Madvillain

Madvillainy

(Stones Throw)

“Audiences love to hate,” the 50s style monotone intones beginning the introduction of MF Doom and Madlib, the duo known as Madvillain. And these snide guys are off at the races, galumphing off from rhyme to rhyme and hitting off everything from Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four years—the influence for MF Doom’s style—to Mutley, the dastardly companion of acid-washed 70s cartoons starring Dick Dasterdly.

MF Doom used to be part of a normal rap group, but as that hit the fan, he created this new identity for himself and, true to form, his true face hasn’t been seen in years, dropping yearly tracks under a number of aliases, including Victor Vaughn.

No matter their initial protestations, this is not a dangerous album. These two are not gangsters; they are simply witty pranksters, touting public service announcements that marijuana is sure to increase creativity. They certainly sound like they’re having a good time and they’re, according to one song, “America’s Most Blunted.”

The interesting thing about Madvillain is that they are clearly having a blast chilling with their friends and occasionally recording. In contrast, College Dropout, for all its wit and creativity, often seems put on, a show to replace J-Hova in America’s hearts and minds.

Thankfully the samples in here go beyond the ordinary R & B hits of the 60s and 70s. They dig and find hooks—often narrated instead of sung—that they can dominate instead of giving a new twist on an old classic that dominates their rhymes.

Madvillainy is like Pharcyde’s Bizzare Ride, meeting Spider Man and His Amazing Friends somewhere around Q-Tip’s house and, though it sometimes is too creative for danceable hip-hop, it works on many levels.

—Scoop A. Wasserstein

Muse

Absolution

(Warner Bros.)

After I first heard the song “Unintended” by Muse last year, I was in a frenzy to find as much Muse music as I could. After going through 2001’s Origin of Symmetry breathlessly, I braced myself for disappointment from their new album, Absolution. But to my great shock, I’m not disappointed at all. Each track is pure Muse, the beautiful voice of Matt Bellamy flows over pounding piano chords and arpeggios, drums and fantastic bass rifts. “Sing for Absolution” is one of the best tracks. Its melancholic melody is woven with piano and bass to a stunning effect.

“Stockholm Syndrome” is blow-you-away intense and “Falling Away with You,” like “Unintended,” is sweet and gentle, and gracefully falls into a 30 second “Interlude.” When the vocals come in during “Hysteria,” there is an overwhelming aching feeling that is augmented by the stunning background music.

A few more great pieces later, the album ends with “Ruled by Secrecy,” one of the most desolate, heart-wrenching songs I’ve heard this year. The simple piano playing modulating broken chords in the background with the soft, hesitant voice is incomparable. When drums come in and the piano becomes more active, the sadness reaches a climax, then fades to a soft end. There is nothing I would add or take away from the 14-track album and that is the highest praise I can give.

—Yan Zhao

Trey Anastasio

Seis de Mayo

(Elektra/Reprise)

Trembling with genius and rich with remembrance, Trey Anastasio’s newest album bursts into uncharted territories. At just 29 minutes long, the lead singer of Phish’s brief fugue distinguishes itself from the group’s well-established jam-band essence and crafts a genre of its own.

The album’s music, though not entirely classical and certainly far from rock, manages to blend the orchestral approach of Trey’s earlier solo work with the crunchier flavor of Phish’s songs. Anastasio, who is known for his serious devotion to composing, wrote many of Phish’s songs as orchestral miniatures.

Not surprisingly, many of the tracks on Seis de Mayo sound more like Anastasio’s original scores than finished Phish songs. Quite frankly, the more classical arrangements come across brilliantly. There’s a natural grace to every note and chord.

Curiously, each song offers an independent and self-sufficient sampling of Anastasio’s emotive expression. Where “Prologue,” formerly known as “Nothing But An ‘E’ Thing,” pulses with woodwinds, the reconstruction of “All Things Reconsidered” from Phish’s album Rift whines with strings.

By far the gem of the album is the final track, an orchestral rendition of “Guyute.” Leaving no question that Anastasio has a gift for crafting melody, he leaves the listener entwined in a complex and majestic resonance of bliss.

This unique album shows an artist in his element. Whether feeding the curiosities of hungry Phish fans or offering a contemporary approach to classical, Seis de Mayo is a gift to music.

—Adam C. Estes

Ben Kweller

On My Way

(Ato Records)

The last track on Ben Kweller’s new album is called “Different But the Same,” and the title pretty well describes the feeling of Kweller’s rootsy rock on this follow-up to 2002’s Sha Sha. Kweller’s songs emulate the driving force of 60s and 70s pop-rock, a style which works with mixed results when combined with Kweller’s emo boy lyrics. Much of On My Way makes for pleasant listening, but many of the tracks sound too identical to artists who preceded the 22 year-old Kweller. “Hospital Bed”’s honky tonk piano sounds like Sgt. Pepper era Beatles and then shifts into a Ben Folds Five-esque piano pounding chorus, while “Down” and “I Need You Back” closely resemble Ryan Adams’ (another Ethan Johns-produced artist) alt-country.

Despite this penchant for imitation, Kweller seems concerned for most of On My Way with the “realness” of his life; he defiantly yells, “Tell me all the rules, girl / I just wanna get’em wrong,” and notes of a lover, “Yeah, you are living life the way you feel, and that is real.” It’s when this earnestness reaches the right balance with Kweller’s admiration of his musical predecessors that the finer moments of the album occur, as on the title track and the sweetly melodic ballad “Living Life.”

Much of On My Way may sound vaguely familiar, but it’s hard to resist a singer whose genuine energy and songwriting talent show the potential to, someday soon, swerve a bit off the beaten path he’s on.

—Rebecca M. Milzoff