Naked City - Volume 1 Issue 1 - (Page 41) >spin Modern Life r e a ches the wi t c hing hour adaMs roar s interPoL admirat ion West fin a l ly gra d u a t e s PB & j is c a t c hing o n Modern Life is War Midnight In America Modern Life is War continues to forge ahead with its 3rd fulllength release Midnight In America. Coming from the small town of Marshalltown, Iowa, the band continues to move and progress with a hybrid sound of hard-core punk and straight up rock-and-roll with an allergic fervor that infects its listener. Opening with a punch to the face with Useless Generation, the next 30 minutes are filled with a certain heaviness and speed that possess a real passion and sincerity. Something that is seen lacking in most modern hard core bands these days. Midnight In America, lyrically, is almost written as a folk album, filled with an emotional narrative that really captures a “Midwest nowhere kid” attitude. This release does not disappoint and would find itself well liked by anyone who wants honest and heavy music while screaming along in their car. rear view written by > troy wells Kanye West Graduation In case you didn’t hear, Kanye West put out a new record this year. There is still a bear on the cover, though brought to life this time by Japanese artist taKashi MuraKaMi, and the title Graduation is still following his college dropout concept. At least it’s consistent. In all seriousness though, the 3rd installment from Kanye is his best to date. It’s still a lot of soul and hi-pitched vocal samples and strings, but now matched with a wild synth and rave vibe. Lyrically full of self-possessed, humorous and intelligent rhymes, West tells you how much game he has, where he shops and that this is better than your mother’s Sunday brunch. And you believe him and even thank him for it. With amazing collaborations, creativity and foresight Kanye shows that he’s part of what is right about modern hip-hop, while others are still trying to get with the program. Peter Bjorn and john nakedcity ryan adaMs Easy Tiger This is the 38th full-length release from ryan adaMs since his 2000 solo debut. Okay, not really, but seriously, with 2005 seeing three releases in one year, the fact that we are only to his 9th album in 2007, it isn’t that strange to think. Easy Tiger, is yet again another altcountry album that swings between a dyLan and sPringsteen vibe and stays pretty consistent to his records of the past. Though not the most remarkable album by adaMs, his ability to keep writing and producing worthwhile album after album is pretty remarkable. Though I believe you love him or hate him, you can’t deny the man’s insatiable desire to create. Newly sober this year, I am sure we will see more from him in 2008. 41 nakedcitymag.com > volume 1 issue 1 interPoL Writers Block The single Young Folks, from Peter Bjorn and john off the album Writers Block seemed to be in every coffeehouse or bar with satellite radio this past year. It’s the song where you stop in the middle of conversation and start whistling along. With late night success on MTV and VH1 (since that’s when they play videos now), getting them noticed, even by Kanye West, who took them out as his backing band for a few dates this past summer. This group of Swedes latest work is a sonic adventure with amazing harmonies, deep baselines, distorted guitars and mixed up melodies. There is a time when listening to this record where the songs are so different that you wonder if this is the same band. Always engaging and thoughtful are the structures and hooks of the songs, inviting you to be a part of their adventure. This is where the idea of what pop music is, and can be, gets completely turned on its ear. Our Love To Admire The newest release from interPoL, Our Love To Admire is a bit of a departure from its previous albums, from the black, red, sleek and moody vibe of the past, to a warmer more epic sound that would fill an arena as well as some hipster bar. It feels as if the past two recordings were all a build-up to this most recent piece. The songs seem more experimental, bordering very closely to over-the-top, and the use of multiple instrumentation is present, as well. The vocals carry a better tone and the overall sound of the band seems more akin to U2 than the joy division vibe they seemed to have so trademarked. It could be assumed with bands like the editors and she Wants revenge having somewhat similar sounds to interPoL — maybe interPoL needed to sound a little less like interPoL. This experiment seems to be working out well so far, but only time will tell. http://nakedcitymag.com
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