ADVERTISERS & RETAILERS

a new waytoroll.

Kia Soul

These days, you don’t have to look far to find one car
that looks exactly like another. Whatever happened to being
unique? To having some personality? Introducing the 2010 Kia
Soul. This car looks different because it is different.
It’s a new way to roll. Learn more at
www.kiasoul.com

THE CRIBS

STPLxAirwalk for Payless

Sneakerhead, DJ, writer, and entrepreneur Jeff Staple typifies
the iconic essence of the Airwalk brand. His launch collection
of men’s and women’s footwear fuses boardsport culture,
street style, and contemporary design sense. Nothing spared.
Nothing compromised. Nothing more than 50 bucks. To find a
Payless store near you or to view the collection, visit
www.STPLxAirwalk.com

Gone,” a divine disco tear-jerker, becomes practically Prince-ly in the hands of soul-pop singer Sam Sparro. The pair’s quixotic arrangements can overshadow their modest songwriting—French blip-hop balladry and other stylistic additions are piled on top of the Jaxx’s house foundation. But that top-heavy wobble still sways a groove like no other. BARRY WALTERS

The Clientele Bon;res on the Heath

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Built to Spill There Is No Enemy

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compiled by dad Johnny in the 1970s, Rosanne Cash delivers the most enjoyable history lesson imaginable. Her cozy, velvety voice tempers the desperation of Hank Williams’ “Take These Chains From My Heart” and Bobby Bare’s “500 Miles” by emphasizing their sheer beauty, while the understated settings of producer-spouse John Leventhal evoke Willie Nelson’s mellow elegance. Despite some major guests—Bruce Springsteen duets on “Sea of Heartbreak”—Cash is always in charge and always mesmerizing. JON YOUNG

JVC Mobile Entertainment

JVC Mobile Entertainment, a leading developer and
manufacturer of sophisticated mobile, audio, and video
products, has partnered with SPIN Magazine to launch this
year’s TURN ME ON 2 viral video campaign, featuring Darling
Stilettos and Charm City Devils. Go to SPIN.com/turnmeon
to check out the video and behind-the-scenes footage.
www.mobile.jvc.com

Exene Cervenka Somewhere Gone

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U. K. melancholics shine more sun on pop gems The Clientele’s fey fan base may have winced when the gorgeously wistful “(I Can’t Seem) to Make You Mine” soundtracked the inane Keanu Reeves/Sandra Bullock rom-com The Lake House. But mixing bouncy bossa nova pop with melancholy balladry is their forte, and here the suburban London group continue to clear away the fog of their earlier sound, so the brass fanfares of “Share the Night” and “I Wonder Who We Are” practically glisten. Though Bonfires ’ pacing is erratic, the band keeps winsome romance close. AND Y BE TA

 

The Cribs Ignore the Ignorant

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Boise’s answer to Crazy
Horse hits a comfy stride
With 2006’s You in Reverse,
singer-guitarist Doug
Martsch hit on something
he and his compatriots
had never been known
for: giddiness, particularly
on eight-minute opener
“Goin’ Against Your Mind,”
a pulse-quickening riposte
to anyone who thought
these guys were running
on fumes from the mid-
’90s indie boom. Built
to Spill’s seventh album
doesn’t reach that urgent
euphoria—taut rave-up
“Pat” comes close—but they
still flourish in a languid,
Everybody Knows This Is
Nowhere comfort zone.
S TEVE KANDELL

 

Rosanne Cash The List

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Man in Black’s daughter recasts Nashville songbook Drawing from a syllabus of 100 essential country tunes

Femme punk trailblazer
strips it too far down
In the 30-plus years since
Exene Cervenka first lent
her keen eye and wonder-
fully off-key warble to X’s
punky rumble, she has
been called many things,
but rarely boring. So her
first solo album since 1991
comes as a disappointment:
The writing still can be
vividly evocative (“Exotic
free fall into a glass of wine /
Precarious pit stop in the
land of Nod”), but the
uninspired, folky arrange-
ments make her words too
easy to ignore. Strings add
welcome heft to “Honest
Mistake” and the haunting
“Pinpoints,” but elsewhere
the tunes are so minimal
they nearly disappear.
DAVID PEISNER

Bratty Brit-rockers find mentor, hint at maturity Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr recently joined the Cribs, as is evident in the chiming intro to “Last Year’s Snow,” from the feisty British band’s fourth full-length. He also brings a sense of calm to Ignorant, which could be frustrating to those looking for a snarling good time, but the pairing is mostly brilliant. The Cribs’ songs hold up even when slowed down, and they’re able to paint outside old lines with the added shadings, nodding to

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