Daily Staff Writer

“12 Ways To Win People To Your Way Of Thinking”

Wes Cunningham

A record is brilliant when you can sing along to it and confide in it at the same time.

“12 Ways To Win People To Your Way Of Thinking” debuts Texas singer/songwriter Wes Cunningham, whose knack for shedding light on pain parallels only Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland.

Cunningham’s musical creativity fits Beck’s ballpark, as he’s just as likely to bust into a beat-boxing solo (“America the Beautiful”) as he is to play the keys.

“Playing With Fire” marks the peak of “12 Ways” radiance, as Cunningham whispers through a heartbreaking look at the slim line between love and hate.

“I love you so much/ I want to break you apart/ I hate you so much / I want to give you my heart,” Cunningham croons, poetically setting up the chorus, “We’re playing with fire/ When will we ever learn / We fan the flames around us / And pray we won’t get burned.”

Cunningham showcases his fine-tuned songwriting skills with lyrics that bleed with cleverness and wit, but his true talent is building them into an array of genres.

“So It Goes” is an Americana pop song with a touch of brass and Billy Joel-style vocals (although it is not a cover), “Bad Way” is an aggressive rock tune laced with electric guitars, and “Car Wreck” is a catchy lounge number that boasts the line, “I’m a gospel singer/ I like Jerry Springer.”

Perhaps the most thought-provoking of Cunningham’s songs is “Magazines,” a not-so-optimistic ode to supermodel Jenny McCarthy. The tune opens with the question: “Whatcha gonna do when all your beauty is gone?”

If there really are 12 ways to win people to Cunningham’s way of thinking, memorable metaphors are definitely one of them.

“My heart is for sale/ It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet,” he announces on “Bad Way.”

5 stars out of five

— Corey Moss

“Big Big World”

Emilia

Throw the angel-laced vocals of Jewel, the hip-hop backbeats of Janet Jackson and the diva savviness of Diana Ross into a blender. Press puree. What do you get?

Something only native to Sweden. And it’s not an Abba reunion.

Emilia, a 20-year-old Scandinavian pop sensation, has won her country over with her Universal Records debut, “Big Big World.”

The title track, which is the album’s first single, ascended to the top of the charts like an air bubble in a pool of stagnant water, reaching No. 1 in its first week.

Emilia’s renown has spread like wildfire across Scandinavia, and the inferno has leapt over the Atlantic and sparked a buzz in the United States.

Though the album doesn’t chart new territory, it’s upbeat and chock full of hip-hop backbeats tightly latched onto string arrangements and synthesizers.

“Big Big World” is lacking in the depth department. Most of the songs are simplistic bubble-gum pop tunes which you could snap your gum and bob your head to.

“Twist of Fate,” a song about leaving a boyfriend in the dust, is one of the few standout tracks on the album. It incorporates intricate flamenco-style guitar work, a flavor which is sparse on the album.

Songs like “A Good Sign” and “Come Into My Life” conjure up the same groove you’d get after listening to Ace of Base’s “The Sign.”

Lyrically, the album struggles also. Most of the songs deal with love in some form and sound like snippets from a giddy teenager’s diary.

Dull, sappy lines like “Baby, baby, baby/ The sky is so blue/ The tiny cloud is smiling/ And the sun is for you” in the opening song, “A Good Sign,” are typical.

Give me “Dancing Queen” over Emilia any day.

2 1/2 stars out of five

— Jason Young

“Entroducing…”

DJ Shadow

DJ Shadow’s latest project, “Entroducing…,” builds up his reputation as one of the music industry’s most reputable DJs.

Shadow made noise on UNKLE’s “Psyence Fiction” by combining with conductor James Lavelle to make arguably one of the top compilations of 1998.

A star-studded lineup on the compilation included the Beastie Boys’ Michael Diamond, The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Metallica’s Jason Newstead, among others.

Shadow does not disappoint on “Entroducing…” by weaving his drumming skills with his knowledge of the turntables. The vocal-free album serves as a tutorial to other DJs with its live drums and big beats.

Straying from the drum machine known all too well to other DJs, Shadow takes a more traditional approach by recording live drums. By looping the drums back through his tables, Shadow grabs at the best of the looping world and live instrumentation world.

Other instruments accompany Shadow’s drum and bass set-up and serve as an excellent showcase for his musical and DJ capabilities.

The album starts off great but tends to drag in the middle, as several tracks drift slowly across the 10-minute mark and into dreamland.

Overall, DJ Shadow’s technique of combining live instrumentation with his reputable DJ tricks has produced an excellent album.

4 stars out of five

—Sam Johnson

“The Quest”

Syrva

Syrva describes itself as “alternative rock with a mystical edge,” but the only thing mystical about this group is its cover-art.

The best way to describe Syrva is a cross between Barenaked Ladies (pre-trendiness) and 7 Mary 3, topped off with a little ’80s rock. If you can’t put that together in your head, it doesn’t make for a good sound.

It may just be the bad mix, but there is really no hint of mysticism to be found — just an ’80s-style sound.

Only one track on the record, “Undying Force,” could fit the group’s self-description — if it was done right. Instead, it sounds like the background music to a cheesy ’80s flick.

The aspect of Syrva’s music that gives it a 7 Mary 3 feel is the singer’s lack of talent and urge to yell and sing at the same time.

If you’re in the mood for some mystical cover-art and 14 versions of the same song, then Syrva is the band for you.

1/2 star out of five

— Kyle Moss