1000 word album review

The album that I have decided to give a compatible review about is called Scars, by The Basement Jaxx. The album was released in September 09, and the review by Jesper Persson claims that this album was a far greater success than the previous album, Crazy Itch Radio, released in September 06. He also mentioned that the Crazy Itch Radio album did nothing for the musical career of the Jaxx. This comment is also supported by Evan Sawdey, the auther of the second article that I am extrapolating information from. Both authers are music critics from their respective websites (links are listed at the end of this document). Evan states that this was due to the previous album being such a breakthrough with regards to the melodic attributes associated with the songs within the album (Kish Kash). However, Evan does comment that the album does offer some redeeming songs that have later been re-recorded as singles by the Jaxx. which again, this statement does gain equal support from the first auther, Jesper. I myself have listened to some of the songs from the Crazy Itch Radio album, and although the songs arent something I would normally listen to, I must admit, some do peak my interest. Hush Boy, one of the songs that became a single, which to me sounds very much like a 1980's disco song, using trumpets, drum beats, and other jazz instruments which give me a 1980's feel. It also reminds me of Ska music from roughly the same era, although it is not aparent through their entire album. It also includes an RnB soul singer, which does sound relatively good with the beat, but as I stated earlier, this isnt something I personally enjoy, because I find the more modern beats are not uplifting like 1980's Hiphop, which I am a fan of. (afrika bambaataa, Grand master flash, Run DMC). The music videos which I have seen containing more modern hiphop and RnB, are usually over zealous in their content, protraying alot of scantally clad women surrounding the singer, which involks sexism, and portrays a negative steriotype. I also notice that the lyrics often contain the word "nigger" in them, which I find incredibly derogative in the sense that, even though it was originally used to refere to a black person, it rapidly became incredibly offensive and racist. Also I myself, prefere a more rock, heavy metal, and even symphonic music, because it helps inspire me, and provokes me to think about things that I am interested in, such as skateboarding. Another song from the same album, called Take me to your house, sounds like something Sophie Ellis Bextor would sing. To me it did not feel like something the Jaxx would usually record. I am more familiar with their music having a more Jazzy and Ska-like sound, as oppose to a pop sound. With that said, I still find that I am in agreeance with what both of the articles have stated.
Evan Sawdey talks about how the Jaxx have progressed from the start of their career, as straightforward dance genre musicians, to having a broader outlook with their music. He portrays a story of how they began to break out of the current archetypes of their genre, which many people argue to be house, and evolving, even creating a subgenre of their music. This means that they have taken all what we know to day to be the standard of house music, and put their own spin on it, thus creating a new subgenre. This story is re iterated with Jasper Persson's article. He however, talks about how the Scars album is a significant turning point in the Jaxx career. He calls it a metaphor for the basement jaxx, showing how they have pushed through boundaries on their journy. This becomes apparent though little hints such as, the album name 'Scars' depicts a person who has retained the scars from an adventurous past, possibly giving off the impression of experience. Also the character on the album cover depics a character who appears to be traveling across a wasteland, wearing unusual clothing, which could again be a metaphore for lessons learnt along the journy. I also feel that the face of an owl give the impression of wisdom and possibly solitude. With all these mixed feelings and concepts, I feel that this album does give the impression that the group know what they are doing. This is obvious with their rapid increase in the dance charts. Eventhough both articles give praise to the Scars album, Evan doesn't seem to think that the album itself isnt regarded as good as its predecessors, excluding Crazy Itch Radio. He thinks that the earlier works were of a higher standard. "Though superior to Crazy Itch Radio in many ways, Scars is not a masterpiece on the level of Remedy or Kish Kash" he states. There is no mention of the superiority of the previous albums within Jespers article, which leads me to believe he atleast thinks its on par with them. Personally I cannot see any apparent improvements across the albums, again with the exception of Crazy Itch Radio. I feel that the quallity, if anything, has slightly diminished. I feel that the songs in the older albums offer a better sound and thought invoking music.
Upon reading further into each article and doing some background research of my own, I have found out that several of the songs that are compiled onto the Scars album, appear to be singles that were previously released. Also the album features a whole host of artists who were used for vocals on the album, one of which is Yoko Ono. There are also up and coming artists used for vocal components for the songs, most of which are Rappers and soul singers. One of the new songs that was preformed with Yoko Ono, 'Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)', has been given some interesting attention by the article authers. Jesper has talked about it being interesting, because of the emulation of sexual thrill that Yoko invokes. Evan, on the other hand, sais it sounded very inspirational on paper, but turned out to be incredibly dull. He sais that the bassline remained dry and tired, the track relied heavily on the synth, and that Yoko's unique voice wasnt used anywhere near its potential. With all this in mind, I felt compelled to lsiten to this track and evaluate it for myself. Upon listening to the track, I feel that both of the authers points become valid. The backing beat does seem repetitive and dull. It gives off the feeling that it belongs in a sleezy club, untill the chorus comes in. At this point I get the feeling that it becomes rather grungy, with images of soldiers marching through streets. Towards the middle of the song, Yoko seems to get taken over by a spirit and starts moaning awkwardly, which then leads onto the sexual conotations. Some of the lyrics could also be interpreted as sexual, for example.

"And so they came!
Twenty thousand fishs, flying down from the sky"

This seems harmless on the face of it, but I gave it some thought and this could be interpreted as possibly an ejaculation? and there are numerous other verses thoughout the song that could be interpreted in a similar way.

Evan seems to be complaining that the album is 2 tracks too long, which is something I really cant understand, and am quite enraged about. He could be a very reputable critic, but I dislike the fact that he is talking an album down due to the fact that it has extra material. To me thats like saying "I would give you £10 but I felt generous so I gave you £15 instead" His excuse for not wanting these tracks is that they "Simply destry the mood". People these days generally composit their CD collection onto an MP3 player or Ipod, so if they are as bad as he makes out, then he doesnt really need to include them in his play list. I also feel he contradicts himself in saying that "the moments that shine on Scars rank as some of the best tunes that the Jaxx have ever done, outstripping some of the highlights on Crazy Itch Radio, even". Jesper's only queries with the album is that it tends to jump around abit with the music that it plays. He sais that one song will be relaxing and quite melodic, the next could be really upbeat, and would make you want to move. To an extent this is quite true. there is defonatly a variety of songs on this album, which I think compliments the albums feel, which I discussed earlier on in tis article.
Towards the end of Evans article, he talks about how he feels that, despite the Jaxx will continue to create "Awe-inspiring" music, Their innovative streak has now come to an end with their last two albums. He thinks that they have now surcome to the pressure of developing another masterpiece. Jesper finishes his article with similar views to Evan. He mentions that Scars is one of the Jaxx's most exotically intruiging albums to date. Yet he feels that their ability to create truly memorable material appears to be fading. However, he also mentions that it has taken many years for people to understand their genius forward thinking, which reflects that their music isnt as "futuristic" as it once was. I am agreeing with Jesper in saying that people have only just began to understand their music, which is why I think I prefere the older material over their new music. We can only speculate what the Basement Jaxx have planned for their next album.


Information was extrapolated from the following links.

http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/10/07/album-review-basement-jaxx-scars/
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/111148-basement-jaxx-scars