"Reviews from Around the Globe"

May has turned out to be a rather slow month in the area of World Music, but what we lack in quantity, we sure will make up for in quality. This month we will feature discs by two groups: Alicia's Attic from the U.K. and Sweden's Komeda. Both discs are far from run of the mill, so take some time and check out the reviews!

Alicia's Attic

"Alicia Rules the World"

Mercury Records

Rating:

Every once in a while a new artist, album or song comes along that really surprises me in a positive way. One of the reasons I enjoy doing these reviews so much is because of these occasional surprises. "Alisha Rules the World" simply blew me away! The sister-duo that calls itself Alisha's Attic is relatively new, but they have already made their mark in Europe. The debut disc, "Alisha Rules the World" has already gone gold there, and their first single, "I am, I feel" made a very respectable showing on the record charts. On May 15th Alisha's Attic will make their American debut and, if the music gets any kind of air play at all, I'm sure they will be successful here as well.

The girls wear their artistic influences somewhat on their sleeves. With noticeable Prince-like pop stylings, smatterings of Alanis and Kate Bush and a sense of melody and harmony that's enough to bring anyone to his feet, "Alisha Rules the World" is pure energy from start to finish. Every song is unique and well-done; I can't even pick an obvious favorite to dote on, because they all impressed me! Every song has a wicked hook. I've woken in the middle of the night more than once while reviewing this disc with one of the songs on my mind.

The song "I am, I feel" is a stand out and an excellent choice for the first single. While some of the lyrics on the disc are disjointed and hard to follow, this song rings loud and clear. About men and their propensity to treat women like crap, this song packs an acerbic punch, while still keeping a sense of humor:

Along with a sense of humor however, the lyrics can take a turn, showing a deeper side:

Mix the lyrics up with killer harmonies and a beat that'll have you moving around involuntarily and you can see how this song became a big hit in Europe! I believe that even minimal air play here in the states will cause this song to catch on as well. I also enjoyed "Personality Lines" a one minute ditty parodying England's version of the 900 number. Enjoy the hot, luscious sound of a sexy woman's voice for the first free minute as a menu of selections is read, but then the free ride is over and it's time to fork over some cash. Listen to the song, you'll see what I mean. I always smile at the dial tone that rounds off the first half of the disc. The second half is like a cornucopia of potential hits. "Indestructible" is a typical smarmy love song that, if properly marketed will sell millions of copies here and abroad. I usually use "smarmy" in a negative light, but on this disc, even smarmy has it's place -- and it's good! I particularly like "I Won't Miss You", which is the ultimate girl-revenge tune -- great beat and LONG on attitude!

So Alicia's Attic is yet another new group from the U.K. Why all the hype? Well, I can think of one really good reason: quality. Whereas entire careers are often spent carving a niche in the music world, these two girls (produced by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame) have managed to grasp a kick-ass, original sound the first time out of the gate. Mediocrity is not in their vocabulary. I predict big things for this group. A year from now everyone will know their names.

Komeda

The Genius of Komeda

Minty Fresh MF-18

Rating:

Here's some strange stuff. But strange isn't necessarily bad. They cut their teeth on punk rock and adolescent anger, but Sweden's Komeda claims to have overcome their angst. Call it maturity, or an artistic metamorphosis, but what Komeda produces is something new and undeniably different than anything you've ever heard before

On first listening to this disc, I didn't think I liked it. I generally listen closely to the lyrics whenever I'm checking out new music and it was in this area that Komeda hits a bumpy road. I don't know if it's just that the band is weak lyrically or if there's some sort of language barrier thing going on, but the lyrics are often very quirky and sometimes just don't make any sense. In my mind it was something like reading an owners manual for something built overseas, but sold domestically. Sometimes these manuals can be downright funny because English doesn't always translate gracefully. Such is the feeling I got with many of the songs on "The Genius of Komeda".

After getting over the initial disappointment with the lyrics (and they're not all bad mind you, just really clunky sometimes -- almost to the point of being downright irritating), I settled in to really listen to the music. It was then that I realized there is a whole lot more to Komeda than clunky lyrics. Musically, this band hits hard with an almost surreal. bit often brilliant melodies I've heard for a long time. Mixing the unpredictable freestyle of Jazz with some serious rock beats, the music went a long way toward making me forget about any of the negatives. Some of the keyboard sounds were unusual for a rock album, but they were well placed and added to the unusual mystique of the rest of the music. I even detected a tinge of the band's punk roots every now and again, but only as somewhat of a side bar to the music at hand.

What really came across as a breath of fresh air however was the authentic strings and brass. Using classical instruments is a hook that always gets my attention, but some bands tend to use them as a way to prop up a weak spot (or spots) in their music. Komeda doesn't do this. Instead the brass and strings are a nuance, a layer beneath the main melody -- this is something that really works to their favor! As good as the music is however, it still can't salvage all the tracks, a few just don't do work at all.

So, all tolled, if I had to rate this disc on lyrics, it would be a scant two stars. If I had to rate it purely on musical content, it would be at least 4 stars. The lyrical problems are not