Metallica
Death Magnetic
Shocking. That’s the only word that can be used here. Twenty years after And Justice For All and 17 years after the love-it-or-hate-it “Black Album,” Metallica has finally figured out how to blend the freewheeling thrash sensibilities of their first four records with the radio-friendly crossover appeal they picked up in 1991. The band wisely ditched producer Bob Rock8212;the man responsible during much of the last decade and a half, including the beyond-awful group therapy soundtrack that was St. Anger8212;in favor of production god Rick Rubin. Rubin forced Metallica to be a band again and encouraged lead singer James Hetfield and the boys to get back to their speed-metal roots. Tracks like “Suicide & Redemption” and “That Was Just Your Life” prove that the boys aren’t afraid to craft drawn-out, riff-heavy jam sessions instead of four-minute singles. Complete with the old logo, just think of it as the band’s apology for everything since Load.
Barcelona
Absolutes
Here to fill the gaping hole in our musical landscape for more indie-pop is Barcelona, audaciously setting out into the murky, weepy frontiers of teenage soft rock. A band that openly acknowledges its debt to Death Cab for Cutie, yet lacks even the creepiness that sometimes makes Death Cab’s sterile jams momentarily interesting, is already starting out with two strikes against it. It doesn’t commit any grievous sins on this record8212; though the ponderous, whispered “First Floor People” and “Get Up” are both on the verge of being unlistenable. It also never rises above its influences or even seems to stop imitating them shamelessly, which is admittedly a smart sales and marketing move, if not necessarily one given to producing entertaining music.
Kardinal Offishall
Not For Sale
Maybe Canada is the next region (fourth coast? muskeg?) to get recognition in hip-hop. If it does, Kardinal Offishall will be recognized as one of its elder statesmen. He’s not distinctly Canadian, though, in fact this record sounds less frozen and more tropic8212;Jamaica, maybe, or Florida. The production takes synths, sirens and stutter-step beats from the South and lays soulful choruses and rapid-fire, sing-song vocals with reggae stylings on top of them. Occasionally Kardinal’s experimentation blows up in his face (“Burnt,” “Illegal Alien”), but most of the time he manages a skillful synthesis of the styles and musical traditions he’s decided to cop from.
