The Crap Stack: Shirock, Madina Lake, Mike Jones

Posted on Feb 27th 2009 6:30PM by Rob Smy
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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?

Shirock: 'Everything Burns' (album): These Nashvillian power-pop rockers generate a pleasingly large noise on this, their debut effort. Opening gambit 'New Solution' has so much oomph that it politely requests winding up to at least a hearty 10 on our iPod and can capably draw disapproving glances from mass transit co-travelers. Bizarrely but, perhaps, fittingly, when co-vocalist hubby-and-wife team Chuck and Pap Shirock harmonize in the chorus of 'Solution,' their voices meld with the net effect of sounding almost exactly like Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate -- no small achievement. Separately, Chuck sounds more like Simple Minds' Jim Kerr on tunes like 'Time Goes By,' and Pap's solo on 'I'll Take Rain' showcases a sweet vocal that calls for comparison to Irish pop-folksters the Corrs.

If 'Everything Burns' has a shortcoming, it's that the strongest songs all seem to be situated in the first half of the album, perhaps not a big surprise for a debut offering, before giving way to compositions that simply lack the dynamism of the earlier tunes. Eleventh track 'Everything Burns' has it's own narrated dreamscaped intro track clocking in at almost two minutes, giving the listener the impression that what will follow is the band's magnum opus, when in fact the title track fails to catch flame, inspire or just be as darned hooky as those earlier moments. Shirock sound best when they really go for it, and we think they should stick to that practice. Buy it on iTunes

Madina Lake: 'Never Take Us Alive' (single): These Windy City rockers go a mile-a-minute with this crunchingly defiant juggernaut of a tune. These boys are mad about something, but, deflatingly, their way of expressing that anger lyrically is presented in such a way that they are not really saying anything new. It seems like they are addressing 'The Man' with lines like "Sometimes I feel like I'm from another world/You can't break...can't take us down, 'cause we run this town." It's kinda standard fare -- there's mention of lighting fires "all night" (presumably in that same town), and, of course, of not being "taken alive," but it just doesn't quite come across like the guys really feel at risk from anything.

That's all a bit of a shame, because the song starts out like a whippet, and maintains that great energy and pace throughout. The band plays their instruments convincingly hard and fast, there's a decent guitar hook, and it works, musically. It just feels like the lyrics should be pulled entirely, or that their inclusion should be left to the music guy in charge of Daytona b-roll or the person who picks ring-entrance pieces for WWE wrestlers. Sorry, fellas. Buy it on iTunes

Mike Jones: 'Next to You' (single): The Texan rapper 's third single from his upcoming album 'Voice of the Streets' is, to be frank, a pretty neat tune. Crisp production, careful usage of string sampling, and some well-chosen and angelic vocal accompaniment in the shape of Ice Age labelmate Nae Nae all make for a thoroughly pleasing sonic experience. If you're not a big hip-hop fan, this is still palatable stuff -- sure, Mike's a cheeky chappy and isn't shy of alluding to his bedroom skill set, but he doesn't go overboard (even on the explicit version of the single).

In short, this is polished, well turned out stuff that would probably appeal to just about anybody who likes beats and rhymes but is a little shy of turning the air blue with that racier lyrical content. It's the ideal tune to throw on if you are sound checking a new audio system, wanting to mess with your rocker friends' heads or just wanting to show that special person that you can "get down." Heck, we could all learn a thing or two from Mike --he's a teddy bear, "I love to cuddle her/Love to make her blush," and he's all about the one lady in the song -- and with a voice like that, who can blame him? Buy it on iTunes