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Pop Rock Nation

Category: Releases

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  • First Listen: Gorillaz’ “Stylo”

    Since the Gorillaz project was conceptualized a decade or so, I’ve gotta say that in terms of Damon Albarn projects, they’ve been my favorite. Blur’s always been kinda scattershot for me, and The Good, the Bad and the Queen was one of those albums I regretted buying after the first listen. Honestly, I could care less about the marketing gimmick (in this case, the band being “animated”)-all that matters to me is whether the music is good or not. For the most part, it has been, and Gorillaz has rightfully become the most critically adored and commercially accepted project of Albarn’s career-at least here in the States.

    Anyway, there’s a new Gorillaz project coming later this year entitled “Plastic Beach”. The first single from it is called “Stylo”, and it features Albarn’s nasal vocal tones with assistance from a vaguely-recognizable Mos Def (who has officially recovered his mojo) and soul legend Bobby Womack (who can still sing with power past retirement age, if this song is any indication). The song itself is a little on the repetitive side, but I like the overall vibe of it. All Gorillaz songs seem to have this haunting quality to them.

    Check out the song on Gorillaz’ official website and let us know what you think.

  • New Releases 1/19/10: Spoon, RJD2 & More

    Hope that those of you who had a 3-day weekend had a good one, and hope that those of you in Massachusetts made it out to the polls today. Welcome to yet another Tuesday, one in which there are less new releases than normal-yep, it’s January. Here are some of the highlights.

    Spoon “Transference”-I really tried to like “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”. Really. It just didn’t do anything for me. Of course, that probably just shot down the tiny sliver of indie cred I have left, but I don’t care. I did catch Spoon doing a soundcheck a couple of months ago, and they sounded pretty good-until the actual show, when they were completely upstaged by the two bands opening for them (Phoenix and Passion Pit). Anyway, we’re not about negativity here-this album should officially catapult Spoon into the major leagues.

    RJD2 “The Colossus”-Ramble John Krohn, better known as RJD2, splits the difference between Moby and DJ Shadow. Each successive album has been less hip-hop based and more indie-pop based, which is fine. The guy’s talented. People slept on his last album, “The Third Hand” (which, to me, was Moby-er than ever before), but it was pretty good. “Colossus” might be my sole purchase this week.

    “Crazy Heart” Original Soundtrack-If you watched the Golden Globes Sunday night, you’re well aware that Jeff Bridges took home the Best Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture trophy for his performance of a down-and-out country singer in “Crazy Heart”. Newcomer Ryan Bingham also took home Best Original Song for “The Weary Kind”, also from this movie. Bridges (who turns out to be a pretty fine singer) turns in a few vocal performances here, as does Colin Farrell (!). The soundtrack was produced by T-Bone Burnett, who brought us one of the most popular soundtracks in recent years: “O Brother Where Art Thou”.

    Also in stores today: a new one from Motion City Soundtrack (produced by Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus), British favorites The Editors (produced by legendary boardsman Flood, of Depeche Mode and U2 fame) and a new Eels record.

    Get your complete list of this week’s releases here.

  • New Releases 1/12/09: Vampire Weekend and More!

    Let’s get right to business.

    *Vampire Weekend’s debut was my favorite album of 2007. It was really light in mood, had a fun vibe, and was different from just about any album that came out that year. In the fickle world of indie-rock blogging, you’re only good until the mainstream has caught up with you, and with a guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live” and almost 500,000 albums sold, they certainly don’t qualify as anyone’s secret anymore. While I have no doubts about the musical merits of their sophomore release, “Contra” (which is out today), I am curious to see how many hipper-than-thou types turn their noses up at the band when they wet their pants at the mere mention of the band’s name two years ago.

    *If you’re like me, you hear the name “OK Go” and you think “treadmills”. Their video for “Here We Go Again” was a viral sensation. Even though I knew of them before the video (thanks to a song called “Get Over It” from their first album which appeared on an MTV compilation), they’re going to be stuck with that video probably for the rest of their careers. Anyway, the power-pop band is releasing album #3 today. “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky” is the title-and I assume said title is a joke and not the band trying to be pretentious.

    *For those of you who make sure to tune in to “106 & Park” every night, you’ll be very happy to know that former B2K member Omarion is releasing his latest album, called “Ollusion”. This guy has a pretty dedicated fan base, but for whatever reason he just can’t seem to cross over. Two of his three previous solo albums debuted at #1, but quickly skidded down the charts and neither has crossed the million-sold mark here in the States. Having been released from his Sony Music contract, Omarion is now on his own EMI-distributed label after brief and unproductive stints in the camps of Timbaland and Lil Wayne.

    *Isn’t it good to know that Ringo Starr’s still kickin’ around? The legendary ex-Beatle releases “Y Not” today, and it’s filled with as many guest appearances as one would expect from someone who gathers a ton of A-list musicians and heads out on the road every year. The featured artists on Mr. Starkey’s latest effort include Ben Harper, Richard Marx, Joe Walsh and some guy named McCartney.

    Get the full list of this week’s releases (as well as future release dates) over at Pause and Play .