Love him or hate him, there is no denying the divisive impact President George Bush has had on the American public. His neo-liberal republican agenda has come under some severe criticism, not only from abroad but domestically too. Listening to three new albums to emanate from the red, white and blue, it seems America’s songwriters are weighing in on the debate.
Elder statesman Neil Young has produced a blistering assault with his new album titled Living with War (Gallo). Lead single Let’s Impeach the President holds no punches. “Let’s impeach the president for lyin’, And misleading our country into war,” sings Young over his distorted guitar, backed by a 100-strong choir. This is Young’s least subtle album as the song titles Shock and Awe, Flags of Freedom, Looking for a Leader and Living with War attest. Young has said he was hoping a younger songwriter would write these songs, but eventually felt the responsibility to do it himself.
I suppose one can’t blame Young for not being in touch with the work of young singer-songwriters like Conor Orbest from Bright Eyes. Their new album, Motion Sickness (Saddle Creek), is a live document of their tour in support of the album I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning. Orbest’s new songs illustrate how the current political turmoil in the United States intrudes in his daily life. On When the President Talks to God he chooses a more direct path, savaging Bush. “When the president talks to God/ Do you they drink near beer and go play golf/ While they pick which countries to invade/ Which Muslim souls still can be saved/ I guess god just calls a spade a spade,” he sings.
American icon Bruce Springsteen joined Orbest on the Vote for Change tour in the run-up to the previous American election. Springsteen has chosen a more subtle response to the Bush administration on his new album, a collection of songs made famous by the folk pioneer Pete Seeger. Titled We Shall Overcome (Sony/BMG), Springsteen’s new album is directed towards the Americans who have been isolated in their homeland — those that detest Bush’s hard-line policies and have to live with his decisions. As Springsteen careers through protest songs such as Eyes on the Prize, O Mary Don’t You Weep and We Shall Overcome, backed by his large ensemble, it is clear The Boss is telling his brethren to hold on.
ALSO ON THE SHELF
Danko Jones
Sleep Is the Enemy (ASP Records)
The press release that accompanied this album billed Danko Jones as the “loudest, proudest, suavest, sexist, heaviest, heartiest power trio in the world”, and my response to that statement can only be: What world exactly are we talking about? Canada may be the lifeblood of everything that is cool about rock’n’roll right now, but Danko Jones are definitely not riding that wave. If you like your rock’n’roll full of clichéd riffs, calculated hooks and boring lyrics, then I have just the band for you. Otherwise, buy an album by Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Lovely Feathers, Broken Social Scene or the New Pornographers and support the finest Canada has to offer. — Lloyd Gedye
The Futureheads
News and Tributes (Gallo Records)
There is a lack of authenticity about this band, which seems to be a generic problem with a whole crop of new British bands. Where as the early 1990s Brit-pop wave produced such memorable acts as Blur, Pulp and Supergrass, the new wave has produced pedestrian pretenders to the throne such as Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs and now The Futureheads. Album opener Yes/No is reminiscent of New Model Army although never quite attaining those heights, while The Return of the Berserker sounds like Minor Threat remixed by Nine Inch Nails. I know that sounds interesting, but the end result really is not. I was looking forward to hearing this band after so much touting by the British press, but I guess once again we have an over-hyped band with nothing but an unoriginal average album. — Lloyd Gedye
Less Than Jake
In with the Out Crowd (Gallo)
Whoever Jake is, he has a seriously boring life. The opening song on this album, Soundtrack to My Life, has to be the most forgettable song that I’ve heard since Alien Ant Farm invaded the public consciousness with their Michael Jackson cover. Maybe it’s a self-defence mechanism on behalf of my brain, which refuses to even acknowledge a song this bad. On PS Shock the World, lead singer Chris vents some of his existential angst: “It’s still a mystery to me why I’m doubting all my dreams, all the things that I will say will someday fade away.” Attention 5fm, this should go down a hoot with your audience of mindless sheep. Maybe this album should be retitled Out with the In Crowd; in the meantime, the rest of us can hope the fading starts sooner rather than later. Leaving the last word to Chris: “Maybe I’m jaded and bored, always looking for more.” — Lloyd Gedye
Gary Numan
Jagged (ASP Records)
I’m sure that there are still people out there that are buying Gary Numan records; it’s just not me. It has been almost 25 years since Numan released groundbreaking records with his post-punk band Tubeway Army, and 2006 sees him plodding around in the gothic and industrial genres, not saying much of interest at all. Jagged, his latest offering, swirls around in a hollow-sounding pool of mediocrity. If you’re really into this kind of music, buy some early Bauhaus or Sisters of Mercy albums, when the music sounded alive and urgent and not like it had been recorded for dead people to listen to. — Lloyd Gedye