? DJ Shadow The Outsider
In nearly every interview pinned to the release of his first full-length album in four years, underground hip-hop legend Josh Davis has all but guaranteed that this disc will alienate his long-time admirers.
Give the man four stars for clairvoyance, if not exactly musical self-awareness.
The DJ who blew reviewers' minds 10 years ago with the entirely sample-based Endtroducing...
.. and set the musical template for moody instrumental hip-hop (or trip-hop, if you must) ventures as far outside fans' expectations as possible here without inviting John Mayer to help out on a track, that is.
It's hard to imagine a listener who wants to hear traditional Shadow material like This Time, the cartoonish hyphy track 3 Freaks (and three more like it), an overwrought hardcore attempt named Artifact and a boring minimalism exercise called Triplicte in one sitting.
Then again, with iTunes and other by-the-song services, they don t have to.
For a few bucks, anybody can take their picks from this somewhat disappointing experiment in musical agility.
2 stars
Kevin Purdy
? Pillar The Reckoning
Pillar stands right on the cusp of rock music: almost too hard for popular radio, but not harsh enough to fit in on the hardcore stations of satellite radio.
The Oklahoma-based group might not easily fit into a given category, but that doesn t detract from this record s playability.
Pillar can cause the heads to bang with snare-pounders like Everything and churn out guitar anthems such as the melodic title track. The group can also take a step back, such as the pop-tinged When Tomorrow Comes, which might remind listeners of Three Doors Down.
This record, new this month, is a must-have for mature moshers who want some meaning behind their cranium-crashing anthems.
The record lacks in parts when it tries too hard to get soulful (you re best off just skipping past the painful ballad Angel in Disguise, for example), but those hiccups are few.
Here s a switch, too these guys can play. Guitarist Noah Henson and bassist Kalel weave musical magic on the instrumental Elysian, while they offer the perfect complement to Rob Beckley s vocals on songs like the catchy Revolution.
With complex harmonies reminiscent of Sevendust and hypnotic vocal tracks (for the most part), this is the type of album that will please many ears. 3 stars
Paul Lane
? Sparta Threes
Jim Ward may have finally escaped the ashes of a previous musical incarnation.
One of the founding members of Texas post-punk rockers At the Drive-In now has an appropriately titled third record under his belt.
Out this past Tuesday, Threes follows 2002 s Wiretap Scars and 2004 s Porcelain and marks a move to Hollywood Records.
Biting guitar and impassioned vocal delivery mark the latest effort from Ward, drummer Tony Hajjar, bassist Matt Miller and new guitarist Keeley Davis.
High notes include the album s first single Taking Back Control. A low point comes when the band (disappointingly) tries its best Coldplay impression on Atlas.
Listen to Taking Back Control at myspace.
com/sparta. 2 stars
Aaron Besecker
??
?
IF YOU GO
? WHAT: The Days of Reckoning Tour featuring Pillar, Day of Fire, The Showdown and Decyfer Down.
? WHEN: 6 p.m.
Tuesday.
? WHERE: The Buffalo Icon, 391 Ellicott St.
, Buffalo.
? MORE INFORMATION: Call 842-0167.
News RSS