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CD Reviews

Grace Jones | Hurricane

Wall of Sound/Play It Again

By ZETH LUNDY | September 7, 2011

3.5 Stars

There was a time when Grace Jones qualified as an '80s casualty; her last album came out in '89, and despite hits like "Nightclubbing" and "Pull Up to the Bumper," her reputation is more passé cultural enigma than pop star. Now — psyche! — she's the sexagenarian with the club-pop record of the year. Seriously: you'll probably refuse to believe me when I say that a one-time Bond villainess is behind this near-masterpiece, a collection of way-heavy grooves packed with wit, wisdom, and ballsier-than-ballsy vocal takes. Throughout, Jones gets help from heavy hitters like Sly & Robbie, Wendy & Lisa, Brian Eno, Tony Allen, and Tricky, whose massive noir-cinema attack permeates the bass guitar/rimshot backbeat of "This Is" and "Corporate Cannibal" — a "Maneater" for post–Bernie Madoff times. She hits ecstasy-pop highs in the autobiographical "Williams' Blood," rides reggae rhythms in "Sunset Sunrise," and merges the two in "Love You to Life." And sure, the songs on this thing were recorded throughout the '90s, and it was first released in the UK in 2009 — still, that doesn't mean the US release can't serve up its own reintroductions/revelations. (The two-disc US version includes a dub version of the entire record.) Fuck Hurricane Irene — Hurricane Grace is this year's force to be reckoned with.

Chromeo | Business Casual
As far as genres go, the '80s-influenced synth-pop revival is a modestly populated one.
KT Tunstall | Tiger Suit
The KT Tunstall of Tiger Suit is tougher, louder, and more electronically endowed than the KT Tunstall of its poppy predecessor, 2007's Drastic Fantastic , and Eye to the Telescope three years before that.
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Anyone with a passing knowledge of Emmylou Harris will recognize that "The Road," the opening track on Hard Bargain, is about Gram Parsons and the relationship that kicked off her career 40 years ago.
Fountains of Wayne | Sky Full of Holes
Sky Full of Holes, the first Fountains album in four years, is another reminder of why the band deserve some limelight of their own.
Mates of State | Mountaintops
As the sequenced synths and handsome beats unfold, matched in merriment by the husband-and-wife vocals of Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, your mind is miles away from the raging fires of the underworld.
Twin Sister | In Heaven
It's one of 2011's finest pop records: 10 tracks of dreamy, weirdo hi-fi pop that grooves, sparkles, and hums with clipped beats and smooth drums.
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Deploying the magic touch of indie producer-superhero John Congleton, these five musicians have never sounded more like a rock band, and these 12 spacious, dreamy excursions benefit from the added muscle.
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The Good Natured | Skeleton
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Topics: CD Reviews , Music, CD reviews, Pop, More

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[ 05/29 ] Brad Hooper @ Andy's Old Port Pub

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