THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2003
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 11
One for Your Health
Full Feature
Reviewed by Nate Harold
nharold@kansan.com
The cover art of One for Your Health by local band Full Feature summarizes the audio portion of the recording. Two confusingly different themes, a cat staring at a fish in a light post and a shining pill, are placed in close proximity to each other Are these two images related in some way or is this a compromise among band members when choosing artwork?
The music creates an equally perplexing situation. Transitions within songs go from two vocalists rapping over a slow hip-hop beat into a
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four-chord folk sounding chorus with plenty of "yeah-yeahs" as on the song "Anthem 20/20."
Genre jumping like this is bound to leave listeners disoriented, and the band hasn't perfected any of the musical styles that they cover throughout the full length album.
Another potentially detracting element of Full Feature's CD is the lack of consistency in recording quality from track to track. This may not bother some people, but I find that the record doesn't seem to have a cohesive flow to it when songs sound different from each other.
The quality of the recording on songs like "S.Y.W.A.S" and "That One Song" sound infinitely better than on songs like "Apology."
Perhaps the most confusing aspect of this CD is the lyrical content. Lyricists Eddie Schubert, M. Loo and Craig Loo switch from tough guys to contemplative poets to sensitive ladies' men throughout the record, making listeners wonder which one is genuine.
On "Threat To My Manhood," vocalist Schubert sings, "Gonna beat another human cause you know it makes me feel good." To contrast, on "When Breathing Stops," Schubert sings, "When breathing stops I'll give my life up/Dust in the wind for what once was/it won't be again/A
path of bones for this lonely soul/memory of life only survives in nothing."
Overall, One For Your Health comes off as a disjointed effort. If the band could choose to specialize in one or two of the genres that it covers instead of halfheartedly trying every style in the book, this could be a vast improvement.
GRADE: D-
The Execution of all Things
Rilo Kiley
Reviewed by Aaron Passman
apassman@kansan.com
After a self-titled EP and two full-length albums, Rilo Kiley appears to have found a format that works: low key, quiet, dreamlike indie-pop (emphasis on the pop). The problem is that the band doesn't deviate from that format much.
Rilo Kiley's new album, The Execution Of All Things, isn't aesthetically much different from its 2000 debut, Takeoffs and Landings. The album is still soft and dreamy and melodic, though the songs on the new record are augmented with a slight twangy, folk aspect, and the lyrical content is darker than on its predecessor.
Up to a point, if you've heard one Rilo Kiley song, you've heard 'em all. Now, if you like that format (which I do), then you'll probably like most of thier work. The problem is that by the time you've heard the entire album once (let alone multiple times) it can get somewhat tiresome. It's still good, but there's not a lot of variety and less so on "Execution" than there was on its debut.
Tracks like "So Long" and "Three Hopeful Thoughts" sound more like leftovers from the last album than anything new. "With Arms Outstretched" is the closest the record comes to an all-out folk song, centered on an acoustic guitar, vocals and hand claps.
Unfortunately, the album's high point comes too late. The final track, "Spectacular Views," is the closest the band ever comes to
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90.7 KJHK Top 10
1. JAMES CHANCE ... Irresistible Impulse
2. POSTAL SERVICE ... Give Up
3. ERLEND OYE ... Unrest
4. XIU XIU ... A Promise
5. MOVING UNITS ... Moving Units
6. GI JOE KILLAZ . . GI Joe Killaz
7. TALIB KWELI ... Quality
8. CALEXICO ... Feat of Wire
9. PRAM ... Dark Island
10. SUPERGRASS ... Life on Other Planets
GRADE: B-
actually rocking out. With driving drums, distorted guitars and a harmonized chorus, it's a loud wake-up call for those put to sleep by the rest of the album. Rilo Kiley's dreamy little format hasn't gotten old yet, but it's fast on its way there. Hopefully "Spectacular Views" is a sign of things to come because it'd be a shame to see a band this talented fall victim to themselves.
And lyrics? How about this steaming
Love
The Juliana Theory
Reviewed by Aaron Passman
apassman@kansan.com
Love opens up promisingly with a couple of solid, catchy rockers: "Bring It Low and the album's best track "Do You Believe Me?" But short of these two tracks, most of the album is an exercise in half-assery. Rather than building on their strengths as a rock 'n' roll outfit, The Juliana Theory spends too much of Love doing boring, repetitive, poorly written ballads, even going as far as recycling one of the best tracks from Emotion Is Dead.
Part of what made The Juliana Theory's second album, 2000's Emotion Is Dead, so outstanding was the ways it mixed emo, pop, hardcore, ballads and even electronica. It was the kind of record that always kept you guessing, never really sure what the Theory boys were going to do next. There was a nice little rock surprise around nearly every corner. Unfortunately, their new record Love is, for the most part, nothing like its predecessor.
pile of rock dung? "You suck the life out of the crowd without a sound/I see your kind all around and of course you're all the same/You suck the light out of a room with merely a glance/You are the slave of a clone of a petrified fool on a throne." Or maybe "Love will endure when it comes to the end/I see you're insecure, I know there's hope for you." Like that? There's more where that came from.
It would certainly seem that The Juliana
Theory are trying to say something here, but they never actually come out and say it. Thus they're left with a vague, masked, and rather irritating spirituality, a la Creed.
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This album feels like a much different Juliana Theory than their last album, probably in part because of major changes in the band's line-up.
The music isn't as interesting or adventurous, and rather than the emo-ness of their last record, they appear to be headed in the spiritual direction. Not necessarily a bad thing, assuming they can find a way to mix elements of both Emotion Is Dead and Love together on their next effort. Don't count them out just yet.
So. The Juliana Theory: Religious rockers in disguise or mere emo wussies? You decide.
GRADE:D