CD reviews
The Stills have managed to put an album together we like. There's a few more reviews in here, too.
The Stills
Oceans Will Rise
(Arts and Crafts)
*8.1*
Goes well with: The Walkmen, British Sea Power, The Cult, art-school dropouts
Finally, The Stills have managed to put an album together that meets (and, in this case, exceeds) their debut while helping fans forget the misstep that was their last album, Without Feathers. The Canadian quartet of childhood friends (and former art-school students) benefits from putting more straight-up rock on Oceans Will Rise than on any of their previous efforts.
The album builds to a crescendo with the opener “Don’t Talk Down” and keeps on going with the loud and steady “Snakecharming the Masses.” But it’s the soaring guitars and vocals (reminiscent of Ian Astbury) on “Being Here” that unleashes the rock stars that have been hiding inside of The Stills. A sense of panic courses through the album, as if The Stills knew this was a do-or-die venture. That nervous energy is unleashed throughout Oceans Will Rise, but poignant lyrics and atmospheric moments direct the flow on songs like “Rooibos/Palm Wine Drinkard” that help soothe your soul after the rest of the album is inflamed by the band’s new, surprisingly rocking, incarnation.
—Eddie Shoebang
The 88
Not Only… But Also
(Island)
*5.1*
Goes well with: The 101ers, 1997, 311
The 88 has always been an interesting case study in how to make it as a truly independent band in a rapidly evolving music industry. Since forming in 2003, the band has scored all sorts of coups ranging from getting songs on television shows like The OC and Weeds to licensing “Coming Home” for Sears and Target commercials. But all that corporate flirtation seems to have changed the band and its music.
Not Only… But Also is their first major-label release and, unfortunately, it sounds like it. The album feels like it was made specifically to be played in the background while you shop at Banana Republic. It’s completely harmless pop, enjoyable at times, but too homogenized, overproduced and, in many instances, overworked.
When you bring in guys like Matt Wallace and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds to produce your album, it’s probably gonna end up appealing to people who dig Madonna, Maroon 5 and Train. Not Only has all the marks of a major-label product with all the requisite big producers and big songs, but The 88 seems out of its element. Now it’s only a matter of time before radio, MTV and Wal-Mart come calling. It’s a shame, since the band almost seems better off on its own.
—Dryw Keltz
Bruce Robison
The New World
(Premium)
8.8
Goes well with: Van Morrison, Tom Petty, cold beer
Just because he’s made a career of penning chart-toppers for Nashville’s pop stars doesn’t mean Bruce Robison didn’t leave a little extra in the tank for himself. The Austin-based hit-maker, who’s written songs for everyone from Tim McGraw to George Strait, shows on The New World that he can be a performer when he wants to be.
This 10-song effort runs the gamut from Americana to rockabilly and blues to rock while proving that Robison has as striking a voice as anyone writing country songs today. Somewhere between Van Morrison and Levon Helm, Robison’s croon is as soulful as it is rocking. From the powerful jumping stomp of “The Hammer” to the melancholy tear-in-your-beer sentiment of “Bad Girl Blues,” he seems to always get it right.
Robison is joined by several collaborators here, including his wife (singer Kelly Willis), fellow Austin tunesmith Kevin McKinney and harmonica whiz Mickey Raphael. The record feels so live and raw that it makes you wonder how many more great ones he’d have if he’d only saved his songs for himself.
—Paul Saitowitz
Published: 08/19/2008
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