Lady Gaga - Born This Way

The highly anticipated new album was set out to be rougher than its predecessor, rawer and with a rock edge to it. That is definately the case, but au fond not much has changed. Lady Gaga herself is still about as subtle as a freight train, Haus of Gaga remains little more than a desperately sustained mirage and she finally confirms - implicitly - that the message is in fact more important than the music. 

One question many were interested in finding the answer to was if Lady Gaga would finally be able to walk the walk with this follow-up to The Fame, her commercial break-through from 2008. What about those heckling Gaga for making artistic claims she can hardly live up to? Well, there’s still no argument there. Of course in part Gaga did this to herself, in raising the bar to such high levels she was unable to attain them – for that her music always lacked true originality and at least one extra dimension. What is worse is that it seems that she’s not even trying to live up to any musical expectations. The problem with Born this Way musically is twofold. First of all there is no denying that Gaga’s musical vision consists in ravaging the pop archives, while at the same time copying and pasting the best bits from anything she can lay her hands on under the guise of divine inspiration. That in itself isn’t even the real issue though (although a little acknowledgement wouldn’t hurt either). The underlying tragedy, however, is the questionable frame of reference from which Born This Way was compiled, an occasionally clever, but rarely original mix of Madonna’s best years, nineties eurodance and some of the most generic dance beats available today. And granted, the US was largely spared from the horrors of eurotrash, but making up for that now can hardly be considered avant-garde.

One artist is never far away on Born This Way and that’s Madonna, the queen herself whose throne Gaga so eagerly preys. Pushing boundaries since the early eighties – and pretty much coasting since the late nineties, Madonna has defined mainstream pop music and left few taboos left to break. That creates substantial difficulties for Gaga, who has experienced similar issues with previous releases, showcasing an inability to create music that is as groundbreaking as her personality – or at least carry the same shock value. Either way, Born This Way is quite heavily indebted to that wretched woman who did it all first. Not always quite as in the face as ‘Born This Way’, which essentially borrows an entire melody line. But more often than not a picture springs to mind including enigmatic black and white imagery, androgynous dancers, vogueing and – referencing the post-2000 Madonna – soft-core porn with a club-dance soundtrack. One the one hand it’s fairly disappointing to see her copy Madge – the proverbial grandmother monster – so gratuitously, as if innovation in the pop scene reached its end point with the release of Like a Prayer back in 1989. On the other hand it’s sad to see her add so little of her own interpretation to musical ideas many of which are older than her.

Not that Born This Way is a bad record. Part of its strength stems from the fact that like no other Lady Gaga knows how to create pop anthems. She did so with ‘Poker Face’, repeated the trick with ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Born This Way’ completed the hat trick – not a particularly good song, but a resilient son-of-a-bitch. Lyrically it almost sounded as if she had gone a little bit soft, but the song’s forceful, almost aggressive club beat, made almost everyone forget that in essence ‘Born This Way’ was a fairly mediocre B-version of its predecessor. Same goes for ‘Judas’, which is about as literal as you can go in emulating your own work, without ameliorating. Songs like ‘Government Hooker’ – a pretty decent piece of electro pop - and ‘Bad Kids’ prove though, that in the end Lady Gaga knows how to make a pop record, perhaps better than anyone. It’s when she exaggerates the least, that she creates truly enjoyable tracks. The other half of the album contains tracks like ‘Black Jesus – Amen Fashion’ – a pretty straight-up Madonna-reference complete with the very retro line ‘Jesus is the new black’ (Hello, 1988? You want your provocative-for-the-time reference to Catholicism back?). Or ‘Scheisse’, with its delightfully distasteful eurodance sound and German lyrics, a track that is both vulgar and irresistible, which is pretty amazing to pull off. And in the end it does prove that Born This Way ís a pretty okay record, despite what criticisms I may have. What it is not, however, is an interesting record. Club anthems – no matter how strong – have a limited scope in the long run and some of the more eccentric choices on the album risk going out of style soon – to the extent they haven’t already. ‘Americano’ is a prime example, leaving you somewhat in doubt as to whether you’re listening to a pop singer or a drag queen on a theme night.

So to sum up, Born This Way is a far cry from the milestone it was set out to be. After two years of the benefit of the doubt Lady Gaga finally followed suit in the way that she removed all doubt as to what she is about as an artist. And that is not Gaga, reinventer of pop, bringer of a new kind of pop music. Anno 2011 producing easily digestible dance tracks with a hint of eccentricity seems about as far as Gaga wishes to diverge from the norm. Maximum inclusion is the goal, a goal for which anything that could even remotely put of anyone is cleverly avoided, resulting in disappointingly ordinary songs. And then it dawned on me: What Gaga is really about transcends the musical level. She represents a concept, a lifestyle, a vision of a better society in which racial, sexual and ideological differences no longer exist. Just a shame she so blatantly neglected the musical side of her story.

But then again, that was probably never her real intent. Make no mistake, Gaga and everything surrounding her has little to do with art, not even loosely. And in these times of cross-media culture that is just as much a part of the total concept. Not the most essential component tough, and it’s a shame that Gaga seems satisfied with uniting as many people as possible under the flag of tolerance, when she could be doing that while also rethinking the sound of pop music. But who knows, maybe she’ll surprise us someday in coming up with something genuinely innovative –Madonna managed pulled Ray of Light out of her sleeve in 1998, before finally succumbing to complete and utter irrelevance. So who knows? Meanwhile Born This Way is a let-down, establishing Gaga once and for all as a pop singer – and a crafty one at that – but far from a pop visionary. And while there is no shame in that, if your plan is to overtake the world then ‘no worse than the others with an occasional stroke of above-average’ just doesn’t cut it.

Tracklist

1. Marry The Night

2. Born This Way

3. Government Hooker

4. Judas

5. Americano

6. Hair

7. Scheisse

8. Bloody Mary

9. Black Jesus - Amen Fashion

10. Bad Kids

11. Fashion of His Love

12. Highway Unicorn

13. Heavy Metal Lover

14. Electric Chapel

15. The Queen

16. Yoü and I

17. The Edge Of Glory

Katy B live @ Botanique (Orangerie)

Summary: ‘This right here I swear will end too soon’

Katy B is one of the few female pop singers that manage to create a distinct sound and produce smart, above-average lyrics, putting her in good company (La Roux, Robyn). Her performance last week at the Orangerie (Botanique) was not sensational, but her intelligent mix of dubstep, house, garage and pop sounds in combination with a range of strong songs and a colorful personality proved quite entertaining.

There was no support act opening for Katy B during her Belgian gig last Thursday, and I personally didn’t really mind, as it saved me about 30 minutes of pretending. Don’t get me wrong, support acts sometimes prove to be something of a revelation (Rowdy Superst*r opening for Patrick Wolf last month), and on rare occasions hey can even outplay the main act (that same Rowdy Superst*r opening for Patrick Wolf last month). But an unusually early exam preceded by getting up at an untimely hour and undercompensated by staying up too late (granted, the latter should always be avoided) can wear a guy down, let me tell you. But make no mistake, after her fantastic debut ‘On A Mission’ I was still pretty excited to find out to what extent Katy B could live up my expectations during a live performance. Extra reason to be excited, it was her first gig outside the UK, making it a pretty special event.

Katy B managed to engage the crowd right from the start, not least thanks to her surprisingly diverse band (smart move choosing to include a trumpet and saxophone player). Despite her young age, B showed herself quite the entertainer. As disconnected as Patrick Wolf had seemed, that’s how much fun B was having, something she wanted to share with the audience. Songs like ‘Disappear’, ‘Go Away’, ‘Witches Brew’ and ‘Movement’ were all it took to start a party. In between songs, B took some time to get to connect with the people, which was much appreciated. ‘Easy Please Me’ went out to all the guys – along with the advice to put in some effort – and ‘Perfect Stranger’ was accompanied with an encouragement to find your inner dance (‘everyone has their little dance’) and get acquainted with the person next to you. ‘On A Mission’ was saved for last, after which the band returned for ‘Lights Off’ and album bonus track ‘Water’.

In many ways Katy B is everything Jessie J (eerie, isn’t it?) aspires to be. She’s got attitude, without feeling an urge to show off. Her clever and subtle sampling makes for a sound that is still broad enough for large audiences, without leaning to the middle of the road. And vocally she’s staying true to her own style, without sounding overly pedantic. Altogether Katy B left a solid first impression on the European continent and there’s no doubt that there is room for improvement (she’s only 21!). Not quite perfect yet, but close. Which leaves me with just one lame pun to sign out with: B+ (*)!

(*) told you it was lame

CocknBullKid - Adulthood

Two heavily anticipated pop albums were released this Monday, both by female artists claiming some sort of guiding role in today’s pop world. Overlooking the fact that I am likely the only person in the world who would put this one on the same level as the Mother Monster herself, this review could at least show that is more than one possible guiding star in the heavenly firmament.

Two long years it’s been since I first discovered the musical stylings of London-based artist Anita Blay, aka CocknBullKid. Back then she went by the pen name of thecocknbullkid (that’s no apostrophes and all lower case). She released two singles (‘On My Own’ in 2008 and ‘I’m Not Sorry’ the next year) and one EP – Querelle. Self-proclaimed UK pop hope, Blay proved to be one of few artists that can actually walk the walk they talk about. Her songs didn’t only set, but raised the standards of what pop songs ought to sound like: poppy and light as a feather – carried wonderfully by Blay’s distinctive voice – but counterbalanced with the perfect amount of emotional baggage, smart lyrics and exciting musical arrangements to surpass the 12-minute lifespan of the average pop music contraption. After her debut EP she went off the radar again – to the extent that she had ever actually been on the radar –exploring a vast array of musical influences trying to establish a sound of her own and working on her debut album. And that nearly two-year long process has now resulted in Adulthood, already one of the top pop albums of the year.

So suffice to say she took her sweet time. And on that note, opening track Adulthood feels more like an intro stretched to the length off a full song than anything else. The next track – CocknBullKid – really sets the tone of Blay’s (slightly changed) style. And kids, you better hold on to your stockings, because this is going to be a rollercoaster of happy thought – or at least happy approach to bad thoughts. Adulthood has an almost therapeutic feel to it and in itself there is not much novelty value to that – fighting adversity is one of the open doors in the pop scene. Still, Blay manages to put something extra on the table in the way she executes that concept.  ‘Hold on to Your Misery’ is one of more incredibly upbeat tracks, and tackles bad feelings in such a childlike naïveté is can’t help but charm. ‘Hold on to what makes you cold; wear it like a badge of pride wherever you go’.   By now it should be clear that in its essence, Blay’s music centers around an overwhelming sensation of optimism.

Equally irresistible is Blay’s take on a love song – ‘One Eye Closed’ – in which she takes on the challenge of convincing her target of the predestination of their love. And she does it in undiluted Cocknbullkid-style: sweet, decisive and with a huge amount of optimism. ‘Every day is torture, but every day I come a little closer; you can run but I’ll run faster’. But just when you feel you’re about to overdose on all that sweet stuff, Blay manages to either strike an emotional chord or lace her songs with a side of humor or sarcasm. ‘Dumb’ for instance, which shows Blay contemplating over a failed love (‘I know it’s over, but still; I know, it’s dumb’) is simple, but it will crawl under your skin. On ‘I Deserve It’ Blay plays the role of a friend that screwed up, but doesn’t run away from her responsibility. It’s just that mature, approachable and joyful attitude that epitomizes CocknBullkid as an artist. And that even makes the silly bad-ass rant at the end of the song bearable. ‘Happy Birthday’ – quite possibly one of the funniest and saddest birthday songs – makes for a delightfully sardonic epilogue.

From time to time CocknBullKid could sound a little more ballsy (I had to have it!), and that is mostly because her earlier music suggested that her name was an actual statement, rather than just a name. At first glance, one could assert that Blay lost some of her edge, compared to her 2008-’09 releases. And there is definitely some validity to that assertion. It’s hard to look past the incredibly in your face, optimistic, streamlined-to-perfection nature of the album, a veritable pinnacle of poppiness.  So yes, it would appear as if CocknBullKid shifted slightly towards the center. And one could wonder why someone who lists M.I.A and Little Richard as musical influences would need two years to come up with the less-than-revolutionary final sound she did. Especially given that that sounds feels like a polished version of a more snappy original draft.

But on the other hand, it might be good to refrain for once from the kind of musical snobbery that applauds artists who turn their back on mainstream music as explicitly as M.I.A. (to name one) does, while condemning anyone who decides to go with a strategy opposite to that. There is, after all, nothing wrong with pop music, and there is no use regretting what could have been. And on the whole Adulthood sets itself apart from the crowd more than sufficiently to remain the shimmer of light in the ever more one-dimensional mainstream pop scene I hoped it would be. The album is about love, without falling in the pitfalls of corniness, it’s about facing life head-on, without sounding like a self-help pamphlet. It’s basically a 46-minute optimism-high that should at least form a tiny part in everybody’s path to adulthood. And in that CocknBullKid lives up to her claims of being one of the UK’s pop hopes.

Tracklist

1. Adulthood

2. CocknBullKid

3. Hold On To Your Misery

4. Yellow

5. One Eye Closed

6. Distractions

7. Bellyache

8. Mexico

9. Asthma Attack

10. Hoarder

11. Dumb

12. I Deserve It

13. Happy Birthday

Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting

Sweet-voiced troubadour Jamie Woon has released with Moonwriting an album held together almost entirely by subtlety. Alongside James Blake, Woon represented the more demure, subdued and pensive side of the BBC's sounds short list. Some balance, against all the young female theatrics (Clare Maguire) and slightly pedantic überpop (Jessie J). His current single 'Lady Luck' is all about that. The video shows the pensive singer, being driven around town, lost in thoughts. Being carried away by the anonimity of city life. Debut Single 'Night Air' shares a similar distant vibe. One third smooth dub-beats, one third irrestistible dance-track and one third Woon's gorgeous, soulful voice was one of the highlights of early 2011 and a light fixture in the dark, cold times associated with those horrible end of winter weeks.

 

Let's get one thing straight though. Woon is all too often pushed into the post-dub box, while in fact that is not really the sound he is after. Or more accurate, it's a far too narrow description. In reality, he ranges from dubstep influences over soul to even R&B. It's a conscious choice, the singer explained in interviews, seen as how for it works so much better with his smooth, warm voice. The son of British folf singer Mae McKenna grew up in a musical environment, but after graduating from the BRIT School, he took his time to find his place, meanwhile supporting Amy Winehouse, among other things. The result of that is that at 28, he is able to present a debut that reflects not only his undisputable talents as a singer-songwriter, but also a certain degree of maturity he would not have had 5 years ago. Jamie Woon is one who stands out in the crowd, without explicity standing out in the crowd, or trying to. In a sense, it's a very old-fashioned approachIf James Blake is the posterboy for the 2011 post-dubstep generation, then Jamie Woon is much the same for a rekindled neo-soul generation. 

Tracklist
1. Night Air
2. Street
3. Lady Luck
4. Shoulda
5. Middle
6. Spirits
7. Echoes
8. Spiral
9. TMRW
10. Secondbreath
11. Gravity
12. Waterfront

Architecture in Helsinki - Moment Bends

Tagline: 'Alphabeat on valium'

On their fourth long player, Australian indie pop band  Architecture in Helsinki does what it does best: making a record composed entirely out of enthusiasm, happy thoughts and streamlined, bubblegum pop songs. Moreover, it might just be their most accessible album thus far. Moment Bends is one of those albums you could probably describe as a little mellow - although some might argue that it is rather very mellow. Whether or not that is a good thing, will depend on whose listening, but either way it is very irresistible music. 

Moment Bends takes of with the dreamy 'Dessert Island', a soft-voiced love song, floating on a smooth synth vibe. And what else but a pan flute  is throw into the mix to pimp up the whole thing. The song is followed by even more excitement with 'Escapee', a virtually weightless air bubble of a song, breating
More bouncy-bouncy electropop in 'Yr Go To', a song so obnoxiously happy, it almost hurts (the wedding bells!). But by then, you'll probably already be sucked into the vortex, so there's a chance you won't mind. On 'Sleep Talkin' it will be hard no to imagine lying on a bed of fluffy white clouds, while wearing a night gown and night cap. And on 'I Know Deep Down' we reach the blissful pinnacle of the album's sugar sweet happy vibe. Perceptive listeners will notice how the first note strikingly ressembles the opening tone of Justin Bieber's 'Baby'. If you're not hearing that, it's because you don't want to (an understandable case of selective deafness), but it's a great song either way. Another enjoyable track it 'That Beep', which was released as the lead single of their That Beep EP back in 2008. Like so much on the record, any efforts to find some tangible depth will be fruitless on this track once again, but the playfulness and sincere excitement with which the band brings the song make up for a lot. In fact, for those who secretly don't mind the extreme optimism Architecture in Helsinki shares with the Danes of Alphabeat, Moment Bends will most likely contain few flaws.

And now for the bad news: at times the band's sweetness can start to annoy a little. After a while the album can start to feel like one long valium-induced trip. Joyful, but also a bit numb and over-the-top in a bit of an artificial way and believe me, after half an album that can start to tire. In a way Moment Bends sometimes evoked the sensation I experienced as a kid playing Tombi, after he had defeated the Forest Evil Pig (aka the light blue one), thus bringing the dwarf village back to its original state of joy. Sure, I'd happy for the dwarves, but the unbareable lightness of their existence and even more so the excrutiatingly empathic, mellifluent tunes that went with the new world, would strongly dissuade me from spending much more time there. Much like that obscure 1990's gaming reference, Architecture in Helsinki will probably not speak to everyone, nor will its lightness appeal to everyone. But in small doses there should be a time and place in everybody's life for bouncy pop tunes, soft, dreamy vocals and the whole fanfare thing. And sure, on the wrong timing it may also lead to a murderous rage. But it's still worth giving a try. You never know. 


Value seekers may want to check out their second album In Case We Die, which offers just a little more avant-garde and just a little less indie pop. And if it can all sound a little more grown up, their fellow Australians from Cut Copy might be your thing.

Tracklist
1. Desert Island
2. Escapee
3. Contact High
4. W.O.W.
5. Yr Go To
6. Sleep Talkin
7. I Know Deep Down
8. That Beep
9. Denial Style
10. Everything's Blue
11. B4 3D

Katy B - On A Mission

Commiserations to Clare Maguire and Jessie J, but it seems that Katy B is the pop hope we have been waiting for. Her debut On A Mission is a catchy, skillfully conceived dancefloor gem. 

I’ve been slow to catch up with recent dubstep phenomenon Katy B. But, as it happen, she is all over the place and is steadily building up something of a loyal fanbase. I decided to let myself of with a warning and got with it. Katy B – born Kathleen Brien – was born in 1989, reminding me the fact that I’m getting old, and graduated from the infamous Brit School for Performing Arts, which spawned established names like Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash and Adele (for the sake of argument we’ll just leave Leona Lewis out of the equation). With Katy B another exponent of the highly anticipated 2011 dubstep generation emerges - if nothing else, bloggers and hipsters serve the purpose of telling us which artists we should like and which genre will set the standards (without them we would for sure still be listening to our 1970's 8-track cassette tapes of the Beatles, while hunting for food with a sharpened stick). And after the dark, melancholic post-dubstep (already post, really?) of guys like Nicolas Jaar and James Blake, it was high time for something we can all just dance to.

First single 'Katy On a Mission', a riveting dubstep gem, heated up many a dancefloor late last year. About halfway through the dozy, mezmerizing 'Disappear' makes for a well-placed break. On some tracks B goes for more of a dancepop sound. Like 'Witches Brew' for instance, a songs which vaguely reminded me of some of the better moments on Estonian singer Kerli's 2008 debut. And raise your hand if you didn't have even the slightest let's-go-Lasgo-moment while listening to the fantastic current single 'Broken Record'. There is also one noted feature on the album, by none other than garage-original Ms. Dynamite. The 2002 Mercury Prize Winner (for her album A Little Deeper, which spawned the fantastic single 'It Takes More') is a perfect add-on on house-inspired club track 'Lights On'.

With 'Go Away', B slips a ballad, polished to perfection, into the mix, in which she displays her vocal range complete with the kind of vocal cascading I assume is a crucial element in the curriculum of the Brit School. All in good taste though, which goes to show that it's perfectly doable. Ultimately it's not so much the song format that's rotten, but rather the melodramatic production and soulless, hollow and impersonal performance that have defined so many ballads over time. And with 'Hard To Get' Katy B shuts down the party with the perfect cool-down track, as trumpets accompany her while she goes through her thank you notes. It's not quite done after that, for those who are patient there is one hidden bonus track left ('Water'), which is once again highly danceable and has a bit of an otherwordly feel to it, like a dream almost, fluttering in

Katy B is on a mission and after listening to her album over and over it's clear that that is more than just a sales pitch. The beats are fresh, vocally B knows what she's doing and the song lyrics surpass the kind of generic randomness many pop artists aiming for mainstream succes can rarely seem to outgrow. Don't get me wrong, pop music shouldn't intend to incorporate life's questions, indulge in personal pain and suffering (one Linkin Park is more than sufficient, thank you) or aim for completely avant-garde abstractions. But it's pleasing to here a female pop singer making something of a personal statement and - God forbid - have a story, without the whole seemingly inevitable - and equally unnecessary - 'fighting adversity with a somewhat annoying kind of faux-girl power thoughess'-attitude. Katy B genuinely seems to be doing her own (new) thing, without looking at others too much, but while still thinking outside the box. And for me personally she is the first new electronic pop princess who has succeeded in making me forget about the strong 2009 generation and for that alone she deserves my appraisal. My first guilty pleasure of the year is a fact!

Tracklist

1. Power On Me

2. Katy On a Mission

3. Why You Always Here

4. Witches Brew

5. Movement

6. Go Away

7. Disappear

8. Broken Record

9. Lights On (ft. Ms. Dynamite)

10. Easy Please Me

11. Perfect Stranger

12. Hard To Get

13. Water (Bonus Track)

Hunx and His Punx - Too Young To Be In Love

Hunx and His Punx is an American rock band consisting of noted musical queer Seth Bogart (Hunx) and his all-female backing-band Punx. Attentative readers will know Hunx as frontman of electropop group Gravy Train!!!! (four exclamation marks, please), a group as trashy as it is explicit and strongly indebted to the gay/lesbian love theme. And as if that, in combination with a delightfully flamboyant singer, wasn't endorsement enough, anyone who releases an EP called Gay Singles deserves some extra credit with me. With Hunx and His Punx Bogart opted for a change of style, explicitly modelling his sound after 1960's girl bands and garage punk. An all-female back-up band makes for an obvious, but nontheless perfect complement in that light, and the romantic, guitar-driven songs do the rest. One similarity remains however, and that is the fact that as with Gravy Train !!!! it seems as if he is having a lot of fun with this new project. 

That fact by no means suggests that Hunx and His Punx should not be taken seriously. In fact, that would be a gross misconception. Hunx may be as noted for his music as for his overtly sexual and somewhat theatrical appearance, but it's the music that is the core of Hunx and His Punx, which is an honest hommage, and a fairly good one at that. Part of it is pastiche, but in addition to that the new direction signals an evolution towards more of a grown-up Hunx and that is worth commending. Loyal Gravy Train supporters may not find the same things here, but despite the obvious genre-shift even they will be able to appreciate the occasional wink. And above all, Bogart didn't tone down the attitude. And it doesn't hurt the album's credibility either. The overall tone of the record is of honest intentions and thus the band avoids falling through the trapdoor of parody. The loose, humoristic approach and the authentic aestetic of the music ultimately make that this album can uphold itself nicely, even though in the end, it steers clear from conventions. Good job.

Tracklist
1. Lovers Lane
2. He's Coming Back
3. Keep Away From Johnny
4. The Curse Of Being Young
5. Too Young To Be In Love
6. If You're Not Here (I Don't Know Where You Are)
7. Bad Boy
8. Tonite Tonite
9. Can We Get Together?
10. Blow Me Away