Review: Nelly Furtado - Mi Plan

A Canadian of Portuguese descent singing in Spanish is the shear proof that we live in a modern cosmopolitan world where everything is possible. The singer is Nelly Furtado and the album "Mi Plan", her fourth studio release and first attempt in the Latino genre. Actually, Furtado has had several tracks in either Portuguese or Spanish, but "Mi Plan" is her first and probably not her last record aimed mainly at the Spanish-speaking world.

Around the worldwide release of the album Furtado stated that singing in Spanish or Portuguese lets her express things that she couldn't say in English and allowed her to be more personal and musically free. What she obviously missed out was the fact that she had already established herself as an English-singing performer and a change so big could have a negative impact on her career. I don't say that "Mi Plan" is not worth listening to or that Furtado doesn't deserve to be given thumbs up for the risky detour she is taking, but the public wasn't ready for Spanish Nelly. Not at all. "Mi Plan" was supposed to surpass "Loose" and prove that Furtado is here to stay. Yet, poor promotion and lack of media attention has put the singer in a displeasing situation she has to swiftly get herself out of.

No doubt "Mi Plan" would have made a great debut album in Latin America or Spain, most probably securing her an easily recognizable place in the hearts of fans and critics. Out of the field of possibly-maybe "Mi Plan" stands on shaky grounds that are about to given in under the high expectations that Furtado supposedly had to meet. With the current pace in a few months "Mi Plan" can be officially labeled as a flop.

If we distance from the whole market sales thing and solely concentrate on the product itself, "Mi Plan" cracks wide open under the pressure of simple love-songs that hardly distinguish from one another. The album runs so predictably as if Furtado was too busy giving statements on her Spanish debut than coming up original ideas of her own. The final product that landed on the shelves turned out to be more of an exaggerated dream-come-true than an album of genuine Latino passion.

Next time, Nelly, when you decide you want to go world just have another multilingual album, I am pretty sure anyone would have a favourite piece to stick to.

Songs to hear: "Manos al aire", "Mas", "Bajo Otra Luz" and "Fuerte"
Personal rating: 5/10

Review: Bif Naked - The Promise

After four years of silence Canadian rock singer Bif Naked gave a push to her career with her fifth in a row studio album "The Promise". The record is a return to her folk-rock roots and inspiring songwriting talent and poetic skills. Bif Naked once again proves as an accomplished lyricist and an excellent alt-rock singer. Although being criminally underrated she has managed to stay above surface and covet her own crown of Queen of the Canadian independent rock scene.

"The Promise" is not as promising as the title itself, but still has a few rubies hidden throughout the album. Beth Torbert has given the full freedom of her poetry, which gently flows and brings her emotions to a new level. After the tough battle with cancer Naked just couldn't let it all just pass by as it never came as a hurricane in her life and brought her to the edge of existence. The album is the promise to never give up and face problems with pride and faith in oneself.

Nevertheless, what kept "The Promise" away from commercial success is the obvious lack of memorable songs. Despite all the efforts Torbert has created more of passionate confession than an accessible record which raises empathy and understanding. After the poppier "Superbeautifulmonster" "The Promise" is a hard-pill to swallow if you are used to pop-rock ballads and fresh tunes. If you are prepared for some good alternative sound and poetic landscapes this Canadian export will suit you right. For the pop-lovers, expect Mandy Moore's newest effort.

Personal rating: 7 out of 10

Songs to hear: "Sick", "Bluejay", "Honeybee" and "King of Karma"

Review: Tiga - Ciao!

Does anyone know what was Tiga doing the last few years? I am starting to think that he was in deep coma for the last couple of years and some months ago he miraculously came out of it and decided to record an album. Due to this coma obviously he forgot how good music was made and really didn't care as a deal had to be fulfilled and thus "Ciao" was recorded.

Although many define Tiga as a typical electroclash musician "Ciao" is more of an expedition in the realms of house music, mainly acid and electro. You have your usual coherence between the tracks, creating a set-alike list. I assume this is the main reason why "Ciao" sounds like an-hour long song, changing rhythm, pace and , of course, lyrics from time to time. The spirit of house music throughout the album is so strong that some of the songs are almost indistinguishable from one another. Originality was definitely not present while recording "Ciao" and the new ideas were at least several years old, everything ending up as a belated celebration of acid house. "Ciao" is strikingly boring, old-fashioned and disturbingly distasteful, it sounds as if Tiga was so bored that he decided to fill up some spare time composing a few house tracks.

As far as hobbies are concerned it is admirable to make music for fun with the sole condition it remains only on your computer. The moral from the story is that you should never leave the work that wins your bread for the last moment as it probably happened with Tiga, who decided to see for himself how would people appreciate his hobby. Let's say that better house albums have been released in the short history of this genre and Tiga has only discovered that the daylight comes from the sun. I wish I could say there were a few gems to be discovered, but the more I listen to "Ciao" the more I realize they are left outside.

"Sexor" (his previous album) may not be the creme de la creme of electronic music, but it was at least eclectic, ranging from electroclash dance songs to house ballads. "Ciao" on the other hand sounds as a farewell album after many years of recording and producing plenty of material, and Tiga was finally dry on new ideas. Unfortunately this is not the case as this is his sophomore effort and it is way too soon for him to be tired of the music bizz. If music is just an aside hobby for Tiga I advise him to stop releasing his spare-time-fillers and come to terms with his career as a musician. If not, please, do not release anything new until you are pretty sure it's worth showing it to the world.

Songs to hear: "Beep Beep Beep", "Shoes", "Sex O'clock" and "Speak, Memory"

Personal rating: 4 out of 10

Review: MSTRKRFT - Fist of God

MSTRKRFT (pronounced Master Craft) is the dance project of Jesse F. Keeler (ex-Death From Above 1979) and Al-P, which came to surface after the official break up of Keeler's previous band. Stylistically the band is somewhere between electro and house, having both vocal and instrumental tracks. MSTRKRFT draw influence from hip-hop, big beat, indietronica and electro-rock, creating a unique combination of dance. I cannot say that "Fist of God" is a long-expected album, but it definitely surprised me. For just a couple of years MSTRKRF have matured and become more of just an experimental electro band.

"Fist of God" may not be the dance album of the years, but it contains plenty of excellent club tracks as well as quality disco sound. I was quite disappointed with their debut "The Looks", which was way too house for me, and I had doubts about the quality of the new material as well. Luckily, MSTRKRFT didn't repeat the same mistake (at least for me) and had outdone themselves. The songs are not annoyingly long and do not exceed the bearable dance length. Of course, the album has a few low points, which is quite normal and the good news is that they are less than half of the tracklist (consisting of 10 songs).

Stylistically the album can be defined as a fusion between electro, hip-hop and house. Most of the collaborations are with rappers, which could be a flaw to some and a big plus to others, but it proves that Keeler and P are still on the search for their music niche.

Songs to hear: "Bounce", "Heartbreaker", "It Ain't Love" and "Word Up"

Personal rating: 6 out of 10

Review: Peaches - I Feel Cream

The official release of the album is May 4th and this review is based solely on the leak of the album, which came to surface just a day ago.

Peaches is feeling cream, but I felt quite bored after listening to her new album a few times. Merrill Nisker is among my most favourite bitches in the music business and after the pussy-and-tits-galore she offered with "Impeach Mu Bush" I was ready for her to sexy me up and make a little whore out of my electronic soul. The electro slut of a whole generation either needs some fresh ideas or she is changing direction...and I am not very happy with her experiments.

"I Feel Cream" is definitely electronic, but has nothing to do with the electroclash scene to which she was like a Godmother. I guess this album is her official departure from the aggressive electronic sound, heading to a more mild beats, less distorted vocals and more original singing. The whole albums feels like Merrill has lost her wild temper and has become a member of a pacifistic sisterhood. Ok, ok, I am exaggerating a little, the lyrics explore mainly sex topics, but it just doesn't feel the same...

Looking on the bright side every singer needs a change, otherwise they will be too predictable, which is kind of annoying, but to be honest Madame Peaches needed no change or at least not a major one. Anyways, "I Feel Cream" has a few high points, although in comparison with previous releases they are like The Alps to the Himalayas. The album contains no club smashers as "Fuck The Pain Away" or "Tent In Your Pants", and from time to time you might feel like changing to the next track, but still needs you attention - especially if you are a real fan or at least support the electro scene.

Songs to hear: "Relax", "Talk To Me", "Mud" and "Billionaire"

Personal rating: 5 out of 10

Peaches vs Peaches

Whenever I open YouTube there is a recommended videos section that I usually skip and start my search. As I was about to type a song's name I saw Peaches - Dynamit Nitroglycerin Baby, wondering if this is supposed to be something new by Peaches or perhaps a live performance I have never heard of. Unfortunately it was nothing like it. To my surprise I was redirected to an original video by a Swedish girl duo named Peaches. Poor things...what in any god's name is this supposed to be? I listened to the song at least three times trying to understand what their style is. After pondering a few minutes I decided it is supposed in the eurodance genre. The video to Dymanit Nitroglycerin Baby is horrible and honestly the chicks look like bored teenage girls with a bad make-up day. Most probably they know the Canadian electro singer Peaches, but if any of their songs have to be a tribute to her or to her carrier, but I am sure that even Peaches will be terrified when she sees this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2vX7oMrbA

Unfortunately embedding of this video was forbidden by request, but after you watch it even you will forbid it. Honestly I'd even remove it from YouTube if I could. That is why artists' names should be unique!

Discoveries: Crystal Castles

Thank any god for the existence of Last.fm and the streamable radios it provides. Sometimes you just don't know what you can find while listening an artist's radio. A couple of days ago I spent some time listening to the Peaches' station and I got to hear a bunch of quality bands and singers and some great songs. But the one that actually draw my attention was the track "Untrust Us" by the Canadian electronic group Crystal Castles. Apart from the grammatical mistake in the title this proved to be an excellent track.

I just couldn't help myself and after hearing this band on two more stations I got their eponymous album and listened to it from top to bottom. It surely is not the typical stuff I listen to, because I am not very much a fan of bitpop, but Crystal Castles manage to sound as a bitpop group without sounding as the soundtrack to Super Mario Bros. Some people define them as an 8-bit band, but to me they are an experimental electronica act influences by console games' music.

The vocalist Alice Glass is a psycho bitch in the good manner. Well, she's not as crazy as my beloved Peaches, but she somehow the electronica equivalent of Avril Lavigne just without the sloppiness and that she actually cares of the quality of the music she records. Ethan Kath, the original creator of Crystal Castles, has the looks of a Death From Above 1979 member, but definitely doesn't make music any way close to the screamo altrock of this prominent Canadian group.