KennaMake Sure They See My FaceInterscopeThree out of five stars
Kenna’s 2003 debut, New Sacred Cow, was lauded by New Yorker journalist Malcolm Gladwell in his best-selling, social psychology critique, The Tipping Point, as an album too ahead of its time to garner mainstream adoration.
Gladwell was right. New Sacred Cow was a dance-pop record that reveled in lush melody and quality song writing in lieu of the genre’s usual club-bumping, pop cliches. Make Sure They See My Face takes past obscurity into account, focusing heavily on mainstream hookery and en vogue production styles. The Neptunes’ knob-tweaker Chad Hugo once again helms the album’s production, but close pal Pharrell takes the reins of two tracks (“Say Goodbye to Love” and “Loose Wires”) which aim directly at current pop tastes. Kenna’s delivery also adopts a noticeable slant toward Brit-pop influences David Byrne and David Gahan, as is apparent on the upbeat “Baptized in Blacklight” and Radiohead-ish “Better Wise Up.”
As for a tipping point, only time will tell, but Make Sure They See My Face brings the best features of Kenna’s pop potential into light.
American SteelDestroy Their FutureFat Wreck ChordsFour out of five stars
It’s been a while since a traditional punk rock record came off as convincing as Destroy Their Future does.
After a brief hiatus, American Steel has produced an album of protest songs that falls somewhere between its Gilman Street roots, Hot Water Music’s punk eclecticism and Billy Bragg’s brash folk subversion. The band’s Bay Area punk past rages hardest in driving anthems such as “Love and Logic” as it chants “huddled masses rise up, rebel hearts in tow!” But Destroy Their Futures revels in both sonic and political revolution, waving acoustic ballads (“Hurtlin’), downtempo rock tunes (“More Like a Dream”) and near-pop diddies (“Smile on Me”) with equal pride.
Come to think of it, American Steel possess a similar angst-meets-art aesthetic to fellow Nor Cal punks Green Day — only less cheese.
Will.I.AmSongs About GirlsInterscopeOne out of five stars
There’s no artsy bush-beating in the company of Black Eyed Peas mastermind Will.I.Am. Songs About Girls is made up of 15 BEP-rooted, pop-hop club tracks about girls, girls and girls.
“I Got It From My Mama” promises to rival Fergie’s “My Humps” for dirty dancing playlist space as it discusses the benefits of inheriting a strong set of female chromosomes. Snoop Dogg makes an appearance on “The Donque Song” urging women to take pride in the physical payoffs of their genetic inheritance. “Get Your Money” provides a how-to on how prospective female entrepreneurs can make a good living flaunting their genetic inheritance. And “S.O.S.” pitches Will’s two cents into the inconvenient-truth-eleventh-hour-Mike-Moore-green-movement-global-concern charity cup with a desperate plea to another high profile female — you guessed it, Mother Nature.
Truth is, “S.O.S.” does provide a little hope. If Will’s next record can trade Songs About Girls’ 14 tracks of up-in-the-club misogyny for 14 tracks of environmentally-minded protest music, change may just come. Then again, it’s not easy wooing the ladies in sustainable, hemp style.