Faronheit

Do you remember our last summer of independence? Kevin Barnes apparently does, and spoke about such on the last Of Montreal album “Skeletal Lamping”. That was the band’s ninth album, and charting their evolution since the very first one in 1997 has been a highly interesting adventure. As part of the whole Elephant 6 collective, Of Montreal began as a very twee pop, innocent bedroom adventure. That sound was a great part of the band’s early appeal, though after a few records things naturally began to get a little tired and stale. So like all good artists do, Of Montreal evolved and the new phase was one of wackier, more spaced out hyperpop that owed great debts to 70s disco and funk while continuing to push the boundaries of modern music. Kevin Barnes and his merry band of misfits worked hard to essentially become Prince 2.0, and with a record like “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” they damn well succeeded at it. But “Skeletal Lamping” was a sharp move in the wrong direction, to the point where Barnes created a transgendered alter-ego known as “Georgie Fruit” who took over on a handful of songs. Not only that, but lyrically things evolved to the point where everything became hyper-sexualized and explicit to the point of making even the most liberal people cringe just a little bit in disgust. Combine that with a collection of songs that only a child with ADHD could love (because they often began and ended with such speed and complete disregard for whatever came moments prior) and ultimately it was a mess – the first moderately bad Of Montreal album in quite awhile. How does one recover from such a musical misfire? If you’re Kevin Barnes, it probably means re-enacting the “Goodbye Horses” scene from “Silence of the Lambs”, but to each his own. But appearing to be just a little bit smarter this time around, Barnes enlisted the help of legendary producer Jon Brion to help with the next Of Montreal album, and also recruited friends such as Solange Knowles and Janelle Monae to spike up his punchbowl just a bit. All of these things are put together in the brand new Of Montreal album “False Priest”.

Sliding through even a couple of quick tracks at the beginning of “False Priest” brings an interesting idea of how things have changed in the last two years for the band. To start, Kevin Barnes has found his focus again. Somebody must have put him on a prescription of Ritalin because there’s no more bouncing between songs that are only halfway finished. Instead, songs expand and contract as they should and as they have on most other Of Montreal records. Additionally, the he/she character known as Georgie Fruit seems to have disappeared, though if Barnes merely singing in falsetto indicates he’s in character, then perhaps Fruit is still kicking on a few tracks. But the oversexed wordplay is toned down as well to make way for less cringe-worthy lines. The themes are still sexual in nature, but more on a PG-13 level than an NC-17 one. Relationships tend to be the topic of choice, but instead of sleeping with everything that moves, songs like “Our Riotous Defects” and “Coquet Coquette” are about the inability of men to understand women as Barnes echoes his confusion over why his woman is yelling at him or is withholding sex. As generally engaging as this might be, it does feel like territory that Of Montreal has covered before, albeit from different angles. Barnes doesn’t have quite as many interesting one-liners as he’s had on more recent albums, but he’s still without a doubt the chief architect of this band.

The way collaborators are used on “False Priest” is one of its strengths. Jon Brion acting as producer pulls the mostly minimalist arrangements that seem to dominate Of Montreal’s sound and dresses them up a little bit to give them a fuller and overall stronger feel, like the skinny kid that built up some muscle by working out. That said, Brion doesn’t nearly do enough to mess with what’s already a trademark band sound. You can throw lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. How much of an influence Brion had on this final product is officially unknown, but one gets the impression Barnes might have been a little sensitive about messing with songs he’d probably been working on for awhile. As for the vocal turns from Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles, both add a little bit of extra spice to the record. It’s nice to hear vocals other than Barnes and more Barnes harmonizing with himself. Monae’s work on “Enemy Gene” is simply wonderful, and the already good song only gets better when she steps up to the microphone. Monae also does a little vocal part on the second half of “Our Riotous Defects”, and it turns a very plain Of Montreal song into something far more worthwhile. Put together that makes the track just a little better than average. As for Solange, her work on “Sex Karma” is less inspired and more according to script. It plays like a back and forth dialogue between boyfriend and girlfriend, and the move is so cliched that even a fascinating melody can’t scrape off all the cheese. That along with the poor innuendos don’t necessarily make the track worth yoru time. Barnes is hit and miss when he’s on his own too, sometimes holding steady in old patterns that have become a little too comfortable to the point where they’re bordering on boring. Other times he pushes boundaries, such as on first single “Coquet Coquette”, where guitars really up the ante and hint towards a potential future in that heavier direction. There are moments of digital trash that pile up in some of the gaps between vocals on “Like A Tourist” that feel highly fascinating and innovative for Of Montreal as well. And a song like “Famine Affair” has a remarkably 80s new wave vibe to it that shifts past the funk and into a more rock direction, especially when the chorus comes around. If there’s going to be a next sonic evolution for this band, that might be the track to use as a future model.

Ultimately “False Priest” comes off like a transitional record for Of Montreal. For a band that’s been around for so long, continuing to come up with new and interesting ideas has to be a significant challenge, which is why a number of songs on this album feel like retreads of where Barnes has gone before. Should Of Montreal continue down this path, the band will wind up stuck in the same cliches and the fans will suffer. Of course it also hasn’t been easy trying to adjust to all the many whims that Kevin Barnes seems to have from album to album. But he does the right thing by putting the train back on the track in the right direction, most notably by rendering out complete songs with less offensive lyrics than the poor “Skeletal Lamping”. The collaborations on this album turn out mostly positive, but they do leave you wondering how much personal influence Barnes placed on top of things like Jon Brion’s suggestions. A spirit more open to collaboration can only help to diversify Of Montreal’s sound even more, and that’s exactly what’s needed at this point. Still, there are moments of greatness on this record, providing a road map for just what might be next for this band. Should Barnes actually choose to pursue one of these new directions, and past evidence suggests he might, it could mean the continued love and critical acclaim for a band that has proven its resilience time and time again in the face of difficult odds. “False Priest” may be a little bit of a recovery from the tumble they took last time around, but there’s still a whole other set of challenges that lie ahead. How they face them will determine their future as a one of today’s most brilliantly oddball bands.

Of Montreal – Coquet Coquette

Buy “False Priest” from Amazon

Great stuff in today’s Pick Your Poison, but what else is new? There’s a new track from Chicago’s own The 1900s that’s absolutely great. You can also download a track from Anoraak that features Sally Shapiro. The band Parallels does a cover of The Ramones’ “Pet Semetary” that’s pretty decent. Also recommended are tracks from Shit Robot and White Noise Sound.

The 1900s – Babies

Anoraak – Don’t Be Afraid (ft. Sally Shapiro)

Eminem – Lose Yourself (Don Diablo Remix)

Gigi (Ejigayehu Shibawbaw) – Shemum Mune

Go Rydell – The Golden Age

Leila Broussard – Satellite

The Moaners – Cowboy Bob

Parallels – Pet Semetary (Ramones cover)

Plates of Cake – Emil the Soldier

Polymorphic – Apocalypse (Noise Invaders Remix)
Buy from Beatport

Robert Svensson – Runaway

Sebastian Blanck – Empire of the Free

Shit Robot – Tuff Enough (Radio Edit)

White Noise Sound – Sunset

There was a slight chill in the air last Friday night as School of Seven Bells and Active Child rolled into town to play a show at Lincoln Hall. Interestingly enough, the last time I saw School of Seven Bells was in the also-chilly late fall of 2008 when they had only released their debut record “Alpinisms” and were opening for M83. Since then, they’ve toured the world over a couple times and released a sophmore effort “Disconnect From Desire” that was a little different but still just about as great as their debut. With the small adjustment in sound and the couple years worth of live shows under their belts, it left a big question mark as to how their live show has changed. As for Active Child, they’re a (one man) band I’d been meaning to check out, but given the massive stockpile of music I deal with on a daily basis I never got around to it. That curiosity is exactly why I showed up early enough to catch their opening set Friday night.

Upon walking into Lincoln Hall, Active Child had just gotten started and the very first thing I encountered when looking to the stage was the man behind the name Pat Grossi singing and playing the harp. It would have had a very Joanna Newsom-ish vibe were there not some dark computer backing beats being provided by a pair of laptops and some guitar work courtesy of unofficial bandmate Stratton Easter. Having just two people on stage always makes for some interesting challenges, mostly in the recreation of the many layered sounds that appear on record. The laptops helped, but Grossi and Easter did all the real leg work, often moving between instruments such as keyboards and guitars to pull it off in what seemed to be effortless fashion. Of course just because it looked effortless doesn’t mean that it was, and mid-way through their set Grossi had to pull off a layer of clothing to keep cool. The crowd was very gracious to the band, though they clearly had a few female friends that were not shy about screaming loudly and even telling people to buy merch before Grossi had a chance to. It was all very amusing and interesting, but also pretty impressive from a musical standpoint. The songs sounded great and had a very moody, almost psychedelic vibe that worked well with the lighting and smoke machines. It also made perfect sense as to why Active Child was touring with School of Seven Bells given their somewhat similar sounds. Having not heard any music by the band prior to walking into their set that night, I can now say that Active Child is excellent both on stage and on record. I picked up the “Curtis Lane” EP after the show.

One of the more interesting things that happened before School of Seven Bells started their set was a lack of a tuning session. Most bands will set up their instruments and then tune up with the sound guy for 10 minutes, picking at a guitar or hitting the snare 50 times to get a level right. All SVIIB did was plug in, sing a few notes into the microphone, and then walk off stage as some pre-recorded atmospheric noise played over the speakers. Why they made everyone wait another 15 minutes before re-emerging and officially starting their set is a mystery, but it did allow sufficient time for the smoke machines to turn the entire stage into something rivalling London’s foggiest days. With psychedelic visuals projecting on the black curtain above the band as well, there’s certainly been some showmanship added to the band’s otherwise strong live show. When I saw them in 2008, School of Seven Bells were already a pretty strong live act. Given that Alejandra and Claudia Deheza both came from On! Air! Library! and Benjamin Curtis had spent plenty of time with Secret Machines, they were all seasoned pros before they even got together on this project. Perhaps the real point in playing those dreary instrumentals and building up smoke was to get the crowd into the appropriate mood. Everyone was pulled into the band’s world, a dark and dreamy place where the lines between reality and fiction, life and death, band and audience, were significantly blurred.

It was only fitting then that School of Seven Bells started their set with the fuzzy “Alpinisms” cut “Half Asleep”. The smoke, lighting and enchanting harmonies of the Deheza sisters turned the whole ordeal into a hypnotically beautiful way to begin. Lincoln Hall has the most technologically advanced and arguably strongest sound system in Chicago, but even that couldn’t stop a few minor microphone sqeaks during a couple songs during the set. Other than that, everything else was technically flawless and worked well with the shoegaze-inspired sound. The stage setup was purposefully functional too, with the Dehezas up front on guitar, keyboards and vocals while Benjamin Curtis and the touring drummer hung out in back. Having a live drummer is something a bit new for the band, who were getting by using drum machines when touring to support their first album. Whether he adds or subtracts from the good music that’s already there is up for debate. I chose to regard the drummer as unnecessary but never to the point where he hurt any of the great melodies the band has going for them. Much of the time he was competing with a drum machine anyways, and a lot of what he was supplementing with wasn’t overly complicated. If it makes SVIIB feel more like a full band, then he clearly serves that purpose at least, but otherwise it makes little difference whether or not he’s on stage.

As one might expect, the band ran through a set that mostly consisted of songs from “Disconnect From Desire”, given that’s the new record they’re supporting. “Windstorm” sounded pretty great in a live setting, though the album version is probably just a little bit better. “Heart Is Strange” fared better on stage, as did “Bye Bye Bye”. One of my personal favorite SVIIB songs “My Cabal” turned into a birthday dedication, which was nice and a better rendition than I heard when seeing the band a couple years back. My only real disappointment was the lack of certain highlights from “Alpinisms”. Without a “Iamundernodisguise” or “Connjur” to be found, that was a slight let down in an otherwise excellent set. There were many times the music and atmosphere blended just right to transcend the experience you’d get by simply giving one of the band’s records a close listen via headphones.

At the start of their encore, Alejandra Deheza prefaced things by saying, “Um, we’re gonna try something”. That “something” turned out to be a cover of “Kiss Them For Me”, originally by Siouxie and the Banshees. It was quite brilliantly done and mixed with the band’s sound nearly perfectly. I’m pretty sure Alejandra forgot the words to the last verse of the song, but it didn’t really matter, because everybody on stage looked like they were having a blast. That was really the only moment in the entire show when they were all grinning ear to ear and truly letting loose on stage. They came off as a bit stiff at the beginning of their set but gradually grew warmer and happier as things progressed. The crowd was receptive as one might expect throughout the set, though I was left wondering how many of them actually recognized the Siouxie cover during the encore. No matter, there were lots of satisfied faces leaving Lincoln Hall last Friday night. The smiles might not have been there, given that SVIIB aren’t exactly the happiest or most upbeat band in the world, but looking at the eyes, you could tell it was a great night. Should you have the opportunity, going to see School of Seven Bells and/or Active Child touring through your town is definitely something worth doing. Not nearly enough bands these days attempt to make their live shows experiences rather than simple jam sessions, but thankfully these two bands know that there’s more to a performance than simply playing back the songs from your records verbatim.

School of Seven Bells – Windstorm

Buy “Disconnect From Desire” from Amazon

If you’ve got yourself a Garfield case of Monday-itis, don’t worry too much – Pick Your Poison will help get you through this trying time. Be sure to give a listen to a new song from The Migrant, whose album comes out tomorrow. For fans of covers, Sky Larkin does a halfway decent rendition of Heart”s “Barracuda”. There’s also a remix of a Starfucker song and a track from Vanity Theft that’s worth your time.

Doppelganger – Breaks My Head

Embarassing Fruits – Vanishing Frontier

Girl Haggard – Modern Lovers

Jerry Granelli – Wait for the Machine

The Migrant – In the Sun

Mr. Little Jeans – Faking Gold

One in a Googolplex – Monolith
One in a Googolplex – Just Like You

RocketNumberNine – You Reflect Me

Sky Larkin – Barracuda (Heart cover)

Starfucker – Julius (Painted Palms Remix)

Tied to the Branches – Fog

Vanity Theft – Anatomy

A couple weeks back Jenny Lewis and her boyfriend Johnathan Rice released their first album as a duo known as Jenny and Johnny. Lewis you may know from Rilo Kiley or her own solo work, and Rice has had his own solo project for awhile as well. In my review of their record “I’m Having Fun Now”, I wasn’t overly kind to Rice, basically saying he was the weak link in an otherwise lovely album from Jenny Lewis. Well, having heard this interview and live session with the both of them, I stand by that claim. Still, this session is interesting, with simple acoustic guitars and the two voices it works surprisingly well. There’s a small touch of piano as well on “Switchblade”. In the interview, the pair talked about how the project came into existence, why the album title is what it is, and doing some work with Elvis Costello. It’s one of the better artist interviews I’ve heard recently, though things do get a bit awkward when the interviewer goes off on his love for Costello’s TV series “Spectacle”. Good stuff to start your weekend with though, and I hope you enjoy it thoroughly.

Jenny and Johnny, Live on Minnesota Public Radio, 9-12-10:
Jenny and Johnny – Big Wave (Acoustic Live on MPR)
Jenny and Johnny – Animal (Acoustic Live on MPR)
Jenny and Johnny – Switchblade (Acoustic Live on MPR)

Stream the entire interview/session

Buy “I’m Having Fun Now” from Amazon

Yet another weekend is upon us, and with these last remaining days of warmth (depending on where you live), I hope you’ll be spending some time outside having fun. Fall officially begins next week, so enjoy the last moments of summer while you still can. Great stuff in Pick Your Poison today as well. Be sure to check out the new song from The Fresh and Onlys as it is the “only” track I’ll completely certify as “fresh”. Sorry, bad wordplay. Other great recommendations are for tracks from Sun Airway and Suuns. The band Paleo is sterting to attract the right kinds of attention with the song available below, and in the “did you know?” file, the band Ima Robot who’ve been around for a few years now is actually fronted by Alex Ebert, current lead singer for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. There’s a new Ima Robot track below as well.

Allo Darlin – My Heart Is A Drummer

Death Culture At Sea – Field High and Burning

Dustin Wong – Walking Cloud

Filthy Bird – Pick Me Up

The Fresh and Onlys – Waterfall

Ima Robot – Ruthless

Paleo – The King James Fakebook

Punches – Feeling Right

Sun Airway – Put the Days Away

Suuns – Up Past the Nursery

Turzi – Bombay

Oh the politics of being Weezer. This band attracts so much attention for so many different reasons, and in preparation for the release of their new album “Hurley”, things hit a fever pitch. First it was word that the band was heading back to the indies after all those years in the majors. They ended their partnership with Geffen and hooked up with the small punk label Epitaph. Many took it as a sign the band was eager to return to their roots and take off much of the polish that so dominated their last few records. Then there was the controversy over the title “Hurley”, and how with the cover photo it appeared to be a tribute to Jorge Garcia’s character from the TV show “Lost”. Well, more recently guitarist Brian Bell revealed that the band struck some sort of deal with the clothing company Hurley, and that’s the real reason for the title being what it is. He later retracted that statement, but of course there is now a collection of Weezer-related clothing items for sale from Hurley. Then you get into the conflict that has plagued Weezer fans for several years now, that the band has given up on the magical early days of “The Blue Album” and “Pinkerton”, descending into a world of crap music ever since. Still, with each new Weezer album, those same fans that love to bitch hold out hope for a return to form only to be disappointed time after time. I’ll readily admit to being guilty of this, which is why last year in my review of “Raditude” I settled on the idea that the band had resigned any attempts at making creatively stimulating music anymore and were simply looking to have fun. If that meant ill-advised collaborations with Lil Wayne, then so be it. The plan was to stop judging them based on their past, but rather on the merits of every other soulless, alternative rock-ish band making mainstream music today.

For those hoping that signing to Epitaph would take Weezer away from the overly polished pop nonsense they’ve been putting out recently, “Hurley” actually makes a little progress in the right direction. The first sign the band is feeling nostalgic comes from opening track and first single “Memories”, where they recount some of those crazy times as a band on the rise during the mid-90s. They were so young and stupid back then. And the song’s not half bad either. That display of strength continues through the next track “Ruling Me”, which seems nearly destined to be the next single with its surging chorus and sugary sweet backing harmonies. On “Unspoken”, much of the track is sustained with simply Rivers and an acoustic guitar. It may lack the scratchiness of the couple home demo records he released, but there’s a certain charm to the song as it slowly builds, adding flute then some rhythmic shakers then orchestration before going full-on with the blasting electric guitars in the final minute. Similarly, the very beginning of “Run Away” features a lone piano and Rivers singing into what sounds like a shoddy microphone set up in a bedroom. Unlike “Unspoken” though, the full band enters 30 seconds into “Run Away” and it turns into something closer to an average mid-tempo rocker for Weezer, though with some xylophone hits and a few other odd elements it takes a somewhat unique approach. Keeping a similar tempo, “Hang On” is a love song that’s tender enough to move some hearts while containing a chorus that’s catchy and earnest. Weezer saves the biggest surprise for the end though, when “Time Flies” turns everything that came before it on its head. The audio fidelity completely drops out and you get what ostensibly sounds like a demo recorded without any professional studio equipment. The acoustic guitar, bass drum and piano all fight for space in the mix amid Rivers’ singing and backing harmonies. Everything sounds completely unclean and that’s a huge part of its charm. Add in a pretty addictive hook and it’s probably the best non-Weezer-like song that Weezer has ever put together. Perhaps credit goes to the legendary Mac Davis, who produced and helped write the track (but none of the others).

As wonderfully fun and surprisingly old school “Hurley” can get, there’s still a handful of problems to deal with as things progress. The song “Trainwrecks” is just that, seeming to be a pointed attack at hipsters or slackers or somebody. The issue isn’t so much what’s being said but more like how it’s being said. The verses get so bogged down in attempts at clever wordplay or simply complaining that the chorus gets buried and can’t really dig itself out. “Where’s My Sex?” is the one Weezer song on the album that’s remarkably plainful to listen to. The whole thing is a play on words, as Rivers’ daughter reportedly once pronounced the word “socks” as “sex” one day and it inspired the song-long joke that’s not funny after the first minute. That’s the one, like “Love Is The Answer” from “Raditude” or “We Are All On Drugs” from “Make Believe” that you don’t want to go near with a ten foot pole. And while “Smart Girls” is fun and bouncy like Weezer often do, the biggest mistake it makes is playing out like a crazy mad libs experiment. Before winding up on the official tracklisting for the album, the song was called “Hot Girls”, and if you replace “smart” with “hot” (or “dumb” or “crazy” or etc.) then the effect remains exactly the same. Lazy writing is to blame for that one, and Rivers collaborated with No Doubt’s Tony Kanal in writing it. Suddenly it makes more sense as to why it kind of sucks.

The biggest positive about “Hurley” is that Rivers wrote more of the songs on it than he has on the last couple Weezer records. Sure he’s been collaborating with other people for awhile now, but more of the words on this new album have that old Weezer flavor to them. And that helps to push “Hurley” far above the band’s last few records, towards a territory that’s reserved for those long time fanboys and fangirls holding out hope for another masterstroke akin to those first two efforts. The harsh reality is that we’ve been forced to accept so much crap from this band that when they rise even a little above average, it’s freak out time. Just because this is the best Weezer album in the past 8 or 9 years doesn’t mean it’s automatically amazing. Still, the band does much more right than wrong here, and though they continue to fall into their same old traps of recent times now and then, Weezer seems more humbled and smarter than they have in quite awhile. The explanation as to why will continue to remain a mystery, as nobody can definitively say that changing record labels or possibly partnering with a clothing company is the magic solution to getting back your mojo. Weezer’s not all the way where they need to be just yet, but after the sharp downward spiral they’ve been on these last several years, the biggest surprise is that they’re now starting to climb back up from that dark valley. It’s gonna be a long and arduous journey to the top again should they try for it, but at the very least it could be a fun one. Turn your brain off for awhile, crank up some “Hurley”, and do what you can to enjoy it. In terms of mainstream alternative rock today, you could do a whole lot worse.

Weezer – Memories

Buy “Hurley” from Amazon

Another week is almost done. I hope you’re excited for the weekend. To help get you there, here’s another snazzy edition of Pick Your Poison. Great stuff today includes tracks from AIDS Wolf, Banjo or Freakout, Oh Land and So So Glos. Check them out, it’s all delightful.

AIDS Wolf – Teaching To Suffer

Arthur Nasson – Unglued

Banjo or Freakout – Over There

Christopher Paul Stelling – Strange Darkness

Davila 666 – Mala

De Staat – Habibi

I Never Dance – I Never Dance

Mariage Blanc – Whatever You Say I Am

Oh Land – Sun of A Gun

Saharan Gazelle Boy – Halfhair Girl

Sleeping in the Aviary – Y.M.C.A. (No, Not That One)

So So Glos – Lindy Hop

The prospect of going solo after spending all your life in a band is a daunting one. As part of a group, you’ve got bandmates to lean on that will support you through every song and album and show. As we’ve seen time and time again though, there are plenty of personalities in a band and they don’t always lead to positive results. Bands break up because of clashes between members, and some of them are so difficult to work with they prefer the solo life. There’s also the solo side project, where a singer or guitarist (and on a rare occasion a drummer) breaks away from his or her bandmates for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s to explore a new sound the other band members aren’t comfortable with. Other times it makes the difference when some of the band wants time off for family or other issues and one person wants to keep going. But however they come about, solo projects are a normal part of everyday music, and they often reach varying degrees of success depending on if you’re Peter Gabriel or Franz Nicolay. Among higher profile bands recently, Radiohead’s Phil Selway just recently released his first solo effort, and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker will put out a solo album in a couple weeks. This week though, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers takes the plunge, and he does so by returning to some old territory the rest of his bandmates left behind.

After the very new wave/synth-heavy pop vibe of The Killers’ debut album “Hot Fuss”, the band chose to channel their inner Bruce Springsteens and go all dustbowl Americana for their second record “Sam’s Town”. That was not the move fans expected nor wanted, and while sales of that sophmore effort remained strong, most made it known they were dissatisfied with the shift in direction. That explains the course correction and a moderate “return to form” on the band’s third album “Day & Age”. With the decision to go on a temporary hiatus for 2010, frontman Brandon Flowers apparently decided he was bored and wanted to make some music his bandmates might otherwise not agree to. In other words, he was desperate to return to “Sam’s Town”. Not only does Flowers’ solo debut “Flamingo” have a similar sonic feel to it, but both album titles are taken from famous Las Vegas casinos/hotels. Call them two sides of the same coin if you will, the only real difference between then and now are the players involved.

Given how mixed reaction was to “Sam’s Town”, you could probably expect fans of The Killers to have a pretty divided stance on “Flamingo” as well. The very first thing you should know about this solo album is that it’s an extremely adult affair. The Killers make music that’s got a bit of fun to it, lots of flash and showmanship just like the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. “Flamingo” moves more from the perspective of a man who’s lived his entire life amid all that crazy grandeur and is now extremely jaded and tired of it. There’s a myriad of gambling references, starting of course with opening track “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” and only expanding from there (especially see: “Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts”). Additionally, there’s a number of spiritual elements as well referencing back to his upbringing in the Mormon faith, among other things. Above all else though, the tone of the album, from the soaring and anthemic choruses even through the minor ones, is extremely serious. There’s not a single moment where Flowers lightens up or gives a proverbial wink and a smile to the listener that indicates he’s enjoying himself. As a result, there’s nothing even close to a “Somebody Told Me” on “Flamingo”. There’s not even a “When You Were Young” here. The closest this record has to a hit is with the first single “Crossfire”, which actually will stick in your head if you listen to it enough times. The two tracks leading up to that song are actually not bad either, with “Was It Something I Said?” breaking out some oddball bouncy synth energy amidst the relative lethargy of what preceeded it and “Magdalena” throwing in some Spanish love story flavor for variety. Most everything else is surprisingly forgettable and bland, seeming content to just ride along the middle of the road without much thought to experimentation or even really catchy hooks. Not even the wonderful Jenny Lewis contributing guest vocals to a track like “Hard Enough” can move it above merely average. Sonically speaking, the songs mostly stick with a traditional band arrangement, which means guitars and drums, though as with “Sam’s Town” there’s synths that pop up on occasion.

When The Killers were first starting out and reached massive popularity in a matter of months, Brandon Flowers often exhibited strange behavior on stage, like he was barely able to keep things together out of pure nervousness. The guy barely spoke to the crowd and when he did the banter was awkward because he was so uncomfortable. In the last 6 years, he has grown significantly more acclimated with performing and is better than before. He still doesn’t quite have the charisma he should being in a band of The Killers’ caliber, but taking it one day at a time he might just rise to the occasion. Now touring solo (with a backing band of completely unremarkable musicians), Flowers holds the entire burden of each show entirely on his shoulders. Without legitimate bandmates to lean on in those awkward moments, some fans might be disappointed with the performance. Assuming he sticks to solely performing the songs on “Flamingo” as well, that could be a problem too. Why Flowers continues to believe he can pull a Springsteen and do an Americana-by-way-of-Las-Vegas thing is a mystery because it more or less failed the first time in the form of “Sam’s Town”. Of course if you liked that record there’s a decent chance you’ll like “Flamingo”. The minor success of a single like “Crossfire” seems to indicate there are some people out there still interested in hearing what Flowers can do on his own. If it sells well enough, Flowers will probably make more solo albums in between Killers records. Send him a message by either not buying “Flamingo” or perhaps just cherry picking a couple songs that strike your interest. Much like forest fires, only you can prevent another Brandon Flowers solo record. The Killers themselves may not have released anything truly worthwhile since “Hot Fuss”, but it’s become clear is that no matter what they’re doing together, chances are it’s better than what they’ll do apart.

Buy “Flamingo” from Amazon

Holy wow there’s a lot of great stuff in today’s Pick Your Poison. A full mixtape from Das Racist, which features contributions from Chairlift, El-P and The Very Best, among others. Then there’s the free EP that John Vanderslice released today, available in all its 320kbps mp3 glory below. There’s also The Radio Dept.’s scathing indictment of the Swedish government in a brand new song. Frankie Rose and the Outs have released a new mp3 as well. And Chicago’s own Urge Overkill haven’t put out any new music in the last 15 years, but today I’m proud to offer you something brand new from them. Great stuff.

ANR – The Endless Field of Mercury (Single Edit)

Das Racist – Sit Down Man Mixtape (feat. Chairlift, El-P and The Very Best

First Love, Last Rites – Slow Wind

Frankie Rose and the Outs – Candy

The Good Natured – Prisoner

Hot Panda – Mindlessnesslessness

John Vanderslice – Green Grow The Rushes EP  (ZIP)

Led to Sea – Is This The Last Time

Mike Andrews – Sun Burn

The Phantom Band – Walls

The Radio Dept. – The New Improved Hypocrisy

Simian Ghost – Sequenced Dreams of Independence

Urge Overkill – Effigy

I had jury duty today. It was a drag (sitting around for hours doing nothing until dismissed), but on the plus side I did get to spend the time listening to some great new music. Some of it is in today’s edition of Pick Your Poison. Be sure to download new tracks from J. Tillman (of Fleet Foxes), Secret Cities, Murdocks and Shadow Shadow Shade, but really most of these songs are great.

Betsy Franck and the Bareknuckle Band – City of Gold

David Vertesi – All Night All Night All Night

Gianna Lauren – Become What You Can’t Be

J. Tillman – Diamondback

James and Evander – Turtle Two

Leonard Mynx – Song With No Name

Murdocks – Black Jesus Knocking

Redstone Hall – Get Back Jack

Secret Cities – On Holiday

Seymour Bits – Style
Seymour Bits – This Is The Place To Be (TWR72 Remix)

Shadow Shadow Shade – Say Yes

Shunda K – I’m Da Best

Vim Cortez – Soul of a Gentleman

The Vita Ruins – Seven Suns

Like riding in first class on an airplane or receiving VIP treatment at a fancy hotel or music festival, there are some life experiences that stick with you for awhile. Should you attempt to repeat the grand experience and fail though, it comes off as disappointing. Suddenly riding in coach seems too pedestrian now that you’ve been to first class. And things just aren’t as interesting when you can’t hang out back stage at a show or have fresh cut flowers delivered to your hotel room free of charge every morning. We get spoiled easily, and that ruins many of our future experiences. The first time I saw …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead I was front and center against the stage as they destroyed everything on stage and invited the crowd to join them. Security had to pull me back as a microphone stand nearly bashed my head in. With adrenaline running high, I loved every life threatening second of that show, and every time I’ve gone to see the band since has been a disappointment. It is based around this reasoning I’ve made the executive decision to never see The Walkmen perform live again. Last month, I saw them twice in a span of 12 hours, the second of those times being at the ear-splitting front and center position. Watching singer Hamilton Leithauser belt out songs new and old to the rafters as the veins bulged out of his neck was simply thrilling and I’m pretty well convinced it’ll never be that good again. Good thing at that show the band played a bunch of tracks off their new record “Lisbon”, as it’s set to become the best thing they’ve released since 2004′s “Bows + Arrows”.

The Walkmen deal in misery, and hearing an upbeat or lighter record from the band would almost come off as disingenuous. Naturally then for “Lisbon” they stay within that range, though things do pick up a bit more than their last album “You & Me”. That’s not quite evident from the start, as “Juveniles” comes in at a slow crawl and deals in warmth and subtle emotional nuance. Of course The Walkmen are practically known for burying the lead in song, typically striking harder and faster with the second track in. Such is the case for “Angela Surf City”, the clearest highlight on the album and one of The Walkmen’s best tracks ever. You’ve got a subtle surf rock guitar, massive drums, and a chorus that builds upon itself as Leithauser brings it home with his whiskey-soaked wail. It’s a rare moment of sheer explosiveness from a band that typically holds back and stays in check. Almost as if they think they went too far, the following two songs return to the very subdued and calm nature they’re known for. “Stranded” provides a little bit of a lift with a grand horn section reminiscent of the band’s 2006 album “A Hundred Miles Off”. It maintains a mopey vibe but the brass really provides the added punch to lift the song to an above average status. What really sends the album soaring is “Victory”, another anthemic cut that feels as triumphant as the title suggests. The problem is, like so many Walkmen songs, the lyrics aren’t so much about winning as they are just barely losing. Still, don’t be surprised if you hear the song used in some sports-related win context within the next year, as somebody will have misunderstood what it’s about. Depressing as the title suggests, “Woe Is Me” is only a lyrical pity party, because a bit of surf rock guitar and a good tempo lift it to a toe tapping level of fun. “Torch Song” is another title that accurately describes the contents contained within, with the rich piano and bass bringing out the warmth of a few thousand lighters held high in the air, swaying back and forth. To be perfectly clear though, the track isn’t actually about longing for a lost love as most technical torch songs are, but rather the longing for a lost song, the right song to provide balance and meaning to a world of insanity. And as they tend to be something of a seasonal band, “While I Shovel the Snow” should be on your winter mixtape, the slow waltz rhythm matching well with the clean up of all those flakes that have landed on your driveway and sidewalk.

While they were recording “Lisbon”, The Walkmen made two trips to Portugal for primarily pleasure purposes. They fell in love with the country and its people, and a number of the songs were inspired by their experiences in the country. That’s also the main reason why the album is titled as such, a manner of thanking a city where they experienced so much magic. Interestingly enough, the songs themselves don’t seem to echo a lot of Portuguese musical influence, though you’d be hard-pressed to officially explain what a Portuguese musical influence actually sounds like. Really though, The Walkmen continue to sound like The Walkmen, as very few other bands are doing much similar to them these days. And though by now, a handful of records into their now 10-year careers, you might think it’s starting to get old, the quality these guys have been able to turn out time and time again remains inexplicably high. For peddling in misery and self-loathing, somehow Hamilton Leithauser still has more to say on the subject and his world-weary voice continues to provide the necessary emotion to convey it properly. Matt Barrick’s drum work remains as strong, if not stronger than ever no matter if he’s tapping on a snare or hammering down on some bass drums. Really everyone does stellar work on “Lisbon”, and in the wake of the also-great “You & Me” from a mere two years ago, The Walkmen are on something of a roll. They’re great live too, as I can readily attest, and some of these new songs are particularly exciting to experience with a large crowd on hand. So go see a show, go buy the record, and rest assured that while these songs will take you to a dark place, it’s okay to crack a smile when you come out the other side.

Buy “Lisbon” from Amazon