“Places”

Brad Mehldau

sounds like Jimmy Cobb, Bill Evans, Jacky Terrasson Brad Mehldau is a mellow jazz master who brings the piano nervously to life on “Places,” his latest album on the Warner Brothers label. “Places” has a tense energy that sneaks in under the radar. While initially “it seems to be a collection of piano tunes that one might easily enjoy in the background while munching on a vegetarian taco or drinking merlot or something, there is a little bit of a dark side underlying it all. This album is like a heroin-addicted advertising executive: slicker than snot on the outside, but inside rotting away with the grey-skinned monkey-riding shotgun on his back just under the Armani silk suit his mistress got him for their “anniversary.” Do not trust this record, especially if it asks you for money or wants to sleep on your couch. If you do, you will wake up in the morning to find all of your spoons bent and blackened and your mothers jewelry missing. Do not drink from the same container as “Places” unless you WANT hepatitis. This album’s dark underbelly will fool you into thinking it is the kind of guy you could take home to meet your mother, but when it does, it hits on her. Listening to Mehldau’s music feels like taking a warm bubble bath with a plugged-in toaster sitting securely on the edge of the tub. The rational part of your mind that tells you to get your taxes done on time knows that thing isn’t going to fall in, but the side of your mind that makes you wait until the last day is still afraid that toaster could end up in the suds with you rendering you incapable of having children. Mehldau fuses classical training and jazz themes to create a sound that is truly unique, but not for the casual listener. There are no hooks here, no choruses with familiar refrains, no words. The themes are all in the mind. The jazz lover will find Mehldau simple and pleasurable, but not radically advanced. 4 Stars – Greg Jerrett “Mankind”

Factory 81

Compare to: Slipknot, Tool, 35″ Mudder Combining a shared disdain for the ordinary along with a full-on musically earthshaking assault, Factory 81 is here to prove they are not just another funk-metal band with a number in its name. These hardcore enthusiasts from Detroit have honed their various musical influences, including everything from Charlie Parker to Black Sabbath, into a prolific debut album titled “Mankind.” The album itself reeks of the kind of fresh-faced youth-driven rampages that first gained attention in the early 1990s. Consequently, unlike most of the offerings from today’s nu-metal movement, this band doesn’t just rely on the constant barrage of guitar fuzz. The first track, “Nanu,” opens with muted guitars and hushed vocals that mimic the fragile moment when a new day dawns. However, rather than a sun cresting over the hill, Factory 81 unleashes the fires of Armageddon with a catastrophic musical attack. The band continues the saw-toothed assault after a funky bass intro to “Peace Officer,” and doesn’t let up until the song “Rotten Strawberries,” a mostly instrumental tune with haunting incantations that slip into the mix at various times. Throughout most of the album, vocalist Nate Wallace screams out his fast-paced rhymes in the same fashion of Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, but at times suspends himself to the sustained emotive lull like that of Tool’s Maynard James Keenan. The rest of the band continues in the same fashion, grinding out tribal beats or tiny Middle Eastern melodies, that first showed up in Slipknot’s innovative sound. Despite some sonic similarities to other bands, there are still some noteworthy tunes including the angry stomp of “Ephedrine,” and the frightfully disturbing “Diary of a Serial Killer.” Besides the music, the album also features some interactive bonuses including video of the band playing live shows, which appear to be as aggressive and brutal as the music itself. However, don’t be fooled by all the aggression. Seething with primal rock rhythms and lyrics that dare to be pinned down to single interpretations, “Mankind” establishes Factory 81 as an intellectual metal band. 4 Stars – Kevin Hosbond “Broke”

(hed) p.e.

Compare to: Korn, Downset, Limp Bizkit It’s obvious rapcore is getting redundant, and it takes a damn talented band in that genre to put out a record worth playing in your CD player more than once. (hed) p.e. is that talented. Their sophomore record, “Broke,” is one of the best rapcore albums of the year. What sets (hed) apart from its peers is that centerpiece Jahred is one of the more talented vocalists in rapcore. He’s not just your average vein-popping screamer and raspy-voiced rapper. He has a few styles of rapping, his singing is fittingly melodic and his screams are actually catchy. The first track on “Broke,” “Killing Time,” demonstrates all of these talents in one package. What’s even more surprising when listening to “Broke” is the rest of the Orange County sextet. Sure when the song calls for it, the guitar riffs are beefy as hell. But those moments that call for something a little more smooth are filled nicely with creative guitar and DJ sounds. For the most part, Jahred’s lyrics have a point and tell stories of the band’s rock `n’ roll experiences. Despite the occasional “I don’t give a fuck!” and “Everybody dies!” on “Waiting to Die,” the album falls far from the stereotypes of the genre (hed) competes in. “Broke” flows nicely with good contrast in the songs. Rarely do two songs sound alike – a true test of a rapcore band’s talent. “Feel Good” features Serj Tankian from System of a Down and Morgan Lander from Kittie and is the perfect compliment to the rest of the record. “The Meadow” is a surprisingly great ending to the album. It is sung by Jahred and is so catchy it could easily be a radio hit on a non-rapcore station if not for its underlying sharp edge in the music. (hed) p.e. has the talent to go far in the business as long as they continue to be creative and cover new ground, which is exactly what “Broke” does. 4.5 Stars – Kyle Moss