Music Review: Kid Cudi - The Man on the Moon (2009)

(I'm going to try going with shorter reviews for music than for movies. Let me know what you think).

Kid Cudi's debut album is a tough album to judge. On first listen, it paled in comparison to Cudi's mixtape work. The beats seemed sparse and unengaging, and Cudi's rapping seemed stale and, at times, bored. However, after listening through the album a couple of times, I realize it's actually a work of genius. An uneven, inexperienced work, but nonetheless has moments of greatness that point towards Cudi becoming something of a hero in both the worlds of hip-hop and of electronica and indie rock. Cudi's at his best when he's tackling issues close to his heart, like feeling out of touch with the world and being somewhat of a lost soul ("Soundtrack to My Life," "Day 'N' Night") and not when he's trying to weave sexual innuendo that's all too common in mainstream hip-hop ("Make Her Say"). His collaborations with indie rockers Ratatat and MGMT also come across as inventive and fresh, making me hope that, in the future, Kid Cudi decides to do more collaborations with indie rockers and lesser-known artists than with rap superstars (Kanye sounds surprisingly flat on "Maker Her Say").

Rating: 8/10
Standout Tracks: Day 'N' Night, Soundtrack to My Life, Alive (Nightmare)
Weak Links: Make Her Say, My World

Album Review: Taking Back Sunday - New Again (2009)

Once again, Taking Back Sunday has to record an album with a new guitarist/back-up vocalist after the departure of Fred Mascherino. Although markedly different from Taking Back Sunday's previous work, it still holds up as a solid album with a couple of inspired moments.

The first thing that jumps out from the album is the glossy production and the lack of "call-and-response" vocals. Although Louder Now toned down Mascherino's vocal responses to lead singer Adam Lazzara, prominent background vocals seem almost completely absent from New Again.

Granted, with the strength of some of the album's songs, it's really not a problem. Opener "New Again" features Lazzara at his angsty best, and gets the album off to a fairly strong start, and, in its way, addresses the issue of this album being a new direction for the band. "Sink Into Me," the second track and lead single, is a strong track that would probably be the album highlight if not for the overused "hey hey" vocals in the background during the bridge.

The quality dips off a little after the first two tracks, although nothing on the album is truly bad. "Summer, Man" is a a pseudo-ballad that only works during the verses and falls apart when the chorus hits. Ditto for "Where My Mouth Is." "Cut Me Up Jenny" feels like straightforward TBS, but the intensity with which Lazzara approaches the chorus allows the song to avoid being too stale.

The end of the album, however, regains much of the strength of the album's beginning. "Carpathia" easily could've been called "Catharsis," and captures an intensity that has been missing from TBS songs since Where You Want to Be before fading into "Everything Must Go," a song that abuses the quiet/loud dynamic more than anything else in TBS' catalog. Softly sung verses are bookended by either moments of guitar pounding or the blisteringly biting chorus, "Everything Must Go" is a definite contender for best song TBS has recorded since Where You Want to Be.

Although not able to capture the amazing energy of their first two albums, Taking Back Sunday are still very much around and show no signs of slowing down, even after another lineup change.

Rating: 7/10