The third studio outing is typically difficult for established artists who often struggle between maintaining their fanbase and displaying artistic growth. Instead of penning a new batch of originals, Mandy Moore accomplishes both goals with Coverage, an album of cover songs. But don't expect a karaoke-friendly collection of instantly recognizable pop hits. In an effort to break out of her teen-pop mold, Moore has recorded songs that will be more familiar to viewers of VH1 than MTV. Tracks include Cat Stevens' "Moonshadow," Todd Rundgren's "Can We Still Be Friends?," and Joe Jackson's "Breaking Us in Two." The album also features passionate renditions of songs by Joan Armatrading, Elton John, XTC and the Waterboys.
The second album by Dead Prez, Get Free or Die Tryin,' is a not-so-subtle reference to 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and it illustrates where the Florida rap duo's priorities lie. Like Public Enemy, D.P. are as political as they are musical, and express their inflammatory views in songs like "F--- the Law," "Scared to Die," and "Last Day Reloaded," which features the rap crew Onyx.
Until now, Loon has been best known for backing P. Diddy, Usher, 3LW and Foxy Brown. This week, the rapper releases his full-length, self-titled debut. The album features guest performances by Diddy, Missy Elliott and Carl Thomas, which could help turn the suave rapper from an in-demand backing musician into a full-fledged star.
Where were their heads at when Basement Jaxx recruited 'NSYNC's JC Chasez to guest on Kish Kash? Clearly, they wanted to do something different, and that desire shines through on the disc, which is less dance-house than their previous efforts and more based in a percussive funk that owes heavily to Prince. Other guests include Siouxsie Sioux and Dizzee Rascal.
Several hot indie rock bands are dropping noteworthy albums this week. The act with the highest profile is the Rapture, whose second full album, Echoes, is a feast of crashing rhythms, dirty disco beats, engaging electronic melodies and vocals reminiscent of the Cure's Robert Smith. The debut album by the Canadian band the Stills, Logic Will Break Your Heart, is equally affecting, combining the emotional resonance of the Smiths with the pop songcraft of Echo & the Bunnymen. And the second disc by Albuquerque's the Shins, Chutes Too Narrow, is a sunnier offering that blends winsome pop guitars with plaintive vocals.
For those who like much, much more technical proficiency, veteran Canadian power trio Rush will release their fourth live album, Rush in Rio, in the form of a triple-CD set that captures the final night of the band's Vapor Trails tour before a crowd of 40,000.
Here's what else you have to choose from.
- Josh Abrams - Cipher (Delmark)
Active Ingredients - Titration (Delmark) All Out War - Condemned to Suffer (Victory) Anadivine - Anadivine (EP) (SideCho) Fred Anderson - Back at the Velvet Lounge (Delmark) Anti-Flag - The Terror State (Fat Wreck Chords) April Sixth - Mariposa Avenue (EP) (Elektra) Ascii Disko - Ascii Disko (Metropolis) Badlands - Hands of Time (Rebellion) Bobby Bare, Jr. - OK, I'm Sorry (Bloodshot) Barenaked Ladies - Everything to Everyone (Reprise) Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash (Astralwerks) Between the Buried and Me - The Silent Circus (Victory) Big Noyd - Only the Strong (LSR/In the Paint) Bleach - Astronomy (Tooth & Nail) Blow - The Concussive Caress (K) Jimmy Buffett - Live in Irvine, CA 9.27.03 (Mailboat) Jimmy Buffett - Live in Mountainview, CA 9.25.03 (Mailboat) The Buffseeds - Sparkle Me (EP) (Sanctuary/Fantastic Planet) Paul Burch - Fool for Love (Bloodshot) Nick Cannon - Nick Cannon (Nick/Jive) Read: [article id="1471332"]"B2K, Nick Cannon 'Feelin' Freaky' On Collabo"[/article]
Carbondale - 'Cause 7 Ate 9 (Little Pond) Clearlake - Cedars (Domino) The Creatures - Hai! (Instinct) Enrico Crivellaro - Key to My Kingdom (Electro-Fi) The Crown - Possessed 13 (Metal Blade) The Cruxshadows - Ethernaut (Dancing Ferret) Danú - The Road Less Traveled (Shanachie) Moot Davis - Moot Davis (Little Dog) Death Machine - Death Machine (Sensory) Destruction - Metal Discharge (Nuclear Blast) Kevin Devine - Make the Clocks Move (TCR/Razor & Tie) Dew-Scented - Impact (Nuclear Blast) DJ Wally - Nothing Stays the Same (Thirsty Ear) Dope - Group Therapy (Recon/Artemis) Dose Hermanos - Bright Shadows (Gaff) Drag-On - Hell and Back (Virgin) Dream Theater - Train of Thought (Elektra) The Durutti Column - Someone Else's Party (Psychobaby) Esham - Repentance (Psychopathic) Charles Feelgood - House Music (Topaz) Fighting Jacks - The Dying Art of Life (Tooth & Nail) Firewater - Songs We Should Have Written (Jetset) The Format - Interventions and Lullabies (Elektra) Funeral for a Friend - Seven Ways to Scream Your Name (Ferret) Grandpaboy - Dead Man Shake (Fat Possum) Great Jones - Seven Days from Saturday (Cheapshot) Hamsa Lila - Gathering One (BRG/In the Pocket) Beth Hart - Leave the Light On (Koch) Her Space Holiday - The Young Machines (Mush) Gary Hoey - Wake Up Call (Surfdog) Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd - In What Language? (Pi) J Street Jumpers - Good for Stompin' (Severn) Fruteland - Jackson Blues 2.0 (Electro-Fi) Jennyanykind - Peas and Collards (MoRisen) The Jessica Fletchers - What Ever Happened to? (Rainbow Quartz) Joe - And Then ... (Jive) Montell Jordan - Life After Def (Kela/Koch) Joy Electric - The Magic of Christmas (Tooth & Nail) Khanate - Things Viral (Southern Lord) King Diamond - The Puppet Master (Metal Blade) Libby Kirkpatrick - Goodnight Venus (Heart Music) Christine Lavin & the Mistletones - The Runaway Christmas Tree (Appleseed) Lexicon - Youth Is Yours (Spy Tech) The Limit - The Limit (HMG) Read: [article id="1471153"]"Loon Prepares To (Finally) Drop Debut, Rap And 'Ball' On Broadway"[/article]
The Lovethugs - Playground Instructors (Rainbow Quartz) Lucky Boys - Confusion Commitment (Elektra) Gene Ludwig - Hands On (Blues Leaf) Carmen Lundy - Something to Believe In (Justin Time) Peter Malick - Chance and Circumstance (Koch) Malow Mac - Second Look (Thump) Man with No Name - Interstate Highway (Dragonfly) Delbert McClinton - Live (New West) Moonspell - The Antidote (Century Media) Mandy Moore - Coverage (Sony) Read: [article id="1479598"]"Mandy Moore Digs Up Pop Obscurities For Coverage"[/article]
Van Morrison - What's Wrong with This Picture? (Blue Note) My Ruin - The Horror of Beauty (Century Media) Mylene - Mylene (Fast Horse) The Nadas - Transceiver (Authentic) Neurosis & Jarboe - Neurosis & Jarboe (Neurot Recordings) Salim Nourallah - The In-Crowd (EP) (Paisley Pop) Operatica and Maureen O'Flynn - Christmas Classics (E-Magine) Parsley Sound - Parsley Sounds (Mo Wax) Parts and Labor/Tyondai Braxton - Rise, Rise, Rise (Narnack) D. Alex Paterson - Journey Into Paradise (Topaz) Pigeon - John Is Dating Your Sister (Basement) Sarah - Pillow Remixes (Buckyball) Pinhead Gunpowder - Compulsive Disclosure (Lookout!) Plastikman - Closer (novamute) Project Pat - Mix Tape: The Appeal (Hypnotize Minds) Snooky Pryor - Mojo Ramble: Live in Concert with Mel Brown and the Homewreckers (Electro-Fi) The Rhinos - The Year of The Rhinos (Rainbow Quartz) Jason Ringenberg - A Day at the Farm with Farmer Jason (Yep Roc) Roc Raida - Champion Sounds (DMC/Razor & Tie) Rope - Widow's First Dawn (Family Vineyard) Josh Roseman - Unit Treats for the Nightwalker (Enja/Justin Time) Robb Roy - Days of Pride and Hunger (Pure Recordings)
Raphael Saadiq - I>All Hits at the House of Blues (Pookie) Ryuichi Sakamoto - Mototronic (Sony Classical) Scraps and Heart Attacks - 8 Million Stories (Triple Crown) Brian Setzer Orchestra - I>Boogie Woogie Christmas and Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy (Surfdog) Slipstream - Transcendental (Hidden Agenda) Solas - Another Day (Shanachie) Something Corporate - North (Geffen) Space Cadet - Greatest Hits (Satellite/Trauma) James Lee Stanley - Traces of the Old Road (Beachwood) Rod Stewart - The Great American Songbook: Vol. II (J) Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - Streetcore (Hellcat) Suicide Commando - Axis of Evil (Metropolis) Switchhitter - Fer-de-Lance (54º40' or Fight!) The Tannahill Weavers - Arnish Light (Green Linnet) Malachi Thompson and African Brass - Blue Jazz (Delmark) Tidfall - Nucleus (Nuclear Blast) Too Short - Married to the Game (Jive) Tragedy - Still Reporting (Solid) Turk - Raw and Uncut (Koch/In the Paint) Universal Honey - Can't Stop Thinking About Christmas (41 Records) Chucho Valdes - New Conceptions (Blue Note) Kristine W. - Fly Again (Tommy Boy) Josh Wink - 20 to 20 (EP) (System) Yo La Tengo - Today Is the Day (EP) (Matador) Zebrahead - MFZH (Egg/Columbia) John Zorn, Bill Laswell and Tatsuya Nakamura - Buck Jam Tonic (Ion) Various Artists - Back to the Future '80s, Volume 2 (Topaz) Various Artists - Beachwood Christmas (Beachwood) Various Artists - Bird Up: The Charlie Parker Remix Project (Savoy Jazz) Various Artists - Brother Bear soundtrack (Walt Disney) Various Artists - Buddyhead Presents: Gimme Skelter (Buddyhead/Nettwerk) Various Artists - Dragonfly Classix II (Dragonfly) Various Artists - Eye of the Beholder, Vol. 3 (Tract) Various Artists - Mystic River soundtrack (Malpaso/Warner Bros.) Various Artists - Punk Goes Acoustic (Fearless) Various Artists - Radio soundtrack (Hip-O/UME) Various Artists - Taken soundtrack (DreamWorks Nashville) Various Artists - Tropical Hot Dog Night (Myutopia) Various Artists - Very Special Acoustic Christmas (Lost Highway) Various Artists - Warren Haynes Presents ... (Sanctuary) Various Artists - Wig in a Box - Songs from Hedwig & the Angry Inch (Off) DVD: "The Journey" (Aspyr) DVD: "Live from Bonnaroo 2003" (Sanctuary) DVD: "Steve Earle - Just an American Boy" (Artemis) DVD: "The Loud Family - Live 2000" (125) DVD: "Millencolin - ... And the Hi-8 Adventures" (Burning Heart) DVD: "Rush In Rio - (Anthem/Coming Home/Zoë) DVD: "The String Cheese Incident" - Live at the Fillmore (Sanctuary) DVD: Audio: Sammy Hagar and the Wabos" - Hallelujah (Silverline) DVD: Audio: Widespread Panic - Ball (Silverline) SACD: Vijay Iyer - Blood Sutra (Artists House) SACD: Ludacris - Chicken & Beer (Def Jam) R.E.M - In Time: The Best of R.E.M 1998 -- 2003 (Warner Bros.) The Strokes - Room on Fire (RCA) Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - Come Poop With Me (Warner Bros.) Wyclef Jean - The Preacher's Son (J Records) Stone Temple Pilots - Thank You (Atlantic) P.O.D. - Payable on Death (Atlantic) Ruben Studdard - Soulful (J Records) Blink-182 - Blink-182 (Universal) Jay-Z - The Black Album (Roc-a-Fella) 
