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A masterpiece of M.O.R. trip pop, testament to the fact that the genre was always a bit more revolutionary than evolutionary. And proof that that's fine. Futurism was never trip hop's schtick anyway. I mean, even
Van Halen 3 (Warner) First things first: the new guy. To say that Gary Cherone fills Diamond Dave's shoes would be rather extreme, but he's no Hagar the Horrible either. Now, the meat of the matter: Eddie's licks. The volcanic virtuosity of "Eruption"-era VH seems strangely absent. A matured songwriting sense can't mask the fact that Mr. Van Wailin' deliver solos that seem merely obligatory. 6/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Priya Thomas Armageddon Weather Channel (Flat Earth/Page) So our tiny songstress with the big voice has been on the road--taking on the biz in T.O., turning down a gig in Keenan Ivory Wayans' fatuous female band (!) and recording this second, self-released album. Much remains the same here: the throat that can eat or break glass, the spare, rockin' arrangements. But Thomas brings down the volume on a lot of the album, most remarkably on "So Many Ways," the prettiest, most soaring pop song she's ever written. 7.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Pure frosting it is, icing the completist's cake with a spread of out-takes, live cuts and even a couple of new tricks. The Presidents' maximinimalist smirk-rock packs the punch of a Baghdad-bound scud missile, as indicated by their kooky cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star" or the municipal chauvinism of "Cleveland Rocks." I've been to Cleveland, it does not rock. This cupcake, however, does. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
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Morcheeba Big Calm (Indo China/Warner)
Portishead's second album sounded exactly like their first. So here again are Morcheeba, with their sweeping, uplifting sad tracks, sounding rather '95, and pretty hit-bound ("Shoulder Holster") because of it. The Brothers Godfrey have delved into a by now classic soup of spy sounds, '60s reggae chops, lapping strings and hip-hop-you-don't-stop (check the Run-DMC-meets-Headrillaz vibe of the title track). Vocalist Skye Edwards has perfected her harmless spacey-folk voice, specializing in an emotiveness that doesn't swallow you up whole. When they are this well-crafted, there's something cockle-warming about listening to songs that you could swear you've heard before. 8.5/10 (Mireille Silcott)
Presidents of the United States of America Pure Frosting (Columbia/Sony)