With his years as Screaming Trees’ leader and his heroin addiction far behind him, Mark Lanegan has favoured collaborative albums with Isobel Campbell, formerly of Scottish indie pop group Belle and Sebastian. Now, armed with producer Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures), Blues Funeral is Lanegan’s first studio album since 2004’s Bubblegum.
Saturated with dark imagery and regret, Lanegan’s mournful, gruff vocals (think Black Keys with a strep throat) overwhelm this bluesy-rock funeral. The ordeal made me long for contrasting vocals with Campbell on his previous collaborative work. Despite some great melodic moments on songs like “Phantasmagoria Blues” and “Bleeding Muddy Water,” Blues Funeral is nothing more than a glimpse into the mind of a man with too many scars. With a run-time of a little under an hour, I don’t think I could handle more than a short memorial gravesite visit.
Trial track: “Phantasmagoria Blues”
Rating: 5.0/10
– Paul Traunero
Hit the Lights – Invicta (Razor&Tie; 2012)Ohio-based band Hit The Lights show a different side of themselves on their newest and third full-length studio album, Invicta. While sticking to their pop-punk roots, the band’s style has changed; their lyrics have matured beyond “chasing the girl.”
After the first listen, the songs sound somewhat similar, but after playing the album through a few times they begin to grow on you. Songs “Gravity,” “Earthquake,” and “Carry the Weight,” taken from the band’s Invicta EP, are the best on the album. The contradictorily-named, slower-paced track, “Faster Now,” though still catchy, seems out of place on an album with mostly upbeat melodies. The final song, “Oh My God,” is drastically different from anything the band has released and introduces a darker instrumental side; a good way to end the album.
Invicta has 11 tunes that are great sing-a-long anthems, with super catchy choruses that should satisfy the tastes of any pop rocker.
Rating: 7.5/10
Trial track: “Earthquake”
– Natasha Taggart
Lana Del Rey – Born to Die (Polydor/Interscope; 2012)
Lana Del Rey became an Internet sensation in August when she released the artsy music video for her first single “Video Games.” The hype has skyrocketed since the release of her second single “Born to Die,” and has only continued, building up to her second full-length LP by the same name. Her album begins with the four best songs, which were coincidentally all singles, or leaked on YouTube. Her sultry and glamorous voice is ceaseless, and her simplistic lyrics are overshadowed when mixed with high-quality production. She sings mostly about rich and James Dean-esque men, and American pride. Although Lana Del Rey has been talked about so much that there isn’t much left to say, I think she deserves most of the popularity. Her pop songs are fresh, and stand out among artists like Katy Perry and Rihanna. Born to Die isn’t as jaw-dropping incredible as expected, but it is a good pop album nonetheless.
Trial track: “Summertime Sadness”
Rating: 6.8/10
– Leah Batstone
Nick Drake – Pink Moon (Island Records; 1972)
By the time Pink Moon was released in 1972, Nick Drake had sunk into the depression from which he’d never emerge, aggravated by the disconnect between his peers’ praise and his lack of success. Hopelessness had joined sorrow. It’s hard to imagine an artist less deserving of this doubt. Years after his 1974 suicide, his music would finally receive the praise it deserved.
Pink Moon is Drake—Nick, not Aubrey—at his finest. The ethereal quality of his voice lends a playfulness to the melancholic title track; you can’t help but grin hearing him bounce along with “pink, pink, pink, pink.” “Road” and “Things Behind the Sun” show off his bizarre tunings: each sounds familiar but remains shrouded by hidden fretboard formulas. And “Which Will” remains, in my mind, the benchmark all unrequited love should be measured against.
Pink Moon is best summed up as an album of emotional contradictions: it makes you want to both smile and cry in one line and, by the time the needle lifts, both exhausts and rejuvenates you.
Trial track: “Pink Moon”
– Brandon Judd
