ALBUM REVIEWS: Compassion, lust and merriment in new albums

November 23, 2009 by Maggie Leon 

John Mayer, Them Crooked Vultures, Family of the Year

John Mayer “Battle Studies”

Crooning guitarist John Mayer’s “Battle Studies” drips soft pop-rock that caresses your cheek with sweet tenderness, care and compassion.

“Heartbreak Warfare” advises the weak-hearted and unsatisfied, “If you want more love why don’t you say so?” while insinuation leads to possible Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt break-up reference, “Drop his name, push it in and twist the knife again. Watch my face as I pretend to feel no pain.”

“All we ever do is say goodbye” is an homage to ending an inevitably doomed relationship “Why you wanna break my heart again, why am I gonna let you try?”

“Half of my Heart,” featuring Taylor Swift, has you swinging on a hammock of love with steady guitar strokes and upbeat melodies as their voices collide in beautiful harmony.

“I’m perfectly lonely ‘cause I don’t belong to anyone and nobody belongs to me” doesn’t dwell on regret but on the satisfaction of solitude over settling.

Throughout the record, mellow beats and Phil Collins-esque soothing somber sounds mixed with slabs of edgy guitar riffs sprinkled on the overly sweet and lovely tunes.

From heartache, desire and disappointment to loss and everything in between, Mayer guides you through a long romantic canoe ride filled with neck-swaying, bittersweet and broken love through its peaks and plateaus.

Them Crooked Vultures

Featuring Foo Fighters’ and Nirvana’s Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age’s Joshua Homme and legendary Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Them Crooked Vultures is a trio of eclectic musicians making lustful rock that emits a sexy fist-pumping, hip-thrusting ambience that will set girls’ loins on fire and boys’ testosterone through the roof.

Sex, sweat and passion “No One Loves Me and Neither do I,” oozes with grunts of passion, killer guitar and drum pounding. One set of lyrics screams, “If sex is a weapon then smash! Boom! Pow! How you like me now? You can’t always do right, but you can always do what’s left. When I told her I was trash she winked and laughed and said ‘I already know, I gotta a beautiful place to put your face.’”

The music has as much innuendo as the imagery in the CD booklet, which is filled with intimidating vulture headed men holding umbrellas, baseball bats, flowers, cigars and puppies.

Like temptation and sin corrupting the innocent, “Scumbag Blues” is a ruckus filled confession of a man’s inner-workings of conquering a woman.

“Interlude to Ludes” is a slow and sexy snake-slithering song that conjures up images of a dimly lit red volcanic hell with an evil but irresistibly tempting belly dancer hypnotizing you with her eyes, body and dance.

Overall, an impressive ravenous collection of powerful rock, spewing sexual desires, gratification, moans, mysticism immersed in a royal realm you want to dive into and drown.

Family of the Year “Songbook”

On tour with Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Silverlake California’s indie band Family of the Year’s debut album “Songbook” filled with cheerful harmonious choir-like music that radiates sunshine and pastel rainbows after a rainy day. Former UNLV student Brent Freaney on bass, Sebastian Keefe on guitar and drums, Christina Schroeter on keys and James Buckey on guitar take you on a journey of fanciful merriment.

“Let’s be honest” reminisces through the carefree happiness of youth filled with handclaps and upbeat melodies as Joe Keefe and Vanessa Long’s angelic vocals smoothly bounce off each other, as shoulders shake and kids swing in the park. Morose words still sound sweet with their jovial tones painting a picture of nostalgia through music.

“Feel good track of Rosemead” has a precious bubbly overtone as Keefe admits, “I just want to party all the time” and Long retorts, “And I just wanna get stuff done.”

Their voices compliment each other like peanut butter and jelly as you close your eyes and smile and shake off the trivial worries of life and replace them with peace and harmonies.

“Stupidland” has a folk sing-along vibe and melody, comparable to Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecilia,” filled with glee and hope.

As likeable and heartfelt as The Moldy Peaches and Broken Social Scene with their boy girl vocals feeding off each other, every song has a unique fun tuneful richness well blended and perfectly crafted into musical bliss.