I met Julio, one of Ms. Sariñana’s concert promoters, Sunday at a friends house and my ears perk up whenever I hear a name I haven’t heard before. Then I heard her husky voice dominating a playful pop beat and wanted others to know more.

Sariñana is already a success in her home country, Mexico. She doesn’t look manufactured (even though she was a child actress); you’re catching someone who’s just here and there to enjoy the music. Sariñana, lives in Mexico, sings in both English and Spanish and seems comfortable in her bilingualdom. She’s been around for about 3 years, since her debut Spanish-language album Mediocre in 2008.

Website: XimenaMusic.com
Twitter: @XimenaMusic

On top of the unsettling feeling of not being sure for a little while whether the singer was male or female or something in between the overall sound is too light and too inconsistent.

Released May 23, Torches has all the signs of drool-worthy goodness; fun cover art, unafraid to use weird instruments and even more strange rhythm breaks. But I couldn’t shake the feeling they were trying too hard to achieve something that, as of now, is beyond them. The importance of being earnest is not to come across as too earnest.

Someone in this band (Mark Foster) likes to tell stories and’s good at it. It’s easy to gain more respect for the band just reading the lyrics. (Perhaps only reading the lyrics?)

“Pumped Up Kicks” is, by increment, the best tune on the CD. It may be coincidence that this song seems to have had the simplest recording history – recorded, mixed, produced and performed by Mark Foster. Just has a nice lazy beat throughout telling the tale of a modern day teenage cowboy with revenge on his mind. Tells those with the pumped up kicks “you better run, better run, faster than my bullet.” It’s the most pure sound. There’s whistling.

There’s whistling?

That’s followed by the mess of “Call It What You Want.” Too many styles trying to do too little. Seems like it might be a dance tune, a nice little keyboard riff, some annoying beeps in the background which begin to take on too much earspace. Then it opens in a chorus of voices and the crack in the wall of sound causes the whole thing to crumble. I DID still find myself bobbing my head a little, as I did on several others – but I had long since tuned out of caring about the song.

Still, it ends with wise words:

If I don’t conform to what you were born into then you run the other way. / You say, ‘Now what’s your style and who do you listen to?’ Who cares? / Well that rat race ladder-climbing fake-face smile’s got nothing on me.”

“Don’t Stop” starts promising but then buries itself under layers – and those incessant beeps, as if their robot overlord was in the studio having a fit. I honestly had trouble getting past it and chipmunk giggling in the background just, obviously (should’ve been obvious) is unnecessary for the muse in music.

But I kept on listening and it came back to the voice. Being able to sing means letting those pipes rattle and not clog them with 401 different effects to remind us that it’s not just auto-tune that can kill a buzz with buzz.

“Waste” is Muzak lounge music. “I Would Do Anything For You” is the hackiest slackjaw love song going. “Miss You ” is another highlight, where one sound sticks around long enough to make a pleasant, lasting impact. And the rest of the CD comes to a lazy, shrugging end.

It seems as if we’ve been caught in a Ross changing room. Each song tries on a new jacket, looking for a style it can’t find. And you can smell the desperate hope for a worthy destination without a plan for how to get there.

Foster The People out on tour now. They tackled Coachella (without having released an album) and will hit Lollapalooza in August. I missed my chance when they were in Tempe, Arizona. I’d be curious how they sound live. Tell me.

Official website: FosterThePeople.com – Main members: Mark Foster, Vocals, Guitar and Synth. Mark Pontius, Drums. Cubbie Fink (?), Bass.

Tracks
Helena Beat
Pumped Up Kicks
Call it What You Want
Don’t Stop (Color On The Wall)
Waste
I Would Do Anything For You
Houdini
Life On The Nickel
Miss You
Warrant
Broken Jaw

If it wasn’t for one thing, I would think this band represents the second coming of Jesus. Well, his support band.

“It’s A Good Thing” has an insanely catchy opening riff, that instantly sends your mind spinning into “Who is this?” territory. Not so much that Choo Choo sound like anyone, but that they sound like they’ve been around long enough to produce milkshake-smooth-n-tasty music.

They sound like you should have heard of them. Bonus, no one you know will have ever fucking heard of them.

Lush, layered, with an accomplished steady crunchy pop sound, I refreshed as I listened. When I breathed, their positivity stood right over me, stiletto heels stomping holes through my skin to let the music enter more quickly. Less surreally, this foursome from Switzerland catches your ears and won’t let go – expanding your listening habits like a double-zero earlobe gauge.

It’s the vocals that seemed to let down the side.

While everything from the guitars to Lili’s keyboards is infused with energy, Dan Joerg’s vocals don’t fit perfectly into the fun. (They don’t seem do last names by the way) His voice actually do work much better in the more relaxed-tempo, “The Sun” but generally, in place of the expected supersonic and technotronic his voice has ironic and laconic. It’s slow where your body wants to dance.

Again, I’m new to this band. I’ve heard four songs, total. (“It’s A Good Thing”, “The Sun”, “We Go” and “Bits+Pieces.”) The found Soundlust.com via Like.fm and saw that I reviewed Cage The Elephant and thought we might dig them, too. I really do. I wanna hear more. And so do you because if you don’t you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.

Look out for an upcoming review of the rest of Choo Choo’s second album, Cannes, (Chop Records nope, it’s not in English) released earlier this year.

Win a song download:

Radiohead self-released an album again. People are again calling it the model of the future and thebestthingeverohmyGod.

OK, but what about the music?

“Lotus Flower” and “Feral” are The King of Limbs two best songs. At least on first and second listen, so take that for what it’s worth. These two have a sound that make them accessible. While this is not a barometer for musicianship, I’ve never given a band “bonus points” just because they’re famous. If they sound good, they’re good. If they sound like they’re following a trend and phoning it in; like they have no passion or vision – or skill – they’re the opposite of good.

In that vein, Radiohead sound like any other band just getting started, an idea that comes ripe with the positive, the negative and the irrelevant. And yes, Yorke in the Lotus Flower video looks like he’s trying to become the album title. Go with your bliss, man.

A fuller, more informed, review comes later.

25 CD. – Sinead O’ Connor, Universal Mother. The voice of an angel, the attitude of a fallen angel. She tackles domestic violence and motherhood.

25. Keytars – Don’t fret, these key cases mean your keys will always hit the right note. Rock out with your lock out (Category: Stocking Stuffer) I bought them at a comic store but you might want to try to buy at Neato Shop or Amazon

(SoundLust is not being paid to endorse anything here. It’s randomness with a purpose – eclectic gifts for the mixed up music mind.)

By the end of the gig it was clear to me that what happened back in May wasn’t a fluke; While I know I’m a big Mostly Autumn fan and therefore more than a little biased, I still believe Wishbone Ash, despite their higher profile and name recognition, are simply not in the same league as a live band as was their support in May.

I’ve seen other veteran bands from Wishbone Ash’s era, most notably Uriah Heep and Blue Oyster Cult who, like Wishbone Ash have just one or two original members left. Those bands can still put on a great show, even now. But sadly the current incarnation of Wishbone Ash falls well short of that.

The biggest single flaw in their sound is that Andy Powell is not a particularly great lead singer. His voice isn’t well suited to the more melodic material from their classic ’70s albums. “Argus” songs such as “Throw Down The Sword” and “Warrior” were fine instrumentally, but Andy Powell’s voice sounded strained reaching for the higher notes. This probably explains why the setlist relied rather too heavily on somewhat generic blues-rock material at the expense of many of their classic songs – for example, they didn’t play “The King Will Come.”

That probably sounds unduly harsh – I did still enjoy the gig. At their best, the band could still entertain, and seemed a little more spirited than at Shepherds Bush. We still got some of the lovely twin-guitar harmonies, even if those guitars seldom really cut loose with the sort of stunning soloing of their 70s live albums.

But having seen the Martin Turner Wishbone Ash at High Voltage in August, where it was clear Martin Turner has still got it vocally, I just wish Andy Powell and Martin Turner would bury the hatchet and get back together again.

So when Swedish symphonic metal band Therion came to Shepherd’s Bush Empire for a rare UK appearance the chance to see them live on Halloween night was too good to miss. I’ve only heard a couple of their albums, the recent double album “Gothic Kaballah” and a superb earlier live album “Live in Midgard.” The albums are huge in scope, with multiple singers, choirs, and many guest musicians. I wondered how music of this complexity would translate live.

Before Therion there was not one but two supporting acts. I always make a point of getting there in time to see the support; you never know when you’re going to see a great band you might otherwise never have heard of, and you can always retreat to the bar if they turn out to be rubbish. Tonight both supports were good.

Openers Loch Vostok were an entertaining progressive-tinged metal band with a hairy frontman I could imagine crewing a Viking longship ready to loot and pillage some innocent Northumbrian village. Second support was Norway’s, Leprous. With a name like that I expected grunty death metal – in fact the band, fronted by a dreadlocked keyboard player, were nothing of the sort, fairly melodic, a bit bonkers but great fun. Both bands are well worth checking out.

Having never seen Therion live before, I wasn’t at all sure what to expect. The show began with just four instrumentalists on stage, progressively joined by two male and two female vocalists, both opera-trained sopranos, until there were eight people on stage.

The music they played can only be described as epic, and hugely melodic. While they’re not touring with the full choir that sings on the most recent album, the combination of four powerful lead vocalists still made for a immensely rich sound, whether it was alternating leads or four-part harmonies. While the focus was on the elaborate vocal arrangements, with the twin guitars of Christofer Johnsson and Christian Vidal the metal side of things wasn’t neglected either. One guitar solo in particular was simply jaw-dropping. The only thing I didn’t like was their reliance on programmed keys; I’d much rather they’d employed a flesh-and-blood keyboard player alongside the guitars and vocals. Saying that, one of the female singers did play keys for a couple of songs. We also had vocalist Thomas Vikström playing flute on a couple of songs. I really wasn’t expecting to hear any flute at this gig.

I recognised relatively few of the songs they played, I’m guessing songs from the new album Sitra Ahra, which I’ve yet to hear, featured very heavily. But it didn’t seem to matter. Their whole two-hour set was hugely enjoyable, and I can see this is going to be a band I’ll be seeing again next time they come to these shores.

And that’s almost all I need for the music review. It’s the best new song I’ve heard this week. No, really. Ke$ha speaks-raps more than sings; a very electronic processed feel to everything. Yet, still a character comes through. Bonus a likeable one.

Why do I have a soft spot for Ke$ha. I don’t know. Her roots are a childhood subsidized by food stamps and welfare; a single mother. This is not a person grown up through servility nor privilege.

Brutal honesty is always helpful and exciting when it arrives as self-awareness. Ke$sha is self-possessed enough to get through some bad story line. Attitude. Something to say. Wit. Humor. Yeah all that. Too, she’s a beauty in a unconventional sense; someone you’d meet almost anywhere, pretending a little but not having to pretend much.

Before you think I’ve lost it (too late?) turn on Pink’s newest, “Raise Your Glass.”

Right right, turn off the lights,
We’re gonna lose our minds tonight
What’s the dealio?

I love when it’s all too much
5am turn the radio up
Where’s the rock and roll?

Certainly, this in’t the sum of Pink. She’s well respected for, arguably, her attitude and her work ethic and mixing fun with meaning in life and song. Yet she also, began her career getting the party started.

I think KeSha has that potential, songwriting brushes with Paris Hilton and Miley Cirus, aside. Put them down as black marks done to survive through high-profile, though largely meaningless, association.

Is it sad that anything past a marketing package seems “rebellious” these days? Yep it is. Lady Gaga is pure marketing; without it she’d be nothing. Yet, these short messages on the front page of Ke$ha’s website belong to a person without an obvious packaging;

Nov. 2: “driving home from my video shoot same time traffic starts sunrise soo tired n soooo fking lucky u guys r gonna flip over this one”

and Oct. 31, “http://bit.ly/aSkBDT WANT “WE R WHO WE R” for.99 cents?! thaZ cheaper than balls.cheaper than a taco.pak o gum.coffee.CHEAP AS HELL!get it!”

While I think sincerity is one of Ke$ha’s strong points, this is by no means a universally held belief:

“… Ke$ha doesn’t really believe what she’s selling … she’s a young pop star who wouldn’t think twice about selling her family to the circus in order to succeed.

Yeah, but she’d do it … sincerely.

In the mix of sight and sound it was the music that took center stage Friday at the third creative explosion of painting and tunes at Gangplank. From hip-hop to techno to surf, Desert Bloom 3 rocked the mothership.

All the while, 10 artists focused on getting their visions on canvas, ready in time for an auction at the end of the evening.

The appropriately Twitter-handled @jackalert (AKA Jack Smith) broke out the beats first as the show started late. The rumble through the crowd said Dfactor – up next – impressed as they pumped out power-pop punk tunes.

Even the Red Bull gals made a quick appearance at Gangplank, handing out the free energy to a place that – at least in front of the canvas and behind the instruments – dripped it already. Gankplank is a tech-oriented, co-working location in Chandler, Arizona that also opens itself to community events. Desert Bloom was free to anyone who wanted to come and could move. (Disclosure, Desert Bloom is organized by guys who have become friends since I first wrote about and attended the last Desert Bloom back in July)

With “I’m Single” cards taped to their backs, Rebecca Burkhart and Amy Kopinski Donohue, shared a canvas and painted some of the first strokes of the evening. In simple terms, they had fun with cupcakes, and blue birds on a wire. Jamie Mulhern crafted a large owl next to Shannon Elizabeth Harden’s doll. Victor Moreno went all Pushead with his dripping zombie skull in white; Jay Fotos matched him with Frankenstein in perfectly simple white strokes and splatter spots.

It was not quite so traditionally gender-specific last time, but that’s the way it broke down Friday.

About the middle of the evening Sunday Morning Drive buried their usual acoustic mellow and offered an amped up version of off of last year’s self-titled release. They also threw in an inspired version of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” Talking to them after their well-received short set they said a slightly more aggressive sound was in their future (full interview later this week) with enough song to fill a few CDs worth.

Surfside IV was the most well-known of the bands. Given such “diva” status, they kept the crowd waiting; a crowd that nevertheless showed their enthusiastic support once the Fez-hatted ones fingered the first surfabilly notes.

Unfortunately, I left before Stern Savage and Consumer were scheduled to play. The hip-hop head Savage is gathering rep around Phoenix with mix tape releases and a label, Arizona Stronghold Music. Though he started in ’98 he took a hiatus to, as he describes it, bring something that he could be proud of back to the scene.

(photos added Sept. 22) © Soundlust.com/Temple A. Stark

DJs and Bands (plus Twitter handles)
Jack Smith (@jackalert)
Dfactor (@Dfactor)
Sunday Morning Drive (@SMDBand)
Marvin Forte (@MarvinForte)
Surfside IV (@thesurfsideiv)
Stern Savage (@SternSavage)
Consumer (@Consumer)

Artists (plus Twitter Handles)
Rebecca Burkhart (@design_gal)
Tony Deschiney
Nicholas DiBiase (@hepnova)
Amy Kopinski Donohue (@thefabulousone)
Shannon Elizabeth Harden (@chanonista)
Jay Fotos
Victor Moreno (@victormoreno)
Jamie Mulhern (@maventheavenger)
Denny Riccelli (@dennmann17)
Christine Slomski (@LadySlomski)

Fefe Dobson is a singer who’s largely existed under the radar, yet she has a hard edge to her voice and music that’s appealing. Sometimes. Though working under the unfortunate name, Fefe (which I of course want to pronounce, FeeFee) she still sings well enough to make me forget that name. Except the singer who became famous at 18 clearly can’t settle on a music style or decade.

“Stuttering” (released Sept. 7, available free before that) has a chorus that sounds melodic. Touch to do considering Dobson literally stutters through the words. The chorus is the best part of the song that thankfully gets a little harder while Dobson builds more emotional urgency as it goes along. Despite that, it still seems as if she’s singing from the middle of a sterile surgery operation room.

What’s been plaguing her since the song’s release is its apparent similarity to Kelly Clarkson’s “Behind These Hazel Eyes.” I can’t hear it myself, except for the expected factory output similarities you’ll usually get with this mass-produced type of music filtered through low-level stars. And I’m now a little pissed because I had to listen to Clarkson. Who used to be able to sing. Who has somehow – despite haircut changes – pushed her career deep into mediocrity. I say that from the POV of a person who was disgusted by American Idol, but had to admit they’d found a person who at least had some power and character in her voice; who seemed to actually have a personality, too.

But no longer. Dobson’s been around a surprisingly long time – her first album was released in 2003, way before Clarkson was becoming a household name. “Ghost,” another recent free release in anticipation of her upcoming album Joy is better, simply because it rocks almost as hardest as “Take Me Away,” her best song. In “Ghost” you can hear Ke$ha and flashes of groups like Paramore.

But since I’m comparing her to people who came after her, it’s clear Dobson never carved out a niche deep enough to sustain the ravages of the music industry. It’s unlikely that will happen now; there’s nothing yet distinct enough about her music. The Canadian singer has had more success with other artists recording her songs. Because the 25-year-old’s past has been hit by poor sales and label-drops, and because neither “Ghost” nor “Stuttering” seem powerful enough to reverse that, though they are stronger, songwriting might be a more sustainable future.