Destiny’s Child moving on with new album

Editor’s Note: In Sound Advice, the first Thursday of every month, veteran NEWS entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle reviews new rock, pop, alternative, country, folk or blues albums. Different NEWS writers contribute reviews from other musical genres.

“Survivor” (Columbia) – Destiny’s Child

What a difference two years makes. After its second album, “The Writing’s on the Wall,” went multiplatinum, Destiny’s Child should be flying high. But a nasty musical divorce from original members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, including a court battle, left the trio as a running pop-cultural punchline.

But founding members Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland and new voice Michelle Williams sound more than a few defiant notes on their latest release (see the title cut, “Survivor,” “Independent Women,” “Happy Face”).

It’s been a turbulent couple of years, but they seem determined to go onward and upward.

Sure, Destiny’s Child is a bit of a contradiction, in one breath claiming to be too “Bootylicious,” in another dissing on fellow females on “Nasty Girl” and “Fancy,” and then capping the album with a gospel medley. Yes, it’s a mixed message, but it’s got a good beat and you can surely dance to it. (Also, any group that can cover the Bee Gees and sample Stevie Nicks and a cartoon theme song on the same album can’t be all bad.)

The threesome seems determined to put their past behind them and forge ahead successfully amid the flock of DC3 wanna-bes. Perhaps “Survivor” is a bit too defensive, but the bulk of it can be enjoyed at face value.

“Discovery” (EMD/Virgin) – Daft Punk

Of course for many years the last place you’d cast your ear for tush-wobbling dance choons was France. But that was then, when just about the only French music registering on the radar screens of us snobby Anglophones was “Je t’aime,” and the occasional bit of Vanessa Paradis.

Enter Daft Punk, whose gloriously goofy “Homework” album dropped jaws across the UK in 1997, fell onto turntables across the nation, and widened smiles on many a dance floor.

But was it a one off? Could the feat be reproduced? Pretty much.

It’d be hard to make a claim that “Discovery” charts much in the way of new territory, either for Mssrs. Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo and Thomas Bangalter, or mankind as a whole. But they do seem to have a vocorder now, and have developed a penchant for classical progressions, which helps chunks of “Discovery” sound a little like “Cher sings the soundtrack to ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (Dance remix).” Making the music of the future of the past is a concept definitely worth poking with a long stick, and Daft Punk are up there jabbing away.

So the hits are coming again. The radio-monster “One More Time” is almost inescapable, and the (surely!) AC/DC-influenced disco-fest “Aerodynamic” has done a sterling job of prompting a new generation of clubbers to murmur “huh?” while finding it impossible to stop their feet shuffling.

At turns bewildering, visceral, and intensely amusing, “Discovery” is a monument to invention in a genre which too often rides happily in the ruts. And if you don’t like it, I’m sure the band would happily tell you to … well, mind their French. (By Adam Corrigan)

“Fast Girl” (Audium) – The Tractors

Coming from Oklahoma farm stock, Steve Ripley understands the farmer’s solitary existence. As the songwriter, singer, guitarist and producer for The Tractors, he has long pursued his own style of music, one which harkens back to the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, a stew of gospel, R&B, blues, hillbilly and boogie-woogie. Ripley would have been right at home in Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios.

Instead, Ripley recorded his latest release, The Tractors’ first since 1998, at Leon Russell’s Church Studio in Tulsa. Eschewing the set lineup that he had used in the past, he opted to use a revolving group of musicians, including two of his idols, Russell and guitarist James Burton. As he explained, “The Tractors are a state of mind, a place I enter to make the records. It’s a serious place and, at the same time, there’s definitely a party going on.”

That’s the case for sure on his latest album, from the rockin’ title cut to the Western swing of “Can’t Get Nowhere” to the Dylanesque tale “A Little Place on Our Own.” Still, Ripley can be serious, as he shows on the brokenhearted “Ready to Cry” and the philosophical “Higher Ground.”

Ripley found his music in favor once before, when The Tractors’ 1994 debut hit like an 18-wheeler going 80, going multiplatinum. Since then, much of new country has turned into pop with steel guitars and fiddles, so Ripley will likely find his music pigeonholed in the Americana ghetto again.

So he’ll keep plowing his musical field and see what kind of interest grows there. Ripley said he seeks a timeless quality to his music, and that’s certainly what he’s got going on with “Fast Girl.”

“Time Bomb” (Dreamworks) 3/4 Buckcherry

For a follow-up, Buckcherry falls a little short in upping the ante: “Time Bomb” makes for a predictable extension of the first album.

To their credit, the Sunset Strip rockers mesh coherently on these punchy melodies. As a band, Buckcherry has perfected “feel-good rock” that’s ideal for dancing to in concert. Individually, guitarist Keith Nelson and Yogi provide catchy riffs on “Ridin'” and “Fall,” and both have admirable soloist ability.

However, bassist Jonathan Brightman and drummer DeVon Glenn played a little too reserved on tracks like “Underneath,” following straight rock progressions made famous in the ’80s by the likes of Poison and Def Leppard. Vocally, Joshua Todd wavers little from his trademark grainy, almost-whining tone and lyrics lingering on cliche subjects like promiscuity, drinking and unrequited love. Case in point: The title track comes off as Todd’s glam-rock anthem to the real joys of stardom: money and women. Aside from tracks, “Place in the Sun,” “You” and “(Segue) Helpless,” the album severely lacks dynamic song composition. The vast majority follow a “verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus” format, often making it hard to remember what song you’re hearing.

Nevertheless, “Time Bomb” is typical Buckcherry – straight-up pool hall guitar rock. The end product should make good listening for die-hard BC fans. (By Anthony Saucier)