Bat For Lashes
Fur and Gold
Available Now
Britain's Bat For Lashes blends traditional classical motifs with organic, shamanic folk and Euro-pop influences. Natasha Khan's solo project is a compelling and lush world of sound reminiscent of Kate Bush's mystical sensibility. Fur and Gold also evokes Bjîrk's powerful big-girl, little-girl vocal range. Khan's songwriting on Fur and Gold ranges from acoustic, contemplative songs like "Sad Eyes" to complex, post-rock compositions like "What's A Girl To Do?" The latter piece is dark, yet radio-friendly enough to garner airplay on both sides of the Atlantic. Khan's vision includes references to fairy tales, Greek mythology and voodoo. Her attention to her craft melds these diverse elements into an original, serious and very listenable debut album.
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If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Beauty & Crime - Suzanne Vega
Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs - Shivaree
Volta - Bjîrk
Laurie Anderson
Big Science (re-issue)
Available Now
Santa Fe resident Laurie Anderson has reissued Big Science, her first full-length album. Anderson was the first, last and only artist-in-residence for NASA. Her master's study in sculpture at Columbia University is readily apparent in the electronic-based, orchestral, spoken-word sonic sculptures she creates. Anderson is best known for her magnum opus, the 8-minute composition "O Superman (For Massenet)." The post-9/11 re-issue of this song is a powerful political statement. As Anderson notes, "It is a love song. It's also a war song." Including all original tracks, this disc also offers the "O Superman" music video and "Walk the Dog," the original B-side from the '81 O Superman hand-pressed EP. As Anderson's Web site,
LaurieAnderson.com, notes, "This is the time. And this is the record of the time." I strongly agree.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Conspiracy of Women - Lydia Lunch
Fear of Living - Karen Finley
Pretty Songs & Ugly Stories - Ann Magnuson
Smashing Pumpkins
Zeitgeist
Available Now
Whether the long-awaited Smashing Pumpkins comeback album captures the spirit of the time, or zeitgeist, is debatable. Is the spirit of the time best expressed by Billy Corgan's nasal, underexposed vocals and vague, self-indulgent lyrical musings on American culture? This is not the same Smashing Pumpkins that created Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Although the current lineup is similar to Siamese Dream-era Pumpkins, something has changed. Without the contributions of James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky, the project seems ego-driven and contrived. Corgan seems to be striving to relive his glory days. After failed attempts at rebuilding his career, including Zwan and a solo project, Zeitgeist sounds drained and predictable. Corgan's frenzied attempt to revive Smashing Pumpkins' former artistic and commercial success reduces this album to corporate radio pabulum.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
From Under the Cork Tree - Fall Out Boy
Minutes to Midnight - Linkin Park
Move Along - The All-American Rejects
