Each of the five choices below are great albums, but ones that fell under the review-radar here at SPB. These are short, mini-reviews, and are akin to the notes you compile before you write an actual fully-fledged review.
 | Man Man - The Man In A Blue Turban With A Face I've never heard anything quite like this before, and if I had heard it prior to making my Top 25 list, it would have been right near the top. 'Against The Peruvian Monster', like most introductory tracks, is the Thesis for the album. You see, the greatest thing about Man Man (and there are so many great things) is their ability to sucker punch you at every turn. An array of violins, pounding rubbish-kit percussion, a chorus of la-la-la'ing children, and the shrill unidentifiable Munchkin squawks should be enough to grant them the 'throw-you-off' prize alone. I simply gave up expecting a set musical style by track 05, where a crazed female vocalist starts trading off frenetic screams with Honus Honus, the gravel-throated warbler whose voice echoes an extremely down-to-earth sincerity, one that has me quite enthralled. 'Zebra' breaks open with a percussive blast-blast-blast of dog barks before crawling into a Marimba-driven stumble, whilst Honus Honus hangs off a streetlamp with his right hand, holds a bottle of cheap whisky in his left hand, and preaches to the dusky sky about who knows what. As the song climaxes with an equally inebriated 5-buck trumpet solo, that's pretty much where I fell in love with these guys. I feel like I've pulled this album free from a dried mud bank, like some sort of fossil recorded by a bunch of crazy Earth-worshipping Prophets from the 1800's (who somehow got their hands on a keyboard and an electric guitar, no less). The music is a muddy amalgam of soil 'n soul. 'I, Manface' is unbelievable - a rootsy, bluesy caper that plucks at your cheeks and forces you to smile. The saloon-style piano jigs and old-timey female vocals place you way-back-when, as Honus Honus howls 'Your father warned you about temptation/[undecipherable]/Her temptation is what your body needs.' Suffice to say, every other song on the album is just as good, and you should check it out right... about ... now! |
 | Liars - They Were Wrong So We Drowned Liars refused to meet the expectancies of the general public when they took their acclaimed dancepunk debut and threw it into a steaming cauldron of pagan percussion, pounding stygian chants, infernal lyrics, flesh-shredding guitars and the buzz and drone of electronic miasma. Kicking off with the nightmarish opener, 'Brocken Witch', each ingredient is encapsulated in all its decadent glory. Bells chime, the percussionist snaps off your rib bones and begins to bang away wildly on your heart, Angus Andrew wails and chants like the possessed, screaming 'We are the army you see through the red haze of blood', and for a brief moment I open my blinds to make sure the world hasn't fallen into Apocalypse. 'There's Always Room On The Broom' is what Satan dances to. No longer do I wish to shake my hips to the Liars, I want to do a ritual slamdance on a Chinese bed of hot coals. Later, a lone pencil scratches against the ethereal, haunted atmosphere of 'Read The Book That Wrote Itself', displaying the softer, yet just as unsettling and paranoid side this album has to offer. 'Hold And It Will Happen Anyway' sits at the zenith of insanity and raw chthonic energy. I predict that when music critics take a look back at all the years gone by, and the great two-triple-zero is evaluated as a whole, this album will have its rightful place. |
 | Shalabi Effect - Pink Abyss Beautiful instrumentation. The songs are supremely interesting, laced with a Middle Eastern tang that spices the album up brilliantly (think Mogwai's 'My Father My King', but more eccentric and faster to unfold). There's such diversity on this album: The touch of violin that scrapes through in 'I Believe In Love', evoking tones of A Silver Mt. Zion. The superb trumpet highs of 'Blue Sunshine' amidst the bubbling water effects and disorientating static. The wavering organs on the final track accompanied by what sounds like a rolling film reel - you name it and it'll be here. The epic post-rock climaxes within certain songs are reminiscent of a firework detonating in a blaze of color against a starry, Arabian night (See: 'We'll Never Make It Out Here Alive'). To find a strangely jazzy number like 'Bright Guilty World' (which features a plaintive female voice cooing over a soft and simple bass line and a brushed drum beat), on the same album as the incredibly lush Middle Eastern track 'Imps' (and make it work), is a true testament to the diversity of Pink Abyss. |
 | The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike So I was doing a little robbin' from the rich and givin' to the poor, running full pelt with a trail of broken glass and the disgruntled shouts of an old rich guy in my wake. Not just any old rich guy, but the damned corporate type that enslaved children in shoe/crack factories over in South East Asia. As I ran, adrenaline bubbling in my blood, 'Panther Dash' blurted through my headphones. The unstoppable careening harmonica riff urged me onward like nothing else could. Reaching street-front, I quickly leapt into my car and threw my dollar-sign sack o' cash onto the passenger seat. Then it sounded. I heard the blare of Cop sirens approaching from behind. Shit. I quickly clicked the >> button a couple of times, 'Junior Kickstart' shifted into full-throttle, I put the pedal to the metal, and the chase was on! Of course, after hurtling at 180 mph over the highway, and near-missing a large pane of glass being carried across the road, I found myself with no other choice but to find a closed-off bridge and brave its 15 meter gap. With the rapid-fire percussion and those uplifting trumpet and harmonica blasts on my side, I was home free (and with a couple of mid-air rolls to boot!). The celebratory 'Bottle Rocket' congratulated my bravado. Screeching to a halt in front of the local Orphanage, I removed Thunder, Lightning, Strike from my discman and slipped it into my car stereo. The happy-ending harmonica, chirpy guitar riffs and victory-trumpets of 'Everyone's A V.I.P. To Someone' blasted out as I reached into the sack 'o cash and dispersed wads of green bills and teddy bears across the young parentless ones. Well' at least that's how it happened with my Matchbox cars... |
 | Cee-Lo Green - Is The Soul Machine No shit, he really is. There are a variety of songs on this album that deserved major hits; songs that simply stomp all over the popular R & B and Hip Hop hits, yet would still appeal to a mass audience, like with Kanye West. But Cee-Lo never got the same sort of coverage as West garnered (strangely), despite his critical acclaim from numerous publications. So, if you haven't heard the Soul Machine, here's the low-down: The closest match for his voice would be Al Green, but Cee-Lo possesses a whole lot more range, and of course, he can rap with the best of them. Green's soulful, charming croon is juxtaposed perfectly against his hip-hop abilities, and the best song to demonstrate it would be 'Living Again', where he muses in his smooth silky voice, 'If I could write one song to right all wrongs/I would, if I could/But in retrospect a little bad is good, mm-hmm' and then later bursts into a rapid-fire 'And if it ain't fair then what's stopping you from going/Do you not want to be responsible for knowing/Cuz ignorance is bliss/And ignorance is just so fucking ignorant you may even be ignorant of this' - The man knows what he's saying, and he does it with such confidence and honesty that it's impossible not to fall in love. 'All Day Love Affair' may just be the best under-the-radar Summer hit of '04. Don't take Cee-Lo to the Antarctic, or Venice will go under. His voice simply melts. And when he ain't melting, he can be anything from aggressive, flippant, husky, you name it. Of course, the beats behind the voice are also fantastic. Most of it is laid back, filled with jazzy piano samples and sweeping brass instrumentals. But the music can take wild turns, like the playful xylophone skip of 'Childz Play', then the darker finger-clicks and midnight synth of the brilliant 'Evening News'. Summing up, the music is DIVERSE. Cee-Lo is DIVERSE. And although there are few songs that drag a bit, the sheer range of beats, guest appearances and styles on this album award it a huge replay value. |
-Alex
Next: Top 5 Disappointments!
