S O U N D A D V I C E

Chris Isaak's latest landscape, Speak of the Devil, seems like familiar territory. It uses some very well-travelled roads, yet manages to not make it very far. You can feel the gears shift as the music gets louder or picks up the tempo, but somehow you aren't making any progress. While the music is pleasant and comforting enough, Isaak never takes the listener anywhere new.

Isaak fits very nicely within the mainstream sound--perhaps too nicely. A little bit of country, a pinch soft rock, and even some alternative have all been mixed together, creating something that is almost likable, yet still complacent and predictable. Noticeably absent are any of the truly intense moments that enable people to love (or hate) music with any passion. It's quite possible to have heard it all before and not realize it, or to confuse the songs with one another.

The lyrics, guitar phrases and song titles all run together, as if Speak of the Devil might just be a bunch of variations on a simple theme.

Even within the easy atmosphere of Isaak's work, there is certainly a little room for wishful thinking. Occasionally, the drums seem to promise a good beat or fun rhythm that never gets delivered. Isaak's voice takes on a more romantic and lovely quality when it is lower and slower, which, in this release, is not very often. The biggest upset is that the last track. "Super Magic 2000," a James Bond-type instrumental, is the most enjoyable song on the entire album. It is a refreshing change from the monotony of the previous 13 pieces, something Isaak should remember when working on his next attempt. Peiyin Li

My Heart Beats Faster Than Techno

Saint Etienne

Good Humor

Unlike Everything but the Girl, whose smashing foray into electronica on their latest Walking Wounded represented a revolutionary addition to their delicate, acoustic lounge songwriting, Saint Etienne has been busily crafting taut electronic Euro-pop for nearly a decade now. If their sophisticated European following is any indication, Saint Etienne has all but captured the sound of sunny metropolitan luxury. However, only on their latest, utterly adroit album Good Humor has the band truly devised ravishing and flawless pop music in the most classic sense of the term. Boasting the lush, crisp sound that has evolved slowly from their first album Foxbase Alphawhich, though impressively sweet, now sounds dated and conventional. Good Humor crackles with upbeat melodies, urbane lyrics and vibrant arrangements.

On Good Humor, musical nostalgia is entirely the point, with the excellent and witty assistance of veteran Cardigans producer Tore Johannson integrating diverse genre elements and quotations to create the albums deliriously composite and cohesive sound. Good Humor is almost inconceivable: a broad, ecstatic blend of the pristine disco of ABBA, the elegant jazz pop of Steely Dan, the rhythmic bass throb of funk and the bleary-eyed cocktail electronica of trip-hop. The product is anything but tired; on Sylvie, for example, the rueful, cosmopolitan irony of the lyric is offset completely by a glowing arrangement. The overlay of subtle syncopations and retro instrumentation makes the song surreal and engaging, like a chance meeting with Burt Bacharach after hours at a chic London nightclub. Some might call this kitsch, but emotional immediacy and sheer musical complexity make the song and the album awfully hard not to enjoy, like the charming early work of the Cardigans (emmerdale, Life), which was better and deeper than most people noticed. Hopefull,y this album won't be as sadly neglected; with the compellingly glamorous voice of chanteuse Sarah Cracknell firmly in the forefront, Saint Etienne has made pop music that deserves, terribly deserves, to be popular.   Jared White

Kissing Cousins: Scotland and Japan?

Yatsura

Slain By Yatsura

Urusei Yatsura rocks. They are from Scotland. Lead singer Fergus Lawrie says lyrics as if he has invited the Geist of the decade into his mouth.

Yatsura's new album, Slain by Yatsura, is confident and unpretentious. Where the band could have been self-conscious about a long, complicated and low-selling discography, Yatsura is light-hearted. Their lyrics are eager.

Even lines like "I've got my fanzine/so fuck the music scene!" do not sound bitter so much as they sound healthy, and Yatsura is certainly more concerned with making good music than with their indie cred. The lyrics on Slain by Yatsura are generally of a more pleasant variety anyway. "1, 2, 3, 4, Glo Starz! Glo Starz! Glo Starz! Glo Starz!" It is a very loveable album.

Yatsura's sound is guitar and drums and a light Scottish accent that can only help Fergus throw out his weighty iambs. The band has sprinkled a few samples and a lot of electronic effects through the album, but the music rests solidly on straight rocking instrumentation, beat and exciting lyrics.

The best thing about Slain by Yatsura is that you don't have to know about anime to get the music. You just have to know about a loud stereo and a smile on your face.   Benjamin E. Lytal