Make Sure They See My FaceKennaInterscope RecordsOct. 16, 2007
Kenna's sophomore effort, Make Sure They See My Face, is another example of ahead-of-its-time dance-rock. Unfortunately in this case, "dance-rock" means it isn't quite floor-shaking enough to dominate the clubs and not mainstream enough to hear on a rock radio station
Co-produced by one of the Neptunes, the album brings elements of hip-hop into the mix, combines them with mainstream hooks and beats, and finishes it off with enough variation to satisfy audiophiles. The result is a deep, interesting, but still catchy and commercial album.
The record starts out with "Daylight," filled with up-bending guitars and a steady, catchy beat. It is a fitting beginning to an album that manages to invoke an emotional reaction in the listener in nearly every song.
Next up, on "Out of Control," Kenna proves himself early on as able to match his voice well with the music he is making, even if his voice isn't exactly opera-quality. The hopping beat complements well Kenna's enthusiastic, impassioned vocals.
"Loose Wires" mixes Caribbean and hip-hop influence with tripping electronic scales.
While this seems odd, the juxtaposition feels completely natural within the song, resulting in a standout single - a theme on this consistently impressive album.
"Say Goodbye to Love" brings out a dance-worthy beat - especially suitable for solo living room dancing - that is the most commercially viable track yet. It is soon topped, however, by the stunningly grabbing "Sun Red Sky Blue."
This track begins with Kenna's vocals over a guitar that dances around the emerging beat. Finally, the chorus suddenly swells into life, with a hook that will melt even the most stony hipster's heart. The emotion invoked can be compared to the first couple of times one hears U2's "Beautiful Day." "Sun Red Sky Blue" alone justifies giving this album a listen.
Not content to stop here, however, Kenna continues to sonically pleasure us.
Kenna takes it down a notch for the smoother "Baptized in Blacklight," a calming, rhythmic ebb and flow reminiscent of David Bowie. These last two '80's-pop references are no coincidence. When asked about his influences, Kenna is quick to give Bowie and U2 top honors.
We continue on without our dance beats through "Static," which introduces a soft piano to back up Kenna's vocals. While pleasing, it doesn't quite have that certain oomph, however.
After a similarly soft "Phantom Always," Kenna kicks it back up with the rocking "Face the Gun/Good Luck." Powerful, almost yelling vocals stand in front of an overdriven guitar, making for perhaps the hardest song on the album.
"Better Wise Up" inexplicably reminded me of Radiohead, smoothly transitioning into the closers "Be Still" and "Wide Awake," which channel a bit of Postal Service, with swelling synth sounds and whispering vocals, but without quite as much overproduction.
Make Sure They See My Face stands to become one of the best underappreciated albums of the year. Any self-respecting audiophile should give it a shot.
Load BlownBlack DicePaw TracksOct. 23, 2007
First, a warning: If you think you're pushing the indie/experimental envelope when you listen to Bloc Party or Postal Service, Black Dice is not for you. While not technically a "noise" band, Black Dice strays far enough from the commercial road that many listeners used to the musical stylings of Sir Justin Timberlake will perhaps think their iPods are malfunctioning, playing this new track backwards or repeating the first two or three seconds indefinitely.
Whatever you choose to call it - noise, industrialism, intelligent dance music - Load Blown's music feels like something you might hear on a late-night college radio station, something to chill to at 2 a.m., or something to get your toes tapping a bit while simultaneously doing a bit of mind-blowing.
Load Blown is actually more a collection of some previously-released singles and an EP than a cohesive album of its own. However, the tracks do manage to stick together despite their temporal differences.
For example, the opener, "Kokomo," is dominated by a repetitive, driven lick that alternates between deep bass and bobbing synth effect.
"Roll Up" exhibits an interesting aural idea - a syncopated tapper that is obstructed by plenty of static. Unfortunately it ends up being mostly just that: noise.
The tribal, woody-sounding beat on "Gore" it cool enough as it is - but then the song is augmented by a synth melody that really brings the track out on the album.
"Bottom Feeder" starts out with a painfully cacophonous grinding of metal, which turns into a interesting undulating phrase, but too late to save itself from the scathing intro.
"Scavenger" takes some of the industrial static of previous tracks and attempts to weave it into something resembling a musical beat, to some varying success. Unfortunately the grinding is still a bit overplayed and tends to be distracting.
A few good musical ideas come together to form a surprisingly listenable "Drool," with a dabla-inspired percussion that is fronted by a synth flute, together making for a cool, space-out trance track.
The fun ethnic percussion continues on "Toka Toka," the title appropriately reflecting a Polynesian feel.
While I was hoping for some "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" influences on "Cowboy Soundcheck," instead we have a supremely spacey, slow track that doesn't go in any real direction.
The final two tracks, "Bananas" and "Manoman," remind me of what my subconscious might come up with for a bad and a good trip on acid, respectively.
"Bananas" had odd synth effects and some reversed, layered voices without any real, cohesive beat, making for a nightmarish track, while "Manonman" managed to use the same odd-sounding vocal effects but added a psychedelic beat and interesting melodic back sounds.
For the adventurous, Load Blown could be an interesting introduction to industrial or "noise" music. For those who like music to have consistent form and be free of grinding, shrieking metal sounds, the album might be something to avoid.
