The Japandroids Host a Celebration of Raw Rock Adrenaline

Raw as a tailgate party brisket, Vancouver's Japandroids emerge for their third release, "Celebration Rock". Brian King and David Prowse make some furious noise, especially on "Evil's Sway" where David's drumming calls to mind the artistry of Animal from The Muppet Show. He's driven but fully in control of his instrument. This song's chorus demonstrates the twosome's ability to revel in rock's giddy devil may care persona. These two aren't making music for the corporate mob. Slower, yet no less captivating, is "Continuous Thunder". It hammers at your brain refusing to be denied your undivided attention. Not only that it provides cute "what if" scenarios such as "What if I had all the answers and you had the body you wanted". Throughout the CD the duo's volcanic energy is cranked up to ten, volume control tossed out the window. "Celebration Rock" is, in fact, reason to party if your tastes gravitate towards music without overdubbed studio gloss. One hopes Japandroids have a blisteringly enviable road ahead. This third step doesn't lack horsepower.

Want Sexy New Beats? Just Whistle.

Chalk up another hit song from "Wild Ones". Not exactly subtle with the sexual entendre. Flo still comes to the party ready to represent with a beefy dance selection made for late night grooving. The presence of whistling makes for a vividly sweet trip to erotic parts unknown. Hot on the heels of "Good Feeling" "Wild Ones" is just endearing enough to keep celebrations everywhere going full throttle just a bit longer. Flo's feisty wordplay shows no sign of letting up.

The Walkmen Are Sadly Earthbound on "Heaven"

I can appreciate stripped down guitar playing and throwback backdrops as much as the next guy. Trouble is there don't appear to be many song ideas that feel like they've come to full flower on "Heaven". The pattern over and over again boils down to a guitar that shifts chords two or three times which only serves to enhance the already repetitive chorus. "Can't Be Beat" employs a delicate acoustic guitar. The title track supplies more oomph but this, and most other cuts could've been better had the soundscapes been allowed to breathe free. It isn't until the palpably fragile "Southern Heart" that Hamilton Leithauser's voice gels with the guitar that's helping to buoy it. Applause goes out to "The Witch". That's because it's the lone cut where I was left with a lasting impression that didn't flame out less than five minutes after I listened to the CD. Chalk that up to the spine-tingling organ. If Love could even come close to sounding like an ominous creature here's an example. The New York minimalism shows but that's also part of my sticking point. It's a little too gritty to sound like a polished product is being presented. Polished grittiness could be interpreted as a type of oxymoron but studio smarts could make this possible. In the end "Heaven" is too earthbound, chained to a prison inhabited by the seeds of what might have been.

Kylie's Timebomb Ticks In a Familiar Vein

Kylie Minogue can lay claim to one of the most sweat-drenched dance confections of the newish millennium, "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". Unfortunately she is swerving down an artificial sounding path with "Timebomb". I'm not arguing that this still insanely gorgeous woman won't have the peak intensity party crowds wrapped around her finger with this. I just think it dips a little too heavily from both Britney's and Madonna's playbooks. She's obviously been following the trends a shade too closely. There's a throbbing rhythm that's been part of the other two divas catalogs one more than one occasion. It's as if Kylie really took a shiny to the sexy ingenue sound she made a mark on in 2001 and decided she'd get uber contemporary with whatever hip shaking concoction she trotted out next. Here's hoping she proves me wrong in the not too distant future.

One Twisted Apple

Fiona Apple's first single from her generously long album title, "The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do"  goes by the seemingly tumult resistant name "Every Single Night". It's a warped music box journey into the center of her fractured mind/soul. At least that was my first impression, a woman deeply at war with herself and having the stones to try and chronicle that through a recording. She does what she does, and it's someone else's fault if she's not who she's supposed to be. The militant chorus which pops up behind her from time to time only underscores that difficulties Fiona has navigating her own psychological battlefield. At least she's bringing us to the frontlines to watch her slug it out. Her career hasn't been the smoothest row to hoe but give her the nod for coming back to the plate for another swing. Am not sure if contemporary hits stations or even the somewhat more adventurous alt-rock outlets will back a song that's such an enigma. Her tenacity is praiseworthy. That's there's more of a naked feel to the atmospherics might be to her detriment. Like it or not "Criminal" got her a taste of the bright lights. Her core fans will follow her no matter what she adds to her catalog of work. I can't make a strong enough argument that "Every Single Night" will necessarily boost her numbers at the voting booth.

Lita's Back With a Runaway Rocker

Metalheads of the '80s rejoice. The always ballsy Lita Ford returns this month with "Living Like a Runaway". First up from the collection is "Branded", a frothy kiss-off to a guy who only knows surface level love. She demonstrates the fangs that made "Kiss Me Deadly" such a refreshingly honest bolt out of the blue. Her guitar is once again cranked up to eleven on the intensity scale. Listen hard enough and you can envision the unimpressed sneer. Mrs. Ford's never struck me as a woman with a high tolerance for other people's phoniness. "Branded" is far from one of those phoned-in ditties trotted out to capitalize on any nostalgia-baked hair metal age fanatics. That's a high compliment during this portion of the post millennial age where the possible final chapters for some of the supposedly indestructible '80s heyday rock bands (Quiet Riot, anyone?) may be in the process of bleeding out their last drops of ink. Time will tell if the iPod-loading public wants to come along for the entire ride but she's off to a promising start.

Mayer's Made a Masterpiece

For anyone who thought John Mayer's 2009 effort "Battle Studies" amounted to a hiccup in the accomplished blues rocker's catalog, "Born and Raised" is more than good enough to assuage their fears of a continued slide in quality. On more than one occasion he demonstrates that a well-placed harmonica is the bluesman's best friend. The title track gets elevated from being a pretty good song to a great one on the basis of how shrewdly John employs this instrument. It returns in "Whisky, Whisky, Whisky", which addresses the get drunk, sober up by morning, repeat tomorrow lifestyle that veteran alcohol users and abusers likely have down pat is entrancing. John's unflinchingly honest voice only makes the anguish more real. "A Fool To Love You" is downright sexy, followed by downright gritty, bluesy, sassy, and ultimately sweaty. Once again the harmonica ups the vividness of a night spent in a smoke-filled bar making dumbstruck eyes at that chick who just rocked your immediate future world with her naughty cocktail dress. Not bad for a song that's a mere 2 minutes, 24 seconds long. "If I Ever Get Around To Living" serves up a cornucopia of limitless harmony. This rush towards a dreamer's state of mind which takes a sharp turn towards reality is sensational songcraft that deserves mention amongst John's all-time best work. "Queen of California" belongs on the car stereo of anyone hurtling towards a West Coast, sun-dappled way of life. John's versed in the language of several instruments, among them the guitar, piano, and yes, the highly touted harmonica. In a perfect world music lovers would say they've grown spoiled listening to the artistry of John Mayer, that there are scads of male performers just as good if not better at this kind of blues rock schtick. Alas this is not true, but on the upside John Mayer's back to keep the flag flying proudly throughout this, and what many of us hope are many other years full of intense evenings to come. When he sings, all of the universe's surrounding chaos seems to melt away. His listeners are the only ones he's casting his notes towards. No matter what the season intimacy between audience and performer is always in style.