Too Much Of Anything Makes You Nutty

Northstar “Duckie” – These are the RZA’s new L.A.-based protégés, and officially the first West Coast Wu Affiliates. The record isn’t bad, but only offers a few highlights. The four RZA-produced tracks are fine, but somewhat less interesting than the tracks by Armand Van Helden (!) and RZA understudy Mathematics, who produced “Duckie.” “Duckie” is a good representative of Northstar’s strengths – light-hearted, melodic, vaguely old-school rhyming pitched halfway between West Coast and New York traditions.

TV On The Radio “The Wrong Way” – Since I was not impressed by their debut EP from last year, I was a bit resistant to giving TV On The Radio’s forthcoming LP Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes a chance. Overall, I’m still not sold on the album, but “The Wrong Way” has won me over after several listens. It reminds me quite a bit of Suicide, and not just because of the chugging bassline and the singer’s vague similarities to Alan Vega. Like the best Suicide tunes, “The Wrong Way” evokes a seedy after-hours urban atmosphere that is as romantic as it is anxious and discomforting.