When My pinky's valued over three hundred thou...
In With the Out Crowd
Less than Jake
2.5 Stars
It's been three years since pop-punk darlings Less Than Jake released an album, and in the interval they seem to have chosen pop over punk. Their latest, In With the Out Crowd, is the product of a more mature band, but at times it sounds so polished that it loses its edge completely. The loose, raucous energy of past albums has mellowed into a much more controlled style, and the lyrics, while they are more coherent, are also less interesting. When the "whoas," and "na na na na's," are so carefully planned, they begin to sound less like the angry outbursts of punk and more like the calculated melodies of pop-not that there's anything wrong with that.
However, Less Than Jake's new sound is easily lost in the crowd of catchy but forgettable bands, partly because it seems to have lost its sense of humor. The band has replaced its rants about Johnny Quest and Jen-who, after this album, really wouldn't like them anymore-with songs offering motherly advice like "Don't Fall Asleep on the Subway." Amid laments over "past mistakes," "missed opportunities," and other similarly cliche topics, we find the track, "Let Her Go," a break-up song that verges on Britney Spears profundity with the lyrics "And I know I'll get the feeling when we
meet again / And I know I will be stronger in the end."
That said, the band still manages to produce a full album of catchy agony. Their obvious musical talent makes every track upbeat and fun to listen to, even if you wince at the lyrics occasionally. It's almost comforting to know that whenever you have a resurgence of teenage angst, Less Than Jake, who never seems to get happy, is there to sympathize.
-- Hillary Smith
Sonic Youth
Rather Ripped
3.5 Stars
Sonic Youth signed with major label Geffen Records in the late '80s. This "breakthrough" rode on the waves of their successful trio of albums from that time -EVOL, Sister, and, most importantly, Daydream Nation. The folks at Geffen thought they could meld the New York band's punk roots into a more marketable grunge sound following Nirvana's explosion.
It didn't work. Regardless, Thurston, Kim, Lee, Steve and (sometimes) Jim, much like contemporaries R.E.M., have continued to churn out records every one to two years long past many would have considered them, well, marketable; and Geffen's still footed the bill.
Rather Ripped, the quartet's follow-up to 2004's Sonic Nurse, fulfills the Youth's contract with Geffen. After hearing this album, you might be thinking, Why so soon?
Following their aborted grunge excursion, the group turned hopelessly nomadic, wandering through a cerebral no-man's land. It wasn't until Jim O'Rourke, the experimental mastermind, came aboard for 2002's Murray Street that the group rediscovered its strength as artful blenders of noise and pop-and made their best album in more than a dozen years. And while O'Rourke left the group shortly before Ripped's recording, his imprint of charismatic, confident songwriting appears to have remained throughout the sessions.
O'Rourke absence, however, also manifests itself. With the exception of "Turquoise Boy" and a few other brief moments, the drones, feedback, and sharply alternate tunings characterizing their recent oeuvre have been eschewed for three to four minute melodies.
Yep, Ripped in Sonic Youth's most user-friendly album to date. And it works - for what it is.
Perhaps it simply took the band 20 albums to lose their flare for quirk, but is its audience ready for this? Sticking with experimental, jazzy noise kept the band a cult favorite rather than a chart-topper. Opportunists might call that nonsensical, but it might have been the band recognizing its strengths. They just ain't that good at three-minute burners. And while Ripped is a bold effort, it sometimes seems as if we're being gypped. A few tracks, notably opener "Reena," "Sleepin' Around" and "Lights Out," could use a little more chutzpah.
If this is Sonic Youth's last album on a major label, then it's an ironic twist of fate. The band's made their most, ahem, marketable album in 25 years of recording. Whatever the case, Ripped is sure to keep Sonic Youth fans following them to wherever they next call home.
-- Jim Newell
