| Courtney Love. America's Sweetheart (Virgin)
The title of Courtney Love's first solo album, "American Sweetheart" - America's Sweetheart - is not such a joke as it might seem at first glance (why is she a "darling"? Who takes this washcloth seriously?). Don't tell me. The widow of Curt Cobain is a really popular person in the USA, a film actress, an “alternative”, a hooligan and all that. Almost an iconic figure. At the very least, a symbol of feminist grunge, made famous by her band Hole. Now forget everything you've ever heard about Courtney. America's Sweetheart is a slightly different story, if only because it is a musically good, "adult" rock album. The compositions seem to grow out of the hard rock of the 70s, and this genre, it seems to me, will soon enter the circulation of pop music. In any case, Love, no matter how you treat her, keeps her nose to the wind, and it is unclear who and what she will not get involved with. Some of the tunes were written by Linda Perry - a real hitmaker, once the vocalist of the group 4 Non Blondes. Love sings in his explosive, hysterical style. It cannot be said about it that it does not hit the notes; it is better to say that where it hits, there is a note. But it is useless to criticize, because the artist is adequate to the material, and the material is very strong and correct. America's Sweetheart can hardly be called an “epoch-making” album (which Love considers Live Through This to be), but in the space of modern rock and roll it looks very convincing and bright.
Lambchop. Awcmon/Noyoucmon (City Slang/Labels/Virgin)
Abracadabra, which is on the cover of the new Lambchop album, is deciphered and translated very simply: “Listen, come on / Come on yourself.” Actually, this is not a double album, but two, but released simultaneously for commercial reasons. As we remember, Guns'N'Roses and Bruce Springsteen - best-selling people - had similar experiences of throwing two albums into the market at once. Lambchop, although the group is famous in Europe and America, is clearly not one of these giants. To a wide Russian audience, their leader, Kurt Wagner, should be known mainly for his participation in the trio's latest album Morcheeba, where he sang on the song Back to Mine. Kurt Wagner's vocals are pleasant, the music of his new creation is smooth and melodic. Lots of instrumentals. For some reason this whole thing is defined as “alternative country,” although there are not enough country and alternatives here. As Western criticism writes, “Wagner’s texts are focused on small details, but the music of an ensemble of a dozen people is large-scale.” Super. That's how it is. Alexander BELYAEV
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