EstheroWe R in Need of a Musical Revolution EPWarner/Reprise
Three out of five stars
Revolution is sexy, but even sexier when delivered in an Ella Fitzgerald-meets-Bjork-esque murmur by a gorgeous, anti-fashion fashionista-much like the adorable Esthero-whose modus operandi lays cross hairs on one ultimate evil: bad music.
The blueprint to Esthero’s insurgence, We R in Need of a Musical Revolution, lays out an array of possibilities for slapping a coup d’tat on the big fat ass of America’s corporate music jabberwocky. “This Lull-A-Bye” enlists the ambient sex appeal of Portishead while bonus track “Amber and Tiger’s Eye” shines with an icy sheen, much like that of Icelandic, snow-queen Bjork. We R in Need shines in its sociopolitical erotic rebellion, but at times sounds more like its influences than its actual muse. Esthero has lit a fuse with this EP. The world can only hope that by the time of explosion her style sounds more like Esthero than her contemporaries.
Missy HigginsAll For Believing EPWarner/Reprise
Three out of five stars
Here we have a 21-year-old, classically trained, jazz crooner who writes each and every piano piece, guitar passage and lyric in her music and is on the verge of absolute mainstream combustion. One may be tearing this paper in half in disbelief that a D.I.Y. phenomenon such as this could be forged in the U.S. of A.-and one would be correct. Missy Higgins hails from the land of boomerangs, kangaroos, Crocodile Dundee, the Crocodile Hunter and endless other cultural stereotypes. This heritage shines in the endearing down-under accent that stows away in Higgin’s Nina Simone-mused melodies and creeps out on “All For Believing” (which is also the first song she ever wrote at 16-years-old). Higgin’s guitar work gets the job done as “Ten Days” evokes a contemporary Annie Lennox, but it’s her piano mastery that makes the All for Believing EP a sign of miraculous things to come.
The GameThe DocumentaryAftermath/G-Unit/Interscope
Three out of five stars
From the Converse Chuck Taylors and khakis, to the baby blue Chevy Impala, to the NWA ink that adorns The Game’s chest, there’s no doubting this MC is straight outta Compton.
Not to mention that fact that DR. DRE executive produced Game’s debut cut, “The Documentary.” While Game carries a full clip of West Coast pride, he isn’t re-igniting any coast vs. coast feuds. This self-proclaimed next generation “N***** With Attitude” shines in the company of midwesterners Kanye West (“Dreams”) and Eminem (“We Ain’t”). While “Like Father, Like Son” takes up arms with Brooklyn-native Busta Rhymes, to reflect on the joys of fatherhood (no, seriously). On top of all this, notorious New Yorker and G-Unit general 50 Cent lends incoherent mumbles to three tracks, while sharing executive production credit with Dre. The Game has crafted a new-school West-Coast classic here, but it’s “The Documentary’s” all-American all-star cast of extras that make this more than just another drive-by shot in the dark.
Dave AlvinAshgroveYep Roc
Four out of five stars
Where do punk-a-billy gods go to die? That’s simple: they’re gods, they don’t.
Dave Alvin, of seminal pompadoured punks The Blasters, has proven this time and time again in his solo career. His latest lone confessional, Ashgrove, hammers this point into stone tablets as it takes American roots rock ‘n’ roll back to its roots. Ashgrove is the sort of dynamic record that can play as the soundtrack to desolate, desert drug binges-as it does on “Out of Control”-as easily as heartfelt reflections on life (“Somewhere in Time”). Alvin channels the ghosts of Cash and Haggard on the sentimental tale of lost love “Rio Grande,” but has not lost his blasting spirit, as the electrified Chi-town blues of “Black Haired Girl” transports its listener into the back booth of a smoky Chicago dive-bar. It is here that the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll will forever reside. Alvin will, until the four horsemen convene, be presiding over it with a guitar and a shot of whiskey in hand.
Marc BroussardCarencroIsland
Three out of five stars
Looks are everything in the music biz. And from the looks of 22-year-old Louisiana native Marc Broussard, the world was ready to meet the sixth member of the Backstreet Boys.
Thank God looks can be deceiving.Broussard’s baby-faced charm channels much more than an undeniably heartbreaking appeal but one helluvadamn voice. As if possessed by the spirit of Stevie Wonder, this small-town kid torments America’s mainstream pop plague with a debut release-dubbed Carencro after his hometown-forged from Motown’s sweet soul and New Orleans’ southern-fried blues. “Home” and “Lonely Night in Georgia” belt out homage to Ray Charles’ lovelorn crooning, but with hints of Otis Redding’s good old soulful grit. The obvious single, “Where You Are” treads a step into pop’s overproduced danger zone, but not deep enough to do any permanent damage. Marc Broussard is ushering in a new wave of truly soulful soul crooners. It’s merely coincidence that he is doing it decked out in Abercrombie & Fitch.
Compiled by Dan Fletcher