Linkin Park plays House of Blues Feb. 11, Coldplay plays Riviera Feb. 19
Of the many bands that released debut discs in 2000, only a handful deserve our continued attention in 2001. With the Beatles' 1 album high atop the pop charts for weeks, it would appear that Britpop has made something of a return. Modern-day mainstream Britpop bands such as Travis and critics darlings Radiohead are continuing an important legacy. Fans of both bands should be able to find something to admire about Coldplay, and their full-length domestic debut disc Parachutes (Nettwerk). Their dreamy-pop single, "Yellow," was inescapable at the time that I was writing this (last week of December) and showed no sign of disappearing. Lead vocalist Chris Martin can hit the high notes like Jeff Buckley, and the album's 10 songs sound like a middle ground between the aforementioned Travis and Radiohead. Other high-flying tracks include "Don't Panic," "Shiver" (which reminded me of Kitchens Of Distinction), the gorgeous "Sparks" and "Trouble," and the mini-epic "Everything's Not Lost."
The flipside to the beauty of Coldplay is the hip-hop/metal rage of Linkin Park. When vocalist Chester Bennington declares "Everything you say to me/Takes me one step closer to the edge/And I'm about to break," you believe him. Linkin Park's appropriately titled debut disc Hybrid Theory (Warner Brothers) is mostly a hybrid of hip-hop and metal that puts them on par with the Bizkit boys. Alienation and anxiety dictate, and the songs are performed with vein-bulging seriousness. Would a sense of humor have made "Crawling," "By Myself," or "A Place For My Head" easier to take or is this not a laughing matter?
Hard and heavy metal guitars and polyp-inducing vocals are the order of the day on Relationship Of Command (Grand Royal), the major-label debut by At The Drive-In. There's a Texan in the White House and very soon, the Texans in At The Drive-In could be at the top of the charts. Their ruthlessly slamming "One Armed Scissor" is regular on the radio, and a song such as "Cosmonaut" could also probably do as well. Rumored to be the kind of band that must be seen live, At The Drive-In tours relentlessly, and may be in your neck of the woods very soon.
The Rick Rubin produced major-label self-titled debut disc by Paloalto (American) features hard-rocking guitars on several tracks, like At The Drive-In, while lead vocalist James Grundler's vocals have a quality reminiscent of Jeff Buckley's (just like Coldplay's Chris Martin). The Buckley similarities occur on "Sonny," "Monolith," "Some Things Must Go This Way," and "Coming Back From The Sun," to name a few. Paloalto isn't all bluster. They do reveal a softer side on "Beauty Of Disaster" and "Too Many Questions." While no one will ever replace Jeff Buckley, it's interesting to hear people try.
Like At The Drive-In, the quintet known as Dexter Freebish also hails from Texas. John Shanks, who plays on Paloalto's album, also co-wrote one track and plays on a couple of tracks on A Life Of Saturdays (Capitol), the Dexter Freebish disc. Too many coincidences? Perhaps. However, these things can be overlooked due to the male-model looks of front-man Kyle (one name, like Cher or Madonna) and the band's pleasant way with power-pop tunes such as "Leaving Town," "Spotlight," and the nifty title track.
Some former members of Ruth Ruth have gotten together to form Ultra V and release the varied album Bring On The Fuego (RCA). On "Playboy Mansion," for instance, they sound like My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, while they mellow out on "Can I Crash Here Tonite?" sounding perfectly at ease with a smooth groove.
Big country
Sixteen Horsepower plays Schuba's Feb. 14-15
The appropriately titled The Spectacular Sadness of Rex Hobart & The Misery Boys (Bloodshot) features a dozen songs sung with a catch in Rex Hobart's crooning voice. Sad, sad, sad, but boy, does it swing. As long as you don't mind dancing with tears in your eyes, you might as well put this album on and sniffle along to "Forever Always Ends," "Bridge Burners Union (Local 36)," "I'm Not Drunk Enough," and "'Til My Teardrops Turn To Gold." If you have a hankering for woeful ballad, Hobart's "The One & Lonely You" and "I'll Forget Her Or Die Crying," might suit you.
In the late '90s the bands Sixteen Deluxe and Sixteen Horsepower released discs that became instant insurgent country classics. Having survived the upheaval at A&M Records, Sixteen Horsepower has released the album Secret South (Razor & Tie). Bringing a mess of "Appalachian goth" to their brand of music, the songs are intensely haunting and effective, especially on "Burning Bush," "Clogger," "Silver Saddle," and "Nobody 'Cept You."
Sixteen Horsepower has honed their sin and salvation sound on tracks such as "Wayfaring Stranger," "Praying Arm Lane," and "Splinters." The addition of a three-piece string section makes the songs both heavenly and human.
Clem Snide is insurgenty country sorrow via New Jersey by way of Boston, proving that Guster isn't alone in that universal hub. Your Favorite Music (Sire), their latest album, is a mild-mannered approach to the country troubador tradition. As gentle and unassuming as a powder-blue tuxedo, the songs on this album (including the title track, "The Dairy Queen," "Bread," "Loneliness Finds Her Own Way," and a cover of Richie Valens's "Donna") are so beautiful, they almost guarantee a lump in the throat. Even the upbeat tunes, such as "Exercise" and "I Love The Unknown" (which features Ambrosia Parsley, of Shivaree, singing back-up vocals), have a delicate pulse that doesn't upstage your favorite heartbeat.
You might be surprised to hear how good a country version of Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" sounds, but as sung by Dwight Yoakam on his new album Tomorrow's Sounds Today (Reprise), it sounds as if it was always meant to be done this way. The preceding 11 Yoakam originals are all up to par (including "Dreams Of Clay," "Love Caught Up To Me," "Time Spent Missing You," "The Heartaches Are Free," "A World Of Blue," and the two duets with Buck Owens (especially the Tex Mex "Alright, I'm Wrong") that close the album. Just like fellow new-country artist Lyle Lovett, Yoakam also has a burgeoning film career with his latest role being in the new David Fincher film The Panic Room.
Somewhere between Sixteen Horsepower and The Handsome Family, you will find the Pinetop Seven, and their album Bringing Home the Last Great Strike (Self-Help/Truckstop). Core members Ryan Hembrey and Darren Richard anchor the revolving crew of musicians, and are the focal point of the songs. As dark as they are sumptuous, the songs on this album, beginning with the lush instrumental "As The Mutiny Sleeps" and continuing through the subtle Latin influence of "A Black Eye To Be Proud Of," the exotic "Ten Thousand Came To Carlisle," the near-pop accessibility of "Mission District," the spoken workd "At His Kitchen Table," and the hypnotic "A Friend To The Minnesota Strangler," honor the alternative country tradition while contributing something to it, as well.
Singing actress Ann-Margret is about to hit the road in the national tour of the revival of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, one of the most popular country-western musicals ever to grace a Broadway stage. In Chicago, the curtain up on the musical Lust 'n Rust, "a musical comedy about the loves and heartaches of the residents of the Redbud Mobile Estates."
Songs Of Lust 'N Rust: The Trailers (LNR) features songs from the musical mostly co-written by Frank Haney, Carol Kimball and Dave Stratton. Standout tracks, many of which feature the sound of a pedal steel and lap steel guitar, include "Mobilized," "Double Wide," "Once Upon A Time," and "Off To Mexico."
Hannah Ross's violin is an essential part of the music on Geode (Phoenix Rising) by the band The Recipe. The sound that this sextet cooks up is mostly a bluegrass stomp-fest, on songs such as "Real Wilde Cinema," "Honeybee," and "Stardust Lovers." A pop ballad such as "One Day Away From The Cusp," and tie-dyed jams such as "Pinwheel" and "The Seed," also reveal other influences.
The revival of "old time music" got its biggest boost on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers' movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou." The Dickel Brothers also do their part on the four-song EP The Recordings Of The Dickel Brothers, Volume Two (Empty Records), while the "country rock" of the 1970s (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pure Prairie League, Charlie Daniels Band) gets its due on the 17-track compilation Goin' South (Razor & Tie).
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