The Dead Weather, “Sea of Cowards” (Warner Bros.)
The Dead Weather’s blues-debted rock music is loud, but there are quiet ruminations deep in the lyrics. In “Blue Blood Blues,” the first track on the supergroup’s latest, drummer/sometimes-singer Jack White thinks out loud: “If I left, I wanna leave a trace.”
No problem there.
At the rate White is releasing records and creating new bands, he’ll have an unparalleled catalog by the time he’s 45 years old. White, who turns 35 in July, has collected his best full-sized band in The Dead Weather. His White Stripes were a legendary power-duo, but the Dead Weather stabs and owns where his other group, the Raconteurs, plots and plays.
The record’s first single, “Die By the Drop,” is a frazzled, yet tight, jam that thrives on the interplay between lead singer Allison Mosshart’s vocals and White’s call-and-response wails. “The Difference Between Us” is a delightful, pop-rooted psychedelic dirge. This record never takes a break, and it’s an unquestionable step forward from the band’s excellent debut, “Horehound.” Ricardo BacaRusko, “O.M.G.”
(Mad Decent)
As dubstep has grown as a slinky, bass-heavy subgenre of electronic music, followers and fans have had to wonder who will break the underground sound to the masses. Listening to the first few songs on “O.M.G.” and reading the newspapers last week, our vote goes to Rusko, a.k.a. Chris Mercer.
Not only does Rusko have that England experience and credibility, he also has the connections. He told an L.A. newspaper last week that he’ll be producing songs for Britney Spears’ next record — and they won’t be pop pabulum.
Any producer is only as good as his history, and “O.M.G.” is a shining mixture of the brilliantly twisted beats that made him a star in the London underground and the pop hooks he thinks he needs to make it on American FM radio.
“Woo Boost” is a complex banger that is proof of his growth as an artist. “Raver’s Spesh” is a jittery earphones anthem while “Oy” is a modern-day approach to the “Axel F” concept. Some of the album’s more straightforward songs, including “Hold On” and “You’re on My Mind,” lack the bite of Rusko’s signature sound. But that’s perfectly O.K. with Spears and her ilk. Ricardo Baca
Band of Horses, “Infinite Arms”
(Columbia)
After two expansive, if too-similar, records on Sub Pop, Band of Horses makes its major-label debut today with “Infinite Arms.”
From the sweeping chamber pop opening of “Factory” to the neo-country & western, CD-closing ballad “Neighbor,” this record is a slight departure for Band of Horses. The dreamy, spaced-out heart is still there in each song, but the group might have thrown away certain guitar effects pedals and vocal effects triggers from the previous two records.
“Evening Kitchen” is a lovely lullaby while “Older” is the most nuanced mix of the band’s previous sound and its new approach: Stunning harmonies, a hint of a twang and clever guitar interplay. And that’s a combination we don’t mind one bit. Ricardo Baca
