Well, haven't done one of these in a while, but yes, good things come for those who wait indeed. John Mayer has resurfaced once again (although for all this time you'd think he'd do a bit better), and there are some very intriguing releases from Thom Yorke, Muse and Sufjan Stevens. Easily the most exciting week in music in a while, here's a look at new music Tuesday on July 11, 2006.
John Mayer releases "Waiting on the World to Change"
The single which is slated to be on the album Continuum (which is still coming out sometime before Sufjan Stevens finishes all 50 states albums-- or 50 Illinois albums, take your pick) was released today. After first listening to it, it sounded too familiar for its own good yet still strangely addicting in its own clichéd way, much like Lenny Kravitz at his best moments. That's a backhanded compliment, sure, but so is making a song that sounds so much like Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions's "People Get Ready." If you don't believe me, I dare you to download both and not notice a striking similarity. Besides that, this is a touching song, and while it seems like it might've been written way before the release date, it's still very much appropriate. I can see this single as being a late-summer bloomer as far as radio airplay is concerned, and hopefully Continuum will show the same kind of maturity (without the ripoffs). One final question, why name this single as being by John Mayer when the album Try! was John Mayer Trio? It still has Dino Palladino on bass and Steve Jordan on drums. Plus it seems like it'd be a better way of showing progression and maturity on Mayer's part. Either way, it'd be so much easier on everyone to just stick on one name Mr. Mayer.
Muse Black Holes and Revelations
During one of my moments of deep inner monologue-- if I remember correctly it was during my writing about Coheed and Cambria-- I thought to myself, playing devil's advocate if you will, "How could you possibly have such a strong dislike for Coheed and Cambria, a band that you find pretentious and self-indulgent (not to mention tacky and annoying), when you listen to Muse?" I remember smiling to myself, and beginning to retract my comments about C&C (and after looking at them now, I can see I did stifle myself somewhat), before I said to myself "Well, I'd much rather be a band that is accused of self-indulgently ripping off a band like Radiohead-- well regarded as one of the best rock bands around-- than sound like a mash up of the Trans Siberian Orchestra and Fred Durst with his nuts kicked in." The relation to this story and the review of this album (and I assure you, there is some sense of relevancy here), is that Muse, as much as everyone hates to admit it, is good at what they do-- almost too good. They know when to throw in the strings, when to play loud, and when to be delicate. Everything is timed so perfectly that it feels calculated and, on the occasion that the song fails, you feel yourself chuckle a bit. That's the double-edged sword involved with doing music like Muse-- you want to pull the heart-strings like Coldplay while at the same time have the urgency of Radiohead while also maintaining the massive dynamics of both bands. Where Black Holes and Revelations fits in all of this is that this is perhaps the first time where Muse has finally come into their own. They've integrated a heavy undercurrent of techno-rock (as noted when their single "Supermassive Black Hole" was released) that had yet to be seen this consistently, and have also drawn back on the heavier and apocalyptic arrangements that were evidenced on Absolution. What's been replaced is just, well, supremely well-done music. Songs like the aforementioned single, "Map of the Problematique," "Assassin," "Knights of Cydonia" and others are so consistently good, that you'd begin to wonder if this is really a Muse album. Of course, what would Muse be without a ballad on their album? The one that's on this release, "Soldier's Poem," is easily the best they've ever done, as it's just as haunting as it is incredibly beautiful. Never have they sounded so focused, so consistent, and so mature. Most importantly, they seem to really be enjoying themselves here. If they keep this up, the only people chuckling will be Muse at all the critics that have spent the better half of their career dogging these guys.
Overall Rating: 100
Thom Yorke The Eraser
The way Radiohead's been going lately, it's a good day if you hear about them even working on new music, let alone making something that is actually released. Rather than this being a Radiohead album though, this is instead a solo album by frontman Thom Yorke, which makes this a curious release indeed. Seeing Yorke's influence on Radiohead's sound, it almost seems as bizarre as when Dave Matthews decided to release his own solo album. Truth be told, I do think that there's a similar reason for it happening, that being that Yorke (much like Dave) saw Radiohead moving in a different direction while he was still interested in toddling around with Kid A/Amnesiac-like landscapes. As such, rather than risk compromising the entire band, it sounds a heck of a lot better to say that you're going to do this on your own as a solo project. Fans will go out to buy it to see what their favorite frontman has been up to, while others will simply buy it out of curiosity. That being said, The Eraser really is a bit like a sparse cousin of the Kid A/Amnesiac duo. The bizarre sonic landscapes are still in tact, but there's hardly any guitar, nor the same all-encompassing soundstage. While all of the songs are relatively solid, there are only a few true stand-outs, that being the opening title track, "Black Swan," "Atoms for Peace," and the closing "Cymbal Rush." Overall, this is a surprisingly good album (especially as far as solo projects are concerned), just not much of a departure for anyone that's been listening to Radiohead for the past five or so years. On the other hand, it certainly goes down well and is, at worst, good from beginning to end.
Overall Rating: 90
Sufjan Stevens The Avalanche- Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album
First of all, only Stevens would have the audacity to take a 21-track album and try to pass it off as an "outtakes and extras" record. I guess he doesn't want to admit to the fact that he's given preferential treatment to Illinois versus his home state of Michigan. Either way, there's really not much new to be had on this Illinois part two album. Stevens spends most of the album living by the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," as he manages to pull off three different variations on the song "Chicago," and otherwise uses the same lush arrangements that made both Illinois and Greetings from Michigan famous. That's not to say that this is a wasted effort-- though it's definitely calculated-- songs like the title song, "Adlai Stevenson," "The Henney Buggy Band," and "The Mistress Witch from McClure" are way too charming to dislike, and Sufjan Stevens still presents each of the songs with such magnificent flair that it's just as fun as his previous efforts as well. The only creeping question that enters my mind is, can he really keep this going? I know all of these elements are working now, but he's already beginning to wear thin for many listeners, and if he doesn't start to change up, he might have a hard time just getting through the rest of the midwestern states. For the time being however, Sufjan Stevens is white-hot right now and can really do no wrong. His songs are about as unoffending as they get, not to mention incredibly spirited. That being said, I'd only recommend this album for die-hard Sufjan and Illinois fans, everyone else need not apply. It's not that it's a bad album, it's actually quite good, it just certainly won't make anyone change the way they see Sufjan Stevens' music.
Overall Rating: 85
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