BONO MUST DIE

JUST RELEASED (EDITORS)

Release Date
Oct 12, 2009

After two albums, England's premier post-punk revivalists Editors were at a crossroads. Their debut was a commanding snapshot of a young band whose emotional urgency outweighed its slavish devotion to the sounds of late-'70s/early-'80s Manchester — there was no getting around singer Tom Smith's similarity to Ian Curtis — but the power and passion of the songs trumped any "British Interpol" accusations. The follow-up found the band falling victim to the dread sophomore jinx, turning out a lackluster rehash of the same ideas as the debut. Ironically, it sold better than the first. Whether or not the band recognized they had come to a musical dead-end despite their booming sales, they were apparently wise enough to know it was time for a change in direction, and they decided to take a rather drastic left turn for their third outing. They've by and large ditched the guitars in favor of synthesizers, for a sound that's more New Order/Ultravox sleek than post-punk scrappy. If you open your mind up wide enough, you can draw a parallel to Van Halen's 1984 — the sound of a guitar band getting its synth on but retaining its musical identity. While the shift to an electronic approach opens up more possibilities for the band in terms of dynamics, arrangements, and melodic contours — there's a noticeable slant towards catchy refrains rather than billowing atmosphere — this is still very obviously an Editors album. Smith's Curtis-like tones still boom out authoritatively, and the ominous intensity of old is a constant presence. And while it seems they will probably never equal the majesty of their debut, Editors have dug themselves out of their artistic cul de sac at least long enough to plan their next move.

JUST RELEASED (The King Khan & BBQ Show)

Release Date
Nov 3, 2009

JUST RELEASED (STRICKEN CITY)

Release Date
Nov 3, 2009

JUST RELEASED (MORRISSEY - Swords)

Release Date
Nov 3, 2009

The latest in a long line of stray track compilations that stretches all the way back to Bona Drag, if not Hatful of Hallow, 2009's Swords gathers up 18 highlights from the B-sides of singles from You Are the Quarry, Ringleader of the Tormentors, and Years of Refusal -- the three albums that constitute the great Moz comeback of the new millennium. Not all the flipsides are here, but all the noteworthy ones are, including a cameo from Chrissie Hynde on "Shame Is the Name," a cover of David Bowie's "Drive-In Saturday" with new lyrics all about the New York Dolls. These little pieces of flair dress up a pretty drab selection of songs that sound like leftovers, cut from the original albums not because they didn't fit the mood, but because they didn't quite work -- covering similar territory as the proper album, only just not as well. Nothing here is quite an embarrassment, but compared to his other albums of this nature, including the muddled World of Morrissey, there's a distinct lack of humor and hooks, or anything else memorable.

JUST RELEASED (JULIAN CASABLANCAS)

Release Date
Oct 20, 2009

Perhaps it's fitting that Julian Casablancas' solo album arrived last out of all of the projects the Strokes pursued during their post-First Impressions of Earth hiatus. Albert Hammond, Jr. and Nikolai Fraiture stayed close to the band's mold with their extracurricular projects, and while Fabrizio Moretti's work with Little Joy might technically sound more different than his main band's music, it doesn't feel as bold as Phrazes for the Young. As the Strokes' singer and main songwriter, it's not surprising that Casablancas pushed himself to break away from the kind of music he makes with the band, but it's how he makes the music different that makes the album interesting. Only eight songs long, Phrazes for the Young begins with tracks that feel like typically catchy Strokes songs put in front of a funhouse mirror; they're stretched, twisted, and elongated into experiments that even First Impressions of Earth's most ambitious moments couldn't contain. "Out of the Blue"'s strummy guitars and new wave sheen are familiar, but its rush of emotional, confessional lyrics ("At least I'll be in another world while you're pissing on my casket") are anything but. "11th Dimension" comes the closest to what the Strokes would sound like near the end of the decade they kicked off with Is This It, full of brash, shiny charm and sleek electro-pop synths that suggest that Casablancas should collaborate with Daft Punk ASAP. Soon enough, however, Phrazes for the Young veers off into territory that should throw listeners expecting a Strokes album in all but name for several loops. "Ludlow St." is the first signal that Casablancas is up for anything: an unlikely but successful mishmash of shuffling country, a brass band, piston-like beats, and a recurring Asian-tinged motif, it plays like a drunken urban cowboy walking through a Chinatown street parade, recounting the history of New York, his history with the street, and his own history at the same time. Its quicksilver shifts and mix of experimental and traditional sounds make it more akin to a Fiery Furnaces song than any of Casablancas' previous work, and Phrazes for the Young just gets stranger and more personal with the hectic, hypnotic "River of Brakelights" and the baroque electro ballad "Glass," a moment of intimacy in the whirl of sounds and ideas the rest of the album sets spinning. Casablancas also shows off a new sophistication in his songwriting, particularly on the childhood vignette "Left & Right in the Dark" and the album closer, "Tourist," where he sings "feel like a teardrop streaming off your chin" over dubby bass and brass. It may not have the sugar rush immediacy of the Strokes, and at times it's downright indulgent, but Phrazes for the Young shows that Casablancas has more than enough ideas for several albums on his own and with his band -- and perhaps most importantly, he sounds more enthused about making music on it than he has since Is This It.

BIRDY NAM NAM

The four men behind the French turntabilist crew Birdy Nam Nam met as members of the much larger Scratch Action Hiro, winners of the 2000 DMC World DJ Team Championship. Crazy B, DJ Pone, Little Mike, and DJ Need formed Birdy Nam Nam the next year, taking their name from a line in the 1968 Peter Sellers film The Party. They went on to win the 2002 DMC World DJ Team Championship before shifting their focus to studio work. Released on the Uncivilized World label in 2005, their self-titled debut was created entirely on turntables and featured a mix of jazz, funk, and downtempo sounds. Touring to support the album influenced the band to create more energetic and dancefloor oriented tracks. When the "Trans Boulogne Express" single appeared in 2007, fans got a taste of the group's new, more electro flavored work. The track landed on their 2009 effort Manual for Successful Rioting, an album that found the four programming and playing synths along with their turntables.