Check out what the CL Music Team is spinning this fine Monday to rocket launch us into the work week…
Gabe — Rockpile, Seconds of Pleasure (1980)
Although they were once hailed as a new wave supergroup, Rockpile showed us on their one and only record that their roots were more firmly entrenched in Chuck Berry-style rock 'n' roll and Everly Brothers-style melodic pop. Co-lead singers Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe already had respectable solo catalogs of their own by the time this record came out, so the anticipation for this release was very high. Sadly, it wasn't as warmly received as it should have been. The band had already garnered a rousing reputation for their live performances but the reaction was lukewarm upon the release Seconds of Pleasure. What were people thinking? This record has aged so well and still sounds as exciting and fun to me as ever. The first pressing of the record contained a fantastic bonus four-song EP of Everly Brothers covers and the deluxe remastered version of the CD tacks those tracks on as an added bonus. A classic that never sounds old or stale. Pull it out again and crank it up!
Joel — Gorillaz, The Fall (2011)
Recorded mostly on Damon Albarn’s iPad during Gorillaz’s fall 2010 U.S. tour and released digitally on Christmas, the physical version recently hit stores. Albarn’s love letter to America is the sonic equivalent of a long road trip through the great plains or the deserts of the southwest — lots of scenery, but not much to look at. What we have is not a pop, rock, or dance album, but 15 short soundscapes — some of which resemble songs. There are some solid bedroom grooves sprinkled throughout, and the Texas-themed tracks towards the middle stand out the strongest — particularly the oddball country/western futurism of “The Parish of Space Dust.” But The Fall is mostly beats, beeps, and buzzing. Just because you can make an album entirely on your iPad and you’re famous enough that people will give a crap when you release it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Leilani — Mark Ronson, Version (2007), Battles, Gloss Drop (out June 7 via Warp Records)
Versions is a solid album of covers by an underrated musician/producer whose best known as the brother of scummy Samantha, aka that "celeb" DJ who briefly converted Linsey Lohan to Lesbianism. He's more widely known (i.e., in places not here) as the producer behind Amy Winehouse's breakthrough smash album, Back to Black. He brought the Motown flavor to her sound with the Daptone Horns, and they're featured prominently throughout his funk-soul-booty shakin' Versions, kicking off the album with a golden-retro vibin' hard funk instrumental version of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face." Other standouts — the slinky hip-hop rendition of Britney Spears' "Toxic" featuring singer-songwriter Tiggers and well-placed samples of Ol' Dirty Bastard, and The Jam's "Pretty Green" treated to a retro skating ring funk feel with guest singer SantiGold. Haven't had a chance to hear his new record as Mark Ronson & the Business Int'l, with originals by the man, but it's only a matter of time.
The Battles album is … just wonderfully absurd and exactly what I wanted and needed from this band after their last album (2007's Mirrored) left such a quirk-distinctive impression. The band — led by former Helmet drummer John Stanier and now comprised of guitarists Ian Williams (formerly of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress) and Dave Konopka (formerly of Lynx) — had me pleasantly baffled with "Ice Cream," an island swaying-hardcore-ska-progressive-something-or-other number with guest Chilean vocalist Matias Aguayo spitting incomprehensible reggae-flavored rhymes, and a vocal intro and outro that will get stuck in your head along with the catchy keyboard notes like you wouldn't believe. I've since decided that I am in love with it and have been jamming the track ever since, though the rest of the album is also solid out-there stuff. Check out the video for "Ice Cream" after the jump and visit the Battles website to download the aforementioned track for free.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.