“In Ghost Colours” by Cut Copy
With a title like this, and a track entitled “So Haunted”, one would think this was a great CD to review in anticipation of Halloween. Well, not quite. I believe the imagery of Ghost Colours symbolize the fleeting moods and timeless emotions that this experimental dance album invokes.
Band member Dan Whitford spoke about band mate Tim Goldworthy’s unique approach to recording: “[It involved] a lot of experimentation. A lot of time it was a matter of listening to where a track was at, then going over and picking up a random piece of gear, or messing around with pedals and filter, and seeing what you could get from it.”
The songs are generally upbeat, ranging from playful to trance. The singing is reminiscent of Depeche Mode: a relaxed male vocalist with a slight accent to give it texture. They seamlessly mix standard percussion with electronic leads, occasionally giving way to instruments such as the saxophone and electric guitar. Nevertheless there aren’t too many sharp edges, making it altogether quite relaxing to listen to – you could dance to it, or let it play as you drift off to sleep.
My favorites were “Unforgettable Season” for its blithe mood, “Hearts on Fire” for its dance rhythm/bass and sultry saxophone, “So Haunted” for its exhilarating chorus, and “Nobody Lost, Nobody Found” for its disco flavour.
“Love is Dead” by Kerli
With a voice tantamount to Evanescence, Kerli rocks this collection of dark-laced and dramatic tracks. At first glance one might think this is solely a gothic rock album, but in fact it mixes tracks of rock, reggae, R&B, and even techno!
Love is Dead is an autobiographical album that tells Kerli’s life story from her troubled childhood in Estonia, up to her escape to America to realize her dreams.
“I’m a passionate person. Where I come from, it was a shame to show your emotions. You could never be too happy, because something bad might happen. I was always a passionate person. I wanted to live every moment. I looked around me, and it was beautiful, but I wanted something more.” Indeed, in “Walking on Air” she sings, “Little creepy girl/Oh she loves to sing/She has a little gift – an amazing thing…She will go and set the world on fire/Nobody ever thought she could do that.”
The first several songs of the album are utterly stellar. It starts off with the powerful title track, “Love is Dead”, leading into the dark and creepy “Walking on Air” and the surprisingly joyful “The Creationist”. “I Want Nothing” absolutely blew me away with its punchy electric guitars, break-neck pace and epic melody.
After that, the energy takes a dip with the reggae rhythm of “Up, Up, Up”, the demented “Creep Show” and the completely depressing “Butterfly Cry”. But before the end, it bounces back with hard hitting techno-rock number “Hurt Me”, and the poignant “Fragile”.
I never pictured myself liking an album with such dark and rebellious undertones, but I definitely have to give “Love is Dead” two enthusiastic thumbs up!
“Chemical Rising” by Jarred Nicklen
Young Jarred Nickeln is an emerging Canadian musician, with “Chemical Rising” being his first album release. According to his bio, he grew up in Saskatchewan with a passion for music and songwriting, and now bases himself right here, out of Calgary, with a band named Discourse Poetic. Quoting musical influences like Sarah Slean, U2, and Coldplay (also including gay icons like Jann Arden and Annie Lennox), Nicklen’s album is a blend of indie, rock, and pop. The album title comes from a lyric in the song “Nothing Changed”, which goes, “you’re the sounding board of something more than a chemical rising in me.”
Although the instrumentation was well done, I still feel that Nicklen has a distance to go with his vocals and phrasing. Indeed, his bio talks about his recent efforts to write lyrics for himself to sing, rather than writing for others as he has done for so long. In addition, his venture toward becoming a solo vocalist has lead him into new territory, and it takes a lot of time, effort, and practice to hone such a skill.
I got the impression that he was trying so hard to make this first album something mainstream that he lost sight of making his music unique to himself. My understanding is that Nicklen identifies as a gay artist, but in “You’ll be Missed”, he sang, “Tonight, you’re gonna wear that dress I like.” Whether it is a cop-out to patronize straight listeners or an awkward remnant of his time in the closet, that line has potential to really REALLY bug gay listeners.
For independent artists, the first album is often a wobbly first step – a necessary checkpoint, but seldom a career-maker. But from listening to this album, I can see that he has a definite spark of something great - it will just take time to cultivate. The trick now is to not be discouraged, and keep moving forward.
Help support a budding Canadian artist, because Stephen Harper certainly won’t! Visit www.jarrednicklen.com for more information, and to hear samples from the album.
“Prima J”
Here are two gorgeous Latinas that should get the lesbians licking their lips! Jessica and Janelle Martinez (known as Jesse and Nelly) made quite a splash with their single “Rock Star” even before releasing this self-titled debut album. In fact, they took their time completing this first album, to get it just right.
Identifying as the “girl-next-door type”, these two are also careful to portray themselves as good role models. “We want to have a good time, but we also want to send a positive message to younger people,” says Nelly. “Too many people don’t know that if they set their mind to it, they can accomplish anything, just like we have.”
The track “Chilosa” has a unique story behind it. The song exemplifies the word that the duo have coined to describe the “fun and fearless girls next door with a lot of spirit and a deep-rooted sense of self-confidence”. I found this song was right on the fence for me – if not for the gripping chorus it might have been one of my dislikes.
Granted, this album delves into two music styles that I personally am not a fan of: hip-hop and R&B. Tracks like “Tame” and “Girlfriend” turned me right off. “Boom” has a similar feel, but a humorously primal lyric that goes “We like the cars, the cars that go boom. We’re Jesse and Nelly and we like the boom.” The remaining R&B tracks were characteristically laid back, quite nice to listen to, but didn’t leave much of an impression on me.
Nevertheless, I still appreciated the album for some of its brighter pop melodies such as “Corazón (You’re Not Alone)”, “Nadie (No One)”, “Infatuated” and of course “Rock Star”. And it’s difficult not to smile about the sassy “Leftovers” which refers dismissively to a cheating partner, and “Go Hard” was an interesting remix of the classic “Mambo Italiano”. Like with any album, you’ve got to cherry-pick the ones you like.
