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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, September 8, 2010 / UPGRADE
REVIEWS nicholas proch The Recorder
Since their breakthrough tripleplatinum album Dizzy Up the Girl, the Goo Goo Dolls have been enjoying a life of success, popularity and touring. The band’s newest effort, Something for the Rest of Us, ranks on par with past releases by the group. The opening track of the album, ‘Sweetest Lie,’ is a great way to kickoff. With a good vocal effort by lead member John Rzeznik, you can really feel the mood of the album. This seems to be a darker, more somber compilation of songs. As the Goo Goo Dolls often do, they are trying to reach a mainstream audience. I would expect that this album will tailor to the likes of teenage girls around the world. The title track, ‘Something for the Rest of Us,’ is a slower ballad-like effort. It’s a slow moving song with no real structure but just a general mood. At times this works, but the length of the song tends to bore after four and a half minutes. The last two compositions on the album are the strongest since the opening track. ‘Hey Ya’ and ‘Soldier’ send the listener on their way satisfied. ‘Hey Ya’ has a great structure to it. Albeit this format has been butchered to death by the band, they don’t have to change what works. ‘Soldier’ should
Goo Goo Dolls
jason cunningham
Warner Bros. August 31
The Heirlooms’ self-titled debut EP isn’t the strongest. Jesse Stanford, the band’s core songwriter and lead vocalist, has composed four songs with such a thick need to take themselves seriously that they fail to achieve mediocrity. Stanford seems desperate to sound like someone with something deep and meaningful to express, but his lyrics are cliché at best. They sound more like a collection of lines recycled from his influences rather than songs that actually came from his psyche. The opening track “Old Rose” sounds like it belongs on the Garden State soundtrack. The second track “Bloodstar” sounds like something penned during a severe Elliot Smith period. While there are catchy elements to both songs, they become forgettable because of their lack of originality. “The Bowery” comes next, an ear piercing track that’s too painful to stand at its best moments. Stanford becomes overwhelming during that song, pushing out lines that are amiss with all of his might in a mix where his voice is just far too loud to sound pleasant. Making it to the fourth song takes serious patience. The EP’s closer “Shaker Hymn” sounds like the mutant baby of Jack Johnson and Zooey Deschanel. It’s not vomit worthy, but it might make you feel a tad queasy. The Heirlooms are drenched in imitation and don’t really having anything
Something for the Rest of Us
have been the title track. It’s well written, well executed and has a great feel to it. Building from the first moment, it’s a true finale to the album. While the Goo Goo Dolls may never regain the complete commercial success they once had, they are certainly taking steps in the right direction of doing so. For now, check out ‘Sweetest Lie’ and ‘Soldier’ unless you are a die-hard who needs to have their whole catalogue.
The Recorder
Cephalic Carnage
Heart
Red Velvet Car
Song Legacy August 31
Sara Berry The Recorder
It has been six years since sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, better known to the world as the band Heart, released their last studio album. Their latest effort, Red Velvet Car, proves that these ladies can still rock. The album is a mix of the rocking guitar tunes and edgy ballads that the group is known for. It features ten songs and runs 37 minutes. The vocals are strong, backed by solid guitar playing and an assortment of other acoustic instruments. The album opens with the catchy
tune “There You Go,” which will have you singing the chorus by the end of the song. The next few songs keep the rock feel and move gradually into the slower songs. The title track “Red Velvet Car” is a slow guitar song reflecting on an imperfect, but very real relationship, a sort of marriage of the band’s 1985 hit “What About Love” and 1990’s “All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You.” This year’s version adds some strings to the mix of guitar and light percussion, starting slow and growing into one of those power ballads that dominated the 80s. There are several themes that run through the songs on the album, perhaps the most obvious one being that suggested by the title of the album – travel and moving on. It’s anyone’s guess what they had in mind – literal travel, moving on from one relationship to another, or simply moving from one point in life to the next. Each person can make of it what they will. The last three songs, “Death Valley,” “Sunflower,” and “Sand” also lend Red Velvet Car something of a nature theme as the lyrics refer to the California desert, the beauty and intricacy of flowers, the sun and stars, and the passage of time like sand in an hourglass. Despite Heart’s clear place in the music of the 80s, they have shown that they are versatile enough to move into the 21st century while maintaining their own identity. The album’s only downfall? It was too short. I would have gladly listened to a few extra songs.
Misled by Certainty
Relapse August 31
max kyburz The Recorder
Instead of starting off their new album with a much-cliched foreboding intro, noodly death metal outfit Cephalic Carnage instead punches you before exchanging pleasantries with their first track, titled ‘The Incorrigible Flame.’ Combining Scandinavian death grooves with mathematical precision, Cephalic Carnage introduces themselves as a band true to the ethics of death metal; combining elements from the past while looking into the future (and using astonishing diction). Powering through the first two tracks, Cephalic ends up with track three, ‘Abraxas of Filth,’ a crushing track that
The Heirlooms Heirlooms EP
Self- released August 1
new to offer, but that doesn’t mean they won’t pick up a following. If the blame for these shoddy songs should be put on their leader than he also deserves credit for understanding what many trendy hipsters in the area will like and listen to. The Heirlooms have definitely set out to develop a very generic and extremely commercial friendly sound under Stanford’s direction. They’ve succeeded in doing it. This EP will be easily accessible to those who enjoy inflated earnestness and unoriginality in their music. combines pounding beats with freeform jazz rhythm (if there were such a thing). All this while the double bass drum flutters like the bubbles in their bong water. The band cools off for a bit with ‘Cordyceps Humanis,’ a stoner hymn that offers its fans the chance to lurk instead of mosh for a few brief moments. Once the breather is over, Cephalic spring back into action with ‘Raped by an Orb.’ It is a more brutal song then its predecessor, but it still retains some of the same pace, showing that they have something more up their sleeves. Sure enough they do. The next track, ‘P.G.A.D.,’ incorporates crust punk elements into the already eclectic mix, but it’s not enough to prepare the listener for the awe of the next track, ‘Dimensional Modulation Transmography.’ If there were such a thing as controlled chaos, this song is it. Starting with a politically charged sample and subtle bass solo, the song suddenly explodes. Revealing the tight skills of drummer John Merryman, ‘Modulation’ is the apex of the album, exposing all of the attributes that make Cephalic Carnage who they are known to be. Although the latter tracks of the album become cyclical, they finish off strong with ‘Repangaea’, a sludgy tune that will has flashes of bands like Mastodon and Sleep. But just when you think it’s all over, they end on a humorous note with ‘Aeyeuchg!,’ a thirty second parody of black metal. I won’t spoil too much, but try to envision the crypt keeper hacking and vomiting. For a band that’s serious about their craft, that seriousness doesn’t transfer easily to their own self image. Thank God.
Acappella Society Hosting Welcome Back Concert Thursday Matt Clyburn The Recorder
The Central Connecticut Acappella Society will host its fourth annual Welcome Back Concert in Alumni Hall Thursday at 8 p.m. Three of the organization’s vocal ensembles, AcaBellas, Divisi and TGFI, are scheduled to perform. The Welcome Back Concert is held by the group at the beginning of each semester to act both as a musical kick-off to the first semester and a platform for recruiting new members.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase the talent at CCSU and also for prospective students to become involved at our school,” said CCAS President and TGFI member Teresa Lewis. Tables will be set up to distribute information and to start a dialogue between potential new members and current members of the ensembles. Each of the three groups have different tryout processes and different expectations of members. “We’re very excited about this year’s welcome back concert and to get our fifth year as an acappella society underway,” said CCAS Vice
President Andy Degan. “It promises to be a face-melting good time.” Each group has a different style and repertoire, ranging from classical to vocal jazz and pop to modern rock. In addition to a concert each semester, many of the groups have taken CCSU acappella across Connecticut for local television stations, college campuses and performing arts venues. The CCAS was founded by Megan LaPorta and Marques Ruff in October of 2005. It was originally comprised of AcaBellas and Divisi. TGFI was founded in 2007 by Emily LaRose.