Mary J. Blige "Love & Life" (Geffen/Universal) **
R&B diva Mary J. Blige offers fresh cuts with new thoughts on relationships on "Love & Life," and releases the troubles from her critically acclaimed previous album "No More Drama." "Love & Life" features a roster of stars, including Jay-Z, Method Man, P. Diddy and others, but the tracks sound mass-produced and recycled from previous work.
However, the entire album is not a loss. Eve seems to bring the magic touch from her singles with Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys to "Not Today." Blige's best work on this new disc may be the second single, "Ooh!" which jumps with a funk beat and harmonies of breathy vocals, catchy enough for any stereo. "Let Me Be The 1," featuring 50 Cent, could make it as the next single, and "It's A Wrap" is simple but well-produced with clear backups complementing Blige's belts. But on the whole, "Love & Life" sounds like leftovers from Blige's "No More Drama."
- MIKE MENACHEM
Beulah "Yoko" (Velocette Records) ***1/2
Beulah's latest release, "Yoko," blends pop beats, string arrangements and tight vocals together to create a nearly-flawless soundscape that will have the listener singing along after only a few listens. Anyone who likes mellow rock will enjoy this album.
"Yoko" starts off strongly with up-tempo songs like "A Man Like Me" and "Landslide Baby," then slows it down with "You're Only King Once." On this song, when lead singer Miles Kurosky croons, "Please smile / I just want you happy," it sounds more genuine than any power-ballad singer on mainstream radio.
While these songs are certainly an impressive beginning to an album, "Yoko" picks up even more from here. "My Side of the City" deserves the top slot on the singles chart with its irresistible catchiness. Other stand-out songs on "Yoko" include "Wipe Those Prints and Run" and "Your Mother Loves You Son."
- BLAIR PAYNE
The Lawrence Arms "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (Fat Wreck Chords) ***
Predictability can be either comforting or infuriating. Anyone who has tracked the four-album history of The Lawrence Arms would expect "The Greatest Story Ever Told." The album includes no experimental disasters, but it's nothing new.
A problem arises because the band's 2002 release "Apathy and Exhaustion" was almost too good. The band achieved the sound it was looking for and was stuck with nowhere new to go with this album. The songs feature the same chord and vocal constructions with very little deviation from past structure. Fat Wreck Chords-style drum-beats provide rhythm for two vocalists, one with a raspy voice - think Crimpshine - the other with a clean Jawbreaker style. Influences from 2002 touring mates Dillenger 4 and fellow Chicagoans The Alkaline Trio are evident on "Greatest Story."
However, The Lawrence Arms' witty lyrics perhaps signify the best part of the band. "The Greatest Story Ever Told" celebrates these lyrics with amazing liner notes complete with detailed footnotes.
- PAUL CAVALIERI
Lo-Pro "S/T" (413 Records/Geffen) **
Staind's Aaron Lewis packs the debut album from Lo-Pro with hype, but unfortunately the project's production is far more impressive than the music. Vocalist Pete Murray and guitarist Neil Godfrey, both former members of Ultraspank, mesh well on some tracks, like "Not Me" and "Sunday," but most of the songs blandly blend into each other.
Staind's influence on the band filters through its aural landscape, but Lo-Pro tastes more like weak coffee and Murray doesn't have the range of Aaron Lewis. Lo-Pro shows some promise on the last track, "Bombz," a slower song that brings Tommy Stewart's drums into the foreground. However, it's not enough to warrant waiting through the first 11 tracks. Despite the hype, professional production, packaging and engineering, the 'lo' quality of music sinks this album into the oblivious depths of the modern rock ocean.
- COREY PARKER
The Constantines "Shine A Light" (Sub Pop) ****
The hype surrounding the Constantines generally goes down two paths: the brooding anthems that make you want to stumble down an urban street with your collar turned up, and that long-awaited rebirth of rock sought in every new release, heavy with Bruce Springsteen and Fugazi comparisons.
Altogether, the Constantines create an appealing album that provides not only that epic feeling of "rock on" that we all crave, but also honest, poetic lyrics and a proficient cast of players.
The most infectious tracks on "Shine A Light," "Young Lions" and "On To You," are staggering songs driven by singer Bry Webb's gravelly voice and innovative instrumentals on behalf of the whole band. Whether or not the Constantines resurrect rock or inspire you to prowl some city nightscape, indie rock purists to fans of bands that start with "the" can find this album accessible.
- JEN TURNER
Dan Sartain "Dan Sartain vs. the Serpientes" (Swami Records) **
Put on "Dan Sartain vs. the Serpientes" and travel back a few generations as this solo artist rocks out 1950s-style, his crooning and clean guitars recreating an old-school sound.
"Dan Sartain vs. the Serpientes," a first offering from Dan Sartain, features 10 other musicians, filling in on drums, bass, piano and the occasional horn. Sartain serves up a gritty, retro and under-produced sound after recording about a third of the album's songs in his garage in Birmingham, Ala. With its weathered and distant tone, this album possesses an uncanny vinyl quality.
Sartain emulates the innocence of early rock-'n'-roll with songs like "Panama City Beach," while also delving into grungier garage-rock on tracks like "Love is Crimson." Although it's a fun listen, "Dan Sartain vs. the Serpientes" doesn't live up to the original sounds of the '50s and falls far short of modern nostalgia rockers like Rocket from the Crypt.
- LAURA KAPLAN
Superjoint Ritual "A Lethal Dose of American Hatred" (Sanctuary) *
Superjoint Ritual's newest release, "A Lethal Dose of American Hatred," is definitely a lethal dose of something bad.
The songs on the album amount to nothing better than those of an 18-year-old's death metal garage band. Granted, the album includes some good riffs and creative drum parts, but not a musician in the band seems talented.
In the same way anyone who has a friend with a band appreciates the music they create, any fan of Pantera, Down, or Crowbar - whose members form Superjoint -will have some interest. The catchy closer "Absorbed" marks one of the better songs on the album. Other songs, such as "Personal Insult" and "Never Sit or Stand Again," sound like remnants off the band's aptly named debut "Use Once and Destroy." Nothing innovative or special emerges on this album, leaving no reason for owning it.
- FRED NETZBAND
Joe Henry "Tiny Voices" (Anti Records) ***1/2
Joe Henry cannot be defined by one single genre. The prolific singer and songwriter - he hates that term - has dabbled in every genre except hip-hop, and his most recent release, "Tiny Voices," is by far his best. "Tiny Voices," self-produced and released on the more eclectic Epitaph sub-label Anti, is a wistful blues-folk experience which narrates a series of stories through Henry's intimate first person, worldly lyrics. Elvis Costello endorses the record, which clocks in at over an hour, and with good reason. "Tiny Voices" is Henry's ninth and most encompassing record regarding all his former musical phases, from his late '80s obsession with rock to his early '90s experimentation with folk, blues and bluegrass.
The cover art is equally as fascinating as the musical content. The photo, an early 20th century portrait of Vaudevillian blackface-clad actors, provides a tangible alternative to Henry's music that expresses the same, plaintive tone.
- COSTA CALOUDAS
