***image1***Backbreaking beats abound.
BECK
The Information
Interscope Records
Beck's new album comes as a listenable disk (or download) and a multisensory experience. Low-budget videos accompany each track and, despite their lack of narrative to tie them with the song, the music sounds better when it's seen. The videos force listeners to pay full attention to the music, in which subtle electronic riffs supplement gentle acoustic sounds or take over the song completely, as Beck's voice only helps to further the slow dance beat. An artist featuring himself in a video for every song on an album might seem vain by another artist, but Beck pulls it off, giving fans the self-portrait he's known for musically, in audio and visual versions.
SPANK ROCK
YoYoYoYoYo
Big Dada Records
The language on Spank Rock's
YoYoYoYoYo
goes well beyond the parental advisory sticker limits. Juvenile and misogynistic phrases, without a lick of poetic flair, make the album almost unlistenable. The beats behind those words, though, are genius. Spank has taken "beat" in all its forms, mixing everything from Latin drumming to frantic, electronic drum 'n' bass.
Yo
is a stylized mix of genre that appeals to rap and underground hip-hop fans but doesn't alienate electronic music lovers with its lyrics, as often they are relegated to the background, playing second chair to amazing works of sound.
BASEMENT JAXX
Crazy Itch Radio
XL Recordings
Rambunctious house music, with a slight disco dazzle, starts the
Crazy Itch Radio
party from the first second. Though "Intro" starts with a chamber orchestra and strong strings, the 37-second song exists as forward momentum into the manic state that follows. The Jaxx tell a story with this album: A girl and boy look at the good and bad in their relationship, which may be in such disorder because of the partying dance music inspires.
Crazy Itch Radio
might not be the band's best album to date, but on its own it is a self-reflective trip into the party life, without coloring the celebration too dazzling.
