Nickel Eye "The Time of the Assassins" (Rykodisc) Sounds Like: The Old West in a pinstriped suit Grade: B+
Nickel Eye, the solo project of Nikolai Fraiture, The Strokes' bassist, will release "The Time of the Assassins" on Jan. 27 to high expectations. And other than a few moments of "haven't I heard this before?" boredom, fans won't be disappointed.
At the heart of "The Time of the Assassins" is a distant, driving movement, captured in the far-off sound and smoky vocals woven throughout the album.
These constants at times make the album feel like a string of the same track, though by midway through the album Fraiture seems to have worked out the kinks and placed more dissimilar tracks side by side.
Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs joins Fraiture on the plodding but smooth-as-oil "This Is the End," and Regina Spektor adds her talented fingers to the fray, playing piano on the elegantly mournful "Where the Cold Wind Blows."
The album goes out on a high note: the bright, upbeat "Another Sunny Afternoon" followed by Leonard Cohen cover "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye."
Overall, the album evokes a feeling of classy aloofness. Even in its most intimate moments, it is cool and unwelcoming, but its haunting nature is not so much threatening as it is intriguing. It doesn't sound like The Strokes, but it sounds good.
-MADALYN WASILCZUK
"Kind of Blue: Legacy Edition" Miles Davis (Columbia Records) Sounds Like: Miles Davis. Enough said. Grade: B+
Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" is the most ubiquitous jazz record ever. It finds itself on prominent shelf space in the collection of any jazz lover, and for good reason. Its influence on the world of popular music is hard to tie down, because it appears right at the intersection of Davis' world of jazz and the modern world of rock music. The result is a record that is both reflective and surprisingly prescient when looked at in retrospect.
Many people dismissive of jazz complain that they can't get behind anything so freewheeling or rambling, but everything about "Kind of Blue" feels incredibly tight and polished. Its light piano tones serve as the foundation, setting the atmosphere while warbling saxophones and Miles' own swinging trumpet dive in like strokes of brightly colored paint against a blank canvas. The effect is a sound that both relaxes a listener and demands attention.
Unlike the album, the reissue is not the finest work. All of the original songs sound better than ever. The instruments sound crisp and warm at the same time, and it's easier than ever to catch each little facet of the sprawling songs. The extras, though, are a little bit lacking. A few live tracks mixed with a few false starts gives the listener a bit of insight, but one is still left wanting more. Davis devotees would be better off investing in the box set Columbia put out back in September for the album's 50th anniversary, which included a much more in-depth look at the album and at the composer himself. But for new listeners, this is a good introduction to a fantastic album.
-MICHAEL RICHARDSON
