Whether you’re spending this Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart, heading out on the town looking for that special someone or are on strike from the hearts-and-flowers holiday, PGN has the skinny on some tunes that will help you chill out, make out or tune out on this V-Day.
Against Me! “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” Total Treble
More than a mere concept album, “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” is a musical tribute to lead singer Laura Jane Grace and her journey through gender dysphoria. Grace, who is happily married to a woman and has a daughter, first made her live debut as a woman in late May 2012, just two weeks into hormone therapy.
Grace has not opted to undergo surgery to change her voice (and according to several interviews with Rolling Stone, does not plan to any time soon), which means that Against Me!’s signature sound is relatively unchanged. And the band still brings the same energy and excitement as they have on previous records.
Each song is emotionally charged, but the upbeat punk-rock riffs keep the listener from falling too deeply into the blues. Lyrically, the album is honest and straightforward. The title and first track on the album begins with brutal honesty: “Your tells are so obvious/Shoulders too broad for a girl.” The chorus repeatedly expresses the negative attention and harassment that many transgender people experience: “You want them to notice/The ragged ends of your summer dress/You want them to see you/Like they see any other girl/They just see a faggot/They hold their breath not to catch the sick.”
The album doesn’t slow down for a second, keeping a steady punk-rock pace while delivering what very well could be some of the most important songs of this decade.
Against Me! stay true to their punk roots in this album, delivering some of their most brutal and honest lyrics to date.
— Jen Gregory
Babyface and Toni Braxton “Love, Marriage & Divorce” Motown Records
Babyface and Toni Braxton each have a solid foundation in the realm of R&B and pop, and they aren’t about to start messing with the formula at this stage in their careers. So in that sense, you know exactly what you are getting sonically with an album featuring both Grammy-winning R&B superstars. “Love, Marriage and Divorce” features new duets and solo tracks from both singers, overflowing with the slickly produced R&B grooves that are Babyface’s signature sound, especially on lush seductive tracks like “I Hope That You’re OK” and “The D Word.”
When you factor in the lyrics, the plot thickens. If you didn’t take the hint from the album title, the romantic baby-making soundscapes lay the foundation for some complex emotional lyrics. The best tracks are the more defiant songs like “Rather Be Broke” and the venomously bitter ballad “I Wish.” The anger-tinged heartbreak songs are balanced out by the songs yearning to work things out, like “Reunited” and “Hurt You,” but the break-up songs tend to carry more weight than the make-up songs.
This album might send a mixed message for Valentine’s Day, but chances are there is enough of your dysfunctional love life reflected in the songs here for you to thoroughly enjoy.
— Larry Nichols
Berlin “Animal” Something Music
This isn’t the Berlin of the 1980s, but the new-wave group’s first album in eight years retains enough of the playful spirit of the classic lineup to hold its own in the pop landscape of 2014. Singer Terri Nunn is the only original member left in the group, which now features backing musicians from ’90s modern-rock and/or goth/industrial bands like Goo Goo Dolls, Orgy and Deadsy.
This incarnation of Berlin does a better job on this album than on the two previous albums since they reformed in the late 1990s. Nunn, at 52 (we should be so lucky to be as badass at her age), can still give pop singers half her age a run for their money. It is clear that the new blood in the band brings their diverse styles to the table, keeping the sound fresh and vibrant for the most part. The title track, as well as “Stand Up,” “Break The Chains” and “Secrets,” sound ultra-modern and energetic, fusing europop and dubsteb with excellent results. Their bionic cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love” is more fun than it has any right to be.
Old-school casual fans who got into the group because of their pop-crossover smash “Take My Breath Away” can find refuge in the stripped-down but soaring piano-driven ballads like “Blame It on the World,” “It’s The Way” and “Mom.” The rest of the tracks fall into the range of by-the-numbers, but solid and passable, techno/dance tracks.
Berlin is a different animal these days, but the benefits outweigh any longing for the days of their classic minimalist synthpop sound.
— L.N.
Cyndi Lauper “She’s So Unusual: A 30th-Anniversary Celebration (Deluxe Edition)” Epic Records
There’s no critique to be made on the original album tracks. Forget it.
The classic hits still move us, and it’s easy to see why Cyndi Lauper has endured as a recording artist for so long. Deep tracks like “I’ll Kiss You” and “Yeah Yeah” still hold a soft spot in our hearts as well.
Anniversary releases like this are for hardcore fans, because everybody and their mother should own the original album in some way, shape or form. This release features new or old remixes, as well as demo and rehearsal versions of many of the album tracks. The modern remixes aren’t breaking any new ground and, honestly, a voice as groundbreaking and adventurous as Lauper’s deserves better than the rubber-stamp club- remix treatment your average pop singer gets. The Arthur Baker remix of “She Bop” from 1984 still holds up, though.
More interesting are the demo and rehearsal versions of the hits from the album, as it’s interesting to see what “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “All Through The Night” and “Time After Time” sounded like in their rough embryonic stages, before they became the timeless pop mega-hits. A rare B-side with “Right Train, Wrong Track” and a live version of “Witness” from her 1984 tour are thrown in the mix for good measure.
Whether you are a fan of Lauper from back in the day or a younger pop fan wanting to know where the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry got a piece of their bold pop swagger, this an album you should check out.
— L.N. Amy Ray “Goodnight Tender” Daemon Records
With slow, lulling rhythms, low-pitched vocals and warm, twangy guitar riffs, Amy Ray’s latest album, “Goodnight Tender,” lives up to its name, leaving listeners with a warm, comforting feeling as the tracks seamlessly flow into one another, creating something of a Southern lullaby.
Ray, who is known for her indie tunes, has reached deep into her Southern roots and produced what is most definitely a country album. From the first few words of “Hunter’s Prayer,” all the way through “When You Come For Me,” you can feel yourself transported from the hustle and bustle of the city into the sweet, slow countryside.
Ray’s tunes are expertly paced, beginning with slower songs like “Oyster and Pearl” to foot-tapping tracks like “The Gig That Matters.” But just as you feel yourself lulling into the tender grip of a musical trance, Ray brings you right back to earth with twangy, fast-tempo, feel-good riffs.
If you’re looking for an escape from the polar vortex, let Ray transport you into the warm countryside through her deep, rolling vocals and steel-stringed musical prowess.
— J.G.
Skindred “Kill The Power” SKH Music
Skindred cannot possibly be a real band.
The only explanation for their unique metal/reggae/dubstep sound is that somewhere, somehow, in some freaky science lab, a mad scientist kidnapped Bob Marley, Korn and Skrillex and performed some sort of insane fusion to produce the Frankenstein-band that is Skindred.
Alternatively, we could just say that Skindred’s latest album that features their unique blend of genres does not disappoint, but then we couldn’t entertain the thought of mad-scientist fusions of popular musicians.
From start to finish, “Kill The Power” is an audio moshpit full of brutal tracks such as “Kill The Power New Master” and “Ruling Force.” Softer tracks such as “Playing With the Devil” and “The Kids Are Right Now” provide a cooldown period with just enough bite and crunch to keep the blood flowing. But don’t relax too much because “Ninja,” true to its name, approaches the ears stealthily and strikes hard and fast with hard-hitting riffs and heavy distortion.
The album finishes off with heavy-hitter “Proceed With Caution,” which seamlessly transitions into the feel-good, reggae-heavy “More Fire,” starkly contrasting with the album’s explosive opening tones.
“Kill The Power” is a mature, well-rounded album that shows Skindred’s mastery of their unique sound. As it ends and you’re queuing it up for a second round, you will likely find yourself opening a new tab on your browser to snag a few tickets to their upcoming North American tour.
— J.G.