Album Reviews
KT Tunstall `Drastic Fantastic' EMI
After her successful hit singles ― the Grammy-Award nominated ``Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,'' ``Suddenly I See,'' and ``Other Side of the World,'' Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall has released her follow-up album.
``Drastic Fantastic'' showcases the singer's maturity as both a songwriter and singer through catchy tracks such as ``Hold On,'' the rollicking ``Saving My Face,'' the jazz-tinged ``Someday Soon,'' and the pop number, ``I Don't Want You Now.''
Tunstall creates edgy sound, pop, rock and a raw bluesy sound in this album. Particularly, the opener, ``Little Flavours'' is a re-creation work of ``Under the Weather,'' which was listed on her single album.
-Chung Ah-young
Curtis `50 Cent' Universal
Curtis, a hip-hop musician in the mainstream hip-hop scene, has come back with his new release, bringing a new sensation.
``I Get Money'' glides back to the old sounds but sends out a modern message, while ``Straight To The Bank'' gives a heavy bounce mixed with drums, bass and keyboards in harmony.
``Ayo Technology'' featuring Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, is a fun and creative track with futuristic sounds based on a provocative lyrics in this album that shows his diversity, while ``Amusement Park'' is another stand-out track.
Babyshambles `Shotter's Nation' Astralwerks
Ever since the Libertines split up in 2004, two questions have dogged Pete Doherty, the drug-ravaged half of that band's creative duo. The first is whether the Byronic British hero and tabloid mainstay will defy critics and live to see his 30th birthday.
More pressing, though, at least for anyone more interested in music than celebrity gossip, is whether Doherty will ever record anything as good as the first Libertines album ― a collection of gloriously ragged, surprisingly tuneful garage-punk classics.
"Shotter's Nation," Doherty's second album with Babyshambles, is a fine effort and marked improvement on his first post-Libertines sally, but its explosiveness is held in check by an unfortunate air of self-awareness.
- Kenneth Partridge (Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News)