We weren’t digging the single, “Me Without You.” As it
turns out, that was the best song on the album. We hate when Christian artists
just copy the popular stuff of today, and this happens here a lot. Toby is jumping
on the electronic bandwagon, and sometimes he sounds a little like Owl City. We
thought “Forgiveness” would be better, since we like Lecrae. “Unstoppable” is
just annoying. Despite our tepid response to the album’s sound, we will say
that we like Toby’s lyrics, for the most part. They are sweet and inoffensive. There
WAS a song about how much he needed an Apple computer. That didn’t even work
for a fun or humorous song. Product placement? Who knows. We also like a lot of
his older stuff and, of course, DC Talk, but he’s not as good here. The album
comes with a ton of remixes. We usually hate remixes, so we didn’t even listen
to them. The best songs are “Speak Life” and “Favorite Song.” Really, we wish
Toby would grow up a little. He’s 40. And white. You can only copy Top 40 for
so long.
Album grade: D+
Welcome to Our
House by Slaughterhouse. Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap.
We’re newcomers to this group, but it has a lot of good
names on the album. They sang a lot about how hood they are and one of the
songs, “Coffin,” is like a gang anthem, glorifying guns and violence. No, we
are not your grandma, we just think there’s too much of that in rap. There
really is a gang problem in this country. Is this their audience? But then we got
into the meat of the album, and damn was it good. This is hip-hop/rap, you guys.
Very enjoyable and well-produced. It’s not overproduced, and it has a good mix of
guest stars. We were surprised. We were fully prepared to hate this, since it’s
by far not our favorite genre. When the price comes down on amazon, we’re buying
it. We hear their first tracks were even better, so we look forward to checking
those out. We especially liked “Throw That,” “Get Up,” “Hammer Dance,” “My Life,” “Flip a Bird,” “Goodbye,” “Die,” “The
Other Side,” and “Place to Be.”
Album grade: A
Havoc and Bright Lights
by Alanis Morissette. Genre: Pop.
We didn’t like her last album, but this one is better. It’s
obvious that she’s a happy new mom. It proves that she can do happy and sweet almost
as well as she can do the angry stuff. Because feminists just aren’t rabid man haters.
They can love being mothers and wives too. These songs are catchy and should please
most interested listeners. She’s talented and really can’t make anything awful.
The whole thing is nice.
Album grade: A-
Violent Waves by Circa
Survive. Genre: Alternative
We’ve never heard them either. We didn’t like the lead singer’s
voice. It went from buttrock to whiny, depending on whatever that sort of change
would depend on. The whole thing just wasn’t our taste.
Album grade: C
Beautiful Surprise
by Tamia. Genre: R&B/Soul
This would be good for people who really love Leona Lewis.
Tamia has a good voice. It’s not high like Leona’s, but it’s clear and enjoyable.
She needs better songs. There was nothing there that we wanted to hear again, and
nothing that moves music forward at all. In the time of ADELE, the bar is set higher.
It’s an average collection of love songs sung by an above-average vocalist.
Album grade: C+
Greater Than One by Dwele. Genre: R&B/Soul
What struck us about this album was that it felt so relaxed.
This guy seems comfortable in his own skin and music. The songs are laid-back and
mature. It’s all very pleasant, but not anything we feel like we have to buy or
show people. It would be good background music for when you are just chilling. If
you love this genre, you could do a lot worse.
Album grade: B-
Looking 4 Myself by
Usher. Genre: R&B/Soul
Okay, points off for the “4.” Do we have to speak and write like 14-year-olds text? Usher is 33.
Usher has been around and on the radio for so long, you know whether you like him
or not. There’s nothing on this album that tops “Yeah” or “Let It Burn,” but these
new songs are okay. Nothing special. We like that only a few of the songs are club
songs with the heavy, throbbing, computerized beats. There are actual songs on this
album. He’s not chasing the trends of today further than a few singles. He knows
that the people who buy his whole album want to hear him sing and want to hear some
depth.
Album grade: B
Infinity Overhead by
Minus the Bear. Genre: Alternative.
Musically, it wasn’t bad at all, but we didn’t like the vocals.
Something about them rubbed us the wrong way. We wish they would collaborate with
a different vocalist because we loved everything that was going on with the background
music.
Album grade: C+
Light for the Lost
Boy by Andrew Peterson. Genre: Christian and Gospel
Andrew Peterson makes good Christian music usually. He’s not
like the rest of those hacks on your regular Christian radio station. No offense
meant, but most of it sucks major ass. Andrew’s words are great and his background
music is good. Ben Shive worked on this too, and he’s also a major talent, both
as a producer and artist/lyricist in his own right. This album was thoughtful and
musically better than most Christian music. Mostly though, this is good because
of the lyrics. Thoughtful, non-fundamentalist, not heavy-handed, and deep.
Album grade: B+
My Stadium Electric
by Erin McCarley. Genre: Pop
This is the album we were most excited for this week. We love
her voice and a lot of the stuff on her last album. This album was different. The
songs were a little more indie/alternative and less pretty pop. We look forward
to seeing this stuff on Grey’s Anatomy because that’s obviously what it’s for. In
the end, we were bored with it. It’s not bad, but we don’t want it.
Album grade: C
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