Buck CherryTime Bomb(Dreamworks)jjjFrom the band that brought us the ode to cocaine "Lit Up," comes another batch of bitch-slappin', testosterone-pumping, blues-based, boogie-woogie rock and roll nuggets. Phew. Only most of Buckcherry's latest catalyst for Excedrin Headache No. 9, Time Bomb, sounds like a knockoff of "Lit Up," the group's biggest hit from its platinum-plus eponymous debut.
The Los Angeles-area quintet continues to combine wilding, in-your-face hard rock rhythms and frontman Joshua Todd's caffeinated, terror-filled screams filled with lascivious lyrics are sure to jolt the listener into submission. The robust, AC/DC-esque title track apexes with the choice-if not excessively juvenile-lyric "life ain't nothing but bitches and money," while the line "I'm a big dick motherfuckin' porno star" serves as the kicker for the equally bawdy "Porno Star."
Thanks to the tradition that began with glam metal outfit Motley Crue, Buckcherry isn't without its share of power ballads, either. "Without You" - ironically the title of one of the Crue's biggest power ballads - rivals Buckcherry's "For the Movies" on the schmaltz meter. "Open My Eyes"-included as an unlisted hidden track-goes a step further, relying on nothing more than a weepy piano melody and Todd's heavily echoed voice singing, "I wanna dance with you with the midnight moon..." How this could be the same person who bellows "Slit my wrists and I'll just fade way" is anyone's guess.
StereophonicsJust Enough Education to Perform (V2)jjjNot too many people west of the Atlantic had the pleasure of hearing the Stereophonics' sophomore album Peformance & Cocktails. Though P&C was one of the top-selling albums in countries where people say "arse" instead of "ass," it was a veritable blip on the album charts in the United States. Loaded with infectious, elliptical ballads and riveting rockers, it was simply a crime that it went unnoticed in the States. It won't be a crime, however, if the Welsh trio's third album, Just Enough Education to Peform, does the same.
Something must have gotten singer/songwriter Kelly Jones down between P&C and J.E.E.P. While the former was split between melancholic fare and blistering, Brit-grunge (if there's such a thing), J.E.E.P. sets up shop in the doldrums and rarely comes up for air. Other than the chipper "Have a Nice Day" and the smoky, bedroom funk of "Mr. Writer," J.E.E.P. drifts aimlessly into a sea of generic acoustic noodling. There's truly nothing memorable after track five and this coming from a band that released a completely pleasing predecessor.
The only thing worth the price of J.E.E.P. is Jones' thought-provoking prose. In "Nice to Be Out," his Rod Stewart-esque voice weighs in on the JFK conspiracy theory, offering, "In my opinion there's a bigger plot/Costner's back and to the left/The picket fence a better bet." And in "Have a Nice Day," he quotes a loquacious cab driver's pearls of wisdom, singing, "We dress the same ways/Only our accents change." But this isn't a book of poetry, it's an album in which there may be enough education to perform but there's not enough reason to listen.
Our Lady PeaceSpiritual Machines(Columbia)jjjjOur Lady Peace is at it again. Easily the most unheralded hy-pop-bolic group of the '90s-just 18 months after the release of Happiness...Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch-returns with its most engaging effort yet. Based on the Ray Kurzweil's book "The Age of Spiritual Machines-When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence," Spiritual Machines examines themes of dehumanization and spiritual awareness in an accessible and often-gripping manner.
Again, frontman Raine Maida uses the platform of obtrusive technological advances to confront his own inner demons. His twisted optimism is never more flagrant than on the first single "Life," singing "Life is waiting for you/It's all messed up but we're alive." Yet he owns up to his Billy Corgan-esque whines on jagged "Everyone's a Junkie," asking rhetorically, "why am I always complaining?"
It's OLP's magnificent ability to weave grand, lush melodies around Maida's frenetic and booming vocals that makes this Canadian import a true gem. Among the wondrous, almost operatic pop tunes is Kurzweil himself, documenting our gradual dependence and eventual acquiescence to computer technology and putting our lives in perspective. His most astute observation comes in his death sermon, offering "Death gives meaning to our lives/It gives importance and value to time/Time would become meaningless if there were too much of it." Fortunately, the same doesn't go for Our Lady Peace.
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