PJH Studios

Category: Music

Pop, rock, alternative, classical, indie, folk, lo-fi, any thing with a tempo and a beat and some rhythm

  • My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West

    Kanye’s got the beats, the rhymes the ego and the vision to pull off an album like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy full of so many themes. From the self introspection (Monster, Lost in the World), to class (Power, Runaway), to misogyny (So Appalled, Hell of a Life) to politics (Who Will Survive in America).

    Musically, there’s an ebb and flow. Dark Fantasy, led by Nicki Minaj in a British accent, starts the album off gently. Power, throttles forcefully, followed by the spacey All of the Lights. Runaway serves as an epic track, nine minutes long, and Lost in the World combines the indie sensibilities of Bon Iver. Who Will Survive in America closes the album in a scathing indictment of political doubt.

  • Those Were the Days – Dolly Parton

    Those Were the Days by Dolly Parton is a trubute/cover album of Dolly performing other artists’ songs. At 12 tracks, all have countrified, Dolly arrangements that play well with her style toe tapping music. Me and Bobby McGee (with Kris Kristofferson), Crimson and Clover (with Tommy Jones) and Turn, Turn, Turn are stand outs.

  • Marroon 5 – Hands All Over

    Hands All Over by Maroon 5 continues the jazzy, funk, keyboard and drums driven pop about love, longing for love, hurt by love, sorry for for hurting for love and redeeming oneself for love that they do well.

    Of the stand out tracks: Misery kicks off and sets the tone–upbeat and thumping. Stutter is a doo-wop, sway your hips kind of song. Never Gonna Leave This Bed is carried by a soaring chorus. Out of Goodbyes, their collaboration with Lady Antebellum, works well as the albums tender, ballad closer.

  • Keane – Night Train

    Keane’s 31 minute EP, Night Train, is a bland assortment of mash up pop. K’naan and Tigarah guest spot (rap?) to a confusing effect. Sure, artists experiment with sounds, but you kinda have to wonder what direction, a band that built its following on piano driven anthems, the rap collaborations bring.

  • Civil Twilight – Civil Twilight

    You’ll like Civil Twilight‘s self-titled if you’re into electronic rock in the vein of Muse. It’s not as orchestral or jarring, but Civil Twilight brings the wailing, synth and driving melodies.

  • Telegraph Canyon at the Levitt – 9/17/2010

    Fort Worth’s Telegraph Canyon played Arlington for the first time at the outdoor amphitheater, Levitt Pavilion. The band played an energetic, swirling and full set with songs off their 2009 The Tide and the Current. This is a band that sounds better live with performances to match. Rich textures and instrumentation ebb, flow and build in songs like Into the Woods and Reels and Wires. Welcome to the Night becomes raw and tender and pulsating.

    This is the second time I’ve seen them and they’re there to play and rock out in their own way. Lead singer Chris Johnson interacted with the crowd a few times, but all six band members where there to play. No theatrics or showmanship. I would like to see them throw in a cover just to see what they could do with someone else’s material. By then end of the show a line had formed at their merchandise table and I could overhear conversations about how impressed they were with the band.

    Telegraph Canyon at the Levitt

  • The Wilderness Downtown

    The Arcade Fire released their second video for their latest album The Suburbs with, The Wilderness Downtown.  It’s a synthesis of web technology, music and video to create an experience.  It uses HTML 5 to drive much of video so for now Google Chrome or Safari 5 are the only browsers that can play it fully.  (Firefox can, albeit somewhat lacking).

    Before the video begins, you’re asked to enter the street you grew up on, and then the video begins to load.  In the video, multiple screens pop up, one with video of a unisex person running through a suburban street and other windows playing animations.  You’ll write a message to your younger self, and that address you entered will appear as a Google Earth flyover.

    This isn’t their first foray into viral, interactive videos.  With their last album, they released a web video, Neon Biblethat let you interact with Win Butler’s hands.

  • The Head and the Heart

    A debut album from a Seattle sextet is perfect for those late summer drives at dusk.  The sun fades into the horizon while warm shades of yellow, orange and red light up the sky.  The Head and the Heart’s self titled clocks in at 9 tracks, spanning 35 minutes.  In that time, the harmonies come together, comforting and uplifting with folksy pop arrangements reminiscent of the Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel.  In the Sounds Like section on their MySpace page, they list:  “melodies, harmonies, shakers, foot stomps, beautiful things, epic things.”

    The album begins with a sprightly track, Cats and Dogs with the timbre of Josiah Johnson’s vocals warming up to lead a backing of “ooo-ooo’s” as a kick drum thumps and the rest of the band joins in on the fun.  This seamlessly transitions to the next track, Coeur D’Alene where the keyboards and bass line drive the song’s catchy hook.  The rest of the album has a rhythm, steady and buoyant and never strains.  If anything, the album peaks with Lost In My Mind and glides to a safe landing during the last three tracks, closing with a reverent finale in Heaven Go Easy on Me.

    Here they are performing live for KEXP:

  • Jakob Dylan – Women and Country

    Jakob Dylan’s Women and Country album feels good on the first listen.  There’s no trying too hard, no songs with the familiar country, singer songwriter tropes.  It’s paced well, with diverse arrangements.  Nothing But the Whole Wide World and Holy Rollers for Love stand out.

  • Five for Fighting – Slice

    Five for Fighting’s Slice is more of the same piano pop balladry but with different lyrics. Safe, digestible and unoffensive.