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The Air ship has finally landed in full-length, and worth every minute of anticipation. It would be easy to be skeptical of the Versailles duo, though--after all, every critic in the world, it seems, has been wanking to their jelly-soft electro-lounge sounds for the past bit.
Tupac R U Still Down (Jive/Amaru Records) It's touching to see Tupac's mother involved with his legacy (she's executive producer of this album) but this two-CD set was a hard listen for me. If you're a fan of Tupac's hard times and deathwish rhymes, here's 25 tracks for you. If you're like me and wonder how this man is being called "a legend" and "one of the most prolific and influential figures of the '90s," this collection will only make you shake your head even more. 6/10 (Scott C) Pearl Jam Yield (Epic/Sony) What with the dearth of relevant rock acts and Pearl Jam's having, um, yielded to releasing singles and videos again, expect a bit of a rebirth for them with album No. 5. Eddie's still got pain-plus for us to feel, but at least the vehicles here are less turgid rockouts (à la "Spin the Black Circle") and more accessible in a pop sense (like "Better Man"). Yielding for the right reasons can be a good thing. 7/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
The moniker suits, in the sense that, just as Blur aped Pavement last year, these Yanks do an accurate emulation of the current state of UK power pop. And just as recent Britpop offerings have had less than stellar batting averages, so does Back in the U.S.S.A. balance the bull's-eyes with an equal count of limp stinkers. But there's no denying that when they're good ("Take it Away," "Dogskin Report"), damn, they're good. 6.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
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Air Moon Safari (Source/Virgin)
But I suppose it's nice when we can all get along and agree that some music is gorgeous and toney and emotive and shimmering and goes straight to the gut. Dreamily. I can't describe these songs well in words. Excepting two weaker vocal productions, Moon Safari is just, like, the sound of fizzy '60s UFO soundtrack stuff given water wings. This isn't another one of those critical conspiracies. Just go out and buy the thing. Then prepare for liftoff, and all that. 9.5/10 (Mireille Silcott)
The Interpreters Back in the U.S.S.A. (Freeworld/BMG)