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urgencytobleedSo the year's about half-over now and I'd like to have a halfway decent review written for every album I've really loved thus far. Since I've been slacking off a bit in that department lately, I've got about half a dozen or so from the last couple months that I haven't really mentioned yet. So here are the first two of those, the rest to come soon-ish so that I don't have the need to write about them bugging me while I'm trying to evaluate the albums coming up in the second half of the year (which, by the looks of what I'm anticipating so far, will probably be a lot).
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
The frustrating thing about both this album and their last, 2006's Let's Get Out of This Country, is that they open with these perfect little three-and-a-half-minute pop gems ("French Navy" and "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" respectively) that are nearly impossible to match in quality. This tendency for showcasing the best they have to offer up front means that every other song then becomes a disappointment in comparison even if they are actually extremely good. Regardless of this, My Maudlin Career is highly enjoyable through-and-through. There's not much of a variance in sound - from song to song or when compared to Let's Get Out of This Country - but they've got the art of a gorgeous string and brass-filled throwback pop song down to a science by now so that's not exactly a bad thing. Even though it's probably less eclectic stylistically than its predecessor, I think the album as a whole is easily the most engaging thing they've crafted yet. The arrangements are full and lush without being over-the-top, the production is crisp and clean but not too glossy-sounding, and Tracyanne Campbell's vocals, which have always contained just the right amount of sweetness to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside without causing a sugar overdose, sound better and more assured than ever. Once you manage to force your ears away from the previously mentioned delight that is "French Navy", there's plenty more ear candy to be discovered, from the fluffy nostalgic giddiness of "The Sweetest Thing" and "My Maudlin Career" to the more restrained and wistful combo of "James" and "Careless Love". The album never truly reaches the heights of "French Navy" again though until the final track, "Honey in the Sun" - aptly titled, it's nearly six minutes of glorious, hook-laden girl group pop goodness. When Campbell admits in the chorus, "I wish my heart was as cold as the morning dew/But it's as warm as saxophones and honey in the sun for you," you can't help but think what an appropriate metaphor it is for Camera Obscura's music: no matter how melancholy you feel going into it, you're almost guaranteed to come out a hopeless romantic with a huge lovestruck grin plastered across your face. In short, My Maudlin Career is a collection of nine excellent tracks book-ended by two that are absolutely flawless.
Purchase the album.
Mandy Moore - Amanda Leigh
In a way, I feel like Mandy Moore and I have grown up together. I loved her back when she was a third-rate Britney singing mediocre bubblegum pop songs and I didn't know any better than to like what the radio told me to. A few years later, when my eyes (or ears, rather) started opening to this brand new world of music that I never knew existed, she was right there beside me, making a pretty drastic move for a pop tart by releasing an earthy collection of '70s-era covers. And as my musical preferences continued to evolve so did she with the excellent pop-folk that comprised 2007's Wild Hope and now with Amanda Leigh, her most mature outing yet. The first single, "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week", is very misleading however; it's actually more poppy and accessible than anything on Wild Hope but the rest of the album is most definitely not in that vein (and by saying that, I'm not dissing the song - I actually love it - I'm just very glad there aren't any more following that specific formula). This time around, she's focused more on the folk side of the spectrum than the pop, drawing inspiration from the likes of Joni Mitchell to craft something much more restrained and grown-up than her previous works. The mellower style of tracks like "Merrimack River" and "Song About Home" at first seems very pretty and relaxing but lacking in the memorability department; though their catchiness is subtler than is usual with Mandy, it's very likely you'll eventually find them harder to get out of your head than the album's more blatantly catchy moments. And there are plenty of those as well - "Fern Dell", "Pocket Philosopher", and "Nothing Everything" all stand out for their seamless blend of pop sensibilities and a willingness to experiment. Their whimsical instrumental arrangements - horns, strings, and a harpsichord-like piano sound (I'm not sure if it's really a harpsichord or not since the album booklet shamefully contains no musical credits whatsoever) abound - remind me of the quirkier moments on Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine (think the title track or "Waltz" with a bit more pep). "Fern Dell" is especially brilliant, combining aggressive vocals (well, as aggressive as possible; Mandy's got the kind of voice that always sounds so nice and sweet) with a frantically-strummed acoustic guitar and culminating in one of the most satisfying musical finales I've heard lately. I've grown so fond of Wild Hope that it's a difficult album to outdo for me personally but from a purely technical standpoint, Amanda Leigh is a much more accomplished effort. The songwriting, vocals, instrumentation, everything is nearly flawless. A lot of popstars attempt to reinvent themselves at some point in their careers and it often comes across as extremely forced. What's so refreshing about Mandy is that she seems completely genuine about the path she's chosen to take her music down. She's not some faded starlet trying in vain to reclaim her days of glory; she's someone who made a few bad records as a teenager, learned that her happiness was more important than pandering to the mainstream, and finally gained the confidence to do things her way. I have nothing but the utmost respect for her and she deserves to be assessed on the basis of what she has to offer now, not what she did as an impressionable young girl so many years ago.
Purchase the album.
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
The frustrating thing about both this album and their last, 2006's Let's Get Out of This Country, is that they open with these perfect little three-and-a-half-minute pop gems ("French Navy" and "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" respectively) that are nearly impossible to match in quality. This tendency for showcasing the best they have to offer up front means that every other song then becomes a disappointment in comparison even if they are actually extremely good. Regardless of this, My Maudlin Career is highly enjoyable through-and-through. There's not much of a variance in sound - from song to song or when compared to Let's Get Out of This Country - but they've got the art of a gorgeous string and brass-filled throwback pop song down to a science by now so that's not exactly a bad thing. Even though it's probably less eclectic stylistically than its predecessor, I think the album as a whole is easily the most engaging thing they've crafted yet. The arrangements are full and lush without being over-the-top, the production is crisp and clean but not too glossy-sounding, and Tracyanne Campbell's vocals, which have always contained just the right amount of sweetness to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside without causing a sugar overdose, sound better and more assured than ever. Once you manage to force your ears away from the previously mentioned delight that is "French Navy", there's plenty more ear candy to be discovered, from the fluffy nostalgic giddiness of "The Sweetest Thing" and "My Maudlin Career" to the more restrained and wistful combo of "James" and "Careless Love". The album never truly reaches the heights of "French Navy" again though until the final track, "Honey in the Sun" - aptly titled, it's nearly six minutes of glorious, hook-laden girl group pop goodness. When Campbell admits in the chorus, "I wish my heart was as cold as the morning dew/But it's as warm as saxophones and honey in the sun for you," you can't help but think what an appropriate metaphor it is for Camera Obscura's music: no matter how melancholy you feel going into it, you're almost guaranteed to come out a hopeless romantic with a huge lovestruck grin plastered across your face. In short, My Maudlin Career is a collection of nine excellent tracks book-ended by two that are absolutely flawless.
Purchase the album.
Mandy Moore - Amanda Leigh
In a way, I feel like Mandy Moore and I have grown up together. I loved her back when she was a third-rate Britney singing mediocre bubblegum pop songs and I didn't know any better than to like what the radio told me to. A few years later, when my eyes (or ears, rather) started opening to this brand new world of music that I never knew existed, she was right there beside me, making a pretty drastic move for a pop tart by releasing an earthy collection of '70s-era covers. And as my musical preferences continued to evolve so did she with the excellent pop-folk that comprised 2007's Wild Hope and now with Amanda Leigh, her most mature outing yet. The first single, "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week", is very misleading however; it's actually more poppy and accessible than anything on Wild Hope but the rest of the album is most definitely not in that vein (and by saying that, I'm not dissing the song - I actually love it - I'm just very glad there aren't any more following that specific formula). This time around, she's focused more on the folk side of the spectrum than the pop, drawing inspiration from the likes of Joni Mitchell to craft something much more restrained and grown-up than her previous works. The mellower style of tracks like "Merrimack River" and "Song About Home" at first seems very pretty and relaxing but lacking in the memorability department; though their catchiness is subtler than is usual with Mandy, it's very likely you'll eventually find them harder to get out of your head than the album's more blatantly catchy moments. And there are plenty of those as well - "Fern Dell", "Pocket Philosopher", and "Nothing Everything" all stand out for their seamless blend of pop sensibilities and a willingness to experiment. Their whimsical instrumental arrangements - horns, strings, and a harpsichord-like piano sound (I'm not sure if it's really a harpsichord or not since the album booklet shamefully contains no musical credits whatsoever) abound - remind me of the quirkier moments on Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine (think the title track or "Waltz" with a bit more pep). "Fern Dell" is especially brilliant, combining aggressive vocals (well, as aggressive as possible; Mandy's got the kind of voice that always sounds so nice and sweet) with a frantically-strummed acoustic guitar and culminating in one of the most satisfying musical finales I've heard lately. I've grown so fond of Wild Hope that it's a difficult album to outdo for me personally but from a purely technical standpoint, Amanda Leigh is a much more accomplished effort. The songwriting, vocals, instrumentation, everything is nearly flawless. A lot of popstars attempt to reinvent themselves at some point in their careers and it often comes across as extremely forced. What's so refreshing about Mandy is that she seems completely genuine about the path she's chosen to take her music down. She's not some faded starlet trying in vain to reclaim her days of glory; she's someone who made a few bad records as a teenager, learned that her happiness was more important than pandering to the mainstream, and finally gained the confidence to do things her way. I have nothing but the utmost respect for her and she deserves to be assessed on the basis of what she has to offer now, not what she did as an impressionable young girl so many years ago.
Purchase the album.
