Siren MUSIC the
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College Tribune | October 28th 2008
Curating a comeback After 30 years and what seems like as many different band members, The Cure seem to have found a rhythm and synergy with eachother that had been severely lacking in their last few albums. The result is 4:13 Dream, a punky and passionate album that’s bound to please fans, old and new. Robert Smith, the only member of the band who has lasted through the umpteen line-up changes The Cure have gone through, injects the album with his usual bipolar c o mb i n a t i o n of angst-filled swoons and dizzying bursts of whimsical pop. Though himself and the boys have modernized and updated their sound, the album retains the band’s integral style of dominant melodic bass lines under layers of guitar and synthesizers that are intense yet accessible. While The Cure have built their reputation on wallowing in gothic sadness, overall the album is an energetic and flirtatious offering with definite resonances of The Cure’s 1992 hit album, Wish. Don’t be fooled; it’s no S Club 7, and with lyrics like “I won’t try to bring you down about my suicide” and “I’m tired of being alone with myself”, Smith ensures that his reputation as the Messiah of Melancholy is safe. His strength, however, lies
in the fact that while he expresses - repeatedly - his feelings of depression and pain, he does so without inflicting these feelings
upon the listener, unlike some bands you could mention. Funeral For A Friend, Taking Back Sunday, Simple Plan; listen and learn 4:13 Dream starts off with
ESSIE JAIN
THE CURE | 4:13 DREAM
live favourite Underneath The Stars, a brooding and ethereal ballad,
★★★★★
filled with echoing, trance-like guitar and synthetically blurred vocals that give the song a dreamlike quality. To contrast, this is followed by the most upbeat track on the album, the frothy and effervescent The Only One, which was released as the first single from 4:13. This song bubbles with jangling guitars and buoyant vocals and is reminiscent of the band’s past hit Friday I’m In Love. Next comes the funky Freakshow, whose Kaiser Chiefs vibes seem slightly out of place on the album, but it is nonetheless a great pop song in its own right. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Cure album without a little trip down Emo Lane, not to mention Over-
RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS
OASIS
CARDINOLOGY
DIG OUT YOUR SOUL
THE INBETWEEN
New York based English songstress Essie Jain returns after a short break with her second album, The Inbetween, due for release on November 17th. This time around it is the voice that stands out in a sea of euphoric musical bliss. The angelic Eavesdrop opens the proceedings: Broken piano chords compliment her honeyed and fragile vocals that lure the listener into a state of ecstasy. Lisa Hannigan springs to mind in terms of comparison - both singers boast lucid and captivating vocal ranges. The fragility and beauty are so carefully mingled that the song is a triumph There is something unquestionably vintage about this album; it sounds like it was transported from the heyday of Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell. Acoustic wizardry is in full play here for
the majority of the album yet this isn’t a trait that Jain sticks to; she also dabbles in a little jazz and soft rock throughout. The mood is set yet Jain likes to alter it to compliment her vocals. Do It with its minor guitar riffs and raw vocal range is an outstanding track where soft rock emerges but the vocals still retain their gentle demeanour. The Inbetween is a beautiful collection of musical ingenuity that seems to flow gracefully like a musical river. You can’t help but fall in love with her. HEATHER LANDY
★★★★★
Analytic Avenue, both of which are explored to punky perfection on three efforts: The Reasons Why, Sleep When I’m Dead and Switch. But it’s the electronic and experimental The Scream that really makes an impact, crescendoing from bleak disillusionment to a nightmarish banshee wail in one dirty and desperate surge that’s sure to lead to some seriously smashed guitars when played live. In a world where talentless randomers become superstar sensations for all of two weeks by telling Simon Cowell that they want to provide a better life for the poverty-ridden nuns that raised them and intend to do so by singing Alicia Keys’ Falling into a hairbrush, it’s incredibly refreshing when a band not only lasts thirty years and releases their thirteenth album, but also manages to make it a fantastic one.
Quivering vocals, bluesy guitar and moving songs of love and personal angst. Adams is back, and back to producing prodigious music. The opener starts with a beautiful loosely-strummed acoustic guitar riff, which kicks off a bunch of classic Adams creations. The steel sound blends into the gospelstyle vocals to give an upbeat melody which leads into the following songs. In contrast to its predecessors, with their weepy sometimes melancholy vocals, Cardinology is often uplifting and ecstatic. Nostalgia and lost love have been replaced by hope and optimism as themes in this album. The feather in the cap is Magick. A rocking riff with booming bass and drums, it gets the body swaying and simply dances out of the speaker with catchy vocals and youthful rhythm. Meanwhile, Cobwebs is a song of requited love: NYC is a per-
sonal temple for Adams and this song is a flight through Central Park, a pause on 5th Avenue and a bask in the sunlight which floods between the skyscrapers of Manhattan. The next few songs give way to country rock hymns like Let Us Down Easy and Natural Ghost. The final song Stop, obviously about rehab, confirms the death of the myth that great rock music comes from drugged-up songwriters. The now-clean wordsmith Adams has been drug free since 2006, and plays The Ambassador on November 8th with the Cardinals. JORDAN DALY
★★★★★
It appears that there has been a case of widespread forgetfulness amongst the music press. A collective amnesia of almost pandemic preportions. It is surely the only explanation for the near-unanimous raving about Oasis’ latest derivative release, Dig Out Your Soul. If this represents the cream of today’s rock’n’roll, then anyone not weeping for the state of the music industry is not in possession of a soul. Perhaps this is somewhat hyperbolic. This record is not necessarily awful – just derivative, almost to the point of plagiarism. A pale imitation of the Beatles, circa 1966. The music is incredibly bland. Essentially, Oasis have contrived to compile a collection that you imagine would not be out of place at a trendy vicar’s tea party. Rock’n’roll? Salad’n’roll more like. It’s hard to know where to begin with the tracks themselves; as with most releases
ROE MCDERMOTT
of such utter triviality, the individual songs just seem to blend into one another, forming a shapeless, repetitive glob of trite pointlessness. There are no real stand-out tracks, rendering the record a futile and forgettable affair. Positives: The ballad I’m Outta Time is sweet and nicely-layered, even - amazingly enough - containing decent vocals from Liam. Falling Down has its charms too, certainly representing Noel’s best effort on the album. Unfortunately, these are the sole flashes of inspiration on what is, for the most part, a lacklustre journey. SEBASTIAN CLARE
★★★★★