Soundcheck

[Pop]

Mariah Carey

E=MC2

** 1/2

Mariah Carey’s 11th album opens with her trademark high-pitched wail, but after the first few seconds, Carey’s five-octave range is restrained until the closer—old-school adult-contemporary ballad “I Wish You Well.” In between, E=MC2 is a bubbly but mostly indistinct collection of the hip-hop-influenced pop that Carey has mostly focused on in the latter part of her career, and that fueled her 2005 comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi. A host of flavor-of-the-moment producers—The-Dream, Stargate, Will.i.am and Danjahandz, among others—offer beats and melodies that help Carey sound current, and pretty much like every other pop star making music right now.

Not that the album doesn’t have its share of highlights: “I’m That Chick” and “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time” are upbeat dance-floor fun, and lead single “Touch My Body,” which put Carey on top of Elvis Presley and behind only The Beatles in career number of chart-topping singles, is a worthy successor to hits like “Dreamlover” and “Fantasy.”

There’s no doubt that Carey still has a phenomenal voice, and over time she’s learned not to overplay it, deploying vocal acrobatics sparingly and letting the songs speak for themselves (she even deigns to subject herself to auto-tune, matching with ubiquitous, annoying guest star T-Pain, on the slinky “Migrate”). The problem here is that, pushing 40, Carey doesn’t offer the lyrical complexity or musical innovation of diva lifers like Madonna or Janet Jackson. The songs here don’t have anything to say—they’re all about how hot Carey is, or how she likes to party, or how her man done her wrong (the notable exception being the syrupy “Bye Bye,” a tribute to lost loved ones). And the 14 tracks, no matter how many hot producers worked on them, exhibit a striking sameness. Carey’s climbed back on top of the pop heap; now she just needs to prove that she’s worthy of staying there. –Josh Bell

[Indie Rock]

The Brian Jonestown Massacre

My Bloody Underground

***

For a guy who once released three (excellent) records in a single year—and boasted, in a live clip immortalized in the documentary Dig!, of having actually issued six—Anton Newcombe sure has slowed down. My Bloody Underground ends a five-year Brian Jonestown Massacre album drought and checks in as just the second BJM full-length over the course of the past decade.

At age 40, Newcombe isn’t just less prolific; on Underground he also shows himself to be far less tuneful. Gone are the hypnotic hooks that made “Hide and Seek,” “Vacuum Boots,” “You Have Been Disconnected” and a slew of others so inescapable. In their place? Droney, Kraut-rock-descended compositions—some lengthy, several with inane titles (“Bring Me the Head of Paul McCartney on Heather Mills’ Wooden Peg (Dropping Bombs on the White House),” “Automatic Faggot for the People”), most mixed so murkily the lyrics are nearly indiscernible and—here’s the kicker—almost all pretty damn interesting.

The 79-minute behemoth also includes “We Are the Niggers of the World,” which is, of course, a pseudo-classical solo piano piece, and some 20 seconds of string-tuning at the start of “Infinite Wisdom Tooth/My Last Night in Bed With You.” And, yes, one moment of pure pop relief, the delightful “Yeah – Yeah.”

All told, My Bloody Underground will probably make you want to kick Newcombe in the head—for taking this long to produce something this difficult. And then, just maybe, you’ll sneak back when no one’s around and root around more, until, in its own strange way, Newcombe’s latest project begins to feel well worth the wait. –Spencer Patterson

[Punkish]

Story of the Year

The Black Swan

***

Wasn’t too long ago that Story of the Year emerged from the Midwest to assume the mantle of the tightest, most energetic and irony-free of the early-aughts melodic post-hardcore punkers. But no sooner did the term “screamo” equate a verbal sneer than their second effort traded gritty-yet-formulaic shrieking for slicker production and a somewhat unclear direction.

Swan finds the focus In the Wake of Determination lacked, and though tracks including fist-pumping single “Wake Up” and requisite harmony-drenched ballad “Terrified” don’t recapture the sing-along accessibility of Page Avenue’s “Until the Day I Die,” none explicitly tries to. Instead there are anthemic, aggressive, propelling numbers—not so much verses and choruses as constructions loosely framing an onslaught of heavier-than-bismuth riffage. Dan Marsala’s howls of frustration juxtapose with the odd spoken-word interlude, which in turn further conveys the overall message: This is serious stuff for serious times.

A sense of fading optimism pervades, while “Message to the World,” “Cannonball” and “Welcome to Our New War” address global unease outright. Story of the Year aren’t quite political-minded metalcore just yet, but they’re on their way. So perhaps there is a bit of hope inherent in the album after all, as that would certainly be a band worth watching well beyond the next election. –Julie Seabaugh

[Pop-Rock]

The Kooks

Konk

**

It’s a story that’s played itself out countless times: Band becomes popular, followers hope to cash in on said popularity, original product is diluted by second-rate imitators. How else can one describe the success of The Kooks, whose kicky mod-pop rips off fellow Brits The Libertines?

The Brighton band’s debut, Inside In/Inside Out (and its accompanying hit, “Naïve”), employed the same tricks Pete Doherty’s act used for chart success: exaggerated English accent, shambling guitars and bouncy percussion. Konk, The Kooks’ sophomore effort, features many of the same traits—only without as much personality as Out or Doherty’s songs.

Tracks such as “See the Sun” and “Mr. Maker” are sea-shanty-like folk sing-alongs, while “Shine On” borrows the smoky guitar shuffles and repetition of another popular U.K. band, the Stereophonics. Konk is much better when The Kooks attempt to expand their narrow worldview: “Do You Wanna” (no, not a Franz Ferdinand cover) employs a funky, disco-ready bass line that gives the song a Stones-like groove, while the marching pub-rocker “Stormy Weather” features spidery riffs and catchy choruses that actually stick in your head. This is the exception rather than the rule; for the most part Konk is instantly forgettable, treading no new ground nor distinguishing itself from every other Doherty worshipper. –Annie Zaleski

[Kid-Hop]

The Dino-5

Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino-5

***

Hip-hop-heads will salivate over The Dino-5’s lineup, which includes The Roots’ Scratch, Digable Planets’ Lady Bug Mecca, Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na, eMC’s Wordsworth and famed De La Soul and Handsome Boy Modeling School mastermind Prince Paul. They might not be as excited when they see each has taken on a dinosaur persona (MC T-Rex, DJ Stegosaurus, etc.) and spun a preachy meditation on tolerance, inclusion and not annoying your parents.

The disc—formulated by Andy Blackman Hurwitz (who is also responsible for the Baby Loves Jazz and Baby Loves Disco CDs) and narrated by spoken-word artist Ursula Rucker—is buoyed by Paul’s production. His easy, infectious touch makes for a unified album of children’s rhymes that will surely hook the under-10 set.

Though not as memorable as Free to Be … You and Me (in the opinion of this former pre-teen, anyway), Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino-5 is a fun story about a talent-show-bound, prehistoric rap group. It intends, more than anything, to demonstrate that hip-hop need not be R-rated. But it’s almost a shame that first-rate emcees like Wordsworth and Chali 2na must slow down their flows and distill their ideas. With all this talent assembled in one place, one wishes The Dino-5 would have recorded an album for adults as well. –Ben Westhoff