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By Dan Grunebaum
KINGS OF LEON
Aha Shake Heartbreak
(Handmedown/BMG)
We were prepared for a letdown by the sophomore effort from
one of the New Rock Revolutionaries, but the quartet from
Tennessee surprise with an album that actually builds on the
promise of their million-selling debut, Youth and Young Manhood.
While still hewing to an ironic take on Southern rock and
country, the Kings’ musicianship has expanded in all
sorts of directions. “Slow Nights, So Long” has
that thin, reedy sound common to neo-garage bands like The
Strokes, but they’ve also turned in a gutsy skronk-rock
number in the form of “Razz” and a slap-happy drunken
country ballad in the form of “Re-Memo.” Apart from
lyrics that refer to men’s penises as pistols, and lines
like “c**ts watch their bodies, no room for make up,”
from “Taper Jean Girl,” vocalist Caleb Followill
and co. have turned in one of the better rock albums of the
year.
THE DONNAS
Gold Medal
(Warner)
With more hooks than Mike Tyson, these grrls have been making
quite a successful career out of retreading ’70s hard
rock since they debuted a few years ago. So if you’re
looking for musical complexity on their new album, don’t
bother. That said, their latest stretches what used to be
two-minute songs to at least, well, three minutes. “Don’t
Break Me Down” starts slow but leads up to a chorus as
eerie as the bass line that underpins the track, while “Friends
Like Mine” has more depth than the Donnas’ bread-and-butter
material. Guitarist Allison Robertson grows stronger with
each album, and singer Brett Anderson’s raspy vocals
are beginning to acquire a fine patina. Progress duly noted,
the Donnas’ potential—and hopefully ambitions—was
always limited from the start. Have they run their course?
VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Boogie Shack: 25 Vintage R&B Dancers From “MODERN/RPM”
Vaults Part 2
(P-Vine)
This is the sound of a postwar youth determined to let their
hair down and an older generation making up for lost time.
Early R&B is some of the most evocative American dance
music ever performed, immediately recognizable as the key
popular sound of the ’50s. R&B evolved out of blues,
country and jazz, and laid the foundations for rock ‘n’
roll. These are all reflected in the 25 tracks on this compilation.
Among others, we get some early B.B. King and “Hawaiian
Boogie” by Elmore James—one of the best cuts here—as
well as a classic version of “Good Lookin’”
by Etta James. Peppermint Harris and Long Tall Marvin are
also included. The music may be structurally “safe”
by today’s standards but the passion is still there.
Peter Courtney
RIP SLYME
Masterpiece
(Warner Music)
Every so often a commercially successful Japanese band will
stand out from the largely derivative market that they are
part of. Rip Slyme have proven again with their forth LP that
they can offer something fresh. Sure, their songs are played
to death on TV commercials, the single "Galaxy"
could have been sung by a number of boy bands from Johnny's
talent circus and the production is just too slick. But if
you get over that, the songs just sound so damn nice. A cartoon-like
instrumental leads into the funky grooves of the title track
"Masterpiece," immediately hinting at what a
diverse album this is. Rip Slyme's strengths lie in
their ability to combine a variety of styles such as hip-hop,
funk and rock in a postive and fun way. So if you want a CD
to simply put a smile on your face, look no further. John
Wood
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