Two Discs/Two Singles

Let's get down to business time, shall we?

How To Destroy Angels- How To Destroy Angels E.P. (***½)
It was rough to see the Internet collectively freak out at Trent Reznor’s recent marriage and “final” string of shows for Nine Inch Nails. Though it was understandable why: People didn’t want the world’s most dangerous musician suddenly writing songs about being middle-aged. If nothing else, the How To Destroy Angels E.P. rectifies that, but without taking a big leap forward in Reznor’s artistic canon. It’s reminiscent of the spacious soundscapes and electronic blips of Ghosts I-IV, but with less of an exploratory feel and more of a compact edge. In fact, HTDA can feel downright funky at times, the crawling bass and pulsing glitch of “Parasite” almost feeling like a warped pop song. Mariqueen Maandig Reznor also adds an interesting touch to these arrangements, her Amy Lee-like croon adding a hint of sexuality that NIN could never really pull off subtly. Yet the E.P.’s stand out is the piano laden haze fest “A Drowning,” expertly displaying the happy couple making depressing music with each other.

Key Cuts: The Space In Between, Parasite, A Drowning


Stone Temple Pilots- Stone Temple Pilots (**)
Since 1992’s dark and chunky masterpiece Core, the Stone Temple Pilots have been a band suffering from diminishing returns. Each album they put out seems to contain less and less bite, and have made us value Scott Weiland less and less as a lyricist. While Weiland briefly rediscovered his seductive wild side with Velvet Revolver’s Contraband, the honeymoon didn’t last but one more record, pushing his mainstay band back together for another bland offering. As it is, Stone Temples Pilots is a tired exercise in processed riff rock, a fangless 12 tracks that never really pushes the band’s talents. Weiland’s cockier-than-thou attitude never inspires danger so much as it inspires irritation, his metaphors opting for saccharine clichés over gritty introspection. Sure, the album has its share of fun moments (The big harmonies on “Huckleberry Crumble,” the acoustic thump of “Bagman”) but they feel tailor-made for top 40. Though if history is any indication, that means the Stone Temple Pilots are right where they’d like to be.

Key Cuts: Between The Lines, Huckleberry Crumble, Bagman


Kanye West- Power (Feat. Dwele) (*****)
Love him or hate him, the world needs Kanye West right now. He’s the only super star capable of balancing both eclectic genius with ADD branding, whether or not you liked his editorials at award shows. His new single, “Power” is yet another exciting musical buffet featuring a scattered beat, soulful samples, a smorgasbord of 80s snyths, as well as a delicate sprinkling of classical piano. It’s daring and reckless while other artists are attempting to streamline themselves, and it further displays West’s gifts as a composer. Concordantly, it builds the Kanye West mythos as a musical Michaelanglo with a troubled ego, and that excites us as well. Think about this: If Jay-Z dropped “Power,” do you think we’d all still care if it sampled King Crimson? Probably not. THAT, is true power in and of itself.


Weezer- Represent (*)
Oh Rivers, we get it. You like soccer, the world likes soccer, and for this summer, America likes soccer too. Unfortunately, there’s something that we, as Weezer listeners, don’t like: Bone-head stadium songs. And as hit or miss as Weezer’s recent output has been, “Represent” is a frustrating beast at best. It’s a soupy mess of shout outs, liberal amounts of auto-tune, and big booming bass. On the whole, “Represent” does a better job at representing River’s eternal quest to bottle up pop grandeur than it does to capture the group’s voice. Still, you get what you pay for: The song is free on iTunes, perhaps making it clear to die-hard Weezer fans that this doesn’t totally represent them as musicians. I wonder if they let Rivers in on that joke.