MUSE Checks Out New CD’s

The white race has a notorious track record when it comes to hip-hop. Aside from a trio of beastly boys from Brooklyn, the most famous Caucasian rappers to drop rhymes have also been the most embarrassing. Vanilla Ice and Marky Mark successfully tainted the image of the white emcee, displaying a stereotypical lack of talent in a genre they had no business toying with in the first place. So, it’s a fair assumption that Princess Superstar, a white girl who spent most of her years growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch country, sucks like no rapper has sucked before.

Not so. In fact, Princess Superstar (born Concetta Kirshner) is amazingly fly for a white girl. Hell, she’s got more skills than just about any other female rapper in the game, or at least more imagination. While it’s true that her flow on her latest album, the existentially titled Princess Superstar Is, leaves a little something to be desired, her lyrics tend to make up for her rhythm deficiency. She doesn’t just rap about sex, she raps about weird sex: “Arm in arm naked making spawn at the salad bar / Get salad tongs deliver our new baby born.” She doesn’t just boast about her skills on the mic, she boasts about being cooler on the computer: “Anyway as I was saying before / my screen name is much better than yours, it’s — What you think I would tell you / so you can Instant Messenger me all day?”

There are moments where she goes on endlessly about absolutely nothing, as many rappers are prone to doing, but she counters these lows with superb tracks like “Bad Babysitter,” an entire song about her naughty high school exploits: “I’m a bad babysitter, got my boyfriend in your shower. Woo! I’m making six bucks an hour.”

In addition to her lyrical skills, every beat is flawlessly produced, with crates of ’70s soul mixes having been sufficiently dug through to find some very catchy and memorable horn and guitar riffs. Guest stars vary, from old school J-Zone to indie pixie Beth Orton, but the cherry on top of this vanilla sundae is an appearance by Kool Keith, the wackiest of the wacky, and a charming companion to the Princess’s predilection for silliness.

Although she has a way to go before becoming an actual superstar, the Princess scores big points for reclaiming some dignity to the title “white emcee.”

— Tyler Brezler

The band whose 1993 hit single “Low” introduced the alternative scene to a roots rock approach has used that jump start to indulge in their own brand of rock. It’s been a long time since we had that strong first impression of Cracker’s jangly guitar work and scratchy vocals. Their fifth album, Forever, continues on that same fold yet miles from the mainstream culture that has been churning out prepackaged, marketable slop. Forever is a mellow, country-laced trip into Americana with a few pit stops that make the ride more interesting.

Classic roots rock is represented by the anthem “Sweet Magdalena of my Misfortune,” which laments love lost with acoustic guitar that leads into a more jovial sounding celebration of that same love. “Ain’t That Strange,” backed by an ever-present female chorus, sounds like a band who’s under serious Motown influence. The band expresses sarcasm in “Guarded By Monkeys,” a dirtier tune with heavy guitars backed by strings (“You are so beautiful, you should be guarded by monkeys”). The Wallflowers-esque “Miss Santa Cruz County” shows the band’s playfulness and mocking self-hatred with lead singer David Lowery suggesting “Let’s all be someone else/I’m tired of being myself.” “Superfan” is an amusing tune in which Lowery warns “If I can’t have you, no one will,” making fun of obsessive admirers. “What You’re Missing” is an all-over-the-place jam that ends the album with funky beats and an overdriven lead guitar riff.

Radio listeners should be aware that there is more to Cracker than the singles they send to the airwaves. Americana fans may appreciate the band’s mode of attack, which is definitely modern but not completely without its earlier influences. Cracker defies the mainstream with the marriage of cowboy hats and synthesized organs.

— Nicole Boudreau

There isn’t a lot wrong with JJ72’s self-titled debut album. The band is comprised of youthful, angsty Irish rockers, and they sound it-complete with the nasal quality that is apparent in most rock music from the British Isles.

The group’s major problem, and much of their charm, lies in the fact that they are just out of their teens. As 20-year-olds are apt to do, they blow their load too quickly. The first track, “October Swimmer” is intense. It starts off slow with the line “The dreams of dying mothers” and climaxes with the proud refrain of “I don’t need anyone.” The lyrics may be random, but the words sound beautiful when belted out by singer/songwriter Mark Greaney. The second and third songs, “Undercover Angel” and Oxygen,”complete the trio of whiny songs that Britpop lovers should not live without.

The album, then, descends into mediocrity, until somewhere down the line, the CD picks up again with “Snow.” It’s only a tease, though, because the self-titled CD’s last few songs sound like something between ballads and funeral dirges. Thus, with “Snow” completed, listeners may feel the need to return to the beginning to get the same rush of emotion and energy of “October Swimmer”. If JJ72 changed consistency throughout their album instead of saving the slower songs for the end, it may have been a better album. As it is, however, the band needs more time to control their excitement, so the listener can as well.

JJ72 may be too young to release an album for the ages right now, but they certainly have potential. Once they mature some, be on the lookout for the “best band of the year” tagline associated with their quirky name.

Rhonda Moyer – MUSE Contributing Writer

While the self-titled major label debut from Delaware’s “Love Seed Mama Jump” doesn’t break any new musical ground, its light tone is a refreshing change from the heavy and depressing music governing today’s radio.

Making a living playing covers at seaside bars granted “Love Seed” the chance to master the feel-good rock genres put to good use on this album. Though their cover of John Denver’s “Country Roads” is a clear punk-rock track, “Life” is a tender love ballad featuring the soft strum of acoustic guitars and “Turn Back” would be a ska song if only it had a horn line backing it.

The highlight tracks of the album are the straight rock-pop numbers with melodies that bring back memories of summer days gone by. “Blink” features ominous organ chords undermining verses that give way to upbeat drums and swinging bass lines in a chorus, that, as any good summer song does, sticks to you like cotton candy on a hot day. Appropriately following a danceable cover of Van Morrison’s

“Domino,” the sappy “Pauper” pays tribute to brown-eyed girls and maintains enough honesty and innocence in the lyrics to prevent inducing a fit of nausea.

While “Love Seed Mama Jump” didn’t do anything new in this album, what they did do was done well. It’s a fun CD that captures the carefree essence of hanging out at a beach front bar on a summer night listening to a live band play their hearts out on stage. It’s only appropriate that a band raised on the beach would write a good summer album. And with spring break right around the corner, the album’s worth listening to for the splash of sunshine it provides.

Shana Leonard – MUSE Contributing Writer

Armed with eerie electronic samples, angry guitar riffs, and the haunting voice of Tommy Walter, Abandoned Pools makes a memorable debut on Extasy Records International with the new album, Humanistic. As ex-bassist of the innovative band the eels, Tommy Walter serves as the creative force behind Abandoned Pools, playing most of the instruments, co-producing the album, and writing as well as singing all of the songs.

Humanistic proves to be the antithesis of the generic bubble-gum pop presently flooding the airwaves as it hosts a variety of dark, introspective and diverse melodies. The album offers a roller-coaster ride of emotion and style-you never know quite what to expect next as the songs progress. Abandoned Pools defy categorization due to the immense stylistic range that Walter displays. Songs such as “Start Over” and “Ruin Your Life” are riddled with looped drumbeats and samples that are reminiscent of trip-hop bands like the Sneaker Pimps, while “L.V.B.D.” and segments of “Monster” rock out in angry guitar riffs.

While Walter’s whiney voice can be slightly grating at times, it manages to express his angst in a manner that makes it work with the music. Walter’s lyrics are predominantly introspective and cynical as he explores the conformity and fakeness of people while offering his own insight on the world. Walter is also inquisitive and searches for meaning, posing questions such as “And if it’s God who made us, why are we so damn cruel? Can we start over?” in his song “Start Over.” While the album grows on you the more you listen to it, its inconsistency and lack of stability can sometimes be a little too much.

The standout song on the album is “Never.” This song is by far the most simplistic with just Walter, an acoustic guitar with some supporting melodies, minus the haunting electronic base.

Abandoned Pools’ Humanistic is a diverse and innovative mix of music that is perfect to listen to during a chill or introspective mood. The music keeps you on an emotional adventure that is rich in angst and offers fascinating observations about the world and all that is humanistic.