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src=”http://www.iowastatedaily.com/galleries/story-images/07-05- 01/StonedTemplePilots.jpg”> “Shangri La Dee Da” Stone Temple Pilots Compare to: Foo Fighters, Creed ****

Stone Temple Pilot’s fifth studio album “Shangri La Dee Da,” the

follow-up to last year’s aptly named “No. 4,” seems torn between

soft, melodic ballads and straight-up rock and roll, while sprinkled

with bits of radio pop.

The way the tracks are organized treats the listener to a roller

coaster of hard-soft-hard-soft sounds throughout the disc.

There are a few tracks, however, that stick out from the rest.

“Days of the Week” practically screams “Play me on the radio!”. A

note to those who are cursed with having songs stuck in their

head: listen at your own risk.

Meanwhile, “Coma” features some interesting guitar work (think

Tom Morello) that works very well with the driving rock behind

it.

“Shangri La” sounds like the band wanted to put out a double-disc

with one disc containing all the mellow songs and the other all the

rock songs, but didn’t have quite enough material to pull it off.

There are several lovely ballads on this album – “Hello it’s Late”

and “Bi-Polar Bear” in particular – that really wouldn’t fit in with the

harder songs if anybody other than STP were writing them.

Faithful fans won’t be disappointed; there’s plenty of “Core”- and

“Purple”-era similarities on this album to make them feel right at

home.

There’s no “Interstate Love Song” or “Plush” on this record, but

“Days of the Week” and “A Song for Sleeping” should be more than

enough to pull in new listeners.

– Randy Webb

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src=”http://www.iowastatedaily.com/galleries/story-images/07-05- 01/BIS.jpg”> “Music for a Stranger World” Bis Compare to: Shonen Knife, Self ****1/2

From the same Scottish trio that wrote the “PowerPuff Girls” theme

song comes the synth-friendly “Music for a Stranger World.”

The six-song EP is loaded with the same kind of sugary pop that

one would expect from the band that composes for Blossom,

Bubbles and Buttercup.

Bis delivers 23 solid minutes of pure aural cuteness without being

unbearably sappy. The unique mix of Manda Rin’s powerful yet

girly vocals on top of spacey melodies provided by brothers Sci-Fi

Steven and John Disco pays respect to European club music.

Bis’ inventive sound is best described as New Wave.

The opening track, “Dead Wrestlers,” offers a groovy homage to

the guys who wrestled before the advent of the WWF.

“I Want It All” is a bratty teen-beat anthem, and thanks to “Beats at

the Office,” all week I’ve had the voice of a British secretary

reminding, “Your beats are at the office, Sir.”

“Music for a Stranger World” is the band’s first release on Lookout!

Records, which usually works with punk artists like Green Day,

Pansy Division and Operation Ivy.

In its earlier releases, Bis’ sound was edgier and influenced

heavily by grrl punk.

Now the only remnants of that past sound is the fast paced “Punk

Rock Points,” which sounds more similar to the Human League

after having too much Kool-Aid than anything Lookout! usually puts

out.

Still, Bis’ evolution from punk to dance isn’t cramping its style one

bit.

Even though they’ve created a more mature album compared to

their past efforts, the overall attitude is still fresh, irreverent and

child-like.

This attitude is what makes Bis stand out in a sea of slickly

produced European bands.

They managed to create a fun and danceable CD without the vapid

feel of most other Euro-pop albums.

The only downside of this disc is that it’s too short. For fans with

cash, the Japanese release has two extra tracks that make the

disc a whole 30 minutes.

So if you’re tired of the same old dance music, follow these simple

steps: Eat some Cap’n Crunch in pajamas while watching

Saturday morning cartoons. Change into a bright pink T-shirt.

Chew some bubble gum. Buy this album. Dance.

– Shar Macatangay