Wednesday, April 15, 1998
Soundbites
Pulp, "This is Hardcore" (Island) Britpop may be dead, but one
of its greatest groups has proven to be one of the most vital and
talented bands to emerge from England with their latest
release.
Pulp has followed up their intoxicating 1995 Mercury Prize
winning album, "Different Class," with "This is Hardcore," an
exciting, swelling and fabulously produced record that ranks as one
of the best albums of the year. Far more progressive and fluid than
its predecessor, "Hardcore" takes Pulp’s energetic glam-pop styles
and adds sensual rhythms and absorbing melodies that have a
maturity and polished quality most Pulp albums lack.
"Hardcore" ebbs and flows wonderfully, switching from soft,
romantic songs like bittersweet, Motown-esque "A Little Soul" to
the pulsating, Bowie-like "I’m a Man." The ballads ("The Fear") are
as charming and enchanting as the rockers (bonus track "Like a
Friend," also on the "Great Expectations" soundtrack) are
invigorating and electric.
Part of the remarkable nature of Pulp’s disco-flavored rock can
be attributed to highly danceable rhythms that maintain harmony
with the driving force of the guitars and synthesizers. It
accomplishes what the much ballyhooed "electronica" genre still
grapples with: rhyming infectious synth elements, booming beats and
emotional, hook-laden melodies, despite being a pop record.
In fact, the music sounds so damn good, they almost take the
spotlight away from master lyricist and vocalist, Jarvis Cocker,
who explores life, sex, aging and society with a clarity and
panache that neither condescends nor insults the listener. Cocker
sings the highs and lows of life with an intensity that matches
that of the music. In "Glory Days," Cocker sings, "I could be a
genius if I just put my mind to it/ and I could do anything if I
could only get ’round to it," acknowledging how optimism falls prey
sometimes to the harsh realities of modern life. With "TV Movie,"
he displays his knack for viewing relationships with creative
metaphors. ("Without you my life has become a hangover with no end/
A movie made for TV: bad dialogue, bad acting, no interest/ too
long with no story and no sex.")
It’s hard to imagine such a yearning, catchy record will
probably never see the mainstream. But Pulp doesn’t need the masses
to prove their talent. The confidence and skill is there on the
album. Mike Prevatt A+
Strictly Ballroom "Hide Here Forever" (Waxploitation) With notes
that linger past the normal confines of blase pop songs, Strictly
Ballroom etches out a far classier place in the alternative rock
genre than most bands care to go.
The ensemble includes two drummers with complete sets, providing
a unique and complex sound. It can be easy to get lost in the low,
somber notes which seem to crawl through layers of tingling beats.
Songs titles like "Trains in the Distance at Night" and "A Sudden
Interest in Nature" reflect Strictly Ballroom’s calm musical
inclinations.
Perfect for the four-in-the-morning, after-party scene or chill,
contemplative evening by yourself, "Hide Here Forever" creeps below
the scrambling thoughts flowing in your own head. At moments, like
in the piece "Something That Just Is," the lead singer begins to
scream his lyrics in such a way as to be just another instrument in
line with the rest of the amplified sounds. Mostly, he just allows
the guitars and percussion to wind their way through half-ominous
worlds of their own making, leaving the spoken word out all
together.
For anyone who can appreciate a meandering jam session, Strictly
Ballroom’s "Hide Here Forever" is the album to get. Vanessa
VanderZanden A
The Hunger, "Cinematic Superthug" (Universal) Ever hit the
exerbike at the Wooden Center with hopes of pedaling your way to an
Adonis physique, only to collapse in a puddle of your own sweat 10
minutes into your workout? If this has been a problem, next time
you mount the Lifecycle you might want to come strapped with a
Walkman and The Hunger’s hard-charging new rock album.
It’s packed with 13 heavy duty rock ‘n’ roll tunes that will
keep you pumping your legs for about an hour. Also, if anyone on a
neighboring exerbike looks at you wrong, songs like "Free" and
"Anarchy" will give you the extra boost you need to beat the crap
out of them. None of the songs suck in the slightest, and some of
them are truly exceptional. The title track and "Phoenix" rock
harder than anything Offspring or Bush could ever dream to cranking
out.
Maybe we’re too mature to openly enjoy this type of fare at the
college level, but The Hunger’s relentless hard rock will appeal to
the inner killer squirrel that lives deep in the belly of every
Bruin. It’s not quite the kind of stuff that might tell you to kill
your junior high teacher if you play it backwards, but it’s not far
off, and you’ve got to love it. Jeremy Engel A-
You Am I, "#4 Record" (Warner Bros) I am he and you are me, but
You Am I does not fit into this equation. The name might lead some
to think this band are influenced by The Beatles; don’t be fooled.
You Am I did not record a track on this album that could compete
with even The Beatles’ worst recording.
This being You Am I’s fourth album, we might expect more from
the band, possibly a more polished and mature sound, or better
lyrics. No such luck. You Am I’s #4 Record offers 12 tracks that
fail in their attempts to use studio distortion techniques and
’60s-esque melodies.
Without any grabbing elements, the opening track, "Junk" pumps
through the speakers as more noise than melody. Track 10, "Guys,
Girls, and Guitars" is too long even at three minutes.
As a first album or demo recording, this album could cut it. But
as a fourth album, this does not reflect a band who has been
recording together for three previous albums. Danielle Myer C-
Various Artists "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook:
Remixed" (Real World/ Caroline) Just before this legend of Sufi
Qawwali music passed away last year, artists making up what is
known as the Asian Underground decided to remix and rework songs
done by Khan and his producer, Michael Brook.
Khan’s vocals are best remembered to the Western world perhaps
in his two contributions for the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack with
Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder. Following the release of that
soundtrack, much attention was given to Khan and his soaring chants
and wails, which has touched millions in other parts of the
world.
"Star Rise" takes the vocals of Khan and surrounds them with
loops, buzzing synth harmonies and electronica-like rhythms. The
problem with this hybrid is that the power and beauty of Khan’s
singing diminishes under the weight of the artificial, computerized
music, and the whole thing thus sounds contrived. On a couple of
tracks, like Earthtribe’s "Lament Remix," the electronic dance
harmonies fuse well enough to not sound preposterous, even if the
idea of a thousand British kids on Ecstasy dancing to Khan’s vocals
does.
But on others, especially Asian Dub Foundation’s "Taa Deem
Remix," the cold nature of the modern sound finds little harmony
with Khan’s far-reaching, almost wordless vocals. Maybe
"electronica" artists should learn that remixing doesn’t work all
the time, especially when working with material far more emotive
and soulful than their own. Mike Prevatt C
PULP
"This is Hardcore"