The cold, impassionate vocals of Depeche Mode have never done it for me. I have liked the odd song ("Everything Counts" for the cheese, "Personal Jesus" for the style), but even their most lauded albums, like Black Celebration and Violator, have been chasing the head and not the heart. Memento Mori (★★★½), their latest comeback, is much the same. "My Cosmos Is Mine" sets the tone beautifully and even monumentally, and there are a few excellent songs along the way (the Spandau Ballet-styled "Soul With Me" is not one of them). Engaging, enjoyable... and a little vapid. If you just want vapid, without engaging and enjoyable, let me point you in the direction of The Zombies' Different Game (★★). The guys do indeed sound like their name at this point. I guess the brittle ballad "Love You While I Can" is rather lovely but nothing else on this bland and generic album will betray to you that Odessey & Oracle is one of the greatest albums of all time.
As for Shana Cleveland's critically acclaimed second album, Manzanita (★★★½), I am undecided as of yet. It is an album to come back to, again and again, because it constantly threatens to reveal hidden depths. It is a laidback folk album with subtle, tasteful arrangements and a somewhat mystical vibe. I am already transfixed by the eerie "A Ghost" as well as the melodically intriguing songs like "Babe" and "Mayonnaise" (the combination of piano and pedal steel works really well) and, with time, I might end up loving the whole thing. Who knows, this album may end up being mentioned in the same breath with Sibylle Baier's legendary Colour Green.
Brix Smith's new album, in its turn, was a slight disappointment. Without Mark, her music just lacks subtlety (nobody has spoken of Mark E. Smith as of a purveyor of subtlety and I'm on very shaky ground here) - especially when she tries to do those aggressive, high-octane rockers that dominate Valley Of The Dolls (★★★). I loved the two side closers, the tuneful ballad "Changing" and the epic "Black Butterfly", as well as a few spots in between, but overall this is very patchy. The Hold Steady's consistency, however, shows no signs of slowing down. The Price Of Progess (★★★½) is yet another quietly excellent album from the American band. The tough, heartbreaking single "Sixers" is the standout.
Finally, a dramatic black and white cover, a far-fetched allusion to a Wim Wenders film, a line about fucking her to death... In other words, the new LP from Lana Del Rey has arrived. Listening to these 16 new songs stretched to almost 80 minutes of running time, I wonder if she will ever realise that there is nothing as sexy as a 30 minute album... Her desire to experiment is commendable (the fact that most of those experiments fall flat is a different matter), but overall Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (★★★) is the usual deal: a vaguely intriguing mess of an album that throws up a few delights ("Paris, Texas", ironically) amid the sea of uneventful, if always tasteful, mush.
Songs of the Month:
Baxter Dury - "Aylesbury Boy"
The New Pornographers - "Angelcover"
Shana Cleveland - "A Ghost"
Brix Smith - "Changing"
The Hold Steady - "Sixers"
Lana Del Rey - "Paris, Texas" (feat. SYML)
