Posts Tagged ‘The Band Perry’

Hot 100 Roundup—9/24/11

Monday, October 10th, 2011

Kelly Clarkson—”Mr. Know It All”
#18
What’s most frustrating about Clarkson is her material. She sings this beautifully, and the hook is good, but the groove is old hat and never builds—I kept waiting for the song to take off and it never does. She’s turned into one of the classiest pop singers around, but this is too subdued and tasteful.

Lady Antebellum—”Wanted You More”
#34
The chorus sounds like it was written by kindergartners, and the strings are overbearing and sloppy to boot. Still, if they hadn’t drowned out the wonderful country-funk guitar line that opens the song, this might be bearable. But they did, and it ain’t.

Hugh Laurie—”Police Dog Blues”
#58
The studied perfectionism of the playing is more than just irritating, it highlights this record’s greatest weakness, which is the simple fact that Hugh Laurie can’t sing; not the blues certainly, and probably not anything else, either. If he had played it fast and loose, or as a joke (he used to be a comedian, you know) he might have gotten away with it, but this is stiff and lifeless. I suspect part of the stiffness is the result of an attempt to respect the form, but that’s another part of the problem. You don’t sing the blues with respect, you sing them like you own them, or they own you. Otherwise there’s no point.

Scotty McCreery—”The Trouble With Girls”
#84
Yet another American Idol winner who sounded OK on the show but turns out to have a voice that’s too weak to stand up to modern production. McCreery is young, so maybe his vocal chords will toughen up and match his ambitions, but right now the big arrangements and constant loudness of modern country drown him out and make him sound even more inexperienced than he really is, both as a singer and as a lover. Though God knows he probably doesn’t have much experience as either.

JoJo—”Disaster”
#87
JoJo has a voice, which may be why her producers decided to make this record such a stunning example of decibel overkill. Or maybe they were just trying to cover up the fact that it’s not much of a song. Whatever the case, even at low volumes it’s painful.

The Band Perry—”All Your Life”
#95
I still find the music a little stiff, but these guys have a romantic sensibility that’s second only to Taylor Swift. But whereas Swift’s imagery cascades in breathless wonder, their images are neatly presented in tidily wrapped packages. I prefer Swift, but this has it’s charms.

Chris Brown featuring Ludacris—”Wet The Bed”
#96
I don’t want to sound like a prude, but this is disgusting. Who in their right mind would consider the phrase “I’m gonna make you wet the bed” sexy? But then, Chris Brown has been out of his right mind for a long while now.

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Hot 100 Roundup—3/19/11

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Britney Spears—”Till the World Ends”
#20
Not only better than “Hold It Against Me”, but almost the equal of the best of Blackout. The breakdown is as amazing and mesmerizing as it’s intended to be, and if she ultimately has nothing to say that isn’t going to keep anyone from dancing. She may not have gained any new knowledge from all she went through, but she found a sharp new sound, and that may be enough.

Foo Fighters—”Rope”
#70
Production matters. This is no better or worse than any other Foo Fighters’ song, but Butch Vig’s production adds a clarity, focus, and energy that have been missing from their last few records. They have nothing important to pass on but more rage, but now at least their rage sounds authentic.

Gorilla Zoe featuring Lil Jon—”Twisted”
#77
It’s always good to hear Lil Jon, even if all he does is shout “Okay!”, and I’ve found Gorilla Zoe’s earlier records interesting at the very least, and this is no exception. He makes good use of electronic effects, and occasionally comes up with a decent turn of phrase. But for the most part he’s a crunkier and less frenetic version of Flo Rida, with fewer hooks. And no amount of Lil Jon’s shouting is ever going to make him anything else.

The Band Perry—”You Lie”
#80
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 3/12/11

Chris Medina—”What Are Words”
#83
If this helps Medina and his fiancée in their situation then I guess I’m all for it, but that doesn’t change the fact that the way their story was presented on American Idol was the worst sort of media exploitation. It also doesn’t make Medina a decent singer or this anything but a terrible record. There are far better ways to help people than making charity records, but you’ll never convince the record industry of that.

Big Sean featuring Chris Brown—”My Last”
#89
It’s getting hard for me to tell the various Drake’s apart. This one has a stronger voice and a smoother flow. He’s also cruder, if such a thing is possible. He has no other distinguishing traits.

Nicki Minaj—”Did It On’em”
#92
If there has to be hashtag rap, let it all be like this. Minaj is always at her best when she’s pissed, even when she isn’t trading up her voices the way she does on Kanye West’s “Monster”. The fact that she isn’t fooling around here must mean she’s really mad. I wouldn’t want to cross her, that’s for sure.

Mary Mary—”Walking”
#97
Reviewed in Bubbling Under, 2/13/11

Willow—”21st Century Girl”
#99
Willow actually sounds closer to her age here than on “Whip My Hair”, and though this lacks the novelty value I think it’s a better record. I don’t even hold the fact that the chorus is a reworking of Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” against it. In fact, it’s kind of cute.

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Bubbling Under—3/12/11

Friday, March 11th, 2011

The Band Perry—”You Lie”
#101
There are a lot of things that aren’t quite right about this band. Their music is too soft, for one; not once does it match the intelligence and sharpness of the lyrics. Though sometimes those lyrics stumble, too: it’s rare to hear a song where the first verse is so weak and the second verse so strong, but this is one and then some. “That’s not my perfume/I bet she had a curfew” is one of the most viscious lines you’ll ever hear in a country song. The middle eight is way above average, as well. All the same, something about this record doesn’t quite connect, and all I can say about them right now is that they have a lot of promise.

Travis Porter—”Bring It Back”
#104
Three teenagers rapping about the thing they love most to think about: Sex. “Run and hit that pussy like a crash dummy”, though not exactly romantic or respectful, is a great line, and they drop a few more good ones over the rest of the track. It’s the track itself that gets this over, though: sexy and silly at the same time, playing games with the sort of effects that Lex Luger, say, takes way too seriously. It also helps that they haven’t yet confused their lust with power.

Easton Corbin—”I Can’t Love You Back”
#106
And you never will if you keep singing songs as dull as this one.

R. Kelly—”Love Letter”
#107
A great chorus, and I love the disco turn it takes at the end. But it goes on too long, and though it feels less like a genre exercise than “When A Woman Loves”, it’s still too reverant toward the past to win me over.

Miguel—”Sure Thing”
#109
A good old fashioned list song, obviously inspired by The Temptation’s “The Way You Do the Things You Do”. Only thing missing is a chorus to grab you after the list has gotten your attention. The electronically lowered voice doesn’t do the trick. It isn’t melodic, and it doesn’t lead anywhere; it’s only a gimmick. Maybe Miguel should have a chat with R. Kelly.

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Next step: a Tom Petty tribute album

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Country, so far behind the curve they’re ahead of it, takes another peak into the ’80s and discovers power pop.

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New this week—7/18/10

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

The Band Perry—”If I Die Young”
#92
For a country death song, surprisingly unsentimental. It approaches death from a naive teenager’s point of view, the perspective of someone who doesn’t understand what death really means, rejecting sentiment and adding a level of irony and pathos that the usual country lament would miss. Whether this is intentional or simply a result of the youth of the band, it makes for some startling emotional affects despite, but also because of, the occasional lyrical and musical lapses into juvenilia. It’s basically a Taylor Swift song taken to the next level of bathos, but they deserve praise for pulling it off, whether by accident or no.

Fantasia—”Bittersweet”
#94
I’ve always liked Fantasia’s records–as quirky as her voice is, she has a talent for digging down to the emotional center of her songs. This is another good one, but, once again, not a great one. The odd, little girl quality of her voice throws things off (especially in the spoken parts), the song isn’t much, and I’m getting tired of producers turning to The Stylistics every time they’re looking for a neo-soul signifier.

Rick Ross featuring Styles P—”B.M.F. (Blowin” Money Fast”)
#98
Ross’s m.o. is simple: take a good hard groove, layer a hooky, spoken word chorus over the top, stick some gangsta raps in between, and repeat endlessly. “Super High” worked because it had a more inviting groove and Ne-Yo to provide a friendlier hook than Ross can come up with on his own. Styles P doesn’t provide enough counterpoint to balance Ross’s endless repetition, and the groove is too menacing to be enjoyable. Not terrible, but not “Super High” by a long shot.

Dierks Bentley—”Up On the Ridge”
#99
I would appreciate Bentley’s much talked about bluegrass move a lot more if the song wasn’t packed with the usual cliches about sex in the sticks and if his bluegrass didn’t sound like it was trying to fill a stadium. Times change, I know, and I guess bluegrass does, too, but this just sounds like the usual country boy schtick only with more banjo picking and quieter drums. Wait a minute. Drums? I thought this was a bluegrass record.

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