- Chuck Prophet - Temple Beautiful (Yep Roc Records) Rating: 8 (out of 10)
Sounding more like a live set than a carefully controlled studio album, Chuck Prophet and the Midnight Express roll out 12 tracks of new material. This tribute to San Francisco, his home for nearly 30 years, is named after the long closed punk rock club where Prophet saw his first live shows.
Prophet celebrates the weirdness, optimism, and unique place the city has in American culture. He kicks off the album with the rocking "Play That Song Again" and keeps the energy up for the next two cuts before slowing it down on the melancholy "Museum of Broken Hearts." He mixes in a variety of musical styles, all presented in his own way, like the doo-wap sound he uses in "White Night Big City" that is about the killing of Harvey Milk, a martyr to the gay rights movement.
There is less introspection and more rock'n'roll in this collection than in previous albums. Prophet stays in the spotlight throughout but he is as likely to step back a bit and make room for the band to come forward on a number of tracks.
- Terry Peters
- Sharon Van Etten - Tramp (Jagjaguwar) Rating: 7 (out of 10)
Sharon Van Etten's new record, Tramp, is a heartfelt and unassuming offering.
It's got a '90s alternative vibe, the result of the Brooklyn-based artist's lilting vocals and its atmospheric guitars, no doubt making the 12-track offering appealing to fans of Cat Power and Mazzy Star.
The work, recorded in stints over a 14-month period where Van Etten found herself in a state of homelessness - touring and crashing on couches - was produced in the garage studio of The National's Aaron Dessner, who also appears on the album.
A yearning is expressed in album opener "Warsaw" - "I want to be over you/I want to show you," - and it's followed by second song "Give Out," which has a haunting quality with its acoustic guitar intro paving the way for Van Etten's vocals and subsequent electric guitar accents.
First single "Serpents" is a rock song, driven by the dark chorus line: "Serpents in my mind," and at one point, followed by "trying to forgive," leaving listeners to wonder what exactly.
With its piano, growing grandiosity and Van Etten's vocal style and harmonies, "We Are Fine" is reminiscent of Chan Marshall's "The Greatest," minus the orchestration. Beirut frontman Zach Condon makes an appearance, turning the song into a pleasing soulful duet.
Tramp is a great offering by a rising talent. Catch her in Vancouver when she shares the stage with The War on Drugs at Vancouver's Biltmore Cabaret March 24.
Fans can help design Van Etten's tour by submitting 10 seconds of video to be projected at certain stops. Visit www.badabingrecords.com/ sve/ for details.
- Erin McPhee
UPCOMING CD RELEASES
Feb. 14
Barry Adamson - I Will Set You Free; Field Music - Plumb; Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded; Shearwater - Natural Joy; Tennis - Young and Old.
Feb. 21
Band of Skulls - Sweet Sour; Damien Jurado - Maraqopa; Grimes - Visions; Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror.
Feb. 28
Estelle - All of Me; Lyle Lovett - Release Me.
March 6
Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball; Xiu Xiu - Always; Andrew Bird - Break it Yourself; Kaiser Chiefs - Start the Revolution Without Me; Magnetic Fields - Love at the Bottom of the Sea.
March 20
Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light; The Shins - Port of Morrow; Lee Ranaldo - Between the Times and the Tides.
