracks and that's sure to keep Rihanna going for the next twelve or so months until the next album. Even if the album itself continues on the Rihanna trend of not turning into a blockbuster hit (she has yet to have a #1 album), the songs themselves will continue to define pop music for another year (We Found Love is her 11th #1 single).
Tracklisting
1. You Da One
2. Where Have You Been
3. We Found Love [featuring Calvin Harris]
4. Talk That Talk [featuring Jay-Z]
5. Cockiness (Love It)
6. Birthday Cake
7. We All Want Love
8. Drunk On Love
9. Roc Me Out
10. Watch N' Learn
11. Farewell
Music Review: Lioness: Hidden Treasures
Album cover for Amy Winehouse's Lioness Hidden Treasures
After the passing of Amy Winehouse earlier this year, I wasn't expecting an album of her material to be released so soon. On one hand, it was inevitable that there would be some material come out but on the other hand, is it still premature? Lioness: Hidden Treasures serves as a collection of her songs ranging from before her first album Frank got released in 2003 to recordings from earlier this year.
It's incredible that, while you can vaguely guess the period in which the songs were recorded, Amy still sounds great no matter what period of her career they come from. Her final recording from earlier this year, the duet with Tony Bennett on Body And Soul, that made this collection is evidence enough. Despite the troubles she had over the last couple of years, the innocence and purity still resonated in this recording.
Those same troubles prevented Amy from doing much recording since Back To Black in 2006, hence the limited selection of songs to chose from for this album. Many of the songs are covers and a few of the originals are previously unreleased versions of songs Amy already made hits such as a slowed-down Tears Dry, a stripped down acoustic Wake Up Alone and a classic sounding version of her cover hit Valerie. She had apparently done a lot of writing but nothing that made it into recorded form, unfortunately.
Individually, these songs are gems and perhaps the final glimpse of Amy Winehouse we'll get. Her cover of the Carole King 60s classic Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow being one of the highlights. They suitably wrap up an amazing artist who had an all-too-rare sound of authenticity and true musicianship that remained even in these recordings that span nearly ten years.
Tracklisting
1. Our Day Will Come
2. Between The Cheats
3. Tears Dry
4. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
5. Like Smoke [featuring Nas]
6. Valerie
7. The Girl From Ipanema
8. Half Time
9. Wake Up Alone
10. Best Friends, Right?
11. Body And Soul [with Tony Bennett]
12. A Song For You
Music Review: Lights
Album cover for Ellie Goulding's Lights
Lights is the first full-length album from UK singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding, who is slowly making a name for herself in North America. Performance appearances on SNL as well a being a presenter at the recent American Music Awards.
Her sound fuses the singer/songwriter genre with electronic influences featuring lots of synths and vocal effects while a guitar is never far from the mix. My immediate impression when first introduced to her was that she was like a less adventurous Imogen Heap. The comparison to Imogen as they both incorporate the heavy electronica sound into their music but where Imogen digs deep into the production of her songs, Ellie has more of a focus on the surface presentation and the melody, which results in the pop sound that would be more apt to stand next to electro-pop artists like Robyn.
Ellie has a distinctive voice that makes her unmistakably recognizable, even if the songs themselves don't stand out. In today's pop music landscape where so many artists continue to follow the same trends and end up sounding interchangeable, that's a good thing. However, the need for autotune might be required to keep Ellie's vocals spot on with the melodies. In Starry Eyed, the vocal effects are what grabs and holds the interest in an otherwise lacklustre song. They compliment her, even if they are required to get the job done. These effects make Ellie sound crispy as her voice cuts through the music to the front and centre where it's meant to be. Likewise, some of the notes she hits in Lights, the album's first single in North America, need those effects to work.
She can do without the vocal effects at times, however. Her cover of Elton John's Your Song bring out similarities to saucy Brit-Pop singers Lily Allen and Kate Nash, who both subscribe to a more singer/songwriter vibe in their music, and both succeed at achieving a sound suitable to the songs they sing. Ellie sounds great on this song, even if the cover itself is lacking character.
While Ellie Goulding has provided a few memorable songs from this album, Lights mostly gets lost in a sea of better pop music released this year. There's little that stands out that makes it worthy. I'd keep an eye on her next album because the capability of a great pop song is likely there. But if she's the type to never have an album that outdoes her first, like so many singers before her suffer from, then that great pop song just might not exist.
Tracklisting
1. Lights
2. Guns And Horses
3. Starry Eyed
4. This Love (Will Be Your Downfall)
5. Under The Sheets
6. The Writer
7. Animal
8. Every Time You Go
9. Your Biggest Mistake
10. Salt Skin
11. Your Song
Music Review: Little Red Boots
Album cover for Little Red Boots by Lindi Ortega
Lindi Ortega just might be one of Canada's best kept secrets this year. Released by Last Gang Records back in June, who are behind some of the latest on the Canadian indie music scene, Little Red Boots is her first full-length record after a few EPs over the last couple of years.
Immediately, the most notable quality of Lindi is the similarity between her and Dolly Parton. Borrowing from Dolly's signature singing style will be sure to get Lindi noticed among folk and country circles. Blue Bird, in particular, should appeal to fans of Dolly and Emmylou Harris.
What's nice about Little Red Boots is that the songs are distinctive and natural. Often times, very pretty singing voices have the potential but aren't able to fully take advantage of it because of weak songs but the tracks that make up this record each hold their own. Sorrowful ballads like Dying Of Another Broken Heart and floor stomping country tunes like I'm No Elvis Presley all find their way on this album that sounds like it's been taken right out of the old country scene. And what makes it impressive is that Lindi wrote all of the tracks solo, with the exception of Black Fly which was written with Ron Lopata and Simon Wilcox.
Little Red Boots is a well-rounded album that doesn't succumb to the current sounds that country radio has embraced in recent years. It delivers for the yearning that true country fans desire most when they put on old Johnny Cash or Dolly Parton records. Country albums like these don't come out often, and when they do, they're hard to find. Spread the word. 
Tracklisting
1. Little Lie
2. When All The Stars Align
3. Blue Bird
4. Angels
5. I'm No Elvis Presley
6. Little Red Boots
7. Dying Of Another Broken Heart
8. All My Friends
9. Fall Down Or Fly
10. Jimmy Dean
11. Black Fly
12. So Sad
Music Review: Uncover Me 2
Jann Arden's cover for Uncover Me 2
Jann Arden's vocals are rarely showcased to their full effectiveness, perhaps because the songs she writes lack the range that she is capable of giving. So it's always a treat to hear Jann do covers because some of the selections she chooses allow her to present the true strength and ability that she can do. Particularly on her first collective of covers from 2007, Uncover Me, and again on the second album Uncover Me 2.
The selection of songs covered on this collection aren't as personal as the first. It takes a while for the pace to pick up, perhaps as the chosen list of songs aren't as familiar as the ones that made up the first covers album. What made Uncover Me one of Jann's best collections of studio recordings was that the songs were hand-chosen by her and each for a reason. This collection lacks the oomph that the first had with what seem to be a more random assortment of covers that clearly don't mean as much to Jann as the others did and therefore, wouldn't mean as much to us either.
Uncover Me 2 is much more mellow than the first covers album with just a few outlying tracks that liven things up such as Glory Of Love, which might suggest that Jann could consider a spot on Broadway. One of the other highlights is the first single Only The Lonely, which could fit in quite well with the last instalment of covers because it is a classic and it is where Jann sounds her best on here. She captures the song and makes it her own without sacrificing too much of the original. On the flipside, the cover of Dreams doesn't capture anything new that previous covers have so it feels unnecessary.
Most of the tracks on here seem subdued for Jann who rarely ever holds back. Her vocals are strong, as hoped, but her heart doesn't seem to be in it. A record of covers is usually a good idea for an artist already so established and Jann accomplished that perfectly with Uncover Me but she was unable to recreate the magic again a second time around. While I'd support the suggestion of third disc in the series, perhaps it should be better thought out and be given a theme. Where the first album consisted of some of Jann's childhood favourites, the second lacks any sort of plan or consistency but with these types of recordings, Jann has never sounded better so the potential is there. All she needs is the magic.
Tracklisting
01. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
02. You Don’t Own Me
03. In My Room
04. Que Sera Sera
05. Love Hurts
06. Dreams
07. Mr. McLennen
08. This Girl’s In Love With You
09. Glory Of Love
10. Only The Lonely
11. Misty Blue
12. Is That All There Is?
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