Hanson
No matter how old they get, Hanson will always be the "MMMBop" boys. That 1997 hit was the precursor to the boy-band boom that gave us the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and 98°. But while their voices may have gotten deeper, the brothers Hanson—Isaac, 23, Taylor, 21, and Zac, 18—have struggled to evolve with the times since their multiplatinum debut Middle of Nowhere.
The trio's third studio album, released on the group's own independent label 3CG Records, demonstrates that they may have grown up but their sound really hasn't. Hanson is still cranking out guitar-pop ditties and bubblegum ballads that sound so '90s. Although the Hansons continue to get extra points for playing their own instruments—Isaac on guitar, Taylor on keyboards and Zac on drums—they could use some meatier material to sink their musical chops into. The lyrics, nearly all written by the brothers, are downright corny by today's TRL standards. "Broken angel, you got to learn to fly/ Get up, earn your wings tonight," Zac croons on the treacly "Broken Angel." Elsewhere, on the insipid "Hey," they sing, "When I'm making my movie, baby/ You keep saying all my lines." Mmm...huh?
Still, there are some signs of artistic development. Hanson experiments with Chicago-style horn charts on the effervescent "Crazy Beautiful." Meanwhile, the hidden track "Lulla Belle" has a countryish feel that hints at an acoustic direction that Hanson might want to take in the future. Some things don't need changing, though, and Hanson's stunted growth isn't always such a bad thing. With their sweet harmonies, bright melodies and youthful exuberance, they continue to have a boyish charm on tracks like the buoyant "Get Up and Go" and "Deeper." In spite of yourself, you will still be bopping along to them.
POP
Jem
CRITIC'S CHOICE
People are waking up and taking notice of this Welsh singer-songwriter. She cowrote a song with Madonna ("Nothing Fails") that appeared on the latter's American Life last year, Dave Matthews signed her to his ATO label, and The O.C. has featured her music. Jem's first full-length CD shows why she has the buzz to go along with her celestial vocals and cool trip-hop beats. The result is an edgier version of another one-named U.K. export, Dido. Jem (full name: Jemma Griffiths) is a former deejay and promoter who came up from the U.K.'s underground club scene, and her disc plays like a groovy mix tape, with atmospheric electronica, chilled-out hip-hop, lilting reggae and kitschy pop. She even experiments with a chorale arrangement on the entrancing opener "They," which incorporates a bit of Bach's Prelude in F Minor, while going all folkie on the pretty, acoustic-guitar-laden ballad "Flying High." Even when her lyrics occasionally dip into cliché ("Today's the first day of the rest of your life" on the title track), Jem's alluring sounds will keep listeners from nodding off.
ALT-POP
Muse
After being released in Muse's native England last September, Absolution was hailed as "the U.K. rock record of the year" by Britain's influential New Musical Express. Buoyed by such critical acclaim, the CD arrived in the U.S. this spring, and it largely lives up to the hype. Muse's third disc (but only the group's second to be released in the States) finds this alt-rock trio, consisting of childhood friends from the small Devon town of Teignmouth, brimming with musical intensity and apocalyptic musings. "This is the end of the world," wails singer-guitarist-keyboardist Matthew Bellamy, the band's sole lyricist, on the dramatic opener "Apocalypse Please." The spooky sense of foreboding doesn't stop there. On the single "Time Is Running Out," with its ominous bass line and jagged guitars, Bellamy sings, "You will be the death of me," while the eerie, epic "Butterflies and Hurricanes" signals that "your number has been called." All of this gloom and doom might become tiresome if it were not for Muse's potent musical assault, with Bellamy backed up by Chris Wolstenholme on bass and Dominic Howard on drums. At times they call to mind Radiohead and early U2, while doing a Queen-like rock-opera take on the baroque "Blackout," with Bellamy doing his best Freddie Mercury turn.
ALT-ROCK
Sondre Lerche
Sondre Lerche of Norway may be only 21, but he sounds as if he is a child of the '60s. Echoes of the Beatles, Burt Bacharach and the Beach Boys permeate the singer-songwriter's cool cocktail pop on this follow-up to his 2002 debut Faces Down. With sunny harmonies, breezy horns, lush strings and swirling, psychedelic-tinged keyboards, Lerche crafts a sound that is both hip and hippie. The far-out title track showcases Lerche's airy melodies, nimble acoustic guitar work and quirky vocal delivery! Sonic surprises pop up, such as French horn on the opening instrumental "Love You," pedal steel guitar on the country-tinged "Stupid Memory" and accordion on the bittersweet ballad "Maybe You're Gone." On the latter Lerche achingly sings of a lost love: "I may turn around/ To see if you're still there. ...Maybe you'll wait for me/ Maybe you're gone."
ALT-POP
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin's latest effort should come with a Prozac prescription. You have to go back to Billie Holiday's Gloomy Sunday for material this dark and depressing. Holiday, of course, could wallow in despair with the best of them (she was the best of them). Griffin's discontent, however, seems to be more in the nature of a whine on tiresome tracks such as "Useless Desires," "Cold as It Gets" and "When It Don't Come Easy." The only relief from this disc's unrelentingly somber, self-pitying tone is the title song, the inspirational "Man of La Mancha" favorite that Griffin sings with her parents, who are amateurs (and sound like it). But even when she's singing about grimly determined teenage girls walking to Florida in their bare feet (on "Florida"), Griffin—with her ethereal voice and soulful, blues-based style—is always musical, and she's effectively backed by a band including Lisa Germano on violin and Ian McLagan on piano.
COUNTRY/FOLK
- Contributors:
- Chuck Arnold,
- Ralph Novak.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
