Pendulum "Immersion"

I saw this on the ARIA charts during a recent browse but passed it over because it was listed as genre Drum & Bass, and the Ol' Mad Rocker doesn't hang in clubland.  Next thing you know, I see it on the UK charts and I read that Steven Wilson contributes on a track.  So two positives, Mr. Wilson and Australian, are enough to get me to try it.  Well, it's Drum & Bass for sure, with BPM's of 100+ at times and tons of those squiggly synth lines, but it's not a total loss by any means.  The band has six members, so it's not just programs and loops, it's real instruments, closely resembling the Prodigy (though I don't own any).  Liam Howlett even guests on one track, not that it matters to me.  A couple of tracks about a third of the way in slow down enough to be enjoyable, one coming off like a Filter record.  A two part piece called "The Island" has been released as an EP, and the first half called (Dawn) could be mistaken for a methed-out Howard Jones song.  Actually quite good.  Then there's another numbing fifteen minute stretch before arriving at the final three tracks, one of which is the aforementioned Steven Wilson contribution.  The Porcupine Tree sound is vague, but it's there, and it briefly bubbles up in a couple of other spots...probably why SW got involved in the first place.  Another rockin' track features Swedish headbangers In Flames, and the album ends on a heavy Depeche Mode theme, though revved up by 50%.  So hey, I'm keeping six tracks/40%.  Not too shabby for something completely dismissed at the outset.  "Immersion" isn't available in the US yet, but it's such a big deal overseas that it will probably get here soon enough.

Mystery Jets "Serotonin"

Not certain of where I heard of this band but I believe they were pitched to me as a psychedelic pop group, which isn't really the case for my ear, but it certainly is a retro/revivalist group hailing from England.  I hear some Tony Carey/Planet P in some of the vocals and generally just a lot of early MTV-sounding influences, which isn't a bad thing.  College radio must dig it as I heard some on WRAS from GA State while driving through Atlanta several weeks back.  It truly is a shiny, happy, singalong pop record.  I like it...I just don't think I'll keep it.  If I want shiny, happy, pop music, I have tons of it already.  The Wondermints is a similar band that comes to mind which I already own, but I haven't found myself motivated to play it in, say, two years, and that's probably a lowball guess.  The last thing I need is a new entry into the vault that I doubt seriously I'd grab to play sometime before 2012.  But I really like this record!  Here is a link to the new video so you can see the 60's mod look and hear the catchy chorus for yourself.  But I really like this record!

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree...

...and since most of you (Americans, that is) have no idea who Fiction Plane is, the frontman/vocalist/bassist is one Joe Sumner, the son of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, AKA Sting.  Some of you may have even seen Fiction Plane in concert when they opened for the Police on the recent reunion tour, playing in front of tens of thousands.  I saw them on the supporting tour for their first album some six or seven years ago in a small club with about a hundred people, many of which were attractive twenty-something females hoping to hit the handsome ca-ching of Sting's loins.  The three-piece band rocked hard, as loud a show I'd attended in years, and truly impressed this old fart.  One of the songs from that first record became a personal anthem, and I have often pulled the CD out to play for people over the past few years.  I completely missed the second record from 2007 and its subsequent live album last year, but I'm ahead of the game with "Sparks", released in Europe a couple of months ago and rumored to be available here in the states this fall.  There is mixed info about that, though, as I've seen one release date and label go by the wayside already.  This would be a tragedy for domestic audiences because this record is one of the best of the year so far.  You can hear dad's influence in Joe's vocals and songwriting, though the lyrics and tone can be much darker and more cynical than papa Sting's.  Here is the new video exclusive I found on a French site that illustrates what I mean.  Also, the final track on the album is an acoustic song called "Sadr City Blues", so you can imagine the content within.  It's completely atypical of the musical style of "Sparks", but it is a certified smash hit if it will only get airplay.  Speaking of musical style, this is a rock/pop record, not a pop/rock record full of la la la songs, although ironically the opener is subtitled the La La Song.  The first five tracks are head-nodding rockers, and then the band gets really adventurous with challenging tempos and subject matter, making "Sparks" a must listen for Mad Rocker fans.  You can tell that money isn't a roadblock for these guys; big production, studio-friendly, best equipment, etc..  The most head-shaking fact for me is that the band members cite Nirvana's "Nevermind" as a prime influence for what they do, and I don't hear any of that at all, thankfully.  Rolling it up for this old music ear, I hear Crack the Sky meets Blue October meets the Killers.  But for any of you old Police fans who have kids into intelligent music and not the standard radio crap, buy this record for them but give it a listen yourself.  Oops, I forgot, you'll have to visit an international seller and get it digitally, just like your ol' pal.

Jimmy Gnecco "The Heart"

 

As a major fan of the band Ours, I was all sorts of excited to see a new record from Jimmy Gnecco, who is essentially the creative mastermind of that group, much like Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails.  Pick any of the three albums by Ours and be amazed by the power and depth of the music.  For example, I've converted many a U2 fan into an Ours follower.  The 2008 album, "Mercy", was one of the best of the year.  I paid to see them live in 2006 when they featured new music from that record, and then waited an excruciating eighteen months for the album to drop, but was rewarded with a release that made the Ol' Mad Rocker ecstatic.  That album did not leave the changer for months!  Even paid to see them live again (you can't beat The Social and their approx. 300 capacity for a show like this).  So with great anticipation, and preconceived expectations, I popped "The Heart" into the player.  I had always scoffed at the comparison to Jeff Buckley that many critics have mentioned, but by golly there it was, all over the first three tracks/13 minutes.  Have I mentioned that I don't like Jeff Buckley?  My God, I'd rather listen to Thom Yorke on quaaludes (you young bucks will have to look it up).  Anyway, the title track at #4 offered quite a bit of hope, the highest of highlights, as it turned out.  But I soldiered through spin one and two, and almost dreaded the required third spin, envisioning a Frisbee toss out the window afterwards.  But guess what?  I caught myself humming and singing along to the same tracks I had discounted on earlier listens.  It's Ours Unplugged.  That's why I always take my time when digesting these records.  I don't play 'em back to back.  I shuffle through five or six CD's at a time, always offering a new perspective to the listening experience, and it truly makes a difference.  So, ultimately, I will add "The Heart" in its entirety to the collection based on Gnecco's history.  Does it make me want to go see him as a solo this weekend?  I'll wait for the band...

Crowded House "Intriguer"

Those of you who know me are aware of the fact that I consider the Finn brothers two of the best songwriters ever after Lennon/McCartney.  When Split Enz broke up, brother Tim took off on his own and Neil formed Crowded House, and for ten years or so, basically ruled the world outside of the U.S.  Sure, they had a couple of top 10 hits you all know, but each of their four albums was chocked full of "intellipop", much too smart for American radio music directors.  Damn shame.  Another ten years go by and Neil decides to reform the band, releasing the live swan song concert from the 90's (I don't think it ever came out here but it charted wherever it was issued) and now this second studio album, "Intriguer."  It doesn't have a clear cut radio-friendly hit, but an adventurous programmer could pick any of the ten songs and be an influence in creating a hit.  Complex yet melodic, lyrically stimulating, beautiful instrumentation and expert production...yep, I love it, can you tell?  Featuring many of the family and friends who participated in the Seven Worlds Collide project, this is a pop masterpiece that won't go completely unnoticed thanks to a Top 50 showing in Billboard and a US tour featuring at least half the album.  You can purchase this record in a number of formats and from plenty of locations.  I now wish I had known there was a DVD with 11 live tracks also available.  Oh well, I'll find it somewhere.