Grandaddy “Sumday” V2
The universe according to Grandaddy is a strange one, to say
that least. Part retro nostalgia, part po-mo irony, the band aims
high, even though they think small. And like so many others of his
musical trade, singer Jason Lytle’s yearning, albeit
soul-less and impotent vocal style caters to the indie underground
more interested in detached beauty than in-your-face emotional
catharsis. But unlike his peers ““ OK, namely Death Cab for
Cutie/Postal Service Ben Gibbard ““ Lytle knows how to use his
lackluster style. Set in an otherwordly dimension of Spaghetti
Westerns and post apocalyptic gadgetry and built around the same
themes of suburban ruins, isolation and robots,
“Sumday” is yet another quirky set of atmospheric pop
embellished with bargain bin electronics and cutesy pop
flourishes.
The Flaming Lips get more credit for a somewhat similar gimmick,
and rightly so because their tunes are more dynamic, their
arrangements more colorful. But their cheekiness and embracement of
absurdity is also more readily apparent, while Lytle risks complete
embarrassment by taking his craft with a more restrained
seriousness. The second track “I’m on Standby”
has Lytle comparing himself to a computer, singing “according
to your work order I’ll down for some time.” As
ridiculous as it sounds the band plays it without a bit of irony or
tongue-in-cheek humor.
Does it work? For those charmed by the group’s endearing
style, it does, as it always has. For those who don’t like
their music toeing the line between cartoonish pop and emotional
subtlety, Grandaddy’s latest album may be a bit too smug for
pleasure. But judging by the way he treats the material, Lytle
doesn’t care if anyone’s listening in the first place.
For him it’s broken robots all the way down.
-Andrew Lee
Aceyalone “Love and Hate” Red
Urban
The quality of hip hop has always been judged by two completely
different yet equally essential elements: words and music. Excel in
both and you reach the hip hop elite of Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z and
Outkast. Slack on the former and you’re in the same boat as
N.E.R.D.: masters of production but best served behind the mixing
desk. Flaunt the rhymes and slack on the music and you’re
Jurassic 5, so old school listeners really do want to give the CD
to their parents.
It’d be wonderful to see West Coast wordsmith Aceyalone
come out from the underground and lay his rhymes out to a larger
audience, but the pedestrian production has always hampered his
otherwise virtuosic work.
“Love and Hate,” his fourth album since 1995’s
masterful “All Balls Don’t Bounce” sees Acey
employing some of the hippest producers around: Def Jux’s
El-P and RJD2, responsible for two of last year’s most
intriguing sonic endeavors, “Fantastic Damage” and
“Dead Ringer,” respectively. It’s surprising to
see such an old school hero employing such brazen futurists, but
this unholy marriage results in a few of Aceyalone’s most
musically interesting tracks.
The RJD2-assisted “The Takeoff” and “Lost Your
Mind” are fueled by digital beats as if Aceyalone’s
gone electro-lite, while “City of Shit” is dressed up
with dirty synth lines and canned cymbal crashes, recalling
El-P’s own apocalyptic vision of a futuristic wasteland. El-P
drops in for a few of his own verses making the song sound almost
like a sequel to “Fantastic Damage.”
Still, this is clearly Aceyalone’s album ““
he’s in top form here with his lyrical skill and flow as
tight as ever. And the promise of future collaborations show that
his verbal talents may continue to get the treatment it
deserves.
-Andrew Lee