October has been a fine and dandy month for new releases. It almost pains me that I haven't been able to write a review for every single album that I have been enjoying lately but I'm just going to have to learn to live with it. On the upside here are four reviews from different corners of the musical universe. Kentucky's Cage the Elephant continue their scrappy climb to fame and fortune with Melophobia. Portland rockers Red Fang unleash their inner sasquatch on Whale and Leeches. Paul McCartney gives us a timely reminder that you can never count a Beatle out (as long as they aren't named Ringo) on his fantastic album New. And finally, metal pioneers Sepultura may finally have run out of steam on the tepid The Mediator Between the Head and Hands
Must Be the Heart. What a mouthful!
1. Cage the Elephant - Melophobia
Kentucky's Cage the Elephant have spent
the last few years proving their credentials as proponents of
scrappy, acidic rock and roll. Their new album Melophobia
sees the band sounding more focused than ever but still leaving
plenty of room for their flights of fancy. Melophobia is the
fear of music and you can hear strains of that panic, terror, and
paranoia spun into convincing yarns. But by the end of the record you
have to wonder if music shouldn't be afraid of Cage the Elephant.
Things start with the lead single
'Spiderhead'; chock full of goofy classicist swing, complete with
with hammering piano riff. Cage the Elephant have never been afraid
to play it a little on the abrasive side and it doesn't take long for
the poison to sink in. There might not be anything as manical as say
'Sabretooth Tiger' but they sure try. 'It's Just Forever' featuring
Allison Mosshart (The Kills, Dead Weather) is a strange little
journey crammed into just three and a half lean minutes – from
raucuous duet, to sneering blues howler, to abstract piano jazz. It
really has to be heard to be believed. That lurking sense of paranoia
raises its head again on the batshit crazy rambling of 'Teeth'. It's
a song that makes your face ache; all scratchy chords, unhinged
babbling, and a dubby outro that sounds like it was recorded inside
the depths of Matthew Schultz's brain.
Razor-bladed indie pop is alive and
well in 2013. The Nielson brothers (the family responsible for The
Mint Chicks and Unknown mortal Orchestra) are leading the charge, and
MGMT's recent effort reaffirms that their dalliances into electro-pop
were a fluke. Cage the Elephant have always existed in the spectrum
between “heart on your sleeve” and “blood on the frets” -
it's just a matter of which one you get on any particular track and
how long it is until they change the game out from under you. Music
should be very, very afraid of Cage the Elephant.
Rating: B+
Recommended tracks: Teeth, It's Just
Forever
2. Red Fang - Whales and Leeches
Red Fang have come for your beer and
your daughters! This hard rocking quartet hail from Portland, Oregon
although you would be forgiven for pegging them as Georgians. Yes,
they hail from further north than their Relapse label mates Black
Tusk and Baroness but their modus operandi is rather similar: rock
out, kick ass, exit.
Whales and Leeches (album number
three for those of you who are counting) is a rollicking good time
for those who love their rock music thick, bass-y, and unrelenting.
'Blood Like Cream', a track that earns its place as the album's lead
single, is what Foo Fighters would sound like if Dave Grohl was
replaced by a feral Sasquatch. It rides a heavy groove while still
being catchy and melodic and it boasts a shout along chorus to die
for. While Red Fang are obviously on a quest to define their own
legacy they know what their fans want from them. It is for this
reason that on tracks like 'No Hope' and 'Crows in Swine' find Bryan
Giles doing his best Troy Sanders impersonation. Hey, if the people
like Mastodon is it such a crime to sound a bit like them?
On a different tangent, 'Dawn Rising'
leans heavily on the band's stoner rock tendencies. The pace is
slowed, the intensity is upped, and the guest appearance from Yob
vocalist Mike Scheidt further solidifies their bong-rattling
credentials. That seismic momentum flows right into the Sabbath-ian
'Failure' as it slow-burns its way through to the crescendo. Do you
like your rock music brutish, brackish, and speaker-bustingly loud?
If so I think Whales and Leeches might just be for you.
Rating: B
Recommended tracks: Blood Like Cream,
Dawn Rising
3. Paul McCartney - New
When you get a new Paul McCartney album
in your hands you are never 100% sure which Paul McCartney it is
going to be. Will it be full of shmaltzy ballads, perhaps age-defying
rockers, or even furtive electronic experiments. Nothing can properly
prepare you for what you will find in New. It is a genuine
modern pop record from the man who helped define the genre fifty
years ago.In accordance to contemporary pop standards Macca has roped
in a cadre of producers to help him construct the record. These
include Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Adele), Ethan Johns (Kings of
Leon), Paul Epworth (Florence and the Machine), and Giles Martin (son
of George) and they each bring their A-game to the table.
Of course there will still be plenty of
cheese to be hard. 'On My Way to Work' flirts with some ridiculous
phrases (“On my way to work / I bought a magazine / Inside a pretty
girl / Who liked to water-ski”) but it is delivered so earnestly
that you just go along with it. And then on the flip-side you have
'Early Days' which further mythologizes the Beatles beginnings while
at the same time refusing to be apologetic or nostalgic. It walks a
difficult line between contemplation and rancor. Comparisons to
Beatles records are inevitable but McCartney is hardly trying to
avoid drawing the parallels. 'Queenie Eye' is so Sgt Peppers it will
cause many a double take – all wit and pomp. The incredibly hooky
'Save Us' manages to out-Kaiser Chiefs the Kaiser Chiefs which is
quite an achievement in itself.
The album is fifteen tracks long and it
rides some incredible highs and lows throughout. Just when you
thought you had a handle on New something comes out of left
field to not only prove you wrong but leave you smiling about how
foolish you were. Most importantly of all, it appears that the
revered Sir Paul McCartney had a lot of fun making New. If
that is indeed the case, and if this is the result of him enjoying
himself, then long may it continue.
Rating: B
Recommended tracks: Save Us, Queenie
Eye
4. Sepultura – The Mediator Between the
Head and Hands Must Be the Heart
Chaos AD was a long time ago
(twenty years to be exact) and Sepultura have done everything in
their power to move on even if some of their fans refuse(/resist) to
do so. The Mediator Between the Head and Hands Must Be the Heart
is their seventh album with singer Derrick Green, which officially
puts him at the wheel longer than Max Cavalera. This is an album
about the dehumanizing nature of the modern world. Between
metropolitan overcrowding and our over-reliance on technology we are
less human and more robotic than ever. This disaffection is like fuel
to the fire of the heavy metal genre and it burns at the heart of
every song on the record.
Try as both bands might, Sepultura and
Soulfly will forever be compared to one another as long as they both
shall live. Naturally it is a coincidence that they have both
released new albums so close together (Soulfly's Savages came
out earlier this month) but you have to admit it is one hell of a
coincidence. While Savages cast its gaze wide and worked hard
to draw in its myriad of influences,The Mediator narrows its
focus to a fault. If it isn't hardcore thrash then these guys don't
want to know about it. This unfortunately makes for a very workaday
metal record despite the concept and sky-high potential of all
involved.
Special mention must be made of their
new drummer Eloy Casagrande who more than holds his own. I admit that
after a few spins of the album I found myself listening to his
dextrous fills and tribal breakdowns more than anything else.
Guitarist Andreas Kisser is one of the great unheralded riffers and
he is generally a delight to listen to . But you know something isn't
quite right when by the third or fourth track you are already getting
bored of how straight-forward everything feels. There is little in
the way of subtly and nuance to the performances. By now everyone
knows about Sepultura's nihilistic agenda which makes songs like 'The
Vatican' (complete with angelic choir before the sledgehammer assault
strikes) a bit on the nose. Some might consider this criticism a
little unfair given that this is a metal album but haven't most of us
moved on from 1983 yet? For the genre to advance we need the
respected elders (including Sepultura) to lead the way forward.
Rating: C
Recommended track: Manipulation of
Tragedy
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