KATHARINE MCPHEE, UNBROKEN
Sporting a new bleach-blonde hairstyle, American Idol season five loser Katharine McPhee returns to the music industry with her sophomore album, Unbroken. Unfortunately, her standard adult pop music inspires little else but boredom.
The ex-brunette not only abandons her former hair color on Unbroken, she also strays from the overwrought, sensual dance-pop that dominated her self-titled 2007 debut. Remember that masterpiece?
For her latest effort, McPhee enlists acoustic guitars and milkshake-thick audio compression to remind listeners that non-glitter-applying, independent women performers used to be a huge part of adult contemporary radio programming.
Unbroken is McPhee doing what she did best on American Idol: aping former radio favorite KT Tunstall.
But any responsible consumer should take an American Idol-related recording project with a grain of salt. McPhee’s Unbroken speaks to no one but disillusioned record label executives.
In the day and age of Taylor Swift’s excellent and heartfelt “Fifteen,” unoriginal pop artists must try harder than ever to fake emotion in their songs. McPhee just doesn’t know how to pull it off. There’s more emotion in a $4 Starbucks compilation.
McPhee chases after a mild but classic adult pop sound and succeeds in finding it, but that achievement isn’t necessarily a good thing. When “insipid,” “stupid” and “frivolous” are the first words that come to mind with the spin of record, listeners know the LP is a stinker.
And while admirably better than anything Ke$ha has ever been a part of, Unbroken sounds like a fixer-upper. — Reese Higgins
RATING: 1.5 stars out of 5
VAMPIRE WEEKEND, CONTRA
At first listen, Contra may sound like a repeat of Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut: The songs are an upbeat cacophony of often-neglected instruments and rich-sounding vocals, and lead singer Ezra Koenig is still making aristocratic references that plebeians cannot comprehend.
But underneath the familiar sound lurks a subtle and engaging album. With Contra, Vampire Weekend has learned to thrive on the little things, such as the dream-like piano lining the background of “Taxi Cab” or the faint guitar-picking in “White Sky” and the slow-building bridges in “Diplomat’s Son.”
Layered over a strong base of refreshingly creative vocals (especially the smooth, meandering rap in “Cousins”) and catchy riffs, these small tangents fit together like colored pieces in a stained glass window. Each idea is beautiful in its own right, adding to a greater composition.
While Contra may not boast anything as simply infectious as “A-Punk” or “Oxford Comma,” the album is a more fulfilling effort from a band that has reaffirmed its identity while simultaneously expanding its borders. — Matt Love
RATING: 4 stars out of 5
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK, MY DINOSAUR LIFE
Switching to a major label is usually no easy task for a band. But Motion City Soundtrack missed the memo, as the power-pop act took the transition in stride and created arguably its best album to date.
On My Dinosaur Life, its Columbia debut, every aspect of the group comes full circle and the five-piece sounds more confident and cohesive than ever.
“Her Words Destroyed My Planet” and “Delirium” are both fairly simplistic tunes led by a phenomenal combination of bass, guitar and synth grooves.
Ultimately, like plenty of the Mark Hoppus-produced records, frontman Justin Pierre’s stellar songwriting takes over.
Pierre’s sugary smooth voice and his clever, candid lyrics still form one of the genre’s most intriguing juxtapositions. Four LPs into his career, his creativity has reached a new high, as “Pulp Fiction” is undoubtedly a new classic in the group’s discography.
The album is appropriately built around Pierre’s songwriting, but the group’s improved chemistry allots each member a time to shine. Drummer Tony Thaxton has an especially impressive showing.
My Dinosaur Life is a huge statement from a group that needed to make one after being under the radar for the past year. — Michael Roberts
RATING: 4 stars out of 5
