Daily Staff Writer

“For The MASSES”

Various Artists

An army of big name bands along with a handful of smaller ones came together earlier this year to pay tribute to a band that plays mentor to so many others.

The end result was a 16-song album honoring the great Depeche Mode.

“For The MASSES” is a collection of remakes and remixes with bands ranging from God Lives Underwater to the Deftones. Each band shares its own unique style and talent giving every song a life of its own, and a distinctly different sound than Depeche Mode.

It opens with the last true alternative band on earth, the Smashing Pumpkins. The trio plus sit-in drummer Matt Walker play an eclectic rendition of “Never Let Me Down Again.”

British rockers the Cure also contributed to the album with “World In My Eyes.” It opens with the spooky phrase, “Let me take you on a trip,” spoken by frontman Robert Smith. The song then flows into an entrancing array of guitars and synth sounds.

Before leaving Veruca Salt, Nina Gordon and company put together a sorrowful and quiet performance of the serene “Somebody.”

It’s not the typical sound one would expect from a Veruca Salt recording, but has more similarity to a live show, where Gordon usually croons a peaceful solo between sets. Gordon emits purely emotional sincerity on what is definitely the most beautiful song on the album.

However, as the saying goes, opposites attract. Soon after the most beautiful song comes an ugly, dumpsterworthy rendition of “Master And Servant” by Locust.

It entails a sickly “Sonny and Cher” type of duet. The song is destroyed as a male and female vocalist tag-team their verses against a backdrop of slinky, porn music.

A surprising band that took a departure from itself for this album was Monster Magnet performing “Black Celebration.” The song begins with a twangy melody that mimics a mouth organ. Soon, it zooms into a mostly electronic combo of Dave Wyndorf’s voice travelling through a fuzzbox with synthesizer notes.

Ending the album is the newly-popular German band Rammstein, known mostly for its flaming concerts. While listening to anything by this band in its native language is fine, nothing is more frightening than hearing one of the guys using English on “Stripped.” The lead man’s terrorizing accent freezes the heart, while the music steals the soul.

With a lineup like the one found on this record and the expert musicality and strength of these bands that lean into many genres, the Depeche Mode tribute album is definitely “for the masses.”

4 stars out of five

— Kevin Hosbond

“Goldbug”

Ben Neill

Move over Tricky and Roni Size, there’s a new drum-and-bass/jungle master in the house.

His name is Ben Neill and he definitely has been taking lessons on other techno musicians’ successes and failures — which is probably why Neill hardly made any mistakes on his latest release.

“Goldbug” is a spectacular CD that never fails to satisfy and amaze. It is jam-packed with addictive rhythms, fresh samples and hidden surprises.

“Goldbug” is the type of CD that yields something magical upon each spin. The music constantly changes, and there is always something new to discover in each song.

Better yet, every song on this CD (especially “Tunnel Vision,” “Looking Last” — which features DJ Spooky at the turntable — and “It’s Only Money”) should have “instant club classic” written all over it. Several of the songs have great guitar riff samples courtesy of Helmet’s Page Hamilton.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, the CD also includes three vastly different remixes of “Tunnel Vision” by such notables as Spring Heeled Jack, X-Ecutioner and DJ Krust.

4 1/2 stars out of five

— Ben Jones

“Dopamine”

Mitchell Froom

If anything can be said of Mitchell Froom’s latest offering, it’s that “Dopamine” is a uniquely interesting work of art. But, of course, most music fans know that “interesting” does not always equal “good.”

With that in mind, it’s a lot easier to appreciate Froom’s artistic vision and the path which leads him there.

Froom is mainly concerned with creating atmospheric mood music that rides the border somewhere among techno, pop and camp. The result is a surprisingly solid CD of memorable hooks and bizarre rhythms. Oh, and don’t forget the numerous guest stars.

“Dopamine” probably would not be nearly as good if it was just Froom fiddling around with his various pianos, organs and samplers. Not that he isn’t capable of creating lush musical atmospheres on his own, because it is readily apparent that he is.

But the guest stars certainly pack the punch to push Froom’s musical madness into something more cohesive and desirable.

Suzanne Vega’s vocals and looped acoustic guitar riffs on the title-track give the repetitive song a much needed shot in the arm. Ditto for Ron Sexsmith’s vocals on “Overcast” and Sheryl Crow’s vocals on “Monkey Mind.”

Despite all of the help, however, Froom delivers a very interesting record. And locating all of the bizarre instruments he uses along the way is just part of the fun. Guessing the guest stars is the other.

3 stars out of five

— Ben Jones

“Freak*on*ica”

Girls Against Boys

It’s almost too bad that Girls Against Boys didn’t release “Freak*on*ica” five years ago.

Back then, it would have been a stunning CD that helped to break down boundaries between several musical genres, most notably rock ‘n’ roll, pop, grunge, industrial and techno. But today, this CD doesn’t accomplish much besides detailing a half decade’s worth of musical innovation.

There isn’t anything particularly unique or groundbreaking on “Freak*on*ica.” There also isn’t anything that could come close to being called exploratory or even good. All of the material is mediocre, and it becomes tedious and repetitive in its mediocrity.

Girls Against Boys should receive credit for the first 30 or 40 seconds. Then, they are driven into the ground. This problem plagues songs like “Pleasurized,” which starts out with a promising fervent rhythm and soul-shaking bass, but before the song is halfway through, the rhythm has become stale, and the bass has nearly disappeared.

“Psycho-Future” features some excellent guitar riffs, but they are repeated to the point of being nostalgic (and the bland vocals don’t help either). “Exorcisto” and “Cowboy’s Orbit,” two of the better songs on the CD, are also hurt by rhythmical monotony.

Then, there is Girls Against Boys’ Filter impersonation (“Park Avenue”) that makes the fatal mistake of swapping fury for pathetic pop.

Girls Against Boys should have known that it would’ve been better off taking its music one step further, rather than one step back.

1 1/2 stars out of five

— Ben Jones

“Perennial Favorites”

Squirrel Nut Zippers

Although swing music has experienced a resurgence on the radio recently, few bands embrace a truly traditional sound.

On Squirrel Nut Zippers’ new album, “Perennial Favorites,” the band delivers 12 songs that sound like they could have spun right off of your grandfather’s old phonograph and into your CD player.

In fact, the record sounds so traditional that you could probably play it for an expert on classic swing music, and they wouldn’t believe that this music is not from the old school.

Most of the songs move along at a slow to medium pace, but that doesn’t mean they are boring. Intricate musicianship and a variety of instruments make up for it.

Saxophone, trumpet, trombone, coronet, guitar, banjo, bass, drums, gong, violin and piano are all used throughout the album.

The songs are very well crafted, each containing the sound of a banjo or a guitar keeping the rhythm, while the horns or violin play the melody.

The opening track and first single, “Suits Are Picking Up The Bill,” has some clever narrative lyrics and is the kind of tune you end up humming to yourself all day long.

With “Perennial Favorites,” Squirrel Nut Zippers is preserving a musical tradition begun decades ago. The record is worth a listen for anyone, young or old, who likes the sound of traditional swing.

4 stars out of five

— Conor Bezane

“Brief Lessons in Affection”

Gods Reflex

Every once in a while, an album comes along that reestablishes your confidence and gives you passion for music again.

Gods Reflex’s debut album “Brief Lessons in Affection” is one of those albums.

Gods Reflex is a band from Rockford, Ill. that recently released an album called “Brief Lessons in Affection.” The band plays its own brand of emotional punk, or emo for short.

Emo is a genre of music characterized by melodic and quiet guitar riffs, which can be slow or fast, and deeper and more intellectual lyrics.

Some have given the music a lazy description, calling it “slow punk,” but this description fails to capture the essence of the music.

Gods Reflex’s debut has a melancholy and dream-like tone to it but somehow manages to sound upbeat.

A great degree of complexity embodies the album, with each song containing three, four or five major guitar parts, which coil and tangle in and out of each other but end up fitting together tightly.

Although band members have an average age of 19, their young age does not hinder their musicianship or lyric writing.

5 stars out of five

— Conor Bezane