The Go! Team - Proof Of Youth: When I first listened to this album, I was a little disappointed. It sounded a lot like the group's debut, Thunder, Lightning, Strike. Eventually, I figured out that it didn't matter if it sounded like the first album as long as it sounded good. This album is like a good sequel as opposed to a tired remake. It's a blast to listen to and even manages to have a quiet moment or two. It's as good a pick-me-up album as I've ever heard.
Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face: The genre that best describes Kenna is pop but at the same time, it doesn't even begin to describe him. On his excellent sophomore release, Make Sure They See My Face, he goes from power pop to rock/pop to electropop to dance pop without missing a beat. It's the type of music that U2 or Duran Duran could make but it also feels unique and modern due to the stellar production (mostly by Chad Hugo and Kenna himself). There really isn't much pop music like this album out now and every time I listen to it, I wonder why it (and Kenna himself) keeps getting overlooked.
Radiohead - In Rainbows: So much has been said about Radiohead's "pay-what-you-want" experiment that we've almost forgotten just how good In Rainbows is. There are a lot of albums where low bitrate MP3s are more than sufficient. This is not one of them. However, it is good enough that its excellence shined through even the least ideal means of hearing it. Also, it was refreshing to hear a band that seemed to come to terms with itself. They will never make another The Bends or OK Computer or Kid A. By just trying to make good music as opposed to topping what they did before, they succeeded in making an album that deserves to stand alongside their very best.
Common - Finding Forever: Common enjoyed a creative, commercial, and critical resurgence with the Kanye West-guided Be. Part of me was worried that Finding Forever would just be a retread of that wonderful album. I should've known that Common and Kanye were too good for that. With a wider variety of songs and a bit more non-Kanye production, this album stands apart from his other albums. In a genre that's perpetually youth-oriented, this album feels mature. This is a hip-hop album that your parents could enjoy and I mean that as a compliment.
Article comments
1 - Michael J. West
Somebody recently described Kenna as "Stevie Wonder meets Radiohead." How's that for a starter?
2 - El Bicho
Sterfish, from your previous posts, I am certain you would have done just fine reviewing a rock album. Go for it.
3 - Josh Hathaway
I'm with El Bicho. I thought the same thing when I edited this. You'd do great and I'd love to read your thoughts. IT was a great record. You have me curious about a few of these others, records outside what I'd normally listen to.
4 - Mark Saleski
i'm gonna chime in here with a "mee too!" too.
and maybe if you try hard enough, you can get josh to buy a hip hop cd.
oh yeah!