As Cities Burn
Come Now Sleep
(Solid State/Tooth and Nail)
Listening to this, I was initially apprehensive, then cautiously optimistic. Then I was impressed. These guys took the best aspects from three problematic genres—hardcore, emo, post-rock—and made an album that’s not only original but also compulsively listenable. The only problem is that sometimes the hooks are a little too obvious, but bear in mind that means that a heavy, edgy record actually has hooks. Combine that with jagged guitars that find common ground between Daydream Nation and Appetite for Destruction, and you have a candidate for record of the year.
—Adam Bulger
The Pipettes
We Are the Pipettes
(Interscope)
With the Pipettes, a British female vocal trio, retro kitsch, vintage pop appropriation and just plain cheesiness are muddled and swirled together in a mush of polka dots and over-produced girl pop that never surpasses the sources the group aims to ape. It’s nice that stars like Amy Winehouse, and now the Pipettes, pay proper respect to Brill Building production and songs that plumb the misery of teen heartache. But take your pick, the Shangri-Las, the Cookies, Toni Basil, and—I’m gonna go ahead and say it—Bananarama: they’re all better than this.
—John Adamian
The Cult
Born into This
(Roadrunner)
Before Rick Rubin got his AC/DC-obsessed hands on them on 1987’s Electric, the Cult were a rockin’ goth band that played catchy tunes with post-punk bass lines and guitars. They morphed into a mystical hair metal band, never recovering their mojo. They almost get back to their roots on Born into This, but manage to suck anyway. Almost every song has too much going on, production-wise. One guitar riff sounds much like the Stones’ “Undercover of the Night,” and while ripping off the Stones is a standard move, ripping off ‘80s Stones is just unfortunate.
—Adam Bulger
Nile
Ithyphallic
(Relapse)
While many were preoccupied with the rivalry between Kanye and 50, down in Hades, it was a different story. There was a serious debate over whether Nile or Behemoth released the most brutal death metal album of 2007. In Nile’s favor were lyrics like “anoint my phallus with the blood of the fallen,” roared on the title track. In Behemoth’s favor were titles like “Christgrinding Avenue.” But while both bands are miles from any competition except each others’, both new offerings have poorer production than their predecessors. Call it St. Anger’s revenge.
—Dan Barry
