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The breakup of her marriage seems to have left Pink vulnerable on Funhouse. It works surprisingly well on I Don’t Believe You (which is believable), but fails on Please Don’t Leave Me (which isn’t).
Pink
Album: Funhouse
Label: Sony BMG
Rating: ***
We’ve always been able to rely on Pink to keep the rest of the corporate pop stars honest. She turned both barrels on them with Stupid Girls. Now she does the same thing to herself with So What, lead single off Funhouse. The marriage breakup with Carey Hart seems to have left her ... vulnerable. It works surprisingly well on I Don’t Believe You (which is believable), but fails on Please Don’t Leave Me (which isn’t). The feisty in-your-face Pink returns on Bad Influence and the title track, Funhouse. But there’s just not enough of that old attitude. Come on, Pink, get over it. Time to kick some butt out there.
– Graham Rockingham/for Metro Canada
Lordi
Album: Deadache
Label: The End/Sony BMG
Rating: ***
Lordi is big in its native Finland. Freaking huge, actually. The mask-wearing theatrical rockers have their own credit card through Sampo Bank, as well as their own pop (Lordi Cola). The five-piece band’s stage show combines horror-flick theatrics with arena-friendly rock. Hey, there’s a market for this stuff. Alice Cooper and GWAR can’t be everywhere at once. Stage dramatics aside, Lordi write steady, heavy, pop-friendly tunes. And — as you would hope with this type of material and presentation — the band has a sense of humour. The biggest knock against Deadache is the silly, growl-y vocals. They don’t add to the drama.
– Jim Reyno/Metro Canada
Bloc Party
Album: Intimacy
Label: Atlantic/Warner
Rating: *** 1/2
Bloc Party shows a lot of range on its third album, Intimacy. In the case of vocalist Kele Okereke, sometimes a little too much range. With a thick British accent (almost unbelievably thick in some spots), Okereke can sound like a whinier Andy Partridge of XTC. But when he stays mid-range and doesn’t sound like he’s putting on, Okereke delivers heartfelt, intimate vocals. Okereke, and the entire band for that matter, thrive on the ballads and darker songs (and there a lot of those). Don’t be fooled by the raucous kickoff track Ares: Intimacy is a personal, introspective album. ...[next page]
Album: Funhouse
Label: Sony BMG
Rating: ***
We’ve always been able to rely on Pink to keep the rest of the corporate pop stars honest. She turned both barrels on them with Stupid Girls. Now she does the same thing to herself with So What, lead single off Funhouse. The marriage breakup with Carey Hart seems to have left her ... vulnerable. It works surprisingly well on I Don’t Believe You (which is believable), but fails on Please Don’t Leave Me (which isn’t). The feisty in-your-face Pink returns on Bad Influence and the title track, Funhouse. But there’s just not enough of that old attitude. Come on, Pink, get over it. Time to kick some butt out there.
– Graham Rockingham/for Metro Canada
Lordi
Album: Deadache
Label: The End/Sony BMG
Rating: ***
Lordi is big in its native Finland. Freaking huge, actually. The mask-wearing theatrical rockers have their own credit card through Sampo Bank, as well as their own pop (Lordi Cola). The five-piece band’s stage show combines horror-flick theatrics with arena-friendly rock. Hey, there’s a market for this stuff. Alice Cooper and GWAR can’t be everywhere at once. Stage dramatics aside, Lordi write steady, heavy, pop-friendly tunes. And — as you would hope with this type of material and presentation — the band has a sense of humour. The biggest knock against Deadache is the silly, growl-y vocals. They don’t add to the drama.
– Jim Reyno/Metro Canada
Bloc Party
Album: Intimacy
Label: Atlantic/Warner
Rating: *** 1/2
Bloc Party shows a lot of range on its third album, Intimacy. In the case of vocalist Kele Okereke, sometimes a little too much range. With a thick British accent (almost unbelievably thick in some spots), Okereke can sound like a whinier Andy Partridge of XTC. But when he stays mid-range and doesn’t sound like he’s putting on, Okereke delivers heartfelt, intimate vocals. Okereke, and the entire band for that matter, thrive on the ballads and darker songs (and there a lot of those). Don’t be fooled by the raucous kickoff track Ares: Intimacy is a personal, introspective album. ...[next page]
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