I've Got the Tunes (31/5/10) - This Week: Christina Aguilera - 'Bionic' and Jack Johnson - 'To the Sea'

- Not Myself Tonight

- Lift Me Up

- Bionic

- Woohoo

- Elastic Love

- Sex for Breakfast

- I Hate Boys

- My Girls

- Vanity

- Prima Donna

Dear oh dear, this is one electro mess. The girl with the voice seems to have forgotten it and the record is poorer for it. The style changes are bizarre and don’t really work, as well as there being far too many irritating numbers.

The melodic Hawaiian crooner returns with his fifth outing.

As well as a successful music career, Johnson also dabbles in surfing and directing of surf films, so you’d expect a couple of songs about waves, right? Not really...

Opener and lead single, ‘You and Your Heart’ is a progressively up-tempo romp. It features an attractive bassline and gradually meanders its way firmly into the easy-listening category. ‘To the Sea’ features a little of that Hawaiian hula melody, complemented by a slow rock beat. In truth, it’s a bit too sleepy and misses out on being memorable. ‘No Good with Faces’ is even mellower, but actually manages to hit the right spot, probably thanks to the discreet mouth-organ-like backing.

Things improve further in the catchy beats of ‘At Or with Me’. The electric guitar rhythm instantly hooks your attention and Johnson’s vocals are delightful. This one has a real country/folk feel to it and sticks in your head, which always helps. ‘When I Look Up’ serves as a short intro into the classic R and B vibes of ‘From the Clouds’. The old-school funk works well with Johnson’s appreciative lyrics and subtle delivery. It’s just a genuinely enjoyable song about good times.

‘My Little Girl’ is a tender ballad, presumably about his own, and is the sort of song soppy parents I’m sure will love. In fairness, it’s delivered very well and is spot-on lyrically. ‘Turn Your Love’ features soothing acoustic/mandolin guitars, alongside some soul-filled backing vocals. The song actually works itself very well and improves as it progresses in what could be the soundtrack to any wind-swept campfire. ‘The Upsetter’ invites some serious percussion and tribal bongos to the party. Johnson’s vocals are delivered slightly aghast but it gets somewhat repetitive, quickly.

You may feel that you’ve walked into a bizarrely spiritual party during ‘Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology’ and it has that weird sing-a-long effect. A soulful piano beat plays predominantly through, which works well. ‘Pictures of People Taking Pictures’ again goes down that slightly-irritating repetitive path. I just think nothing says filler quite like tuna mayonnaise, but this could be a close second.

The mellow warbling of ‘Anything But the Truth’ may be short and sweet but they don’t really add anything significant to the record as a whole. ‘Only the Ocean’ is a much more poignant affair and uses the keys well to create a nice atmosphere. A reflective and reminiscent tune, it does actually seem to be about sailing on your own and finding liberation.

Released - 1/6/10

Label - Brushfire

5th studio album

There’s nothing remotely wrong with this record and I’m sure Jack Johnson fans will herald it. For the rest of us, it may well be difficult to see what the big deal surrounding the act is as there’s not an awful lot here to distinguish it from any other mellow act.

Former pop princess goes all futuristic with the new record.

It’s funny how teeny boppers evolve, many feel that Aguilera’s mighty vocal style and cleaner-living lifestyle put her ahead of the likes of Britney Spears. I disagree, Spears’ albums have been of very high quality, despite her lifestyle (in fact ‘Blackout’, recorded during her “breakdown” was her best work). So can Aguilera eclipse the likes of ‘Stripped’?

The opening titletrack is an electro mash-up that sounds just as chaotic as it is. Aguilera seems to mimic Lady GaGa’s Auto-Tuned deep rapping as the slightly-catchy chorus kicks in. First single, ‘Not Myself Tonight’ actually sounds like ‘Just Dance’ with Polow da Don at the decks, as opposed to RedOne. It’s a fairly strong effort, mainly thanks to Polow’s beat. Da Don provides the rhythm for ‘Woohoo’. Nicki Minaj adds a highly annoying rap, alongside the recurring title. It’s typical Aguilera with sexual innuendos galore, but this is more Ke$ha than her, which ain’t good.

‘Elastic Love’ is further down the wrong path. The beat’s retro, popping electro and features lyrics like “everlasting love/such a spastic love”, I kid you not. It’s awful and the rap about gaffer tape is un-called for. ‘Desnudate’ seems to be a direct clone of Shakira’s latest booming beats (there’s even Spanish soundbytes). To be honest, it’s just irritating and is a poor imitation. ‘Glam’, about taking control of fashion, actually rips off the opening lines of ‘Boom, Boom, Boom’ (Vengaboys). The beat is awesome, the delivery not so and the lyrics are pretty uninspired too.

For someone who is perceived as living so clean, the heavy vocal assault of ‘Prima Donna’ again mentions incessant drinking! This is clichéd in virtually every way and is another low point. Aguilera may as well construct a neon sign with the blatantly obvious ‘Sex for Breakfast/Morning Dessert’, it’s just an odd choice and hardly likeable.

Linda Perry’s ‘Lift Me Up’ is a fantastic contemporary song, unexpectedly at the time. ‘All I Need’ is a sweet love song about her child and is more what this album could have been built around. ‘I Am’ further abandons ‘The Voice’ and goes for a simplistically arranged style. It’s slushy and as generic as you like. ‘You Lost Me’ hints at epic delivery, but just goes down the slow and dull style path, a polar opposite of the electro start.

Fear not, the digital backing returns on ‘I Hate Boys’ – more clichéd generic powder pop and marketing style – a true example of label pressure prevailing in the power struggle. ‘My Girls’ rips off ’Play That Funky Music’ and is more generic girl power pop. Finally, ‘Vanity’ further goes down the Ke$ha route, which is never good.

Released - 4/6/10

Label - RCA

4th studio album

- No Good with Faces

- At Or with Me

- From the Clouds

- Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology

- The Upsetter

- Pictures of People Taking Pictures