With the support from Stephan Crump’s strong, anchored bass and Marcus Gilmore’s crisp, propulsive drums, renowned pianist Vijay Iyer explores with shifting polyrhythms on Accelerando. Whether reinterpreting Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature,” Heatwave’s “The Star of a Story” or Duke Ellington’s “The Village of the Virgins,” the trio makes each experimentation highly artful yet accessible. One way to approach Accelerando is just to sit back and feel the grooves.
Five years after introducing her impressive debut, Xin Cho Tôi, Thủy Tiên follows up with yet another Trịnh Công Sơn record titled Ra Đồng Giữa Ngọ. The second album has a few lighter moments like the folksy vibe on the title track and the Latin flavor on “Chiều Một Mình Qua Phố.”
Yet Thủy Tiên sounds best when she expresses Trịnh’s lyrics with her personal interpretation. On “Lời Thiên Thu Gọi,” She sings in slow tempo and phrases each word with ease while backing up by soulful violin and sensational piano. “Phúc Âm Buồn” gets a dramatic orchestration with a duet treatment. Đoàn Minh’s charming tenor is a perfect complement to Thủy Tiên’s sensual alto. “Xin Mặt Trời Ngủ Yên,” “Chiều Trên Quê Hương Tôi” and “Một Ngày Như Mọi Ngày” are well executed.
The album closes out with a new arrangement of “Xin Cho Tôi” to remind her fans where she has left off from the last album. Five-year span is a long time for a release, but the wait is definitely worthwhile. Thủy Tiên is a perfectionist and the Ra Đồng Giữa Ngọ proves it.
Melody Gardot flirted with Latin flavors in her stunning 2009 My One and Only Thrill. In the new release, The Absence, Ms. Gardot devoted the entire record to the bottomless swaying rhythm. With the support of Brazilian guitarist and composer Heitor Pereira, Ms. Gardot takes listeners to Brazil, Portugal and Argentina for a journey of musical exploration.
From the sweet morning dew in “Mira” to the open sea in “Amalia” to the street vibe (with church bell ringing) in “Lisboa,” Gardot offers a spellbinding travelogue with her effortless vocal delivery backing up by Mr. Pereira’s lush, elegant arrangements, in which string orchestration weaving in and out of acoustic picking guitar seamlessly. Also what makes Pareiar’s work so damn mesmerizing is the way he skillfully arranging his instrumentation around Gardot’s voice rather than the other way around. In “Goodbye,” the music ebbs and flows and even growls to accomodate Gardot’s bluesy phrasings.
The Absence marks another expansive musical direction for the multi-talented singer-songwriter. Can’t wait to see where she would take us next in her musical discovery.
So I have been listening to Norah Jones’s …Little Broken Hearts in the past couple of weeks and I was not planning on writing a review, but then the album started to grow on me. Now I can’t seem to get it out of my brain, particularly Jones’child-liking phrasing in “Say Goodbye” backing up by melodious keyboard licks and groovy beats courtesy of Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton. I even started singing in my head lines like, “She’s 22 and she’s loving you.”
While Jones has never been an energetic singer, what makes this collaborative project with Danger Mouse exciting is that the talented producer knows how to nudge Jones up a notch. In the title track, he provides the right tools, midtempo beats mixed in the 60’s psychedelic electric guitar, for her to take revenge: “Beautiful soldiers in their beds / Making love inside their hands / With no chance to defend / Tonight could be their end.” The drama escalates on “Miriam.” Once again, Danger Mouse sets up the cinematic backdrop for Jones to do the Quentin Tarantino’s style of killing: “You know you done me wrong / I’m gonna smile when I take your life.”
From the bouncy “Happy Pills” to the heavy “4 Broken Hearts,” Norah Jones and Danger Mouse offer some of the sweetest revenges ever heard on record even though it takes some times to sink in.
“American Idol” closed out its 11th season yesterday with yet another pretty white guy with guitar winning the contest. How unpredictable was that? Good thing is I didn’t follow this season like I did with the last. Haley Reinhart who came in third in season 10 was a winner in my book. She has a sultry timbre when she goes low and a big-ass pipe when she goes high. Her sexy appearance is a bonus to the eyes as well.
Reinhart showcased a variety of styles on “Idol,” noticeably jazz and blues, but her debut Listen Up! offers classic pop-soul flavors, which sandwiched her between Amy Winehouse and Adele. “Wasted Tears” has Winehouse’s contemporary pop combined with Motown spirit, but Reinhart puts her own spin to it. “Undone” is a big ballad with keyboard and strings that immediately draws some resemblances to Adele’s “Someone Like You.”
Listen Up! features easy, groovy hits including “Now That You’re Here,” “Hit the Ground Runnin'” and “Keep Coming Back” to satisfy the mainstream as well as 19 Entertainment/Interscope Records. For Reinhart, let’s hope that Listen Up! is just a commercial obligation.
At a quick glance, Lênh Đênh Nhớ Phố is yet another Trinh Cong Son’s record from an unknown singer (at least to this reviewer). Once listened, however, the album holds it own. Although Giang Trang’s sultry, raspy voice is the main attraction, the key success of the album is the tight integration between the vocalist, violinist Anh Tú and guitarist Anh Hoàng. In each track, the three come together as a unit.
“Ru Đời Đi Nhé” is a perfect example. The violin sings the opening bars backing up by the strumming guitar. Giang Trang enters the next two bars, but then the violin joins in again to create a marvelous word and wordless interaction. Because “Ru Đời Đi Nhé” is so well-known that the words could be left off without losing the listeners who try to follow the lyrics. While Giang Trang sings with ease like she’s narrating her personal story, the violin soars on the high register to create a deep emotional impact.
“Như Tiếng Thở Dài,” “Vườn Xưa” and “Lời Thiên Thu Gọi” are excellent interpretation. The relaxed tempo in the intimate setting makes the listeners feel the music with their heart rather than just their ears. While “Đời Cho Ta Thế” gets an intoxicating bluesy lick, “Góp Lá Mùa Xuân” kicks up a notch with a groovy ostinato and “Mưa Hồng” is treated with a savory bossa-nova flavor.
To put it simply: Lênh Đênh Nhớ Phố is not a Trinh’s record to ignore. Must-listen.
I never gave a fuck about the MTV boy band until its latest release Nếu Chỉ Sống Một Ngày. Its sixth album struck a cord that is very closed to my heart. As the title track suggested, what if you have one day to live? How would you live it? What do you do when you’re racing against time? Here’s the line that sums up one’s life: “Thời gian thôi đưa chớp mắt đã hết một đời.” Yes, life is over in just a blink of an eye.
“Nhắm Mắt” is another track that cuts straight to the core: “Nhắm mắt, một ngày mệt nhoài trôi qua… Cố thức giấc đi thôi nhận ra hôm nay tôi đây không là ngày hôm qua nữa.” Imagine waking up only to realize that you’re no longer the same as who you were yesterday. “Mặt Trời Màu Đen” is a tear-jerking dedication to those who could never see the sunlight and “Dioxin,” featuring 5 Dòng Kẻ, is an emotional tribute to the victims of Orange Agent.
The album opens with “Trở Về” to indicate the return of MTV. The boys disbanded in 2007 and now they are united as the men. Nếu Chỉ Sống Một Ngày marks a tremendous growth from being a banal pop-rock boy band to a matured, lyrical rock group.
Duc Tuan’s latest releases, By Request and Ky Niem, show that he has un-sissified his phrasing, which makes his tenor much more pleasant to the ear. As the title suggested, By Request is a collection of his most-requested songs, presumably by his fans. Duc Tuan has been very conceptualized in crafting his albums; therefore, he wouldn’t cut album with this much variety. The result is very disruptive experience. “Sac Mau” is the only track that stands out of the rest due to the ingenious use of Roland TR-808 (ripped out of Kanye West’s 808 & Heartbreak) and Vietnamese traditional instrumentation. “Thoi” is definitely not a Duc Tuan’s choice.
Ky Niem, on the other hand, is carefully selected by Duc Tuan. His choice of Pham Duy’s tunes created an introspection of the songwriter’s life. The title track is probably one of Pham Duy’s most covered classics and there are many better versions than this one. Duc Tuan’s rendition is not that bad. It’s just not unique. In contrast, “Chiec Kep Toc Thom Tho” is excellent. The semi-classical arrangement with a bit of ambient vibe provided the space that is essential for story-telling. “Chieu Ve Tren Song” is another heartfelt cover with string orchestration. The double disc, however, is unnecessary. The English version of “Giot Mua Tren La” as well as the three bonus tracks could have been left off to create one solid album.
Halie Loren has a damn fine of a voice (smoky and sultry), but the real deal, which is proven on her new release Heart First, is her simplified reinterpretation of standards. Her rendition of “My One and Only Love” is a perfect example. The bass-keyboard accompaniment gives her the space to build her emotion into the tune. The most interesting part about this cover is how she gradually departs away from the original melody. By the time she comes back after the brief piano solo to close out the tune, she has completely rewritten the melody with her own. Now that’s fucking jazz.
Her version of “Feeling Good” starts out naked (unaccompanied) and instead of swinging it up she keeps it slow and adds a country twang to the classic tune. Love the way she scats with the harmonica near the end. Even when she swings on “Taking a Chance on Love,” she does so gently to make sure her soul is felt. The band, which does an excellent job of backing and displaying her vocals throughout the album, also understands the important of playing “heart first.”
The album showcases quite a bit of variety ranging from the blues on the title track to the Latin groove on “Sway (Quien Sera)” to the Sade’s smoothness on “Waiting in Vain,” and yet the album comes together as a whole without interruption. The laid-back simplicity makes Heart First a pure late-night pleasure.
Nicki Minaj’s Roman Reloaded jumps off so hard I almost “Come On a Cone” when she puts her dick in my face. With her wicked flow, sexy swag and cocksure braggadocio, Minaj holds no backseat to her male counterparts including Weezy, The Boss and Killa Cam. In fact, she can be no less ruthless when addressing her rivals: “If I had a label I would never sign you hoes / Take you bitches to school than I Columbine these hoes.”
As a rap artist, what makes Minaj stands out is that she has her way with the beats. She just doesn’t rap over them. She exorcises them. With Roman Reloaded, however, Ménage à Trois attempts to move beyond hip-hop and the result is quite unfortunate. Auto-tuning with Chris Brown on “Right By My Side” is hinting at the departure point, but the real plunge is on “Sex in the Lounge,” where Lil Wayne makes it clear: “I lay her down and kiss her neck / Talk dirty to her / Like I get that pussy wetter than a dirty sewer.” That has to be the worse fucking punchline ever.
Roman Reloaded is like one of those shows that the opening act is way better than the entire presentation.