CLOUD CULT Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus ****
Um … yeah. Cloud Cult might be the zaniest band you’ve never heard, but they sure as hell are one of the best. A music box and handclaps end the trip-hop breakbeat of “Living on the Outside of Your Skin” (it begins with jingle bells). Deerhoof could be a tentative distant cousin; so could Mogwai, so could Tortoise; so could Moab band The Dwellers. Electronic EBM blends with Dirty Projectors indie-rock in “Happy Hippo.” Bands that truly push boundaries without being obnoxious are so rare. Hats off to Cloud Cult! (CloudCult.com)
nnTHE CLOUD ROOM The Cloud Room ****
nnThe Cloud Room is so 2005-perfect it’s kind of disgusting, but don’t write them off as incapable of sincerity. Neo-disco permeates “Waterfall,” moody post-new wave dance on “Blackout!” A healthy dose of jangly Brit-pop and great hooks are added to the brew; The Verve makes love to Oasis makes love to Jesus & Mary Chain in one big heavenly sex sandwich. A Strokes or Beatles comparison wouldn’t be remiss, either. (TheCloudRoom.com)
nnANNA NALICK Wreck of the Day ***
nnThis reviewer can’t say that she is fond of the kind of music Anna Nalick makes (sorry, first-person references in CD reviews are expressly forbidden), but she can admit that it’s good. Lightweight folk-based mainstream rock is a little bit like Lisa Loeb in “Paper Bag,” but minus the sass. The best parts of Wreck of the Day are Anna’s vocals and lyrics, which are both mature, soulful and disarmingly honest. (AnnaNalick.com)
nnKATE EARL Fate is the Hunter **
nnKate will remind you of Nora Jones and the other million gentle, universally pleasing piano artistes with banally romantic lyrics that this column has covered in the past year or so'there have been too many'with not much to differentiate. However, that “not much” gets promising at times, like in her folk-pop number “When You’re Older.” Don’t misunderstand; Kate’s classy. But being classy doesn’t disqualify you from being average. (KateEarl.com)
nnJANA Flash of a Firefly *
nnYou really, really want to like Jana. She has a positive attitude that’s touching, and she’s one of those rare people who believe in eternal love. But. Her. Music. Sucks. Vigorously. Overproduced soft adult-pop with some light R&B thrown in might be ideal performed at the Excelsior or the Crystal Cathedral, but outside those environments, this album is a dangerous pollutant that must be stopped from infecting the world at all costs. (Radikal.com)
More by Rebecca Vernon
-
Tour Diary: Salt Lake City's Subrosa take Europe by storm, and chocolate.
nnnnSalt Lake City dark-rock (don't call it goth) band Subrosa toured Europe in October, supporting their Swedish label debut Strega. The following is is singer-guitarist Rebecca Vernon's best recollection.n nTouring Europe has been my dream for years, and we finally did it: Subrosa toured for nine solid hellish-amazing days in Europe last month, making it through customs, six country borders...
- Nov 5, 2008
-
CD Revue
M.I.A, The Quarter After, Boys Night Out, Flipsyde, Hootie & the Blowfish
- Jul 28, 2005
-
CD Revue
Antimatter, Fruit Bats, Eric Benet, Widow, Hanalei
- Jul 21, 2005
- More »
Latest in Music
Readers also liked…
-
The Alpines Head North
Local band's debut concept album finds musical bliss in the apocalypse.
- Feb 7, 2024
