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(11/30/06 5:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Incubus
Light Grenades
3 stars
Trying new things is always good, but when it backfires the smartest move is to go with what works.
With the release of Light Grenades, Incubus has done exactly that.
After A Crow Left of the Murder made little more than a ripple in a tepid pool of stagnant sales in 2004, the band has rebounded with an album that features a return to the group's true sound.
Light Grenades blends the smooth melodic introspection of Morning View with the alt-metal intensity of Make Yourself while remaining true to the bands funk-rock roots of its S.C.I.E.N.C.E. era.
The album crackles with bursts of compositional influences from the group's stylistic foray into the world of video game theme music via 2004's Halo II Soundtrack.
Grenades sees guitarist Mike Einziger's technical prowess step out from the shadows to assert itself as a formidable component of the group's coveted melancholy metal sound.
The would-be hit single "Anna Molly" stands out as one of the most hook-driven tracks on the album, yet still fails to pack as much of a punch as the group's past hits.
For listeners who fell in love with the group's sound around the release of Make Yourself and Morning View, "Love Hurts" will ring true as the classic eerily intoxicating ambience-rock you've come to expect. The track puts an existential twist on the age-old concept of how even the most heavenly feeling can sometimes still hurt like hell.
The smooth crisp vocals of front man Brandon Boyd drip with the artist's effortless sex appeal.
Grenades retains the group's unique lyrical perspective of optimistic melancholy laced with existential angst.
Experimentally edgy and refreshingly unclassifiable, the California-born ensemble continues to defy expectations with creative stylistic synergy and genre-blending fusion.
Overall, the album is an above average effort and a considerable leap back toward the group's core sound.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(11/16/06 5:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
The Figgs
Follow Jean Through The Sea
3 stars
It's that wink-and-a-smile charm of a good pop song that endears listeners to an unapologetically pure breed of pop-rock.
And it's that very same sly charm that makes the latest album by veteran rock band The Figgs so much fun.
With Follow Jean Through The Sea, The Figgs have found their groove.
Despite the group's New York origin, the band sounds like it's been plucked right out of an underground British pub. The music is by no means guitar-centric, but the riffs are more than respectable, and the old-school vibe lends itself to a swanky good time.
The opening track, "Breaking Through These Gates," boasts a late-era Elvis Costello vibe that swaggers with lightly toasted sex appeal.
The band is certainly no stranger to the construction of enticingly catchy hooks and fun-loving choruses.
The Figgs' sound remains comfortably left-of-center largely because of the group's ability to learn from the past while still managing to blaze its own trail.
"Regional Hits" speaks to the group's intolerance for canned hits churned out of profit-driven hit-factories.
In keeping with this sentiment, the group has a refreshingly original sound unlike anything the Top 40 stations are pumping out these days.
It's clear from the audible mixture of early Stones, Iggy Pop and even a sprinkling of Chuck Berry that these guys know their history and are proud to draw influence from it.
Like the James Dean of records, the entire album exudes an unspoken air of cool. The music swirls from the speakers with the kind of unforced confidence that makes a true rebel irresistibly sexy.
Ultimately, these Figgs are ripe for the picking, full of energy and juicy to the core.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(10/12/06 4:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Jet
Shine On
3.5 stars
At first it's tempting to write Jet off as another hack version of unoriginal copycat rock, focusing its sound on imitation rather than emulation.
But when all is said and done, Jet is just a band that understands the concept of respecting one's elders and honoring the rock gods that came before it.
With the release of its sophomore album, Shine On, the group has chosen to bring back a sound that is sorely missing in today's music scene - a sound rooted in the revolutionary 1960s and '70s.
There is a strong counterculture appeal to this album, bubbling over with a spirit of indignation and a quest for unmitigated freedom.
The group's aggressive homage to the classics and unapologetic adherence to the glory days of rock should be seen as a strength rather than a weakness. The band is intelligent enough to realize the true roots of greatness rather than waste time dabbling in the uninspired muck of most modern music.
Many listeners see the marketability of groups such as Jet as proof that this once sacred form of artistic expression now is serving as yet another capitalistic gleam in the eye of a profit-driven music industry.
That is not the case with Jet. These Aussie rockers simply are continuing to carry the psychedelic torch through stylistic intricacies influenced by the purity of what once was.
Shine On features the same cocky in-your-face rock 'n' roll sound fans have come to know and love from the band, as well as bittersweet balladry. While not packing quite as much of a hard-rock punch as its debut Get Born, Jet's latests revels in the influence of The Beatles, The Stones and even Nazareth.
And of course no Jet album would be complete without a face-melting stylistic cameo from AC/DC and the blues-based British warbling of Oasis-inspired vocals.
The group's hard-hitting rock style manifests itself most notably in the upbeat "Come On Come On," which takes its inspiration from The Who, laced with a bit of Tomorrow.
The track exudes classic psychedelic features such as backward tape sounds and the occasional exotic Eastern-sounding melody.
"Shiny Magazine" and "Kings Horses" find their roots in the budding melancholy psychedelia of late '60s folk rock with tender timbre and eerily incandescent piano lines invoking a sound akin to that of The Beatles.
Dripping with sincerity and old-school heart, "Skin and Bones" boasts a sound reminiscent of Rod Stewart circa "Maggie May" mixed with gritty old-school Dylan.
Ultimately, the group's sophomore effort is a success, as Jet continues to pay tribute to its roots while venturing into the experimental middle ground between hard rock and soft folk.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(09/21/06 4:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Audioslave
Revelations
3 stars
With its third LP, Revelations, Audioslave not only reveals society's seedy underbelly, but also that the band still has some work to do.
In 2002 from the ashes of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden rose Audioslave. Revelations comes off the chart-topping success of 2005's Out of Exile.
Clearly a slave to the audio, this release comes only a little over a year since the last studio recording. The aptly titled Revelations explores a thematic journey concerning the state of the world. Rather than emitting a Green Day-esque diatribe on the mishaps and grievances surrounding the political climate, Audioslave takes a more existential, what-does-it-all-mean approach.
The title track opens with the kind of gut-busting energy that makes listeners want to drop everything, head bang and start hurling themselves around the room. Lead singer Chris Cornell soon launches into equally energetic vocals invoking the roundabout angst that has become a staple for the group.
Throughout the album, former Rage guitarist Tom Morello keeps the breakdowns coming, laced with plenty of distortion techniques and Wah-pedal usage. With an impressive arsenal of surging riffs and churning rhythm sections, Morello's consistent solos are more than enough to raise a few eyebrows.
"One and the Same" begs listeners to take to empty swimming pools, as it boasts a classic late 70s skater vibe. The track is one of many on the album that the band decides to toy with the idea of more funk-inspired rhythm sections and retro backbeats.
Cornell's tendency toward vocal monotony rears its ugly head throughout the album, but fortunately the vocalist's usual broody, self-important rambling has been exchanged for more even-tempered, generalized uncertainty concerning the world around him.
In "Shape of Things to Come" he invokes what could be seen as religious sentiment or mere thoughts of hope in desperate times, singing: "Now I feel the worst is near . and pray a ray of light appears to shine down on us here."
He echoes that exclamation of existential angst in the surprisingly upbeat track "Original Fire."
Not quite living up to the top-of-the-charts example of Out of Exile, Revelations is a decent follow-up with an onslaught of non-stop energy.
The band is still working hard to come into a sound all its own, and while it's close, there's still a ways to go.
While Audioslave's latest work fails to push any boundaries, it more than succeeds in living up to the level of heart-pounding alt-rock glory listeners have come to expect.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(04/27/06 4:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Teddy Geiger
Underage Thinking
3 Stars
When a young male artist steps into the spotlight and gets emotional in his craft, he's often immediately typecast as either an angry or depressed emo kid or a touchy-feely one-man boy band.
Lucky for Teddy Geiger, he's undeniably neither.
Breaking free from the ubiquitous good-looking-guy-with-a-guitar stigma, Geiger creates soulful refrains and bluesy rhythm sections silhouetted by the tortured purity of his wildly original vocals in his debut album, Underage Thinking.
(04/13/06 4:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Joe Satriani
Super Colossal
4 Stars
For all virtuosos in the making, prepare to kneel before the god of rock and light your six-strings aflame in homage to the definitive emblem of rock 'n' roll.
Rock guitar legend Joe Satriani has done it again. With his 14th studio release, Super Colossal, the rock relic and mentor to guitar greats such as Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett has unleashed a face-melting feat of imagination.
(04/11/06 4:00am)
The birds aren't the only ones singing as UNC's a cappella season kicks into high gear.
(01/27/06 5:00am)
Company Carolina's production of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along," a musical comedy in reverse, is coming to the ArtsCenter in Carrboro Friday.
The musical centers on a classic story of fame, power and corruption as three best friends discover the true price of selling one's soul to the entertainment industry.
"What's really intriguing about the play is that it's a musical comedy, but it's done completely in reverse," said lead actress Kelly McCrann, a UNC senior who plays Mary Flynn in the production.
(01/26/06 5:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Electric six
Se
(02/11/05 5:00am)
In an effort to increase support for local acts and new musicians, the Carolina Union Activities Board hosted a live showcase Thursday in the Union Cabaret.