Rosanne Cash
Black Cadillac (4 stars)
The best country music is the deepest kind of soul music. The emotion of a singer's voice, the grittiness and poetry of the lyrics, as well as a performance filled with stirring joy, longing or desolation, can elevate a country song to soul.
For Black Cadillac, Rosanne Cash has pulled out her most soulful record. During a two-year period, Cash's mother, stepmother (June Carter Cash) and father (Johnny Cash) all died. Instead of just writing 12 sad songs about losing your loved ones, Cash wrote a musical memoir. Her songs, written alone or with her husband and co-producer John Leventhal, are all heartfelt and life-affirming tales of coping with everyday life.
But Cash's secret weapon on Black Cadillac is the musicians she chose for half of the songs. Featuring producer and multi-instrumentalist Bill Bottrell, drummer Brain MacLeod and bassist Dan Schwartz, Cash's new songs beat with fresh rhythms and textures. Bottrell, MacLeod and Schwartz match their musical soul with Cash's meditations on relationships. Black Cadillac is the best kind of soul record. It moves you and can make you move.
Robert Pollard
From a Compound Eye (4 stars)
Full disclosure: My collection includes at least 50 Robert Pollard-related releases, which means I own about one-tenth of his discography. I'm exaggerating, of course, but not by as much as you'd think. Despite wrapping up longtime band Guided By Voices in 2004, indie rock's eternal tunesmith remains a musical geyser.
From a Compound Eye, Pollard's inaugural release for new label home Merge, bears the familiar hallmarks both of GBV and the solo career that began with 1996's Not in My Airforce: hummable hooks, opaque lyrics and production that begs for further refinement at first spin, yet ultimately basks in its "unfinished" glory.
Wizened by years spent courting elusive mainstream hits, Pollard has instead assembled an album longtime fans will adore and others won't bother exploring. He brings his beloved "four P's"—pop, punk, prog and psychedelic—in droves, to the tune of 26 tracks, including four that stunningly eclipse the four-minute mark.
At his best, Pollard alternates between anthemic ("Love Is Stronger than Witchcraft") and playful ("Dancing Girls and Dancing Men"), blustery ("The Right Thing") and vulnerable ("Cock of the Rainbow"). At his worst, he's still damn listenable. If only until the next disc drops.
Yellowcard
Lights and Sounds (3 stars)
The primary thing that sets Yellowcard apart from other pop-punk acts is the presence of violinist Sean Mackin, who adds a layer to their sound that other bands in their genre lack. On their latest, Yellowcard continue the slick, pop-oriented rock of their 2004 breakthrough, Ocean Avenue, and the violin only adds so much. Often, Mackin uses it like a guitar, and you wouldn't know anything out of the ordinary was going on.
At other times, Mackin effectively conveys a sense of melancholy that gives a depth to songs like "City of Devils" and "Words, Hands, Hearts." Rock bands have been using strings for years to add pathos to their music, but having Mackin as a regular member of the band allows it to sound much less forced. The opening instrumental, "Three Flights Up," is a beautiful piece of music for piano and violin.
The upbeat songs, while catchy, are much more generic, and Yellowcard can't quite escape the conventions of radio-friendly pop-punk. Lights and Sounds is tailor-made for the TRL crowd, so it's often shallow and forgettable, but it sure does sound pretty.