Daniel Powter…Daniel Powter…5/10
The track “”Bad Day”” from Daniel Powter’s self-titled album is one of the album’s only likable songs, giving Powter his No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100.
The remainder of the album sounds likes a clash between Jamiroquai and David Gray. Daniel Powter is a safe and upbeat album, but it fails to offer anything earth-shattering.
Powter’s cheery tunes are well-performed but still don’t bring anything new to the table, setting him up to be just another one-hit wonder.
After a few songs, the album gets boring. Powter is just another pop artist who successfully created a catchy song with a great hook. Here’s a suggestion: Just download his one hit and don’t bother with the rest.
All is Well…The Inversions…6/10
In a world where bands get away with calling themselves things like Limp Bizkit, using the ancient “”the”” in a band name is a sign of class.
Judging by their first album, All is Well, the Inversions could be a 1965-era British Invasion act.
The bluesy riffs, the Lennon-esque singing and the songs’ general briskness all attest to the Sacramento band’s close study of bands like the Beatles, the Kinks and the early Rolling Stones.
Unfortunately, most of those bands’ first albums were rather uneven, and the Inversions are no exception. Give them a few more years and they might make their Rubber Soul.
Reality Check…Juvenile…4/10
There really is good rap music out there these days. Unfortunately, Juvenile’s new dull-gangster-rap album does not show some of the talent that can be found in the hip-hop and rap world today.
All of the 19 tracks on Reality Check seem to run together. The beats get boring, the featured artists such as Brian McKnight, Fat Joe, Mike Jones and Ludacris don’t add much and Juvenile’s lyrics and voice are anything but extraordinary.
The single “”Rodeo”” does not come close to the wonderment that was Juvenile’s likeable single “”Slow Motion,”” from his 2003 release, Juve the Great. Too slow and lagging to be great club songs and not groundbreaking enough to be appreciated for its musicality, there’s nothing truly special about Juvenile’s Reality Check. Just wait for the next Roots album to come out.
You In Reverse…Built To Spill…8/10
When we were listening to Alanis Morrisette, Boyz II Men and Soundgarden in the early ’90s, we really should have been listening to Built to Spill.
Lucky for us, they are still making great music.
With You in Reverse, BTS brings us poetic lyrics, beautiful melodies and long, drawn-out musical climaxes.
The first song, “”Goin’ Against Your Mind,”” is almost nine minutes long, a trend that carries throughout the album. BTS goes back to the jam band quality that was found on its previous albums, most notably on Perfect From Now On.
Listening to any record from BTS is a way of atoning for our latter-day musical sins. You in Reverse is just the most recent pathway to redemption.
