FISHBONE
Still Stuck In Your Throat
(Surfrock International)
Fuji Rock Festival audi-ences were denied the chance to see one of the world’s great live bands when LA ska-funk-punkers Fishbone had to cancel, but that’s all the more reason to pick up their first album in six years. Still Stuck In Your Throat displays a resurgent Fishbone, with singer Angelo Moore’s zany but barbed sociopolitical tirades losing none of their spark, and bassist John Norwood Fisher still possessed of some of the sharpest slap-bass chops around. Moore and Fisher show that, even as fellow ’80s LA scenesters the Red Hot Chili Peppers slip into sappy middle age, Fishbone remain razor sharp. Someone bring them to Tokyo fast! DG
THE HIGHER
On Fire
(Epitaph/Sony)
The fact that storied punk label Epitaph is now releasing poppy emo-punk bands like The Higher perfectly illustrates the long journey punk has made to the heart of the music industry. The Higher lace their emo with liberal lashings of synthetic dance beats, but lack the tongue-in-cheek cleverness to successfully bring it off. The Higher are slick alright, and on songs like “Can Anyone Really Love Young” articulate the usual emo preoccupations with rejection by girlfriends and poor self-esteem, etc. But without a sense of irony, it all goes down a bit too icky-sweet, leaving you feeling like you’ve just downed a Supersize cola from McDonald’s. DG
DAVE MATTHEWS AND TIM REYNOLDS
Live at
Radio City
(RCA)
It’s been eight years since the original Matthews and Reynolds live album, Live at Luther College, and if you listen to the two records back to back you may find the idea of a new set fairly redundant. After all, the Dave Matthews Band hasn’t released an album’s worth of solid material in years. Yet as I troll through the tracks on Live at Radio City, I find myself caught up in the magic of the collaboration between the two virtuosos. Classic DMB tracks shine alongside a smattering of songs from Some Devil and two solo tracks by Reynolds. I’m left thinking that these guys sure have a lot of talent and put on one hell of an acoustic show. Trevor L. LaClair
BONNIE PINK
Thinking Out Loud
(Warner Japan)
After ten years as Japanese pop’s best kept secret, Pink hit it big-time with her hit “Perfect Sky” last year. Pink is to be commended for her refusal to follow current trends and simply deliver catchy, off-centered pop, and “Perfect Sky” was the right song at the right time. Pink’s long-standing collaboration with Swedish producer Tore Johansson had finally seemed to tire by 2005’s Golden Tears; Thinking Out Loud is the same Bonnie but with a new producer and bounds of fresh energy. Slick and polished, tracks like “Catch The Sun” and “Water Me” catch the ear right away, while “Sakamichi” is the word-playful Bonnie of old. Robert Poole
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