Music Reviews: Carly Rae Jepsen, Method Man, Tracy Bonham and More

— -- intro: This week Canadian pop-sensation Carly Rae Jepsen returns with a very '80s-themed album, Wu-Tang member Method Man releases his first solo proper album in nine years, former alt-rocker Tracy Bonham strips down her sound for a more acoustic aesthetic, late rapper Sean Price drops a new mixtape/EP, Maximo Park leader Paul Smith unveils his new band, The Intimations, and Texas metal band The Sword aim to broaden their sound. It’s another strange and diverse, fun-filled week with plenty of great new releases to explore.

quicklist: 1title: Carly Rae Jepsen’s “E-MO-TION” (Deluxe Edition) ****text: With her third record, “E-MO-TION,” Carly Rae Jepsen pulls off one of pop’s biggest surprises of 2015. Let’s face it. A few years ago her single, “Call Me Maybe” was omnipresent, radio-drenching ear-candy which delighted some and annoyed others, but its accompanying album, 2012’s “Kiss” was an uneven collection that didn’t live up to that single’s promise. This time around, Jepsen goes for broke by delivering an in-your-face '80s-pop flashback. And thankfully this leaves Jepsen front and center.

This album lacks the embarrassing moments found on “Kiss.” Unlike its predecessor, “E-MO-TION” is a much more confident and assured record with Jepsen singing catchy hooks over glittering neon synths. This is a happy record, coated in a euphoria associated with an endless summer.

These songs don’t feel forced. Jepsen feels like she fits firmly in this sonic backdrop. This is a well-crafted, fun and airy pop album. When I first heard, “I Really Like You,” I wasn’t sure about it, since it sounds like it is trying to build off of similar momentum as “Call Me Maybe.” Within the context of the rest of the record, though, it really shines. Jepsen and her team have come up with an entire album of songs as catchy as “Call Me Maybe.” This album is her triumph, showcasing her as a surprising, shimmering pop beacon in an otherwise vacant sea. I was a kid in the 80s, getting my first exposure to pop during that decade. I have to say, had this album come out in 1985, I would have enjoyed it just as much then as I do now.

A track like “All That” sounds like it could have played during the romantic climax of a John Hughes classic. “Boy Problems” is the kind of roller-skating jam Daft Punk have been trying to make since their 2001 single “Face To Face.” “Let’s Get Lost” is a playful romp that momentarily recalls the melody of the Dusty Springfield-popularized “I Only Want To Be With You.” Whereas “When I Needed You” sounds like an appealing cross between the Cocteau Twins and Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear It For The Boy.”

I really was not expecting this album to be this good. But it is a surprising game-changer for Jepsen. She still has room to grow, but with “E-MO-TION,” she has delivered a complete collection of hits. There isn’t a song on the 15-track deluxe edition that wouldn’t sound great being blasted in a bowling alley or an amusement park. This album is a late entry into the pop soundtrack of the summer, but it is the sound of glowing fun. It also shows some surprising edges, making it a nice cousin to let’s say Sky Ferreira’s 2012 offer “Night Time, My Time” or even HAIM’s “Day Are Gone.” In other words, if you are lumping Jepsen in with Justin Bieber because they are friends and because he was an early champion of “Call Me Maybe,” you shouldn’t. Jepsen is her own woman and a star on the rise with a great deal of potential. With “E-MO-TION” she proves that the success of “Call Me Maybe” was not a fluke. If she continues making albums of this caliber, she should have a very long career.

Focus Tracks:

“Black Heart” (Deluxe Edition Only) That’s right, the best song on the record is a deluxe-only bonus track. This song should have gotten prime album placement and should definitely be a single. It would bring a lot of people to the table who wouldn’t expect to like Jepsen’s work. Its sleek groove offers the album’s biggest surprise because it actually sounds like it could be effectively remixed (or even covered) by Trent Reznor. (I kid you not.) It possesses the kind of stark, minimalist break-danceable energy found on many of the highlights of Nine Inch Nails’ 2007 album, “Year Zero.” Of course, the idea of pairing Jepsen with Reznor has been popular since remixer PomDeter successfully mashed-up Reznor’s vocals from “Head Like A Hole” with the backing tracks from “Call Me Maybe” with surprising effectiveness a few years back.(Go find it. You’ll be amazed.)

“Emotion” This track sounds like a sunny sequel to “Call Me Maybe.” If you liked that song, you’ll love this one, too.

“LA Hallucinations” Jepsen offers up a woozy trip through Los Angeles night-life on this track which like “Black Heart” also shows a darker, more sonically sleek side to her music. It sounds like something that would have fit well in Sofia Coppola’s “The Bling Ring.” With its pop-culture lyrical nods to TMZ and Buzzfeed, it would also have fit with the celebrity-obsessed subjects of that film.

quicklist: 2title: Method Man’s “The Meth Lab” ***text: Considering the great heights reached by recent albums by Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, you can’t blame Method Man for just barely missing the high bars set by his Wu brothers. “The Meth Lab” isn’t a bad record in the least. It just doesn’t quite stand out the way it should. It’s just OK. The beats are tight with that signature Wu feel.

The main problem is that it is drowned in guests. Method Man’s name is on the beautiful, blue album cover (which is surely a “Breaking Bad” pun considering the album’s title) but he doesn’t feel like the most dominant force here. He too often seems like he’s taking a backseat on his own record, which is odd considering that back on “Enter The 36 Chambers,” he was one of the Wu-Tang’s most dominating voices. Considering his last proper solo album was in 2006, there is something sad about the fact that he only raps alone on one real track and it is the enjoyable but brief “2 Minutes Of Your Time.”

Rappers Hanz On and Streetlife get an awful lot of air-time here. They appear so much in fact that they probably deserve co-credit on the cover. But there is also some nice interplay between Meth, Inspectah Deck and Raekwon on “The Purple Tape” and Masta Killah makes an appearance on “Intelligent Meth.” It’s cool to hear Redman appear side-by-side with Method Man again on “Straight Gutta,” but again, Meth’s verse on the song comes at the very end of the song and clocks in at a mere 30 seconds.

If “The Meth Lab” doesn’t offer enough verses from Method Man, at least the beats for the most part sound like an update on the vintage Wu sound. A variety of producers are handling the beats, but it is obvious that they are RZA disciples.

“The Meth Lab” sort of satisfies, but it isn’t a restatement of Method Man’s true power as a performer. Considering he has one of coolest and most distinctive voices in hip-hop, his low-key presence on what is really a posse record is a let-down even if the end product has some thrills.

Focus Tracks:

“2 Minutes Of Your Time” This short number shouldn’t stand out as much as it does. I wish this album had at least five more tracks between two and three minutes which would showcase Method Man’s flow on its own. Still on this track, he chastises his younger peers, saying, “Rapper don’t really ride. / They piggy-back. / I’d trade them all to have Tupac and Biggie back.”

“Straight Gutta” (Featuring Redman, Hanz On and Streetwise) As stated above, this reteams Meth and Red… at least momentarily. It’s time for the two of them to do another collaborative album together.

“The Purple Tape” (Featuring Raekwon and Inspectah Deck) At least for a few minutes, we get a return of the classic Wu-Tang with three of the crew’s best trading off from each other.

quicklist: 3title: Tracy Bonham’s “Wax & Gold” ***1/2text: After hearing rejuvenating albums from Failure and Veruca Salt over the last few months, it is tempting to hope that Tracy Bonham’s fifth studio album, “Wax & Gold” would offer the same kind of seamless energy. But unlike Failure and Veruca Salt, Bonham has completely changed her sonic palate since she first broke with 1996’s “The Burdens Of Being Upright” and 2000’s “Down Here.” Her albums no longer possess a grungy, angst-driven core. Fans of “Mother Mother,” “The One” or even “Behind Every Good Woman” will probably need a few spins for the changes made on “Wax & Gold” to sink in, because although construction and progression-wise this is obviously the work of the same writer, Bonham has replaced all of her alt-rock instrumentation with elements of blues, country, and folk.

I suppose this shift shouldn’t be a real surprise. It is a natural one, considering the idea of going mostly acoustic lends itself to this sonic makeover better when you remember that in the nineties Bonham was also one of alternative rock’s premiere violinists, frequently bouncing from the guitar to the violin with great ease. Still the walking bass and the jazz-flute solo that opens “Noonday Demon” comes as a big surprise. Bonham almost goes bluegrass on the title-track, while “Gonegonegone” has a Tom Waits-esque cabaret stomp.

This is a better and more appealing record than her last offering, “Masts Of Manhatta,” from 2010, which showed signs of her softening her approach. Really this is a continuation of the evolution that began with that record. While “Manhatta” at times came as an off-putting adjustment, this album is more confident in the shift. While losing the walls of guitars and the full, often pounding band has lost some of the tension that made Bonham’s records stand out, it can’t be denied that she still puts together some really enjoyable songs.

Back in 2005, Bonham hit her songwriting apex with “Something Beautiful,” the opener of her third album, “Blink The Brightest.” I’ve often thought that song should have given her a huge crossover hit. I wonder how different her career would be if that song had gotten the airplay it deserved.

“Wax & Gold” might show a more mannered and mature version of Tracy Bonham than you are expecting, but she still maintains a certain element of her style that has run through her discography for the last 19 years. Still the fact that she no longer rocks out seems like a bit of a missed opportunity at a time when you can hear possible influence and echoes of “The Burdens Of Being Upright” in the music of newer bands like Speedy Ortiz and Bully.

Focus Tracks:

“Luck” This is a beautiful piece of mournful blues that fits with Bonham’s best singles.

“Wax & Gold” Imagine bluegrass without the vocal twang and mix it with a lullaby energy and you get the picture. Lyrically this is obviously a song aimed at her son, which creates some interesting juxtaposition when compared with her antagonistic signature hit, “Mother Mother” which was written like a letter home to her mom.

“From The Tree To The Hand To The Page” This is an old-school country song about the making of paper. Really, with this album, Bonham might earn herself some unexpected fans from the country crowd. (As unexpected as this is, it does work.)

quicklist: 4title: Sean Price’s “Songs In The Key Of Price” ***1/2text: Rapper Sean Price’s latest, “Songs In The Key Of Price” comes with some profound sadness. Two weeks ago, at the age of 43, Price who rose to fame as a member of Heltah Skeltah and the Boot Camp Clik collective died suddenly in his sleep. This makes this eight-song, sixteen-minute offering bittersweet. Price intended this EP to be a mixtape of sorts. Perhaps a place-filler between albums, but you could tell he was proud of this piece of work. Last week brief bits of interviews that Price did with producer Mr. Green were making the music media rounds online, showing Price momentarily dissecting each track. Unless there is posthumous material floating around, this could be the last we hear from Price.

These exercises in brevity found on “Songs In The Key Of Price” only give a small taste of Price’s style, with his gruff, raspy, heavy-breathed flow and his sometimes tremendously gritty rhymes. He was the kind of underground MC that people from across the spectrum respected. He could be hardcore one moment and yet sound right at home side-by-side with someone like Talib Kweli, with whom he traded verses on Kweli’s “Palookas” from the 2011 album “Gutter Rainbows.”

“Songs In The Key Of Price” like a lot of mix-tapes feels like a place to work out exercises. Check out the wonderfully ominous, bass-heavy beat of “Planet Apes” as he drops a cryptic flow. On “Metal Beard,” Price sounds like both MF DOOM and Busta Rhymes in equal parts.

This collection is extremely short. It feels like it needs to be expanded. Like a lot of mix-tapes, this disc doesn’t aim to be a classic. It aims to show and maintain a level of skill between albums. It is a strange place to end. It’s as if Price wanted to make one final statement. In the face of his sudden, tragic death, however, this statement comes off as slightly incomplete and fleeting. However, it does show a unique voice in hip-hop who will be missed.

Focus Tracks:

“Go Rambo”(Featuring Illa Ghee) This beat has a Wu-Tang-like minor-key signature as Price and Illa Ghee bust some grimy (occasionally violent) verses. At 3:37 this is the most formed song on the collection.

“Fai Long” Clocking in at only 1:16, this places a mannered flow over a scuzzy funk that Price commands. In a way, like most of this collection, it feels like a loose sketch that could easily be branched out into a fuller song, but Price still keeps your attention.

“ Planet Apes” With a beat that is sounds crafted from vintage score music, this track hits the spot. Again, barely over a minute, the combination between the dusty strings and Price’s off-center flow provides some intrigue.

quicklist: 5title: Paul Smith And The Intimations’ “Contradictions” ****text: The fact that Paul Smith’s third effort outside his main band Maximo Park still sounds pretty much like his records with Maximo Park shouldn’t come as a surprise. He is, after all the lead singer and one of the band’s key songwriters. It is interesting that he’s been branching out a lot over the last five years.

Whereas his first solo record, “Margins” sounded like lo-fi, tripped down answer to Maximo Park, and his collaboration with Field Music’s Peter Brewis, “Frozen By Sight,” last year had a more orchestral feel, this one sounds like a lower-key version of the real thing thanks to Smith’s introduction of his new full-fledged band, The Intimations. Is he trying to replace Maximo Park? I hope not. But if something ever happens, The Intimations will serve as good insurance.

Smith remains one of England’s most engaging current writers working in indie-rock today. Why his solo records and the Maximo Park records haven’t made a bigger impact here in the States, I do not know. Even a quick rock statement like “Before The Perspiration Falls” makes an impact and the rest of the record provides some airy jangle-pop that guitar-wise often recalls Johnny Marr’s work with The Smiths. There’s also a slight bit of a dream-pop ethereal sheen on tracks like “Fill In The Blanks” and “I Should Never Know.” It as if Smith is trying to recapture a brand of wistful romanticism present on a lot of the British post-punk and “college radio” rock of the eighties. He’s succeeded. This album often provides a near perfect soundtrack for sitting in one’s bedroom and staring longingly at pictures of lost loves. But it is never cloying. This album was crafted with the most cerebral brand of pining in mind, which fits since Smith often gives off the aura of a young, hip college professor.

No matter how you slice it, “Contradictions” is a really enjoyable record. If you love Maximo Park, you shouldn’t miss this record. It feels very much as if it is from the same creative well. As I’ve said, in the States Smith’s work in and out of the confines of Maximo Park deserves to be celebrated to a greater degree.

Focus Tracks:

“I Should Never Know” The watery guitar work here and the bouncy rhythm give this song some real momentum. Besides having a vaguely Marr-esque vibe, this song also sounds stylistically a little like the Sundays.

“Break Me Down” Like the best tracks by Maximo Park, this song captures something otherwise intangible within the confines of a three-minute slice of power-pop. This is Smith working at his typical best.

“Fluid Identity” This upbeat track is anchored by Smith’s vocals. He maintains a near-whispered growl during the verse sections. This makes for an unusual, dynamite closer, thus ending the album with a bang.

quicklist: 6title: The Sword’s “High Country” ***1/2text: The Sword’s fifth album maintains the Austin, Texas metal-band’s hard rock and metallic pedigrees, however, it is clear from the electro sounds heard in the intro “Unicorn Farm” that the band members are trying to forge further roads to the mainstream. The sludgy “Doom Metal” elements of past records have been dulled, leaving what is essentially really strong Southern Rock. This will no doubt turn off some fans of the band’s previous, heavier work, but even in their new, more-commercial-leaning state, they are planted somewhere between classic Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Thankfully, they are closer to the Sabbath end of the spectrum with tracks like “Empty Temples” and “Mist & Shadow” offering up some muscular riffage. They also prove themselves to be peers of a band like Mastodon.

For the most part, this is an old-school hard rock record with some prog-like synth-y edges. The keys on “Agartha” are playfully woozy and disorienting offering up some sonic interplay between songs. Some fans may find this element alienating, but frankly I found it sonically compelling. It is refreshing to hear The Sword occasionally drop the vocals and just rock out on an instrumental track.

The seemingly canned drums and synths on “Seriously Mysterious” will bother the metal purists who enjoyed some of the earlier records. No doubt the band members are trying to branch out their sound. You shouldn’t worry. There’s plenty more enjoy of the less experimental variety. Give a spin to the quick workout that is the tremendous “Suffer No Fools.”

“High Country” shows The Sword evolving. It’s still a thrilling and at times slightly bizarre record. It might need a few spins for the fans of the band’s earliest records to come around, but odds are, they will if they give it a chance. Even in their new state, the Sword remains a great, gutsy rock band you might not have heard. “High Country” is definitely the sound of them widening their scope.

Focus Tracks:

“The Dreamthieves” This track sounds like some moody seventies metal. It sounds like the kind of track that would be used as the soundtrack for a key scene in a movie where something seedy goes down at the crux of a film’s climax.

“Tears Like Diamonds” Again going for the classic style of metallic riffing, the band is aiming for iconic status with their musical signatures. They are aiming for the “Classic Rock” crowd just as much as they are aiming for fans of metal.

“Mist & Shadow” This is a slow-burning bit of hard rock that builds and recedes on a dime, all along the way finding great thrills. Guitarist and vocalist John D. Cornise does some really nice work here, especially during the soloing sections.

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