Print Edition: November 9, 2011
Professor Green
At Your Inconvenience
This kid is like the British Eminem, except he doesn’t sound like he’s crying while he sings. He makes you feel tired, as if he’s stealing breath from you and that’s how he can sing so fast, but that’s the nature of rapping. The songs in which his British accent is clear are the best: “Spinning Out” and “Avalon.” A variety of artists are featured – Sierra Kusterbeck, Fink, Ruth Anne and Emeli Sandé, to name a few. In fact, out of the 15 tracks, less than half are without other featured artists, but Professors Green’s voice is one that you can use a break from sometimes. In terms of individual tracks, “Astronaut” is a quiet one that runs with a pleasant piano. “Nightmares” is catchy: “in your nightmares / I’ll be right there.” It sticks in the head, and the lyrics are, again, reminiscent of Eminem: “sick in the head” sort of things. A warning: there is a Charlie Sheen reference in “Remedy.” Professor Green keeps the hard angst up in his urban pop, a decent follow-up to his prior album, Alive Till I’m Dead. He’s maintained his sharp sarcasm; interjecting wit into past torments will always work. At Your Inconvenience is worth a listen.
Tyler Ramsey
The Valley Wind
Band of Horses guitarist and songwriter Tyler Ramsey temporarily returns to his solo career after releasing The Valley Wind last month on Fat Possum Records. With this album, he firmly establishes himself as an artist that values an Americana record in the most traditional sense. Very cohesive, with a beginning middle and end, although his rustic and stoic songs would sound much more fitting coming out of a set of big speakers on an old vinyl record than it would coming out of computer speakers. Ramsey leaves behind the ever-present harmonies and arena rock guitars of Band of Horses for a minimal folk rock overlain with warm vocals. His songs sound weary, but remain melodic and accessible. Lyrically, Ramsey narrowly focuses on the beauty and cruelty of the natural world, which is captured wonderfully in his mournful and soft-spoken track “The Nightbird.” Ramsey’s casual confidence demonstrated on The Valley Wind is uncommon amongst most side projects, which serves to brighten an already promising career for him outside of Band of Horses.
Comet Gain
Howl of the Lonely Crowd
Veteran British post-punk group Comet Gain’s latest release stretches beyond their usual C86 touchstones to incorporate elements of garage, 80s punk, psychedelia and even alt-country to varying degrees of success. Howl of the Lonely Crowd starts off strong with the acoustically-driven swagger and verbose wordplay of “Clang of the Concrete Swans,” but other sonic experiments don’t fare so well. This inconsistency is perhaps best captured on “A Memorial for Nobody I Know” where an ill-advised spoken-word verse gives way to a compellingly broken-sounding ballad that would make Paul Westerberg jealous. Some of these tracks just outstay their welcome; ideas better suited to 2.5-to-three minutes are often stretched to five minutes plus. Despite these song-writing missteps, the album sounds incredible. Producer and Ex-Orange Juice front man Edwyn Cullins lends Howl a hazy, worn-cassette complexion, his hand never straying too far from the compression dial. While Comet Gain doesn’t always hit the mark, it is heartening to encounter a band so willing to explore such a diverse range of ideas at this point in their career.
Kimya Dawson
Thunder Thighs
Although every musical artist brings unique traits to the music industry, Kimya Dawson has a truly inimitable voice. In her most recent album, Thunder Thighs, Dawson explores an array of issues in her life, expressing them in her usual story-telling fashion. In her studio version of what could be acclaimed as her single, “Walk Like Thunder,” is a 10 minute song that is the perfect listen for an open freeway headed anywhere. The song describes different adversities in Dawson’s life including drugs, abuse, dying friends and pregnancy. Her song is completely attributed to walking like thunder no matter what mishap presents itself. This ballad’s instrumental background compliments Dawson’s distinctive voice as we listen to her journey. Of course, Dawson’s voice is constant like her other albums, but in Thunder Thighs, listeners are connected to her demanding voice to walk like thunder and listen even more intently.
