NEON INDIAN: PSYCHIC CHASMS
[rating:4]
Neon Indian: Psychic Chasms
Label: Lefse Records
Release Date: October 13, 2009
For all of our collective 80’s obsession, I get the sneaking suspicion that dance music in the Regan era, underground and mainstream wasn’t as rad as we romanticize it to be.
All the various and scattered-to-the-stars special bits from the 80’s have been successfully salvaged though by Alan Palomo, aka Neon Indian. Synths, Keytars, Lasers, Phazers and drum machine sounds all make their way onto the lo-fi cheesy chic Psychic Chasms. The 8-bit blip pop slices are of questionable origin but you can’t help but listen to “Terminally Chill”, “Should Have Taken Acid With You”, “Local Joke” and most every other song on here without hearing traces of Hall & Oates, Billy Ocean, George Michael and other 80’s offenders but it works.
The reason it works beyond the trendiness of the gimmick, is because it comes from a different place emotionally. Psychic Chasms and its creator Neon Indian, on paper may seem like a shallow, kitschy cash grab but on record, Palomo is genuinely spilling his guts, crying his eyes out, contemplating self-destruction and coming to terms with it all.
Like any great pop album, for the “Certificate of Authenticity,” all you have to do is pull a deep cut like “6699 (I don’t know if you know)” and really listen. Moody. Atmospheric. Boards of Canada-ish.
For every “6699” however, there is a colorful “Should Have Taken Acid With You” or the phenomenally upbeat and deceptively cheerful ‘Deadbeat Summer”. Both are a blast of Day-Glo sunshine but Summer is well, more summery and Acid has that back-to-school regretfulness written all over it. Even so, all the bits of Spring, Summer and Fall on this album are welcome and in the dead of winter, two things remain true. 1) A little sunshine goes a long way and 2) A cheesy sweater will still keep you warm.
Thanks for both, Neon Indian.
-Casey Bowers
SURFER BLOOD: ASTRO COAST
[rating:4]
Surfer Blood: Astro Coast
Label: Kanine Record
Release Date: January 19,2010
I have a tendency to review “guitar bands” because that’s what I generally listen to and love. With a name like Surfer Blood, I had a preconceived notion that the West Palm Beach, Florida band, would summon Dick Dale style guitar and brutally aggressive HEALTH drums. In other words, Laurel Canyon’s answer to Japandroids.
Well, I was half right. Astro Coast, the debut album from Surfer Blood , released on Kanine Records this month , definitely has a laid back California vibe and that big surf rock/spy soundtrack hollow body tone and textures feel you might expect, but not right off the bat. Track names “Harmonix” and “Neighbour Riffs” suggest these West Palm Beach lads know their way around the neck and listening to only the first 5 seconds of the first 3 songs makes it crystal. Stylistically, some gratuitous Pavement influence rears it’s pretty head on the massively fun opening track “Floating Vibes” but by the album’s close , the band manages to channel a slew of influences from the British Invasion (think The Who & The Kinks), Brian Wilson, The Cars, Weezer (pre-Green album), The Shins, Band Of Horses and countless others not so apparent (Creeper Lagoon, anyone?) For a guitar band in 2010, this is without a doubt, a good quality. The track “Swim “is an obvious single with big wave power chords and sun kissed vocals but “Take It Easy” stands out as having the most beauty, brains and personality on the record . Doing afro-pop tinged indie rock as good as Vampire Weekend, and letting you know what Broken Bells might have sounded like if Mercer revisited Oh, Inverted World style production, the sunny mid tempo number shifts, shimmies and takes a seat in all the right places. For a band that has only been together slightly longer than The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast is both promising and surprising. With any luck, these guys will at least survive to be the musical guests on O’Brien’s new show in the Fall (fingers crossed).
-Casey Bowers
JULIAN CASABLANCAS: PHRAZES FOR THE YOUNG
[rating:4]
Julian Casablancas : Phrazes for the Young
Label: RCA
Release Date: November 3, 2009
OK, before we get to the crux of this review, i.e. the Christmas song, let’s knock out the rest of the record. Phrazes of the Young, Julian Casablancas’ first solo record is an album that will satisfy Strokes lovers & at least give the haters something to talk about (Point #1 of that argument: Best Strokes Solo Record of All Time, So Far?). Casablancas backs away from the fuzzed out Shure 55 microphone & really gives an expressive performance for a lead singer with a whopping 1 octave vocal range. The songs are all uniformly good, with the Phoenix-esque “Left & Right in the Dark” and the (obviously) Strokes channeling on album single “Out of the Blue.” Striking a even balance between jangly guitars, 80’s keyboards and the requisite girl being scorned or lamented about, Phrazes is perfect for the Christmas party dance mix. Even the legitimate hipster’s nostalgia of “Ludlow St.,” mourning the forever gone scene from NYC’s Lower East Side, strikes a real chord for any city dweller who remembers a time when the positively horrid and positively lovely dank dwellings of the epicenter of Manhattan’s night life weren’t wholly populated by hedge funders & their dates. The only obvious flaw in the album is one that is common in the solo album, and that is the lack of an editorial voice. Take any Beatles record, Paul has to reign in his natural jazz hand-iness to appease the greater good, but any Wings record is overwhelmingly populated by such shenanigans. The same is true for Casablancas. Where many of these songs could have a snappy in-n-out, they drag on almost uniformly to an even 5 + minutes, and the 12 bar blues of “4 Chords of the Apocalypse” just keeps going, verse and verse and verse. Even John Lee Hooker, godfather of the blues, knew when to reign in “1 Bourbon, 1 Scotch, 1 Beer,” but most of the songs on Phrazes for the Young don’t know when to get out while the getting is good. That said, the songs are nearly uniformly good, with album standout “River of Brakelights” being maybe better than any song you’d expect to be on the new Strokes record. Its weird, dissonant bass guitar lead and hyper drumming back up the harmonized drone of Casablancas’ vocal make for hyper competent songwriting, and it’s a sure repeat player. So, recap, songs 1-10? Solid. Song 11? Part of a much bigger discussion: The Christmas Song.
Julian Casablancas’ entry into the almost wholly underwhelming genre of Christmas/holiday music, a cover of a song from a SNL sketch and originally written by Horatio Sanz & Jimmy Fallon is what you’d expect it to be, that being rank and file. By my count there is no standout holiday song, only ones that we tolerate. The Reason For The Season is certainly not musical, though the holiday season is flooded with music, both traditional shit and non-traditional novelty shit. Notice the common thread there? Casablancas’ cover song as entree into the holiday music library is fine, no standout, no stinker, but does it make it into the echelon of tolerable/slightly good Christmas/holiday songs? In this season of giving, receiving, drinking, and list making, let’s see if it makes the list. With that, let’s see what the top 10 most tolerable X-Mas tunes are, in no certain order:
1. Magnetic Fields – Mr. Mistletoe
2. Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping
3. Twister Sister – I’ll Be Home for Christmas
4. Band Aid – Do They Know Its Christmas?
5. James Brown – Christmas in Heaven
6. David Bowie & Bing Crosby – Little Drummer Boy
7. Willie Nelson – Pretty Paper
8. RUN DMC – Christmas in Hollis
9. The Kinks – Father Christmas
10. Peanuts Gang – Christmastime is Here
Sad is the list that has to legitimately factor in “Oi To The World” by No Doubt and “Christmas at Ground Zero” by “Weird” Al Yankovic (not to mention “Same Old Lang Syne” and one million other horrible songs that made it through the 70’s). Surely “I Wish It Was Christmas Today,” Julian Casablancas’ entry into this genre, makes the top 50, but is that necessarily noteworthy? You tell me. Who has a better song into the top 10? Let me know & I’ll update the list with any notable entries. Happy Holidays, and enjoy Casablancas rocking out “I Wish It Was Christmas Today” on Fallon last night.
-John Whitaker
GIRLS: ALBUM
[rating:4]
Girls : Album
Label: True Panther Sounds
Release Date: September 22, 2009
When Girls’ Christopher Owens sings “Man I felt like I could lay down and die, then I found myself in a song” on “Darling,” there’s a palpable sense that rock and roll is salvation, and when he sings “Man I’m just crazy and fucked in the head,” it’s pretty easy to believe Owens was raised in a cult (!) and that salvation was a hard fought one. It helps that these messages of salvation are dropped on top of a reverb soaked sound plate, and a jangled guitar driving them forward. Separation and space really define the songs on Album, as even the straightforward psycho-billy rocker “Big Bad Mean Motherfucker” sounds like it was recorded in a massive echo chamber, with Owens singing through a transistor radio. This space gives each song a very laid back, 2nd bottle of red wine coolness that is especially evident on Album’s standouts “Lust for Life,” “Hellhole Ratrace” and “Ghostmouth.” Owens’s vocal delivery, which is a weird mix between Elvis Costello and Axl Rose as front man for a 40’s big band, really puts the heart into these alternating melodic pleas and moments of rejoice.
The life of a rock and roll revivalist is a tough one, I’d think. For every notable band that reveres the spirit of 50s & early 60s rock and roll (we’ll call them the Fonzies, i.e. The Ramones, Galaxie 500, just to name a couple), there are the Ralph Malphs of the world, trotting out the leather jacket & dropping pop culture references from the era without really getting it. Girls ply in the world of Rock & Roll revivalism on their exceptional debut album without sounding like homage. Instead, they create a set of songs that are as essential to the form, evoking themes of youth without sounding immature, and revering the true spirit of the form, with songs about girls (have to love the girl’s name as the song title in both “Laura” and “Lauren Marie”), youthful isolation and the desire to figure out what’s next. And, in this, the record is able to balance both reverence for the form and a total disregard for whatever conventions rock might have.
-John Whitaker
VOLCANO CHOIR: UNMAP
[rating:4]
Volcano Choir: Unmap
Label: Jagjaguwar.
Release Date: September 22
For singer/songwriter Justin Vernon, a member of the Discosalt Artist Collective and founder of Bon Iver, the project “wasn’t planned. The goal was to hibernate.” Vernon had moved to a remote cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin where all of his personal trouble, lack of perspective, heartache, longing, love, loss and guilt were suddenly purged into the form of song. The end result was “For Emma, Forever Ago”, a nine-song guitar-driven album of pain, love and loss that topped my favorite album of last year and in a low mood can almost drive you to tears.
Now, Vernon has put the folk based Bon Iver project on hiatus and teamed up with fellow Wisconsin band and minimalist experimental post-rockers, Collections of Colonies of Bees. The resulting collaboration is “Volcano Choir” and their first album released last month is “Unmap”; a beautifully haunting album written over the past three years….and not entirely by design. Guitarist Chris Rosenau thinks “it is by definition a record by accident because there was no idea to ever make a record.” Just a bunch of friends having fun and somehow an album was born out of the sessions. Similar to the Bon Iver project, Volcano Choir is riddled with lush choral walls and Vernon’s unmistakably piercing falsetto croon which marks the album. Vernon’s voice certainly brings some familiar sounding territory here to the album which will please Bon Iver fans, but this is a far less lyrical album than his previous projects, more spooky than sad, and more experimental along the lines of COCOB.
While the album still maintains Vernon’s sincerity and passion, the collaboration with the equally talented Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Dan Spack, Jim Schoenecker, and Thomas Wincek has created a much more strange but also more upbeat album, pulling bits of Mueller’s Experimental noise and percussive talents, Rosenau’s chopped up guitar style and Wincek and Schoenecker’s soaring electronic keys sound to match Vernon’s voice.The result is an album with a much stronger pop sensibility than anything COCOB or Bon Iver previously released, equal parts strange and beautiful and on the whole stunning. The single “Islands IS” (video featured below) is by far the most accessible track on the album, while tracks like “Sleepymouth” is a much more minimalist composed song, with Vernon’s haunting voice echoes and Rosenau’s sparse guitar riffs driving the song along until it builds into a soaring melody reminiscent of Bon Iver. “Cool Knowledge” might leave you puzzled when the driving song suddenly comes to a halt at 67 seconds and “Mbira in the Morass” has some definite jazz influences. Those familiar with Bon Iver B-sides will recognize “Still”, the previously released auto-tuned song with it’s synthesizer based structure that sounds more like noise-pop where “And Gather” is a soft new acoustic guitar song with steady handclaps, perfect for a campfire sing-a-long.
The album is at times abstract, subtle, mysterious, experimental, and poppy but it holds together by the interesting mix of songs and the talented musicians involved.
-JAV
DEER TICK: BORN ON FLAG DAY
[rating:4]
Deer Tick : Born on Flag Day
Label: Partisan Records
Release Date: June 23, 2009
When listening to Born on Flag Day, it’s ex-tremely difficult to tell that Deer Tick front man John McCauley is from Rhode Island. No, seems like the casual listener would take one quick listen to the Red Dirt songscapes and McCauley’s predilection for taking his songs out onto the vast, open Midwestern skies and bellowing a big ol’ howl at the moon, and said listener would guess Mr. McCauley is from T-E-X-A-S. This version of Red Dirt or Americana (a distinction I’d guess the band wanted folks to take from the record, based on it’s Mellencamp-esque album title) is what the kids in Dillon, Texas listen to when they’re driving their beat to shit pickup trucks down a dirt road, looking for direction, and a party to boot.
Born on Flag Day sounds a little like it was recorded to have a bit of studio polish and a lot like it was recorded in a bar. This kind of controlled looseness constitutes an overarching homespun charm that all of the songs have. Some of these songs drip with a (previously decried) “beery wisdom,” but mostly these songs exude a sometimes joyous, sometimes somber & always contemplative feeling about love & loss. You don’t walk away from this record with pearls of wisdom, per se, it’s much more built to be about mood & feel. This mood is one of a classic country lament and the celebration of the bad times & failures, and sometimes celebration of the form in & of itself. The June & Johnny inflected “Friday XIII” is a classic he said/she said, with Tennessee Three quality guitar work giving the song it’s edge; while “Smith Hill” waltzes it’s way from the back room of the bar out onto the prairie sky, with it’s bellowed chorus and it’s sorrowful fiddle backbone. “Little White Lies,” a song built on that classic country lament (but always turning the ALT in alt-country up to 11, as when McCauley turns up the volume on his Jim Beam tarnished voice, he evokes alt progenitors Corgan & Cobain much more than Cash or Van Zandt) changes course midway from a slow jam pleading “let me be lonely tonight” to a Tex-Mex jamboree, complete with a Mendocino flavored electric guitar worthy of Freddy Fender himself.
Red Dirt homespun wisdom sometimes comes out sounding like it’s half the result of an unflinching sincerity and half the result of that 3rd shot from the whiskey bottle, but either way, being part of that conversation is kind of vital sometimes. Deer Tick’s contribution to the conversation is sometimes directly from “the label on the bottle that I read” (from the jubilant “The Ghost”), and this contribution really represents this little genre of music. Let the guitars do the crying sometimes, they pull the heartstrings just as well as overt pleas, and let the cracked and handsome voice of McCauley be the reason to crack another bottle.
-John Whitaker
CYMBALS EAT GUITARS: WHY THERE ARE MOUNTAINS
[rating:3]
Record Review/Concert Review:
Cymbals Eat Guitars: Why There Are Mountains
Label: Sisters Den Records
Release Date: January 25, 2009
Insound Anniversary Party Location: Brooklyn Bowl, August 2009
After SXSW every year I look at round ups of everyone’s favorite acts. A name that came up over and over was Cymbals Eat Guitars, but since I’m a total curmudgeon, I usually don’t see the hovering stars that everyone else see after sxsw. That’s irritating, I thought to myself, their name is hard to say…I’ll never remember that. Well, after 6 months, and many live acts and new albums, I’m still listening to their self released recording. The first time I listened to Why There Are Mountains I was reminded of Modest Mouse, but not reminded as in “lacking originality”. I just had an instant warm reaction. Perhaps it’s the lingering sensation, or the constant growth and stillness in the album, but I think the opening track, And the Hazy Sea, describes the whole album. With its building crescendos, lofty vocals and orgasmic releases the opening track captured me. I am certainly not one whole easily grasps extended noisy guitars, but that is where the strength in this album lies. It’s musically strong, both soaring and sinking. All over the place, in a neat and organized fashion. I had been on a mini-indie music hiatus post-Bonarroo, but seeing that Cymbals Eat Guitars would be headlining in Brooklyn, I couldn’t resist. I headed to Brooklyn Bowl for a beer and some live music. Sadly, I missed Real Estate (damn day job) but got there just in time for Suckers. I was having a hard time taking them seriously, because I was seriously curious about Cymbals Eat Guitars. Here is a group of young guys who recorded an album without a label, and somehow managed to become one of the most blogged about bands of 2009 (this fact is totally un-researched, but it feels that way to me). I guess I had an image of 4 awkward boys from Staten Island, with stage fright, and better recording skills than actual talent. I was wrong. So very, very wrong. I don’t know why I insist on jumping to negative conclusions, maybe I like the pleasant surprise?? Anyway, lead singer Joseph “Ferocious” D’Agostino (of grocery fame?) absolutely killed it on stage. He was dripping sweat, swaying, bending and folding to his own incredible tunes. The band played a pretty tight act, without too much improv, just a solid group of songs. For a band that released it’s debut 6 months ago, I was floored. They all focused on the music instead of trying to be good performers. The good performance flowed out of their obvious untiy. Without hesitation I would absolutely go see them again. I also look forward to the battle of the record labels…who is going to try to snatch them up? Will the take on a manager? Its almost an unheard of success story. These days gaining this level of popularity without a label is commendable, a true sign of talent and grace. Good luck boys.
See you again soon.
<3 The Elephant.
P.S Did I mention that Mr. Ferocious is only 20…thats robbing the cradle for me….i’m just sayin….youthful talent is attractive….
JOE PERNICE: IT FEELS SO GOOD WHEN I STOP
[rating:3.5]
Joe Pernice : It Feels So Good When I Stop
Label: Ashmont Records
Release Date: August 4, 2009
Here’s the M.O. behind Joe Pernice’s companion piece to his first novel, “It Feels So Good When I Stop”: “Though the book is not explicitly about music, there are quite a few cover and fictional songs mentioned, so I thought it would be a cool idea for me to record some of those songs and release them, as a soundtrack album to the novel.” You know, cool is a really good adjective to describe what any Pernice Brothers fan might use to describe a record featuring Joe Pernice covering AM Gold classics “Hello It’s Me” and “Chevy Van,” not to mention indie classic “Soul and Fire” by Sebadoh. Totally unexpected and unbelievable for any fan might be another way. For the rest of you/us, this is Massachusetts’ second greatest living troubadour (Jonathan Richman is still out there crooning, at low volumes, some song in French, somewhere) piecing together a totally eclectic and interesting set of songs, set to the cool distinctive voice of Joe Pernice & his acoustic guitar. The stripped down arrangement on “Chevy Van” and “Hello It’s Me” give the songs a totally different vibe, less Harvest Gold & more Americana, but the surprises really come from the 60’s. The fun, very faithful versions of Peter & Gordon’s “I Go To Pieces” and Bobby Purify’s “I’m Your Puppet” sound crisp and fresh, and Pernice’s voice, always defined by regret and falsetto, makes these heavy repeat players. The biggest surprise, however, comes with the choice cover “Chim Cheree” from Mary Poppins. Take away the dancing chimney sweeps & the hucksterism of Dick Van Dyke & replace with the whisper of Mr. Pernice and a dark, moody, stark and brooding arrangement. In an album meant to be a simple musical accompaniment, Joe Pernice once again takes us by surprise, this time not with deft phrasing & crack songwriting, but with this disparate and yet cohesive set of songs.
-John Whitaker
CLUES: CLUES
[rating:4]
Clues: Clues
Label: Constellation Records
Release Date: May 19, 2009
In “Remember Severed Head,” Clues front fella asks the comic pair of questions “Who here wants to sleep in the dragon’s mouth? Who here wants to feel?” Comic phrasing, most definitely, I’d think those questions are usually reserved for the Dungeon Master at a midnight D&D raid, and yet those questions kind of work as a perfect dividing line for the Clues self titled debut. When we’re sleeping in the dragon’s mouth, we’re rocking out in a very obvious amalgamation of indie rock influences, but when we want to feel, the songs actually get really interesting.
So, when Clues race along, they do it rocking out, and often times there is a catchy whistled melody (“Remebered Severed Head”) or a creepy fun, Blonde Redhead-esque vibe (“Crows”), but sometimes these rockers wear their influences on their sleeves, and it’s not inspired and sometimes not really that interesting (see album opener “Haarp”). But when Clues takes the tempo down, they turn into a completely different band. If you are wearing a digital hearing aid this is the point you make sure it’s at the right volume, so you get the best experience of the music. Most songs have a distinctly Eastern European flavor, baroque and sinister and yet endearing and listenable. While album standout “Elope” maintains it’s cool demeanor with its brushed drums & slowly strummed guitars, songs like “Perfect Fit” and “Ledmonton” begin with a sparse, staccato guitar or piano and a melancholy melody, and build into a large, fist pumping resolve. “Ledmonton” in particular, begins with a somber melody, and eventually explodes into a rollicking march that I think would make Sousa proud. So when Clues asks the listener to “Give me a visual on the rockness,” and they most definitely do ask that, maybe we (the listener) back off on that request. Clues actually sounds best when not sleeping in the dragon’s mouth (and, really, don’t we all?) and when really pushing that sonic landscape of what it means to feel.
By John Whitaker
JAPANDROIDS: POST NOTHING
[rating:4]
Japandroids: Post Nothing
Label: Unfamiliar
Release Date: August 4, 2009
Every once in a while, a band comes along that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Vancouver duo, Japandroids is that band. Only, you’re warm because you’ve pissed your skinny jeans (or leggings) in excitement and fuzzy because, well, the super fuzz big fun emanating on this album is more infectious than mad cow, SARS and swine flu combined. This is 2009’s summer record. This is Post-Nothing.
The punishing, pounding and shattering drum work of David Prowse paired with the buzzing, blasting and crunching guitar of Brian King make for a killer combo and the rough but willing voices of King/Prowse share the spotlight and switch off in fine democratic fashion. Democracy is kind of a theme with this band. Their name comes from combining their respective first choice names, Japanese Scream and Pleasure Droids. (Reportedly, neither were happy the compromise.)
Regardless of the name, these two have it together. This is music you can feel. It prompts head bobs, head banging and even a head sway or two. The single “Young Hearts Spark Fire” is just that – the single. It’s arguably the catchiest track on the album, features a dance-ready rhythm and houses the most quotable lyric, “Oh, we used to dream. Now, we worry about dying.” All eight gems reward listeners with sing-along choruses, visceral one-two punches and unexpected breaks and builds –It’s a well-built album. Incendiary intro? Check (The Boys Are Leaving Town). Left turn middle change-up? Check (Heart Sweats). Comedown closer? Check (I Quit Girls).
Musically and sonically, Post-Nothing brings to mind scattered offerings from Mission of Burma, At The Drive-In and Guided By Voices but they bear complete resemblance to none of them. By sharing vocal duties and doing the sing/shout thing, they’re of course going to be cited for following in the footsteps of indie giants like Burma and Pixies (as well as lesser-knowns like Rainer Maria and even early Idlewild), but Japandroids are charting their own course with Post-Nothing and it’s safe to say, they’re headed in the right direction.
-CB
GRIZZLY BEAR: VECKATIMEST
[rating:5]
Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
Label: Warp Records
Release Date: May 26, 2009
Veckatimest is a record where bombast and stark instrumentation stand side by side, and yet manage to makes sounds that are at experimental and left of the dial seem perfectly conventional and accessible. Many of the songs combine rhythms and instrumentation that would seem to not fit together, yet when assembled they form a cohesive and often majestic whole. Check “Ready, Able,” for example. Anchored by chugging drums and bass, the slowly strummed harp seems, at first, to be an odd choice. However, this combination of orchestral, choral, and rockin’ seems to be the synthesis that Grizzly Bear has achieved, mostly grandiose, sometimes minimal, but nearly always stunning.
Grandiosity, however, isn’t the entire album. The simple electric piano driven pop of “Two Weeks” is fit for the summer soundtrack of 2009, with its abundance of sing-a-long oohs and ahhs that seem to always be floating about the surface. The accusatory “While You Wait For The Others” drives what is easily the most jubilant and melodic chorus on the record, and on any other record for that matter, with a sensibility that wouldn’t be out of place in the A.C. Newman songbook, minus the cleverness, plus a healthy dose of vitriol & sincerity. Name checking contemporary artists, though, doesn’t seem to be something Grizzly Bear seems too interested in. If anything, the similarities are pretty far off the radar; the vocal swell that precedes album standout “Dory” recalls the soundtrack to Dr. David Bowman maneuvering into the stargate in 2001: A Space Odyssey. So, if you are name checking the “Sounds Like” list at home, cross Hungarian experimental composer György Ligeti off the list.
At the end of “All We Ask,” the band members coo “I can’t get out of what I’m into with you” with each other. While on the surface this statement summarizes a song about a shitty relationship, the sentiment shouldn’t be lost. The harmony is very laid back and very cool, and sounds very much like a bunch of guys singing together because they love to sing together, and the statement really can be seen as an honest reflection of a genuine appreciation for one another. Veckatimest is the first Grizzly Bear record to be a wholly “band” album & not just a front for band leader & founder Edward Droste, and is easily the best Grizzly Bear record to date. This group effort really shines, and while this album is surely not the most accessible record as a whole, it’s easily one of the best in recent memory. Oh, and while Grizzly Bear certainly benefit from the help of the Brooklyn Youth Choir and composer Nico Muhly on the album, they clearly have the chops to pull off whatever they want to do without any help at all.
-John Whitaker
PATRICK WOLF: THE BACHELOR
[rating:2]
Patrick Wolf : The Bachelor
Label: 101 Distribution
Release Date: June 2, 2009
Returning with his 4th studio album Patrick Wolf presents his two-part record The Bachelor (Battle One)’. It is the first of its kind to be publicly funded after a previous record deal fell through. His fans were asked to come to the rescue and buy stocks in the artist, which then in time be repaid depending on album sales. Risky business, but an interesting concept which gives incentive for the album to mean so much more to the people who contributed to it as well as the artist owing it to the fans.
‘The Bachelor’ is somewhat of an accomplishment on certain fronts; it brings a hint of the new but also a somewhat mature sound. It culminates every past record that Wolf has made and produces an almost greatest hits album that no one has ever heard before. Featuring collaborations from the ‘The Voice of Hope’ otherwise known as actress Tilda Swinton and folk musician Eliza Carthy, who duets with Wolf on the title track, plus others. There is no shortage of helpful musical heads here to lend a hand and this could serve to explain that why after several listens its still hard to identify what the album is really trying to tell you. The track listing is a somewhat confusing assortment of fast paced electronic folk mixed songs like ‘Hard Times’ which is a great single but then as you move through the list more meaningful love songs if you like come in to play such as ‘Damaris’ which slows the pace right back down, ‘Blackdown’ is another good example of a song that is clearly about family and coming of age on this roller coaster album of up’s and downs. However all good songs I just feel that timing and track placement is all wrong.
Don’t get me wrong the album will lead the true die hard fans into another folk fairy tale that only Patrick Wolf is capable of doing. Certain tracks like the beautiful ‘Thickets’, ‘Who Will’ and ‘Hard Times’ are defiantly the three stand out tracks and can’t be denied their limelight. However listeners of the ‘Lycanthropy – Wind in The Wires’ era will be left slightly confused and newer members to the fan club that have only ‘The Magic Position’ as their reference will be even more disappointed. This album leaves no room for pop, it’s heavy in deep over cluttered messages perhaps messages that need re-organizing, maybe that’s just me and my over structural ways. Wolf’s voice seems to have lost its charm in most of the songs and the faux-gospel choir’s sound just as silly as Tilda Swinton’s ridiculous ‘The Voice of Hope’ which I feel is unnecessary whenever used.
I want to like, even love this album but I fear that the few songs I do admire are eclipsed by the confusing track listing and structure, poor lyrics and mixed messages that the album sends out. It’s hard to see this album ever being remembered as anything more than just Patrick Wolf’s 4th album. No new ground has majorly been covered here, he did that with the ‘Magic Position’ and ok yes it was very pop and happy-happy but it worked and is probably his most commercially successful album to date. Being alternative is cool I get it and like it but I just don’t think this album can be identified as that. The formula is just too mixed in this album and for that reason it fails in what all of his past 3 albums succeeded in doing.
COLDPLAY: VIVA LA VIDA
[rating:3]
Coldplay: Viva La Vida
Label: Capitol
Release Date: June 17, 2008
VIVA LA VIDA OR DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS:
OK let me start by saying I have always been a huge fan of Coldplay. It might not be the most popular thing to say; but it’s true. The first time I heard the new single “Violet Hill” I was driving up the PCH in Santa Monica towards Malibu and I absolutely loved it. It is in keeping with their style but a genuine evolution of their sound at the same time. From the very beginning this album takes a different direction from the band’s previous works. The track “Lost” offers up an almost programmed drum section while a lush Hammond b-3 organ matched with wide open U2 esque guitar playing sends the band in to a more rock / arena rock landscape. While tracks like “42” offer up an interpretation of the band that is far more in the experimental Radiohead esque direction. Songs like “Yes” find the band going in a familiar direction but again incorporating a variety of instruments and sounds not typically associated with Coldplay even going in to middle eastern type strings; which I must say feel really out of place and forced. “Viva La Vida” has the same issue to me. Yes it’s an itunes commercial; but the lyrics and the strings really just feel forced and unnecessarily over the top. As a Coldplay fan from many albums ago; one of the things I have always appreciated about the band was the simplicity of the songs. That concept seems to have been lost throughout the majority of this album in favor of trying to push boundaries and be something different from what they are. It’s great to experiment; but a great band knows what they are good at and that’s what makes a career. Being able to accept your limitations, perfect what you were already great at and expand to reachable goals that keep fans coming back for more. Overall that last sentence surmises my issues with this album. It is absolutely top heavy and has moments of the Coldplay brilliance that true fans have come to love; but over all this feels like a forced reach by the band to challenge listeners to see that they are capable of more than what we have come to expect. Unfortunately they are not. The album in many places is just as pretentious as the title. But if you can forgo the skipable tracks; there are some good keeps here. I struggle to determine what the next single will be; probably the title track “Viva La Vida” which is too bad; because it annoys me.
Anderson van Luftsworth
SPIRITUALIZED: SONGS IN A AND E
[rating:4]
Spiritualized: Songs in A and E
Label: Fontana Universal
Release Date: May 26, 2008
In “Death Take Your Fiddle,” the 3rd song on Songs In A & E, Jason Pierce buries his take on Townes Van Zandt-ian tragicountry under the syncopated push and pull of an artificial breathing machine. While this device may seem heavy handed, it helps score what the listener has previously heard and will hear on Spiritualized’s latest. This set of songs may amount to the best Spiritualized album so far, and it’s in no part due to the willingness to use unconventional techniques, and in the case of Jason Pierce, that technique is consistently stepping up to the microphone.
With 18 songs and clocking in at nearly 1 hour, Songs in A & E tries extremely hard to maintain it’s tone and direction, and for the most part, it succeeds. At times, it seems like Pierce effortlessly trying to show the kids how it’s done, be it the classic 60’s riffing on “I Gotta Fire,” the Velvets-esque “Yeah Yeah” or the better than Oasis at being Oasis “Sweet Talk.” Even when trodding ground firmly lain by Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized, that ground being the beauty in the drone, Pierce shows an unbeforeseen Ace in the hole with the 2 chords and layer upon exquisite layer built upon “Baby I’m Just a Fool.”
The most unique moments, however, come when the instrumentation is sparse and the melody is carried by the vocals. Most powerfully carried out in “Don’t Hold Me Close,” a simple country song with a pretty melody and an even prettier sentiment, this willingness to not have layers of guitars be the basis of a song but letting the melody do that work, Songs in A & E lives up to it’s both modest & grandiose album title. Maybe a nod to the uber-classic Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, or maybe just a simple declaration of the musical timbre of the songs on the album, but definitely reaching for classic album status. While not fully realizing this goal, this shortfall is simply based on the inclusion of maybe 1 or 2 too many songs, not on the lack of strength of the ones that manage to build what is surely the most interesting and diverse set of songs ever to make it onto a Spiritualized LP, regardless of the key
-John Whitaker
BEN HARPER AND RELENTLESS7: WHITE LIES FOR DARK TIMES
[rating:3]
Band: Ben Harper and Relentless7
Album: White Lies For Dark Times
Label: Virgin
Ben Harper is largely underappreciated and while I suspect that’s perfectly fine with his fans, Mr. Laura Dern deserves that one record to cement his status as God-like Musical Genius. White Lies for Dark Times is, sadly not that record.
What it is, is a mix of fun, funky, hook-laden bluesy numbers that channel Buddy, Muddy, Jimi and Stevie (Lay There and Hate Me, Why Must You Always Dress In Black, Keep It Together) and soft’n strummy heartache ballads that echo Croce and Cat (Skin Thin, Faithfully Remain). The rest are a mixed bag that wouldn’t be out of place as background music on any number of network TV dramas.
The single, Shimmer and Shine, however is a straight-up raw rocker with a sweet, poppy side that is the only product of Relentless7 sessions that doesn’t feel like a leftover from the old Harper & Innocent Criminals discog. In fact, fans may recognize some of WLFDT songs from past live shows dating back as far as 2004.
Taken for what it is though – a new group/side project’s recorded jam sessions fleshed out with some reworked miscellaneous – White Lies For Dark Times is a decent populist showcase of the very talented, genre hopping Ben Harper. If anything – as anyone who’s ever been before will tell you – Ben Harper is always better live and this will serve to whet the appetite of those anxious to hear and see their man and his band, Relentless7 serve up something much more satisfying.
-CB
THE BLACK ANGELS: DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST
The Black Angels: Directions to See a Ghost
Label: Light In the Attic
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Most people know this Texas band from their first EP and full length albums on the well known Austin label Light In The Attic. I will never forget the first time I saw these guys play, mainly because I imagined that seeing Big Brother and The Holding Company back in the 60’s was probably a similar vibe. Uber psychedelic, fuzzed out guitar with projected images all over the room. Very cool show. Their new album “Directions To See A Ghost” is definitely not much of a departure from their previous work. But I will say this; the album is almost worth buying for the artwork alone: a rare thing these days when physical CD’s are thought of as disposable at best and a pain in the ass at worst. There is no doubt that if you like getting stoned vand nailing hippie chicks that don’t shower this album will appeal to you. Everything about it is about mood and tone as opposed to hooks and structure. It’s a true 60’s throw back to the point that giving a real track by track breakdown is almost pointless. You really need an evening to drop yourself in to the most comfortable part of your couch or bed to really enjoy this album for all it is worth. If you are a fan of true blues, psychedelic rock this album and a shower should definitely be in your future.
Anderson van Luftsworth
PORTISHEAD: THIRD
[rating:3]
Portishead: Third
Label: Mercury
Release Date: April 29, 2009
So often a prolonged hiatus between albums fails, timing completely falling through the cracks. But Portishead’s tactic of forcing fans to hold their breath for an excruciating 11 years for a new LP has paid off. A dark voyage to things past, or an enchanted view of the future, songstress Beth Gibbons has never had a problem painting an otherworldly picture. Don’t fret, all the additional trappings of mid-90’s Portishead are there: minimalist drumming, lo-fi guitar, loads of echo. Immediate standouts include “Hunter” & “Silence”, two of the most visual tracks on the album. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself daydreaming of journeying through a monochromatic landscape. “The Rip”, a wonderful illustration at how successful their simple yet climactic song arrangements are. Of course there are little surprises such as the ukulele/barbershop quartet take on “Deep Water”. And I’ll be damned if the last minute of “Machine Gun” isn’t the theme song to the original Terminator film. Aside from these momentary drifts, Portishead satisfies wholly, proof that the fruit is better when ripened.
-ABC
CUT COPY: IN GHOST COLOURS
Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours
Label: Modular Interscope
Release Date: April 8, 2008
This album is the epitome of what I needed to start summer. Fully loaded with catchy dance hits, Cut Copy has really outdone themselves this time. Every track on this album is whipped lightly, and prepped perfectly for the French pop sound they are frequently accused of imitating. I disagree with comparison because it implies a simplicity and lack of depth to the music, which is simply not present in this album. The lyrics are catchy, and the beats are fresh. Although their sound is similar from song to song, each song has something different to offer, namely, emotion. This is the most emotive electro pop I can remember hearing, and it shows through in their dynamic live performances. There are some standout tracks from “Lights and Music” which recalls the glory days of the 80’s club era to “Hearts on Fire” which brings back memories of Madonna and slumber parties. If you are a person who even vaguely likes pop, the subdued fun in this album will speak to your inner dance-self.
<3 The Elephant
LYRICS BORN: EVERYWHERE AT ONCE
Lyrics Born: Everywhere at Once
Label: Anti
Release Date: March 18, 2008
Quannum poster-boy Lyrics Born (born Tom Shimura) didn’t just step off the ship-hop. Collaboratively producing albums as far back as Latyrx’s The Album, LB has subjectively perfected unique vocalizations characterized by buzzing baritone and vocab depth. This go LB explores the trappings of success, while reflecting on the blood, sweat & tears shed to get here. Unlike his freshman solo effort Later That Day…, he’s spent considerably less time massaging flows from track to track. And although a good four years weren’t taken to cultivate, most tracks are laden with the same electronic funk that suit him like white suits rice. Cut to the quick with “I Like It I Love It”, the standout jimmy jam among jams. On “Hott 2 Deff” LB employs indie hip-hops other more notable baritone Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5) doing both justice. Don’t be surprised if you hear LB more often in the club rather than (Coke) commercials. Everywhere At Once is new-school bump and grind, working well for everybody who wants to shake their ass.
-ABC
CRYSTAL CASTLES: CRYSTAL CASTLES
Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles
Label: Last Gang Records
Release Date: March 15, 2008
It is unusual that a band accidentally releases a single and then gets a record deal. Toronto duo Ethan Kath and Alice Glass managed to do just that. The MySpace leak, “Alice Practice”, eventually became the second song on their eponymous first album. “Alice Practice” landed in the second slot on the album, encouraging listeners toward their melodic, syncopated opening track “Untrust Us”. The first two tracks define the character of the album: divided into melodic, rhythmic pop beats and dark, noise-distortion heavy tracks. The weakness is the underlying lack of cohesion. Although variety is valuable, there isn’t a strong enough bond between the melodic tracks and the dark tracks. “Crimewave” and “Untrust Us” almost belong to one album, while “Alice Practice” and “xxzxcuzx me” might belong to another. Oddly, this disparity is also the strength of the album. There isn’t one second where the hooks try to hold you for too long, or where the next track is underwhelming. Like it or not, Crystal Castles has created a multi-lingual, looped, catchy-ass bunch of songs.
<3 The Elephant
