Feb. 15, 2011
By Kurt B. Reighley
Less than two months after his last release, teen heartthrob Justin Bieber returns with another stopgap EP to pad out his discography -- and promote his 3-D biopic, which hit cinemas Friday. Like November's "My Worlds Acoustic," "Never Say Never: The Remixes" features one previously unreleased song (the Dianne Warren original "Born to Be Somebody") rounded out with rebooted favorites. The Canadian sensation certainly doesn't want for special guests. In addition to "Karate Kid" star Jaden Smith, who raps on the title track, the remixes include contributions from country trio Rascal Flatts, Kanye West, Raekwon, Usher and Chris Brown, while Miley Cyrus joins the 16-year-old singer for a live version of the "My World 2.0" cut "Overboard."
Conor Oberst was almost as young when his band Bright Eyes first started making waves in the mid-'90s, although his introspective indie rock is the polar opposite of Bieber's high-gloss urban pop. After recent full-lengths with Monsters of Folk and the Mystic Valley Band, the Omaha, Neb., native reunites with longtime collaborators Mike Mogis and Nathaniel Walcott for "The People's Key." In contrast to the rootsy, Americana vibe of the last Bright Eyes LP, 2007's "Cassadaga," the band's eighth studio album traffics in a fuller sound. "Shell Games" starts with just burbling piano and Oberst's aching vocals, then blossoms into a rocking toe-tapper on the chorus, and drums roll like thunder throughout the compelling closer "One for You, One for Me." Curious snippets of conversation woven throughout the record further highlight the contemplative nature of Oberst's lyrics.
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View results for: PJ Harvey Conor Oberst Drive-By Truckers DeVotchKa PJ Harvey Mogwai Cowboy Junkies Nicole Atkins Stockholm Syndrome The Dears While Bright Eyes crank it up a notch, the Drive-By Truckers opt to mellow out. "Go-Go Boots" largely eschews the hard-driven, guitar-fueled Southern rock of last year's rollicking "The Big To-Do." Regardless, the butt-kickin' Alabama ensemble remain true to their roots, particularly their affinity for the sound of Muscle Shoals: Within the first 90 seconds of opener "I Do Believe", Paterson Hood -- who alternates vocals and songwriting with members Mike Cooley and Shonna Tucker -- has name-dropped Percy Sledge, and later the band covers "Everybody Needs Love," written by the great Muscle Shoals guitarist Eddie Hinton. Also notable is "Cartoon Gold," a Cooley original ripe with country twang and resonant banjo licks.
Although they're best known to the general public for their Grammy Award-nominated soundtrack to the spirited independent film "Little Miss Sunshine," Denver outfit DeVotchKa have never been easy to pigeonhole, drawing on myriad genres, including klezmer, surf rock and norteño, for their eclectic, multicultural sound. Working with producer Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Neko Case, Iron & Wine), frontman Nick Urata and Co. have fashioned a set of epic songs with Southwestern flourishes on "100 Lovers"; check out the fluctuating Latin rhythms and brass of "Back Luck Heels." The tempestuous "The Man From San Sebastian," a whirling frenzy of violin and accordion, and the mesmerizing "100 Other Lovers" are just two of the highlights on this stellar record.
The unpredictable path of PJ Harvey continues along its winding course on "Let England Shake." While 2007's "White Chalk" was a hushed set dominated by piano and was followed by 2008's robust "A Woman a Man Walked By" (with longtime collaborator John Parrish), this time Polly Jean favors a sparse, percussive sound. The title cut contrasts folksy autoharp with Harvey's keening, high-pitched vocals, and curious quotations from other songs, including reggae classic "Blood and Fire" and "Summertime Blues," pop up during these 12 new cuts, which were recorded with veteran cohorts Parrish, Mick Harvey and Flood, among others. While the lyrics center on Harvey's homeland and international affairs throughout history, she is quick to iterate that this is not explicitly a political album. "I sing as a human being affected by politics, and that for me is a more successful way ... because I so often feel that with a lot of protest music, I'm being preached to, and I don't want that."
Scottish post-rockers Mogwai sound leaner and meaner on "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will," their first album for the Sub Pop label after a decade on Matador. Although the band's seventh album retains its ambitious sonic scope, and most of the selections are instrumentals, overall the songs are shorter and more succinct. The menacing, slow-moving "Rano Pano" has already been garnering praise in the blogosphere for a couple months, but the album's standout is "George Square Thatcher Death Party," four transcendental minutes of pulsating Krautrock rhythms and sheets of buzz-saw guitar.
Also New This Week
Cowboy Junkies: "Demons" (listen)
Nicole Atkins: "Mondo Amore" (listen)
Stockholm Syndrome: "Apollo" (listen)
The Dears: "Degeneration Street" (listen)
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