Christian post-hardcore act Underoath revels in cacophony on “Define the Great Line,” its tracks held together by tenuous threads of melody. Its discordance is not without style. One moment the music screeches and skids like a driver desperate to avoid a car wreck (”There Could Be Nothing After This”), then it throws out an […]
In his prolific decade since leaving Joshua Redman’s quartet, Mehldau has proved as comfortable with the masters as he has with the songbooks of the Beatles, Nick Drake and Radiohead. The all-original “House on Hill” is the final recording from Mehldau’s well-regarded trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy. Most tracks hail […]
This aptly titled collection of choice cuts from the Headhunters’ criminally ignored previous three releases (two on Audium, the most recent on CBuJ) is a fine representation of a monster band. This is deep-fried, bodacious Southern rock at its most robust, with a thunderous rhythm section, a heady groove and arguably the most underrated […]
Columbia golden boy Teddy Geiger gives us a better idea of his mettle on “These Walls,” the follow-up to poppier breakthrough “For You I Will (Confidence),” which reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. Here he evolves past teen-idol typecasting with a gritty, lyrically astute song that slaps down any potential comparisons to female-oriented […]
When Paris Hilton announced she was releasing an album, most of America cringed. Let’s face it, every “celebutante” is dropping a record these days in the battle for overexposure. With that in mind, believe it or not, ever-industrious Hilton separates herself from the trend-following pack with a winning track. “Stars Are Blind” is cute, catchy […]
Pop radio is an unjust galaxy. Pink is, and always has been, one of the wiser, more profound young female millennium-era singer/songwriters, expressing a melodic signature that seldom disappoints. She also maintains plenty of star quality and a well-defined image as the alterna-pop princess. And yet top 40 seems to be missing the obvious: Previous […]
The driver for any new album is a strong single, and Byrd delivers a hit for his forthcoming set, “Different Things,” with this well-written cheatin’ song. The lyric paints a picture of a rendezvous in a seedy hotel that, when discovered, ultimately costs the guy his wife, kids and everything he values most, fostering the […]
It has certainly been a hot minute since the Brand New Heavies released new material. But the band that helped usher in the acid-jazz movement of the early ’90s is back with singer N’Dea Davenport in tow. Easily one of the seven wonders of the world, the vocally gifted Davenport doesn’t just sing lyrics, she […]
While pop-opera quartet Il Divo’s second album, “Ancora,” debuted at No. 1 in the United States, the cheese whizzes have had little impact on adult contemporary radio, and with good reason — there’s a difference between melodrama and over-the-top absurdity. “The Time of Our Lives,” a duet with diva Toni Braxton (whose “Un-Break My Heart” […]
Maintaining its reputation as the wildest music awards party in Canada, the MuchMusic Video Awards entertained fans and guests alike Sunday with duelling romantic rivals, fashion foibles and bare rock star bums.
Screaming fans and scandalous celebrities overtook downtown Toronto for the freewheeling awards show, in which big winner Kardinal Offishall was overshadowed by a celebrity […]
Ross silenced many doubters with her portrayal of jazz icon Billie Holiday in 1972’s “Lady Sings the Blues.” In it, she ventured beyond the safe confines of smooth R&B/pop, drawing on emotionally nuanced vocals that displayed an unknown affinity for jazz singing. This collection of jazz and pop standards was recorded after the film […]
Brian Stokes Mitchell is the Great White Way’s Great White Hope: an ethnically mixed, movie-quality leading man with a heavenly baritone; a performer with enough appeal to make a new generation love theater. So his self-titled debut album was a logical first release for the newly formed Playbill Records. The track listing reads like […]
Musically, Donell Jones is that humble, standup guy who’s always overshadowed by the superstar bad boys (Usher, R. Kelly). His fourth album, “Journey of a Gemini,” continues down that familiar path with soulful cuts that favor tasteful insight over tacky truisms. For Jones, it’s all about getting things right, particularly in love (”Special Girl,” […]
Northern artists have complained that trite Southern songs have topped the charts at their expense. Southern outfit Field Mob offers something different with “Light Poles and Pine Trees.” The group’s first album on Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace label does have the obligatory strip track (”Baby Bend Over”), regional shout-out “Area Code 229″ and an […]
