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BEYONDby Dan OuelletteTop ofthe NewPopsYoung upstartsare rocking whileone band of oldtimersproves it’sstill got somethingto say.Bell X1: BlueLights On The U2: anthemic purveyorsRunway (YepRoc2175; 54:48) AAAA 1 /2 The second-best bandfrom Ireland, Bell X1 is the dark horse takingthe country’s music-of-the-momentbaton from the top group (see below). Ledby songwriter/vocalist Paul Noonan, thegroup is everything U2 is not: a pop bandwith catchy melodies (the spirited “TheGreat Defector”), a literary sensibility (i.e.,the leadoff gem titled “The Ribs Of ABroken Umbrella”) and an updated view ofcommercial musicality infused with subtleelectronica. Bell X1’s music is fresh andsmart and teeming with influences rangingfrom Talking Heads to the Beat poets.Immensely listenable on both music andlyrics levels.Ordering info: yeproc.comThe Decemberists: The Hazards Of Love(Capitol 14710; 58:48) AAAA Who says therock opera is dead? Certainly not theDecemberists’ leader, Colin Meloy. Inspiredby the ’60s British folk revival, he’s craftedan ambitious 17-song epic tale of two fantasylovers. This is rock at its artsy best thattakes the concept album an impressivestep further by mixing in a diversity ofstyles, from folk rock (the leadoff theme“The Hazards Of Love” and “Won’t WantFor Love,” sung by band member BeckyStark) to gripping prog rock and heavymetal (the thumping “The Abduction OfMargaret” and the turbulent “The Queen’sRebuke/The Crossing”). Interspersedthroughout are simple, mood-enhancinginstrumental interludes and reprises.Ordering info: capitolrecords.comGomez: A New Tide (ATO 0070; 43:48)AAAA 1 /2 Ten years after scoring theMercury Prize for its debut, Gomez offersits sixth CD, which bursts with lyrical jewelsglowing with shape-shifting experimentation.Gomez is the rare band withthree leaders who write and sing superbtunes. On the new CD, the band expandsits musical scope, embellishing its songswith unusual textural arrangements that adynamics-loving jazz band could admire.“Mix” blends acoustic-guitar simplicitywith electronic psychedelia, “Win ParkSlope” transforms a Delta-blues twanginto a cello-viola classical sway, “NaturalReaction” fluctuates tempo and key, and“Sunset” surprises with an avant swirl ofclarinets and alto saxophone.Ordering info: atorecords.comU2: No Line On The Horizon (Interscope12630; 53:48) AAAA Purveyors ofanthemic rock at its finest, arguably theworld’s greatest pop band offers morepassion under the guidance of producersBrian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who put thegroup on the map in the ’80s. While Bonostill buoys with ecstatic vocals, the Edgeriffs percussively and the foursome powerson, there are out-of-the-U2-ordinaryhighlights, including the shout-chorus“Unknown Caller,” the whimsical rocker“Get On Your Boots,” the sublime “WhiteAs Snow” and the poignant “Cedars OfLebanon.” Bono and the boys may nolonger be sought for the wisdom of theday, but between the lines there’s stillmuch that speaks spiritually and politically.Ordering info: interscope.comYeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz! (Interscope12735; 41:49) AAA 1 /2 Frontloaded with twotunes (“Zero” and “Heads Will Roll”) ofpunk-meets-techno pop urgency fueled byKaren O’s fevered vocals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’third CD unveils the power trio’s new fascinationwith pulverizing synths. As headbashinglydanceable as the leadoffs are,they’re ultimately vapid (“Off with yourheads/Dance till you’re dead”). But thedeeper you move into It’s Blitz! the better itgets thanks to the variety and delivery.The best of the pack are the intimateturned-brazen“Dull Life,” the piano-cello“Runaway,” the funky kissing song“Dragon Queen” and the sunny melody“Hysteric.”DBOrdering info: interscope.comCOURTESY OF INTERSCOPEJohn StetchTV TrioBRUX 14112AAACultural touchstones for anyone who has spenttoo much time indoors, television theme music issonic crack, daring you to shake its hold on yourbrain. Just a few seconds of a theme can have aPavlovian effect: signaling the imminent deliveryof 30 or 60 minutes of escapist pleasure.Pianist John Stetch mines those associations,but twists our expectations by channeling familiarthemes—dating from Bugs Bunny cartoons to’70s standbys like “Dallas” and “Love Boat”—through a post-modernist piano trio prism.Although few television themes outside of“Peanuts” have relied on a piano trio, Stetch,bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Rodney Greentreat these pieces as they would any standard,despite the bombastic grandeur associated withthe “Star Trek” theme or how much lyrics forman integral part of a theme like “The Flintstones.”Stetch can find beauty in the banal, as hedoes when he transforms the cheesy theme fromthe low-budget, animated “The MightyHercules” into a gentle ballad that Bill Evansmight have written. One of his better reconfigurationsis finding a Monkish waltz in the structureof “Rocky And Bullwinkle.”Other interpretations seem to be fueled moreby the content of the shows, with the theme from“The Waltons” yielding a bouncy, breezy songthat might have you picturing John Boy as abudding hipster. “Dallas” eschews the boosterismof the original for a version that speaks tothe melancholy of many of the show’s plot linesand the open spaces of J.R.’s environment. “TheSix Million Dollar Man” lends itself to a mysteriosointroduction and a Latin beat.In less-skilled hands, the conceit of TV Triomight not carry an entire disc, but Stetch makesthese themes into something larger than the oldshows themselves.—James HaleTV Trio: The Waltons; This Is It (Bugs Bunny); Star Trek; Dallas;Love Boat; The Six Million Dollar Man; Rocky And Bullwinkle;The Mighty Hercules; The Price Is Right; All My Children; TheFlintstones; Sanford And Son. (50:30)Personnel: John Stetch, piano; Doug Weiss, bass; RodneyGreen, drums.Ordering info: johnstetch.com»58 DOWNBEAT August 2009