Get Your Fix: Album Reviews by the CoolJunkie Staff

May 21, 2008 4:40 PM
by Marcos Colón [email]

Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
by: Marcos Colón

Just when you thought that the crossover from movies to music was over, Scarlett Johansson comes out of left field with an album. The sexy blonde known for films such as Lost in Translation and Match Point, as well as being Woody Allen’s latest muse, teamed up with TV On the Radio’s David Sitek to bring us her first full-length album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, a collection of Tom Waits covers.

Now a lot of folks out there may be thinking, “Hey, Scarlett Johansson! I love her! I loved The Island. I bet her voice fucking rocks!” Well, sorry to break it to you all, but she sounds more like a cute chick who took a blow to the throat, kind of like a hoarse Enya. She’s still got the look though, and definitely on any man’s top ten.

Expecting to find some sign at the end of the tunnel, there was no sense light as each track passed. Starting things off in the album is Fawn, an instrumental barrage of boredom that’s not accompanied by vocals. Very epic sounding, but there’s really no point in making this the first track, or even include it in the album at all. Things continue to go awry on tracks like Fannin Street and Green Grass where this bizarre dreamy vibe of a theme leaks throughout the entire album. The one close-to promising track is I Don’t Want to Grow Up, a cheerful and up-beat song that has potential, but thoughts of that soon wash away as Johansson’s melancholy drone kicks in.

Buyer beware if you’re lurking around the ‘J’ section at your local Best Buy. As a matter of fact, I’d stay out of there for the next few weeks, at least until the smoke of this ear punishing music clears. Let’s just focus on the film career from now on.

Yelle - Pop-up
by: chipi

French electropop sensation Yelle rose to fame with her MySpace release of a song "dissing" Parisian hip-hopper Cuizinier titled "Short Dick Cuizi". Since then, her releases have become a bit more welcome to the mainstream. She's adopted a candy-colored sensibility that likens her to international superstar Gwen Stefani, donning outfits that would be celebrated on the dance floor Saturday nights at Poplife and releasing album art that recalls the Silver Factory.

Pop-Up finds Yelle crafting a similar profile established by Stefani in her Love. Angel. Music. Baby. album. Partnering with producer and friend GrandMarnier, Pop-Up runs the gamut from club dance tracks to coy pop love ballads. The heavy synth and percussion laid track "Je Veux Te Voir" is a fail-safe dance floor mover, that will likely slip into the sets of indie-dance party DJ's in no time. It even managed to make its way onto the Entourage soundtrack last season for their special Cannes episode.

The opener "Ce Jeu" is a more playful track that borrows from the vibe of New Wave and 80s dance music tracks before it. Think of it as an updated and urban "Lucky Star", but in French. Yelle has other retro moments on her album as well, especially with "Tristesse/Joie", a song that borrows the indie sway of WHAM!'s Everything She Wants with a concept injection. The song title literally translates to "Sadness/ Joy" and is structured as such - beginning with a slow paced vibe that picks up midway through, turning up the energy to a euphoric dance celebration.

It's pop. It's dance music. It's in a language you probably don't understand. What more can you really ask for? Download "Je Veux Te Voir" to get a real taste.

Foxboro Hottubs - Stop, Drop, Roll!!!
by: Marcos Colón

Sometimes bands just need a bit of a break from it all. While some opt to stay away from the studio and performing all at once, others try their hand at a different sound and persona. This happens to be the case for Foxboro Hottubs, a trio that at first listen may sound extremely familiar to any fan of Green Day, only because it is Green Day! Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool have taken a bit of a break from GD to work on their side-project’s debut, Stop Drop and Roll!!!

Taking a note out of the mid-sixties garage rock scene, Foxboro Hottubs’ sound seems to be heavily influenced by early acts such as The Stooges, The Kinks and The Smiths, however, there are also comparison’s to be made to modern rock collectives such as The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, a nice change of pace for the trio that emphasizes a raw and edgy sound on this effort.

Some tracks to look out for on the album include Ruby Room, whose rhythm is carried by a moaning organ, and Dark Side of Night, a dreamy masterpiece that transports listeners to a romantic 60’s setting…perhaps a date in a Shelby overlooking the city skyline? The best track on the album by far has to be Broadway, a true rock gem packed with its electrifying steady riff and Armstrong wailing [I’m just killing time now/I do it all the time now/And it’s killing me].

This project gives the trio the opportunity to take a break from the poppy direction in which Green Day has been headed toward lately. This may also buy them time and figure out their next move. Hopefully that move will head in back in the direction when Green Day’s sound packed more of a punch, e.g. Dookie.

Sasha - The emFire Collection: Mixed, Unmixed, and Remixed
by: Aubrey Ford

The launch of Sasha’s new record label, emFire, toward the end of last year was a momentous event for any follower of this celebrated DJ and producer. The four releases that have sprung from it since have certainly lived up to the label’s expectations, while revealing some developments in style that may come as a surprise to long term fans of his progressive sound.

With his latest release, The emFire Collection: Mixed, Unmixed, and Remixed, Sasha collects all of emFire’s released material, has it remixed by some of underground electronic’s finest, and includes a number of exclusive re-edits along with his celebrated soundtrack to the surfing film New Emissions of Light and Sound. With this compilation Sasha reveals that he is deviating from his progressive past into a more tech-house oriented direction. This trend is suggested by releases like Park It In the Shade and his choice of techno-styled remixers Radioslave and Slam.

The first disc of the compilation presents remixes from four dynamic up and coming electronic artists. Each presents two mixes of one of the four emFire releases in two different forms, one downtempo and the other designed for the club. Although the chill tracks are enjoyable, the heart of the disc is really the final two tracks, especially Radioslave’s, being highly exemplary of emFire’s new path.

The second disc begins with Sasha’s re-edits. With these tracks, designed more for his long-term fans, Sasha reigns in recent envelope-pushing aspirations in favor of his traditional progressive sound. The compilation finishes with the full soundtrack to the film New Emissions of Light and Sound, being Sasha’s emotionally vibrant piece’s first appearance in audio form. The emFire Collection: Mixed, Unmixed, and Remixed is a thorough exhibition of the promising new direction that Sasha is taking with emFire Records while simultaneously presenting some of electronic music’s brightest new contenders.