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ALBUM of the month Arcade Fire defines a
generation, yet again
Best track: Here Comes the Night Time Worst track: Normal Person Rating: * * * * M.I.A.'s welcome return
to form
Best track: Come Walk With Me Worst track: Bring The Noize Rating: * * * Witness White Denim at
the peak of their technical prowess
Best track: Pretty Green Worst track: Limited By Stature Rating: * * *
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Grammy success has
certainly pushed Arcade Fire to new levels. Reflektor is
intensely rooted in the 1980s, and while it draws equally from
new-wave, post-punk and arena rock, it’s hard to not feel like the
band just relocated back 30 years ago. The incredible title track
pulls the trigger on the album’s galvanic first half. Murphy’s
influence is at the forefront here, as he agilely balances and makes
sense of so many sonic elements and stylistic experiments. This is the
first Arcade Fire album on which Chassagne doesn’t sing lead, but
her crisp, smartly arranged harmonies on songs like It’s Never
Over (Oh Orpheus) and Joan of Arc make her a major
presence. Knitting a diverse brew of musical styles and percussion
lifted from the Haitian traditions, Here Comes the Night Time pays
tribute to the carnival parades the band members observed during their
travels to Haiti. It’s Never Over inherits a classic Murphy
rhythm, and his knack for dark post-punk tension, before
retracting into a beautiful, vulnerable middle section. The first disc
closes with the pop-rocker You Already Know and the last song Joan
of Arc, which continues Arcade Fire’s experiments with variable
speeds, while the second disk ends itself with the track Supersymmetry,
which continues the subdued dark mood of the disc.
Maya Arulpragasam’s
fourth album arrives nearly a year late, amid stories of disputes
between her and the record company. Synthesising a variety of
individual influences, from her Sri Lankan background and beyond, the
album stirs up a heady mixture of coarse and tuneful elements, akin to
the world music that defined her earlier efforts. Using both trendy
electronic talent and urban hitmakers, she has all the bases covered
on Matangi, which maintains her electro-punk approach and signature
sound. Karmageddon kicks things off rather slowly with a massive bass
that trudges along under M.I.A.’s subdued singing. The dense
layering of cultural references in Bad Girls is a visual
aesthetic that very much defined her previous album MAYA. The
record’s brightest moments come when the tempo slows, as on the
radio-friendly Come Walk With Me. The track marries her
globalised musical perspective to a classic pop vocal, and then
merging into a galloping dance rhythm. Only 1 U tirelessly
fires off, and paves the way for the pounding middle section of the
record. Double Bubble Trouble is her take on reggae, punctured
by strong air horn sounds, while the title track takes you in the
middle of an Indian wedding party. The outcome is an album with more
ideas crammed into it than most other releases this year put together.
It may not always work but when it does, M.I.A. can still sound like
the most entertaining pop star in the industry.
