Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D.

This album review comes a bit later than I intended, but sometimes the day job and the need to occassionally sleep has to take precendence!

Talk about truth in advertising:  the title of the Black Eyed Peas' newest album, The E.N.D., is short for "the energy never dies" and that's exactly what you get on track after track.  The E.N.D. is, in short, the album you put on when you and your friends are getting ready to go out to party for a night.  It's music that's guaranteed to get you dancing long before you walk out the front door.

Will.i.am throws every production trick in the book at these 15 tracks, from autotune to 808 drum beats. Different tracks reflect the variety of musical influences that the Peas bring to the table, with the pop dance beats that drive each track being the constant that ties the album together.

Fergie's voice continues to be the most notable one on the album.  The sheer range of vocal qualities that she tackles on any given album never fails to impress me.  On The E.N.D., Fergie transitions seemlessly from  a disco diva on "Meet Me Halfway" to the lazy rap of "Imma Be" to the power pop of "Missing You" to the reggae beats of "Electric City."
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Watch the slightly NSFW video for the second single, "I've Gotta Feeling":

There's nothing revolutionary about the cuts on The E.N.D. -- the relentless dance beats can start feeling overwhelming at some points, and overall it's not as strong as Monkey Business and Elephunk. But when it comes to creating an album where the dance floor energy literally never dies, BEP has certainly succeeded.

Check out these cuts: "Imma Be" and "I Gotta Feeling"

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Music News: Stop Hitting Each Other, Folks; Gossip Release Date, SF Outside Lands 1-Day Tix On Sale

- Chris Brown pleaded guilty yesterday to assaulting his then-girlfriend Rhianna on the night of the Grammy Awards. As a result of the plea deal, Brown will be sentenced on August 5 to five years probation and six months of community service, along with mandatory domestic violence counseling. The judge also put a stay-away order in place that prohibits both Brown and Rhianna from getting within 50 yards of each other, except at industry events when the buffer zone drops to 10 yards. [Yahoo! Music]

- Black Eyed Peas' manager Polo Molina was arrested by Toronto police on one count of assault after allegedly punching a notorious gossip blogger.  And that sentence was already more space that the story deserves. [E! Online]

- The Gossip will release Music for Men, its first album on a major music label, on October 6. The first single is "Heavy Cross." The full album is streaming online at Spinner. [Paste Magazine]

- The Flaming Lips will offer a free digital EP and a digital download of the concert to ticket buyers for select dates on their upcoming tour. [NME]

- Single-day tickets for San Francisco's Outside Lands Music Festival went on sale June 21. This is the sophomore year for the three-day festival, which takes place at Golden Gate Park. Headliners are Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and Beastie Boys.  Additional acts include M.I.A., Black Eyed Peas, Incubus, Thievery Corporation, Autolux, Q-Tip, Lila Downs, Bat for Lashes, Raphael Saadiq, Ween, Modest Mouse, Lucinda Williams and Calexico. [SF Outside Lands]

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