Word: hardness
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...concert was rather safe, with a ‘high art’ undertone that went against the grain of the music itself, the interplay between the musicians was inspiring and fresh, providing hope for big jazz concerts to come. Let’s hope they swing this hard the next time around...
Aside from that somewhat unfair assumption, it’s also clear that the first-time director and writer tried a little too hard with his adaptation of a staple of classic literature. He throws in random voiceovers that attempt to be insightful, but instead prove to be more distracting than helpful. There are also frequent flashes of clips that come without warning and are at first hard to decipher—are they dream sequences, flashbacks, or glimpses of things to come...
...this not-so-subtle allegory of the Cold War turned out to be sadly accurate. My hard-earned money quickly fell to the capitalists who had the most rapid development and the largest cash reserves. I was like the India of the 1960s, attempting to chart my own course yet constantly being pulled in two directions. After I fell, the Communist bloc quickly dissolved too, burdened by the costs and failure to expand, much like Soviet Russia and Red China were by vast populations and energy but a lack of capital. Like the result of the Cold War, the Monopoly...
...sake, and then resumes in another key. The rhythm section, the core of any decent R&B group, sounds too often like the drum and bass GarageBand loops characterized by seamless, emotionally-bereft rhythmic accuracy and a robotic inability to feel—it’s hard to imagine human beings creating this record. This is particularly problematic seeing as “Soldier of Love” eschews pure electronica and trip-hop for more traditional instrumentation—guitar, piano, drums and bass are at the heart of the record—which would intuitively present...
...lack of obvious emoting benefits the song and her voice sounds more powerful than on most. The percussion is minimal—a tambourine shivering over the steady heartbeat of a kick drum. However, on most of the album’s tracks, particularly “Long Hard Road,” and “Bring Me Home,” the production isn’t enough to compensate for the weak songwriting and over-processed instruments, and the listener is left with an unoriginal track that feels vacuous and forced. Adu’s nuanced vocal...