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This Month's Picks
New Empire One (CD)
Hollywood Undead
Hollywood Undead’s latest, New Empire One also serves as a new beginning for the rap rockers. Written to revamp and build on their existing sound, the new album finds the guys crafting anthemic, fist-in-the-air bangers. It’s loud, it’s rowdy, and it’s catchy as hell. Along for the ride this time are fellow travelers Benji Madden of Good Charlotte and Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens. Hollywood Undead display some surprising pop sensibilities on this one, effortlessly creating ear worms with a rough and rowdy edge. Meant to be played loud.
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Genre:
Rock
Father Of All... (CD)
Green Day
Father of All… finds Green Day moving from the mosh pit to the dancefloor. The album contains all the attitude, high-energy drive, and addictive qualities of their earlier work but instead of in-your-face punk rock confrontation, Billy Joe Armstrong and the boys are serving up catchy-as-hell dance punk. Drawing inspiration from T. Rex, Martha and the Vandellas, Little Richard, and Mott the Hoople, the band wrote the album as a response to our current social and political climate. In this case, however, instead of a middle finger to the guy in the White House, we’ve got a more primal response — the basic human need to move your body, throw yourself around, and work it out on the dancefloor. Thirteen albums in and Green Day still has the power to surprise. Father of All… is a riotous good time.
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Genre:
Rock
Brothers Of A Feather: Live At The Roxy (CD)
Chris Robinson, Rich Robinson
Originally released in 2007, Chris & Rich Robinson’s Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy sounds as poignant and stirring as ever. This stellar reissue features sound so crisp you’d swear the guys were in the same room as you — well, actually, considering this is a compilation of 2006 era live shows at LA’s The Roxy, it probably actually sounds even clearer. It’s a minimalist affair, focused on the warm vibrato of guitar strings, the homespun interplay of the Robinsons’ voices, and the soulful delivery of backing vocalists Mona Lisa Young and Charity White. Featuring classic Black Crowes tracks as well as moving covers of Gene Clark, Little Feat, and Bob Dylan covers, if you weren’t one already, Brothers of a Feather will certainly make you a believer.
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Genre:
Rock
Live At The Royal Albert Hall 1974 (CD)
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry’s Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1974 captures the elegance and excitement of the legendary artist’s first ever solo tour. Available for the first time, the recording is infused with effortless cool, suave soul, and all the unforgettable hits from both These Foolish Things and Another Time, Another Place (Ferry’s output up until that time). His jazz age influences are readily apparent in the jubilant, glamorous orchestration; the vibrancy and atmosphere of the evening practically float through the stereo speakers, bringing listeners back to one very special performance in London all those years ago.
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Genre:
Rock
Have We Met (CD)
Destroyer
Destroyer’s Have We Met is lush, wry, and thoroughly entrancing. Said to be inspired by the Y2K era, the album seems to have more of an ‘80s feel, with crescendoing washes of sound, moody synths, and devastatingly clever lyrics. This is Destroyer’s Dan Bejar at his best, slipping effortlessly into his role as a cynically romantic torch song crooner. As the album’s atmosphere evolves over the course of these ten hypnotic tracks, the slightly detached air of the early songs makes a surprising turn to the life-affirming, the hands-in-the-air joy of falling in love and living it up. A must-hear that should garner the talented Mr. Bejar a host of new fans.
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Genre:
Rock
Cotillions (CD)
William Patrick Corgan
For his second solo album as William Patrick Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman directs his talents toward country music, with the help of Nashville session players. It's an unexpected turn, but it works better than fans might think, with ballads that invoke some of the sensitivity of his Mellon Collie days. The tone of the album is lighter than his usual fare, despite plenty of hard-life imagery - “Hard Times” floats on its steel guitar in a moody, but pretty fashion. “Neptulius” is particularly strong and not necessarily country: it's gentle and evocative with a melody reinforced by light but emphatically strummed chords.
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Genre:
Rock
Everything Else Has Gone Wrong (CD)
Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club return after a 6-year hiatus with new album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong , reviving their rhythmic brand of indie rock. The band excels at twining subtle melodies around busy percussion, exemplified in the catchy track “Is It Real?.” The cathartic title song seems to address their time off positively with the lyrics, “Yes, I found my hope again . . .Yes, I found my second wind,” chanted over and over at the end. Another highlight is “Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You),” which is quietly uplifting in a way that invites listening on repeat.
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Genre:
Rock
Betty: They Say I'm Different (DVD)
Betty Davis, who is known for her outsized life, fashion, and music in the 1970s, changed the landscape for female artists in America. She shattered taboos, resisting what was considered “respectable” for women by the record industry and society at large, insisting on complete control of her image and recordings, as well as in her turbulent marriage to Miles Davis. At the height of her fame in the early 1980s, she mysteriously disappeared from public life. In late 2012, after intensive research, the filmmakers discovered Betty Davis living a private life alone in Pittsburgh. Director Phil Cox and his team spent four years with Betty Davis to bring the story of her life to the screen and, for the first time, she reveals why she chose to cut herself off from everyone in her past and vanish from the limelight for three decades.
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Moments (CD)
Hollow Coves
Australian alternative folk duo Hollow Coves' debut album is a collection of warm, introspective songs that reflect the pair's travels across the world. Blending an earthy sound, acoustic melodies and vocal harmonies, the two deliver lyrics of reflection.More
Genre:
Rock
The Blackest Crow (CD)
Anna Nalick
Anna Nalick's new album of covers is a varied collection of songs that shows off the sweet tone of her voice. She excels in singing bittersweet old folk songs like “As Time Draws Near” (more frequently known as “The Blackest Crow,” the title of the record) and “My Rough and Rowdy Ways” from Jimmie Rodgers. Also present are standards like The Kinks' “Waterloo Sunset” and a silky version of “As Time Goes By, each track referencing the passing of time in its own way to give the album a theme.More
Genre:
Rock
