Spread Joy Up to the Maximum

Sinéad O'Connor

Séan-Nos Nua

Vanguard

Human musical expression has perhaps produced no melodies as elegantly beautiful as those of Irish folk music. Sinéad O'Connor, Irishwoman that she is, surely appreciates this fact, and her latest album, Séan-Nos Nua, reaches beyond "Danny Boy" and "Londonderry Air" to cover 13 traditional songs from the Eire. Sung in both English and Gaelic, the disc is a gorgeous affair, devoid of the angry caterwauling and grand political statements that occasionally marred her past work.

O'Connor's instrumental backups deftly blend traditional and modern elements to bring out the inherent beauty of the songs on the disc. Irish flutes and richly-layered acoustic guitars form the basis of each arrangement, with drums, electric guitars, and synths (plus, on "My Lagan Love," a full rock band) employed sparingly for special effects. O'Connor's voice is drowned in slapback to make it sound as majestic and stately as possible, a mood appropriate for the material.

The only problem I can discern with the album is that her voice sounds mighty thin at times; I don't know if this is due to restraint or cigarettes. It's not a problem when she's singing in her usual alto register, but when she moves into her soprano range, as on "Peggy Gordon," the album becomes a slightly painful listen. Also, at 65 minutes, it is a bit much to take in one sitting; it works far better in bits and pieces. Overall, though, it's a great disc: Sinéad lets the songs speak for themselves, adding only emotion-filled readings and brilliant but unassuming instrumental backups. All in all, definitely worth a listen.--Josh Diamant

The Black Heart Procession
Amore del Tropico

Touch and Go

The Black Heart Procession's fourth and most mystifying record, Amore del Tropico is an eerie blend of sentiment and musical fusion that falls somewhere between Leonard Cohen's I'm Your Man and the original Zorro soundtrack--and, unsurprisingly given the band's established penchant for natural weirdness and confusion which somehow makes sense, this record fulfills everything it sets out to do. In short, it just works.
Adorned with a tense violin riff accompanied by soft yet turbulent guitar and driving drumbeats, the album's first track, "The End of Love," kicks off like Superbowl Sunday with the power of a thousand wide-necked football players. Paulo Zappoli, whose songwriting has always been the essence of The Black Heart Procession, really gets a chance to strut his stuff on this record. Songs such as "Why I Stay" and "Before the People," support a slow-paced 100,000-kilowatt explosion of vocal ingenuity, and some of their utterly tragic melodies just make you want to break down and shed tears until you're not sure if you're crying for Zappoli's lyrical torment or simply out of joy at finding an album this relentlessly touching.

If you're a Black Heart Procession fan, you probably already own or intend to own this record; if you've never heard them and are prone to loneliness, nervous breakdowns, broken-heartedness, and the like, you will want to invest in this intoxicant-free emotional trip; and if you're not a fan, you just don't get it, and it's high time you kicked yourself in the ass. This isn't pre-post-modern-angular-art-math-riot-street-pop-punk, or whatever other sub-genres I may have ignorantly omitted. Amore del Tropico is the soundtrack of a group that's propelled itself into unyielding musical expression. It's gratuitous, yes, but, truly and ineffably beautiful. Take it from a musical snob: once you put this record in, it'll be a while before you find it in you to take it out. --Katia Sobolski

A.F.I.
Sing the Sorrow

Sony Dreamworks

A.F.I. (A Fire Inside) is one of the more raucous hardcore punk bands to hit the music scene in recent years. Under the influence of The Offspring's Dexter Holland, who actually signed the band to his personal label, Nitro Records, A.F.I. has developed an avid fan base around its music, which features dark themes similar to those of the Glenn Danzig-era Misfits. The success of their two most recent full length releases, Black Sails in the Sunset and 2000's The Art of Drowning, earned the band a contract with Dreamworks, their first major label deal.

2003's release, Sing the Sorrow, continues to build on the success of their two previous LPs. Although the song titles are similar to those of previous albums ("Bleed Black," and "Death of Seasons" in particular) the album lacks the consistent energy that The Art of Drowning possessed. They have, however, earned a significant increase in airplay with the song "Girls Not Grey," which is one of the best on the album and would be considered a quality song on any of their releases.

Sing the Sorrow has several excellent songs. "Girls Not Grey," "Dancing Through Sunday," "Paper Airplanes (Makeshift Wings)," and particularly "This Celluloid Dream" give Sing the Sorrow a strong foundation. The fact that the band has received airplay on stations such as KROQ is an indication that DreamWorks has attempted to streamline A.F.I.'s sound in order to make them more accessible, which is obvious in parts of the album. Vocalist Davey Havok seems more subdued than on previous releases, while songs such as "Silver and Cold" are catchy but diverge from the style that brought A.F.I. their success. Nonetheless, this is the third consecutive solid album that A.F.I. has put out. --Steve Vargas

The Juliana Theory

Love

Sony

Hailing from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, home of Rolling Rock, The Juliana Theory has fused into a mature band with their newest album, appropriately entitled Love. Around since 1999, TJT made its mark slowly with two full-length albums on an independent label. This album marks their major-label debut, and listeners will not be disappointed. Produced by former Talking Head Jerry Harrison (of Live and No Doubt fame), Love sees the band steering successfully away from their former emo and Christian-rock influences, resulting in a cohesive rock album about love and human interaction.

The concept of the album is clear from the lyrics, the melancholy guitar riffs, and the solitary and sporadic piano presence. Led by Brett Detar (vocals, guitars, and programming), TJT has touched on the natural human inclination towards love. The lyrics in each song illustrate the difficulty, insecurity, and inner turmoil that one might feel when engaged in the universal search for love. However, the music continues to rock on, disregarding the bitter and frustrated disposition of the lyrics. Josh Walters contributes a steady drumbeat while the focus of the instrumentation is clearly the relationship between the three guitars and the bass. The result is a mix of churning guitars and complex rhythms, with unexpected blasts of melody and raw emotion.

The shining tracks on this album are "Shell of a Man" and "Sparkle to Fade," which offer the best lyrics and most intricate guitar sound of the 14 tracks. Listeners will find a welcome sprinkle of piano melody if they listen to the entirety of the songs closely. Although these two tracks best display the talent and unity that exists within this close-knit group of childhood friends, this certainly does not mean one should disregard the rest of this rocking album.--Francesca Hoffman