***image1***The first cut's always the best.
SONIC YOUTH
"Reena"
Rather Ripped, Geffen Records
You know how every screechy, scratchy Sonic Youth record contains at least one true pop song amongst all the noodling and feedback? Well this CD is comprised of all those type songs, and none more catchy, fun, bouncy and creepy than the opening cut. "Reena" is Kim Gordon at her raspy best, as Youth-ian guitars swirl and pop around a melody somehow simultaneously ragged and sophisticated. "You keep me coming home again," is Gordon's first line, and it's true: We'll keep coming home to the only band from the last century that still matters.
THOM YORKE
"The Eraser"
The Eraser, X L Recordings
Jazzy, unexpected piano chords. IDM synth beats. Yorke's recognizable emotional robot voice. It's like Radiohead, sure, but guitarless and more focused on the humanity of Yorke's artistic aesthetic. Maybe it's the subtle background of sweeping up-and-down processed vocals, or even the arpeggiated, almost calypso-sounding bleeps and bloops. Or perhaps it's the simplicity-compared to Radiohead, at least-of "The Eraser" that makes you want to put on a giant set of headphones and listen to the rest of the album, floating away on a processed sea of emotion.
NOUVELLE VAGUE
"The Killing Moon"
A Bande Apart, Luaka Bop
Kicking off any album with Echo and the Bunnymen's best song, you can't really go wrong. But this French band, made up of a rotating cast of members, does something really special with their version (you may know the original from the opening scene of
Donnie Darko
): The original rock percussion is replaced by rhythmic acoustic nylon string guitar, and one-name wonder Camille's barely there vocals, create a sweet, chanteuse-y song, much different than its dejected predecessor. The disc creates entirely new songs culled from the best of the '80s songbook (Bauhaus, Yaz, etc.), reminding us why it's actually a good idea to do covers, sometimes.
