Billboard Magazine

MUSIC GO-DJ producer Tom Scholz FEATURES: ALBUMS embracing slide guitar. Beat- He sings lead for the Matching COUNTRY frst time, too, on “Love The Go-DJ analyzes and JAKE OWEN Got Away.” The set also matches Days of Gold sports some leftovers the tempos from previous album of loaded PRODUCER: Joey Moi songs, Corporate America allowing LABEL: RCA Nashville featuring the late Brad for easy RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3 The Go-DJ’s Delp’s vocals. —GG mixing and biggest looping— After three straight top advantage purist DJs 10 albums and a view is its size: at JAZZ would say it’s 10.9 ounces, from atop the country too easy. BEN ALLISON it’s lighter charts, Owen can see TECH Effects than an iPad “plenty of good times The Stars Look Very Different Seven useful mini. Today effects— for miles,” as he sings on PRODUCER: Ben Allison phaser, his fourth album’s title flanger, filter, track. He and producer LABEL: Sonic Camera Records distortion Can Go-DJ Replicate RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3 and others— Joey Moi do a solid job come of mixing up the moods, The 11th album from preloaded, partying down on composer/bassist and are Turntable Mystique? easily “Beachin’” and “Tipsy,” Allison is largely a controlled then grappling melodi- vehicle for guitarists through cally with heartbreak on Steve Cardenas and analog “Ghost Town” and “Life Brandon Seabrook, who knobs. Vinyl may be resurgent with consumers, but for its those who prefer the more tactile experience turnta- of the Party.” —GG bring heft and electricity Memory traditional champions—DJs—the format is becoming bles provide. But the touch-screens are where most of to these genre-bending There’s increasingly obsolete. Even superstar spinners, with the magic happens: In turntable view, it’s easy to mix, only two compositions. Allison the budgets for massive stage setups, carry laptops loop, efect and even “scratch” MP3 fles. And in a true LATIN gigabytes uses David Bowie’s of internal or tablets instead of record crates. The latest tech toy innovation, users can even manipulate audio wired in ANA BARBARA “Space Oddity” for memory, but looking to one-up the old-school turntable is Mon- from an external device—whether an Android, iPad or the Go-DJ Yo Soy la Mujer the album’s title, and ster’s Go-DJ, a portable, miniature DJ rig and produc- musical instrument—the same way. A few taps to the has an SD PRODUCER: Ana Barbara references flms in other memory- tion tool. The Go-DJ’s biggest advantage is its size: at touch-screen takes the user to a sampler, keyboard or LABEL: Lo Busque/Sony songs, including the ee- card slot that 10.9 ounces, it’s lighter than an iPad mini, with about sequencer, where one can record original material or allows for an RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3 rie “Planet of the Apes” 40% less surface area. Monster envisions the device create remixes on the fy while DJ’ing. Overall, the Go- additional 32 shout-out “Dr. Zaius.” GB to play allowing DJs to be mobile, moving around stages and DJ equals many of the turntable tablet apps. In terms of Mexican singer Barbara, But musically, he main- with. even dancefoors. But this is limited by the Go-DJ’s production and recording, however, apps from vets like who’s already traversed tains a level of compact most obvious faw—a lack of wireless tech. Unlike the Fruity Loops and GarageBand are probably better bets. multiple genres, turns communication among iPad, the device needs to be physically plugged in to a Established DJs may not change their ways, but the Go- to traditional banda for the quartet rather than speaker to be heard. The Go-DJ consists of two small DJ will likely fnd fans from a more unlikely place: the an album of melodic reaching for cinematic touch-screens connected by a panel containing vari- gaming world. Its shape and ergonomics are reminis- tracks that could also expression. —pG ous knobs and, best of all, a mixer-style cross-fader. cent of a videogame controller, which should appeal to work in pop. Barbara is It’s a smart middle ground between software DJs and a generation raised on Xboxes and PlayStations. —AG convincing here, with the grit to pull of spite- ALTERNATIVE ful frst single “Ahora MAGIC TRICK Me Toca A Mi” and the River of Souls POP more traditional “Los Cazahuetes.” But she PRODUCER: Tim Cohen retains her romantic LABEL: Empty Cellar Records roots, particularly on RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3 Meet the catchy, beautiful Since 2009, Tim Cohen “A Donde Crees Que has released a stagger- Vas.” —LC ing seven-plus albums’ worth of material with ‘Britney Jean’ ROCK his band the Fresh & Britney Spears BOSTON Onlys, side project Britney Jean Like many artists do, Britney Spears has referred to her Magic Trick and under Life, Love & Hope new record as her “most personal yet.” And indeed, PRODUCERS: Will.i.am, William his own name. So the Orbit, David Guetta, Diplo PRODUCER: while the pop stalwart’s eighth LP contains a big por- Tom Scholz fact that the third Magic tion of the kinetic synth-pop of 2011’s Femme Fatale, LABEL: RCA LABEL: Frontiers Trick set features some there are starker songwriting shades as well. “Per- RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3 RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3 of his most engag- fume” admits to some cracks of jealousy in Spears’ Boston’s sixth album— ing work yet is all the unfappable exterior, while “Alien” features the singer its frst in 11 years— more impressive. The musing about her place in the pop universe. Taking proves an old rock dog shoegaze-folk flter of cues from his recent Spears collaboration “Scream & can learn new tricks. the Fresh & Onlys lin- Shout,” executive producer Will.i.am concocts some Industrial touches crop gers throughout, but the elastic dance numbers. But Diplo scores a coup by up in a couple of tracks, witty lyrics (on “Crazy swooping in to produce “Passenger,” an empowering while the instrumental Teeth” in particular) pop-rock track co-written by Katy Perry. It’s the al- “Last Day of School” and swoony female har- bum’s most successful song, a change-up to feel-good, has a decidedly prog monies position him as guitar-driven music that’s all the more refreshing after favor and “Heaven on more of a next-gen Lee almost an album’s worth of sweaty dance beats. —JL Earth” fnds guitarist/ Hazlewood. —Ah DECEMBER 7, 2013 | WWW.BILLBOARD.BIZ 43.

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