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Album portrays Sonic Youth members as social observers
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 09:59:53 pm CDT
Rock
Sonic Youth
"Sonic Nurse"
HHHH½
Having been around for 23 years and 19 albums, Sonic Youth no longer can remotely be classified as young.But the pioneering New York art-rock/noise/punk band still is making some of today's most vital music, whether reacting to 9/11 on the brilliant "Murray Street" or returning to the more accessible sounds of 1990's "Goo" on the new "Sonic Nurse."
What that means is that the guitars are more restrained, melodies are upfront in the mix and multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke's flavorings are more prominent in the sound.That doesn't mean Sonic Youth has wimped out - there's still enough feedback, skronk and chaos to please any fan.
And the record marks a return to prominence for bassist Kim Gordon, whose Nico-like voice hides shredding lyrics in songs like "Kim Gordon and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream," a screed aimed at clueless diva Mariah Carey, the nasty "Dude Ranch Nurse" and the album's opening track, "Pattern Recognition."
That song is followed by the beautiful "Unmade Bed" on which Thurston Moore sounds a bit like Neil Young.But even then, SY can't keep things quiet, gradually turning up the pounding.The intricate guitar interplay on "Dripping Dream" is continually ear-catching. But, again, that's nothing new.
Lyrically, SY can be biting and angry or more resigned, but they're continual social observers, delivering opinions on pop culture and politics, the latter most notably on "Peace Attack," a meditative ringing guitar rejoinder to the "war pigs" of the Bush administration. But for me, at least, the words aren't the point of Sonic Youth. The guitars, beautiful and gritty, and arrangements drive the music regardless of what is being said.
For those who know something about contemporary art, Sonic Youth's inherent hipness is apparent on in the CDcover art - a selection of paintings by Richard Prince from his notorious "Nurse Paintings" series.That's the kind of cultural overlap that's expected among the "avant-garde."If such a thing really exists, Sonic Youth has been there for decades, and "Sonic Nurse" shows that SY hasn't lost its edge.
- L. Kent Wolgamott
P.J.Harvey
"Uh Huh Her"
HHHHH
For a dozen years, P.J. Harvey has been one of the most consistently bracing figures in modern/alternative/college/choose-your-label rock, creating a powerful body of work with her lyrical honesty and musical intensity.
She's back with another blast on "Uh Huh Her,"her first album in four years. As always, the central theme of the disc is love and relationships. And Polly Jean doesn't appear to be having a good time. While she claims her work isn't autobiographical, it's impossible to believe that anyone can generate this much angst solely out of the imagination.
"Your lips taste of poison," she moans on the throbbing "The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth," a cheery little opener to a cheery little album that stomps along with a chorus of "wash it out, wash it out, wash it out."
Harvey follows that take on the male/female world with the shaking, dark, bluesy "Shame," the story of a woman hypnotized by love but sure she's in yet another soon-to-be-failing relationship. A couple songs later, she's singing about not wanting to be tied down, and by the end of the record she's pondering "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" and "The Darker Days of Me and Him."
But Harvey never falls into the confessional singer/songwriter morass. She's too dark and has too much humor for that. And the music she creates has too much edge for that, whether she's using the power of the blues to anchor the songs or punching around with angular punk sounds.
The key word there is she creates. Harvey played all the instruments on the album, including violin, autoharp and keyboards, save drums, recorded it at her home studio in England and produced it herself.That alone makes it a notable release. But the emotional and musical drive of "Uh Huh Her" sets it a cut above the routine, making for compelling repeat listening.
Harvey's still as good as contemporary rock gets.
- L. Kent Wolgamott
Pop
Cowboy Junkies
"One Soul Now"
HHHH
"One Soul Now" is moody, brooding, eerie and melancholy. In other words, it's everything you'd expect from the Cowboy Junkies.
Whether that's good or bad depends on your expectations.
The 10 tracks on the Junkies' ninth studio album explore a wide spectrum of the human experience, including love, life, death, loss, fatigue and divorce.
A party album it is not.
If anything, lyricist Michael Timmins seems even more depressed than usual.
There should be no expectation for the Cowboy Junkies to deliver a lighthearted summer disc. They are an experienced band, approaching 20 years together, and they make mature music.
Sedate and mellow, to be sure, but also interesting and engaging. And that's more than can be said about most of the music hitting stores this summer.
- Scott Bauer
The Associated Press
Rachael Yamagata
"Happenstance"
HHH
Rachael Yamagata's full-length debut CD, "Happenstance," will sound familiar even if you've never heard of her.
She sounds a lot like Fiona Apple.
Yamagata's got a compelling, smoky-edged voice that sounds best when she lets it loose, as on the first track, "Be Be Your Love," and the ready-for-radio "Worn Me Down."
But the energy of the first half of the CD quickly dissipates as Yamagata gets mired down in a series of dreary ballads such as "Even So." One can almost hear her record company begging her to sound more like Norah Jones. She doesn't. And she shouldn't try.
"Happenstance" suffers from an identity crisis. Yamagata tries a variety of styles, from the bluesy "Paper Doll," which perfectly suits her smoky voice, to "I Want You," a silly song featuring Yamagata growling her way through the chorus.
The hidden track 14 is the disc's biggest mistake. Yamagata desperately strains to hit high notes accompanied only by delicate guitar plucking. It's a disaster.
Overall, "Happenstance" is a pleasant collection of songs. But if you're really in the mood for heart-wrenching ballads from a dark-haired, piano-playing songstress, dust off your copy of "Tidal," Apple's 1996 debut.
- Kim Curtis
The Associated Press
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