M.I.A.
Kala
Available Now
Forget Kevin Bacon. If there's one person you want to be within six degrees of in today's pop culture, it's rapper/producer/music industry mogul Timbaland. The reigning champ of the charts seems to have struck gold yet again with the Sri Lankan artist M.I.A., or Maya Arulpragasam. Timbaland is featured as rapper and producer on "Come Around." As one might expect, the majority of the tracks on this album were made to be played at dance clubs. Don't expect ballads or slow-paced songs on Kala. For 50 minutes and more than 12 tracks, M.I.A. keeps the party going with tracks such as "Bamboo Banga" and "XR2." The first single, "Boyz," is full of heavy drum beats and bass lines. This can be too overpowering for her vocals, but as the lyrics are often nonsensical, it is no great loss. With a song titled "Mango Pickle Down River," what did you expect? While the album is fun to listen to, its lack of substance might, and probably will, shorten its shelf life. Enjoy it for now.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Challengers - The New Pornographers
Icky Thump -The White Stripes
Is Is - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Blaqk Audio
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CexCells
Available Now
Break out the synthesizers, skinny black ties and eyeliner for yet another reprisal of '80s electronica. CexCells, the synth-pop creation of AFI's Jade Puget and Davey Havok, is reminiscent of Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails. While finding its niche in fans of AFI, the duo's new undertaking will likely find less mainstream success when it comes to recruiting new listeners. Why? Havok's raw and emotional voice is striking from the first track, "Stiff Kittens," but the overt use of synths and industrial electronica blends the majority of the album into filler best categorized as "same song, different title." The final track, "Wake Up, Open the Door and Escape to the Sea," provides a much-needed change of pace with a piano hook, but it comes far too late, and most listeners won't even make it that far into the album. If Havok and Puget were serious about the aims of Blaqk Audio, they shouldn't have created an album in between AFI tour dates. Fans of this genre are better off dusting off their '80s favorites rather than listening to uninspired throwback revivals - at least those bands weren't side projects.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Music From Regions Beyond - Tiger Army
New Wave - Against Me!
New Maps of Hell - Bad Religion
The Thrills
Teenager
Available Now
If Teenager is any indication of the theme of the Thrills' third record release, then angst, sorrow and general torment of the artistic soul is sure to be abound. The Dublin band is still riding high on the wave of emo-acoustic-pop, but displays a fair amount of musical growth. On Teenager, the Thrills layer guitar, piano and harmonica, and the band covers the expected range of topics: from stagnant youth ("Nothing Changes Around Here") to unrequited love ("I'm So Sorry") to burgeoning adulthood ("No More Empty Words"). All of it eventually comes full-circle with wanting youth again ("Teenager"). Ah, the sick cycle of discontented people with guitars circles around again. The vocals come across as a strained whisper, which is cute at the beginning but becomes more than annoying by the end of the album. But so long as teenage years are riddled with anguish, Teenager will continue to gather appeal. But for a band called the Thrills, the music they produce can, at times, be rather underwhelming. Perhaps the Weepies would be a more fitting name - if it weren't already taken by another emo-acoustic-pop group.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Calling the World - Rooney
We'll Live and Die in These Towns - Enemy
An End Has a Start - Editors
