Robert Smith Requesting some Ham (Illustration By Aaron Z. Lee)
The Cure is a group I find myself returning to constantly, the sheer diversity of their catalog is enough to satiate any hunger for music that fits nearly any emotional category. I found myself looking up old interviews and watching live performances from various eras in The Cure’s history which resulted in me finding a picture of Robert Smith with his tongue out and I couldn’t resist making a cartoon out of it, since one of his nick names is “Fat Bob” and he has gotten chubbier over the years, but seriously, the man is a genius. For a video and mp3 of The Cure’s “Hungry Ghost” (One of the best off of The Cure’s 2008 album “4:13 Dream”) make the jump! (more…)
War Tapes are a band from Downtown LA who have successfully amalgamated the dreamy pop structures of the Cure with the power and poise of NYC guitar bands like Interpol. Their debut album ‘The Continental Divide’ is now available at all the usual venues for obtaining music, be it electronically or physically.
A Venezuelan armed with a drum machine, autotune, and synthesizers is trying to steal your heart and your moneys with his new album “The Reddest Ruby”. Employing a velvety smooth Postal Service pastiche with a couple of digitized Cure flourishes here and there Nuuro will no doubt take you on a fantastic aural adventure, just don’t stay up late forever. Nah, I’m kidding stay up as long as you want.
Berlin’s Neonman is composed of Ben John Osborn from London, UK and Bastian Asdonk from Berlin, Germany. Together they make post-punk rock that at times swooshes and sashays with a punk ferocity and other times confidentlstrides plods forward with a signifigant dub and reggae influence. At their best they call to mind the post punk explosion of the late 70′s and early 80′s. Imagine XTC merging with Public Image Ltd, their music is something like that.
NYC band Murder Mystery are back with a new single entitled “The World” that is a nice mellow tune that draws on the best of the Psychedelic Furs, The Cure and the Strokes. Above all the chiming guitars and pulsing synth is vocalist Jeremy Coleman’s charming vocals and lyrics. If you’re starving for some new Strokes material, this will definitely hold you over.
NYC based art-rock group stellastarr* have released a new song called “Numbers” via their Myspace from their forthcoming album. The track rocks with all the rough edges and innovative female backing vocals we’ve come to expect from the haunting and harmonious quartet. The band have also recently sold out their 5 night residency at NYC’s Piano’s. stellastarr* Myspace
The Killers’ new album “Day & Age” marks their return to the sublime dreamy pop that got the kids excited in the first place. With “Sam’s Town” they tried to please the guy in the crowd that made fun of their make-up and suits, what they didn’t realize though, was that he paid to get in. They already had the backwards hat frat crowd. I remember when I opened my door for a doofy R.A. my freshman year and he saw my Killers shirt and couldn’t stop talking about how great the album was.
That said, this time around The Killers do push their style in ways that do succeed wildly. From the slow burning opener “Losing Touch” that makes excellent use of left over “Bones” horns, to the dance ’till you drop beats and synths of “Human”, to the most complete return to Hot Fuss Form “Spaceman”. The Killers set the tone early, they are back, and then they give you a tour of Vegas with reckless abandon. Like on the cowboy steel drum funk that is “Joy Ride”, the song is unabashedly fun, but Brandon Flowers’ earnest vocals ground the debauchery with the wide eyed wonder of a designated driver caught in the spotlight.
On “Sam’s Town” it felt like The Killers were spinning their creative compass, on “Day and Age” it feels as if they’ve thrown it out and just headed towards a star. Brandon Flowers still uses his more “salt of the earth” lyrical approach but this time around the music itself towers as tall as his words. Where as on “Sam’s Town” there was no monolith of sound to sweep up those hometown ambitions. That means, yes, they use the power ballad more than once, “A Dustland Fairy Tale”, “This is Your Life”, and “The World We Live In”, where they sound more like Duran Duran than they ever have before, and strangely enough it’s a good thing. “Day & Age” offers up a smorgasbord of obvious influences of the band in each song like the decidedly Talking Heads-esque “I Can’t Stay” to the Curish “Goodnight Travel, Travel Well” that uses circular synth patterns that sound an awful lot like “Pictures of You”, but they also imprint their unique stamp on each song and even make songs that have great potential to seem gaudy or redundant, “Neon Tiger”, and made it sound somewhat fresh and new. Even the album art fits perfectly with the warm glow that the album leaves you with. A glow warm and good enough to let me finish this review with the phrase; “All killer, no filler” and mean it.
Hot on the heels of The Cure‘s latest release “4:13 Dream”, a flock of fans and admirers have compiled an album entitled “Just Like Heaven“ and contains many fantastic reworkings of classic cure songs. The artists included are:
Joy Zipper Tanya Donelly & Dylan In The Movies The Brunettes Kitty Carlisle Dean & Britta Luff The Submarines Elk City The Rosebuds Elizabeth Harper & The Matinee Cassettes Won’t Listen Devics Julie Peel The Poems Grand Duchy (Violet Clark & Black Francis) The Wedding Present
Let’s Go To Bed (Casettes Won’t Listen Cover)
The Walk (Rosebuds Cover)
I’m obligated to not share any of the tracks due to limitations from record companies, but I can share the album’s namesake. The Cure – Just Like Heaven
Solid Gold is an electronic indie band from Minneapolis. They were picked by UK indie popsters The Ting Tings to support them when they visited the Mini Apple. They have an album coming out entitled “Bodies of Water” that is sure to thrill those out there who love the warm hum of a melodic synth and pleasant, poignant vocals. If their lead single “Get Over It”, we’ll soon be treated to a whole lot of classy synth pop.
The legendary band fronted by Britain’s mopiest musician, Robert Smith, returns again. Four years after their last release, The Cure have released “4:13 Dream”, which draws on nostalgia from their 80’s heyday while still pushing their work in a new direction. The name of the album itself is a reference to the band’s longevity, after 30 years the band have released their 13th studio album, and after the departure of keyboardist Roger O’Donnell this marks the first time in a while that The Cure have been paired down to a fighting foursome including Simon Gallup on bass, Jason Cooper on drums, and Porl Thompson on guitar.
On “4:13 Dream”, this time working with producer Keith Uddin who has worked with No Doubt, Bjork, Oasis and many others, The Cure experiment with some new effects and approaches while sounding distinctly like themselves. This can largely be attributed to guitar virtuoso Porl Thompson rejoining the band after leaving in 1993 to play with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. “4:13 Dream” marks the first studio album since 1992’s “Wish” that Thompson Contributed to. His trademarked chorused guitars and wah-wah solos are stamped all over the place. His musical presence is also a huge factor in the renewed vigor of Robert Smith’s vocals and lyrics. On their previous release, “The Cure”, there were some moments that felt like the classic Robert Smith coming through (“Alt. End”, “Taking Off”) but I couldn’t shake the feeling that for all of their effort and Smith’s desire to make a signature ‘Cure’ album that it was still just going through the motions. On 4:13, Robert Smith sounds invested in the music. It is because Thompson has returned to provide a rich tapestry of melody and style that gives Smith’s vocals real traction.
The opening song “Underneath the Stars” starts off with some ragged guitar and reverb and the same tinkling effect that longtime fans will remember from their seminal song “Pictures of You”. Slow melodies sing and roar, bathed in waves of feedback as Robert Smith’s vocals soar above. Immediately following this is a sugary sweet pop number entitled “Only One”, fans of The Cure’s upbeat love numbers like “Friday I’m in Love” and “Inbetween Days” will love this one as Smith croons about all the things he loves about his significant other for as cyclical guitar and marimba melodies ensue. An exciting leap forward for the band on this release is the song “Freakshow” which rides on a staccato vocal delivery and epic wah-wah funk. Heck, there’s even a cowbell here. This is definitely the most fun on the album and on par with English Pop coming out these days. Immediately following this entertaining jaunt is the most beautiful ballad on the record. The slide guitar accented “Sirensong”. The song ebbs and flows along with gentle keyboard melodies and big waves of reverb and the most authentically intimate lyrics Robert Smith has imparted to us in some time.
The Cure is at a peculiar position in their career. It’s well after their mainstream takeover in the 80’s and 90’s, and yet they’ve returned again with their best and most vital release since 92’s “Wish”. It’s true that The Cure have somewhat mined older material for a few songs on the album, for example “This. Here and Now. With You” sounds an awful lot like “Six Different Ways” from their 1985 album “The Head on the Door”, but there’s nothing wrong with that, and I’ll tell you why. This is the first Cure album in a while that feels like its heart is in the right place. “4:13” gives me the same feelings of elation, loss, heartbreak, anger and determination that their best works do. Even the songs that aren’t poised to be released as singles feel like they’re there for a reason and aren’t just filler. The Cure haven’t really forged new ground here, but, boy, have they regrouped and created an album that maybe isn’t their most original, but it is the first one in a long time that feels necessary.
