I0* 8-The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 5, 2002 BREAKING RECORDS REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEW RELEASES * BRANDY FULL MOON ATLANTIC RECORDS By Devon Thomas For the Daily In this catty-cat world of young, one-named R&B divas, what does a girl have to do to prove her maturity? Well, if getting secretly married and being in your first trimester aren't enough, how about releasing a new album? Titled Full Moon, a reference to her emerging womanhood and newfound personal assurance, Brandy tries to prove just that. The predictability level on Full Moon is as high as ever. The album's mantra of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" has been applied liberally throughout the 17 tracks. It's nothing we haven't heard before from the Moe-ster. Heavily pro- ducer-driven, the album follows the template that catapult- ed her sophomore album Never Say Never to multi-platinum status. The tradition (or condition) contin- ues on her junior outing. Full Moon's first quarter exhibits the same ole Jerkins production we've heard time and time before, just slightly altered (or "updated") and equipped with the latest in elec- tronic blips and bleeps. Did somebody die and name Brandy and her team the new rulers of the Vocoder-box? I don't know if I'm listening to the latest Blackstreet cut or the resurrection of Roger Troutman. The disc's last quarter treads aimlessly with track after track of five-minute- syrup-ballads in the style of Diane "By-the-Numbers" Warren. The sound of her third album is overwhelmingly Dark- child, so much so that it's hard to differentiate Brandy from her producer - they're virtually hip-to-hip on this album, with Jerkins appearing vocally on almost every track. Jerkins is obviously vying to be the next Jimmy & Terry to Brandy's Janet. Moon's guaranteed mainstream club play, especially with the preprogrammed radio-ready singles "What About Us?" and "I Thought." TRL kids will cream over "All In Me" and "Can We." Lyrically, they're the same topics we've all heard before - cheating boyfriends, love, lying, love, arguments and love, love, love. Mainstream R&B music is pretty typical and this just shows it. Almost every song on Full Moon sounds reminis- cent of her previous effort. That's the state of mainstream pop music in 2002: Don't deviate too far from the sound that garnered your initial success and you'll be guaranteed prosperity. After all, music video outlets, A&Rs and urban radio programmers don't want grand artistic musical state- ments if it will curb record sales: Just give us the same tired, interchangeable Timbaland/Jerkins drum-heavy pro- duction and we'll give you maximum airplay. There are few standout cuts here and nothing really memorable. Full Moon breezily cruises by as each of the album's future videos and singles come and subsequently leave the Bill- board charts. Yeah, we know it'll be another hit, another platinum plaque for the Moe-ster, but will this album go down on any "Best of the Decade". lists? Highly unlikely. RATING: * * j IRON MAIDEN IRON MAIDEN SONY MUSIC By Sonya Sutherland Daily Arts Writer To most, mention of the '80s metal scene conjures images of groupies, hairspray and makeup. The era can hardly be taken seriously when VH-l's approach involves Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), a notorious player in the bombastic generation of arena rock, hosting his own show dedicated to metal or with Tommy Lee and his wife-beating, porno-filming misadventures. It's easy to dismiss a whole genre based on bad exposure, and with the decadent decade returning to Hollywood in the form of a fashion a statement, credibility is waning with each eBay auction of a Poison shirt. Amidst the toiletries, tapes and makeup compacts that com- prise the time when neon colors were all the rage, there actually exists good music, influential music - Iron Maiden's music. Just ask about any present-day metal band from Marilyn Manson to Papa Roach who their influences are and Iron Maiden is at the top of the list. Even TRL favorite Sum 41 gives a nod to Maiden in the lyrics of their top single. Luckily for everyone whose 8- tracks wore out and records are scratched, or for those ready to experience the true roots of metal, these rock gods arere-issuing their entire collection of oldies on today's medium of choice: CD. Spread across a few weeks, all 17 releases, counting studio and live albums, are being rehashed and redistributed. Still maintaining an admirable career with a new album slated for late spring, it's hard to pick a best of Maiden album when they continue churning out the tunes. Hailing from England and taking America by storm in the early '80s, Iron Maiden made a name for themselves with their expansive, guitar-based music. Their self-titled debut album's first (also self-titled) track of dueling, howling guitars left the tonal calling card for the Brits' entire career: Speedy, intense, straightforward metal. Catchy, JOSH ROUSE UNDER COLD BLUE STARS SLOW RIVER RECORDS By Gina Pensiero Daily Arts Writer "It's a gray world," sings Josh Rouse in the song "Summer Kitchen Ballad" off his new album Under Cold Blue Stars. You can tell he means it so much that it makes you want to cry. Rouse is the answer for those who like Radiohead but dislike their pre- tentious manner. He's more melodic, poppier and extremely genuine. He's sad and sleepy, but not really myste- rious or dark. He sings in a light falsetto over a mesh of loops, guitars, cellos, horns and complicated riffs and killer guitar solos further their songs' melodies, dominating the trademark Iron Maiden sound. Com- bined with clear, comprehensible lyrics actually sung with dynamic range (as opposed to the current trend of hoarse screaming) Maiden took the simple concept of a rock song and expanded upon it infinitely, with critical acclaim accompa- nying every effort put forth. Other groups of the era, and even those on the radio today, simply cannot claim the instrumental precision these masters explore in each of their releases. While the older albums contain Maiden in their prime and certainly their more famous tracks like "Number of The Beast", "2 Minutes To Midnight", and "The Trooper", the releases of the last decade don't disappoint either. RATING:**** ~ 0 E Rouse's lyrics are beautifully crafted and sung with great feeling. It sounds like he means every word he croons over the highly textured music. The seamless but complex track "Ugly Stories" seems to sum up the whole album. It is melancholy but almost disturbingly truthful and clear. "Feeling No Pain," continues along this stark train of thought. If one was looking to find any fault rd album. It is not with the album, it might be the near hat the record was excess of formulaic chord progressions Moutenot, who has and the overuse of one style of singing. Tengo and Freedy Altogether though, Under Cold Blue Stars is a beautifully crafted record that 'tars is a loose con- is easy to listen to, even if it does make ound the trials and you want to embrace what is pathetic in all-town southern the world just that little bit more. )s," according to nto consideration, RAT I N G: ** * ' GINNY OWENS SOMETHING MORE ROCKETOWN RECORDS By Will Yates For the Daily So-called Contemporary Christian Music, sacred music explicitly intended for popular consumption, has led a contentious existence since its development in the '70's and '80's. Cynics have charged that it is a vapid product devoid of artistic relevance, a manipulation of the popular song structure to serve a purpose for which it was never intended. Such a viewpoint is, of course, prejudicial but there is something to be said for the assertion that, in a purely musical sense, the quality of the output of CCM artists pales in comparison to that of their secular counterparts. For almost every type of popular music taste imaginable there emerges a cor- responding CCM act, whether it be the as-seen-on-TV eclecticism of Carman, the quasi-credibility of bands like dc Talk and Pedro the Lion or the pop-metal of P.O.D. and, yes, Stryper. All this begs the question: Can a CCM act establish for itself a unique artistic identity to be respect- ed and enjoyed by the sacred music fan and secular listener alike? Ginny Owens, a Jackson, Miss. born singer/songwriter, probably had this question in mind when she wrote and recorded her sophomore effort, Something More. On the opening track, "Prelude," she admits the futil- ity of self-righteous attempts to "change the world," (read: bible- thump). This realization tempers the tone of the album's remainder, which tends instead towards introverted material; the resulting lyrical detente allows the secular listener to enjoy what is contained therein without feeling ostracized by harsh religious overtones. Nor will the average lis- tener be terribly offended by the music to which Owens' lyrics are set; it never strays far from the adult- alternative model as established by the- likes of Alanis Morissette that proved so popular throughout the '90's. In fact, the music that Owens and her co-writers provide is surpris- ingly strong: The songs are consistent and focused, the melodies are imme- diately attractive, buoyed by her assertive, if indistinctive, alto and assisted by lively arrangements throughout. Unfortunately, Something More's strengths often double as its weak- nesses. In an attempt to keep the arrangements hip, Owens & Co. fre- quently overlook employing a real drummer in favor of utilizing cliched trip-hop-lite percussion and tacky r . ,mfxm poptronica flourishes that only serve to weaken the material. And while she is obviously talented in the tradi- tional sense both as a singer and writer, Owens does not always do enough in either department to dis- tinguish herself as a unique artistic voice, relying too often on copying the sound of already successful singers in what reeks of a calculated attempt at radio play. So, while Owens has made a noble attempt at breaking free of the stereotypes asso- ciated with CCM and moving into the mainstream on Something More, she ultimately offers secular listeners nothing more than a pleasant, consis- tent listen to tide them over until the next Sarah McLachlan record comes out. RATING:* * ' 0 0 0 HALF HALF EDENRIDGE RECORDS By Joshua Palay Daily Arts Writer keyboarus on Is ttm surprising to learn t1 produced by Roger A worked with Yo La Johnston.' Under Cold Blue S cept album based "ar tribulations of a sm couple in the 1950 Rouse. Taking this i Delaware? Are you kidding? Delaware? The last good things to come out of Delaware were the Simp- sons and Wayne's World jokes. But the state whose claims to fame lie primari- ly with Perdue chicken and a toxic chemical industry may have something to contribute to rock music. In their four-song debut EP, the Wilmington- based Half dispels the myth that rele- vant hard-core must come from the holy lands of Los Angeles and New York and makes a statement that will hopefully attract some outside atten- tion. The greatest strength of this album, recorded on the independent Edenridge Records, is. that it effectively moves through a variety of musical spaces, which is surprising given that this genre is constantly plagued by records regurgitating the same textures from track to track. Singer Brian Pieslak demonstrates his vocal prowess rem- iniscent of Michael Patton on a wicked remake of Aerosmith's "St. John," but also has a subtle ear for melody and harmony on the mellow "Faded." Don't get me wrong, we still get the heavy riffs that serve as the, backbone of hard-core, Half just presents this music in an interesting new way. The final minutes of "Chain" layer a Batucada drum beat (a Brazilian dance rhythm) with a quasi-Tibetan monk's chant under the conventional metal groove. It creates an atmosphere that loyal fans of this genre will enjoy, but will have an appeal to those of us who have grown tired of hearing the same song for 50 or 60 minutes. Another refreshing component of Half's music is the lyrics. The songs are not filled with unintelligible metaphors .and nonsensical phrases loosely strung together. "Whatever" is a powerfully and intensely ironic depiction of young, white male apa- thy in American society. Unfortunately, the production on the EP is not at par with that of cor- porate backed studios: The recording signal is a little low, and Pieslak's vocals are set too far back in the mix at times. But what the music lacks in technical expertise, it more than makes up with in creativity and orig- inality (just crank up your stereo). RATING:* * * ' I Leavi'ng Ann Arb in or as need ublelte a.. 6 r xhig<: s31 - d " k tr , BREAKING RECORDS STAR SYSTEM * * * * CLASSIC **** GREAT ** * FAIR * * SUB-PAR WORTHLESS . Y - - - --= - -J1O Advertise it in The Mic f _ .t _.3_ _-An -LiI %_-,A