LISTEN
Ray LaMontagne
Trouble
Obliquely described by Rolling Stone as sounding like "sandpaper, church. Van Morrison and dusty porches," Ray LaMontagne's saliently unique style is often indefinable on his debut album, Trouble. Drawing influence from Stephen Stills, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Otis Redding, among others, LaMontagne sounds like a backwoods soul gypsy, crafting pastoral hymns with a folk guitar and an aching gospel moan.
After transforming a Los Angeles studio into an
Appalachian campground, LaMontagne recorded Trouble in only two weeks, collaborating with astute producer and musical Renaissance man, Ethan Johns. The result is an album of introspection, observation and reflection. LaMontagne sifts through life's tribulations and emerges with 10 songs about his struggles, loves, hopes and fears. On the lead and title track, LaMontagne lets out an arching cry of, "Trouble's been down on my
soul since the day I was born/Worry just will not seem to leave my mind alone." Never one to dwell though, LaMontagne later rises from his despondency and offers domestic healing like Marvin Gaye offered sexual healing. On "Forever My Friend" he suggests, "If we keep our hearts together, I just think if we build on this love we have for one another, maybe we can make this last a lifetime."
Johns makes his presence felt on "How Come," lending a twisting and turning bout of electricity to a track of social criticism on which LaMontagne states a bit too dramatically that he, "can't tell the free world from living hell." He clearly does not vacation in Sierra Leone. Or maybe he does and prefers it. In either case, I applaud him.
As a whole, Trouble is an intimate album, like many folk albums are. Listening to it feels invasive or voyeuristic, like LaMontagne would prefer to be alone with the music, purging his demons with guttural gospel folk. Nick Drake was once described as an artist who made music so intrinsically quiet that it could never be loud, no matter how far to the right you cranked the volume knob. LaMontagne is like that, too. He writes emotive songs and sings like a church going man, all packaged into a tight, quiet bundle.
Grade. B+ Try it if you liked: Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans or Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days
Grade: B+
-Dave Ruigh
PLAY
Yu-Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament
Yu-Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament is one of these games that just doesn't deliver. It looked like it had promise, but just didn't stand up.
The game is in the middle of the anime cartoon Yu-Yu Hakusho, part of the Adult Swim line on Cartoon Network. It goes right along with the series.
After thinking that he has beaten the Toguro brothers, Yusuke Urameshi is surprised to see his latest foe still alive. He confronts you and your first fight begins. After the scuffle, he tells Yusuke of the upcoming Dark Tournament and tells him to enter. Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama and the Masked Fighter join you for your team.
One of the interesting, but rather annoying matches is the Knife-Edge Death match. Because you are so close to your opponent, you can't block so you must uncover the correct series of buttons to press in order to defeat him.
What this game lacks is decent response time from your character. Your characters' actions are really slow and make it difficult to do a few moves. The sluggish movements make it easier for your characters to defeat opponents.
Grade: D
One match type is tag team. If your character get beaten too much, you can switch him out for other characters and have the other fight. Like other games, however, he don't regain his health when he is resting.
regardless
Yu-Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament looks like a good choice at first glance, but once you begin playing it, you realize you've wasted your money.
— Chris Moore