Rocking the Mike – May 2011 Reviews

Album Reviews

Oh Land -- Oh Land

I tend to write positive reviews of music material. Who wants to read a bad review after all? Or at least I want to hear about ear candy. When a friend or an acquaintance gives me a recommendation, and it turns out as good as a self-titled album such as this, I need to really sing its praises.

Oh Land (from Denmark) uses an experimental pop formula that we have heard before. While it is not necessarily anything new, it definitely is dynamic in its delivery. There's a certain vibe that Oh Land puts out there as an artist -- almost Bjork-lite with touches of Emiliana Torrini. In other words, absolute perfection, and it is most evident with single "Sun of a Gun." It's hooky and catchy like a good pop song should be but not one that invades your headspace. It slowly worms its way in, endears itself, and keeps you thinking about it without becoming boring. And the video -- while simple -- is probably one of the most effective I've seen in the last couple years.

In fact, the entire album is like that, and choosing favourite songs off this album is akin to choosing which child to save from drowning (or at least my equivalent reference point). Really, do yourselves the favour of picking up this album. It's on iTunes, and, for $5.99 (when I bought it), you get eleven tracks, and five or six music videos. With her recent performance at Coachella in California, it's only a matter of time before Oh Land gains mainstream success.

Song Reviews

Imogen Heap -- "Lifeline"

Imogen Heap got an idea with this latest single (and reportedly the next full album) that she would have the fans take part in the creation of the song. She got them to capture sounds, tones and the like, and upload them to a special website for her to choose, adding her lyrics to create this track. It's the sort of thing that you would have thought someone like Heap would have done a long time ago. Regardless, it's still a fantastic track. Considering how many cooks there were in the kitchen, it works well. Sure, the fans didn't produce the track per se, but they did have input.

In recent years, Imogen Heap has really gotten into making music that feels like a type of organic electro. Not quite like Goldfrapp, but more natural. It's difficult to describe in words, but one definitely hears it. It was very apparent in her last album, Ellipse, and it continues with "Lifeline." Heap is an artist whom I have grown to love. With each project and release, I love her a little more, and find myself going back to her older stuff, enjoying it that much more. Her first solo album, and her collaboration with Guy Sigsworth as Frou Frou haven't really wowed me, but even I have to admit there has been incredible amount of artistic growth with her music in the last 13 years (yes, 13 since her debut album). It has become very apparent with the release of this latest track. "Lifeline" is a lush track that anyone who's a fan of the softer sides of electronica should really give a chance.

Lady Gaga -- "Judas"

Whoever decided to leak "Judas" four days before its release, thank you. It meant I could actually get the review in for this column. Realistically though, considering all the hype the upcoming album is getting, and the total lack of competition in the charts for Gaga, I'm surprised the album itself hasn't been released early (Gaga, just give it to us already!). But back to "Judas."

It's clear that Lady Gaga is strongly influenced by more industrial sounds. It started with her remix collaboration with Marilyn Manson on "LoveGame," it's really shown on The Fame Monster with tracks like "Bad Romance" and "Dance in the Dark," and it's even more apparent on this single. Nevertheless, this song could split her fan base. It may be a bit too hard sounding to appeal to some of her older fans (I think of people like my mother) and for anyone else that is not big into those sounds. For everyone else though, I imagine it's going to go over really well. It's dancey, it's hard, and it's all Gaga; the tribal-sounding middle-eight will especially sound fantastic in a big club setting. "Judas" may not another "Bad Romance" or "Born This Way," but for a follow-up single for an as-yet unreleased album, it holds up surprisingly well on its own.

Rihanna Ft. Britney Spears -- "S&M"(Remix)

I know I did a proper review a few months ago when "S&M" was originally released, but this new remixed versionreleased in recent weeks deserve a few words. Only a few though. One has to wonder who's idea it was to pair up Rihanna and Britney Spears. Both have had some ups and downs in recent years (Britney arguably more downs than ups, and Rihanna more ups than downs), but at what point was it decided that Britney Spears would be featured on a Rihanna track? Rihanna is the bigger star, yet the song is a bit too old to be considered "new" at this point. Rihanna has nothing to gain from being featured on a Britney track (and Britney's latest album has been a big creative and commercial disappointment). So who actually benefits in the end? I suppose it's only the fans. The song does work with two female vocalists, and, for someone like Britney -- who has Auto-Tuned to death -- she almost sounds natural in her vocals (I said almost). At the end of the day, it's not a net loss for the music industry, but it's not exactly a net gain either.

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