Nowhere to Now Here

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

We're not surprised that music from the Kin's new album "Rise and Fall" was placed in episodes of Lifetime series "Army Wives." Song pluggers should heed the Aussie duo, for the pair's endearing romanticism would make good backdrops to tales on the small and big screen alike.[...more]
We're not surprised that music from the Kin's new album "Rise and Fall" was placed in episodes of Lifetime series "Army Wives." Song pluggers should heed the Aussie duo, for the pair's endearing romanticism would make good backdrops to tales on the small and big screen alike. "Nowhere to Now Here" leads off "Rise and Fall" with deep, canyon-like rumbles, then swoops in on an orchestral wave as wide as its cinematic scope. Strings drive the song urgently enough that you can see the hero of a grand adventure—something in the vein of Robin Hood—charging onward, intent on rescue. It's one of the more inspiring songs on "Rise and Fall," and it launches the soulful album on an exhilarating note.

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Dreaming Out Loud

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Last month at a KIIS-FM-sponsored show in Anaheim, Calif., Timbaland announced he had big plans for OneRepublic, the first rock band signed to his Mosley Music imprint. "I told Coldplay I'm coming for 'em," said the producer-turned-mogul, who recently ushered the Los Angeles quintet from obscurity to omnipresence with his hit version of the group's "Apologize." There's no question that OneRepublic's debut should appeal to fans of Chris Martin's lovesick alt-rock balladry. Loaded with plinking pianos, airbrushed guitars and lyrics about being lost till you're found, "Dreaming Out Loud" doesn't diverge much from the formula that turned Coldplay into the biggest new band in the world. But it's also a pretty modest affair, one more concerned with atmosphere than anthems. If Timbo's determined to put OneRepublic in arenas, he should probably share his weight-building regimen.—Mikael Wood

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Good Enough

Friday, November 16, 2007

A look at Evanescence on paper reveals a band that should be in its glory. Following a best new artist Grammy Award for 2003 debut studio album "Fallen," a Billboard 200 No. 1 debut for 2006 follow-up "The Open Door" and the top 10 launch single "Call Me When You're Sober," the group toured the world for nearly a year. So what happened? Single follow-ups "Lithium" and "Sweet Sacrifice" never even charted in the States. The fourth single from "The Open Door," piano-driven rock ballad "Good Enough," is as intense and affecting as anything before it—and this time, Lee's lyric steps from the dark side, reveling in the relief of positivity: "It's been a long time coming, but I feel good enough." It's a make-or-break moment for a band that seemed to own the world one year ago. —Chuck Taylor

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Hvarf-Heim

"Hvarf-Heim" is a twinkling half-live, half-retrospective double EP that stands as companion piece to Sigur Rós' first foray into cinema, "Heima." Part documentary, part concert film, part travelogue, the movie places the quartet in what its Web site calls the "absolute middle-of-nowhereness" of the members' native Iceland. The album, too, carries the same mood of stripped-down reverie, sometimes folky ("Agaetis Byrjun"), sometimes ethereal ("Von"). The five tracks of "Hvarf" ("disappeared") include the previously unreleased ("Salka," "Í Gaer") and the reworked ("Hafsól"), but largely feel bereft and chilly. From the plaintive piano of "Samskeyti" to the soothing "Heysátan," it's the six songs of "Heim" ("home")—which capture the band live in Iceland in 2006 and 2007—that are the strongest and ultimately most warm.—Jessica Letkemann

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Eos

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Those longing for a soundtrack honoring autumn and winter's pagan holidays won't feel complete until they purchase Ulver's "Shadows of the Sun." The black metal/folk band handles the despair of the human condition so devoutly, you'll feel compelled to kneel alongside the Norwegians to pay homage. The album's opening track, "Eos," is all you need to know about the gorgeously dark record. Subtle, humming organs; whining Theremin; and crying violins cast a reverent atmosphere associated with places of worship, but these altars are scattered across nighttime landscapes as remote as the face of the moon. Goths who identify with the genre for its fashion sense will find Ulver's eeriness unsettling—the band unflinchingly delves and revels in its misery; Type O Negative lovers will detect that group's mournful harmonies. Pure brooding beauty. —Christa L. Titus

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