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Album Review: Sleigh Bells – Treats [N.E.E.T./Mom + Pop]

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On 05/17/2010

In album review, BNM, mp3, music

What’s the loudest bass you’ve ever heard? Are you the sort of person who enjoys buying a highly expensive subwoofer and cranking the volume up as loud as possible in either the car or at home? Is the noise loud enough to make the entire neighborhood shake? You might think that those sorts of albums are almost exclusively hip hop specific, with “those damn kids and their rap records”, but that’d be before you met the duo of Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss, otherwise known as Sleigh Bells. They caught the attention of critics and music fans everywhere last year thanks to their wild live show and an EP of demos that spread around the internet like wildfire. Their unique sound, combining Miller’s intensely loud guitars and Krauss’s calm and collected vocals, felt familiar even though most people have struggled to accurately define it. “Noise pop” is the tag most frequently affixed to Sleigh Bells’ music, and given that it’ll split your eardrums while bouncing around in your head for days, that’s not too far from correct. Now with debut album “Treats” released digitally last week (June 1st physically) on M.I.A.’s label N.E.E.T. Recordings, the duo truly seems ready for their close-up. The question is are we?

If you heard the Sleigh Bells demo EP last year, no matter whether you may have loved it or hated it, those tracks reappear on “Treats” in re-recorded form. The good news is that these new versions are still louder than you could imagine, they just sound a little clearer and better mixed. It also makes for some great highlights across the record, as songs like “A/B Machines” and “Crown on the Ground” are more compelling than ever. The bad news comes only in the form of lyrical content, because those looking for deeper meaning in the words of these songs will be left high and dry. Assuming that Krauss does all the lyrics, there are very few actual verses and many times songs will only feature a phrase or two repeated over and over ad nauseum. The great benefit of this is that they get stuck in your head that much easier. The thing about those words though is that their main purpose is to act as a supplement to all the insanity taking place across the rest of the track. These are beats and guitar parts probably best designed for somebody to rap on top of, and given that Krauss is smartly not feigning to have any sort of rhyming skills allows yout to accept her lack of lyrical meanings and variations with little to no thought. Besides that, the main intention of this album is to have a whole lot of fun with few consequences (except for maybe hearing damage), so Sleigh Bells hit it out of the park in that respect.

Assuming you’re okay with excessively loud rock music with a sharp, beat-driven edge to it, “Treats” is exactly what its title describes. Miller and Krauss are unique crafters of a record that’s both ambitious and a blast to listen to, if that’s your sort of thing. Divisive is one of the best words to describe how people are going to react to this album, because for all the interesting compositions and fun it might otherwise bring, there will be plenty who won’t understand or just generally won’t like all the noise. The real question now is where Sleigh Bells will go from here. Sustaining the same sandblasting sound for 30 minutes of excellence is one thing, but to pull it off for multiple records might get a little tedious. It also begs the question of how long “Treats” might remain in the good graces of its fans before they move onto something else and forget all about it. This isn’t a life-changing record, but it is a highly enjoyable one for the moment. Their popularity might only wind up a momentary blip on the music radar, but for the moment it feels like a crater filled with noise, announcing that a loud, brash rock and roll record can still wholly satisfy if done right.

Sleigh Bells – Tell ‘Em

Stream the entire album at NPR

Buy “Treats” from iTunes
Preorder “Treats” from Insound

Album Review: Delorean – Subiza [True Panther Sounds]

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On 05/13/2010

In album review, BNM, mp3, music

Just in time for summer, Delorean are showing up with a new album’s worth of dance confections to please your ears and move your feet. They burst onto the music scene last summer with their “Ayrton Senna” EP, which attracted plenty of attention for its strong grasp of 90s house and techno styles combined with anthemic choruses that could turn any dance party from warm to white hot in an instant. Their first long player “Subiza” now trades on that same style as the Spanish foursome looks to capture even more hearts, minds and dancing shoes around the world.

If “Subiza” were just another upbeat dance record, Delorean might not be getting the attention they currently are. Starting out as your traditional guitar and drums indie band, they began to incorporate more electronic beats and keyboards into their songs and noticed they had a particular knack for it. Naturally then, their sound has been shifting further and further in that direction, to the point where it very much blurs the lines between dance, pop and rock music. There are elements of each, and even a little bit of hip hop, on “Subiza”, wrapped in a mixture of electronica styles that keep the tempo upbeat and fun. It’s that inability to place Delorean in an easily definable box that makers them so unique and worthwhile to listen to.

Album opener “Stay Close” hits hard from the get-go with some killer keyboards and an uplifting chorus that will stay with you for days. Followed by the 6-minute rave-up of “Real Love”, which takes on a slightly more hip hop flavor and throws in some helium-pitched vocals for added variety. There are some brilliant vocal harmonies on “Subiza” as well, and tracks like “Infinite Desert” and closer “It’s All Ours” sharply recall the genius that Animal Collective’s “Merriweather Post Pavilion” had to offer last year. “Warmer Places” is a gem from late in the album, dialing in a hook that nearly overwhelms with Italo-house flavor. Compared to the “Ayrton Senna” EP, this full length doesn’t sound quite as big and anthemic, but what it lacks in bombast it makes up for in more carefully considered composition. The songs on “Subiza” also fit together better, despite the consistent changes in style. It’s all electronica in some form or another, and what some of the tracks lack in stylistic similarities they more than make up for in overall mood and tempo.

Above all else, fun is the name of the game on “Subiza”. Many will view it as a simple club record that will benefit most from being blasted on the dance floor. Hopefully some smart DJs take it upon themselves to expose as many people as possible to Delorean and their throwback electronic style. Yet the album goes so much deeper than so many realize, and the verse-chorus-verse structure on many of the songs deceptively turn them into pop hits without much prodding. It takes strong musical talent and knowledge to pull off a record this well proportioned, and Delorean just barely manage to do it. This may be a record that’s challenging to break down and describe accurately, but all you really need to know in the end is that this is a gorgeous album that will draw you in quickly and never let go until your body is tired from too much dancing.

Delorean – Stay Close

Buy “Subiza” from Amazon

Album Review: Male Bonding – Nothing Hurts [Sub Pop]

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On 05/12/2010

In album review, BNM, mp3, music

Male Bonding are a crime scene. They are a car crash. They are a weapon of mass destruction. They are two strangers meeting in the bathroom for a quickie. They are two hands in the middle of a high five. Male Bonding are, in essence, two elements colliding for a brief moment, a transfer of energy, and a resulting blowback before everything goes calm again. You wake up on the ground in a daze before you can figure out what hit you. And despite all this talk of forceful destruction, this band will thankfully only smack away your inhibitions and expectations. But it’s the manner in which they do it, with speedy punk-tinged lo-fi jams that leaves you feeling like you were violated, but in a good way. Male Bonding’s Sub Pop debut “Nothing Hurts” is 13 tracks that blow by in 30 minutes, but the damage done in that short amount of time will leave you reeling for days afterwards.

Husker Du and Nirvana are two great 90’s bands that Male Bonding have clearly been influenced by, because the songs on “Nothing Hurts” bears all their familiar markers. There’s a very distinctive punk rock ethos in these songs, mostly in the way each song powers straight through from start to finish in under 3 minutes without ever stopping to take a breath. To put it another way, nothing is wasted or lost in these songs, it’s all pure rock and hooks packed to the gills and arranged for maximum efficiency. The guitars are noisy and fierce, while the vocals are often just clear enough to make out what’s being said and not much more. If you listen carefully at the beginnings and ends of each song, you can hear the tape hiss that goes along with your classic lo-fi production. There’s plenty of echoes and feedback noise and roughshod mixes to go around, and whether it was done on purpose or out of sheer affordability, it works to great effect.

Lyrically speaking, though you can make out most of what singer John Arthur Webb is saying, not a whole lot of it matters outside of maybe the choruses. It’s all part of the greater picture in each individual song, and often they’re flying by so fast you’ll have enough time to get caught on the hook and taken for a quick ride before hitting the brick wall and starting all over again with the next track. Above all else, “Nothing Hurts” is one hell of a fun album to listen to, and if you’re limber enough, it may make you want to go skateboarding afterwards. This is music the youth of today should be obsessing over because it’s all A.D.D. and in your face. This is music for the scrappers, those in danger of being left behind but who are willing to fight for what they feel is theirs. This is music for the angry and aggressive people who need an outlet for all that pent up frustration. This is music for people who can fully appreciate rock-and-roll in its most tattered and beat-up form. In other words, this is one of the tightest, smartest and most aggressive records so far this year. Though it doesn’t exactly venture into new territory, it covers the old territory extraordinarily well. That’s about all you can ask from Male Bonding, who have turned in one of the most entertaining and energetic albums so far this year.

Male Bonding – Year’s Not Long
Male Bonding – Franklin

Buy “Nothing Hurts” from Amazon

Album Review: The National – High Violet [4AD]

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On 05/11/2010

In album review, BNM, lollapalooza 2010, mp3, music

The National are what I like to call a “tapeworm” band. Tapeworms start out innocently enough, and you may accidentally ingest one through some piece of improperly treated food. What follows from there is the slow and steady build of a hunger that is seemingly never satisfied. One day you’re eating normally, and the next you’ve shoved three times the normal amount of food into your body and are somehow still craving more. That tapeworm will kill you if you don’t go to the doctor and get properly diagnosed. The National will certainly not kill you if you feed them, but in this analogy their music becomes that slow burn addiction that you can’t seem to get enough of. I first fell victim to this blessing/curse in 2005, when the band’s “Alligator” album showed up on my doorstep. At first, I didn’t give it much regard, finding the band’s somewhat somber songs a little boring and without much payoff. After a handful of listens I still didn’t get it and put the CD on a shelf while I dove into some other new and potentially great music. Fast forward to 6 months later, at which point a friend of mine whose musical opinions I highly respect told me that “Alligator” was a jaw-droppingly great record. It prompted me to pull the album off the shelf where I had left it and give it another try. It took another few times through, but after that, I was hooked like an addict to a drug of choice. I learned every lyric and sang along with every single song. It’s something I still do from time to time.

When “Boxer” came out in 2007, I was salivating with anticipation wondering if it’d be nearly as good as “Alligator” was. Again, I was disappointed. There weren’t any songs on “Boxer” that could match up to the highlights of songs like “Lit Up” and “Abel” and “Mr. November”, and my thinking was that it was a step backwards for the band. This was the snap judgment I made after a half-dozen or so listens. My review of the record at the time echoed that disappointment while remaining what I thought was exceptionally kind towards the band. Fast forward again another 6 months and listening to “Boxer” was nearly a daily event for me as I once again picked up all the lyrics and was singing along with every song. That December it wound up in my Top 5 albums of the year. With The National’s new album “High Violet” coming out today, I’ll now preface it by saying that I still listen to both “Alligator” and “Boxer” on a regular basis, and that’s more than I can say about almost any other band. Both records mean so very much to me, and yet again I’ve been aching with anticipation. As I’m writing this, I’ve listened to the album a half-dozen times.

Now that I’ve recounted my intense history with the last couple National albums, you should have some idea where I’m going to stand in relation to “High Violet”. Learning from my past mistakes, this review isn’t going to say a whole lot worthwhile except to recommend that you give the album awhile to win you over. From all indications, this looks to be another incredible notch in The National’s already strong belt of records, and while I’m still waiting for the obsession to kick in, the first thing I noticed was that “High Violet” didn’t turn me off initially as much as “Alligator” and “Boxer” first did. Of course I’ve also learned my lesson by now and am extremely familiar with what to expect from this band. If I have one gripe about The National, it’s that they have become just a little predictable in terms of their sound, not taking enough sonic risks. You’ve got your slow songs, a string section here, a brass section there, nonsensical lyrics, and anchoring it all is Matt Berninger’s seductive baritone. Ah, but that’s breaking it down into its crudest and simplest form, ignoring the end result, which are songs that though they often wind up sad and depressing, contain a surprising amount of beauty and compassion.

My favorite thing about “High Violet” at this point in time is how delicately crafted it sounds. Every note sounds austere, and when you have friends like Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon assisting you with compositions, that’s the sort of results you get. In many ways it’s a refining of the sound from their last two albums, not so much moving forwards as it is enriching what’s already there. This is especially apparent in the second half of the record, where songs like “England” and “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” are dramatically orchestrated , probably more than anything they’ve done previously. The sound is also largely built around Matt Berninger’s voice, which is so smooth and distinctive that coupling it with the darker tones of the instrumentals is like the meeting of Jack Daniels and Coke. And one of my absolute favorite things to do with any National album is to dissect the lyrics, because Berninger chooses such interesting words to string together. There’s typically no sense in trying to find any meaning in these songs, but there are themes and ideas you can sniff out through the careful examination of some phrases. “Sorrow” takes the titular emotion and personifies it to display how it permeates our lives. “Bloodbuzz Ohio” is at least in part about the financial problems most of us face on a daily basis, while “Lemonworld” goes on the offensive against high society. What “Conversation 16” is about is still somewhat lost on me, though my interpretation is that it’s a song from the perspective of a man worried about his own sanity in a relationship with a girl he clearly cares for. Either way, it’s probably my favorite track on the album so far. Really what’s most interesting to me when talking about the lyrics on not just “High Violet” but any National album, is that despite the challenges of trying to understand these strung together phrases, once you learn all the words, they SEEM like they suddenly make sense. Matt Berninger has gone on record saying that he writes these songs piece by piece, scribbling down words and phrases that he finds interesting, then pasting them together in whatever order he feels works best. That may be a foolish way of doing it, but honestly I find Berninger’s lyrics to be among the best that modern songwriting has to offer, sensible or not.

It should go without question that I am recommending “High Violet”. I’m still very much digesting this album, and it’ll probably be another few months before it fully sinks in as to exactly how good it is to me, but at the very least after a few listens I can confirm that The National continue to make compelling and gorgeous music, even if it is undeniably sad. In other words, nice job boys, keep up the great work. As this band’s popularity continues to increase with each record and people discover the power of this music, I want to encourage people listening to this band for the first time to hold steadfast and not give up on them if you don’t like what you hear right away. Give it some time, hopefully you don’t think the album is too painful to listen to a bunch of times, and I can almost promise you there will be rewards after a little while. That said, don’t be surprised if “High Violet” makes an extremely strong appearance among my favorite records of 2010. No promises, but this band tends to do it for me, and if you let them, hopefully they’ll do the same for you as well.

The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio
The National – Afraid of Everyone

Buy “High Violet” from Amazon

Album Review: The Dead Weather – Sea of Cowards [Warner Bros/Third Man]

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On 05/10/2010

In album review, music

Jack White is a music-making machine. He’s probably not taken a single day off in the last few years. Between The White Stripes and The Raconteurs and his newest project The Dead Weather, it’s been an endless cycle of touring and recording. Given that the new Dead Weather album comes out a mere 10 months after their debut “Horehound” and that it follows a tour supporting that record, both White and his bandmates’ commitment to this project is nothing short of impressive. Of course this band isn’t built around Jack White, even if he’s the one generating most of the attention. Alison Mosshart of The Kills technically leads this crew of misfits, and White sits back on drums while Jack Lawrence and Dean Fertita shred on guitar. In a band where the sound is largely influenced by classic rock and blues music, one could even argue that White’s role is the least important. At least the music doesn’t sound that way.

As an introduction to The Dead Weather, “Horehound” served as a great introduction to their sound and proved to be an even better showcase for Mosshart, who always seemed to maintain a semi-subdued state on past Kills albums. Now having to compete with writhing guitar riffs, she proved she could hold her own in the boys club and that resulted in a surprisingly solid, but not exactly jaw-droppingly great debut. On their new album “Sea of Cowards”, the pressure ramps up in dramatic fashion. The guitars are heavier and sharp as knives. Mosshart does backflips on her vocals that give the impression of a deeply tortured soul. All the while White acts almost as her foil, chirping in on backing vocals for a number of tracks, or simply trading/doubling up on verses and choruses for tracks like “Hustle and Cuss” and “I’m Mad”. White’s microphone presence has increased compared to “Horehound”, yet the focus on Mosshart is deeper and more established than ever and she claims the spotlight like it was invented for her.

Where the strength in the overall performance of these songs has increased, the actual tracks themselves are weaker than those on their debut. A few of the songs primarily on the second half of the album are purposely designed to blend into one another, and occasionally it makes for an additional challenge of figuring out exactly when that takes place. There’s also a number of more experimental arrangements this time around, most of which wind up being either distracting or turn a potentially good song into a flat one. Closing track “Old Mary” is, among other things, Jack White’s odd riff on the Catholic “Hail Mary” prayer, with slightly different wordplay that’s spoken for the first half and winds up on some strange semblance of an actual song for the second. Other times it’s an oddly placed keyboard that weaves through the track. And though the vocals may be generally impressive, Mosshart or White may take them in an ill-conceived direction that lessens the impact of a chorus or leaves a track with no impact at all. Still, there are a few songs that work like gangbusters from every angle. First single “Die By the Drop” is surprisingly good, as is opening track “Bad Blood Blues”. If all the tracks on the record were as good as those two, “Sea of Cowards” would be in much better shape.

The great news is that once you dig through the 35 minutes of sludge and non-traditional arrangements that “Sea of Cowards” has to offer, you’ll hopefully be happy with the end product. The small tweaks that have been made between this album and the last one both help and hinder matters on equal levels, so really things are neither better nor worse than they were going in. The tension and pace are amped up in an effective way, along with Mosshart’s singing, it’s just too bad the rest of the material isn’t quite there to fully support it. As a volatile mood piece though, this record clearly knows what it’s doing. Take from that what you will when trying to decide if “Sea of Cowards” is worth your time and money, but otherwise consider this a light recommendation.

Buy “Sea of Cowards” from Amazon

Album Review: Minus the Bear – Omni [Dangerbird]

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On 05/06/2010

In album review, mp3, music

For those of you who’ve not heard the humble math rock beginnings of Minus the Bear, I strongly encourage you to go out and find a copy of their debut album “Highly Refined Pirates” as soon as possible. Between that and the EPs “This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic”, “Bands Like It When You Yell ‘Yar!’ At Them” and “They Make Beer Commercials Like This”, Minus the Bear had built their early career on making incredibly catchy, quirky, and subversive rock songs that sounded little like other bands around at the time. Throw in silly song titles like “Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!” and “I Lost All My Money at the Cock Fights” and suddenly you’ve got a really cool band that also clearly has a sense of humor. Those were the years of 2001-2004, when I was so impressed with the band that they quickly became one of my favorite new indie acts. Then 2005 arrived, and my excitement knew no bounds upon the release of their sophmore album “Menos El Oso”. But the funny song titles had disappeared, and with them a band that was far more serious about what they were doing. Playtime was over, and now they were making math rock with purpose and laser-like focus. By that same token, the album was excellent but not as catchy as its predecessor, and when I saw the band live for the first time the experience was marred by an excessively drunk guy next to me who eventually threw a bottle at the stage. 2007’s “Planet of Ice” pulled me in two different directions as I finally accepted the quirky and fun days of old were gone forever, but suddenly the band shifted their direction yet again and moved away from their math rock past into something more psychedelic and synth-dominant. Another good record, but once again I was bothered by the band’s inability to commit to a style and stick with it for more than one album. And despite their knack for writing compelling songs, their once unique sound had turned into an imitation of other, more classic bands. Now with a new album and record label in tow, Minus the Bear’s new album “Omni” is out this week, and surprise surprise, they’re once again experiencing another shift in their sonic palette.

When recording “Omni”, Minus the Bear were without a record label. They parted ways with Suicide Squeeze, the label they had been with from the very beginning. To help generate interest in their new recordings, they released the song “Into the Mirror”, which apparently earned them some attention from Dangerbird Records, who they signed with in February. The song was an early indicator of the stylistic shift that “Omni” would offer: a mid-tempo, slickly produced track that was extremely synth-heavy yet still pretty good overall. It was promising in the idea that the new record could be their most accessible and danceable yet, something that the pre-release single “My Time” backed up with flying colors. I may still be upset with the band for abandoning their math rock roots, but the early indicators were that at least the new stuff was going to be compelling in one form or another. Here’s the thing though: compelling as it might be, “Omni” as a whole comes across as a somewhat desperate attempt at currying favor with a mainstream audience. Completely overproduced is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the album. This thing has so much polish that the song title “Into the Mirror” might as well describe exactly how it sounds. The record is so clean I can hear my own reflection in it. Then throw in, outside of the two aforementioned singles, that after a half dozen times through I can’t mentally recall what any of the other songs sound like, and we’ve got problems. “Excuses”, something that describes what the band may be making after what’s sure to be a collection of negative reviews, is perhaps the only other song on the album I have a moderate liking for. Don’t even get me started on the lyrics either, which treats sex, drugs and rock n’ roll like it’s a new concept yet to be explored in song.

Despite my many complaints, I still find myself thinking that “Omni” isn’t a horrible album. Instead, consider this review like a parent chastising a child for telling a white lie: you’re upset and you may yell at them, but in the end what they did wasn’t THAT bad and you still love them anyways. The record may be overproduced and unmemorable, but there are no songs that I actively dislike. Inoffensive and easy is the name of the game, and Minus the Bear do it with pluck and dignity. Yes, they’re a bland shell of what they once were, but if that translates to a wider audience and higher record sales, more power to ’em. For the sake of my own sanity I can’t recommend that you buy “Omni”, but if you showed me a copy in your record collection I wouldn’t yell at you for it. The salad days of my love for Minus the Bear may be quickly going by the wayside, but I’m comforted by the idea that they might find solace in the arms of a teenage kid who doesn’t know any better. “Omni” is a risk that this band needed to take, and rest assured should they eventually choose to return to their sound of old, I’ll be waiting for them with open arms. Thanks for that killer game of Crisco Twister, guys.

Minus the Bear – Into the Mirror (mediafire)

Buy “Omni” from Amazon

Album Review: The New Pornographers – Together [Matador]

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On 05/04/2010

In album review, lollapalooza 2010, mp3, music

As a genre of music, indie pop is so immediately likeable that if you can’t find a band to love that plays this style of music, chances are there’s something wrong with you. Between The Shins and Phoenix, there’s a fair share of “crossover” indie pop acts too, working their way onto the radio and the general public’s consciousness. Despite being around for 10 years, The New Pornographers, for some reason, have yet to break through that wall. They’re now on their fifth long player, and not a single one of their songs has gotten airplay on a Chicago radio station. Considering at the very least their first three albums were critically acclaimed slices of sugary pop that stuck with you for days and weeks on end, it’s even more perplexing. That’s before you consider the roster of great talents that make up this supergroup, from formidable band “leader” A.C. Newman to Destroyer’s Dan Bejar and siren songstress Neko Case. What is it going to take to get this great band to finally break through? Or are many people scared away by the band name itself, not wanting to be caught searching the internet or talking to their friends about “pornographers”? This mystery is beyond my own comprehension, but the hope is that this new album “Together” might finally earn them the sort of attention they so richly deserve from the right kind of people.

Coming off the somewhat disappointing slow player that was 2007’s “Challengers”, The New Pornographers appear to be feeling better these days, because the quicker and more upbeat tunes of their earlier albums are back on “Together”. Granted, we’re not talking about the high speed sugar-fueled pop of songs like “From Blown Speakers” and “Letter from An Occupant”, but the tempo is definitely faster than most of what was on the last album. So you can’t quite call it a full return to form, but there are a few differemt elements that come into play and add a different dimension to this well-established band.

First is the instrumentation. It feels like The New Pornographers have graduated from the rank and file of other groups in a similar vein and moved into new territory with their sound. Guitars still form the basis for their sound, but for the first time we’re really hearing a full string section and/or horns present through most of the songs. They’ve dabbled in these sorts of arrangements before, just not with the breadth and depth they are now. It was mainly hinted at on their third album “Twin Cinema” and now that transition appears complete.

Secondly, though the vocals have always been shared relatively equally between Newman, Bejar and Case, “Together” truly is the first record where every single band member seems like they’re on the exact same page. There’s a cohesiveness present that takes away the glaring differences between tracks written by the band’s three principal members. Largely helping to create this impression is that they all sing on virtually every song, whether that means taking on a verse or simply adding vocal harmonies. In other words, even a Dan Bejar-fronted song doesn’t always stay that way, and the added vocal diversity does some great work in helping this album to gel from start to finish.

It’s the small things that don’t change which give me the most pause on “Together”. Problems mainly stem from the lyrics, which in typical A.C. Newman fashion, appear to be written from the heart and then colored in with shades of grey. It’s clear that many of the stories he tells are personal, sometimes intensely so, but the wordplay is so hazy and unclear, you’re never entirely sure what exactly he’s getting at. The same goes for Bejar, who’s basically been doing that for his entire career. By keeping the audience at a lyrical distance, an emotional connection to these songs is increasingly difficult to establish, forcing you to settle for the general upbeat fun the music and not the words are offering up.

Despite those minor quibbles, “Together” is a very strong effort from The New Pornographers. They do much more right than they do wrong here, and compared to their last album this one’s a treat. In terms of where this might stand amid their critically acclaimed catalogue, I’m still not entirely sure. What I can tell you with confidence is that “Together” isn’t first or even the second best thing they’ve done to date. The most important thing you need to know is that this album is essentially a return to form for the band, while at the same time taking some of the necessary steps they need for progression’s sake. It marks one of the better indie pop records I’ve heard so far this year, and naturally I would recommend you get a copy should you feel up to it. Now if only more radio stations would give this band a chance.

The New Pornographers – Your Hands (Together)

Buy “Together” from Amazon

Album Review: Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record [Arts & Crafts]

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On 05/03/2010

In album review, BNM, mp3, music

When it comes to Broken Social Scene, I’ll confess to being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Asking me for my simplest opinion of the band, I’d say that I love them and that they’re one of my favorite bands. But lately things have become complicated. Specifically, since 2005’s self-titled album, which eventually turned into a “hiatus” of sorts for the band. The word hiatus is in quotes because while many of the loose members went their separate ways for a time, there was still a series of “Broken Social Scene Presents…” albums from main guys Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning to keep the name somewhat alive during that time. Those records were decent (not not amazing), and largely stuck to the same sound the full Broken Social Scene collective had established on previous albums. It was late last year that Kevin Drew announced the official reformation of Broken Social Scene, and their new album “Forgiveness Rock Record” arrives tomorrow.

On the surface, I should be leaping with excitement at the prospect of a new Broken Social Scene album. “You Forgot It In People” is among my Top 10 Albums of the 00s, and the last official BSS record was pretty damn good too. My excitement, however, has been tempered by the fact that little to nothing has really changed since the “Broken Social Scene Presents” days aside from the word “Presents”. Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning still lead a motley group of people, while former female powerhouses such as Leslie Feist, Emily Haines, and Amy Millan can scarcely be counted upon to make even a single track guest appearance anymore. Of course they’re all off doing their own things, what with Feist having two popular records under her belt, Haines gaining more press than ever for the last Metric record, and Millan’s band Stars preparing to release yet another album of delicious indie pop. Translation: I went into “Forgiveness Rock Record” under the belief that despite boasting a roster of nine “core” members and 22 “guest” musicians and vocalists, this was not nearly the same band as before. Or, to put it a different way, there seems to be no way any of us are ever going to hear “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” performed live again, unless band members past and present all just “happen” to be in the same place at the same time. To help take away some of that pain and handle some of those older songs with female parts, new member Lisa Lobsinger is on board. I can’t help but think the way she does a “7/4 Shoreline” or a “Cause=Time” will be poor in comparison to the Feist versions. All these things being said, among a host of other concerns, let me dive in to talking about the actual content on “Forgiveness Rock Record,” and whether or not it lives up to the glory of the other albums under the Broken Social Scene name.

Things get off to a grand start with the 7-minute opener “World Sick”, a song that contains most of the Broken Social Scene trademarks, including a cool instrumental intro and outro along with a chorus that makes you want to shout from the rooftops. It’d make for a great single, except, you know, it’s 7 minutes. “Chase Scene” follows the high of the epic opening cut with a speedy, noisy adventure that’s in and out before you can catch up to it. “Texico Bitches” could be considered another highlight, a fast-paced anti-oil corporation rager that three tracks in seems to indicate that this might be a very revitalized, energized and more accessible (but still angry) version of the band than ever before. Honestly, I was expecting more quieter, or at least slower tracks that dominated past releases, instead of this propulsive and stadium-sized stuff. “All to All” is interesting as Lisa Lobsinger’s first lead vocal turn. It’s not a hugely remarkable track aside from its ethereal beauty, though I can’t help but think that Feist or even Amy Millan could have done more with it. “Art House Director” gets things all moody and atmospheric and features the classic BSS horn section with great aplomb. The album’s only instrumental, “Meet Me in the Basement,” might actually be the best instrumental they’ve ever done, and that’s saying something. I’m also offered quite a bit of relief in the form of “Sentimental X’s”, an Emily Haines-fronted tune with backing vocals from none other than Feist and Millan. I guess only the faster, louder jams are reserved for the guys, but the fact is lyrically and emotionally, “Sentimental X’s” hits all the right notes and really pushed my excitement about this band back into the red. At the end of the album are two interesting songs. “Water In Hell” sounds less like your typical Broken Social Scene song and more like a guitar jam that Dinosaur Jr. might put out. Given that band members are not only fans of J. Mascis & Co., but have played with them for a gig or two, the soundalike isn’t so much a surprise as it is impressive that they can pull it off so well. Then there’s “Me and My Hand”, Kevin Drew’s 2-minute quiet opus to masturbation. I don’t have anything to say about the song other than I’m glad that oddity closes the album out.

So if you can’t figure it out by now, I’m pretty pleased with “Forgiveness Rock Record”. I’m still a little unsure as to where it stands among the stellar Broken Social Scene catalogue, but it’s definitely better than both of the “Presents” albums that were released during the hiatus days. It’s nice to have the “band” back together, even if the lineup does continue to fluctuate and the chances of the full collective playing a live show become increasingly slim. Lisa Lobsinger is an okay addition to the group as their lone “full time” female member, though I still prefer the ladies of old. Mainly though, I’m just glad this band is still hitting their hallmarks while continuing to push their own boundaries at the same time. There’s a certain degree of new excitement and renewed strength among the BSS core that’s also refreshing. My concern now is how these songs will translate into their live show. The first half of the record seems especially built for the size and scope of venues that the band plays, so that could provide some increased potency to their performance. I’ve seen Broken Social Scene live a total of 3 times, once with the entire collective in tow (which was far and away the best time). Their massive celebrations and love-fests, which often include Kevin Drew commanding the crowd to yell as loud as they can, are cathartic and heartfelt. “Forgiveness Rock Record” looks to keep that spirit intact, and I think this marks the first time that similar spirit has really come through on one of their recorded albums. You bet your ass I think you should pick up a copy of the record. It’s no “You Forgot It In People”, but it does what only Broken Social Scene does best, and that’s about all any of us can truly hope for.

Broken Social Scene – World Sick

Buy “Forgiveness Rock Record” from Amazon

Album Review: Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma [Warp]

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On 04/29/2010

In album review, mp3, music

When it comes to electronica music, I’ve said before and I’ll say again that I don’t know much. I tend to prefer my songs with guitar, or at the very least a chorus that attempts to get itself stuck in my head. Ask me to tell you about the difference between house and dubstep and IDM and I’ll give you just about the blankest stare you can possibly get. Yet a good electronica album, for me, is hard to find, and there are occasionally tricks certain artists can use to attract my attention. Girl Talk, what with his myriad of samples that pulls from so many familiar and classic tracks, is easiest on my ears because I know what I’m hearing. Electronica artists that are also able to generate much hype amid their peers or other artists I boldly respect can catch my eye as well. Then there’s the easy way – get some artists I love to do some guest work on at least one track, which will basically guarantee that I hear at least that single song. This is how Flying Lotus snagged me, both on the recommendation of my personal hero, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, but also through his active participation, lending guest vocals to the song “…And the World Laughs With You,” which also earned him hype in all the right circles. Thom also had Flying Lotus open up for his “solo” band Atoms for Peace on their recent short tour earlier this month, where I happened to attend one of the Chicago dates. Honestly, when I walked into the venue I thought Flying Lotus had already finished and they were playing your standard between-set DJ fodder while waiting for Atoms for Peace to start. That is, until I noticed the one guy on stage with his laptop, who eventually grabbed a microphone and said, “Thanks Chicago!”. So, against my better judgment, I’m all for giving the new Flying Lotus album “Cosmogramma,” a quick try and review before it comes out on Tuesday.

Given how little I know about both electronica and any Flying Lotus material prior to “Cosmogramma,” I’m surprised that the album impressed me as much as it did. I suppose that like any musical form you’re not acquainted with, if you hear something special or unique in it, you’re more inclined to understand how it might be viewed as brilliant. In this case, I’m highly impressed with how FlyLo is able to use a multitude of instruments, everything from the harp to acoustic guitar to saxophone and just about every percussive instrument in existence (ping pong balls?), melded around his computer-generated melodies. There are seemingly impromptu jazz breaks, string sections, bass-heavy grooves, and fanciful dream sequences all packed into this album, and almost all of them work towards the space opera concept the record is supposedly centered around. I can tell you this much – from the opening beats of “Clock Catcher” through the ethereal “Satelllliiiiiteee”, this is a damn near perfect album. I loved every second of that first half, which includes exceptional highlights such as the Thom Yorke-guesting “…And the World Laughs With You” and the funky “Do the Astral Plane”. Things get a little sketchy after that, what with “Germain Haircut” and “Recoiled” both being a little listless and lacking, but the electro blips and symphony into soft palate harp combination on “Drips/Auntie’s Harp” isn’t half bad, and I’m effortlessly charmed by “Table Tennis”.

So I guess you can mark down that as somebody who doesn’t consider himself an expert nor even a general fan of electronica has found lots to like about Flying Lotus’ “Cosmogramma”. The main reason why, I’ll argue, is that there’s so much more to this material than your average electronica artist puts in. It feels less like a record based around certain beats and grooves and more like an instrumental artistic experiment that just so happens to feature a fair amount of electronica. Rare is the record so carefully composed and layered as this one, and given the difficulty of reproducing this live on your own with a laptop, it’s no wonder I didn’t give much heed to FlyLo’s pre-Atoms for Peace performance. This guy is clearly brilliant, on the level that somebody like Aphex Twin is brilliant (hint: this is a high compliment). Yes, this is the best flat-out electronica album I’ve heard so far this year (of note, electro-pop, ala LCD Soundsystem, doesn’t fall into the category just described). You will probably see me mention it again at the end of the year among my favorites. Well played, Flying Lotus. You suck me in with a Thom Yorke recommendation and guest vocal, and have me leaving with high praise all around. This album may not push me into a new-found love of electronica, but it does generate enough good will to make me more open to releases similar to this in the future. Consider that a best-case scenario. I hope you’ll give “Cosmogramma” a try, as I did, and I hope you’ll also not regret it, as I did.

Stream the entire album at Myspace

Non-album track: Flying Lotus – Quakes  (via The Fader)

Preorder “Cosmogramma” from Amazon

Album Review: Gogol Bordello – Trans-Continental Hustle [American]

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On 04/28/2010

In album review, music

There’s a certain pleasure I derive from listening to a small little genre of music known as “gypsy punk”. It truly is Old World music, with plenty of “oomph” and mysticism, and while I’m not nuts about the wardrobe and prevalence of twisty moustaches, there’s very little you can do to avoid tapping your feet and wanting to dance just a little to this sort of music. It’s what Gogol Bordello specializes in, and they’re one of the few groups I can count on to deliver interesting and fun records time and time again. Of course where they really shine is in their live shows, which are some of the most insane and blissful releases of energy you can get these days. I saw the band perform at Lollapalooza a couple years back and they blew me away with their vigor for life, among other things. They return to Lolla later this year, among many other festivals and extensive touring they’re prone to do. It’s all in support of their new album “Trans-Continental Hustle,” which came out yesterday.

So there are plenty of great things about Gogol Bordello, but there are some small problems with the band too. Mainly they have issues with sonic diversity. “Trans-Continental Hustle” is the band’s fifth long player, and you’d be hard-pressed to identify exactly how it differs stylistically from any of the band’s previous work. Quickly strummed acoustic guitars, some accordion, some violin, percussion of all kinds, and of course the conquer all vocals of Eugene Hutz – these are the things that essentially define Gogol Bordello, and while the sound is distinctive enough to avoid many bands trying to copy them, just because they’re one of the more original bands out there these days doesn’t give them the right to write the same songs over and over again with little to no regard for progression. I suppose you could say that “Trans-Continental Hustle” does feature a couple new facets to the Gogol Bordello sound. Producer Rick Rubin does push the band to slow things down a little bit on occasion, in contrast to the madcap energy most of their previous releases have had from start to finish. “Sun Is On My Side” is a nice momentary slow diversion on the first part of the record, and the delicately plucked acoustic guitar has a tenderness we don’t normally hear amid the fast-paced showmanship of the earlier stuff. “When Universes Collide” fares only slightly less well as a ballad, though Hutz’s lyrics and vocal performance are really what strike you as the loudness begins to build. There’s also a somewhat fascinating Brazilian influence that comes into play with songs like “In the Meantime in Pernambuco” and “Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher)”, which adds to the diversity just a little bit more than usual.

Though it remains enjoyable and fun and largely free-spirited, complete with tales of old and peasantry and hardship amid celebration, “Trans-Continental Hustle” feels mostly like a collection of tracks that have been pieced together from the band’s past efforts. The new bits and pieces only feel slightly unique to this album for the most part, and not all of them work anyways. And I can definitely tell you that the band has made a whole lot better songs on past records like “Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike” and “Super Taranta!”. Both those albums had tracks like “American Wedding”, “Oh No” and “Immigrant Punk” which felt a lot like positive drive-by shootings in that they flew by and were gone before you knew it, but they stuck with you for so much longer. You still get the same sort of energy, along with enough crazed chanting from Hutz to make it wild, but most of the songs aren’t staying with me as well this time, and mostly make me think of previous Gogol Bordello hits that I like more. That being said, if you’re a Gogol Bordello fan, you need to own this album. You’ll continue to find that the band you love so much still does the same stuff you love so much. They’re still as madcap as ever, and I’m sure their live show is still a spectacle to behold, even if you’re not a fan. For those of you who’ve not given a Gogol Bordello album a try, I suppose considering this is their first for a major label might mean that with their popularity on the continued rise, now might be the time to give them a whirl. Yes, their back catalogue is better, but “Trans-Continental Hustle” is by no means a bad introduction to the band. It is generally a great snapshot detailing exactly what these gypsy punks are all about. This may be novelty music, and it’s certainly not for every mood or disposition, but if you enjoy emotional catharsis and fun as much as I do, you’ll find plenty to love with the new Gogol Bordello record.

Download a free mp3 from the new album via the Gogol Bordello site

Buy “Trans-Continental Hustle” from Amazon

Album Review: The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever [Vagrant/Rough Trade]

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On 04/27/2010

In album review, music

Never underestimate the power of a man and his keyboard. Of course that sentence only really applies to bands that actually use a fair amount of keyboard in their music. But it stands to reason that The Hold Steady were one of those bands, at least for one period in their careers. Franz Nicolay, with his little moustache and wacky on-stage energy, became sort of the warm little heart of the band next to frontman Craig Finn’s lovelorn and wordy barfly. It was a great combination, mostly evidenced by the evolution of the band’s sound and extensive critical praise over the last few years. Nicolay may not have been in the band when their second album “Separation Sunday” was recorded, but he was there at the beginning of something big and pushed them to the next level for its follow-up. 2006’s “Boys and Girls in America” was almost like the birth of a whole new band, and suddenly this Springsteen by way of Minnesota group was at the precipice of indie stardom and a whole new world of popularity. The songs bent and cracked and soared and were filled with teens hooking up and breaking up and it was real sad but everybody seemed to have a good time. “Stay Positive” arrived in 2008, and while critical response was slightly more tempered and less zealous, it was clear with all the touring and word of mouth that these guys were more popular than ever. Album sales were also significantly better than they had ever been, to the point where it almost seemed like The Hold Steady were gearing up for a big crossover into the mainstream. Then Franz Nicolay left the band. In a recent interview, he said, not harboring any resentment towards his former bandmates, that he felt like they had reached a creative stalemate, so he left rather than get pinned down to the same sound. When their new album “Heaven Is Whenever” comes out next Tuesday, I think that Nicolay will be proven right.

Here’s what I’d like you to do, especially if you’re a die-hard Hold Steady fan – go listen to 2005’s “Separation Sunday” and then put on “Heaven Is Whenever” immediately afterwards. Better yet, if you can load both albums into your mp3 player and hit the shuffle button, I’m intrigued to know if you’re able to detect a difference in style between the two. I think the records blend together effortlessly, and that can be considered both a big plus and a huge minus. The positive is that “Separation Sunday” is a brilliant album, perhaps The Hold Steady’s best to date, and the idea of there being some sort of sequel to it might make some weak in the knees. Hell, the band even brought back Dean Baltulonis to produce the album, who was also responsible for “Separation Sunday”. The thing is though, it was sort of a record for that particular time and place, where this up-and-coming band finally started to make good on their debut album’s promise, and Craig Finn’s songwriting had evolved quickly to the point where his stories were as vivid and had some massive guitar riffs to back them up. Plus, after that album when Franz Nicolay came aboard, their sound continued to grow and expand to far more epic proportions. With “Heaven Is Whenever” and the absence of Nicolay, the keyboards are all but gone and the band returns to their pre-Nicolay days of loud, big riffs. You could say they’re taking a massive step backwards. All the distance they’ve come since 2005 seems to have been wiped away and suddenly the past few years never existed. But even as a “non-sequel” to “Separation Sunday,” “Heaven Is Whenever” still falls short of that album’s excellence, and suddenly I’m starting to realize that between the endless riffs and Finn’s storytelling about girls who did him wrong, these guys are becoming all too predictable and just a little bit boring.

The brightest spots on “Heaven Is Whenever,” and there are a few of them, primarily come yet again from Craig Finn’s wonderful wordplay. That’s really the thing the band does best as well, because their melodies are so often (and rightly) compared to the barroom rock of American hero Bruce Springsteen. By now, a few albums in, we’ve gotten to know Finn relatively well, and whether the stories he tells via his lyrics are autobiographical or not, he seems to specialize in tales about girls that will break your heart in a million different ways. It’s a relatable problem, as are many of his platitudes. In the song “Soft in the Center,” Finn even goes so far as to utter the lines “I know what you’re goin’ through/I had to go through that too”, because apparently we weren’t already aware of that fact. Of course the same song also contains the brilliant lyrics “I know bodies of water freeze over/I’m from a place with lots of lakes/But sometimes they get soft in the center/The center is a dangerous place”, so I guess you could say it balances out. If you want to talk about home runs though, tracks that The Hold Steady absolutely crush, you can’t do much better than ballad “We Can Get Together,” a song about finding your (my) dream girl who just wants to sit on the floor and listen to records. There’s about a dozen references to bands and individual songs within this track, which includes Pavement, Meatloaf, Husker Du, The Psychedelic Furs, Heavenly and Utopia. It’s extremely well put together and also earns major points for being one of the few songs on the album that doesn’t get bogged down in extensive riffing (see: “Rock Problems”). Other notable good cuts on the album include “Barely Breathing,” “Hurricane J” and opener “The Sweet Part of the City”. The rest of the songs are merely okay, continuing to re-hash all the familiar points the band has covered these past several years.

In deciding whether or not “Heaven Is Whenever” is worth your time, I encourage you to consider just how much you love this band and their trademark mixture of big arena rock and highly intelligent wordplay. Franz Nicolay left the band because he felt that the guys were content with what they were already doing and didn’t want to push themselves creatively. That rings very much true on this album, and the question is are you like Nicolay and believe this sound has grown old and a little tired? I’m staying right in the middle on this one, as this new record both feels a little shaky but continues to keep me moderately interested thanks largely to Craig Finn’s witticisms. The guy continues to be prolific and brilliant, even when he’s talking about the same old subjects, and I’ll probably continue listening to this band just to hear what obscurely cool reference he pulls out of his lyrical hat next. Where does “Heaven Is Whenever” stand in The Hold Steady’s canon? That’s a difficult question to answer, especially since I wasn’t exactly high on the band’s last album “Stay Positive” either. “Separation Sunday” and “Boys and Girls in America” remain the gold standard for modern rock albums in my book, and their debut “Almost Killed Me” is…interesting to say the least. After this album though, my hope continues to be that The Hold Steady find a way to creatively evolve to the next level yet again. I’m not saying they need to throw out the elements that made them one of the more popular indie bands in existence today, but it’d be nice if they could mix it up just a little more than they currently are.

Preorder “Heaven Is Whenever” from Amazon

Album Review: Hole – Nobody’s Daughter [Mercury/Island/Def Jam/CherryForever]

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On 04/26/2010

In album review, mp3, music

It stuns me just a little to think that there’s probably an entire generation of people who have no idea who Courtney Love is. Her last album, a “solo” effort released under her own name, was 2004’s “America’s Sweetheart”, the title of which was intended as irony. See, if you’ve not read a tabloid magazine in the past several years, you’ve been missing out on this epic saga involving rampant drug use, rehab, child custody battles and a number of other prim and proper things that Courtney has been associated with. Most recently she’s attracted attention for bizarre rants she’s posted on her website and Facebook, perhaps the most notable being the time(s) she accused Ryan Adams of borrowing a whole bunch of money from her and never paying it back. Courtney Love. She’s always the victim of some injustice. As much as she’d like to try, things never seem to go well for her.

I suppose that wasn’t the case back in 1994, when her band Hole released their seminal album “Live Through This,” a record made that much more powerful due to the death of her husband, the legendary Kurt Cobain, mere months before. It also presented Love as a brash and powerful female figure with an emotional core at the center we had never seen before. Between thrashers like “Violet” and sad/vulnerable tracks like “Doll Parts”, Hole was one of a few groups at the time proving that chick rock was both in your face and awesome. In that way, Courtney Love is a pioneer who despite all her problems deserves your respect, at the very least for knowing how to put on one hell of a live show. Now, after a trip to rehab a few years back and numerous false starts, the bitch is back and she’s moved back to the old band name Hole. Of course Hole is essentially a different band now, given that Love is the only original member still left, but they’ve got their first official album since 1998’s “Celebrity Skin” and the first new music from Courtney Love in 6 years. The record is titled “Nobody’s Daughter,” and you’ll be able to buy it starting tomorrow.

The first thing you may want to know about “Nobody’s Daughter” is that many of the songwriting credits are shared between Love, her friend/Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan, and former rocker-for-hire Linda Perry. Why it takes these three people to get this record in any sort of shape to be deemed fit for release, and why it took so long to put together in the first place (this album has been delayed time and time again over the past few years) is something of a mystery. After all that reported hard work and struggle, that this record flails and falters at most of its turns can either be described as surprising or completely expected. You can say it’s surprising because Love has been on a straighter and narrower path than she’s ever seemingly been on recently, and that she’s been pulling herself together probably meant she’d have a halfway coherent album too. You can also say that given all her past problems, it’s no wonder the new Hole record would turn into a train wreck with or without the help of her popular friends. Then there’s the notion that because of her messed up life the last several years, these songs might have the raw and visceral power a record like “Live Through This” had, because she could very well deal with the tough emotional rollercoaster she’s been on. Unfortunately the album doesn’t deliver on that promise, and in the end its really only Love’s voice that continues to hold any sort of strength on a record filled with weaknesses.

So what’s the biggest issue with “Nobody’s Daughter”? Well, plain and simple, it’s an over-produced piece of leftover 90’s alternative trash. Last time I checked, it wasn’t the 90’s anymore, nor is it the 00’s, so to push a loud and brash guitar record like this feels outdated and an attempt at manufactured nostalgia. This album fits right in with the rest of Hole’s catalogue, and while a gem of an album like “Live Through This” sits among that pile, at least that had its share of compelling songs that not only stuck in your head but slapped you around emotionally. “Nobody’s Daughter” lacks real sincerity for the most part, save for a couple songs like “Pacific Coast Highway” and “Letter to God”. First single “Skinny Little Bitch” isn’t horrible either, if only because it’s one of the catchier songs in Hole’s oevure. Other than those small victories, there’s little else I like about this album, though I’ll admit that Courtney seems like she really tried hard to make the best record possible. I just happen to think that her idea of what constitutes a great album might be a little off compared to today’s standards. Invest some time and effort in “Nobody’s Daughter” if you like, but I can’t quite advocate picking it up.

Buy “Nobody’s Daughter” from Amazon

Album Review: Inlets – Inter Arbiter [Twosyllable]

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On 04/22/2010

In album review, mp3, music

Inlets is the moniker under which Sebastian Krueger plays music. It is essentially a one-man musical project, but one listen to the debut Inlets album “Inter Arbiter” and you’ll most definitely think otherwise. It is a densely composed and beautiful record with multiple layers that makes you honestly believe a full band recorded it. Of course, Krueger did have some help, most notably from friends like Zach Condon of Beirut and Angel Deradoorian of Dirty Projectors, among others. He’s got friends in high places. Of course the free EP he released back in 2006 earned him a whole bunch of blog love, and I bet also gained him those aforementioned musician friends. He’s a guy who’s been around the block a few times, and now with “Inter Arbiter” is poised to take over the world with his music.

It may have taken 4 years time to write and record “Inter Arbiter,” insomuch as that was when the last Inlets music was released, but I like to think all that time was most definitely worth it. I have no real idea how much production and instruments are layered all over this album, but it sounds like a whole lot. That can work to an artist’s advantage or disadvantage mighty quick, and I’m very happy to say this is one of the better times when more actually sounds better. Now Inlets aren’t going to revolutionize music in that the sound isn’t something mindblowing you’ve never heard before, rather he takes a classic pastoral folk sound and gets notice for the overall strength of the songs. Lyrically this is a very rich album, but the lush instrumentation, which covers so much ground, makes for something immensely gorgeous and compelling. There are also plenty of vocal harmonies a-la Fleet Foxes, which does make me wonder if, as a “solo” project, if Krueger recorded multiple vocal tracks and composed his own harmonies, or if he had friends add their pipes to the track. Perhaps the biggest modern-day comparison I can make in relation to Inlets is that this record sounds a whole lot like Midlake. Here’s the deal with that though – the latest Midlake album “The Courage of Others” received largely poor reviews, despite my general liking of it. How Inlets succeeds massively where fault was found with Midlake is largely production and lyrics-based in that Krueger is a stronger writer and composer. Well, that’s probably only true in discussing the last Midlake album. The one before it, “The Trials of Van Occupanther,” can be called one of the better folk albums of the last decade, and that’s actually close to on par with how great Inlets’ “Inter Arbiter” sounds.

The one small issue I have with “Inter Arbiter” is that after awhile it starts to feel a little same-y. Yes it’s glorious woodland folk, and it often feels like each successive track is more beautiful than the last, but asking me to select particular album highlights or even to give you the general feel of certain songs leaves me scratching my head. Okay, that’s not completely true, especially when you’ve got one of the more commercially viable songs on the album, “In Which I, Robert” available for download below. But asking me to pick the next single or to give you the finer details of an album like this is more challenging than I thought it would be, and I’ll call that a strike against it. Still, it didn’t stop my enjoyment of “Inter Arbiter”, and I hope it doesn’t stop your enjoyment of it either. This is a record very much worth your time and attention, and Sebastian Krueger has proven himself once again a talent to keep a close eye on. Let’s just hope that it takes him less than 4 years to come up with a follow-up that’s equally as strong.

Inlets- In Which I, Robert
Inlets- Bright Orange Air

Buy “Inter Arbiter” from Insound

Album Review: Kate Nash – My Best Friend Is You [Fiction/Geffen]

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On 04/20/2010

In album review, mp3, music

When we last left Kate Nash, she had released her debut album “Made of Bricks” to moderate praise. A compatriot of Lily Allen, Nash marks another Myspace success story where a girl writes pop songs that can tend to be on the brutally honest side, lyrically speaking. Well, she’s got a brand new album out today called “My Best Friend Is You,” and it’s…interesting, to say the least.

The album starts off with the songs “Paris” and “Kiss That Grrrl”, both of which are songs about boys and very much fall into a category of pop song we’ve heard a thousand times before. Both songs, while individually catchy, don’t really offer us anything new or worthwhile aside from a great lyric or two. When the album starts to get really interesting though is on the song “Don’t You Want to Share the Guilt?”. The song is a ballad that’s once again about a relationship with a boy, but there’s a breakdown towards the end of the song where Nash just goes off on this spoken word tangent that is emotionally soul-baring and moderately impressive. Then things get weird. “I Love You More” is basically 3 minutes of Nash repeating the song title over and over again in different tones and eventually getting dark and tortured about it. Seriously, it sounds like an old P.J. Harvey song, and I’d call that a great thing if there wasn’t so much lighthearted pop that came before it. Having Nash sound like a tortured soul, wailing all over that song is also vocally impressive, but again, the song sticks out like a sore thumb. “Higher Plane” would fall right back into the standard pop song category if it weren’t for the chipper violin that accompanies the song to add some serious diversity. Fuzzed out guitars and handclaps form the basis for the also-P.J. Harvey-esque “I’ve Got A Secret,” which also has some interesting drum fills to add to the utter strangeness.

Perhaps the biggest topping on this proverbial mixture of pop and oddity is “Mansion Song,” the first half of which features Nash, all by her lonesome, going on a wild rant that includes references to getting “fucked like the best of men” and “fucked in drag,” cocaine, Guitar Hero, and STDs, among other things. It’s a gigantic WTF moment that’s either designed to be brutally honest or strategically engineered to shock. The second half of the song is basically a drum-n-bass tribal chant which seems tame by comparison to what just happened on the first half. More light pop tunes about boys occupy the first part of the second half of the record, my favorite being “Pickpocket,” where Nash finally gets back behind the piano that she played for much of her first album. “You Were So Far Away” is an emotionally stripped bare acoustic ballad that’s just a bit depressing when the line “I can taste the metal/feel the gun in my mouth” is uttered…twice. To close, the song “I Hate Seagulls” starts with a carefully plucked acoustic guitar as Nash goes through a list of things she hates (hint: it’s a lot of things). But then piano comes in, followed by some violin, and the lyrics transition into things she likes (hint: it’s also a lot of things) and how she enjoys sharing them with a boy she really cares about.

So here’s the deal, when “My Best Friend Is You” is all said and done: we’re left wondering exactly what or who the real Kate Nash is. Is she the pop songstress who writes lyrics to catchy songs with full band backing, or is she the tortured soul who just wants to be loved? The album presents it as almost Jekyll and Hyde in manner, with the lighter, more upbeat fare paired together at a couple different spots, and then the darker, serious and vulgar stuff hitting at different times as well. Given that she is signed to a major label, it may be relatively safe to say that Nash was forced into making some of the more “radio friendly” songs on the album, with the hopes that it will get radio airplay and lead to decent sales. I’ll give you this much – the stranger, more experimental stuff is definitely more interesting and were she to do a full album’s worth of it, I can see the makings of something brilliant. For now though, “My Best Friend Is You” only partly satisfies. I can’t quite stamp my personal recommendation on this album, but I am very much rooting for Kate Nash, and I hope she gets to make an entire record with a solid style that’s effectively personal and works purely to her own strengths.

Kate Nash- I Just Love You More (via Pitchfork)

Buy “My Best Friend Is You” from Insound

Album Review: The Radio Dept. – Clinging To A Scheme [Labrador]

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On 04/19/2010

In album review, mp3, music

As far as I’m aware, and I’m most basically talking about Americans here, there are extremely few people who have heard a song by The Radio Dept. before. The simple reason why is that their album releases are few and far between, and they don’t do a ton of touring. And I suppose the fact that they’re from Sweden, home to about 10 doxen other great bands with pop sensibilities doesn’t do much to distinguish them from everyone else. At the same time, I’ll readily say that while The Radio Dept.’s music definitely sounds like I’ve heard it somewhere before from another band, I can never quite place exactly what band that might be. Okay, that’s not entirely true. They may not have the same sort of overall pastiche, but often when listening to The Radio Dept. I think of how this music might have been written and released by The Cocteau Twins or New Order in their early days. I suppose it’s the dream pop nature of the band and that they’re given to use a fair amount of synths (often distorted in a completely good way). And while I don’t quite feel like The Radio Dept. are cut from the same quality cloth that both those bands were, I do consider their first two albums, “Lesser Matters” and “Pet Grief” to be something of modern-day classics. Both are albums that feel largely crafted out of time, with blissful pop songs that are both obscure and heartwarming at the same time. I think that largely has to do with how they mix their records, unafraid to put crackling synths or guitars forward as the dominant elements in most every song, while Johan Duncanson’s vocals get treated with an echo effect that tends to bury his singing and make the lyrics sometimes hard to decipher. You simply let the sound wash over you and bask in the soothing voice that seems to draw you in from afar. Simply put, it’s wonderful. That being said, The Radio Dept. are finally ready to release their first album since 2006’s “Pet Grief”. The new one is called “Clinging To A Scheme” and you can buy it in the U.S. on Tuesday.

So, what has changed in The Radio Dept.’s camp since 4 years ago? Well, in a similar vein to “Pet Grief” and perhaps taken to even the next level, the band has gotten a bit lighter. You listen to the noise-heavy recordings of 2003’s “Lesser Matters” and then “Clinging To A Scheme” back to back and there’s a world of difference. What stays the same though is the band’s knack for crafting memorable and addictive melodies, and the placement of instruments at the forefront with Duncanson’s vocals again slightly back in the mix. There’s also, as per usual, a fair number of samples used across the record, from snippets of people talking about graffiti art and the music industry, to birds and insect noises. These effects continue to add to the already compelling songs and give many of them a more unique twist. As is typical for this band, they continue to forego live drumming, instead relying on pre-programmed drum machine bits, and while that provides the additional challenge when it comes to deviating from an already established melody, somehow that doesn’t become painfully obvious unless you’re really looking for it. Basically just enjoy the ride and have some fun, because as dreamy and fuzzy as this thing gets sometimes, much of it remains danceable.

Do I have any problems with this record? Aside from the band’s basic formula remaining intact and without a ton of variation (which doesn’t really bother me), “Clinging To A Scheme” represents another solid notch in The Radio Dept.’s already great catalogue. Flanked by great pop singles like “Heaven’s On Fire” and “David,” you get a pretty good idea of what to expect across the rest of the album. If you’re asking me though, the cleverly named song “The Video Dept.” is perhaps the band’s strongest song in quite awhile, and one that essentially tells you exactly what The Radio Dept. are all about. That’s the undeniable highlight in a record full of delights. Yes, I absolutely recommend that you get a copy of this album should you be so inspired. I wouldn’t classify it as the best The Radio Dept. have to offer, but it comes quite close to it. You may not hear me talk about this record when it comes to listmaking time in December, but rest assured that if it doesn’t make it onto that “Top 50”, rest assured it’s probably number 51 or something like that.

The Radio Dept. – Never Follow Suit
The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s On Fire
The Radio Dept. – David

Buy “Clinging To A Scheme” from Amazon

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