First Listen: Kensington Prairie

March 28th, 2008 by Michael

The perfect compliment to a cold and rainy day in New England, the debut record from Canada’s Kensington Prairie is one of the finest slices of Dream Pop I’ve heard since The Sundays Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. The heart and soul of the group is Rebecca Rowan (singer/songwriter of Vancouver’s Maplewood Lane) whose voice drifts gently over the lush layers of guitars, mandolins and Rhodes pianos. Simple and emotional the songwriting is first rate with themes of life’s recollections, love, yearning, and lonesomeness. The record opens with the nostalgia of “Time on Our Side” and makes its way through nine thriving tracks fading with the closing track “Dissappear From View” leaving you wanting more.

The full length debut Captured in Still Life will be released April 22^nd. For now check out the lead off single “Crooked Things Straight”. There are a few more tracks available for preview at the group’s official site (including my personal favorite “Letters That I Send”).

Kensington Prairie – Crooked Things Straight (MP3)

Links: Official Site | on MySpace

Posted in Indie, Pop | 1 Comment »

Seeing George Michael

March 26th, 2008 by Pete

I’m going to see George Michael in concert. In June.

There, I said it! Say what you will, brothers and sisters, but George’s music has always connected with me. I’m a sucker for his voice, the great melodies he puts together, and dammit, I’m not afraid to share it with the world! Actually, that shouldn’t surprise any of you who have spent any amount of time here.

I count Faith and Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 as two of my favorites. “Kissing a Fool“, “Father Figure“, “Freedom 90“, “Waiting for the Day“…. and as a Prince fan, “I Want Your Sex” has always ranked high in my Raunchy & Funky Hall of Fame.

But if I had to pick one George Michael song for my desert island iPod, I ‘d pick “A Different Corner”, from Wham’s third and final album, Music from the Edge of Heaven. Sublime, beautiful, filled with aching & longing. If you write ol’ George off for any reason, maybe you should take his advice, open your mind, and “listen without prejudice.”

Take some time and watch this great live performance of “A Different Corner”:

Posted in Pop | 4 Comments »

Derek White & the Monophobics

March 2nd, 2008 by Gonzo

Some time last year, I got a random MySpace message asking me to check out Derek White’s music page. Since then, I’ve been anticipating this album’s release, and I’m not disappointed. They’ve also employed a great distribution model: starting on March 1st, you can download the album via their website for $9.99; purchase of the mp3 automatically gets you a hard copy of the disc when it’s ready next month. So you get the immediacy of digital music, with the promise of a little something to wiggle into your music shelf between Barry White and the White Stripes. The download also has a handful of tracks that didn’t make the cut for the disc. Score!

Derek White and the Monophobics are a four piece hailing from my hometown of Pittsburgh, and present a very polished, pop-oriented approach to their songwriting (I’m thinking Beach Boys). They’re concise, catchy, well-produced and exquisitely executed. Echoes of Brian Wilson are all over the place here. This song is a little edgier than the others, but is also my favorite from the album (and the first track that I heard on their myspace page all those months ago. Check it out:

Derek White & the Monophobics - “Mean Tambourine”

Derek White and the Monophobics (MySpace)
Purchase the self-titled album

Posted in Indie, Pop, Rock | 3 Comments »

RIP Jeff Healey

March 2nd, 2008 by Pete

Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey passed away Sunday at the age of 41 after a long battle with a rare form of retinal cancer. Jeff had been blind since infancy due to this cancer.

“Angel Eyes” was one of those songs that hit right in my formative years (1988). I was 18 years old, in love with my high school sweetie, and a song like this came along to sum it all up. Truly a great tune.

Jeff Healey Band - Angel Eyes (LastFM full song)

Posted in Pop, Rock | 7 Comments »

The Kid is HOT Tonite!

January 5th, 2008 by Pete

Thank you Sirius Rewind for bringing this Loverboy classic back into my consciousness. Hey, I joined the Loverboy fan club when I was 11. Mike Reno? A god to me.

Hey, it was 1981, people.

Loverboy - The Kid Is Hot Tonite (mp3)

Buy:

Posted in Pop, Rock | 2 Comments »

Kanye’s updated Billie Jean

December 20th, 2007 by Pete

For the 25th anniversary of Thriller, the reissued CD includes some contemporary versions by the likes of the ubiquitous, overrated and overhyped Will.i.am, Fergie, Akon, and Kanye West. Ol’ Kanye offers up “Billie Jean 2008″. After hearing it, all I have to say is: “Wow!” Like, “Wow, what a piece of shit!” Adding a signature Kanye beat and uttering a couple of “Uh Uh”s is talent? They thought this would enhance the reissue of one of the greatest albums in music history? Not to these ears.

It made me think of the Live Earth performance where Kanye joined the Police for “Message in a Bottle”. It made me think of the awards show (AMA’s or Grammys?) where Jay-Z barked in on Paul McCartney & Linkin Park singing “Yesterday”.

Maybe it’s cross-genre synergy they’re shooting for, but it does nothing to showcase the talents of a good rapper / MC. Watch these, and tell me, does screaming “Yeah” and “Uh Huh” over  otherwise great tracks enhance them in any way? Are there really people out there who hear & see these who think to themselves: “Woww, Kanye/Jay-Z is a genius, man!!”

I don’t get it.

“Billie Jean 2008″ (Kanye West Remix)

Posted in Pop, Video | 3 Comments »

KT has an urgent message for you

October 11th, 2007 by Pete

I’d like to introduce Jon as the newest contributor to Ickmusic. Jon is also from the Phoenix area, and is passionate about a wide range of music (and a long time Bruce fan to boot)…. ladies and gents, say hi to Jon {{Hi Jon}}… - Pete

KT Tunstall is ready to do a little rockin’ out. Don’t know if you’d call it “drastic” or flat out “fantastic,” but her new album is urgent in a pleasing and rewarding way.

Perhaps you were like me: you took notice of the passion and novelty of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and you enjoyed its host album Eye to the Telescope in a “this’ll-work-as-background-music” kind of way. You saw the artistry, the voice was clearly there, and you had to admire the craft. But something more could’ve made it better.

With Drastic Fantastic that something is putting pop (and shades of pop-punk) ahead of the folk, creating more riffs and layers and melodies and singing your heart out to top things off. “Little Favours” kicks in with driving beats and furious strumming, and the irresistible toe-tapping doesn’t really stop until track eight. In that span, we get the “Cherry Tree” update and first single “Hold On” along with the second single “Saving My Face.” But even if you’ve heard those two songs, you haven’t heard the best KT has to offer. “I Don’t Want You Now” is a snarl of punk-pop that easily could’ve been found on a defiant early R.E.M. album. “White Bird” dares to tread the ground of the Beatles “Blackbird” and does it successfully. And then there’s “Hopeless,” a shambling crunchy guitar riff that you can’t shake and a pop song that classically twists its premise into a song explicitly about determination and hope and “no more saying there is no more time.”

The street busker is almost gone on this record, but the balladeer returns for the final three frames of “Drastic Fantastic.” The standout among them is “Someday Soon,” a confectionary confessional that works magic on Sunday mornings or any time that’s ripe to “put my words away” and “seek out a little silence.”

An artist named Jen Trynin put out a couple of CDs back in the 90’s and wielded a huge Les Paul on her slight frame while belting out pop lyrics and great riffs. KT probably never heard of her, but on this CD they could be musical sisters. After Trynin and others like her disappeared under the waves of alternative, alterna-crap, rap-rock, emo and indie, it at one point appeared that new pop-rock could only be found in the country music bins. But artists like KT Tunstall seem now to have a different agenda in mind.

KT Tunstall - I Don’t Want You Now (mp3)

Buy: Drastic Fantastic

Posted in Pop, Rock n' Folk | 8 Comments »

Amy Winehouse steps out at the Mercury Awards

September 4th, 2007 by Pete

Speaking of Ms. Winehouse, who Michael mentioned in his Sharon & the Dap-Kings post (the Dap-Kings also being Amy’s backing band on Back to Black), after going through what I would call a rough few weeks, she made an appearance at Tuesday night’s Mercury Awards in the UK.

I’m pulling for her. Though her voice harkens back to the 60’s soul singers, there’s something that’s fresh and original about her. I’m bummed that she cancelled her upcoming tour dates. I was excited about catching her in Austin. But the important thing is that she gets her shit straight, and judging by her performance of “Love is a Losing Game” Tuesday night, I think she’s on her way. Though I don’t think that classy husband of hers is doing any good….

Posted in Pop, Soul | 1 Comment »

Come Over to Jeb’s Yard, Get Your Heaven Right Here

August 30th, 2007 by Pete

I heard another older song a few weeks ago that’s brand spanking new to me, courtesy of Sirius (where Steve Earle now has his own radio show on Outlaw Country - yipee!). This one is by Jeb Loy Nichols. Jeb made a unique musical journey from Austin, Texas to New York City to London. He’s been based out of the UK for some time now. In 2000, he traveled to Jamaica to record Just What Time It Is, a fusion of soulful pop, reggae, and a little country. The studio engineer was Stephen Stanley (Buju Banton, Burning Spear).

The song will reel a lot of you right in with its infectious sing-along chorus: “come ooon over to my yaard.” La la la la la… It’s a nice one!

Of the song, Jeb writes on his site:

I wrote this after the bulk of the album was already finished. Lorraine and I were cycling through Wadebridge, in North Cornwall, the lyrics came in a tumble, the whole thing was written in twenty minutes. I was pleased with the day, happy to be out of London, I’d recorded a record I liked and I was counting myself lucky. Things were looking up, I was doing what I wanted to do with people I admired, I was out of one thing and into another.

Take a listen (and don’t crap out before the chorus)…

Jeb Loy Nichols - Heaven Right Here (Come Over to My Yard) (mp3)

Buy: Just What Time It Is (Amazon) |

Linkage: Official Site | MySpace

Posted in Pop | 3 Comments »

Review: Debbie Harry’s ‘Necessary Evil’

August 26th, 2007 by Gonzo

Gonzo takes the wheel for a review of Debbie Harry’s new album. - Pete…. 

(2007, Five Seven Music)

I have to begin by admitting two things. First, I’m a big Blondie fan. I have all of their albums on vinyl, minus the contract-filling Hunter. I’ve often said that New York City in the mid-late 1970s is my favorite music ‘scene’ of all time. Along with the Talking Heads, Patti Smith, The Shirts, Television and the Ramones, Blondie is one reason for my view. Secondly, I confess that I haven’t followed Debbie Harry’s solo career with any level of depth. That said, I was intrigued when given the opportunity to review Harry’s latest solo disc, Necessary Evil.

The album’s opening tracks set the tone for the rest of the album. In general, the songs on Necessary Evil retain Allen’s roots in the new wave and pop music of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Whether this is conscious or not, this aspect of Harry’s most recent work fits in well with the current trend of retro-new wave acts such as The Killers. Yet in addition to recalling Harry’s most well known work with Blondie, the album combines this aesthetic with contemporary conventions of indie rock and electro dance music. The result is admittedly not anything to write home about. While Harry is able to bridge the past with the present, the product of this marriage is sadly not particularly unique or groundbreaking. Still, that’s not to say that the songs are without merit.

However, the failure of the album is its lack of brevity. At 17 tracks, the disc gets to be a bit tedious. While I doubt that it would create a landmark album, trimming some of the fat on Necessary Evil could at the very least have led to a more solid and enjoyable disc.

In short, Necessary Evil is enjoyable for what it is. It isn’t earth-shattering, but it shows that Harry has maintained her competence in form and execution. Overall, I give it a solid ‘C’ grade.

Necessary Evil hits the shelves on 9/17 in the US.

Debbie Harry - Official Website
Debbie Harry on Myspace (featuring songs from the upcoming album)

Posted in Pop, Rock | 4 Comments »