The Crap Stack: Anjulie, Jihae, Zebrahead

Here at Spinner, we receive more CDs than we can possibly listen to. Sadly, many of them, whether good or bad, get consigned to The Crap Stack, where they languish until they're eventually carted off to become shiny silver landfill somewhere. However, in our version of Musical Lotto, we've decided to rescue -- completely at random -- three discs from the pile and give them a proper and fair reviewing. Will the chosen CD be crap-tastic -- or just plain crap? Let's find out, shall we?

Anjulie: 'Boom' (single): The guitar riff that opens this track sounds a lot like Urge Overkill's cover of 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon.' It doesn't hang around in that territory very long, however, with the arrival of a few sultry siren-like persons whispering "boom shacka-lacka." The singer herself seems to be struggling with the appeal of something rather alluring, "I'm getting myself in something I don't wanna/I'm getting off track and I can't control a thing."

From here we are treated to a lament about some guy she can't help herself around. And it just goes on. And on. It's kinda sorta a female version of 'She Bangs,' only Anjulie is nothing like as dynamic or fun or, dammit, as downright sexy as Mr. R. Martin. The problem is, when she's trying to be sultry but not whispering, Anjulie sounds bored and nasal. It could be she is just cursed with that sort of voice, and not suited to this sort of song, or it could be that she is just really uninterested in the the dude she is suppose to be enthralled with and just doesn't feel like complaining about him very much. Hopefully, it's the latter.

Jihae: 'Elvis Is Still Alive' (album): This CD definitely takes the prize for most confusing album cover -- on first glance we were convinced it was a depiction of a slender Asian male with a penchant for rockabilly and some seriously leaden makeup application -- but it's not! Jihae is actually a rather attractive young lady, we'll have you know. She's pretty talented, too, as this effortlessly cool album demonstrates. To describe her voice would call for comparison with the likes of Keren Ann with a dash of Grace Jones thrown in, and her luxuriant singing style blends words and phrases together in such way that she lulls the listener -- this stuff is big headphones/darkened room fare of the first order. Track five in particular,'Fig Leaf,' has a gloriously silken feel that Bryan Ferry-era Roxy Music would be proud to call their own with some reverbed-up guitar parts that seem to be straight out of the Phil Manzanera guide book.

Jihae is not afraid to stomp about some, though, as the third cut on the album, 'Pink Sands,' shows. This duet with a Bowie-esque sounding male vocalist, is probably our favorite track. The chorus calls to mind Tori Amos' 1994 collaboration with Trent Reznor, 'Past the Mission,' with the differences in the singers' voices starkly apparent but with perfect harmonic juxtaposition. In conclusion, this album is super-cool, with some delicious composition. It's clear that Jihae knows what she is all about and has a clear musical direction. We have no choice but to strongly recommend you check her out. Thank you, Crap Stack!

Zebrahead: 'Mental Health' (single): This tune makes us want to skateboard down a vertigo-inducingly steep San Francisco hill. Very fast. Into a bus. Bonkers, right? Well, SoCal punkers Zebrahead's 'Mental Health' is all about being completely doolally, so why the hell not? Take the wicked guitar lick at the very beginning of the song -- it sounds a lot like Slash playing the opener to 'Sweet Child o' Mine' but on speed (not hard to imagine). All good. But then, so annoyingly, the singer suggests 'Let's Go!' -- blurgh. Why do some bands still insist on doing that? Maybe, in this case, the narrator and his band of merry skatesmen really are nuts, and so we can forgive this brief detour through cheeseville. Either way, Z-head's vocalist makes it abundantly clear that he is not concerned about his apparently abnormal mental state, "They say that only time will tell/Whatever I'm happy in my mental health." You get the idea. This sort of ska-punk rock is sounding a bit tired, to be honest. Green Day did it so well with 'Dookie,' but that was back in 1994!

This track has all the components it needs, the frenetic drumming, the two or more harmonies throughout, even a fun rap in the middle; Straitjacket bad habit/'Cause I live for the habit/This static illmatic/Double dose is just like magic..." but our entrenched awareness of the requisite ingredients for this dish shows how many times it has been cooked. Overcooked, in this case.