Music Reviews: The Latest From The Smashing Pumpkins, Ghostface Killah and More

— -- intro: This week Billy Corgan puts together his latest Smashing Pumpkins lineup to release a new album. Ghostface Killah returns with “36 Seasons.” The members of Cracker release a California-centric double album. DJ Premier and Royce Da 5’9 join forces as PRhyme. Brooklyn indie rock duo Ex Cops find their electro-pop side, and celebrated Swedish duo The Knife rerecord some of their famous songs in honor of the last leg of what could be their final tour. It’s the final week of reviews before the “Best-Of” the year list, but a lot still remains on the line.

quicklist: 1title: The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Monuments To An Elegy” **1/2text: Coming off Billy Corgan’s last album, the triumphant “Oceania,” which in many ways played not only like a classic Pumpkins record but also like a proper sequel to 1998’s “Adore,” “Monuments To An Elegy” disappoints more than it pleases. At 9 songs and a slim 32 minutes, it comes off as remarkably slight. Yes, there is another album said to be in the pipeline, but this effort’s slim nature wouldn’t stand out so much if it had more winning tracks. Corgan again has the lineup shifting and the inner-turmoil of not maintaining a static band is evident. There are three keepers on this record and each one proves that Corgan is still at his best when he sticks to the rock realm. Guest-drummer Tommy Lee…(yes…Tommy Lee) brings some force into his beat-work, but it is pretty evident that this is the sound of a band in flux.

When the band isn’t rocking, Corgan goes into wispy synth-mode. “Being Beige,” for instance is a truly limp A.C.-ready ballad while the pseudo-EDM-leaning “Run2Me” is strikingly horrid with its soaring sense of melodrama. On the latter, Corgan sings, “Run 2 Me, my special one,” repeating the title over and over again. Adding drum-fills and guitars to this song doesn’t distract enough from the fact that this may easily be Corgan’s weakest composition to date.

The majority of this album comes off as lifeless and stiff, lacking the excitement of band’s golden years. James Iha, D’arcy and Jimmy Chamberlain are sorely missed as Corgan takes us into territory not dissimilar from his forgettable solo record “The Future Embrace.”

Still, because of the strengths of its few highlights, “Monuments To An Elegy” is less of a disappointment than the Foo Fighters’ middle-of-the-road offering “Sonic Highways.” This record at least attempts to have range, but the weakness of both releases indicates a sad decline amongst the once great titans of grunge.

Focus Tracks:

“Tiberius” The album’s opener is this collection’s one true keeper. This sounds like it came from the same place as “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” or “The Everlasting Gaze” and yet it also has a brighter power-pop core. It’s a soaring, heavy prog-rock waltz with a dynamite chorus. This belongs among Corgan’s best work.

“One And All” This is the album’s second rocker, a full-throttle assault with a strong, driving sense of purpose. Again, this is another possible top-notch single.

“Anti-Hero” The lyrics throughout this record tend to lean towards the sappy and romantic and this is the only rocker where Corgan effectively combines his old sonic sensibilities with this new lovelorn thread. He may repeat the phrase “a girl like you” way too many times, but this is still a winner amongst this batch.

media: 27568173

quicklist: 2title: Ghostface Killah’s “36 Seasons” ****text: Just last week, I reviewed the Wu-Tang Clan’s “A Better Tomorrow” and this week brings a new solo Ghostface Killah record. Not only is Ghostface one of the most prolific members of the Wu, but he’s also one of the most consistent. This album is full of the kind of dusty stabs at soul-influence you would expect combined with streetwise gusto. Ghost is still highly influenced by movie-scores for the sixties and seventies and he still holds onto his omnipresent “Iron Man” obsessions.

Rapper AZ guests on this record so much, he probably deserves a co-credit on the cover, but he isn’t the only guest who comes to liven the party. Kool G. Rap, singer Kandace Springs and the Revelations also make their presence known.

There’s a story here about Ghostface’s alter-ego Tony Starks being away for nine years and discovering upon his return that the woman he left has since replaced him with a new man who as it turns out is a drug-dealer corrupting the streets. The whole story is made clearer by the truly impressive graphic-novel-style liner-notes. If you thought Ghostface had a superhero-obsession before, this album cements that feeling as he tries to rid the neighborhood of drugs, dodging mortal enemies and crooked cops (who use” illegal choke-holds) all in the name of saving the woman he loves. This album is still really on the gritty side, but in some ways this is album has a slightly brighter undertone than most Wu-associated work. Like the group’s album, “A Better Tomorrow,” this album has an undercurrent of optimism in the face of adversity. With “36 Seasons,” Ghostface Killah has essentially given us a 40-minute fast-paced, action-packed movie in audio form.

Focus Tracks:

"Blood In The Streets” (Featuring AZ) As the title indicates, this is a graphic depiction of Tarantino-esque violence, but it comes at the climax of the story and at just two-minutes and 4 seconds, it stands out for having the most propulsive and energetic beat on the set, bringing the listener that much closer to the action. If you are making a mix of classic cuts from the individual Wu members, this should be a top-tier contender.

“Love Don’t Live Here No More” (Featuring Kandace Springs) When Ghost returns, his one-time girlfriend Penelope tells him that she’s got a new man and that he’s no longer welcome after being gone for such a long time. This moment is given a nice doo-wop-influenced backdrop, adding a sense of romance, nostalgia and loss all at once.

“Double Cross” (Featuring AZ) After he thinks he has won against Penelope’s boyfriend and been victorious, he gets stopped by the cops for nothing more than “fitting the description.” Here’s where the lines about “illegal choke holds” come in. No doubt this track was influenced by the Eric Garner case (and the countless other similar instances across the country.) Keep in mind, Ghostface is from Staten Island, thus giving this otherwise very imaginative story a moment of real bite.

media: 27568435

quicklist: 3title: Cracker’s “Berkeley To Bakersfield” ***1/2text: With his bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven both back in action over the last couple years, David Lowery must be very busy. “Berkeley To Bakersfield” is an ambitious double album. The truth is, at 71 minutes, this 2-disc collection could have fit on one, but because the band wanted to create contrast between their “Berkeley” and “Bakersfield” material, it was divided in two.

Long removed from their career apex, “Kerosene Hat” and classic hits like “Low” and “Eurotrash Girl,” Lowery and company still have plenty to say and the majority the “Berkeley” half of this record is a sneering manifesto against “the 1%.” “Torches & Pitchforks” opens the record up, making the intentions pretty clear against a Simon & Garfunkel-esque arrangement while “March of The Billionaires” drives that point home. “Beautiful” takes aim at the coffee-house punks who have slowed down their formally wild lives. At times, Lowery comes off like an even mixture between Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and the Wallflowers’ Jacob Dylan.

Overall, this is one of the band’s wider-reaching albums sonically-speaking and over these 18 tracks the band crosses over a lot of terrain. When the country side (“Bakersfield”) of the record kicks in, so does guitarist Johnny Hickman, who handles vocals on some of the twangier numbers. On “California Country Boy” he spells out the political divide and overall difference of worldview between these two areas, delivering a surprisingly thrilling old-school country number. This album is really two separate records that mirror each other quite effectively. And the “Berkeley” disc has the added bonus of showcasing the band’s original lineup for the first time since 1994.

Focus Tracks:

“When You Come Down” The best song on the record is on the “Bakersfield” disc and it finds Lowery singing about lovers who can’t be together in the public eye. He sings, “I am tired of living like we are strangers, just to walk down the street in broad daylight. / I am tired of living life in the shadows. / I don’t know where I’ll go but I’m leaving here tonight.” What keeps the couple apart isn’t exactly clear, but these words are sung with a sense of love and a sense of longing.” The other morning while listening to this on the subway, I came up with two possible conclusions. Maybe this is about an affair where one person is married and the other isn’t. Or, given the country-leaning, political contrast of this disc, perhaps this is the story of a closeted gay couple. Or, maybe I am wrong on both counts. But it is a beautifully written song.

“El Cerrito” Lowery’s protagonist in this song walks through San Francisco wondering where all the punks have gone, as a native of El Cerrito. He clashes with suits, saying to them, “I don’t give a s__t about your IPO.” It is an interesting look at an evolving landscape and the cultural clash that is apparently occurring.

“You Got Yourself Into This” The “Berkeley” disc has a really sharp, punk driven drive and the refrain of this track, “You’ve got yourself into this, now get yourself out” fits that mold nicely.

media: 27568645

quicklist: 4title: PRhyme’s “PRhyme” ***1/2text: PRhyme is the meeting on record of rapper Royce da 5’9 and DJ Premier. Premier of course is a hip-hop legend, who with Guru formed Gang Starr. Later, he produced countless classics for other people like Common, KRS-ONE, Mos Def (now Yasiin Bey) and more. Royce Da 5’9 is a Detroit rapper in the same circle as Eminem. Together the two have worked together before.

Across this brief 9-track disc they get some guests like the before-mentioned Common, along with Mac Miller, Killer Mike, Schoolboy Q and more. If you think this is going to be like Gang Starr, it isn’t. Royce doesn’t have the smoothness of the late Guru, but his flow has a visceral bite that suits Premier’s thickly mannered beats. (Royce even flat-out mentions that he’s not out to replace Guru and gives the legend a couple of shout-outs.)

Royce thankfully isn’t as harsh in his tone as his buddy Marshall, but he does have his eyebrow-raising moments like on the title track when he says, “The only time a woman made a man a millionaire was when that man was a former billionaire.” Firstly, that’s a really cynical way to look at an entire gender. Secondly, he obviously doesn’t know the right women. Thirdly, it is important to keep in mind that he makes this statement after saying “I’m tired of cheating on my wife.” There’s an interesting juxtaposition there. But then again these lyrics, while occasionally rough, have a slight tone of someone who is trying to reform his ways.

Still, this is an interesting collection mainly because of DJ Premier’s beats. You can spot a Premier beat right away because it is dustier and bolder sounding than beats by anyone else. He still scratches, which in the drum-machine world of hip-hop is a much-needed return to the classic art-form at its essence. Towards the end of the record he hands in a couple of beats that are extremely complex.

Royce can flow and he holds his own, but this album is best when he is competing with guests. Even though he has considerable skills, he’s not quite up at the classic level of Premier. Still, for hip-hop purists, this provides for an interesting listen.

Focus Tracks:

“Wishin” (Featuring Common) Royce and Common effortlessly and seamlessly rap over and ever-changing multi-part beat with amazing results.

“Underground Kings” (Featuring Schoolboy Q and Killer Mike) The verses here are some of the rawest and roughest on the record and are not for the squeamish, but Premier provides a difficult skipping beat that I would imagine would be difficult to rap over, but Royce, Q and Mike all succeed, making this track as thrilling as it is rough.

“Microphone Preem” (Featuring Slaughterhouse) Over an authoritative, slapping beat Royce and Slaughterhouse bring the album a high-octane closing track.

media: 27568272

quicklist: 5title: Ex Cops’ “Daggers” ***text: First off, be warned. If you loved Ex Cops’ amazing first album “True Hallucinations,” from last year, this record is going to be a shock. Not only has the band turned down their fuzz-pop leanings, but they have also turned up the synths. While their first album was enjoyably buzzy power-pop with a grungy edge, “Daggers” is pretty much a slickly produced dance-pop record. And while member Brian Harding took the lead mostly on “True Hallucinations,” this time it is Amalie Bruun who takes center stage. It almost as if the duo now has “his” and “hers” records. In any case, the difference between the two records is both striking and startling.

If you know the first record, the first listen of “Daggers” is going to be a challenge. But give it the spins it deserves. On the third listen or so, you’ll realize that while it is a tad of a letdown compared to its predecessor, it has a few really strong tracks. Sure, it has some weak-spots too, like the upbeat dance number “Pretty Sh__ty” that with its basic rhyming lyrics comes close to living up to its name, or the single “White Noise” which is a tad too sugary for its own good. This album is an obvious attempt to pump up their pop credentials and frankly, you can’t blame them for wanting to have hits, even if you miss the jangly textures felt on the previous album’s standouts, “You Are A Lion, I Am A Lamb” and “Ken.” They had a slight Teenage Fanclub influence going on there that has since vanished, and even though songs like “Black Soap” and “Tragically Alright” have a little bit of a rock edge, it isn’t the same. Only the thunderous closer, “Weird With You” sounds closer to the old band.

Still in spite of the differences, this album should win them some fans. Although inversely, fans latching onto this album might be in for a surprise when they go back and discover the first one.

Focus Tracks:

“Daggers” The title track is the best song on the record, with a softly melodic, catchy chorus. This should definitely be a single and it should definitely hand them some sort of pop success.

“Black Soap” The album opener has a slick and ominous undertone again with a really appealing melody. It finds a bit of a middle-ground between the group’s indie rock beginnings and their newly discovered pop side.

“Weird With You” The album’s only real rocker comes as a relief, in spite of the slightly electronically-polished vocals.

media: 27568548

quicklist: 6title: The Knife’s “Shaken-Up Versions” ****text: Let me make one thing clear. If you have never heard the Knife before, don’t start with this disc. This is a collection of key tracks rerecorded and reworked, meant to complement the Swedish dance duo’s other releases and it often emphasizes their weirdest aspects. I’d recommend beginning with their classic album “Deep Cuts” first since it is their most accessible body of work.

What “Shaken-Up Versions” offers up is an other-worldly dance party of sorts with mangled and enjoyably twisted sonic offerings. My first listen of this collection occurred during an off-hours subway ride and as I rode the train, it gave my trip an extra rhythmic kick. When I got out onto the street during the opening kick of the reworked version of “Bird” I felt like I was walking into an urban jungle. When this album gets itself going, it recalls the best moments of everyone from Can to LCD Soundsystem. This is hip electronic music, and at the same time it has its given audience. A lot of standard-issue dance fans may find this to be unusual and off-putting, but that was always the Knife’s calling card.

This release belongs with other high profile collections of reworked and remixed catalogs like Sneaker Pimps’ “Becoming Remixed” and Bjork’s “Telegram” in the way that it offers up effective alternate versions of songs the duo’s fans know well.

Sadly, this collection which originally saw release digitally in June and is being released physically this week may be their last release, given the fact that Karin Dreijer Andersson and her brother Olof Dreijer have announced that they may not do any more performing together after finishing their tour last month. Of course, we’ll still probably hear more from Karin under her Fever Ray moniker. But this collection as well as last year’s expansive “Shaking The Habitual” may ultimately serve as the duo’s career closers.

Focus Tracks:

“Without You My Life Would Be Boring” The “Shaking The Habitual” track is given a treatment that sounds like a bunch of warring car-horns lost in a drum circle. I mean that positively. One of The Knife’s major skills as a duo is the ability to make dissonant sounds come off as pleasant. They are truly sonically ground-breaking. This version improves on the original.

“Silent Shout” This is a more propulsive reading of the title track to the group’s third album. It is also slightly stranger and more tweaked than the original.

“Bird” This is a truly stunning groove and it improves significantly on the song’s original version which can be found on their self-titled debut.

Next Week: The Annual 2014 list of the 50 Best Albums Of The Year is on its way!media: 27568083