No Plan EP

DAVID BOWIE

Columbia/Sony

The four songs here — “Lazarus” and three “Blackstar” outtakes — exist already as the second disc to the “Lazarus” musical’s cast recording. If you’re like me, they’ll appear more attractive to you as their own entity, though admittedly it’s a shameless cash grab. I’m suspending my minor, disaffected outrage on the premise that I might have missed these songs otherwise. They fit right in with the superb “Blackstar.” Who knows why they didn’t make the album (probably so they could bill the musical as having “never-before-heard Bowie”); I suppose they’re not quite as moving as the others, though probably just for misplaced context.

“No Plan” is reminiscent of “Where Are We Now?” both in its directionless sentiment and the affectation in Bowie’s singing. I think perhaps I prefer “No Plan,” and it definitely wins “Best Chord Progression in Show.” “Killing a Little Time” has a Ministry-like pulse and seems to fit the larger concept of “Blackstar.” The shaky love song “When I Met You” is pleasing if uncharacteristic. They’re all presented with the warm, glowing sound Bowie evolved into over the beginning of this century, a kind of sound that borders on soft rock but never gets sickening. And of course, there’s also “Lazarus.” 

11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory

DROPKICK MURPHYS

Born & Bred

Dropkick Murphys always have been in my periphery. I could always sense they were less authentic than the Pogues, even Flogging Molly. You can smell it on them. Authenticity doesn’t always make or break a song, and I like the Hüsker Dü inflections in the sound here. It’s the blatant commercialism that’s hard to swallow, not that the aping of Irish-American mannerisms (specifically those of their home city of Boston) is new to them. The equivocation is what gives them away — they’re tough SOBs, but not too tough! They’ll give you blood, but they’re not afraid to cover Rodgers and Hammerstein, and I wish that was a joke.

Because “4-15-13” references the Boston Marathon bombing and other bits allude to addiction, I can only assume they’re singing about themselves on “Rebels with a Cause.” That more than everything else leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But to show you I’m not totally biased, “First Class Loser” is a nice send-up (“He’s a first-class loser/Which nobody can deny”). I’m disappointed that “I Had a Hat” isn’t a paean to hats, instead they talk about breaking backs. Don’t worry, that’s not actually going to happen; they wouldn’t risk their image, not that I would want them to. But if Shane McGowan said it I’d at least consider the gravity of it.

Travis Johnson lives in New London. He has a music blog that can be found at theoldnoise.blogspot.com. Follow him @ThisOldNoise or contact him at thisoldnoise@gmail.com.