RECORD REVIEWS | TINIE TEMPAH “Disc-Overy”
TINIE TEMPAH
Album: “Disc-Overy”
Grade: A-
Tinie Tempah has already conquered his homeland with a smash album and four No. 1 U.K. singles and is ready to take on America with a new version of his “Disc-Overy” (Capitol) debut.
The 22-year-old from London, born Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr., is set to be the first rapper from the British “grime” scene, which has included the formidable Dizzee Rascal and The Streets, to break into the American mainstream. The mix of hip-hop, dance-hall reggae, and drum ’n’ bass electronica is a potent one, and Tinie rides it well with clever rhymes and a slick, charismatic delivery throughout “Disc-Overy.”
His American breakthrough single, “Written in the Stars,” already set to crash the Top 10, is one of the album’s more conventional tracks, with Eric Turner’s singing on the hook and a triumphant guitar solo making it sound very Linkin Park-ish. The newly added “’Til I’m Gone,” which features Wiz Khalifa, is slightly more adventurous, as Tinie delivers such nimble lines as “I’m like Mario on mushrooms, I’m like Popeye on some spinach.”
What truly sets Tinie apart from the American hip-hop pack, however, are the more “grime”-oriented tracks. “Pass Out” is brash and fresh, especially once the dance-hall and the breakbeat bits kick in. The barrage of acronyms in “Miami 2 Ibiza” over the neo-house groove of Swedish House Mafia is so smart it’s dizzying.
Get ready, America. Tinie is gonna be huge.
— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday
MOBY
Album: “Destroyed”
Grade: B+
Can’t sleep? Maybe you should listen to Moby’s “Destroyed” (Mute). We don’t mean that in a bad way — the atmospheric melodies and subtle electro dots and dashes have a relaxing effect. In fact, Moby wrote the 15-song album late at night in hotel rooms around the world while on tour. Maybe he should sleep less more often. The first single, “The Day,” offers strains of Bowie, while the lovely “Be the One” (originally heard on Paul Haggis’ “The Next Three Days”) is a ticket back to the electronic ’80s — and worth staying awake for.
— Kevin Amorim, Newsday
PANIC! AT THE DISCO
Album: “Vices & Virtues” (Decaydence)
Grade: C
“Ever since we met / I only shoot up with your perfume” ... sigh. Maybe these exceptionally melodic Fall Out Boy cohorts would at least garner comedic respect if Pete Wentz helped them pen an “I don’t care what you think as long as it’s about me” or “The ribbon on my wrist says do not open before Christmas.” As is, Panic! At the Disco are more talented than haters think and less than their fans do. Now they’re down to a duo, Brendan Urie and Spencer Smith, and Vices & Virtues, their belated third album, has no bad songs and plenty of clever harmonies and studio touches — but no knockout-chorused “Build God, Then We’ll Talk” or “Nine in the Afternoon” worth seeking out. Coming closest: the brief and lovely “Always,” and “Hurricane,” which berates people who dance to it.
— Dan Weiss, Philadelphia Inquirer
Greg Brown
Album: “Freak Flag” (Yep Roc)
Grade: A
What a versatile voice Greg Brown has. Semitrailer horns come to mind, as do prairie bullfrogs, rusty farm machinery and the flatulent catfish mentioned in Brown’s song “Flat Stuff.”
Like Randy Newman, another singer who croaks a bit, Brown uses a distinctive delivery to make his marvelous material that much more memorable.
While gravity pulls Brown’s croon two octaves below middle C, the levity of the lyrics keeps the mood mostly light on “Freak Flag.” Perhaps because the album was recorded at Memphis’ Ardent Studios, there’s more bounce to the beat than in a typical Brown set, and Bo Ramsey contributes stinging guitar work.
Center stage belongs to that rumbling baritone, however. It raises a hopeful cry on the topical “Freak Flag,” which recalls the Cold War and Vietnam. The aforementioned “Flat Stuff” covers even more territory, touching on topography, show tunes, the sky and stale relationships. As for religion, Brown finds grace in spiritual ambiguity on “Let The Mystery Be,” written by his wife, Iris DeMent.
Even Brown’s simplest, most sentimental songs work. When the Iowan sings to his offspring on “Tenderhearted Child” or describes domestic bliss on “Lovinest One,” it’s sweet corn.
— Steven Wine, Associated Press
AMOR DE DIAS
Album: “Street of the Love of Days” (Merge)
Grade: B
Amor de Dias is a London-based duo with a Spanish name (“love of days”) who take many of their cues from Brazil. The debut partnership between Alasdair MacLean of the Clientele and Lupe Nunez-Fernandez of Pipas favors pastoral, acoustic ballads, tinged with gentle bossa nova and willowy chamber pop. It’s relaxed, reflective and beautiful.
When MacLean sings lead, “Street of the Love of Days” isn’t all that distant from his early work with the Clientele, although usually sweetened with Nunez-Fernandez’s breathy backing vocals and with a broader range of instrumental colorings — violas, quiet horns, trebly piano. On alternating tracks, Nunez-Fernandez leads in an intimate, whispery coo — not unlike Astrud Gilberto or Francoise Hardy — that is usually fragile but occasionally ominous. “Street of the Love of Days” rarely startles, but it’s quietly rapturous.
— Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer
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