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Arts

Exercise for the emotions

Lithe, languorous, snarky, sophisticated, sultry - thus far 2005's hot CDs flex the feelings, stretching them into unexpected configurations both supple and vigorous.

By BRIAN ORLOFF
Published March 27, 2005

A fleet of high-profile releases have marked the first quarter of 2005, and we'd be remiss if we didn't rave about some of our new favorite discs. Check out a sample of some of the latest albums that have been burning up our CD players and iPod batteries:

BECK, GUERO (Geffen Records) - Beck has always been quite the musical chameleon - typically surprising and smart, anyway - releasing a dance party of a record one year, and a somber, string-saturated affair the next. On Guero (the title is a jokey slur meaning "white boy") Beck gets protean, fusing his love of raveups and party-hearty beats with a more emotional, lyrical approach.

There's Girl, a strummy, sunny-sounding tune about a very possessive man and his possibly criminal relationship with the titular female. Then there's Missing, awash in Eastern-themed strings and Beck's labored croon. And Earthquake Weather - sounds ominous, right? - is a divine bit of cool electronic-tinged pop, simultaneously groove-heavy and sultry.

Beck doesn't abandon the kicky pop stylings that marked his wildly popular album Odelay. Though Hell Yes (that female voice belongs to actor Christina Ricci) feels mechanical and dull, a bit stale, really, there are upbeat moments brimming with color. Que Onda Guero feels especially charming with its interpolated bits of Los Angeles street noise, blasts of brass and Beck's stilted, raplike delivery. Not bad for a guero. A-

MOBY, HOTEL (V2 Records) - Electronica star and New York City entrepreneur Moby found himself thrust into the spotlight with the monumental success of 1999's Play, which still sounds perfect today (despite nearly every song's being licensed for commercials). On it, Moby mastered the art of sampling, creating an emotional batch of tunes that fused disparate elements but managed to sound remarkably cohesive and warm.

He has never succeeded in replicating that success. Hotel, his new double disc (the second CD is a series of anodyne ambient tunes that should not be played while operating heavy machinery lest you drift off), abandons the samples; instead Moby plays all instruments himself. He even sings in his thin, nasal voice. It adds up to a cozy enough sounding record, but there's something missing.

Sure, the dreamy, stripped-down cover of new wave sensation New Order's Temptation - featuring guest vocals by pal Laura Dawn - and the more charged Spiders, allegedly written as a nod to David Bowie, are winning enough. But missing from Hotel is the zeitgeist that defined Moby's previous work. B

STARS, SET YOURSELF ON FIRE (Arts and Crafts) - Montreal-based Stars' new album title is not advocating self-immolation. It's a metaphor, obviously, about how passion can fully consume. As always, the band - a darling of critics but criminally ignored by mass music audiences - expertly navigates between sentiment and snark. On the opening track, Your Ex-Lover Is Dead, singers Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell trade verses, offering an arresting take on a close encounter with an ex-lover, as a full string arrangement blossoms behind the pointed verse.

Listen to the single Ageless Beauty. With its fuzzy guitar, it's a perfect gem of an indie rock tune. Or What I'm Trying to Say, which sashays up the scales with an orchestral majesty and lithe sophistication. Stars' passion is directed toward worldly situations too. The smoldering He Lied About Death, fueled by stinging electric guitar, addresses frustrations with the Iraq war, with the occasional political potshot (sample: "I hope your drunken daughters are gay!").

What's so remarkable about Stars is the way in which the band oscillates between those emotional extremes, balancing lyrical grit with ornate orchestrations. A-

[Last modified March 24, 2005, 09:03:04]