mixtape maestro (2.0)

A comforting sigh of wispy, indie pop-meets-country-meets-girl group pleasantry filled with heartache-themed tales that prove you’re not alone in your post-breakup despair. That’s what we all have come to appreciate from Scotland’s Camera Obscura and, once again, that’s what is given on their fourth album (and 4AD label debut), My Maudlin Career, a stellar set of eleven tracks that, even on first listen, already feel like “classics” that have been adored over for years.

Mixtape Maestro’s favorite is “You Told A Lie”, a wintry-hazed midtempo that opens with lead singer/ principal songwriter Tracyanne Campbell feebly cooing a capella after a still-cherished old lover (“No need to convince me you were a catch”) before being swept away by a strings-adorned, yester-age C&W sway.

The soundtrack may sound sweet, but beneath it’s retro beauty, lyrics of a bitter and insecure slant illustrate a much sadder state of things as she over-analyzes why their romance went awry. “Who was it that said that love conquers all?/ Oh, he was a fool ’cause it doesn’t add up,” goes one striking couplet, while later Campbell frets over and over on a passing line her ex once threw at her about her eyes being the “coldest blue”.

What did he mean? Was it a loving compliment or a cruel diss? Sadly, she never gets an answer, and is only left to ruminate over the somber reality that she’s “stuck with them and they’re stuck on you”. Masterful.

DL: “You Told A Lie” (alt)

Leave it to Deep Dish halve Sharam Tayebi, the man who made Eddie Murphy-as-singer cool again with his club-tastic 2006 re-imagining of the comedian’s 80′s hit “Party All The Time”, to emerge triumphant in doing something as bonkers as melding classic country, dub and hip hop 2.0.

On “She Came Along” (from his new Get Wild LP), Sharam starts off by throwing some restless beat tinkerings under the somber C&W sway of Patsy Cline’s “Strange”, creating a surprisingly addictive mashing of genres that would have ultimately been fine on it’s own. Alas, we’re in for even more of a treat, as he then goes and busts the record’s appeal out of the stratosphere by stripping in current sensation Kid Cudi.

Cudi co-signs Cline’s teary-eyed whimperings (“Strange, how you stopped loving me/ How you stopped needing me/ When she came along…”), cleverly using it’s lyrics to support his own “my chick left me for another chick” rhyme. But rather than dish out a predictable dose of shock and heartache in response to the situation, Cudi instead wonders aloud why the three of them can’t find a way to work things out so he can live out the ultimate male fantasy.

The images of their potentially steamy “love triangle” sex sessions clouding up his brain, he pleas for her to stay by his side, promising “I could live life fine with two ladies” before later urging them, in that entrancing sing-rap vocal of his, to both take his hand so he can make them “feel okay”.

Sigh. There’s just too much here to love.

Get Wild, also featuring appearances from Tommy Lee, Diddy and Daniel Bedingfield, is available April 7th. Pre-order it here.

DL: “She Came Along” (alt)

Following in the footsteps of Ray Charles and Whitney Houston, R&B singer Joe injects some soul in country music with this surprisingly solid, gender role switching cover of Carrie Underwood’s crossover smash “Before He Cheats”.

If R. Kelly would have dared tackle this, we would probably get an entirely new chapter to the story (after smashing her man’s truck, Carrie would have ran to her lesbian lover-on-the-side’s home only to catch her in bed with the same girl her man was talking to at the bar, and somehow, somebody would be pulling out a Beretta). Joe doesn’t get that creative, mainly switching pro-nouns and becoming the male part of this “Ricki Lake”-inspired, Nashvillian love triangle (I do love him transforming the line “white trash version of Shania karaoke” into “some ghetto version of Mariah karaoke”). His soft croon, usually never showing this much strain, gets all affected over the backing racket of jaunty piano and hard-hitting drums, especially when he recounts the details of his prized ride being pounded to bits. It’s an ironic departure for the man whose built a steady career of gentlemanly tunes that tell men how to cherish their women.

Miles better than most of his already forgotten last album, and a career re-defining niche Joe should ponder about for the next one, “Before I Cheat” ends up being one of the more interesting records he’s ever done. Who would of thunk?

The latest non-country act to reignite their career by shifting their focus to Nashville audiences, Bon Jovi’s genre jump isn’t the most shocking, or dumbest, of career moves. They’ve always tapped into that good ole’ Americana brand of pop/ rock and made riding on steel horses sound dangerously cool way back when. Unfortunately, the past decade and change saw them recording what sounded like the same song over and over, delivering cheeky anthems that sounded more and more homogenized each go round. Though the basis of their sound hasn’t changed, bringing in a subtle glistening of banjos and fiddles helps add a fresh perspective that makes them somewhat interesting again.

In hopes to recreate the same success stirred up with the Jennifer Nettles duet “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” (the first #1 country single ever awarded to a primarily rock act), Jon, Richie & the boys get help from another Southern blonde (impressive child wonder turned modestly interesting adult act LeAnn Rimes) on the Lost Highway track “Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore”, a couples’ intervention ballad highlighted by the smart hooks and soapy lyricism classic C&W is known for.

Jon and LeAnn play a duo angling to inject some of that old camaraderie back into their relationship (“It might be hard to be lovers/ But it’s harder to be friends”). This time instead of just jumping into bed, having boring missionary sex and then dispersing to their own corners of the bed for a dozing off, they’re going to sit up and act like they’re intrigued by eachother’s day again without ending in some dispute about why she never washes the dishes or why he won’t shave off that nasty stubble on his face.

Jon and LeAnn’s voices fit eachother well, blending into one massive MOR vocal, not retaining much personality but getting the point across. In an effort to remind listeners that these boys do have a rock background, Sambora gives up one of his grand guitar solos, searching for some sort of edge to offset the basic-ness of everything else.

“‘Til We Ain’t Stranger Anymore” dabbles enough in the pop/ rock and country fields to earn some sense of respect from both worlds. Is it all that original? No, but we gave up on Bon Jovi doing anything original long ago.

Former “Nashville Star” contestant Miranda Lambert quickly positioned herself as one of the more unique female country personalities to arrive in the wake of Gretchen Wilson’s successful anti-Shania/ Faith stance. The Texan bad ass has already been an arsonist and bar room brawler on previous songs, unearthing a fiery vixen possessed by a vengeful soul as she wrecks havoc on former lovers. On “Gunpowder and Lead”, a standout moment from her sophomore album, the fittingly-titled Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the singer-songwriter really goes over the edge in a vividly written fantasy in which she confronts an abusive beau.

Never confirming what he could of did to rile her up so, this honky-tonk/ rock powered number joins the storyline right at the climax, Lambert headed for his home toting a shotgun and an intent to dole out some damage (“I’ve got two miles til/ He makes bail/ And if I’m right/ We’re heading straight for hell”). Tossing back a six pack and sucking down nicotine, the girly-voiced singer breathes fire as she awaits his pick-up entering the driveway (“He ain’t seen crazy yet,” she gleefully sneers, cleverly referencing her past work).

Mistaking her pint size for a weakness, the target expectantly attempts to beat her into submission but it’s all the ammunition she needs to put her plan into action. “His fist is big/ But my gun’s bigger”, she squeals on the bridge before laying him down with two shots that hauntingly punctuate the song’s sudden conclusion.

A remarkably brief cut that further pushes her lovable take-no-mess persona, “Gunpowder and Lead” finds Lambert refusing to end up another Lifetime TV-movie victim in a startling blast of feminine rage that will no doubt have some men second guessing ever doing their women wrong.

No stranger to chucking out a comedic tune, Paisley sort of needs to rely on his ballpoint wit in order to give his otherwise bland persona some distinctiveness. But he’s never went so far as to turn listeners off a la the “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”-praising Trace Adkins or out-spoken frat-dad Toby Keith. So it’s a little surprising that of all the interchangeable steely-voiced cowboys all attempting stand-up comedy in recent years, Brad Paisley emerges as the slimiest of them all with the uber-creepy pick up lines he offers on the WTF? single, “Ticks”.

Giving us a glimpse into his predator side (“Dateline” should take notice), Paisley starts off acting strange, slobbering over a woman he notices at a bar (“Every time you take a sip/…You press that bottle to your lips/ And I wish I was your beer”) before turning his attention to the booty cleavage she’s advertising while sitting on the barstool (“Your jeans are playing peekaboo/ I’d like to see the other half of your butterfly tattoo”).

Assuring her that he exudes more class than the rest of the bums around her, she willingly lets him whisk her off to a hideaway spot in the country (where no one is around) where he sets his plan into motion. That’s where on the otherwise romantic chorus he drops the ultimate line: “I want to check you for ticks”.

Paisley comes across so icky that it’s hard not to look at this as the anything but the opening quarter of a Lifetime television movie. The perky country/ rock musical accompaniment tries to make “Ticks” whimsical and smirkish, but the storyline is so twisted and sadistic that upbeat guitars really don’t make it any easier to swallow.

Maybe Paisley had run out of alcohol stories to tell or was just feeling a little too complacent in his role as one of country’s most charming do-gooders. Whatever the case, “Ticks” is an attention-grabbing tune that will no doubt forever change people’s perception of him. Few out of the Nashville camp will be able to top it (none will probably want to), making it one of the more bold releases of 2007. But will it turn out to be the career killer that makes Paisley an outcast? It’ll be intriguing to see what kind of reaction it’ll bring about from the typically stuffy country industry.