Speaking of mp3s, before the reviews get started, check out http://www.downloadfestival.com/ (site discovered via Pitchfork).
And now with the top record reviews of the semester!
(p.s. RIYL means "recommended if you like...")
Artist: Long Distance Runner
Album: The Fire of Cumulative Hours
Genre: Electronica / Turntablism
RIYL: Air, Caribou, The Books, Four Tet, RJD2, Kid Koala, DJ Shadow
Long Distance Runner uses a plethora of samples and synth melodies that progressively build tension throughout the song and end in a series of climaxes that show both the master as a DJ and the master of selector. There are also raw drum samples and other surprises that pair Long Distance Runner with the likes of various prog-rock collectives. Definitely a king of his genre, Runner's "The Fire of Cumulative Hours" does not hold back and even with its songs being only five in amount and all relatively short, they offer essential listening enjoyment.
Artist: Pablo
Album: Half the Time
Genre: Singer-Songwriter / Pop-Folk
RIYL: Devendra Banhart, Bright Eyes, The Long Winters, Replacements, Onelinedrawing,
Pablo, a band of folky nature but also highly unconventional, has the ability to create the tonal atmospheres similar to Bright Eyes and Onelinedrawing and keep them from reaching the over-the-top, overly-dramatic point by softening them up and adding pop-melodies as well as song variations (in structure, for example) that are experimental and exciting. The songs on Half the Time are a great mixture that move seemlessly from the beginning of the album to end, but also capture the listener's attention by being more than just pop-folk to throw on as background noise.
Artist: The Reverden Peyton's Big Damn Band
Album: Big Damn Nation
Genre: Delta (Gutbucket) Blues
RIYL: Primus, Charley Patton B
The Rev. Peyton's a complex guy and at first light it might seem like his band's pretty simple, but it's complex too--both in musicianship and in spirit. The combination of folky Mississippi Delta blues guitar, the stomping background drums, and the ever-present, chain-grinding washboard turn Big Damn Band into a collossal steamengine of sorts where the Reverend Peyton's voice is the only thing that gives the machine life. And the life is a brutally muted horn outta Hell, almost like cries from Hell. Some of the songs carry the same theme, which makes the album both string together, and at times, get repetitive, but the sheer force keeps the foot tapping, and the obscure yet beautifully haunting style and skill drives Big Damn Nation far from a becoming a bore.
Artist: Polar Goldie Cats
Album: Feral Phantasms
Genre: Abstract Noise / Prog Rock
RIYL: Explosions in the Sky, Isis, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Where to start with Polar Goldie Cats? Feral Phantasms is their third album, holding eight songs of medium length. The album starts with a track of cat noises... a Bookesque found music comprisal; the album picks up from there. Each song is worth listening to, but the three listed above are most notable because they take the haunting prog-rock themes of Polar Goldie Cats to the highest level. As many fans describe, this is the work of genius; the work of Classical composers; the work of Beethoven. But it is fused with a noisy harshness, as if the band had sold their souls to the devil and became stylistic experts because of it.
Artist: Quit Your Day Job
Album: Open Up, Coconut!
Genre: Punk / Dance-core Alternative Rock
RIYL: The Clash, Liars
Swedish trio Quit Your Day Job make silly songs that are full of synth-pumped energy. Songs about getting wasted, being freaks, and pissing on pandas are only a couple of the chanting punk-based songs that comprise this album. While the lyrical intelligence may not be much higher than a high school garage band, Quit Your Day Job fuses the standard rock setup with strange, sexual noises and covers it all with highly memorable choruses that are straight-out fun to listen to.
Artist: Harlem Shakes
Album: Burning Birthdays EP
Genre: Garage Pop
RIYL: Magnetic Fields, The Shins, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Fiery Furnaces, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Shines, Beach Boys, David Bowie, Grizzly Bear, Islands
Harlem Shakes are a New York-based pop band with a lot of revitalized energy. There is a fusing of non-conventional rhythm tracks paired with accordion, synthesizers, grooving guitar, and catchy main and backing vocals tracks. While this album is short, it offers a lot--more than you can get with just one listen.
Artist: Sleeping in the Aviary
Album: Oh This Old Thing?
Genre: Punk Rock
RIYL: Buzzcocks, Thermals, White Stripes, The Kinks, Ima Robot
Sleeping in the Aviary's new album opens with a bang. And then it continues with some more bangs. But the bangs keep changing their style through each track that it's hard to tell what Sleep in the Aviary is doing until the CD is almost over. One part speed-punk, one part catchy rock ballad (complete with backing vocals as chorus), and one part nonsensical Zappa-esque craziness, the band's all over the place, never leaving you alone. The in-your-face styles would get old, but the album isn't long enough for that to happen.
Artist: Explosions in the Sky
Album: All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Genre: Post-Rock / Prog-rock
RIYL: Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Silver Mt. Zion, Do Make Say Think
The long-awaited new album from Explosions in the Sky opens up full-throttle with the same sound. The tones and melodies have changed, and it seems like there is a generally more agressive approach stylistically, with faster and harder drums. The songs are all still medium-to-long-length, so the album floats from one to the next without much problem. Critics of the album might say that the band has not made much headway into new territory, as the second track almost reflects the band's past albums exactly, but there are corners that the album touches upon that seems new and frighteningly different in an eerie, spooky manner that includes synthesizers.
(newspaper review)
When I first heard Explosions in the Sky, it was with their second major album release, and this was several years ago. I listened to it like my life depended on it. Because isn't that what most people want? Music that they can relate to? Music that reflects their lives inner workings? In High School I had a bunch of emotional stress, just like everybody. Explosions in the Sky is the kind of band that musically, orchestrally imitates the stress and the moods that everybody goes through. They don't provide lyrics because the lyrics are for you to make up in your head. The music is there to remind you. That something special is there. That you have the ability to feel it. That the band's songs are a medium to experience the emotion over and over again. For me, at the time, this style of music bridged everything from death metal to punk to hip hop to classical compositions together into musical dynamite that was strung into my ear and waiting to go off. On their latest album, "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone," Explosions in the Sky furthers their progress as a band of both professional musicians and wonderfully empathetic songwriters, and reminds their fans and new listeners that they can recreate the wondrous songs of the past, as well as add new elements. These new elements are what transforms the album into a twisting time travelling device. Because on track two, "Welcome, Ghosts," for instance, I was reminded of all their previous work combined. As if they were paying their past work homage with this tributary track. But the album does not start that way. Just popping it in and listening to the first track, called "The Birth and Death of the Day," the album seems much faster, more intense, and more glorifying than ever before--the guitars are played faster and at weird tonal angles; the drums are taken to new levels and go beyond their normal, pitter-patter backdrop that the band's so known for. After the first two tracks, the album becomes a guessing game. Does the band want to stick to their roots and routines? Or is Explosions in the Sky up to something. The answers comes clear not more than two minutes into their third track, aptly entitled "It's Natural to be Afraid," where a three part epic song structure uncurls itself through the aural waves for near-thirteen minutes. The most stunning aspect of both this track and the following--the sparkling "What Do You Go Home To?"--is the inclusion of synthesizers. In the past the guitars and snare drums were always the focus of prog-rock (or "post-rock") bands--this was their signature--but both keyboard and piano take a dominant, earth-shattering, tidal-wave sputtering role through these two tracks. One can only think of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, infamous orchestral post-rock band of the middle 90's, who fused power chords with string instruments and keyboards into their own epic, thirty-minute-long tracks. But don't misread me--Explosions in the Sky is far from Godspeed!, perhaps because of their song lengths. The songs, as past albums have seen, are accessible to the average listener. Take track five, "Catastrophe and the Cure," a tour de force that's seemingly long at eight minutes. But it's far from being bluntly epic; the ability that Explosions in the Sky has developed--the ability to suck the listener in to each song--cuts the listener's consciousness of song length in half. You could hear this song playing on the airwaves and not even realize that you just got smacked over with the catastrophic movement of the three guitars, the pounding tribal drums, the maracas, and the ambient sound-scaping noise in the background. But why is this? Why is it so easy to get sucked into a band's maneuvering and song progression? It's captivating. Like a romance, war, mystery, horror, or crime novel, it's captivating. Like that hit crunk song you heard on the radio, or that line of poetry you'll always remember, Explosions in the Sky has that ability of working its way into the dark corners of joy, sorrow, and sentimentality, and staying there. The band's success is that it doesn't focus on one emotion, one "piece of the puzzle," so to speak. In a lightning speed, blitzkrieg fashion, Explosions in the Sky is able to pick you up, then throw you down; make you cheer and grow excited, then almost cry right after. But is that crying out of joy or sorrow? It's entirely subjective. The band's simply the auditory drawing pad and is giving you the opportunity to sift through some of that raw energy you've got building up inside of you. It's an outlet. For a college kid, a professor, or an anybody. There's something to be gathered, gained, inspected, or just felt when listening to them. On this latest release especially, the band's two hands are outstretched, beckoning like an angel or devil, or some obscure mixture of both--an Aladdin with a magic carpet, perhaps--inviting you into your own world that you might have forgotten or misplaced. Just listen to the album and wait for the last song, "So Long, Lonesome," which took me closer to the band I'd ever been before, through all of their past albums.
Artist: Babyshambles
Album: The Blinding EP
Genre: British Pop-Rock / Reggae / Ska
RIYL: The Living End, Rancid, the Clash, the Good the Bad & the Queen, Dirty Pretty Things, Wolfman, Cold War Kids, Libertines
Although often compared to his LPs negatively, Babyshambles' Blinding EP has is a potent pack of songs that reach out to a variety of musical genres, including pop-rock, reggae, ska, alternative rock, and countless other influences are prominent on the album. The songwriting is creative, and the vocals are, although sometimes abrasive, tolerable. The key aspect of Babyshambles is the originality--the bands above are similar but nowhere near the style of Babyshambles completely.
Artist: Frenemies
Album: Birds in High School
Genre: Indie Rock
RIYL: Talking Heads, John Frusciante, Neptunes, the Smiths
Frenemies is the guy who founded the post-rock / heavy metal group Oxes, and the album shows but does not linger on Oxes-inspired material. Trying to imagine just what this album is and what it does stylistically is almost impossible. Just imagine many, many styles of music trying to come together at once, and succeeding. There are hip-hop influences, punk influences, folk influences, alternative rock influences, and noisy / electronica influences. By listening to Birds in High School, you'll not only remember your appreciation for many styles of music, but perhaps develop it further.
Artist: The Spares
Album: Beautiful and Treacherous Thing
Genre: Americana / Roots / Folk
RIYL: The Ennis Sisters, Mindy Smith, the Weepies, Allison Krauss and Union Station
The Spares are a bluesy / folky roots rock group, or "Americana" as the band calls themselves. The lead vocals is female--lighthearted and soft spoken (or sung). The music that is conveyed is beautifully fixed with the tremolos of a mandolin, subtle drums, the lead acoustic guitar, and even other instruments at surprising times. Each song flows mellowly together, and the songs have an absolutely full sound.
Artist: Yoko Ono
Album: Yes, I'm a Witch
Genre: Electronica, Jazz-Fusion, Trip-Hop, Alt. Pop
RIYL: Hank Shocklee, Peaches, Shitake Monkey, Blow Up, Le Tigre, Porcupine Tree, DJ Spooky, The Apples in Stereo, The Brother Brothers, Cat Powre, The Polyphonic Spree, Jason Pierce, Antony and the Johnsons, Hahn Rowe, The Flaming Lips, The Sleepy Jackson, Craig Armstrong
Yes, I'm a Witch, is Yoko Ono's new collection of songs. But how new is it? The songs are all collaborative masterworks where Ono combines her power with indie / pop / electronica artists of the time, remixing older songs that Yoko Ono and Lennon have written throughout her musical career. Most of the songs are surprisingly good renditions of the original versions. Fans of Yoko Ono might not find the songs up to par, but for the average listener, the full-force vocals of Yoko Ono (in all of her rage and eccentric tones) play well with the various styles of music that the other artists offer.
Artist: Of Montreal
Album: Icons, Abstract Thee EP
Genre: Indie Pop-Rock
RIYL: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Beatles, Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys, the Postal Service
The bonus EP to Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer, the latest LP by Of Montreal, is a five-track romp both touching and enlightening. Although some of the narrative love songs are sorrowful, the music composition is masterfully put. There are multiple vocal tracks harmonizing, the inclusion of piano / keyboard, stunning guitar work crossing various pop styles, and ambient electronics in the background. The songs, at first seeming traditionally pop, are actually filled with indie innovations. The lyrics are quirky and add a strange dimension--especially the last song, "No Conclusion," which is based on the lyric "Tonight I need to explode myself." The combination of 60's boy pop with indie swirls and twists works brilliantly.
Artist: Love is All
Album: Imagine the Shapes
Genre: Pop-Rock
RIYL: Ima Robot, Modest Mouse, Blondie, Karen O, Sugarcubes, Psychedellic Furs, Annabella Lwin
This compilation album by Swedish band Love is All plucks many correct strings. It's hard to define the musical style because the music is chronological and literally covers the progression of the band stylistically. The first few tracks are all from the band's most recent LP, which is fused with 80s chick-pop rock and roll--aggressive and enthusiastic. The female vocals get cut off afterwards with several songs that are much more punk-infused and of lower sound quality. Afterwards the female vocals return (track 8) and most of the music is much more somber and haunting--but highly involved. As a whole, this album has many great points and should not be missed for fans of indie pop.
Artist: . . .And People and Crocodiles. . .
Album: Indoors
Genre: Trance-Fusion / Classic Prog Rock / Thrash Jazz
RIYL: King Crimson, John Coltrane, Nirvana, Sound Garden, Oxes, Oxford Collapse, Radiohead, Dredg
APAC's Indoors album is something not quite like anything that's come before. The bands listed above are only slightly similar, but have no complete relation in musical sound to APAC. The style of APAC is most similar but not limited to the post-rock band Oxes. There are interesting samplings from Bush layered throughout the album, half-hearted vocals that sound like old Oxford Collapse albums. The music is a mixture of powerful, in-your-face rock with somber, slow prog-rock jams.
Artist: Tiny Hawks
Album: People Without End
Genre: Post-Punk with a touch of Noisy Power-Thrash
RIYL: Fugazi, Fiya, the Body, Hot Water Music, Sparta, Oxford Collapse, At the Drive In
Tiny Hawks is a Providence punk/hardcore/thrash band that is composed of two people. Like Lightning Bolt, the basis of Tiny Hawks is sound and aggression--in your face, cut-throat power. Most of the songs work because they're very fast and have a Melt Banana duration to them. Some of their songs are a bit longer and are similar to post-punk groups like At the Drive In or Sparta. Regardless of what they really sound like, the album has a very good structure to it, and the it's not easy to get bored with the switch between raw energy and pacing progressive build-ups.
Artist: Wolf Eyes
Album: Human Animal
Genre: Noise / Ambient / Soundscape
RIYL: SUNN O))), Merzbow, Boris
The complete falsification that is the modern conveyance of minimalism = quiet is wrong, and so is minimalism = simple. Wolf Eyes steps up to the plate with their wretched, haunting ballads of intoxicated noise and nothing that builds and builds through the first three tracks to the album's title track, which is also right in the middle. Combining layers of screaming haunts that sound like the pit of hell itself, with squeaks and squeals, Human Animal is a grotesque monstrosity of rejection and delusion that is at the heart of the crippling ear drums itself--and the drum beats sound like the hearts pumping out blood. What little blood is left. Somehow the random strings of ear-splitting sound, and the erratic drums that move forward throughout the album, give a bit of listening coherency--in that the music becomes tolerable through its minimalistic distortion.
Artist: Teddybears
Album: Soft Machine
Genre: Dance-Rock
RIYL: Mad Cobra, Iggy Pop, Neneh Cherry, Royksopp, Elephant Man, Annie, Ebbot Lundberg, Gorillaz, Malte, Daddy Boastin', RJD2, DJ Shadow, Kraftwerk, U.S.E.
Much acclaimed latest release from the trio-plus-guests Teddybears, Soft Machine is a tour de force of dance-pop music, but there is also a fusion of punk and indie-rock that makes the album as wondrously bright as many of the major reviews make it sound. The songs are all varying in style because of the guests, but the songs are all fairly short or medium in length, making the totality of the album a success and fun to listen to whenever and wherever you may be.
Artist: Eluvium
Album: Copia
Genre: Ambient / Piano Prog-Rock
RIYL: Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, Do Make Say Think, Mono, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Chopin
Eluvium combines the the epic post-rock / prog-rock song structures of Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed! with the chivalric dazzle of pianist Chopin or power-group Sigur Ros. The songs lack percussion entirely, which is the defining quality of Eluvium--this is what sets Eluvium aside from all the other post-rock groups out there. Eluvium's songs on Copia are mostly somber, string and piano-based tunes that stretch on for five-plus minutes. The music has its charm and does not lose momentum at any point in the album. Definitely listen to this if you're a fan of the above music, or anything that is able to caress and tear the aural heart with the twist of a note.
Artist: Winterkids
Album: Memoirs (Little House)
Genre: Indie Pop-Rock
RIYL: Blink 182, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, the Cure, Ima Robot, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Killers, Bloc Party, Idlewild, Pulp, Greenday, Dresden Dolls
Winterkids is a British indie pop group that combines qualities of pop-punk wonders like Blink 182 with rock-infused energy similar to the Killers and adds in a new twist: there are synthesizers (similar to Ima Robot or Grandaddy) and spurting, perky female vocals hidden in each song, and they pop up when least expected. The progressions of the songs are great energy builders, and all of the songs are extremely catchy. For a pop album, Memoirs does justice and is not at all a "little house" but something massive, just waiting to explode--if you can get used to the cliches--which, although they are not new stylistically, are performed quite well.
Artist: Amy Winehouse
Album: Back to Black
Genre: Soul / Pop
RIYL: Joss Stone, Lily Allen, The Fratellis, James Morrison, Lucinda Williams, The Shins, Norah Jones, Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Simone, Ronnie Spektor
Like Billie Holiday in the past, or Regina Spektor more recently, Amy Winehouse has an incredible locomotive voice that screams pain, power, courage, and sorrow. Her beautiful singing is back by other vocal choir-type tracks (like 60s chick pop), and very soul and funk-based instruments, such as horns, old-school synthesizers, tamboreens, and clapping.
Artist: Mason Proper
Album: There is a Moth in Your Chest
Genre: Indie Rock
RIYL: Blonde Redhead, Weezer, Radiohead, Grandaddy, Menomena, Spoon, Birdmonster, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Cranberries, Garbage, Jimmy Eat World
Mason Proper's new release takes sonic sounds and spins themselves a pop-rock record that rivals the best out there, but all the while keeping up their own unique sound. The band is fueled by dance-rock-style progressions similar to Ok, Go or Rooney but there are interesting space-rock-style guitars and synthesizers layering each song with utmost intensity. The intensity rises like Radiohead but should not be limited to such, for the music has great differences.
Artist: Cadence Weapon
Album: Breaking Kayfabe (Clean)
Genre: Hip-Hop
RIYL: Ghostface Killah, MF Doom, Sage Francis, Eminem
The best word to describe the hip-hop beats and rhymes of Cadence Weapon is "nonconventional." Cadence Weapon takes the lyrical wit of Sage Francis, MF Doom, and Ghostface Killah, and goes further by creating strangely vibrating beats with crazed samples and obscure turntablism. Perhaps this will be strange to mainstream listeners, but for real fans of hip-hop, Cadence Weapon has a lot going for him.
Artist: Joakim
Album: Monsters and Silly Songs
Genre: Industrial / Trance / Dance Rock
RIYL: LCD Soundsystem, the Rapture, the Pop Group, Collette, Talking HEads, Robert Wyatt, Thelonious Monk, Hermeto Pascoal, Conny Plank, Aphex Twin, Arthur Russell, Larry Levan, Fingers Inc, Xenakis, Throbbing Gristle, Teddybears
French musician Joakim masters his music making skills with Monsters and Silly Songs, his latest album that combines a very large number of musical styles and influences into a whirlwind of music. Most obvious are the dance electronica styles, but looking further, Joakim ranges all the way into dance rock and industrial forms. There are surprisingly haunting vocal tracks on some of the songs--most of the vocals seem somewhat distant or disconnected, which adds a nice contrasting touch when paired with most of the upbeat synth melodies.
Artist: Low
Album: Drums and Guns
Genre: Prog-Rock
RIYL: Silver Mt. Zion, Sun Kil Moon, Gruf Rhys, Guided by Voices, Alan Sparhawk, Micah P. Hinson
How does one approach Low on their eighth album? The experience as a band shows, and one of the greatest aspects of Drums and Guns is, while remaining slightly on edge and containing a level of horror and shock in all of the tracks, the band stretches out its boundaries by using the electronica backing as a key thread but going to new places with it. The intro track is very similar to the segregated vocals of Silver Mt. Zion, while the second track is more along the lines of Sun Kil Moon, and the fourth track even hints at Micah P. Hinson's wasteland wails. But each song is so tightly connected to the one previous and the one following that the album works as a whole--it does not lose contact with the listener for one moment--through its strange samples to its half-hearted beats, Drums and Guns blasts and pounds in the cruelest emotional ways possible.
Artist: Of Montreal
Album: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Genre: Indie Pop
RIYL: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Beatles, Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys, the Postal Service, Ima Robot, the Kinks
Of Montreal's latest major full release, Hissing Fauna... is a triumphant display of 60s-inspired pop music (a la the Beatles) combined with electronic space rock similar to pioneers Grandaddy. The vocals are wild and deranged but show a great range that's both playful and spirited away. The synthesizers and drums add a wonderful edge to the songs that cannot be easily matched or topped by other bands of the scene. The best way to discover Of Montreal and all of their hysteric followings is to hear their sexy power of dance and light for yourself.
Artist: Sterling
Album: Cursed
Genre: Post-Rock (instrumental prog.)
RIYL: Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Explosions in the Sky, Led Zeppelin
The music of Sterling is dark. Like Godspeed!, Sterling's songs are epic in nature, heavy and upsetting in focus, and the energy slowly intensifies and becomes beautiful with each progression of the song. There are only three tracks on this album but they are all worth listening to, multiple times. The music has a dual focus: the loud electric guitar that churns filth up from the netherworld, and the keyboards that become eyes looking at the filth and making it seem beautiful through melodic juxtaposition. Somewhat like Cradle of Filth in the dark nature, the keyboards almost seem out of place but never worn out or wrong, and the their improvisational accompaniment only adds to the intensity of the musical swelling--especially when both musical channels--left and right--are utilized the fullest possible extent. This is the type of band that shakes you, breaks you, and puts you back together again.
Artist: Lesbians on Ecstasy
Album: We Know You Know
Genre: Electronica-Infused Chick Rock
RIYL: Front 242, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Pigface, Le Tigre, Tracy and the Plastics, Scream Club, Sean Kosa, 1-Speed Bike, the Butchies
Chick rockers Lebsians on Ecstasy is a trance-like rock band that incorporates the club-scene electronica with alternative rock/chant styles and bouncing beats and claps like house music. The music is infused with interesting innovations, and the samples are delectable. Fans of both lesbian rock and electronica as well as non-lesbian rock and electronica will most-likely find this album to be both appealing and entertaining. The vocals at times are both dusturbing, as seen in track five, and light-hearted, as seen in the Moldy Peaches-esque track eight, which makes for an comparison from track to track that easily encapsulates the listener.
Artist: Unknown Instructors
Album: The Master's Voice
Genre: Experimental Jazz Rock (with Spoken Word)
RIYL: Sun Ra, MC5, Tom Waits, Pigface, the Stooges, the Minutemen, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa
Unknown instructors includes members of the Minutemen and much more. Each song is based on Allen Ginsberg-ey spoken word vocals, while there is classic / jazz rock played over it in abrasive, sometimes incoherent, realms. The music, however, is well-produced and the energy works its way through from song to song like a charm, while the lyrics are provocative, compelling and entrancing.
Artist: Patrick Wolf
Album: The Magic Position
Genre: Indie Rock, "Electric-Folk Glam Rock"
RIYL: PJ Harvey, Stockhausen, Chet Baker, Kate Bush, Antony, Current 93, Adam Ant, David Bowie, Andrew Bird, Damien Rice, Morissey
Patrick Wolf's sauve maneuvering is back in full swing on his latest album, which takes Wolf's talents and makes full use of them all. The music is beautifully orchestrated, with lots of string instruments and keyboards / synths. Wolf sings and acts out in an experimental fashion many of his songs that are both filled with stories and filled with a poetic sensibility similar to Morissey, Bowie or Andrew Bird. The infusing of certain distorted indie noise and electronica club beats only furthers Patrick Wolf's ambitious record into a raw collection of emotion and progress for Wolf as an artist.
Artist: Agatsuma
Album: En
Genre: Traditional Tsugaru-Shamisen Music (from Japan)
RIYL: Yoshida Brothers
Agatsuma, like the Yoshida Brothers, is working to bridge the gap between traditional Japanese music and modern, more Westernized music. Unlike the Yoshida Brothers, Agatsuma works by himself, playing the traditional Japanese string instrument, the Shamiesen, which is like the guitar, backed by a band (or synthesized band) that plays everything from easy listening to jazz music. The gap is certainly closed through Agatsuma's work, and the his masterful skills with the shamisen are compelling through even the more boring songs because of the dramatic build to the various musical climaxes. The inclusion of various Eastern musical qualities outside of the shmisen, such as wind instruments and Japanese vocals, transform the CD into a collection of even more dynamic songs.
Artist: Bill Callahan
Album: Woke on a Whaleheart
Genre: Pop-rock
RIYL: David Bowie, Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, Cat Stevens, Nilsson, Murder by Death, Johnny Cash
Bill Callahan's first full length is a womping romp of songs in the style of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. The songs have very simplistic beats, but have a long-ranged, full sound, complete with background synth / electric guitar, female backing vocals, and plenty of other surprises. Some of the songs are similar to David Bowie, like track three, "Diamond Dancer," but for the most part, the voice is a mixture of Lou Reed, Johnny Cash, and the singer of Murder by Death.
Artist: Ola Podrida
Album: Self-Titled
Genre: Indie Folk
RIYL: Iron and Wine, Norfolk and Western, Murder by Death, Micah P. Hinson
Ola Podrida is a delightful band, the songs of which are soft and sweet, with a focus on guitar plucking and light percussion. The band most resembled here is Norfolk and Western, although Ola Podrida is in actuality closer to Iron and Wine because they focus more on typical folk songs and less on orchestral, or instrument-heavy songs. The lead vocals are somber (like Pink Floyd) and loom in the background, the foreground, and in all the corners, waiting to peek out at any moment. The songs are catchy and memorable, quiet but striking, and great as mediums by which to groove (similar to Micah P. Hinson).
Artist: Maps & Atlases
Album: Tree, Swallows, Houses
Genre: Indie Rock / Math Rock
RIYL: Mr. Bungle, Minus the Bear, Battles, Hella, Modest Mouse, Las Pesadillas
Maps & Atlases are not your standard math-rock band. They have the insane lightning-intensity that can be found in Battles, Las Pesadillas, and the fastest Mr. Bungle tracks. The singer's high pitched voice sounds a little bit like Ozzy or Jane's Addiction, but the complex song patterns and structures go far beyond these two bands into a realm achieved by little, if any, math rock groups. While this is only their EP, the songs are brilliantly sensational, and give the listener a grand taste of only good things to come.
Artist: Johnny and the Moon
Album: Self-Titled
Genre: Alternative Folk-Rock
RIYL: Blind Melon, Nirvana, the Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Jesse Malin, Ryan Adams, Animal Collective, Neutral Milk Hotel, Brakes
Johnny and the Moon is composed of members of Wolf Parade and ex-members of Hot Hot Heat. The music is a cross between indie rock, modern folk, and traditional folk. The singing sounds somewhat like Blind Melon and Nirvana on some of the tracks, but is closer to Ryan Adams or Jesse Malin. The music is catchy and the beats are quite pronounced (especially for the folk-based tracks), probably due to Wolf Parade ties. The CD is delicately balanced, but might not be enjoyed by mainstream listeners. The highlight track, number 3, might appeal to the most amount of people due to the incredible vocal performance and chant-like nature.
Artist: Polyethylene
Album: What Goes on Inside Houses
Genre: Indie Rock
RIYL: Shearwater, Death Cab for Cutie, The Slip, Built to Spill, Explosions in the Sky, Jefferson Airplane, The Breeders, AFI
Polyethylene is an interesting band. First off, they combine the instrumentation of bands like Shearwater and other indie orchestral rock. Secondly, the female singer reminds, on some of the tracks, of bands like the Breeders and AFI, with songs that are very punk rock. However, by the end of the CD, the listener realizes that the album has many ties to post-rock collectives like Explosions in the Sky, due primarily to the instrumental qualities of the music that are both high in emotional appeal and range in dynamic energy.
Artist: The Eames Era
Album: Heroes & Sheroes
Genre: Indie Pop-Rock
RIYL: Rilo Kiley, Tilly and the Wall, Semisonic, Josie and the Pussycats, Modest Mouse
Amazing pop comes in many forms. Most of the time the pop isn't that great, but relies more on popular music's standards for the music's definition. This is not the case in the new Eames Era CD, which is an amazingly long and amazingly fun and amazingly compelling disk. There is a wide variety of pop music styles incorporated here, all with an indie edge that incorporates weird samples, acoustic tracks, and experimental vocal harmonizing that strings the CD together. The music is accessible because not all the tracks are too long, and the longer tracks are original and exciting enough to not get bored or dulled by them. Fans of any sort of happy, energized pop-rock will probably like Eames Era.
Artist: Thee Oh Sees
Album: Sucks Blood
Genre: Indie Noise-Folk
RIYL: TV on the Radio, Jennifer Gentle, Panda Bear, Of Montreal, Animal Collective, Silver Mt. Zion, Microphones, Mt. Eerie, Deerhoof
Unstandard in their techniques and styles, Thee Oh Sees (or OCS) are still primarily built up from traditional folk elements. The seemingly separate yet equal guitar and vocals combine in trippy, hallucinogenic forms that are psychedellic and hippy-ish. While probably not perceived very well by mainstream listeners, eccentric music fans will definitely dig this minimalist montage of beautiful auditory soundscapes. The songs are both ghostly and yet ever-present, which gives them a dynamic that the listener gets sucked into.
Artist: Cloud Cult
Album: The Meaning of 8
Genre: Indie Rock
RIYL: Modest Mouse, Boards of Canada, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Unicorns, Blink 182, Comas, Architecture in Helsinki, TV on the Radio
Following up their last release of over a year ago, Cloud Cult return with an epic disk of many tracks, and many surprises. Described by one reviewer as "Modest Mouse on lithium," Cloud Cult may sometimes sound like Modest Mouse, but they are certainly in their own corner of the music scene as well. Most of the songs are beautiful memories from childhood, including stories about playgrounds and school, and these get transferred into the musical accompaniment as well, which includes a variety of electronica, string, and percussive instruments, for example. The music is compelling and almost every song on the record is recommendable--the album succeeds where many fail, and that is because there are no filler songs and no boring moments.
Artist: Au Revoir Simone
Album: The Bird of Music
Genre: Indie Pop
RIYL: the Postal Service, Iron and Wine, Bright Eyes, Sigur Ros, I'm From Barcelona, Architecture in Helsinki, Cranberries
Au Revoir Simone's new CD treks their progress in the indie scene, and the progress is definitive. Their music is balanced and bold, careful yet mysterious. Woven into the pop song structures is layers upon layers of keyboard and soft drums that are similar to post-rock bands like Explosions in the Sky. The fast-paced songs are similar to Postal Service, but the combination of positive and negative tones reflect a variety of bands and thus the Bird of Music is a unique CD in itself. Fans of pop and indie music, both wide fields, will probably become empathetic with the emotionally drawn curtains of Au Revoir Simone's music. The music is easy to become drawn to, easy to fall in love with in the most Romantic of fashions.
Artist: Gonzales
Album: Solo Piano
Genre: Classical / Jazz Piano
RIYL: Ravel, Satie, Nina Simone, Keith Jarrett, Debussy, Rachel's, Modern Jazz Quartet
Gonzales, who has worked with many artists on electronic projects (including Peaches and Miss Kitten), has released a full length of his own original classical / jazz pieces for the piano. As one reviewer described it, each song paints a picture, and this reviewer was correct--the music is subtle and mostly light. It is full of moods and emotion, but nothing that is overwhelming. The music is beautifully composed and reminds of Charlie Brown movies, with obvious influences and similarities found in the artists above. This is not just for classical / jazz lovers, but for anyone who is interested in hearing a brilliant wash of sound delight your ears for sixteen lovely tracks, Romantic at times, Spanish-influenced at others, with a distinct Western sound to it overall.
Artist: Aa
Album: gAame
Genre: Tribal Percussion / Electronica ("Art-core Krunk" . . . "Urban Dance Noise")
RIYL: Lightning Bolt, Boredoms, OOIOO, Aphex Twin, Animal Collective, Blue Man Group, Liars
Pronounced "Big A Little A," Aa consists of three drummers (on drum sets complete with a wide array of specialized percussion) and one electronica artist. The music is strange, intense, and varied. There are tribal beats and chants / screams, the most random yet compelling and well-fitting samples and electronica tidbits, and when everything comes together, rising to the peaking climax, the music explodes in a frenzy where anything can and does happen. Although the music might seem eccentric indie noise to some, it's top-notch and does not fail to captivate and gain every ounce of energetic attention from the listeners. gAame is filled with tracks recorded up until 2006 and the quality of the songs is amazingly raw. Although the tracks are seemingly short, the energy in each is packed full and almost just enough for each listener to handle.
Artist: Sage Francis
Album: Human the Death Dance
Genre: Hip Hop / Spoken Word
RIYL: Solillaquists of Sound, Atmosphere, Buck 65, Bernard Dolan, Odd Nosdam, Mr. Cooper, Reanimator, Jolie Holland, Nathon Harrop, Tom Inhaler, Mark Isham, Alias, Eaters, Christopher Sneddon, Sixtoo, Ant, Buddy Wakefield, Big Cats!, Kurtis SP, Mles Bonny, DJ Orator, Roughneck Jihad of 3rd Sight, Laura Escude, Scott Begin, Bryan Lewis Saunders
Human the Death Dance is the third major album release by Sage Francis, Providence hip hop artist and spoken word performer. The new album is definitely the most abstract of Sage's records in terms of musical composition and experiment in lyrics. However, the album is also the most mature of his albums thusfar; such common topics and themes deal with relationships, growing older, dealing with the change from past to present, especially the growth of being an artist. The album stays true to his nature and approaches world politics on all fronts. The combination of his older, more underground and straight-forward hip-hop styles with the more mainstream styles of his past album, A Healthy Distrust, form a wondrous culmination of his various faces. The beats are complex, and his rhymes are as well, as he begins to cite other poets and authors, literary characters, political situations and sayings, and cultural remarks.
Artist: The Fratellis
Album: Costello Music
Genre: Britpop / Pop-Rock
RIYL: As Fast As, Ok Go, David Bowie, the Beatles, Lou Reed, Blur, Oasis, the Clash, Madness, the Arctic Monkeys, the Living End, Flogging Molly, Green Day, Of Montreal, the Kinks
The Fratellis are very similar to the Arctic Monkeys in terms of style and band approach; however, they are not the same band. The Fratellis have "sold out" and are now mainstream pop, but this does not mean the album is bad. In fact, the album is very, very well written. Costello Music is a kind of Kinks-esque concept album, including locations, characters, and experiences that are all fictionalized but highly realistic. Essentially, looked at as just a pop-rock album, the CD is a collection of love tunes that include catchy lyrics, fun choruses, and a variety of genres integrated into the main, simplistic pop sound of the band. The lyrical verses are original and interesting, although sometimes difficult to understand (a la the Living End or Flogging Molly), but by the end of the album, the singer's distinct vocals are clearer than ever. Unfortunately, after the eighth track, the album slowly winds down, loses its pace, and is not worth the listener's time. Fortunately the opening eight tracks are worth every minutes of the listener's time.
Artist: Joanna Newsom
Album: & the Ys Street Band EP
Genre: Indie Folk
RIYL: Eastern European Folk, Gypsy Music
Joanna Newsom, after recently releasing her famous and extremely well-produced, well-received album Ys (pronounced "yees"), has followed up with her new EP, this time with the Ys Street Band involved. There is a heavy emphasis on percussion, heavy being relative to her last album, and endless other musical accompaniments too. There are only three songs on this EP, but they consist of one brand new song and two "classic" Newsom tracks that have been rearranged and re-performed, so they are all entirely new in a sense, and finally Joanna's own voice is becoming easier to listen too--far less abstract and much more coherently tonal. The tracks are of decent length, so they should provide a lot of listening pleasure for fans and non-fans alike.
Artist: The Apples in Stereo
Album: New Magnetic Wonder
Genre: Pop-Rock
RIYL: Comas, Rooney, Ok Go, Velvet Underground, Of Montreal, Grandaddy, Minus the Bear
The Apples in Stereo return after a five-year silence with a new Elephant Six label recording, featuring Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel (on various instruments). The album is light pop-rock with an electronica/noise backdropping. They sound most similar to Comas (who are also just released a new album), and have obvious influences to 60's indie revival groups like Of Montreal and Rooney, as well as Space/Math rock groups like Grandaddy and Minus the Bear. The vocals are done by a various assortment of the Apples in Stereo collective, both male and female, and at times call forth similarities to Velvet Underground and a less-enthusiastic Ok Go. The music ranges in pace and tone, but it's what you can expect (and more) from your average pop-rock album. There are love ballads, strange Romanticist spiritualy tracks, and everything in between. The innovations of the band seem bland at first, but once track five rolls around, it's an epic journey that reaches its climax with the Neutral Milk Hotel-inspired tracks 21 and 22.
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Soundtrack: Deathproof
Genre: Classic Rock / 60s-style Rock and Roll, Pop, Soul
RIYL: Jack Nitzsche, Smith, Ennio Morricone, T Rex, Pacific Gas & Electric, Joe Tex, Eddie Floyd, The Coasters, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick * Tich, Pino Donaggio, Willy DeVille, Eddie Beram, April March
Quentin Tarantino's latest movie, Deathproof, part of the Grindhouse double feature, comes with this intense soundtrack of 60s and 70s-style rock and roll, pop, and soul music. The music is mastered in the highest quality production possible, and the soundtrack as a whole incorporates the above genres and more, with only minimal clips from the movie (see "non-airable tracks," as they are two of the three are profane). Not only is the soundtrack diverse in musical styles, but the music is amazingly enjoyable, as Quentin Tarantino's music generally is in his movies (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs). Check out any of the tracks and get sucked into the Deathproof world.
And that pretty much wraps up how I spent my music life this semester (positively--as there were also a lot of bad records I listened to). Further questions are welcome, although I can do little more than point you in right directions. Also, I refrained from throwing in the links to free mp3s. Who knows how long that would've taken. Look for a post of direct links to these artists' mp3s (for download) in the near future.
If you want to listen to any of the above artists and can't wait for me, either check for their myspace pages, or go to these two free mp3 downloading sites (that work and will continue to work):
http://www.mp3-center.org/
http://sonicx.com/
