Bubblegum Hip-hop and a Band With three Test Icicles

The Test Icicles

Test Icicles (Domino)
Don’t know yet what to think of this British trio’s music. Their debut single,
“Circle Square Triangle,” sounds like a snot-nosed take on Bloc Party; a newer
one, “Boa vs. Python,” is a bit more metallic. But I’m most fascinated by their
aesthetic — one part art rock, one part MySpace and one part Hot Topic. Take
their ironically terrible band name and their fashion sense: drainpipe black
jeans, badly dyed train-wreck haircuts, hot-pink guitars and an electric-green
logo. Oh yeah, and the black guy in the band looks like a cross between Lil
Jon and Arthur Lee of Love.

D4L, “Laffy
Taffy” (link requires iTunes) (Asylum) If you found the oral-sex
allusions in 50 Cent’s teenybopper anthem “Candy Shop” too subtle, and the haikulike
perfection of Kelis’ “Milkshake” too complex, you’ll welcome D4L. This bound-for-obscurity
pack of Atlantans delivers this season’s ultimate one-hit wonder, “Laffy Taffy,”
a sharp banger with trebly electro keyboard stabs and a banging momentum that
recalls Miami bass. Dig the subtlety: “I’m lookin for Mrs. Bubble Gum/I’m Mr.
Chik-o-Stick . . . You can suck me for a long time/Oh my god/This is not a dance
floor, this is a candy store.” I know that, in metaphorical terms, candy stores
represent the home of sweet, sweet love — but what is laffy taffy? Has the desire
for fat booty evolved into a lust for cellulite?

The Clientele, Strange Geometry (Merge) This London
trio’s autumnal guitar pop recalls breezy ’60s AM radio staples like Burt Bacharach
and the Association, then downshifts into a slightly druggy haze. It’s designed
for minimum impact, so it’s funny how their haunting songs linger. A cycle about
simple romantic longing (with a recurring female character named K) turns into
a more complex affair upon close inspection. Singer Alasdair Maclean describes
how “everything is so vivid, and so creepy” — and as it turns out, this album
is less about his ex-love than the dreamy perceptions he has while wandering
an imperfect city. A long-shot contender for album of the year. The Clientele
play the Knitting Factory, Fri., Nov. 12. (See Calendar.)

Fiona
Apple, Extraordinary Machine (Sony) Last month
Tokion sponsored the third installment of its “Creativity Now” conference,
and during a live Q&A, artist Richard Prince said he made all of his artworks
in editions of two — not to double his money but to question the authenticity
of the original. In this era of rampant remixes, mp3 blogs, p2p leaks, and hip-hop
mix tapes, it’s an interesting idea for music fans to consider. Sure, you could
consider the Sony-branded version of Fiona’s new album “official.” But you could
just as easily refuse to recognize its legitimacy after enjoying the loopier,
livelier version that’s been pirated online since January. These Jon Brion–produced
sessions simply have more Brechtian grandeur. Fiona Apple plays the Wiltern,
Sat., Nov. 26.

Linda Perry, In Flight (Custard/Kill Rock Stars) As
a member of ’90s one-hit wonder 4 Non Blondes, Perry was responsible for one
of the most distinctive choruses of the MTV era. (“What’s going on?” she wailed
as a million viewers changed the channel.) Her voice doesn’t sound much different
on this 1996 solo debut, but her sensibility sure does — more gothic, world-weary
and driven by songs, not hooks. It’s just been reissued by the iconoclastic
Kill Rock Stars imprint — which is ironic given Perry’s recent career as one
of L.A.’s top songwriters-for-the-stars (Christina Aguilera, Pink, et al.).
Still, it’s easy enough to hear the through line from Perry to the label’s other
discoveries — pop formalists Elliott Smith and the Decemberists, and even riot
grrrls Bikini Kill.

Franz Ferdinand, You
Could Have It So Much Better (Domino) This sophomore effort sounds
like a more strident, less memorable cache of outtakes from the band’s debut,
and they winkingly acknowledge that fact — viz. the album title. But the twangy-acoustic
moods of “Walk Away,” the Beatlesque melody of “Eleanor Put Your Boots On” and
the piano-driven “Fade Away” reveal a band in the midst of a melancholy evolution.
Ostensibly about lead singer Alex Kapranos’ affair with the Fiery Furnaces’
Eleanor Friedberger (now extinguished?), they provide hope that this Scottish
quartet will make it past the dance-punk trend alive.

Dirty
Three, Cinders (Touch & Go) After a decade together,
Dirty Three appeared to be tapped out: Every song featured guitar, percussion
and amplified violin; every one started slow, grew into a half-improvised firestorm,
then collapsed into a smoldering heap. Dirty Three made the most emotionally
raw music imaginable, but catharsis was becoming a shtick. Thankfully, this
wonderful seventh album reconceives the trio as a more intimate chamber group.
The 19 tracks are shorter, focus on interaction rather than melodrama, and feature
new sounds such as mandolin, piano, bagpipes and Cat Power singer Chan Marshal
on a sad, sad vocal.

Death
Cab for Cutie, PlansDeath Cab were miscategorized
as emo (a non-genre genre usually associated with post-hardcore). Case in point:
During a co-bill with the Decemberists earlier this year at NYC’s Central Park,
the groups collaborated on a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way.” Dude,
that’s yindie (yuppie indie) all the way. No surprise, Death Cab’s major-label
debut, Plans (Atlantic), finds them growing out of their emotional immaturity
and instrumental amateurism. It’s smooth, shiny, and a bit twee — like R.E.M.
in their sellout phase — and that’s a compliment, not a critique. Death Cab
for Cutie play the Wiltern, Fri.-Sat., Nov. 11 and 12.

Video iPod & iPod Nano (Apple) At this rate, the 2006 iPods will also take
out the trash, baby-sit your kids and brew a perfect cup of coffee. www.apple.com/ipod.