Reckoning

Dave Ellefson (formerly of Megadeth) took a few years to find his post-‘deth place in the metal arena. With the second full-length album from F5, he has found it. While the initial draw to F5 for many metal fans is clearly Ellefson’s Megadeth pedigree, “The Reckoning” is not the second movement of the “Symphony of Destruction.” While there are some 1980’s metal and thrash influences, the record takes Ellefson far away from Megadeth. And as such it should be judged on its own merits…

As she has become both indie icon and industry force, Ani DiFranco has grown more unpredictable, savvy, and restless with every release. On this sumptuously packaged double set, DiFranco often pours her brutally personal and political images into summery, horn-based jazz arrangements–Maceo Parker even takes one gorgeously funky sax solo–and yet somehow still keeps the focus on her own minimalist guitar and vulnerable, emotionally strung-out voice. Her jittery, jazzy phrasing deconstructs the pleasure and poison of her lyrics, so that even vicious lines like "our culture is just a roughneck / teenage jerk / with a bottle of pills / and a bottle of booze" resonate beyond easy condemnation. This is a dark, brooding, but ultimately cathartic work of confessional art. On nearly every track, DiFranco pursues the kind of defenseless honesty and personal vision that few other performers today would dare.

R.E.M. abandoned the enigmatic post-punk experiments of Murmur for their second album, Reckoning, returning to their garage pop origins instead. Opening with the ringing "Harborcoat," Reckoning runs through a set of ten jangle pop songs that are different not only in sound but in style from the debut. Where Murmur was enigmatic in its sound, Reckoning is clear, which doesn't necessarily mean that the songs themselves are straightforward. Michael Stipe continues to sing powerful melodies without enunciating, but the band has a propulsive kick that makes the music vital and alive. And, if anything, the songwriting is more direct and memorable than before - the interweaving melodies of "Pretty Persuasion" and the country rocker "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" are as affecting as the melancholic dirges of "Camera" and "Time After Time"…