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Artist: M.I.A. Album: Kala Label: XL
When I initially heard M.I.A.'s debut album Arular back in 2005, I met it with the chauvinistic skepticism ingrained in me from years as a backpacker whose underground rap tastes didn't venture much further than Cannibal Ox.
Who was this girl rapper, and what's with the horn section?
In my own defense, it's understandable for the uncultured hip-hop fan to quickly stereotype female rap artists as flashes in the pan. However, I did eventually pick up Arular, if only because of the engaging, pro-revolutionary artwork of tanks and guns.
Sitting alone in the dorm under a pair of headphones, an entire world was opened up to me a world of Sri Lankan Tamil independence, the diaspora of foreigners in England, the amalgamation of a thousand different cultures that can combine into one person.
And now we spring forward to 2007 and Kala, M.I.A.'s improbable but nonetheless superior follow-up to her monstrously creative debut. Clearly Arular was simply kicking down the door to let a beast like Kala through.
A mixture of grime, electronica and hip-hop, blending beats and rhythms from the deepest corners of the world, M.I.A.'s sophomore effort is a globetrotting experience.
On no other record this year will one hear synthesizers melding seamlessly with African drums and the daughter of Sri Lankan militants rapping alongside Afrikan Boy and a band of Aboriginal boys.
The politics of this album are as much in the production as in the lyrics, as stolen samples and African instruments mix with stories, like in "Bamboo Banger," which surrounds the image of an African boy running alongside a tourist's Hummer and banging on its door.
M.I.A. has stated that Kala is less political than Arular, and in a way that's true, if only in the way in which she lets her audience draw its own conclusions from the songs she sings and the beats she bangs.
The first sign of a maturing artist is undoubtedly their ability to restrict the temptation to shove a message down their audience's collective throat.
Kala stands as a testament to this ideal, a political album that you can dance to, and to this reviewer, it's easily the best album of 2007 so far.
- John Bradley
Artist: New Pornographers Album: Challengers Label: Matador
For the legions of early adopters who gorged on The New Pornographers' debut albums and sang their praises in countless music blogs and adoring band profiles, Challengers is no doubt bittersweet.
With this, their fourth album and the follow-up to 2005's widely praised Twin Cinema, the Canadian indie pop supergroup finally grows up, reaching new levels of thoughtfulness and tentative maturity.
The result is the veritable definition of an album that grows on you, a more mellow, folksy outing focused on midtempo ballads instead of lightning-quick power pop.
Whether listeners will appreciate this new direction depends solely on their ability to divorce their expectations from the sugar highs the band has until now been known for.
Comprised of three of Canada's greatest musical talents - lead vocalist and songwriter A.C. Newman, singer and songwriter Dan Bejar, who performs solo under the name Destroyer, and country chanteuse Neko Case - the New Pornographers' first album, 2000's Mass Romantic, brought the band considerable attention on the strength of its sugary-sweet pop songs, with three hooks for every song and enough vocalists to ensure operatic choruses.
The approach has served them well until now, but with Bejar and Case's involvement with the band diminishing as their individual careers take off, Newman takes the reins on Challengers as never before, clearly interested in a more pensive direction that echoes the sound of his stellar solo record, The Slow Wonder.
Kicking off with the strong, melody-driven power ballad "My Rights Versus Yours," Challengers knows what it's doing right from the get-go, establishing the album's focus on building crescendos and accoustic guitar-driven tunes - an instrument scarcely used on previous New Pornographers records.
"All The Old Showstoppers" offers a similarly epic blend of keys and layers of choruses, while the title track utilizes Case's powerful vocals for what may well be the slowest New Pornographers song ever recorded, a thoughtful and quiet gem that sounds similar to Case's more meditative solo work.
It's not unil the fifth, flute-driven track, "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth," that we receive a glimpse of old-school, pop-oriented New Pornographers, and it's a refreshing blast of fun at the near-halfway mark.
It's a sound scarcely heard on the rest of the album, aside from the catchy "Entering White Cecilia" and "Mutiny, I Promise You." Fulfilling an unspoken New Pornographers rule, Bejar contributes three of the album's best songs, including the oddball "Myriad Harbor," the lyrics of which amusingly poke fun at the band's members.
While this fourth effort retains the quality of previous New Pornographers records - as well as their utilization of multiple instruments and obtuse, fundamentally unimportant lyrics - it channels that quality in very new directions.
Listeners willing to step outside the box and give the album time will find plenty to reward them, but those married to the band's previous sound should probably stay away.
- Patrick Caldwell
Artist: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals Album: Lifeline Label: Virgin Records
In 2006, famed blues, folk, soul and gospel singer and songwriter Ben Harper found himself - much like a rough 50 percent of the American population - frustrated and fed up. The 2004 election failed to deliver the change many socially progressive artists like Harper had hoped to see, as the war in Iraq dragged on and Republican internal affairs bulldozed ahead.
So Harper took the studio and delivered Both Sides of the Gun, a two-disc album contrasting one disc of personal songs with another of more politically focused tunes.
More than a year after that stellar effort, Harper delivers his flat follow-up, Lifeline - a down-to-Earth and readily accessible album that zigs where Both Sides of the Gun zagged, delivering 11 imminently likeable, if wholly unthreatening, tracks.
Since his 1994 debut album, Ben Harper has specialized in blues, gospel and roots-influenced guitar and slide guitar, delivering enjoyable tunes, much-beloved by the frat boy and jam band set (this is the man who discovered Jack Johnson, after all), but more eager than most such acts to develop as an artist and write thoughtful reflections on culture and world, making him equally renowned and beloved in Europe, the market that has most fully embraced him.
Here, Harper continues those strengths with a primarily blues-focused roots album with most songs built on solid acoustic guitar hooks.
Perhaps as exhausted by the political process as much of the country now finds itself, Harper largely skirts politics on this album, addressing notions of a corrupt power structure on opener "Fight Outta You" and touching on the contentiousness and polarization of the country in the uptempo "Put It On Me."
Otherwise, he concerns himself primarily with the more universal themes of love and loss, with quiet romantic serenades and ruminations found in the four-song block early in the album of "In The Colors," the harmonica-driven "Fool For A Lonesome Train," "Needed You Tonight" and "Having Wings." Not until the breezy and desperately needed "Say You Will" - utilizing that most fraternity-friendly of percussion instruments, the bongos - do we get a blast of cool air.
But it doesn't last.
Of the remaining songs, only on the superb "Put It On Me" - essentially the only song on the entire album to use the electric guitar - will listeners find much in the way of toe-tapping. The remainder of the songs are best summed up by a reflective, soulful meditation on aging "Younger Than Today" and a five-and-a-half minute accoustic guitar instrumental, "Paris Sunrise #7."
Lifeline is among Harper's less-adventurous albums, offering less a bold step forward and more a quick breather before the artist goes on to, no doubt, bigger and hopefully more interesting things.
While the devoted will voraciously consume Lifeline - which is, after all, a wholly pleasant listening experience - new fans should look to Harper's bolder earlier albums, leaving this inoffensive offering primarily as an object of interest for the already-persuaded.
- PC
Artist: Jason Eady Album: Wild-Eyed Serenade Label: Littoraria Records
Quickly following last summer's From Underneath the Old, Fort Worth-based Jason Eady's sophomore release, Wild-Eyed Serenade, is a little more.
It's a little more mellow and a little more twangy than the debut.
Eady has reached out beyond acoustic timbres to embrace country and roots-rock and to continue to hone his elegant ballads. He also showcases some genuine Tex-Mex flare, successfully avoiding a sophomore slump.
After a year of experiencing the life of a musician peddling an album, Eady's songs are introspective, self-critical and more stylistically diverse, perhaps thanks to a more permanent band, the Wayward Apostles. The co-production with Steven Collins has also resulted in a more stripped-down sound to complement Eady's tunes.
As an artist, Eady makes the most of both his strengths and shortcomings. As a once-aspiring screenwriter, Eady is a masterful storyteller, both about himself and other characters. His sometimes conversational lyrics are artfully composed and the source of his strength. His ear for melody is impeccable, and he never succumbs to the temptation of relying solely on rhythm. What is missing from some of Eady's arrangements is a more creative use of harmonizing, and it would be great to hear someone with a bigger, gospel-tinged voice belt some of his tunes, especially the roots-rocker "Back to Jackson."
While this album definitely works as an extended statement, a few standout tracks are worth mentioning. The title track is the highlight of the album, with soulfully delivered lyrics and beautiful slide guitar. On "I'll Be Home Tomorrow," a weary and eerie ballad about being on the road, Eady delivers the lament of the Texas cowboy that rides a tour bus across the plains. "Confidently Wrong" is an intelligently executed tune about diving headlong into failure, something most people know a little something about. It's also a great straight-up country tune.
Jason Eady has come a long way from being a failed Nashville singer turned Air-Force translator, and he shows no signs of letting up. To hear such musical growth over the span of one year is impressive, boding well for Eady's future.
- Justin Patch
Artist: Aesop Rock Album: None Shall Pass Label: Definitive Jux
Many of you are already familiar with producer and emcee Aesop Rock thanks to a hardcore cult following and 10 years of recording experience. A fixture of the underground rap scene, Ian Matthias Bavitz hails from Long Island, N.Y. and is now based out of San Francisco.
Rock got his start by putting out two albums himself while working at a restaurant. He is now sponsored by label Definitive Jux, home to contemporaries El-P, Mr. Lif, Cannibal Ox and Murs. His new album, None Shall Pass, combines the complex lyricism of his previous work with backing tracks heavily featuring live instrumentation.
Bavitz's words are carefully chosen. His lines tend to read longer with multiple rhymes often embedded in them. Heavy in metaphors, Rock's writing sets a serious tone where the speaker and his audience can be pretty ambiguous. This is not an easily accessible record. His poetry is disguised in an already misunderstood art form, so only an undercurrent of hip-hop and indie music fans will latch on to Bavitz's words on paper. Like any quality work, None Shall Pass will impress listeners who take extra time to examine its workings.
Aesop Rock's most distinctive attribute is delivery. His baritone voice sounds unique and delivers with a dramatic effect. Bavitz's cadence often finds a trademark slurring between words or syllables. His rasp is heavily pronounced and articulate, smartly accenting his lyrical material. Unfortunately, Rock has not yet learned how to make his proven style translate into one that is fully dynamic.
As for production, None Shall Pass has a soulful feel. Authentic drum tracks, horns, guitar and a variety of instrumentation grace the work. Unfortunately, some songs sound too uninspired and lack the swing that really makes the best tracks. Refreshing are the breaks sprinkled with manual DJ work, the highlight moment being a "knock 'em out the block" sampling frenzy drawn from "Children's Story." Word.
- Jeremy Rougeau
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