Review: Blake Lewis - Heartbreak On Vinyl

Blake Lewis - Heartbreak On Vinyl
2009, Tommy Boy Records

Blake Lewis got his big break on season six of American Idol, finishing as runner-up to winner Jordin Sparks. Fans of the show continue to argue whether it was talent or gimmicky that advanced Lewis that far; he appeared to be on his way to an earlier exit from the show until he surprised the audience with beat-box style performances. The novelty of this performance (and several to follow) carried Lewis into the final. His 2007 debut album, Audio Day Dream, has sold 350,000 copies to date, and Lewis has maintained a high profile since his days on Idol. On October 6, 2009, Lewis returns with Heartbreak On Vinyl, influenced by 1980's Electropop and Dance music and current trends in electronic music. Lewis had help from such folks as S*A*M & Sluggo (Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco); Dave Aude (Pussycat Dolls); Rodney Jerkins (Lady Gaga, Britney Spears) and Jean Baptiste (Will.I.Am, Black Eyed Peas).

Lewis opens with the title track, a song inspired by the closing of both his favorite record store in his home town and the closing of the Virgin Mega Store in Times Square in New York City. The song is a decent listen with a good dance beat. Lewis' voice is affable without bowling you over. Binary Love and Freak are pure Dance Pop tunes; not much on thought required as long as you keep moving. Voices and lyrics are essentially interchangeable in such songs as the rhythm is ultimately all that matters. Sad Song is the single from the album; full of electronic effects and even vocal effects; the song is perhaps the least impressive song on the disc both musically and vocally. Lewis returns to pure dance pop on the mediocre Afraid, but does a bit better with Left My Baby For You, crafting a melody and rhythm that suggests there's real pop musicality to be found if you dig for it.

SuperScratchaVocalisticTurnatableLicious is a minute of turntable tricks, sampling and looping of Lewis' beat-box style. This was entertaining to listen to, but would work better if he actually crafted a whole song from vocal sounds rather than just a brief sample. Lewis is at his best on The Point, which starts out as a quietly dramatic tune that builds in intensity and in sound, if slowly. Lewis' voice is decent and he builds the song well. The Remedy kicks back into Dance Pop mode and is probably the most successful overall track on the disc. Lewis says goodnight with Love Or Torture (Please Don't Stop), a catchy but mindless tune perfect for the clubs.

Blake Lewis continues down the path he began on American Idol, creating Pop, Electronic kid music that plays well to those who want little more out of music than a good beat. Heartbreak On Vinyl isn't a bad effort, containing several songs with real chart potential. I suspect Heartbreak On Vinyl will be a big success for Lewis.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Blake Lewis at http://www.blakelewisofficial.com/ or www.myspace.com/blakelewis. Heartbreak On Vinyl drops October 6, 2009. You can pre-order a copy from Amazon.com. Expect wide distribution in both real and virtual formats.

Review: Nylon Pink - Nylon Pink

Nylon Pink - Nylon Pink (Demo)
2009, Nylon Pink

Nylon Pink are the cover girls for a future of music that fits the musical and cultural mores of the moment but will send traditional music fans running for the exits. Formed in Hollywood in 2007, Nylon Pink features Kaila Yu (vocals), Kitt.E.Katt (bass), Jonathan Cathey (drums), Samuel Bluck (guitar) and DJ Shy on turntables. Its Veruca Salt meets The Black Eyed Peas with marketing and merchandising built right into the music. Nylon Pink sent a 3-song self-titled demo for consideration, so let's check it out.

Kaila Yu was something of a celebrity even before forming Nylon Pink. Her MySpace page has over nine million hits and 440,000 friends. Yu has appeared in Stuff, FHM and House of Roses magazines (many on the cover) and was picked by Rolling Stone for their annual Hot List of artists to watch in 2007. With a hybrid sound of Rocker Girl panache and dance club beats, Nylon Pink has a sound that's highly marketable to Pop/Urban radio programmers. The demo opens with Hello Drama, an upbeat Dance/Rocker that also happens to share its title with the line of jewelry Nylon Pink recently launched. It's a commercial in a song. The song itself is shrill and without any real development of ideas. This is perfect material for the dance clubs; bubblegum music with a marketing center. Crack has a dark feel and an incessant dance beat. The vocals are decent, but the melody line that borrows heavily from Nine Inch Nails' Closer and the over-produced sound (including vocal correction work) really detract from the finished product. Lipstick is incessant and urgent in its dance beat, and really never proves to be anything more than a dance beat with lyrics and a marginal representation of a melody.

Nylon Pink is a marketers dream. Cover girl looks from Kaila Yu and Kitt.E.Katt and product representation built right into the songs. The difficulty is that the meat just isn't in the music. I imagine Nylon Pink will do quite well on the club scene, and a short term bit of commercial success wouldn't be terribly surprising, particularly if the band can license a song to a Mean Girls type movie, but the shelf life on a band like this is relatively short, and once the songs go out of rotation they'll likely be forgotten.

Rating: 1 Star (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Nylon Pink at www.myspace.com/nylonpink, www.myspace.com/kailayu or http://www.nylonpink.tv/.

Review: BR And Timebomb - Fuegissimo

BR And Timebomb - Fuegissimo
2009, BR And Timebomb

BR and Timebomb are a Brooklyn-based rap combo with the lyrical sense and vibrant energy of The Roots or The Black Eyed Peas who happen to make their music the old fashioned way – they play it; on instruments. In what may be one of the most innovative releases of the year, BR And Timebomb released their EP Fuegissimo. Hip-hop may never be the same.

What a wonderfully refreshing sound! BR And Timebomb open with Fuegissimo, a hip-hop dance tune that has entirely organic instrumentation. Violin, trumpet, bass and drums concoct an original yet recognizable hip-hop sound that is unlike anything I’ve heard. The song itself is incredibly catchy; if it doesn’t get your feet moving you’d better have someone check your pulse. It’s On You continues with the original instrumentation, but you’re used enough to it by now to notice something else: BR can rhyme with the best of them. The rhymes are intelligent, poetic and well thought out. The backing vocalist is no slouch either. Tools opens with a plaintive violin solo that turns into Celtic style fiddling after the bass, drums and guitar come in. BR is once again well-spoken in rhyme. The EP closes out with Super BR, a bit of autobiographical trash talk in rhyme that’s entertaining.

It’s amazing what a change in instrumental scheme can do for a genre that borders on overdone and tired at times. While I’ve heard a number of bands/artists go the organic music route with hip-hop, I’ve never heard anyone do it quite like this. BR And Timebomb are new and unique enough to capture attention, and talented enough to hold onto it for the long haul. Don’t be surprised if this is the beginning of a long, slow build for BR And Timebomb that results in a lengthy and steady career.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about BR And Timebomb at http://www.myspace.com.brdaone/. You can purchase a copy of Fuegissimo at www.cdbaby.com/cd/brtimebomb.