HIGHLIGHT ARTIST Review: Q.U.E.E.N. by Janelle Monae

     Q.U.E.E.N. by, the Queen of the Afro-Futuristic music genre, Janelle Monae is a taste of the long awaited album due to release this year. Janelle's previous album, the Archandroid was a grammy nominated and critically acclaimed success. However, neither of her previous albums have been wide-selling. Her music tends to be deeply theatrical and steeped in metaphors. In her first two albums she assumed the identity of an android who had come from the future - condemned for falling in love with a human. American audiences may not be receptive to deeply themed music - considering the trend of pop music ( Ke$ha anyone?). No matter, Janelle has appeared on late night television, performed at the Grammys, was the representiative for Target, and is a Cover Girl (plus a lot more). Personally, when I saw her in concert (with Fun. as the opener), I was floored by the production quality of the concert, and her innate ability to draw the entire audience into dancing with her.

     If this single is representative of what is to come from her next album, we will be seeing a lot more of her. If you get a chance to see her in concert, I highly recommend it (bring good shoes, cause you'll be dancing the night away). This single, featuring Erykah Badu will get your groove flowing, and your feet dancing.

Check it out on Amazon: Q.U.E.E.N. by Janelle Monae

Review: Above the City by Club 8

Club 8's Above the City offers an eclectic collection of songs that nonetheless manages to come together into a whole that offers the listener a journey through several genres and varied sounds, all the while keeping a consistency that keeps the album from sounding disordered and chaotic.

Karolina Konstedt's vocals vary from funereal ("Kill Kill Kill") and haunting ("Travel") to upbeat ("Run," "A Small Piece of Heaven," "I'm Not Gonna Grow Old"), but are always poignant. Through the varied styles of the album, her voice seems to act as an underlying current connecting the disparate parts of the album and bringing it all together.

The rest of the instrumentation is equally varied, with a mix of pop and electronic elements to varying degrees. "I'm Not Gonna Grow Old" brilliantly evokes disco beats, while "You Could Be Anybody" sticks out for its electronic beats. "Straight As an Arrow" is notable for sampling extensively the iconic beat of Queen's "We Will Rock You," which at first seems to break a sort of musical fourth wall and is very noticeable, but as the song goes on Club 8 takes their own direction with the beat and the oddity quickly disappears. Overall, the album feels lively, and the mix of sounds and styles simply works.

This is an album that is alluring in its uniqueness, and is certainly worth a listen. Above the City is available as an MP3 album, on CD, and as a vinyl record. The entire album can also be previewed on SoundCloud.

Review: Tetra by C2C

     C2C offers a brilliant blend of electronic beats and melodies with wonderful harmonies and acoustical instruments. The tune that hooked me was on the radio, "Down the Road". Using SoundHound I immediately found it and purchased it on iTunes. Using the snip-it previews of their other songs, i quickly fell in love with "Happy" a get-off-your-seat-and-dance gospel song (although the songs claims that it is not a gospel song, but a real song). It's not preaching anything but "you have to try to be happy", yet it holds onto the pure tones, graceful harmonies that are reminiscent of Aretha Franklin and the Blues Brothers.
     Overall this band sounds like The Avalanches and 3Oh!3 except far more varied in their genres. One song sounds like Canned Heat mixed with Daft Punk - while another song sounds like the opening of Star Trek (the new ones, with Chris Pine). Conversely you have sounds of world music, Indian and Asian instruments and patterns that are elegantly (and powerfully) aligned with guitar riffs, electronic "wubs" and chorus of voices.
    Its another DJ band, however the group has done much more than "overlap" sounds, and has intertwined and invented sounds that seem to blend naturally.
    You can get Tetra as an MP3 album or on audio CD.