KJPLAY
KJHK 90.7
The Forms
Icarus
Mason Jennings Use Your Voice
The Forms is a three-man band hailing from Brooklyn that has come into the spotlight after only a few years. Its debut album, Icarus, is a scant seven songs topping off at 18 minutes, but you will spend most of those minutes in listening enjoyment.
Critics have called The Forms indie rock and compared it to musicians such as Sunny Day Real Estate. It may be indie rock, but it's indie rock with class. The album has highs and lows. It is not entirely catchy popular indie rock, such as The Strokes, but it does have those moments.
Grade: B-
- Collin LaJoie, KJHK DJ 2 p.m.to 4 p.m. Fridays
The album is an amalgam of indie rock guitar riffs, electronic mixing and even classical influences. A piano shows up throughout the album, sometimes unexpectedly. Plus, the album is an enhanced CD that contains various artistic photographs. All in all, it's a decent indie rock album.
Dizzee Rascal Boy In Da Corner
Running the rut of singer songwriters Jenning's is pretty good at what he does. In his fourth album, Use Your Voice, Mason uses his skill for songwriting and sentimental and poetic lyricism to present a solid album. At the same time, the album doesn't pursue anything new, which translates into a bland product.
Sadly for Jennings there are too many people doing the same thing, which makes it hard for an acoustic singer/songwriter to break from the pack. Although the first track, titled "Crown," is a definite highlight, the rest of the album quickly hits a rut of Dylan-patent folk songs. Overall Jennings presents an album that while not bad, is typical.
Grade: C
Brent Stevens, Host of "Focus" 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays
Hip-hop music is perceived as an overwhelmingly American genre because of its birth in the Bronx and the tendency of the average fan to ignore its worldwide ramifications and the forms it has taken elsewhere. Dizzee Rascal has come to flip that perspective.
On a diet of "Ninja bikes, gun fights and scary nights," the 18-year-old Brit is dropping the "soccer" from in front of "hooligan" and taking patrons on a tour of London that fellow UK artist Mike Skinner could never even imagine.
Dizzee's flow is undeniably fresh, the youth in his voice buried by experience and hunger. Almost every track gets burst bloody rhyme-wise, but the beats often lack character or cohesion. Exceptions include the Billy Squierjacking "Fix Up, Look Sharp." All said though, Mr. Rascal is officially a force. Prepare to expand your horizons.
Grade: B-
— Phil Torpey "Breakfast for Beatlovers" 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays
Kolis Tasty
Kelis' latest album, Tasty, is musical sweetness on a whole new level. While the pseudo-divas of pop battle for market share, it is evident that Kelis' struggle is one of both personal and creative proportions.
Though at times the album comes off as too playful, lighthearted and sexdriven, Kelis' talent cannot be suppressed. She's got a voice that can carry an opera. The Neptunes and several of the industry's hottest sonic technicians, including Andre 3000 of OutKast and Raphael Saadiq, labor brilliantly to make sure that she puts that voice to good use.
She does not seem to be consumed with the glamour of pop life or with the multiple dramas of an R&B queen, and her music is all the better for it.
Colorful, funky and delightfully naughty, Tasty is a fine album. For those looking for an alternative to melancholy rock and the flashy shimmer of pop, Kelis serves up a worthy indulgence.
Grade: B-
12
Cornelius Minor, Host of "Voice Activated" 7p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays