Wednesday, January 28, 1998
Soundbites
MUSIC
The LOX "Money, Power, & Respect" (Bad Boy/Arista) Love ’em
or hate ’em, the fact remains that Sean "Puffy" Combs and his Bad
Boy family have dominated the hip-hop, R&B and pop charts for
the past four years. Beats that could make you move and lyrics that
make you say "DAMN!" became a Bad Boy hallmark. However, the
untimely death of lyrical genius Notorious B.I.G., the flagship of
the Bad Boy fleet, left a creative void in the area of rhyming
abilities.
But the LOX, who made its national debut on the tender tribute
"We’ll Always Love Big Poppa," would bring back the Bad Boy
tradition of phat beats and tight lyrics.
Rumor on the streets is that there was originally a fourth
member of the LOX who went by the name of Bagel, but left the group
amidst creative differences. The truth is they used to be known as
the Warlocks, but changed their name to the LOX (an acronym for
Living Off ‘Xperience). After working with numerous other artists,
the LOX have come to put it down on an album of its own.
"Money, Power & Respect" distinguishes itself in many ways
from previous Bad Boy releases. First of all, Puffy’s famous
ad-libs are noticeably (and pleasantly) missing from the majority
of the tracks. In fact, with the exception of a few songs, there
are no guest appearances, thus allowing the LOX to do its thing.
And what a thing.
From beginning to end, the LOX drops poetry over beats that, for
the most part, they can call their own. The original beats are a
mixture of underground grit and smooth R&B that will make your
head nod and have you singing along with the hooks.
The unfortunate thing about these three Yonkers, N.Y., emcees is
that they waste their rhyming skills on tired and played-out
themes. Virtually every song deals with – you guessed it- money,
honeys and gats. Aside from the inability to transcend superficial
materialism, "Money, Power & Respect" is a scrumdidlyumptious
snack. J. Jioni Palmer B+
The Fastbacks "Win, Lose, or Both" (Popllama) After quite a
hiatus from their underground ’80s punk days, the Fastbacks make a
strong comeback with their latest album, "Win, Lose, or Both."
Rather than rely on over-revved guitar work with
quasi-inspirational lyrics, which many of today’s young punks have
resorted to, the Fastbacks take listeners to an upbeat realm of
catchy melodies without dismissing their driving beats. They offer
clever, spunky lyrics as well, like in the song, "Used to Belong."
The two lead vocals, one male and one female, throw back and forth
the words "I used to belong – she’s waiting for something – I used
to belong – you’re waiting there, too."
Though not an album to cast one’s soul upon, the work achieves a
simple yet darkly strewn background of not-so-standard drum
infusions and guitar solos within its commonplace designs to merely
rock hard. And rock it does. Once again, listeners are forced to
remember what the experience of attending a small, grungy,
pit-style hole-in-the-wall punk club is all about, where black-clad
performers drip sweat and hair dye from their over-worked bodies,
flailing across the puny stage.
In some ways, this vision seems to hold that underground
American concept of rock ‘n’ roll as a larger institution, the
anarchic image of a youth gone wild amidst cigarette smoke and
Mickey’s-wide mouths. In this way, the Fastbacks regain the role of
subversive punk rebels which they held for a decade or so, back in
the days when the guitar wasn’t just an instrument used for
recreation, but a powerful tool which when properly wielded allowed
direct communication with the gods of chaos. Enjoy the revolution.
Vanessa VanderZanden A-
Uma "Fare Well" (MCA) Sometimes it is nice to get a decent
folk-rock album, free from the occasional obscenities of punk, the
immaturities of ska or the whining of ambient music. Uma eases the
soul in its new album, "Fare Well," a clean variety of mellow
acoustic numbers and sober beats.
But what is really refreshing is the combination of vocals by
Chris Hickey and Sally Dworsky that, in style, gives the album a
feel for what would happened if Jewel ever got together with
R.E.M.
While a few of its songs resort to overly sing-song methods for
appeal, Uma is exploding with massive promise. The best song of the
album, "Jealousy," leaves the listener wondering where Uma was
hiding its talent all along. It has every component of success,
from the upbeat compelling melody to the hard-rocking guitar
solo.
Although it isn’t the type of band that will weave its way into
the mainstream, a few songs have at least large VH-1 potential. In
fact, the only cardinal sin of rock committed resides in the band’s
song, "New Year’s Day." One major tip for bands everywhere: If you
want to come off as inspirational, please do not sing about Stephen
Hawking. It’s just weird. Michelle Zubiate B+
Far "Water and Solutions" (Epic/Immortal) Chances are you
probably didn’t see Far play live in the Cooperage a couple years
back when they opened for Fluf and Smile. Most likely you just
didn’t hear about it. But for the lucky few of us who did, you were
able to see lead singer/guitarist Jonas Sonz Matranga get a nose
bleed from screaming too hard. And that was just after the first
song.
"Tin Cans With Strings To You," Far’s major-label debut (after
just a couple years of playing shows like the one in the Coop) is
not forgiving of the band’s intensity, either. Most tracks boasted
Jonas’ strident yell more than his restrained melancholic voice,
like the teenage rage of Zach de la Rocha rather than the
idiosyncratic melody of Maynard Keenen (Tool). This time around,
the band still maintains the Rage Against the Machine and Tool
comparisons (one song is called "The System," while another
complains about being sober all the time … sound familiar?).
However, they have traded in some of their urgency for some
earnest smarts. "Bury White" says, "We’re always searching for
what’s wrong," to likely make us feel guilty for ever pre-judging
others. Jonas even proselytizes about religion and the afterlife
with Elvis in "Mother Mary" ("Like Elvis / We all die / We all live
on"). And, yes, there are still blasts of hard-core aplenty, but
perfectly assimilated within the entire 12-track album.
Far should get used to playing much bigger venues than UCLA’s
Cooperage in order to hold all its new fans. Brendon Vandergast
A
The LOX
"Money, Power, & Respect"