Musicstar

2006 is definately the year of the bicycle: first there was global warming, then gas prices inflated and now The Bicycles have released their much anticipated first CD (seriously, years of anticipation). Look out SUVs, the best pop sensibilities of the 50s, 60s and 70s are going to kick you off the road!

For those who have had the pleasure of seeing The Bicycles before this release will not disappoint. This 17 (yes, 17!) track album is everything you'd expect starting with the kick-off rocker "B-B-Bicycles" (every band needs a good theme song) to the final "ba ba ba" sing-a-long "Two Girls from Montreal."

The Bicycles style really does span all three of the aforementioned generations of pop: the 50s in "I Know We Have to be Apart", the 60s in the Beatlesk "Cuddly Toy" and the 70s in "Ghost Town." Althought The Bicycles have managed to keep enough mondern edge to their sound to make them feel relevant and edgy.

Lyrically The Bicycles write sugar 'n spice cute songs. The most riské song being "Paris Be Mine" where they lament that "Though Montreal is appealing, oh I need the real thing, Paris, oh Paris be mine." Can-con politness lookout our friends in Quebec might take exception!

The Good The Bad and The Cuddly is addictive and will cause you to singing aloud while taking a shower or biking around town.

Rating: 5/5

Grandaddy known for their brand of stoned slacker indie pop have released their fifth (and sadly) final release Just Like The Fambly Cat. On a superficial level, the cover collage for this release is by far the most entertaining I've seen in long time. The poor "Fambly Cat" wondering the endless highway is brilliant and cheeky at the same time.

Fambly presents more edge to Grandaddy's usually laid back pop by layering lead guitar and rauchy keyboard riffs ontop of their otherwise straightforward song arrangements. This is evident in the track "Rear View Mirror" which starts with the protocol dreamy sound but builds using the clever lyric: "What the hell while I've been trying to drive somewhere," to a chorus of chunky guitar sounds that eventual lead to a blazing rock guitar solo.

In fact, Fambly, is ladden with witty lyrics about nothing throughout. "Where I'm Anymore" presents itself from the perspective of a the lost fambly cat wandering the streets finding its way home. It even includes a chorus of harmonised "meow's."

On "Elevate Myself" Grandaddy kick off the song with a catchy keyboard riff and ironically lead into the opening lyric:

I don't want to work all night and day on songs that make the young girls cry / Or playing little solos on the keyboard so the kids will ask me how and why

Almost in parody of the song itself they then continue to layer keyboard riffs and mayhem throughout making this the most fun and memorable track of the album.

A shame that a band releases their best album only to breakup at the same time. I also expect this one to be a sleeper hit for 2006.

Rating: 4/5

If you were hoping for more Smith-inspired melancholic music about "why the girl screwed me" prevalent on The Stills first release Logic Will Beak Your Heart then pass right by Without Flowers. The Stills have forgone the evolutionary route that most bands take and just started cross-breading. Where Logic had a sparse delicate sound, Without Feathers is big 'R' rock guitar.

Overall the album works but there is definately a range of quality from track to track. The Stills have two lead vocalists Tim Fletcher and Dave Hamelin. Tim was the prominent voice on Logic and it was his almost haunting voice that carried it through. On Without Feathers Tim is less of a presence. This is a shame as the strongest tracks on the album are those that he sings.

There are still some signs of old Stills such as "She's Walking Out" which manages to keep the empty angst of Logic while adding the big guitar sound. The stand-out track is probably "Helicopters" as it keeps with the upbeat nature of the album while remaining dissent enough to be exciting.

If you get past the dramatic change, Without Feathers is a decent album worth having a listen to.

Rating: 3/5

Every now and then an album is released that under standard observation would be considered a masterpiece but overshadows itself with one brilliant stand-out track. Belle and Sebastian's latest release, The Life Pursuit, falls victim to this unique conundrum.

There are a number of great achievements on The Life Pursuit including Belle and Sebastian's continued capability to release albums that span various styles of music effortlessly. Here they manage to cross genres from funk/soul on "Song for Sunshine", standard blues grooving on "The Blues are Still Blue" to even some country-twang on the closer "Morning Crescent".

Another strength of this latest release is that it breaks Belle and Sebastian's tradition of releasing albums that tend to lie on the sleepy side. It features a collection of kitchen dance party numbers to be sung to your toaster such as the ironically titled "We Are Sleepyheads" and the 70's sounding jam "For the Price of a Cup of Tea." They even get points for wittingly making "poet" and "throat" rhyme in "Funny Little Frog."

Although despite the overall strength of The Life Pursuit the stand-out track "White Collar Boy" puts the rest of the album to shame. It cleverly pulls out every musical hook available in the Brit-pop catalog while keeping with Belle and Sebastian's nack of writing overly cute lyrics about awkward gender relations as apparent in:

She said “You ain’t ugly, you can kiss me if you like”
Go ahead and kiss her, you don’t know what you’re missing

Provided "White Collar Boy" does not put Belle and Sebastian on the mainstream shelf of one-hit wonders this release should propel them out of their indie-college level status.

Rating: 4/5

Garden Ruin comes out a year after the collaboration EP In the Reins with Iron & Wine. It is clearly evident with this release that Joey Burns was inspired by the songwriting values of Sam Beam. He even states that Beam was a driving force in pushing his vocals further than usual during an interview with Pitchfork. From my standpoint In the Reins was one of my most treasured releases from 2005 as it took the talent and grace of Calexico and paired it with beautiful lyrics and melody.

From the onset "Cruel" makes it immediately becomes clear that Calexico's dive into straight-up songwriting is a succcess. It mixes catchy melody and a standard song structure with numerous trademark Calexico qualities such as tasteful unique drumming and spaceous breaks.

Albumn stand-outs such as "Deep Down" showcase a passionate vocal performance from Burns while "All Systems Red" builds a haunting haunting epic that swells to beautiful car crash ending.

More traditional Calexico sounds are still presented on songs like "Roka" which features a combination of English and Spanish lyrics featuring Amparo Sanchez. The only potential failure might be "Letter to Bowie Knife" attempting to be charged rocket that never quite lanuches.

It's sad that Garden Ruin will likely get panned in the media (although Pitchfork offered a favourable review) as people seem less inclined to allow excentric bands move to less experimental sounds. I remember Low's The Great Destroyer getting equal treatment just because they turned up their guitars and made a rock album. I am in favour of bands evolving and changing and Garden Ruin is a positive direction for Calexico.

Rating: 4/5