QUIRK POP/PROG ROCK
“At War With the Mystics”
The Flaming Lips
Warner Bros.
Perhaps the Flaming Lips’ most political statement in their 20-plus-year history, “At War With the Mystics” is a record that teeters on the line between satisfying and disappointing. At times it shines like a distorted, funky beacon of freedom and free thought, an aural Statue of Liberty. Elsewhere it wobbles through the labyrinth, never quite finding the true end of a 7-minute, 20-second song such as “The Sound of Failure.”
Granted, the Lips never fail to entertain, to provoke thought, to create work that challenges the mind, body, soul, feet. (How exactly do you dance to a song like “It Overtakes Me,” which kicks off as a funk fire starter and devolves into a cloudy trip into neo-psych?) But the Oklahoma City band is better with some styles (freak-out pop, Beck-like super-funk with the bomber melodies) than it is others (dreamy prog rock).
– Ricardo Baca
INDIE COUNTRY/POP
“Fox Confessor Brings the Flood”
Neko Case
Anti-
If Neko Case were a lesser singer she might come off like a Patsy Cline throwback, even though her voice is every bit as strong as that country legend’s. Instead, Case sounds both fresher and more timeless with each record, thanks to her artistic integrity and faultless performances.
Easing up on the roots-country leanings of her past couple of albums, “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” stretches its arms in nearly every direction, reaching for a mix of moody pop, string-backed laments and of course, the trademark dusty, Southwestern ballads.
Case’s songwriting skills continue to improve, as evidenced by her writing and co-writing credits on most of the album. Lines like “One left a sweater sittin’ on the train, and the other lost three fingers at the cannery,” on the relaxed “Margaret vs. Pauline,” betray a literary sense of detail while never losing sight of the lush melodies that have always lifted Case so high above her contemporaries.
– John Wenzel
HIP-HOP
“Public Enemy Featuring Paris”
Rebirth of a Nation
Guerrilla Funk
Anyone curious why goofy Flavor Flav became a TV sex symbol? Take note: After 20-plus years, Public Enemy is still pushing its revolutionary agenda. Flavor Flav is simply the sugar to help that Black Power message go down more easily.
This 16-track release produced by the protest-minded rapper Paris has streamlined samples that probably won’t spark any block parties. But the music does give these artists the space they need to speak their minds. The is not an album to buy for the beats. This is an album to buy because commentary on tracks such as “Hard Truth Soldiers” reminds us that Chuck D and company have gone about hip-hop in a drastically different way than pop radio rappers. Their catalog is deeper, richer and more lasting because of it.
– Elana Ashanti Jefferson