CD Reviews
Artist: The Most Serene Republic
Title: Underwater Cinematographer
Label: Arts & Crafts
Year: 2005
0.5 / 5
It’s never a good sign when an album is so self-important that it requires a “Prologue” and an “Epilogue.” However, I suppose if you’re signed to critical darling label Arts & Crafts, home of “Canadian supergroup” Broken Social Scene, whose members include the much-ballyhooed Feist, then you must be creating indie-pop of the greatest import.
But don’t be fooled. The Most Serene Republic will push your tolerance of art-pop to its breaking point.
Underwater Cinematographer is a dumb record, made worse because its creators proclaim cleverness with every note. The production is teeming with over-layered synths and blippy electronic effects thrown in for what seems like no reason other than self-conscious pastiche. If you’re searching for lyrical subtext, there really isn’t any to be found here. Besides, it’s difficult to hear most of the words anyway, since they’re intentionally garbled and buried within the mix. You’re not missing much anyway; consider these sample lines from “Content Was Always My Favourite Colour:” “Whatever you say is correct by me/ Cause all I wanna save is a cat in a tree/ I can’t get it down.” Worse yet, when the group does decide to make their words clear, they chant them over and over as if they’re stadium-worthy slogans. For example, in the middle of the apathetic track “Where Cedar Nouns and Adverbs Walk,” the group repeats ad nauseam “I think we all know the words! I think we all know the words!” while sounding like they’re about to break into hysterics over their own cleverness.
Robert Ballantyne, Staff
Artist: Precious Fathers
Title: Precious Fathers
Label: White Whale Records
Year: 2005
3.5 / 5
Precious Fathers may be a debut album from its namesake, but the members of the group are long-standing musicians, immersed in the burgeoning Vancouver scene and linked to bands including Sparrow, the Battles and Kranky-recording-artist Loscil. It’s that last connection that provides a clue as to the type of music Precious Fathers make: sweeping, melodious, delicate post-rock soundscapes.
This puts the group in the same boat as other Canadian acts, such as Do Make Say Think, but unlike that band, Precious Fathers favour brevity in their song-craft, with many of the selections on their debut topping out at the five-minute-mark. That’s about the time DMST’s songs start to get going. Precious Fathers are able to compress a great number of sonic ideas into a very brief timeframe, and while their music retains a hushed tone throughout the album, they also display an understanding of dynamics.
Instrumental albums have to connect with listeners without the support of engaging singers or lyrics that tell stories — audiences have to listen closer in order to ‘hear the picture’ painted in the music. The sonic brushes wielded by Precious Fathers evoke warm prairies and cold city streets — the dichotomy that is Canada. The rural image often projected and protected in Canada clashes with the urbanized reality evinced by our demographics, and Precious Fathers captures this capably.
Michael Elves
Artist: Finch
Title: Say Hello to Sunshine
Label: Geffen/ Drive Thru
Year: 2005
3.5 / 5
If you were to close your eyes and listen to the California-based band Finch, what would you hear? Well, what I heard was the self-described slightly punk and slightly emo band’s attempt at creating some original and fantastic auditory art. Unfortunately, they failed.
For this album, Finch headed off to their hometown of Temecula, California to create some inspiration and originality in their music. However, the sound they generated on Say Hello to Sunshine was far from original; it sounds like every rock band out there. Don’t get me wrong — I enjoyed the album. I especially enjoyed the vocals of lead singer Nate Barcalow, whose voice has an eerie resemblance to that of Billy Talent’s Ben Kowalewicz. Barcalow was able to produce a smooth melody while maintaining the rock atmosphere of the album. It was great listening to him transition from smooth melodies to the occasional screaming fit. But, the instrumentals on this album were not as enjoyable to listen to as the vocals. It seemed as though the musicians were just playing the same song over and over again with a five-second break in between songs. Despite the unoriginality of the album, I think Say Hello to Sunshine is a good purchase if you have money to burn, especially if you like all the other rock groups out there.
Chelse McKee
Artist: Moka Only
Title: The Desired Effect
Label: Battle Axe Records
Year: 2005
3 / 5
Moka Only will be forever remembered as that tall, goofy-looking chorus go-to man from the Canadian pop-rap super group Swollen Members.
On his umpteenth release, Moka Only actually arrives with his game-face on. No longer just a rapper, he is presenting a type of artistry that he’s been trying to deliver since the late ’90s, which is a coherent image of himself. On “Looking at the Ceiling” and “Everybody Dance,” the vocalist lets the listener know that this is not conventional hip hop. On most of The Desired Effect, it seems as though Moka Only is trying to sound more like Jamiroquai and less like Jay-Z.
Both “Once Again” and “Sitting on the Porch” introduce a new swagger in Mad Child, a founder of Swollen Members who appears on these two tracks. Mad Child proves that even though he is taking the business side of the music — as CEO of Battle Axe Records — very seriously, verbally, he has grown into an honest emcee. More significantly, Moka Only lays down his best “underground rapper” impression on the Madvillain frontman MF Doom-assisted “More Soup.” The aforementioned song loops a well-chosen sample and is the album’s only traditional hip hop song. The album missteps with remixes of the radio-friendly “Beautiful” and “Hundred Grand.” Also, the collaboration with K-Os for “Calling Out” seems a bit too forced. Despite the flaws, this is quality Canadian urban music. Moka Only sings like he really means it. He is definitely trying this time around.
Navin Bahl, Staff
Artist: Fury and the Mouse
Title: We’ve Always Been Nervous People
Label: independent
Year released: 2005
4 / 5
This keyboard-driven pop band is four kids from Saskatoon who construct the delights that make up the music of the Fury and the Mouse. Their latest release, We’ve Always Been Nervous People, is a seven-track gem that listens like a good mixed tape. It just makes you feel like dancing — fast or slow. This record is built to make you move.
I am mainly a “depressive music” type, so I find it strange that I like this album as much as I do. It is true that I love to break it down when no one is looking. With the beats in this album I can break it down real good. The group name is taken from Alice in Wonderland, and the track titles are littered with Alice references as well. I don’t know what to say, I like it. For the life of me, I can’t exactly pinpoint why. The lyrics are well-written. The vocals are excellent and the keyboard stands out. The bass line supports each song wonderfully. There is such an eclectic mix of sounds on the disc. Each track has an instrumental intro unfolding into a song, which does not rely on gimmicks or catchy chorus. You’ll see — it will make you feel like dancing.
Jessica Koroscil, Staff
Artist: Luke Doucet
Title: Broken (and other rogue states)
Label: Six Shooter Records
Year released: 2005
4 / 5
Pass me a cigarette, please. Luke Doucet’s latest CD, Broken (and other rogue states) is a sensual, yet touching country album that’s sure to make you wish you were in someone’s arms. It’s not that Doucet is sexually explicit or brazen that makes Broken so seductive. In fact, the songs are rather subdued and calm. But it’s how Doucet sings the lyrics that makes the whole thing so darn appealing. At times, his voice will get gritty at a song’s end, and other times he’ll sing relaxed and breathy. (OK, fine, there’s also some saxophone on this CD, so that helps, too.) But Doucet can do nothing but sound like he’s teasing you to ignore his sultry timbre.
Maybe it’s because the album is brimming with lonesome lovesick ballads like “Broken One,” “Emily, Please” and “Lucky Strikes” that the album feels so erotic. But even with all the melancholy love songs, Doucet still manages to deliver a refreshing country-rock album filled with pleasing twangy guitars and beautiful vocal harmonies. Broken (and other rogue states) offers one of the best blends of rock, country, roots and jazz.
Jeanne Fronda, Staff
Artist: Kasabian
Title: Kasabian
Label: RCA
Year released: 2005
4.5 / 5
The Leicester-based group Kasabian — named after Linda Kasabian, the get-away driver for the Manson murders — fuses together electronica and rock to create this fantastic piece of auditory pleasure.
With its mixture of dark melodies and hypnotic beats, this album could have easily passed as a soundtrack for a modern day Alice in Wonderland story. I struggled to find one thing wrong with this album, and I can only say that, at times, the music began to sound repetitive. Certain songs used the same choir-like background vocals, which could become tiresome quickly. This album is almost indescribable. It is an impressive album.
I considered some of the best songs on the album to be “Reason for Treason” and “Lost Souls Forever.” It has a new explorative sound, a good beat and a unique compilation. Kasabian’s music awakened something deep inside of me that I thought Britney Spears had killed.
Chelse McKee
Artist: Kanye West
Title: Late Registration
Label: Rocafella Records
Year: 2005
5 / 5
“It’s or-ri-en-ta-tion!” yells Kanye, who obviously does not believe in the sophomore jinx.
Sure, many songs on the album are sample-based, but it is the orchestration of the score itself that takes on a life of its own. The album’s co-producer, Jon Brion, who worked on Fiona Apple's When the Pawn... and scored music for the film Magnolia, provides the abstract instrumentation in most of the songs’ bridges. No other recent hip hop album takes advantage of the beautiful sounds of harpsichords, pipe organs, xylophones, pianos and brass horns.
With Late Registration, Kanye’s second effort, he introduces the concept of college rap. Even on the hidden track “Late,” West talks about the miseries of missing prerequisites and electives, or changing majors. Every song presents issues that every college student can relate to. Differentiating this album from other hip hop albums are the song composition and the album’s sequencing.
To introduce his artists on his already successful imprint G.O.O.D. Music, West strategically teams newcomers Really Doe, Consequence and GLC with veterans Nas, Cam’ron and Paul Wall on the masterful “We Major,” the bouncy “Gone” and the jazzy “Drive Slow,” respectively. Unlike most rappers, Kanye shines on the heartfelt solo tracks “Hey Mama,” “Addiction” and “Roses,” where he shares his deepest secrets about sin, family and his mom.
Late Registration proves that Kanye is as talented as he claims to be. The revision period is now over, and only Kanye can register this late.
Navin Bahl, Staff
Artist: John Vanderslice
Title: Pixel Revolt
Label: Barsuk Records
Year: 2005
4.5 / 5
Pop record of the year? I haven’t quite decided yet, but I do know that I fell in love with this album on the first listen. Actually it was the first two listens, as I kept hitting repeat after each new song in order to bask in the greatness.
This is Vanderslice’s fifth album in as many years, and this heady pace has not watered down his material. Rather, it has refined it to near purity. Sonically, it is an adventurous and continually surprising listen filled with curiosities that make the album a particular pleasure on headphones. Couple this with lyrics that convey complex stories with cryptic concision and you have music that rewards repeated (and close) listening.
I’m not quite sure how much of a hand John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats) had in the album, but the liner notes credit him with “editing, expanding and otherwise improving upon” the lyrics, which means Darnielle may be responsible for two of 2005’s best albums (his own The Sunset Tree being the other).
Picking highlights is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but particular mention should be made of “Exodus Damage,” the story of a militia member coping with the events of September 11. Somehow, Vanderslice manages to convey the confusion and soul-searching prompted by that day, while working in the lyric “dance dance revolution” without it seeming out of place. A minor miracle on an album replete with wonders.
Michael Elves
