OUT NOW: LADY GAGA "BORN THIS WAY"

I first heard of Lady Gaga a few years ago when her single "Just Dance" was out and she was relatively unknown.  I didn't really get it at first and thought she was just another blonde pop diva wannabe with banal lyrics and eurotrash beats infused with forced US hip/hop.  Well, I can admit when I turn out to be wrong.  It wasn't until some time later, after "Poker Face" blew up all over the place, "Love Game" was blaring from all the clubs, and everyone seemed to be talking about Lady Gaga that I finally started to come around.  I saw a youtube clip of her performing "Poker Face" acoustic - just her and a piano - and I thought, "OK, she is different."  I hear a lot of perky, blond pop singers who some of my friends insist I listen to, and insist they are all the "next big thing," so naturally I usually dismiss them right away.  But, seeing one sit down and not only play a piano, but COMMAND it, with the pipes to go along with it, was refreshing.  Shortly thereafter, I saw another youtube clip of her, pre-"The Fame"-fame, as a young, brown haired Stefani Germanotta performing with her live band at some nondescript bar in New York.  Yes - this is the real deal, I thought.
It was only after I accepted the fact that this lady was more than just a "pop singer," but an actual musician - an artist - that I began to really appreciated and enjoy her music.  Sure, it came off as fluffy, almost generic club music, but it had a sense of humor, was catchy as hell, and knowing that there was something of a mastermind behind it (and not some svengali, middle-aged white man) allowed me to love her.  Lady Gaga isn't a guilty pleasure - she's just a pleasure.
I watched her on Saturday Night Live when she debuted a portion of "Bad Romance" and I knew it was going to be huge, and that she was just going to keep getting bigger.  I wondered if she worried Madonna!  The awkwardness between the two on their surprise SNL sketch seemed to indicated that Madge was less than excited about Gaga stealing her crown as the Queen of Pop.
Anyway, Gaga's latest release is the album "Born This Way," which right off the bat already has three big hits, the title track, "Judas" (my favorite), and "The Edge of Glory."  The album has more hooks than it should be allowed to, and sounds big and ambitious without completely crossing the line to being overblown.  Bombastic is a good way to describe it.  At times, it does get a little too loud, samey, and over-the-top, but luckily there is always something right around the corner to redeem it.
Opener "Marry The Night" seems to kick things off into high gear, and is broad enough that it should appeal to most anyone who has taken the effort to start listening to the album in the first place, although it's nothing earth-shattering or revelatory.  It's just kind of a nice way to start the set off.  Moving into the alt-dance fervor of "Government Hooker" really sets the tone and the bar for the album.  I'm not sure if anyone before has so successfully subverted the genre of club music / europop with so many layers of angst, metal, industrial and other more "hardcore" sounds.  "Judas" is another prime example of this, with it's aggressive, squelchy synths, discordant noises and powerful beats which lead to an unbelievably poppy chorus.
Some low points on the album are the ridiculous "Americano" which is really usually too much for me to take (it's the one song that I find grating) and "Hair," which I think could have been a great song if the lyrics weren't so silly.  Pretty much all the other songs are amazing and could all be singles.  This is an album of "Thriller" proportions, where it sounds more like a greatest hits then someone's sophomore effort.


Rating: OOOO (Four out of Five O's - would be Five if "Americano" had been left off)

OUT NOW: CSS "HITS ME LIKE A ROCK"

CSS has been in a whirlwind since their debut album blew up back in 2006, aided in part by the use of the track "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex" in an iPod commercial.  They released their follow-up album, "Donkey," in 2008 and proved that they were no flash in the pan; they successfully avoided the dreaded sophomore slump by mixing their signature goofiness and amateurishness with just the right amount of growth and musical ambition.  They have toured like maniacs and are a great band to watch live - I've seen them twice during the promotion for "Donkey."
Now, they're back with the first taster from their forthcoming new album, "La Liberacion," with a buoyant, bouncy track called "Hits Me Like A Rock," which features guest Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream.  It's a perfect song to kick off the summer with it's electro-reggae beat and breathy, affected vocals - it will have you singing along with the synthesized "oh oh oh's" from the first listen.  It's unmistakably CSS but features a smooth easygoing quality that may have been lacking a little on their last album.
"La Liberacion" is scheduled to be released in August and we here at Aural-O are very excited to hear it!

Rating: OOO (Three out of Five O's)

OVERLOOKED: SAM SPARRO

Sam Sparro's debut album was released a few years back and after hearing about him and having my interest piqued, I listened to it on Lala.com (which is sadly no more) and sort of always meant to buy it, but just never did... Then, recently, I had a chance to see him perform live in Los Angeles and really enjoyed his set, so I finally got around to purchasing it from iTunes.
The one song that I had heard quite a bit before is of course his biggest hit, "Black and Gold," which I do enjoy but doesn't really do all that much for me - it's nice enough.  The song that, when performed live, really got me going is "Pocket," and it's definitely my favorite on the album.  From start to finish, it's a pretty solid effort.  The US version of the eponymous disc begins with "S.A.M.S.P.A.R.R.O." which is just sort of a silly little introductory track that sets the tone for the rest of the album, with funky beats, robotic synths and vocoded vocals.  The rest of the album is made of up strong songs like those already mentioned, as well as "Sick," whose opening reminds me a little of "Bulletproof" by LaRoux, and "Clingwrap," which has some really funny lyrics ("You see I've got enough friends that could fill a truck up, Now give me some room and just back the fuck up.")
There are a few tunes that are a little too much like clunkers, such as the generic disco of "Cut Me Loose" and the Chromeo-esque "Sally," but even those have some redeeming qualities. 
The highlight of the album is Sam's ultra-sexy voice, who makes even the less-interesting songs fun to listen to, just to hear that voice!  His combination of good looks and strong pipes makes it difficult to understand why he hasn't found much success stateside ("Black and Gold" peaked at #2 in the UK but only made it to #12 on the US dance chart). 
Evidently, Sparro is working on his sophomore record and hopefully that will garner him some more exposure here in the States.

Rating: OOO (Three out of Five O's)

OUT NOW: BLONDIE'S "PANIC OF GIRLS"

Blondie, one of the greatest bands of all time, is back with a brand new album titled "Panic of Girls."  Apparently, a panic of girls is similar to a murder of crows or a school of fish.
The album starts off with a bang, or rather many bangs as original drummer Clem Burke kicks into high gear with a propulsive beat on "D-Day," a song that seems to allude to the current state of the music industry and internet, with references to piracy, transfers, and limited privacy.  The chorus is infectious, with the backing vocals that seem to be chanting "Debbie Devil, Don't You Dare," although I could be hearing it wrong.
From there the high energy continues with the absolutely stunning "What I Heard," which definitely should be a summer single.  It's sing-a-long ready and sounds like classic Blondie but with an energy that is so current and immediate.  Amazingly, this level of passion and frenetic energy is continued into the third track and first single, "Mother," which is another great sing-a-long which just seems perfect for Debbie Harry to sing, as to many, she is the "Mother" of punk-pop/new-wave/girl-rock or whatever she represents to the legions of people she and the band have inspired.
The band brings things down a notch for the next track, the reggae influenced "The End The End" which seems to be an apocalyptic love song reminiscent of other island-flavored Blondie tunes like "The Tide is High" or "The Only One."
Throughout the rest of the album, the band explores a variety of sounds and influences, keeping it mostly mellow from here on out, although "Love Doesn't Frighten Me" is another poppy rock song with a very classic Blondie feel about it.  Some of the stranger, but very cool moments, include the latino jam-band groove of "Wipe Off My Sweat," with Debbie's repeated coo-ings of "Papi, Papi," and the half sexy/half silly rapping of the bonus track "Horizontal Twist" with it's name-checking of Sheryl Crow of all people.
Overall, this album takes a few listens to get into the less-catchy songs that dominate the last 2/3rds of the album, but for a band that's been going as long as Blondie, this music serves them now as it does feel like an album they could actually perform live in it's entirety without being forceful or sounding like they're trying to be something they're not.  It doesn't have all the highs that their previous two discs had (1999's No Exit, and 2003's shamefully under-appreciated The Curse of Blondie) but it's a welcome return from a band who has produced some consistently brilliant and envelope-pushing work.  Debbie's vocals continue to mature in a sultry, jazz chanteuse sort of way but retains enough of her brash, punk attitude and standoffish sex appeal, and the new band members do a good job of honoring the past Blondie sound without being slaves to it.

Rating: OOO (Three out of Five O's)