Sound Bites
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 20, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Nelly Furtado "Whoa Nelly"
Nelly Furtado “Whoa, Nelly!”
Dreamworks
With her new pop hit “I’m Like a Bird” already
making waves on many radio stations, Nelly Furtado is ready to soar
up the charts. Furtado, who was born to Portuguese parents but
raised in British Columbia, recently released her debut album,
filling it with a resonating mixture of styles such as R&B, hip
hop, folk, bossa nova, alternative and pop. Furtado’s style
is a mix of Gwen Stefani and Fiona Apple with some Lilith Fair
thrown in. What’s particularly interesting about the
album is that each song starts out with a very different
introduction. However, once the songs get started, they evolve
into a totally different style and rhythm. It’s almost as if
Furtado wrote 12 introductions and randomly placed them in front of
12 different songs. After awhile, though, this gets quite
predictable. For instance, the first song “Hey Man!”
starts off with a group of strings playing something reminiscent of
classical composer Antonio Vivaldi. Yet it evolves into a larger
orchestral sound, with an added acoustic guitar and funky drum
beat. This song is probably the best song on the album,
although it has yet to be released on radio. As Furtado begins
to sing, the listener senses that this girl is definitely laid back
and has her head on straight, with lyrics that have a little more
thought than “Oops! … I Did it Again.” Exploring the
suave genre of bossa nova, Furtado stresses over her involvement
with a man who is not content with her love in
“Legend.” Through sweet harmonies and a sultry beat,
Furtado creates a fine Brazilian musical atmosphere.
Furtado’s most noted song that has been streaming across
radio stations is the upbeat single, “I’m Like a
Bird,” which incorporates everything from a field vibraphone
to a pepper shaker. But her experimentation with different
sounds does not stop there. As Furtado continues exploring a
multitude of styles, she brings in hip hop in “Turn Off the
Light.” Halfway through the CD, however, the listener finds
that the album runs out of juice. By the second half of the album
it seems there isn’t a change in style from tracks seven to
11. The last track, “Scared of You,” however, is very
absorbing. For this song, Furtado brings in a Spanish
guitar. Yet halfway through the song, Furtado takes a huge
turn as she soulfully sings the rest of the lyrics in
Portuguese. Gracefully hitting the high notes, Furtado brings
the CD to a close making the listener wish there were more songs
just like this.
Laura Morgan Rating: 7
American Hi-Fi “American Hi-Fi” Island
Records
Sugary sweet melodies, distorted guitars and rhythmically
complex songs saturate American Hi-Fi’s self-titled debut
album. Formerly the drummer for the alternative band Letters To
Cleo, Stacy Jones decided to start a band of his own. Stepping out
in front of his drum set, Jones now occupies center stage as the
singer, guitarist and songwriter for the new alternative quartet
American Hi-Fi. Jones’ songs, such as the first radio single
“Flavor of the Week,” bring catchy melodies backed by
crunchy guitars, hard-driven drum work and a bittersweet lyrical
sentiment. The rhythmic styling of many of the songs is most likely
due to Jones’ experience as a drummer. Awakening the senses
with the indie-rock sounding opener “Surround” and
progressing into the radio hit “Flavor of the Week,”
“American Hi-Fi” catches listeners’ attention
right off the bat. Slower songs like “Don’t Wait For
The Sun” present a sensitive, dreamy atmosphere to contrast
the attention-grabbing rock of other tracks such as “A Bigger
Mood.” American Hi-Fi’s first album presents 14
pure-pop tracks in under an hour. The CD was recorded by producer
Bob Rock (Motley Crue, Metallica, Veruca Salt), who was impressed
by American Hi-Fi’s live debut performance at a small club in
Maui. The album seems to be busting at the seams with
three-and-a-half minute, infectious radio singles. This could be a
good thing, if people still liked the radio, but it brings little
in the way of diversity and inspired rock. Despite this, however,
“American Hi-Fi” is a strong debut album from an
experienced debut band.
Chris Moriates Rating: 5
Hybrid “Wide Angle”
Kinetic/Reprise
Even though Hybrid has been releasing singles and cutting
remixes since the mid-’90s, its first American full-length
release did not come about until late last year, and in the last
six months its popularity has seen an exponential growth rate. This
is partly due to Hybrid’s enrapturing shows where it
supported Moby for his summer tour across the states, and because
its debut CD, “Wide Angle,” is pretty damn good. The
trio of remixers which comprise Hybrid knows how to hit all the
right spots in production, milking what currently works with
modern-day best-selling electronica (think Crystal Method) while
maintaining a sense of artistry and originality (think Orbital)
frequently lacking in today’s dance music. Tracks like the
eight minute “If I Survive” sound like a
tastefully-orchestrated Chemical Brothers hit, whereas other
tracks, like the arcane “Beachcoma,” evolve from
minimalism into lavish sonic renderings with booty-dominating
beats. The name Hybrid emulates the band members’ desire to
bring more resources into the world of electronic music ““ an
idea that is not new but constantly toyed with and should not be
dismissed. For the subliminally arranged “Finished
Symphony,” Hybrid recruited a 90-piece Russian orchestra to
cushion programmed blips and beeps with the lushness of live
strings, all set against a slowly-building big beat backdrop. The
catchy “Altitude” features some fancy jazz guitar work
backed by harsh digital tones and breakbeats, helping to bring down
the stigma that guitars do not belong in electronic music. If
there’s one thing fishy about Hybrid, it’s the
inconsistency between its live performances and its CD content.
Those who have attended its live shows will attest to a much more
enveloping sound, with less kitsch and more jaw-dropping climaxes.
Perhaps the band wanted to make its debut release a bit more
accessible to the novice listener and opted to play it safe, but in
any case, Hybrid has succeeded in putting out one of the more
memorable big-beat electronica albums in recent years.
Cyrus McNally Rating: 8
