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Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Merge Records Though lead singer and chief songwriter Britt Daniel may have left Austin for the equally hip and trendy Portland, Ore. in recent years, we remain fiercely protective and proud of our favorite indie rock foursome, making Spoon's sixth full-length album only slightly less anticipated locally than the final Harry Potter book. Fortunately, the bizarrely titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga lives up to all of its expectations, delivering a nigh-flawless slice of pop perfection to the faithful.
Now comfortably into their second decade, Spoon continues with a trend established with 2001's Girls Can Tell, making each progressive album more accessible and radio-friendly, resulting in Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga's brisk pace and lean running time - 10 songs and 36 minutes. The album kicks off with a song that's been a staple of Spoon's live sets for more than a year, "Don't Make Me a Target," which gets things rolling with a droning guitar riff and snazzy piano solo. Immediately following is the album's most peculiar and rewarding track, "The Ghost of You Lingers," with a spacey sound and cavernous vocals that seem more influenced by prog rock than anything else on the album. Listeners who persist will have a passed a test of sorts, rewarding them with a multitude of great pop tunes.
Highlights include the radio-friendly and horn-infused "Cherry Bomb," an excellent cover of an unreleased The Natural History song; "Don't You Evah," with a rocking guitar solo and hand clap-heavy optimism; and perhaps the album's strongest track, closer "Black Like Me." Not all is perfect: "Rhythm and Soul" bores with a vibe that's verging on dull and sounds like a cutting-room floor refugee from Gimme Fiction, while "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" can't live up to the eclectic charm of its title.
Small flaws aside, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga can still triumph as the strongest pop outing yet of Spoon's oeuvre. Just as likely to induct new fans into the band's cult as it is to please the old standbys, it may not be the definitive Spoon album - curiously, they've yet to record one of those - but it is yet another confident step forward for a band that refuses to stagnate. They've come a long way from $5 covers at the Hole in the Wall.
- Patrick Caldwell
T.I. T.I. vs. T.I.P. Grand Hustle After receiving a slew of awards, including two Grammys, expectations have been raised for T.I.'s sixth studio album. T.I. vs. T.I.P. is dedicated to his best friend (personal assistant Philant Johnson, killed in a shooting altercation), and stillborn daughter (Llayah Amour). The concept album chronicles his inner struggle between the business-minded "T.I." and his "raw," abrasive alter ego "T.I.P."
A series of three interludes outlines the album's progression: The first two divide the majority of the CD and serve to regulate the tone of T.I.'s delivery. "Act I" kicks off the angry flow of "T.I.P." that continues through the next six songs and criticizes record label bureaucracy. These songs are the absolute worst of the batch.
The first two singles, "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)" and "You Know What It Is," are pulled from said section. Both tracks are weak. The choruses are bad, but not laughable, and tired references to guns, drugs and cars develop "T.I.P." with little creativity. Disappointingly, veteran guest Wyclef Jean fails to save the latter single. Really, he has no significant contribution at all. Sub-par production also begins here and plagues most other songs. "Watch What You Say" is worth a listen, especially to catch one of Jay-Z's better guest spots in a while. "Hurt" may be the worst song on the entire album.
When "T.I." emerges on track eight, the lyrical tone and production style do change somewhat. However, said differences are only audible after a close listen. The focus of the emcee's lyrics is more business-oriented throughout this section. In a response to the modern plight of the struggling music industry, T.I. beseeches his audience to "Say hello to the man who saved hip-hop." Absolutely ridiculous.
He also emphasizes his accomplishments and boasts even more excessively than before in this section. The bravado falls flat as he capitalizes on few opportunities to back up his ludicrous claims. "Show It To Me," with its experimental production and guest emcee Nelly, has the right idea. Unfortunately, the lyrics and backing track are simply uninspired.
The last four tracks on T.I. vs. T.I.P. attempt to mesh the two competing personalities. Instead of coming across deep or even convincing, the emcee's conversations with himself on record are cornier than they are creative. Overall, this section shows more maturity and growth than the others. The strongest of the three, this final chapter still fails to expand on the possibilities of T.I.'s album concept.
Given the fact that few emcees can effectively make a deep album and still sell successfully, T.I. should not be daunted by this failure. Still young and talented, he should simply stay in the lab a little longer next time if he decides to release another experiment. A fixture of the southern mix tape game and an established top forty rapper, T.I. should stick to what he does best. But "King of the South?" No way in hell.
- Jeremy Rougeau
Bad Religion New Maps of Hel Sony Republicans are evil. The government's bad news. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
What else is left to say?
The past seven years of Bush's reign have yielded some of the most fruitful, emotive bits of counterculture creativity in recent history. In the not-so-distant future, ethnomusicologists will ruminate on the significance of the 21st century's opening decade: how music fearlessly allowed itself to be shaped by the nightly news, how bands became activists wearing hearts on their sleeves, how America's foreign and domestic policy seeped into the subconscious of songwriters across the board and how it all ended up on the radio.
Anti-establishment songs used to evoke Clear Channel bans; now they're good career moves.
At least Bad Religion's been ahead of the curve: Just as Reagan made it popular to hang Presidential portraits above mantles, these guys were right there hating on Uncle Ronnie. Since 1980, they've been immeasurably valuable to the hardcore community - guitarist Brett Gurewitz started Epitaph Records, the punk equivalent to Stax - and they didn't drop a major label debut until '93's Recipe for Hate. They command respect and, more importantly, several listens out of respect every time new material is dropped.
New Maps of Evil, their 15th studio album, is pretty much awesome across the board.
Singer Greg Graffin makes his usual academic and astute, albeit straightforward and simple, observations while his backing band bitterly and boisterously rallies around him. Graffin is considerably more evolved than his contemporaries; last year's underrated acoustic solo effort, Cold as the Clay, cements his ability to weld big hooks and aggressive vocals with old-time American folk sensibility. This is hardly mosh pit fodder.
Still, what does Bad Religion bring to the table? "Before You Die" is just another quick fix burst of punk with a one-dimensional message not worth mentioning (it's "think about your life's purpose and goals before you die"). For all the ingenuity Bad Religion has brought to the genre, their musical evolution has stalled since the late '80s.
How about more of that signature battery drumming, the textbook sound of SoCal? How about another batch of well-written songs with sticky hooks? "Honest Goodbye" is some of the best grunge, like, ever. Plus, it's way better than American Idiot.
And, hopefully, all the high school juniors attending the Vans Warped Tour as it swerves through Texas this weekend retain something during their punk rock field trip.
- Ramon Ramirez
Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot Rebel Group As a young independent band still developing into its own, Ra Ra Riot has recently been dealt a startling blow. Drummer and friend John Pike died tragically on June 2, in the early hours following one of their shows. The heartbreak certainly casts a shadow over an otherwise exciting period for this promising Syracuse-based collective.
In the midst of the turmoil, Ra Ra Riot has released a self-titled EP containing roughly 22 minutes of thirst-quenching pop. The six-piece combines rattling rock instrumentation with the more classical cello and violin, drawing frequent comparisons to Arcade Fire. Riot creates an uplifting driving force, however, and lead vocalist Wesley Miles knows how to subtly howl his undeniably catchy tunes.
It is clear this is the band's first take on a substantial recording, but it is a strong debut full of some excellent poppy numbers. And the band is not afraid to throw together all their musical elements for a quaint jam session with "Dying is Fine." In this short debut, the young group is able to realize some uniquely refreshing moments, and I can only hope they are given the opportunity to explore further and create a truly distinctive sound.
Ra Ra Riot has topped virtually everyone's "Up and Coming" lists thanks to energetic performances on the live music circuit (they last played Austin during this year's SXSW). Over the next few months, the band teams up with Tokyo Police Club, Mason Proper and Editors, as well as a stint with Wilco. Riot makes the trek to Austin with Tokyo Police Club to play Emo's on July 29 in what promises to be a rousing performance.
For a band only a year and a half in the making, Ra Ra Riot has already accumulated a respectable following, and this album will do enough to sustain the hype and make believers out of plenty. Only time will tell if the band will be able to sustain their lively demeanor in spite of recent events, but the possibilities do seem boundless for the young rockers.
- Joe Hildebrand
Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist Reprise The Smashing Pumpkins, the classic lineup as we know it, broke up in 2000. Since then, frontman Billy Corgan has gone on to front a successful one-off supergroup and produced his own solo material, which apparently gave him the itch to reform the Pumpkins, albeit now with two new members, keeping only Jimmy Chamberlain on board. Zeitgeist has no right to be as good as it is. The new LP, out today, shows the Pumpkins are still in fine form, still swimming in murky, swirling guitars, and still penning angst-ridden, self-obsessed lyrics. The album opener, "Doomsday Clock," recalls the masterful "Geek U.S.A.," and "United States" is their best barnburner since "Silverfuck." Even tracks with a different sound like "For God And Country" and "That's the Way (My Love Is)" stand out among their best work. The album is reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails' comeback LP With Teeth, which some fans decried as "too pop," but which nevertheless contained some of Reznor's best tracks to date (hello, "Beside You In Time," anyone?). Some fans will be impossible to please, but this is the Pumpkins we once loved - back and as good as ever.
- John Bradley
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