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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Young Love

YOUNG LOVE
"ONE OF US"
(Island, 2009)


It seems to have happened a lot lately: I grow tired of an artist's debut album, then out of the blue their sophomore release totally wins me over -- sometimes so much that I have to go re-buy their first album because I had already traded it in. Such is the case with Young Love. Whereas their first album was almost entirely dance-pop in the sonic neighborhood of Sam Sparro, this time around frontman Dan Keyes and company have chosen to employ more rock-oriented instrumentation on many of the tracks, as well as broadening the range of moods in the songs.

I can hear shades of U2 ("Unafraid"), Duran Duran ("Love For Sale"), and most every other artist that started out in the '80s, especially if they tended to take aim at the dance floor, but that's not to say the whole album is for dancing -- an affecting ballad ("Down On Me") gives the feet a rest in the middle of the album. The only unfortunate thing about this album is its criminally short run time (quite a bit less than 40 minutes) ... but then, since it goes by so quickly, that makes me appreciate it all the more.

I should have known better than to trade in "Too Young To Fight It" (just a few weeks before, though I didn't realize until a few weeks after, "One Of Us" was released); listening to it again since buying its follow-up has given me a renewed appreciation for it. Just when I think I've had my fill of electro-pop, another artist in the subgenre comes along and unexpectedly enamors me of it all over again (Blake Lewis, then Sam Sparro, and now Young Love). I don't know if I can really call myself a "fan" of electro-pop, but I don't think it'd take a whole lot more convincing.


The Picture - Young Love

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Paolo Nutini

Obviously, my next podcast is still delayed ... and I haven't been posting much otherwise, either. I haven't had a whole lot of time to myself lately, at least the time that I need to "get into" doing a podcast. I'll have some time off before the end of this month, so you can expect a podcast by then. But for now....


PAOLO NUTINI
"SUNNY SIDE UP"
(Atlantic, 2009)

Three years ago he enchanted us all with his first single, the irresistible shuffle of "New Shoes", and his debut album, "These Streets", a refreshing blend of Jason Mraz pop and James Taylor folk. Now, with his sophomore album, it sounds kind-of like Jim Croce has filled in for James Taylor, and that all three have recently come back from a vacation in the West Indies, what with the noticeable calypso and reggae overtones that appear throughout. (And the red-green-gold color scheme of the cover art does nothing to dispel that influence, either.)

It's probably Nutini's delivery more than anything else that gives the songs a Caribbean feel, truth be told. In terms of musical styles, Nutini draws on everything from jazzy-soul ("Coming Up Easy") to blues ("No Other Way"), the moods reach all the way from an old-fashioned Dixieland/ragtime stomp ("Pencil Full of Lead") to subdued, acoustic Croce-esque tunes ("Chamber Music") to a radio-ready pop tune ala his debut album ("Candy"), and pulls from his own Scottish heritage ("Worried Man"), ironically more than he seemed to on his debut album.

It had been so long since Nutini's debut that I had started wondering lately if it was just too good an album for the public to embrace, and if Atlantic Records had sent him packing, but fortunately it turns out that the major label has, for once, given an only marginally successful artist a second chance. I for one think it was well worth their patience; let's hope the listeners think so too.


High Hopes (album) - Paolo Nutini