DEPARTMENTS: Reviews by DYLAN CULHANE (DC), Jon Monsoon (JM)
CD REVIEWS EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
Heart On
Man, oh man. The speed at which I tore off the annoying plastic wrapper when this CD first arrived in the office bordered on barbaric. After all, Joshua ‘Baby Duck’ Homme (probably better known as Queens of the Stone Age frontman) generally churns out the godliest riffs known to man, with a vocal style that could melt the heart of an iron maiden. Their third album, I’m gutted to say, disappoints in this regard. Perhaps if I had the inclination to spin it a few more times I’d change my mind, but an initial listen left me unmoved – distracted even – and I battled to recall a single song once the twelve tracks had run their course. It’s more than listenable and some of the tracks (‘Wannabe in L.A.’, ‘High Voltage’ and ‘Cheap Thrills’ in particular) kick some mild butt, but Heart On sounds like EoDM going through the motions instead of fuelling the flames of Rock. (DC)
GRACE JONES
Hurricane
Good old Grace Jones. She just doesn’t stop, does she? Hurricane is the statuesque sexagenarian’s tenth studio album and the first to be released in over nineteen years. That’s right, she’s taken a recording sabbatical for longer than many of you have been alive, but you’d hardly notice it the way she holds her own on this record. The crushing basslines, glitch electronics and swarms of noise guitar that typified the Grace Jones sound in her heyday as a fetishistic, flat-topped androgyne are still present, though she’s definitely tempered her persona in favour of honest lyricism. As a result the songs are more… human; centred on soul and emotion rather than pure style. Once you get over the novelty of her return to form, you’ll undoubtedly forget the Grace Jones you knew from A View to a Kill and Conan the Destroyer, and simply be absorbed by her voice and musicality. (DC)