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Push Kings Far Places (Sealed Fate)
Adam Cohen Adam Cohen (Columbia/Sony) Montreal's New Power Generation first gave us Rufus Wainwright and now Adam Cohen, but what I want to know is if Andy Kim has a kid who can write a song half as good as "Be My Baby." Predictably, Leonard's son proffers a pale imitation of pop's schtick: dark, "introspective" songs (co-written by a "team") about blaming an inability to get laid or be in love on the evil sex/power of women. Adam: lose the cigarettes and hair fudge, grow some stubble and get your own life. 4/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Molly Hatchet Silent Reign of Heroes (CMC/BMG)
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A few months ago, I reviewed a Push Kings 7". I noted how floored I was by the exuberant pop push of "Love Won't Desert Us." I demanded that they release an album. Boom. Here 'tis. Comparable to Sloan and Zumpano in their elegant and inspired pop rock constructiveness, the Push Kings benefit from a certain funkiness, never forced, that the others lack. Dig "Sunday on the West Side," for instance, with its flutes, decks, and echoes of the Jackson Five. Ah, just dig the whole thing... it's clunker-free. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Right down to their hilarious album artwork, Molly Hatchet continue to become a caricature of themselves. In claiming to "stick to their guns," they paint themselves into a corner of retardation. Nobody expected a Marilyn Manson sound, but c'mon, song titles like "Redneck Song" and "Junk Yard Dawg?" The trademark slide guitar is nice but Molly Hatchet offer nothing new, especially to their fans. The South may rise again, but not if Molly Hatchet has anything to do with it. 4/10 (Johnson Cummins)