Stop, Look, Listen
New albums from the new guards of international pop music.

I find it extremely hard to find good, new music to listen to (hint: give me suggestions!). I hit a groove this summer while trying to familiarize myself with all the artists on the Garden State soundtrack, but since the beginning of the school semester, I haven't had enough time to keep up on the music world. This month, I finally got a chance to embrace a new artist and listen to a new album from an artist I've already reviewed, at least in some form.

Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

Friends have been trying to get me into Belle and Sebastian for months, but their melancholy tones never quite did it for me. I'd listen to the first few tracks on an album and then delete the whole thing, frustrated that I couldn't find a groove to catch or a hook to latch onto. Fortunately for the band, their newest release is peppier, if not prettier, pop than its predecessors. It's full of familiar, bouncy rhythms and sweet sixties harmonies, like on "Another Sunny Day" and "White Collar Boy." 

The top track, for me, is "The Blues are Still Blue," maybe because I expected the song to be as sedated as older Belle and Sebastian, but it wound up being a rollicking pure pop tune. Brit pop at its best (the band is from Scotland), The Life Pursuit embraces the folk-rocky feel that some of my favorite independent rock acts use. It's truly a blast to listen to.

(* * * * of 5)

Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself

One half of the British duo Frou Frou (who put out "Let Go," the song that plays over the close of Garden State), Heap has already earned her place in my heart for her haunting voice. Speak for Yourself follows the techno-pop blueprint that I thought made Frou Frou's Details so enjoyable. The album's opening four tracks are right along the lines of Details. Then you hear "Hide and Seek." Acapella and saturated by a vocoder, it makes it sound like Heap is singing a techno barbershop quartet with herself. I've never been one to think that music could send chills through you, but even when I listen to it now after twenty-something plays, it's toe-curling.

I don't know if it's the fact that "Hide and Seek" brings the album to a screeching halt or the merit of the tracks after it, but the rest of the album is good but forgettable. If you liked Frou Frou you'll enjoy Heap's second solo effort, but it's not the best introductory album.

(* * * of 5)