MUSIC REVIEWS
PUBLICATION: Melophobe
To write short, succinct, clever and entertaining copy in exactly 50 words.
OWEN PALLET
Heartland is unique, offbeat. It sounds every bit like the soundtrack to a musical. Only, there is no musical. What you do get are pop songs in a concept album: a dense mélange of strings, electronics, woodwinds, bass and brass, with Pallett singing pertly overtop. Wonderful, aesthetic, story-like… faintly precious.
BECK / CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG
IRM is a Beck album—with a twist. Charlotte Gainsbourg’s twilight-sweet singing is that twist. Reminiscent of Astrud Gilberto with Brazil ‘66, she is hip yet welcoming. The rest is signature Beck: avant-folk guitars, quirky beats, wonky fuzz, strings, flotsam for lyrics. It’s a Beck album alright: a very good one.
PUSCIFER
Puscifer’s latest release answers the question “What would Portishead sound like on steroids with a dude swooning the mic?†Not that anybody was asking. Sultry moods, downtempo beats, soulful vocals, C is feel-good darkness buoyed by commercial production. Guitars are leashed to the tree, but beware, it will suck you in….