It’s been two months since I looked ahead (twice), and most of those releases have now hit shelves. The holiday season is usually slow when it comes to releases — it doesn’t pick up till February and March, as labels gear up for the summer touring seasons. So what’s on the horizon now?
To call the Brennans of County Donegal, Ireland, a musical family would be inadequate. Patriarch Leo Brennan was a musician himself before opening a tavern, but his children have found phenomenal success with their careers.
Multi-platinum seller Eithne releases her first album in five years, titled Amarantine, on Nov. 23, 2005. Her siblings in Clannad have been together for three decades, scoring the first Top 5 hit in the UK sung in Irish with “Harry’s Game” back in 1982.
Youngest daughter Bridin Brennan watched as Enya and Clannad became international stars, but instead of following in her siblings footsteps, she decided to become a hairdresser.
In the documentary Fearless Freaks, Jack White of the White Stripes attests to the influence of the Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne by saying recent bands are ripping off his singing style.
White didn’t name any names, but Win Butler of The Arcade Fire could certainly be a candidate. Personally, the first name I thought of when I heard Butler sing was David Byrne of Talking Heads.
That immediate recognition at first didn’t warm me up to Funeral, the band’s debut album. But the sheer ferocity of the performance on this album is enough to shut anyone up.
Damn, I hope Musicwhore.org never sounds like this.
ZAZEN BOYS will release its third album, ZAZEN BOYS III, on Jan. 18, 2006, reports Bounce.com. Band leader Mukai Shuutoku documented the recording of the album on his official web site. The band will be touring across Japan from the end of the year till the middle of 2006.
Death Cab for Cutie reminds me of Eurythmics.
Back when I was a pre-teen, I followed Eurythmics closely, buying just about every album the duo made. But as the years passed, I realized I didn’t love any one of those albums in particular. Eurythmics produced some great music on the whole, but a lot of its individual songs were filler.
Death Cab for Cutie, similarly, strikes me as a band with a great overall sound. But listen too closely, and you have to get through some dead weight.
Kronos Quartet deserves a lot of credit for You’ve Stolen My Heart.
In dealing with the music of prolific Indian film composer R.D. Burnam, Kronos eschewed the usual process of comissioning string quartet arrangements and tackled recording of the album itself.
The ensemble complemented its line-up with Wu Man on pipa and Zakir Hussain on percussion. And, of course, Asha Bholse, Burman’s wife and go-to singer for his work, contributed vocals.
This album is commercial genius.
OK. Maybe not genius, but certainly … inspired.
As frontwoman for lightweight alternative pop band the brilliant green, Kawase Tomoko cultivated a stage persona often described as coquettish. Her quiver of a voice and demure presence made her an appealing, fashion-conscious figure.
So when she launched a solo project as Tommy february6, she revamped that image to become the nerdy babe — all bright colors, big glasses, and happy music. Even more unexpected was a further spin-off … Tommy heavenly6, the dark, Goth-punk alter ego.
Three years after introducing Tommy heavenly6, Kawase unveiled that persona’s debut album. And a strange debut it is.
When is Bach not Bach? When it is the Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor.
According to some scholars, at least. For the past century, musicologists have been debunking the Tocatta and Fugue, a popular tune around Halloween, as part of Bach’s canon. This article details the scholarship happening to authenticate one of Bach’s most famous pieces as his own. Scandal!
Tokyo Jihen is set to release its second album, Otona (Adult), on Jan. 25, 2006, Bounce.com reports. A special edition pressing of the album — the HOMME edition — includes a live DVD and samples of an original fragrance enclosed in the booklet. Perfume samples in Rolling Stone back in the early ’90s forced me to stop reading that magazine, so I guess I’m sticking with the regular edition, or the FEMME edition.
Here’s the track listing:
“Toomei Ningen”? Is that like “Toomei Shoojo”?