May 2009 Album Reviews
June 15, 2009
Eminem – Relapse – released May 19, 2009 on Interscope Records
Mommy issues, graphic violence, celebrity taunting, and chauvinism is what comes to mind when you think of Eminem’s lyrical content spanning his career. So maybe he’ll surprise us with a different style or at least some new topics, right? False. In fact, its evident he intended to formulaically recreate his past chart toppers once again. By teaming up with Dr. Dre as producer again, listeners will easily sense some “Déjà Vu”, a song describing his more recent drug problems. The main theme of Relapse is just that: a pill-popping analogy to explain that his addiction to music ended his hiatus. The album cover illustrates this thought quite literally also, with a mosaic headshot of him composed of many pills. Eminem aka Slim Shady aka Marshall Mathers opens with a skit (many of which are scattered throughout and, although produced commendably in cinematic fashion, are unnecessary and disruptive of flow) exiting rehabilitation with the nightmare of relapsing that begins a very predictable journey of the rapper’s issues. The song, “My Mom”, is yet another redundant song poking fun at his mother and himself, saying that abusing Valium is a genetic sort of characteristic. The rapper continues to rhyme about some old material by using a lot of graphic, violent imagery in “Insane”, a song-story dealing with stepfather incest that tries to shock audiences just for the sake of shocking. But with the rapper’s history, the gimmick fails if we already know its coming. Don’t forget celebrity dissing, too, with “We Made You’, one of the album’s single and first music video. Practically a recreation of “Just Lose It” on his last album, Encore (almost every track sounds like an alternative twin of an earlier song he recorded), he attempts to humorously name-drop everyone from John Mayer to Sarah Palin and judging by its success it seems as though mainstream fans still enjoy his Slim Shady-driven impersonations. “Beautiful”, the only song produced by Eminem himself, samples Queen and Paul Rodgers’s “Reaching Out” and is lyrically stronger and more emotional with him showing off some sing-rap vocal chord. The sampling and dramatic tone could easily remind listeners of a poor man’s version of “Sing For the Moment” when he sampled Aerosmith. Then there’s the megastar collaboration, “Crack A Bottle”, which features Dr. Dre and 50 Cent and was the first song leaked from the album, causing it to be digitally released early. It’s this type of forced production to contrive hit songs that makes Eminem more of an entrepreneur than an artist. Relapse is just another overdone LP showing that the Detroit rapper came out of hiatus only to give us nothing new but a business plan consisting of intentionally controversial lyrics and repeated song styles. But with the album’s sales predicted to be the highest of any release this year (until Relapse 2 releases in the fall, maybe?), it looks like most listeners don’t mind the “Same Song & Dance” (Track 8).
Rating: 3/10
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band – Outer South – released May 5, 2009 on Merge Records
Outer South is the second full length album released under Conor Oberst as a solo artist (if you discount his releases as an angsty teen) away from the project he’s best known for, Bright Eyes. Oberst’s prolific songwriting reputation precedes him as his first self-titled solo album was released just last fall with the Gentlemen’s Pact EP in between LPs. This album is quite different, however, with about half of its tracks being written and sung by members of the Mystic Valley Band other than Conor Oberst. Outer South’s cover clearly depicts the release as a band effort with each member sitting next to each other in a sort of living room type area as if to say something to the extent of “we’re a band and our music isn’t meant to impress, it’s just fun to play”. Most of Oberst’s tracks aren’t too far of a departure for him from the last album and is yet again more stripped down and unpolished compared to Bright Eyes material. The experiment of having the other members featured is noble but presents an inconsistency evident enough to make it sound like a mediocre compilation with a couple of rare gems. “To All the Lights in the Windows” is a great Oberst track where his lyrical ingenuity shines once again in seamless fashion with his song composition. Jason Boesel contributes two of the better non-Oberst melodies with “Difference is Time” and “Eagle on a Pole”, where his strong vocals ease into the band’s signature folk sound. “Roosevelt Room” is the clear stand out on the album, though. Screeching guitar solos and some quick-punching keyboard on this track is surprisingly refreshing and shows an almost nostalgic punk rock side of Oberst back to his days in Desaparecidos. Taylor Hollingsworth’s “Snake Hill” is the last track on the album and perhaps the most instrumentally bare (along with “White Shoes”) as he belts out lyrics that seem rather amateur when compared to Oberst’s. Overall, the album is a great listen for fans of Conor Oberst being Conor Oberst, with some hit-or-miss surprises from what seems more like guests rather than band members. Outer South sounds more like a good record label sampler rather than an album, which means it is far from a successful experiment because a fragment of an idea may be great, but it still isn’t a complete thought.
Rating: 6/10
Passion Pit – Manners – released May 19, 2009 on Frenchkiss Records
Intensely joyful, celebratory youthful synth sounds with the kind of pop vocals that force you to do nothing else but commit to your most embarrassing bodily movements. It’s that type of outright start to this New England group’s debut album that catches your attention from the instant you press play on Manners. This full length from Passion Pit has been anticipated since their song “Sleepyhead” on the Chunk of Change EP brought them media exposure in 2008 and it sounds like the band is ready for that spotlight once again. Any indie electro-pop nowadays can easily fall into the perpetual trap of releasing with what seems to be the exact same music as its predecessors at a decreasing quality rate, but with Manners, Passion Pit doesn’t try to be innovative but just does it well within the overcrowded subgenre. For example, a track like “Moth’s Wings” is not only dance-friendly for the indie crowd, but it exhibits layers of euphoric keyboards, a dramatic drum track, and captivating lyrics that allow it to be equally enjoyable while listening to through headphones alone at home as it is thumping on the dance floor. The current single they chose is “The Reeling” and with good reason, too. Its heavy beat and new wave-y synth makes it easy for audiences to dance with and the repetitive vocal chants are hauntingly memorable. The sixth track, “Swimming in the Flood”, is clearly an interlude for listeners in the midst of the album. Using a slower pace and less in-your-face vocals, it could construed as a slow song for the more energetic, young crowd of today. “Let Your Love Grow Tall” stands out as a track that shows Passion Pit’s repertoire as a pop group by meshing intricate, yet catchy, lyrics with straightforward audibly pleasing sounds. All in all, Manners delivers falsetto vocals communicating trials of self-discovery over heavy drumbeats and rejoiceful samples and synths. The album, which praises all forms of the human experience from love to loss, is cohesive in its theme and sound and while it certainly isn’t anything inventive, it’s simple enough to be fun. So if you love great eletro-pop dance music, you won’t stop moving to Passion Pit’s Manners. If you don’t, it doesn’t matter – it’s just that friendly.
Rating: 8/10
