Rick Springfield - Venus in Overdrive
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Casting himself in the role of an arachnid-obsessed psychopath, the 60-year-old former Vincent Furnier barks vocals with snide authority over blaring electric guitars on sizzling tunes with such suitably cartoonish titles as Vengeance Is Mine. His gloomy tales are not silly, but neither are they especially threatening, despite Cooper's mildly fetishistic focus on the predatory instincts of a character who spends most of his time wallowing in self-assessments such as Catch Me if You Can. Although he's intently theatrical, Cooper could stand to add some character to the churning rock grit of the rumbling Wake the Dead and the fuzz-guitar-lined The One That Got Away. Careful to keep his centerpiece degenerate from sounding too twisted despite multiple proclamations of the evil he shall soon do, Cooper gets little more than arch melodrama from the likes of I Know Where You Live, and too often produces only repetitive sneering in places that should be stocked with tension. Essential download: The One That Got Away - Thomas Kintner CHRIS DIFFORD
The Last Temptation of Chris
Airline
Some artists simply play well with others, and Chris Difford has proven proved repeatedly to be one. In Squeeze, he and Glenn Tilbrook were sometimes lauded as the '80s' answer to Lennon and McCartney. But Difford's solo debut, 2002's I Didn't Get Where I Am, was a fruitful partnership with fellow Brit Francis Dunnery, and Last Temptation -- written and recorded with singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine, filling Tilbrook's traditional high-harmony spot -- is even better. It will inevitably be tarred as adult pop because of the warm, country-tinged arrangements and and subject matter that skews, sometimes hilariously, toward middle-age concerns. Only a craftsman of Difford's skill could credibly tackle the topic of vasectomy reversal, but he consistently finds fresh perspectives on familiar dilemmas -- an adulterer's connection to a cuckolded husband (The Other Man in My Life), or the way the scent of an object like My Mother's Handbag can bring mortality crashing home -- putting this leagues beyond the usual midlife-crisis-folk, and making its appeal universal. Best of all, Fat as a Fiddle uses lacerating self-deprecation (and a killer power-pop melody) to protest the ravages of age. Difford might need the bigger belt these days, but his songwriting has never been sharper. Essential download: Fat as a Fiddle - Dan LeRoy RICK SPRINGFIELD
Venus in Overdrive
New Door/Universal
If you're going to recycle guitar parts from your older songs, it's best to pick something no one remembers -- the way David Gilmour did on Pink Floyd's 1994 song What Do You Want From Me, with a solo lifted from an obscure tune on his 1978 solo album. That must have been too subtle for Rick Springfield, the Australian-born actor and singer who opens his latest album by repurposing the riff from his most popular song. Go ahead: Hum the melody from Jessie's Girl along with What's Victoria's Secret? -- it's a match. Maybe Victoria's secret is that she was Jessie's girl. At least Springfield wrote the part, which is probably the best thing you can say about Venus in Overdrive. It's a slick collection heavy on pop hooks and packed with glossy guitars and studio-perfect bass and drums. Too perfect, in fact: These 12 songs have had all of the personality produced right out of them. What's left is a glib assortment of tunes that are supposed to be alternately wise and wry about life and love. Some of them are catchy -- the stately, chiming guitar on the Coldplay homage Oblivious, or the attempt to evoke Neil Diamond on Saint Sahara. Mostly, though, they just sound insincere. Essential download: What's Victoria's Secret? -- Eric R. Danton JAMES JACKSON TOTH
Waiting in Vain
Rykodisc
Shelving the psych-folk obscurity he plied as Wooden Wand, James Jackson Toth has struck out into the world under his given name. He cites '70s-era Rolling Stones as a major influence, and he often adopts a passing Jagger sneer while mining worn-in songs about the devil, drink and sin, steeped in barroom piano and reverb-y twang. The more traditional vibe suits Toth's jump to Rykodisc (or vice versa), and these silky, sleepy, country-tinged dirges will appeal more to a broader classic-rock audience than to any fringe out-folk cult. That's not to knock it; Waiting in Vain is soulful and nourishing, with the right balance of hero worship and invention. Doreen sounds like a slowed take on Kenny Rogers' Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In), while the brisker The Banquet Styx ends with heady tangles of guitar. Look in on Me opens with imagery of cocaine and bourbon / pinball and pool, Beulah the Good is an upbeat country gem, and the quiet Midnight Watchman features more varied instrumentation. Calling on producer Steve Fisk, current Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, and members of Vetiver and Evangelista, Toth conjures a down-home vibe that sinks in slowly but surely. Essential download: The Banquet Styx -- Doug Wallenƒz TAKKA TAKKA
Migration
Ernest Jenning
On its sophomore album, Brooklyn quintet Takka Takka makes frequent reference to lions, sometimes using them as metaphors for strength and virtue, other times for danger. If the band isn't sure how it feels about the king of the jungle, it's as tentative when it comes to that creature's homeland. Like Talking Heads on codeine, the group occasionally colors its low-key, spaced-out indie-rock songs with African-inspired rhythms and guitar sounds, never fully committing to a musical migration. The vague world-beat vibe gives weight to singer Gabe Levine's lyrics, which are at once economical and grandiose. With lines about distant shores and cities on fire, Levine hints at some heavy topics, among them activism, terrorism, and the calming effects of true love. His words may be little more than pretentious nonsense, but even so, he manages a kind of mystical authority. The band counters with music that is mysterious but far from unapproachable. On tunes like Change, No Change, the guitars twinkle, the keyboards hum, and the drums push ahead without becoming overpowering. As a result, much of Migration plays like global mediation music: great for deep relaxation, maybe even deep thought. Essential download: Everybody Say -...
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