Reviews: Clearlake, the Gossip, Lupe Fiasco

Listening to Clearlake's Amber, I found myself having a love/hate relationship with the record. At times I found myself cringing, while checking the liner notes to make sure that wasn't Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon harmonizing. It's clear that the English quartet was influenced by early 90's Britpop, but the distortion and darker elements hint that are not simply hear to restate the past. The best moments on Amber - the group's third album - are the ones that don't fight for dance floor accessibility whatsoever. Minimalist tracks like "You Can't Have Me" and the cello-based "Far Way" stand out, while the real high point is the darkly sweet "Dreamt That You Died" - which I'm sure Chris Martin wishes he had written. 3.5

Beth Ditto has soul, and on the Gossip's latest - Standing in the Way of Control, she really gets to show off her Janis Joplin-drawl. Shifting gears a bit from their prior work, Control is built around bass-heavy dance anthems, reminiscent of Gang of Four. (And really, what the fuck isn't reminiscent of Gang of Four right now). It is fun as hell, but starts to get a bit repetitive as the album goes on. 3

Clocking in at just 16 minutes, A Rhyming Ape - part three in Lupe Fiasco's Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape series, lacks the depth and skill of the previous two. On the otherhand, Lupe fans will enjoy it - if only as a novelty: All the beats are taken from Gorillaz' Demon Days, with Lupe adding - at most - a verse or two of freestyles. 3