Iggy Pop: Préliminaires CD review (Shockhound)

(2 out of 5)
Oh my. What on earth is this? In his own words, Iggy Pop “just got sick of listening to idiot thugs with guitars,” so he — like so many other old men before him – decided to instruct a younger generation on the true definition of art. PRÉLIMINAIRES is his instructional manual, an electro-tinged, semi-ambient, quasi-jazzy song suite based on a 2005 novel by French author Michel Houellebecq. Let’s pause here to review: the bare-chested dervish of all that is holy in primal, visceral punk rock has made 1) a concept album, based on 2) a book originally written in 3) French, and that album is 4) jazzy, 5) drenched in electronics, and 6) pretty boring. No, it’s not Iggy Pop’s finest moment. This is a moment that is half jumping the shark and half “get off my lawn,” as it should have become clear to one and all that Iggy Pop is not too terribly concerned with his legacy at this point (see: his readiness to sign on to do commercials for whoever will sign the check). Sadder still, despite his lofty intentions, Iggy is thoroughly ill-equipped as a vocalist to handle the swinging/sleazy material he’s set out for himself here (channeling Tom Waits should only be done by Tom Waits), and his skills as an arranger and conceptualist are rudimentary at best. Like the nouveau-riche dirtbag that Iggy is, PRÉLIMINAIRES isn’t stylized or stylish enough to impress the snobs, nor interesting or vital enough to please the proles.

First appeared June 2, 2009 at Shockhound.com.

Eels: Hombre Loco CD review (Shockhound)

The music made by Mark Oliver Everett (aka E, aka the man who, for all intents and purposes, IS Eels) manages to be self-referential and secretive in equal measures. Everett’s personality is never completely revealed, but as his oeuvre has expanded over the years, as the tint of soul-baring that colors his work becomes more and more pronounced; still, one never quite knows if it’s Everett who’s doing the baring, or if it’s one of his characters. On HOMBRE LOBO, the conundrum becomes more convoluted, as the entire album is a concept album told from the perspective of one of the characters from a previous Eels song (the “Dog Faced Boy” from 2001’s SOULJACKER). But, as Everett himself has become something of a dog-faced man lately with a dense beard and a vocal tic that manifests itself with lycanthropic howls on cuts like “Tremendous Dynamite” and “Prizefighter,” it again becomes a bit fuzzy as to whether we’re hearing about the trials and travails of a fictional creation or not. Regardless of the inspiration, HOMBRE LOBO does find Everett again digging into the straightforward indie rock that made his earlier work so appealing, and with his recent penchant for orchestral filigree stripped away, HOMBRE LOBO comes across as a fantastic piece of folksy and confessional pop …regardless of who, exactly, is doing the confessing.

First appeared June 2, 2009 at Shockhound.com.