Album Reviews
Augustana, Constantines, Madonna
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Arts/mp3s
Augustana: Can't Love, Can't Hurt
*** 1/2 out of *****
In the liner notes, Augustana frontman/songwriter Dan Lynus thanks his "stunningly beautiful wife … these songs are still frames of our ups and downs, our better and worse, and it's only the beginning to a timeless love story." For her sake, let's hope it's only the beginning, because Lynus and the four other members of the Southern California band have produced 10 surprisingly dolorous songs about the "downs" on their third full-length Can't Love, Can't Hurt.
The follow-up to 2005's All the Stars and Boulevards - featuring standout single "Boston" - exhibits the band's lusher, quieter, arrangements. "I Still Ain't Over You" and "Meet You There" are reminiscent of the previous album's angsty energy, but the new ballads are far from boring, with Lynus channeling Jeff Tweedy on "Either Way, I'll Break Your Heart."
Can't Love is cohesively stronger than All the Stars, but it lacks a track as instantly memorable as "Boston." The gracefully sexy "Fire" comes close, with Lynus' yearning voice crooning "There you were in your black dress/Moving slow to the sadness/I could watch you dance for hours" accompanied by a simple piano melody.
The Augustana members may not be able to hurt OR love (bummer for Lynus' wife), but they make the murky area between the two so wistfully enjoyable it doesn't matter.
Susan's Picks: "I Still Ain't Over You," "Fire" and "Sweet and Low"
- by Susan Elgin
Constantines: Kensington Heights
*** out of *****
Some say they want to finally start running now that it's finally warm out. Some say they'll quit smoking, just as they light up a second Parliament Full Flavor. Everybody has her or his own personal aspiration that never seems to get on track, and mine has always been to get into Canada's premier-band-that-isn't-Wolf-Parade, the Constantines. The band's latest album, Kensington Heights, might have finally pushed me over the edge into complete fandom, a meaty 12-song chunk of what the band does best.
The Constantines is a band that simply does everything right. For example, the members recorded a 2006 split on which they covered Neil Young's ultra-rarity "Don't Be Denied." Awesome. The band continues its signature Strummer-meets-Springsteen stomp on such tracks as leadoff single "Hard Feelings" and "Trans Canada," with lead singer Brian Webb's throaty delivery intact and never sounding better. The album takes a few momentum-draining missteps along the way, yet serves a great introduction for new fans and a hearty salute to the old.
Jarrett's Picks: "Shower of Stones" and "Our Age"
- by Jarrett Hothan
Madonna: Hard Candy
** 1/2 out of *****
It took Madonna 25 years, but she's finally the next Nelly Furtado.
Mrs. Ritchie's newly copped hip-hop pose and partnerships with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake (including the disorganized lead single "4 Minutes") on her new album, Hard Candy, do conjure Furtado's "Promiscuous" retooling of 2006, when she upended her folk-pop career for a bankable turn as a flirting, man-eating dance-hound.
Fortunately, Madonna's no stranger to hip-hop, as her albums Bedtime Stories and Music proved with glitzy success. But for the first time ever, she seems a bit overwhelmed by her megastar production squad, an unutterable occurrence for a lady who once tamed Nellee Hooper, William Orbit, and that French wacko Mirwais.
Of course, the music is serviceably club-prepped; tracks "Give it 2 Me" and "Heartbeat" twitch and jut like we'd expect from any proper Neptunes effort (Oh yeah, they're helming material here, too). But Madonna's once hard-carved persona as an ebullient dancehall empress comes off as strained here, particularly on "Candy Shop," a sticky-sweet, solid dance tune on which we can't help but wince at such entendres as "I've got Turkish delight" and "There's plenty to eat." Madonna is an exhilarating pop star and a deserving icon with brains galore - but this is music more for ingénues, not established cultural provocateurs.
What can you do? Just follow the directions and dance, I guess.
Louis's Picks: "Dance 2Night" and "Give It 2 Me"
- by Louis Virtel
*** 1/2 out of *****
In the liner notes, Augustana frontman/songwriter Dan Lynus thanks his "stunningly beautiful wife … these songs are still frames of our ups and downs, our better and worse, and it's only the beginning to a timeless love story." For her sake, let's hope it's only the beginning, because Lynus and the four other members of the Southern California band have produced 10 surprisingly dolorous songs about the "downs" on their third full-length Can't Love, Can't Hurt.
The follow-up to 2005's All the Stars and Boulevards - featuring standout single "Boston" - exhibits the band's lusher, quieter, arrangements. "I Still Ain't Over You" and "Meet You There" are reminiscent of the previous album's angsty energy, but the new ballads are far from boring, with Lynus channeling Jeff Tweedy on "Either Way, I'll Break Your Heart."
Can't Love is cohesively stronger than All the Stars, but it lacks a track as instantly memorable as "Boston." The gracefully sexy "Fire" comes close, with Lynus' yearning voice crooning "There you were in your black dress/Moving slow to the sadness/I could watch you dance for hours" accompanied by a simple piano melody.
The Augustana members may not be able to hurt OR love (bummer for Lynus' wife), but they make the murky area between the two so wistfully enjoyable it doesn't matter.
Susan's Picks: "I Still Ain't Over You," "Fire" and "Sweet and Low"
- by Susan Elgin
Constantines: Kensington Heights
*** out of *****
Some say they want to finally start running now that it's finally warm out. Some say they'll quit smoking, just as they light up a second Parliament Full Flavor. Everybody has her or his own personal aspiration that never seems to get on track, and mine has always been to get into Canada's premier-band-that-isn't-Wolf-Parade, the Constantines. The band's latest album, Kensington Heights, might have finally pushed me over the edge into complete fandom, a meaty 12-song chunk of what the band does best.
The Constantines is a band that simply does everything right. For example, the members recorded a 2006 split on which they covered Neil Young's ultra-rarity "Don't Be Denied." Awesome. The band continues its signature Strummer-meets-Springsteen stomp on such tracks as leadoff single "Hard Feelings" and "Trans Canada," with lead singer Brian Webb's throaty delivery intact and never sounding better. The album takes a few momentum-draining missteps along the way, yet serves a great introduction for new fans and a hearty salute to the old.
Jarrett's Picks: "Shower of Stones" and "Our Age"
- by Jarrett Hothan
Madonna: Hard Candy
** 1/2 out of *****
It took Madonna 25 years, but she's finally the next Nelly Furtado.
Mrs. Ritchie's newly copped hip-hop pose and partnerships with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake (including the disorganized lead single "4 Minutes") on her new album, Hard Candy, do conjure Furtado's "Promiscuous" retooling of 2006, when she upended her folk-pop career for a bankable turn as a flirting, man-eating dance-hound.
Fortunately, Madonna's no stranger to hip-hop, as her albums Bedtime Stories and Music proved with glitzy success. But for the first time ever, she seems a bit overwhelmed by her megastar production squad, an unutterable occurrence for a lady who once tamed Nellee Hooper, William Orbit, and that French wacko Mirwais.
Of course, the music is serviceably club-prepped; tracks "Give it 2 Me" and "Heartbeat" twitch and jut like we'd expect from any proper Neptunes effort (Oh yeah, they're helming material here, too). But Madonna's once hard-carved persona as an ebullient dancehall empress comes off as strained here, particularly on "Candy Shop," a sticky-sweet, solid dance tune on which we can't help but wince at such entendres as "I've got Turkish delight" and "There's plenty to eat." Madonna is an exhilarating pop star and a deserving icon with brains galore - but this is music more for ingénues, not established cultural provocateurs.
What can you do? Just follow the directions and dance, I guess.
Louis's Picks: "Dance 2Night" and "Give It 2 Me"
- by Louis Virtel
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Julia
posted 5/03/08 @ 5:29 PM CST
Augustana's lead singer's name is Dan Layus, not Dan Lynus.
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