The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 26, 1999 - 9 ;EAKING RECORE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NE PRIMUS FINDS SOUND AGAIN WITH 'ANTIPOP ' We all knew they'd be back someday. When longtime drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander left the band in 1996, Primus embarked on a journey of musical rediscovery. The results of this,, 1997's mostly tedious "The Brown Album" and 1998's only slightly more impressive cover and live EP "Rhinoplasty," left many wondering if the glory days of the progressive-funk rockers were over.. "Antipop," however, is a strong declaration of their evolution as a band, and the new album contains their best work since "Pork Soda." "Antipop" features the trio of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia employing various big-name musicians such as Tom Morello, Fred Durst, Stewart Copeland 9Jd Tom Waits to produce several tracks. Oddly enough, Matt Stone of South Park" fame co-produced the song "Natural Joe," although his influence is not immediately evident. Possibly as a result of all the input from these producers, "Antipop" - sounds rich and full, containing samples, effects and instrumentation that are like nothing the band has attempted before. The songs sound like they were painstakingly recorded in an expensive studio. They do not sound like they were drunkenly recorded in someone's Bland Incubus release puts listeners to sleep An Incubus is an evil spirit that sucks the life force out of anyone with whom it has sexual intercourse. On its second album, "Make Yourself," the band Incubus has apparently used the diabolical power of its namesake on _ itself. Its new album is dull, soporific and devoid of life. The energy and vitality so preva- lent on Incubus' previous releases, the EP "Enjoy Incubus" and the debut *1 Incubus Make Yourself Epic/Immortal Reviewed by Daily Arts Writer Adlin Rosli r e l e a s e "S.C.I.E.N.C.E," has been replaced with a penchant for mid-tempo num- bers and VH-1 ready ballads. Granted, bands in general are eager to push themselves for- voice. LaLonde gets more of a starring role on the record, thanks to its guitar- driven heaviness. "Brain," who will always be "the new guy" to some, is beginning to come out of his shell. One would only need to listen to the title track to see that Brian Mantia can indeed fill Tim Alexander's shoes. Primus has not forgotten its musical roots. "Antipop" proves that the boys can rock as hard as they did 10 years ago, and hopefully, they will rock this hard 10 years from now. ward and test their musical bound- aries. Incubus could have made this move into musically slower, laid back territory and still recorded a decent set of songs. Instead, "Make Yourself" if full of forgettable and half-baked compositions hell-bent on putting listeners to sleep. Guitarist Michael Einziger's once rich experimental passages are now flat, while the formerly hyperactive rhythm section, consisting of bassist Dirk Lance and Drummer Jose Pasillas, give an overly restrained and pedestrian performance. Singer Brandon Boyd's soulful singing has been affected by the same bug that seems to be hampering the performance of his bandmates. His crooning this time sounds like he'd been set on automatic. The group's once potent mix of funk, metal, hip-hop, soul and R&B was initially compared to "a Primus with a soul singer" and a '90s Red Hot Chili Peppers. With the bland, radio- friendly offering "Make Yourself,tit looks like Incubus is more likely to get compared to the likes of The Goo Goo Dolls and Sugar Ray. Live Clash recalls classic punk The Clash both invented and reinvented punk (see the "Rock the Casbah" video for a visual 0 Raucous guitars and ragged vocals met reg- reminder) shows up here on "Guns of Brixton" ie grooves and ingenious pop hooks on records and "Know Your Rights." Joe Strummer's gritty, at were equal parts fist-pumping and lyrical. stammering vocals and Mick Jones's fiery guitar "Live: From Here to Eternity," which samples leads command a straight-ahead attack from the live Clash between 1978 and rhythm section on nearly all of the album's 17 1982, reminds us that, labels songs, while Jones's "Train in Vain," an unlisted aside, most of the Clash's out- track on 1979's "London Calling," remains a pure put just plain rocked; even the pop gem. The Clash classic studio stuff practically But most of "Live" has a rather un-Clash sheen Live: From Here begs to be heard live in a to it, one which makes material recorded at the to Eternity sweltering club where every- tiny Lyceum in London indistinguishable from Epic one shouts along with the songs recorded while opening for the Who at Shea Reviewed by anthemic choruses. Stadium. Christian Hoard "Live" kicks off with an The record cleans up some of the rough edges of For the Daily especially energetic a live Clash gig without realizing, perhaps, that "Complete Control," a fervid the rough edges were the point. nt against corporate infiltration of the punk The song selection is also puzzling: All of the ene, and the rest of the seven songs culled from hard-rocking hooks are here, but then again, they e Clash's 1977 self-titled debut hold up on their were already there in compelling form on the old vn as simply good punk songwriting let loose records. Only the uncharacteristically plaintive re "Straight to Hell" and "Armagideon Time," with The goofy militarism rife in most Clash lyrics guest vocalist Mikey Dread, work significantly better , --I- Eurythmics 'Peace suffers from bad timing live than they did on their original recordings. Still, as the CD's liner notes - all written by fans - suggest, it's hard to go entirely wrong with any Clash compilation, and "Live" is a nice, if imperfect, document of the music of the band that ruled the time before punk was swept away by new wave. iaroahe reigns over hip-hop with solo debut 'Affairs' song features a repetitive horn sam- ple that could put someone under hypnosis. As he rhymes, Pharoahe calls out to his audience and receives the response he beckons for. Though the beat takes precedent over the lyrics, one line serves to foreshadow other tracks on the album: "Ignorant minds, I free 'em/ If you tired of the same ol' everyday you will agree, um." On "The Truth," Pharoahe shows his more complex side with the help of Common(Sense) and Talib Kweli. His lyrics suggest that he finds truth to be brutal at times, but it is still needed in order to become a better person. This concept is in direct contrast with "Simon Says"' fury-charged and profanity-laced lyrics. Throughout 15 tracks, Pharoahe balances his street persona, on tracks like "No Mercy" and "Hell," with his socially conscious persona, as is demonstrated on "The Light" and "God Send." The balance between "street" and "social conscious" is also main- tained by guest rappers like Method Man and MOP ("street") along with Apani B. Fly Emcee and Common ("social conscious"). Very rarely in the world do we have people who can do two things simultaneously while not sacrificing the quality of one or the other. Hip- hop music is no different. However, Pharoahe Monch manages to do the impossible, creating one of the standout albums of the year. This is a story you might have heard before. It's called "A Tale of Two Bands." This is the the first Eurythmics album in "almost a decade," as the publicity flacks never tire of screeching, and there's genuine anticipation in the air. And the album will be well received by the band's many devoted fans, but "Peace" is ill-served by arriving so hard on the heels of Everything But the Girl's "Temperamental." Fresh off tendering one of the best albums of the year, Everything But the Girl bears an unmissable number of parallels to Eurythmics, whose pleasant enough offering just doesn't measure up. Both duos arrived at about the same time on the English post-punk scene, but Eurythmics were the act that immediate- ly detonated in the wee reaches of fame, and despite a ensuing catalog of *** quality singles, Eurythmics their equilibrium Euytmis never quite Peace seemed to recover. Arista Records Everything But the Girl took a few Reviewed by years off while Weekend, Etc. Editor songwriter/pro- Jeff Druchniak ducer Ben Watt grappled for his life against an obscure autoimmune dis- ease, then emerged battle-scarred and more artistically mature. Eurythmics broke up when singer Annie Lennox became too big a media star not to go solo, and despite her considerable suc- cess, the twosome seems to have picked up no further than where they left off. Lennox is a bracingly charismatic per- former whose celebrity was justified, and she and producer Dave Stewart are every bit as talented as Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. But their mass-consumption image seems feels like the elephant in the room on "Peace, too big to let them integrate their gifts into a coherent album. Even the first song on the album, "17 Again," though it's one of "Peace"'s standouts and destined to succeed as a single and get drivers pulled over, has a surreal moment where Lennox croons, "Sweet dreams are made of anything that gets you in the scene." Apparently this is supposed to ironically distance the Eurythmics from their breakout gigas- mash hit, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," but it only serves to illustrate the band's anxiety over the glare of its rep. Meanwhile, it distracts the listener, whose thoughts go from what had been a crackerjack song to the very past from which Lennox and Stewart ostensibly want to detach themselves. Lennox and Stewart have observed in interviews how "Peace" makes no attempt to "modernize" the Eurythmic sound with concessions to hip-hop or electronica. Perhaps a little defensive over Everything But the Girl's stunning transformation from earnest popsmiths to drum-&-bass gurus, they seem to wear it as a badge of honor. That's dandy, but no unifying sound emerges to take its place on "Peace," whose eleven songs couldn't be more all over the map if they were coffee shops on an Ann Arbor streetfinder. Versatility is a cardinal virtue, but not in the case of the guy who keeps chang- ing lanes because he doesn't quite like the flow of traffic in any of them. Lennox and Stewart sound no more comfortable with driving rock and vaguely lo-fi guitars ("Power to the Meek") than with sumptuous orchestral ballads ("Forever"), though they can still sing and write the knickers off both. What a blissful paradox that "Temperamental" showcased a self- effacing band completely at ease with their artistic message, while on "Peace," Eurythmics exude anything but. Breaking Records Star System **** Classic ** - Fair - If you missed a week of Breaking Records, check *- Excellent * - Poor out the Daily's archives online at ** - Good No stars - Don't Bother http://www.michigandaily.com London........$341 Paris...........$416 Los Angeles...$269 Amsterdam.... $416 Here's what Bush School Students did with their summer vacation: U.S. State Department United Way General Motors 9