Get Your Fix: Album Reviews by the CoolJunkie Staff

November 6, 2008 11:11 AM
by The CoolJunkie Staff

Little Joy - Little Joy
by: Marcos Colón

Although The Strokes have taken a two year hiatus, a painfully long time for fans who’ve been patiently expecting some news, they’ll finally be back in the studio this coming February. During the break each member did their own thing, Albert with his second solo album, Nikolai’s new side project and film score, Nick’s photography and Julian working with Santogold and Pharrell on the catchy Converse ad. One unlikely member to start his own side project and release their debut album on Election Day is Fabrizio Moretti’s Little Joy. Getting together with Los Hermanos’ frontman Rodrigo Amarente and his new talented squeeze, Binki Shapiro, the three-piece outfit has produced a self-titled debut that will snowball into one of the best albums of 2008.

On Little Joy, Fab takes a bit of a break from percussion, although he still took care of a majority of it, and picked up a guitar as well as providing back up vocals. Amarente steals the show with his smooth and polished vocals. This is exactly what Julian would of sounded like on Is This It? after a few vocal lessons. Shapiro’s pipes take the lead and also provide a sweet and graceful melody on tracks like Don’t Watch Me Dancing and Unattainable. There’s a perfect balance of up-tempo jams and slow pensive and beautifully written ballads.

Little Joy has crafted a unique debut album that can only be described as a calypso-folk-rock beach jam. It’s hard not to bring up The Strokes first effort Is This It?, since the production value, melodies and rhythm conjures up so much of the sound in the album. There’s no telling how things are going to work out for Little Joy if Fab is back in the studio with The Strokes early next year. For now there’s a string of shows lined up through December for fortunate cities. This album should definitely be picked up by any and all.

Click here to hear more from Little Joy.

Bob Sinclar - House Masters Compilation Series
by: Michael Maryanoff

The other week we featured House Masters, complied by Louie Vega. This time around we are featuring another House Masters album, however, this time around Bob Sinclar is the one putting it together. Instead of showcasing songs that have caught his attention as of late, Sinclar instead chose to create showcase of his own extensive body of production work he has amassed in his three-year tenure as an internationally acclaimed DJ. It’s got all of Sinclar’s light-hearted guitar-laden hits, such as Love Generation and World, Hold On. It also has a few tracks from other artists, all of which fit in well with Sinclar’s Island-influenced sound, such as Tourment D’Amour and Outro Lugar.

Along with his big-room tracks such as Wonderful World, there are also some tracks that deviate a bit from the style you’d expect, such as My Only Love and Save Our Soul, which lean more towards a disco sound. For the most part Sinclar has an aversion to huge variations when it comes to style, but he executes his style very well. The first disc displays his island-influenced, club-friendly sound, while the second disc has more of a disco feel. The last track on the album, Life, is really interesting in that it’s a down-tempo funk influenced track.

The bottom line with this album is if you are a fan of Sinclar’s sound, you should pick it up, if you are not a fan of Sinclar’s signature style, then you should steer clear.

Click here to hear more from Bob Sinclar.

White Denim - Exposion
by: Marcos Colón

Just when it seems like indie-rock bands can’t really provide the kind of throwback sound that’ll take you to the mid-60s, a tri of Austin indie rockers just does that with their debut album, Exposion. White Denim, comprised of Joshua Block, James Petralli and Steve Terebecki, are lashing out onto the music scene with the kind of bluesy garage-rock that hasn’t been prominent, only because the dust has to be removed from those vinyl records first. With prominent appearances at South By Southwest and CMJ, White Denim have spread their word and are now about to release a fresh breath of air for the many that have been awaiting a true rock gem.

Exposion is carefully put together by the trio and encompasses exploding edgy riffs, melody with a swagger and vocals that could even please a McCain supporter after Election Day. On tracks like All You Really Have to Do Lead singer James Petralli’s vocals can’t help but remind the listener of Hendrix’s howl, while Steve Terebecki provides bassline’s that carry enough jolting soul to make an old man bust a move. The boys even slow things down with All Truckers Roll, an eclectic folky anthem with backing vocals shouted by Block and Terebecki.

White Denim has produced a very impressive debut album that’s sure to get attention. The question is, what kind of audience will they reel in? While the hipster generation of today seems to be leaning toward the electronic concepts of some artists, the days of good old fashion rock have been put on hold. Exposion could be just what the doctor ordered. It’ll be interesting to see how the masses take in the raw fluid energy the sound of these guys project.

Click here to hear more from White Denim.