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New Music Tuesday (On Wednesday): Macy Gray, The Pierces and more

Welcome back to Part 2 of this week’s New Music Tuesday! There’s a lively debate going on in the comments section of yesterday’s post and I can’t help but love it. If there’s one thing I know about music-lovers, it’s that we are stubborn as hell. To add to my stubbornness, I am also pretty much the epitome of a Taurus. When I get angry, my nostrils flare and I legit kind of look like a bull. While not the most attractive feature to have, I suppose it could be worse and I could look like Newt Gingrich.

Yesterday I mistakenly stated that there was a new release from Ladyhawke this week. I had an outdated press release that I was going off of so to make up for that oversight, so here’s a link to a free download of The Big Pink’s remix of the album’s first single, “Black White and Blue.”

Wow – this album. If I weren’t trapped in a room all by myself while listening to this, I’d probably think someone slipped some crazy pills into my Diet Dr. Pepper while I wasn’t looking. No judgements here – trust this – but I’d be willing to speculate that that the concept and execution of this album could have gone something like this: While out with a group of friends and new acquaintances, Macy ripped a few bong hits; saw the neon glow for a place that allows you to rent a karaoke room by the hour; went over armed with a selection of go-to jams in mind – but also maybe forgot a few and added some new ones before lighting up a joint and hitting the record button.

The first two songs, “Here Comes the Rain Again” and “Creep,” are much darker than their original versions – almost as though Gollum had joined her in the recording booth. After the first interlude, where she and JB Smoove talk swords – BAM! Change of pace and all of a sudden Sublime’s “Smoke 2 Joints” (mmhmm) lightens the mood.

The first song I really get into is her fantastic cover of “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance. She has made it a total hand-clapping good time and has a total George Clinton vibe to it without even being all that funktified. There aren’t a lot of songs I’d play over again, but I have to give it to her – she has made these songs her own and brought new life to them. She really knows how to not take herself too seriously. One of the funniest moments comes during an interlude where she and Nicole Scherzinger are talking about Alanis Morisette. To be a (most likely very stoned) fly on the wall in that room while they were taping that skit.

I can’t seem to find any song embeds but you can check out Macy’s performance of “Teenagers” on Conan O’Brien’s show.

Dawn is officially done with the Dirty Money crew and has stepped out on her own as a solo artist. This may be too early to say, especially based on an EP and without knowing what her live show looks like, but from what I’m hearing so far, I’m excited to see where she takes her career because she has got something really special to build from. Her voice has the sex appeal needed from a soul/R&B artist; she’s got the pop sensibility, but she’s also got an alternative quality that, while I don’t think it’s been fully realized just yet, has made her stand out from the pack. I can only describe it as being a similar quality to what Kelis has – and that’s saying a lot considering Fleshtone is probably on my list of top 20 most-played albums of all time.

I’ve now been listening to Carla Morrison’s album for the entire morning and it has been the most welcome massage to my senses I could imagine. Her voice and accompanying guitar are smooth and light; minimalist without being its presence being slight. I know that for some of you, an album sung entirely in Spanish may not be something you have considered checking out for fear of not being able to understand – but in the same way I have no problems enjoying Coeur de Pirate’s songs without understanding a word she’s saying, Morrison’s songs are structured in such a way as to break any language barriers and be palatable to any fan of light indie folk-pop. Now, if you’re trying to find her page on Facebook, there are about 12 different ones that have been started. The one I linked to above goes to her official fan page.

It’s kind of funny for me to think that these are the same voices that creep me out when the Pretty Little Liars theme song comes on. Sisters Catherine and Allison can definitely do the creepy thing – and they certainly dip their toes into that pool on this album – but they mostly just make powerfully sung, beautifully harmonized, guitar-driven rock songs. A personal favorite is “Love You More,” which has the dirty bass line I find so appealing on many of The Kills’ records. So, yes, please and thank you. Also, good gawd, they are gorgeous!

Alright! That’s it for this week everybody. Thanks for making it back here and if you missed yesterday’s post, make sure you go back to check it out. You can feel free to drop me a line on here, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or perform a random google search and see what you come up with. Until next week, happy listening!

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