Common, Tegan & Sara, Kany Garcia and Prince.

the music press

tue 7/24/2007

Common cents. A collage of Common, Kany Garcia, Tegan & Sara and Prince.

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Chicago rapper and all-around conscious fella Common releases his seventh album, Finding Forever, in honor of his friend, the late producer and rapper J Dilla. XXL Magazine invites us to overlook the album's shortcomings – “when an album’s missteps still convey its overall passion … admiration remains” – while The Guardian UK laments that producer Kanye West is “largely content to re-cast Common in familiar surroundings, safe in the knowledge that he has found his groove."
Indie-rockers and twin sisters Tegan and Sara, return with their fifth studio album, The Con. Monsters and Critics thinks the "striking duo … might have another hit on their hands.” The Miami New Times praises the Quins for having “become more restrained stylistically, they remain open as a band, maintaining an air of exploration throughout the new record.”
Puerto Rican pop singer Kany Garcia ventures into the world of rock with Cualquier Día. Blogger Richard Liriano is big on the light rocker, calling her “one of this year’s artistic revelations." Billboard.com also smells an easy adult contemporary hit: “Garcia shows she’s got some lyrical moxie here, and with a few more memorable arrangements to match, her incisive ballads could have even wider appeal.”
Prince's 22nd studio album, Planet Earth, gets a "B+" from Entertainment Weekly, adding that "one of pop’s indisputable greats is really trying again.” Britian's Q Magazine gives the album three stars and is more than happy to have "[Prince] back freshly energized and making music again for the many rather than just the few.”