Survivor - Destiny's Child

And why not?

Straight to number one with a bullet in 2001, these ladies OWNED the R&B charts, and we're bringing it to this Thursdays Critical Junction.

Track Listing
1. Independent Woman (part 1)
2. Survivor
3. Bootylicious
4. Nasty Girl
5. Fancy
6. Apple Pie A La Mode
7. Sexy Daddy
8. Perfect Man
9. Independent Woman (part 2)
10. Happy Face
11. Dance With Me
12. My Heart Still Beats - Destiny's Child & Beyonce
13. Emotion
14. Brown Eyes
15. Dangerously In Love
16. Story Of Beauty
17. Gospel Medley (Dedicated to Andretta Tillman)
18. Outro (DC-3)

Nina Nastasia - The Blackened Air

This week's critical junction is a little left of field, and well perhaps an artist few of you will have heard of let alone the album.

So first things first I suppose, who is Nina Nastasia? Nina is a New York based singer songwriter, who has released 5 albums all of which have been produced by the worlds best non-producing producer, Steve Albini. Blackened Air is her second album and was released in 2002. The late great BBC DJ, John Peel was a huge fan and had her record six sessions for the BBC. Her song Ugle Face, from Blackened Air made it to number 4 on Peel's annual festive 50 in 2002!

So Blackened Air, why is it included in our little corner of musical criticism? Well we guess its something of a personal choice, but it is an achingly beautiful album worthy of our and many others praise. The folk infused album is filled with tracks that will undoubtedly stand the test of time. Nina's coutry twinged voice and delicate guitar are the driving force of this album. Short songs like All For You achieve more in 1:42 seconds that most artist accomplish in a lifetime! Compared this to the more forceful song In The Graveyard, which despite its despairing lyrics is filled with a redemption not often found in ballads of loss. Perhaps the finest moment on this astonishing collection of songs is This Is What It Is, which blends chamber music, country and folk into something rarely heard, new music!

If you haven't heard of Nina, or heard her music, then this is the place to start, Blackened Air and Nina Nastasia are gaining momentum, get on board and go to wherever her music takes you.


Track Listing

1. "Run, All You…"
2. "I Go With Him"
3. "This Is What It Is"
4. "Oh, My Stars"
5. "All for You"
6. "So Little"
7. "Desert Fly"
8. "Ugly Face"
9. "In the Graveyard"
10. "Ocean"
11. "Rosemary"
12. "The Same Day"
13. "Been So Long"
14. "The Very Next Day"
15. "Little Angel"
16. "That's All There Is"

Hot Fuss - The Killers

Hot Fuss is the debut album by post-punk band The Killers, released in June 2004. Who would have thought that the best British band to burst onto the scene in years would be American? The Killers’ music is based on British influences and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Waveand according to lead singer Brandon Flowers, the band’s larger-than-life sound is down to “the influence of living in Las Vegas, a city where everything is about flash and who can top whom”.

The Las Vegas foursome introduce a perfectly tailored new wave-induced art rock sound on “Hot Fuss”. The eleven tracks span from first proper single release Somebody Told Me, the chunky-riffed song loaded with androgynous mystery which wooed MTV audiences and modern rock followers during the summer of 2004, to Mr Brightside, a tale of jealousy that depicts the moment in a relationship when you realise that your other half might be playing away and the fears and visualisations your imagination can then throw at you. On Top celebrates where Brandon feels the band is at, while Andy You’re A Star is a stalker’s story. Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine and Mr. Brightside are equally as fiesty as the album’s first single, confirming that a formula is indeed in motion. The gospel rock of All These Things That I've Done, which saw Flowers realise his long-held dream of using a full-on gospel choir in the band’s recordings, fits strangely well with the Cure-inspired synths of Everything Will Be Alright and “Believe Me Natalie”, as well as with the dark-sounding “Midnight Show”.

The Killers’ “murder trilogy” has been much debated amongst fans and critics since the release of “Hot Fuss”, two thirds of the trilogy appearing on the album in the forms of Midnight Show (the act and attempted escape) and Jenny Was A Friend of Mine (the capture and questioning of the accused). A tale of the murder of a girl by her jealous boyfriend, the band themselves have mostly been silent about it, apart from Flowers saying cryptically in interviews that “there was water involved, although he didn’t drown her”. Part one of the trilogy, Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf, about the planning of and motive for the crime, makes an appearance on the 2007 B-sides and rarities compilation Sawdust.

One may say it’s premature to call Hot Fuss a classic album, but we think time will prove us right…

Track listing
1. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
2. Mr. Brightside - (Thin White Duke remix)
3. Smile Like You Mean It
4. Somebody Told Me - (Josh Harris remix)
5. All These Things That I've Done
6. Andy, You're a Star
7. On Top
8. Change Your Mind
9. Believe Me Natalie
10. Midnight Show
11. Everything Will Be Alright

Is This It - The Strokes

Released in 2001 Is This It is debut from much hyped New York Garage rockers The Strokes. Admittedly I found the whole thing very hard to swallow when it was released but upon reflection this album has a deserved place on the Critical Junctions roster.

Its influence has led, good or bad, to a resurgence in the garage rock scene and indeed the revitalisation of the Post Punk ethic of rip it up and start again. The album has gone Platinum around the world and is often in top 100 album lists of all time.

It spawned a plethora of hit singles such as Someday, Last Night and the anthemic Hard To Explain. Standout album track’s include. Soma, Try your Luck and Barely Legal.

The Modern Age was the first release the band ever put out as an EP and it appears on the album. A catchy song that’s you could almost swear Lou Reed was singing!! Hard To Explain was their first single and it whipped the music press into a salivating frenzy for the release of Is This It. They album is filled with simple hooks and driving beats and the signature distorted vocals of Julian Casablancas.

They have been called the saviours of rock and roll, the new Rolling Stones and bizarrely the second coming of the Velvet Underground. But what they are are very good songwriters who create simple raw songs that keep your toes tapping until they cramp up and freeze.

Track Listing

1. Is This It

2. The Modern Age

3. Soma

4. Barely Legal

5. Alone Together

6. Someday

7. Last Night

8. Hard To Explain

9. New York City Cops

10. Trying Your Luck

11. Take It Or Leave It

Elephant - The White Stripes

Divorced Couple? Brother and Sister? Sonically charged gifted duo The White Stripes tore the world asunder with the release of their 4th album Elephant in 2003 providing them with their first UK Chart Topper. - Just to clear things up they are actually a divorced couple.
Elephant was recorded in two weeks in 2002 in London's Toe Rag Studios. Jack White produced the album with deliberately antiquated equipment, including an eight-track tape machine and pre-1960s recording gear; this is something the band have always done, as recording quickly gives them a live energetic sound.
The album cover had many variations worldwide, all similiar, however Jack and Meg change positions, on the cover featured here, you can see the shape of an elephants head with the duo forming the ears.
The music? Well the big song from this album is now a staple anthem. Seven Nation Army pulverized listeners from the first 6 note’s. For the nerds out there this song is a rare example of the Phrygian Half Cadence in popular music, for the rest of us it simply rocks. The Seven Nation Army referred to in the song is simply the way Jack White pronounced The Salvation Army as a child. The video for this track is fantastic and everyone from Metallica to Jamie Callum done cover versions of the song.
Burt Bacharach makes an appearance their own cover version of I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself, originally a hit for Dusty Springfield in 1966. Sofia Coppola created a sensational video for this which simply had Kate Moss pole dancing.....it doesn’t take much.
The Hardest Button To Button is a song about a child trying to find his place in a dysfunctional family when a new baby comes. It is a catchy song with a driving beat amply provided by Meg. The video was directed by French director Michel Gondry.
One of my personal favourites from the album is There’s No Home For You Here. I don’t think I’m alone when I think there is a Queen type sound in this song, maybe it's the great harmonies?
A dark, paranoid, stunning album that leaves the listener begging for more, from the gentle You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket to the feverish Hypnotize, Elephant is an authentic accomplished album, the influence of which is only beginning to be seen in music today.

Track listing
1. Seven Nation Army
2. Black Math
3. There's No Home For You Here
4. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
5. In The Cold, Cold Night
6. I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart
7. You've Got Her In Your Pocket
8. Ball And Biscuit
9. Hardest Button To Button, The
10. Little Acorns
11. Hypnotise
12. Air Near My Fingers, The
13. Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine
14. Well It's True That We Love One Another

Moon Safari - Air

Moon Safari is the debut album from French duo Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel AKA Air. Released in 1998 it is a classic electronic album. It debuted on the UK album charts at number 5 and is described by themselves as “Space Pop”

Moon Safari is an eclectic mix of synth-pop, acoustic guitars and faux-string arrangements often reminiscent of 60 French pop or the soundtracks to French Films of the same era. Sexy Boy was the first single taken from the album and the one that really sold it. Its distorted synth hook drives the track along, mixing the gritty sound with gurgling beeps to great effect. The Sexy Boy video was directed by Mike Mills (who also designed the sleeve) and details the fantasy adventure of a flying monkey who goes into space, as dreamt up by Air while playing with a stuffed toy in New York. Fantastic stuff!!!

Kelly Watch The Stars (Ok the title kind of gives it away) is a spacey song. Again the electro synth sound of the two boys keeps the song moving along but the piano section gives it a warm natural feel. Beautiful, minimalist with fantastic spacious guitars, All I Need features vocals from American singer songwriter Beth Hirsch. She appears again on You Make It Easy a soft sensual love song featuring wave sounds where once again Air show their gift at exploring the melodic side of electronic music. La Femme D’Argent is a warm bassy song with more synth schenagry throughout, a slow chill out song that builds to a wonderful climax, it's a signature Air song, and one the evening Live Drive crew can’t get enough of!

Moon Safari is the future set to the sounds of the past. It is French pomp given a new wave makeover. It is romantic and eloquent without having to say much. While the rest of the electronic world were busy getting there BPM’s to go faster Air were slowing it all down to produce a masterpiece of irresistible electro pop chill out music.

Track listing
1. La Femme D'Argent
2. Sexy Boy
3. All I Need - (with Beth Hirsch)
4. Kelly Watch The Stars
5. Talisman
6. Remember
7. You Make It Easy - (with Beth Hirsch)
8. Ce Matin La
9. New Star In The Sky :: Chanson Pour Solal
10. Le Voyage De Penelope

Red Dirt Girl - Emmylou Harris

In 2000 Emmylou Harris released the critically acclaimed Red Dirt Girl. Mostly self penned, profound and graceful song-writing couple with haunting vocals to deliver a production that's been called everything from ethereal and exquisite to mud footed trip hop (!)
Ultimately it's a beautiful record that demands to be heard and stays with you. From the haunting Bang The Drum Slowly, to the poignant tale of the Red Dirt Girl to the lyrical beauty of Michelangelo, this Thursdays Critical Junction is a country crossover to silence the doubters.
Track Listing
1. Pearl, The
2. Michaelangelo
3. I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now
4. Tragedy
5. Red Dirt Girl
6. My Baby Needs A Shepherd
7. Bang The Drum Slowly
8. J'ai Fait Tout
9. One Big Love - (with Patty Griffin)
10. Hour Of Gold
11. My Antonia - (with Dave Matthews)
12. Boy From Tupelo

Kid A - Radiohead

After the huge critical success of Ok Computer Radiohead almost disintegrated. What they came back with was a fractured disjointed record without chorus or catchy single it was a masterpiece. Released in 2000 it was the soundtrack to the destruction and re creation of one of music’s most important bands.

From the first 5 notes of Kid A you know the album is something special. Everything In Its Right Place begins like a waking dream. The warm layers of lead singers Thom Yorke’s vocals interact seamlessly with drum machined beats and delicate organ. It is quickly followed by the title track an ambient mechanical song in the vein of Aphex Twin. It is explosively countered by National Anthem, a song bursting apart with a horn section and distorted bass. The album drifts into How To Disappear Completely a song written after Yorke had a dream before a concert in Dublin. It is the most typical Radiohead song on Kid A and one of the most haunting. Tree fingers is yet another sound-scape song akin to Brian Enos works while Optimistic is guitar driven and a perfect set up for the fast paced dance track Idioteque. Morning Bell and Motion Picture round off this phenomenal album.

Refusing to release a video or single from the album did not halt its success, achieving platinum sales in its first month, only radiohead album to do so. And debuting at number 1 on the billboard charts. Radiohead were accused of being wilfully difficult however only one song on the album is over 6 minutes long. It may have divided fans and critics alike but Kid A will be the album Radiohead will be remembered for.

Track listing
1. Everything In Its Right Place
2. Kid A
3. National Anthem, The
4. How To Disappear Completely
5. Treefingers
6. Optimistic
7. In Limbo
8. Idioteque
9. Morning Bell
10. Motion Picture Soundtrack

Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea - P.J. Harvey

Bringing us up to date, something pivotal from the Naughties.
In 2000 Polly Jean Harvey released this, her 5th Album and finally reached the critical acclaim she deserved. The album won the Mercury Prize in 2001.
The City referred to in the title Is New York, a city of "heroin and speed, of genocide and suicide, syphilis and greed" Somehow PJ manages to make this sound mysterious, cool and romantic.
All jangly guitars and dirty bass, Thursdays Critical Junction will feature Big Exit, The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore, You Said Something, and her duet with Radioheads Thom Yorke, This Mess We're In. We may squeeze in We Float before the show kicks off.