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
Movie Review: Chronicle
Movie Poster for Chronicle
Chronicle could have been a superhero film as it depicts the newfound ability of telekinesis in three teenagers, only they don't choose to be superheroes. And that simple fact is highly refreshing for this movie.
Steve (Michael B. Jordan), Matt (Alex Russell) and his cousin Andrew (Dane DeHaan), a social outcast, stumble upon a weird substance in a tunnel while attending a rave. Within a few weeks, it's discovered they have the ability to move objects, including themselves, with their minds. A power that intensifies over time, starting with lego blocks and expanding to larger objects such as cars.
This film is presented as found footage, which in itself continues to grow as its own type of movie format. However, rather than relying on the perspective of just one person, we see things from two different cameras. Andrew's, as a way of self-protection from his abusive father (Michael Kelly) and occasionally from Casey's (Ashley Hinshaw), a girl from school who often videorecords everyday events for her video blog. The filming from these two cameras is placed together chronologically for this film, which in a way might be cheating but for the purposes of telling the story, it will do.
There are elements of the story that could have been explored, should director and writer Josh Trank, along with co-writer Max Landis have decided to do so. The source of their newfound powers was never explored other than later discovering the tunnel itself had caved in and was blocked off by the police. Instead, the focus is mostly on Andrew and his instability as a result of both his home and social life. Dane DeHaan explores that character on an intimate level as we see him slowly losing control while realizing just how powerful he can be. This once again reveals that human nature presented on film is fascinating. And, as I thought following the film, how such an ability can have different consequences depending on the person carrying them.
One of the strongest aspects of the film, other than DeHaan, is the realism in the storyline. As I mentioned before, this could have been a superhero movie. But it isn't. It takes into account the likelihood that would apply to most of us, should we ever discover ourselves to be able to move objects with our minds, that as teenagers we would most likely use those powers to excel ourselves first before deciding that maybe, just maybe, we can use them to help others. Whether that means in typical superhero fashion, or by breaking into banks and stealing money to pay hospital bills.
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
Movie Review: The Woman In Black
Movie poster for The Woman In Black
Daniel Radcliffe stars as Arthur Kipps, a widower, father and lawyer in the 19th century who is sent to settle the legal affairs of a recently deceased woman, Alice Drablow (Alisa Khazanova). He leaves his son (Misha Handley) in the hands of his nanny as he travels by train to a small village several hours away. Here, the local residents act strange and unwelcoming to his presence as they try to persuade him to leave. After finding no room is left for him at the local inn, he is invited by Sam Daily (Ciarán Hinds) to stay with him and his wife (Janet McTeer).
Kipps makes several visits to Alice Drablow's estate which is located on a small island and is accessible only during low tide. During these visits, he begins to experience strange happenings as if there are other people in and around the house. The most striking of which is the sight of a woman in a black dress and veil (Liz White).
The film is based on a novel of the same name by Susan Hill and directed by James Watkins, whose only prior directed film was Eden Lake (2008), though he has been involved in writing other horror movies. While the setup to the main plot is well done, the scaring tactics used are very traditional. You know when to expect something is going to happen and in a lot of cases, what it is going to be. Demonstrating that Watkins' is still new to the game. So much emphasis is placed on executing these points that the focus seems to be take away from the plot itself.
Part way through the film, there's a sense that it might go from a classic-styled horror movie to something slightly more gory. The thought seems to rise, literally, under the sheets, but nothing really comes of this. These several incidents may be tantalizing for someone that might want more but for those who like a more realistic horror (despite the supernatural and spiritual occurrences), the line has been crossed. Is it serious or is there a sense of humour behind it now?
While The Woman In Black is a satisfying offering and a genuinely decent film for those who enjoy traditional horror films, don't expect intense storyline or to be frightened out of your wits. It's not mind-blowing in any sense but it's not bad either. And while I was going to write this without making a single reference to the elephant in the room, it should be noted that it didn't take too long into this film to be able to visualize Daniel Radcliffe as a character other than Harry Potter. For his first movie role after the 8-film HP franchise, it is commendable work and enough to anticipate Daniel's next role.
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
Movie Review: Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie poster
I don't really know what the criteria tends to be for films that end up being cult classics but I feel like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo could end up being one of those. Director David Fincher doesn't hold back with Rooney Mara, who stars as Lisbeth, a punk-styled girl with multiple facial piercings, body tattoos, an agressive anti-social history but is a professional computer hacker who is hired to do extensive background checks. As far as I remember, I don't think someone with this type of image has ever been portrayed in a lead role like this and taken seriously.
One of Lisbeth's jobs is to check the history of Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) on behalf of Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) who is looking to hire Blomkvist to write the family memoirs while also investigating the disappearance of his niece Harriot. In a strange twist, Mikael hires Lisbeth as his assistant after learning of her abilities.
While much of the film is centred around Blomkvist's investigation of the history of Vanger's strange family surroundings, little is known about him other than what is periodically revealed by Lisbeth, who knows nearly everything. Lisbeth's character, on the other hand, has a lot of development and emphasis placed on the type of person she is based on what we see in the movie provided in little snippets throughout. While it also doesn't go too much into the past, what is revealed about both of them is enough to justify what we are to know about their present situations.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is nearly two hours and forty minutes long but despite its length, it's a film that uses every second wisely. While not a fast-paced film, there are very few moments of filler or otherwise insignificant scenes that don't contribute to the overall story. The chemistry between Mara and everyone she interacts with is fantastic, putting emphasis on the great casting done for each of the roles. The graphic scenes between Lisbeth and Nils Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen) don't hold back on the intensity as it further adds to just what kind of person Lisbeth has to be. Mara is easily the strongest point of this movie and the growth her character shows by the end is spot on.
While Daniel Craig seems to be one of the biggest names in Hollywood right now, despite having been filming for nearly two decades, this role only helps catapult him further. Despite the recognition factor, he owns the role of Mikael. However this film is clearly focused on Rooney Mara's character. The soundtrack, provided by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, is made to suit Lisbeth. Industrial, dark and heavy but not intrusive. It doesn't have the stand-alone quality that the soundtrack to The Social Network had, Reznor and Ross' previous collaboration with Fincher, but it compliments the film very well adding almost sinister undertones. Meanwhile, the amazing introduction shots are accompanied by the cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song with vocals provided by Karen O, further adding to the badass factor of the film and providing that one distinctive song that can always be associated with the movie - and vice versa. 
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
Movie Review: The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin - Secret of the Unicorn
Being a fan of mystery books and movies, the Adventures of Tintin was sure to be a pleaser. Using the technology of motion capturing for this film, it is director Steven Spielberg's first animated picture telling the story of a young journalist looking to solve the mystery of the Unicorn.
Tintin is a popular European comic book series that has gone largely unnoticed in North America. While a fairly simple character with basic character development, the film brings back someone that has been absent for most of the last few decades. This film is based off of three of the original comic books written in the 40s and a second instalment is already in the works also to be based off of books from the original comic series, playing off of many of the aspects of the original series and comics such as the inclusion of the bumbling Thompson and Thompson police officers who always provide some comic relief.
The first thing noticeable about the animation is how incredibly real it looks. Other than the main characters, much of the scenery, backdrop and passers-by look very real and all it takes is a glimpse of Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell), Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) or to a lesser extent Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig) to be reminded that this is 3D animation. Much of the movie takes place on the open sea and later in the dessert and finally in a fictional port on the Moroccan coast in northern Africa.
The storyline is an expected mystery but one that still requires to keep up because there are twists and turns, even if the end result is predictable. With Tintin, it's not a case of where he ends up but how he gets there. A true adventure story well told. Playing up on a lot of what would go into a standard cartoon episode but extended out to a full feature film. If this movie is your first encounter with Tintin, it might be enough to make you want to dig deeper into his other adventures. If you're like me and you have had some exposure to Tintin in the past, this movie will reignite that interest and make me want to read more. Not the greatest story ever told but takes the best of a classic character, a classic genre and creates an instant classic movie. Can't wait for the next one!
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
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