Lil' Scrappy
Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live
Available Now
At first listen, Lil' Scrappy might sound a little scratchy, but underneath his rough sound is just another prodigy that does not live up to the eminence of his mentors. Groomed by the likes of 50 Cent and Lil' Jon, Lil' Scrappy is best known for his Southern "crunk" style of rapping. He attempts to translate this into a rather long album - 20 tracks total - that includes your run-of-the-mill dance club songs, the I-used-to-be-poor-but-now-I'm-rich songs, the I-could-kick-your-ass songs and, last but not least, the I'm-flaunting-my-gratuitous-wealth songs. Along with the expected duets with 50 Cent and Lil' Jon, the album also features Three 6 Mafia, Yung Joc, Young Buck, Young Dro and Lil' Chris. I think this is the only album to ever have that many rappers with a name starting with "Young" or "Lil." To break up the monotony of sampled songs and heavy bass lines, the album includes various skits like "Young and Famous" and "Anutha Country Story," which mainly serve as preludes to the track that comes next. Bottom line: There's little on this album that hasn't already been said on other rappers' projects.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
The Inspiration - Young Jeezy
Crook by da Book: The Fed Story - Project Pat
Chemically Imbalanced - Ying Yang Twins
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Warm in the Wake
Gold Dust Trail
Available Now
Talk about experiencing a musical illusion - while Gold Dust Trail has a playing time of less than a half hour between seven tracks, I thought I was listening to a full-length album. Warm in the Wake somehow paces its songs so artfully that it appears to have more substance than it actually does. And while this band is basically just another indie-rock band riding the wave of the genre's fleeting popularity, it's pretty darn catchy. I blame this on the fact that some of the tracks feature the musical stylings of a mandolin - it's the only thing that can hold me over until Sting's next lute album.
Nevertheless, you can expect to hear brooding, quasi-existential lyrics in such songs as "Golden Inhibition Destroyer" and "Tame Thoughts." While most of the tracks are set to a much slower pace, there are several standout songs such as "Iron Worker" and "Good King" that serve to wake up the album. If your MP3 player is quickly running out of storage space, keep "Gold Dust Trail" in mind; you get a sufficient amount of musical bang for not a lot of bucks.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Wincing the Night Away - Shins
The Crane Wife - Decemberists
Some Loud Thunder - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Ana's Mitchell
The Brightness
Available Feb. 13
If you have ever wondered what it would sound like if an incredible squeaky Muppet character were allowed to record a studio album, wonder no longer - Ana's Mitchell can satisfy your speculation. Never before have I heard such wonderful instrumental music and such absolutely horrible singing. Mitchell's voice is loud, overtly perky and more than a little out of tune. There is hardly any rhythm or cadence to her vocals. She sings her lyrics intermittently throughout the songs, which creates a sense of unbalance and diminishes most of the album's artistic merits. This is a real shame because The Brightness seems to have a lot of potential. If only Mitchell could release a karaoke or strictly instrumental version of it, the album would not seem as obtuse as it does when she
starts singing.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Not Too Late - Norah Jones
Half the Perfect World - Madeleine Peyroux
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case
