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Tag: BNM

Album Review: Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (II) [Fiction/Last Gang/Universal Motown]

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On 06/03/2010

In album review, BNM, music

Crystal Castles is a duo that’s immensely difficult to like. They go out of their way to make divisive and challenging electronica music, and as a result many of their choices are blatantly uncommercial and tough to sit through. It’s not quite on the level of listening to somebody get stabbed to death on tape, but many of the songs do have frayed, jagged edges and attempt to violate your ears before asking permission to do so. Disturbing as that might sound, and you can get that feeling just listening to it, there’s also a strange brilliance to it pushing on you demanding that it not be ignored. They seem interested in taking things to the next level sonically, and across their two albums, they seem to have succeeded. That success has come at a cost though, and the blame primarily lies on Crystal Castles themselves. In support of their debut self-titled album, there were a few incidents at shows where singer Alice Glass or other touring members got into physical altercations with security guards, venue staff or fans. Their anger management issues earned them a fair share of detractors, but they were essentially doing what they do in their music, which means not taking shit from anybody.

Almost as if inviting you to be confused, Crystal Castles have chosen to make their second album self-titled after their first one already was. To avoid confusion, just be aware that the new album features a young girl standing in a graveyard. That cover very much hints at what the music associated with it sounds like. A number of the tracks are haunting and scary, with a fair amount of menace hovering over the entire record. Compared to their debut record, what’s lost is a fair amount of the brash in-your-face punk aesthetic, traded in for something decidedly more cohesive and ambient. The move in that direction is a smart one, as the chiptune, 8-bit lo-fi electro compositions that littered their first album are now seen as something of a lynchpin introduction to the genre of music so many are called glo-fi or chillwave or whatever. Crystal Castles could very well have followed up with a similar sounding album, but that would have meant continuing to play along with a sonic style that has become one of the hottest trends in music today. Ethan Kath and Alice Glass prefer to always be forward-thinking, and they prove their mettle with the new album. The 8-bit compositions are still present, but not nearly as much as before, and the jekyll and hyde approach of feedback-laden guitar songs placed next to more quieter material has almost entirely disappeared as well. In fact, outside of the opening track “Fainting Spells” and closer “I Am Made of Chalk”, much of the rest of the album is surprisingly easy to take in and embrace as dance floor fodder. That might give some reason to pause and consider whether Crystal Castles have gone soft, but there are just enough fucked up elements in most every track to capture your imagination and create something that’s just uncommercial enough to give you a moment of pause.

One of the most exciting things about any individual Crystal Castles song is to hear exactly what has been done to Alice Glass’s vocals. On opener “Fainting Spells” she moves close to chipmunk territory by increasing the pitch and speed of her singing. She’s completely indecipherable and screaming mindlessly on the guitar-heavy “Doe Deer”, which with its lo-fi leanings is probably the closest sonic match to something from Crystal Castles’ debut album. Given that the distorted synth in that song is pulled from an old unreleased song, it makes more sense why it’d sound like their earlier stuff. “Year of Silence” foregoes Glass’s vocals to sample a line from Sigur Ros’ “Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur” – to good effect. On “Violent Dreams”, Glass takes her vocals into the extremely deep and booming male voice range, to the point where her singing is reminiscent of Karin Dreijer’s on a number of songs by The Knife and Fever Ray. “Not In Love” works the vocal angle between computerized singing and employing Auto-Tune, and it’s far more interesting than you might expect. But the most fascinating few tracks are when the vocals act as background fodder for the other instruments and not vice versa. “Birds” and “Intimate” both shove Glass’s vocals so far back in the mix that her words are completely indecipherable, and everything else sounds louder and up front. When “I Am Made of Chalk” arrives to close out the album, you’re left questioning whether the song has vocals at all. What it sounds like is somebody trying to sing you a song while they’re underwater and you’re above the surface, only they’re drowning in a digital sea. It’s an immensely strange way to end an overall strange album, but so oddly appropriate at the exact same time.

Fans of the first Crystal Castles album might find themselves having a hard time dealing with the slight shift in sonic direction for this sophmore effort. What the new album lacks in harsh, cutting moments it more than makes up for with stronger overall compositions and thematic solidarity. On top of it, they’re still trying to push the envelope and try new things to advance the state of electronica as we know it. They’re succeeding too, and even those who were turned off by the first album or their controversial live show might consider giving this duo a second chance. Those who’ve completely ignored Crystal Castles up to this point might also be wise to give them a try. Here’s a group, controversial though they might be, that has clearly shown after two albums that they more than know what they’re doing. Like The Knife’s “Silent Shout”, the second Crystal Castles album is a dark and moody masterpiece that will more than likely spawn a host of imitators in the coming years. If you’re willing to give it a fair shot, it might just wind up one of your favorite albums of the year. I know it’s one of mine.

Buy “Crystal Castles” (II) from Amazon
Buy it from iTunes

Album Review: LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening [Virgin/Parlophone/DFA]

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On 05/20/2010

In album review, BNM, music

Expectations can be a tricky thing. Whether you’re talking about a star athlete, a band or simply your co-workers and family, the more familiar we get with a person, the easier it is to place expectations on them and anticipate they’ll be met. When that guy in your office went ahead and made back-up copies of all those important files just to make sure they were safe in the event of a catastrophic disaster, it creates an expectation. When Michael Jordan would hit that game-winning shot at the last second, that created expectations. They don’t always work out – that co-worker I just mentioned might get busted sleeping at his desk a week later – but when somebody does perform in line with however much we expect of them, there’s a certain pleasure we can take from the results. In the case of LCD Soundsystem, expectations are high. James Murphy, the singular man with the plan behind the moniker, has released two albums worth of dance music with indie rock pastiche so far, and both are critically acclaimed and beloved by those who have heard them. The last official LCD Soundsystem album, 2007’s “Sound of Silver”, was so highly regarded it not only wound up atop many publications’ “best of the year” lists, but it also tended to place quite well in the “best of the decade” lists. Crafting an equally compelling follow-up to that album has to be a near impossible task, but as Murphy has already shown us, near impossible is what he does best.

“This Is Happening” is largely cut from the same thematic cloth that “Sound of Silver” was. Murphy may craft a number of intense dancefloor beats, but lyrically speaking he’s an intense realist, choosing to make his subject matter about some of the sadder things in life, be it losing touch with your friends or ending a romantic relationship. The words may betray the tempo, but that’s part of the brilliance LCD Soundsystem brings to the table. It’s also something that many great artists have done before, in particular Brian Eno on many of his records. Of course Murphy isn’t always deadly serious, as on the first single “Drunk Girls”, which lampoons the differences between the genders when both have had too much alcohol. And though it may essentially be an angry rant against sell out, major label artists, there’s also plenty of humor to be found in “You Wanted a Hit” (which, coincidentally, clocks in at over 9 minutes long and has 0 chances of becoming a hit). Perhaps my favorite line on the entire album though comes from the funny but eventually darkly-themed “Pow Pow”, where Murphy exclaims “Eat it Michael Musto/You’re no Bruce Vilanch”. For those who don’t know, Michael Musto is a writer for the Village Voice, Bruce Vilanch is a comedy writer best known for scripting award show presenter banter. Murphy and Musto are in a pseudo-feud after Musto called Murphy a douchebag for “pulling a Kanye” (twice) at an awards show. So there’s some insider info on the insult.

When it comes to the really serious stuff though, “This Is Happening” tends to focus on romantic issues. “I Can Change” finds Murphy waxing poetic about how we’ll sometimes make personality adjustments to make a relationship work, while at the same time calling love a “murderer” and a “curse” and “an open book to a verse of your bad poetry”. The somber “Somebody’s Calling Me” is about the desire for a relationship with a girl, but all the lines of communication are shut down. The excellent and highly emotional “All I Want” laments a break up, with Murphy acknowledging his sorry state and begging her to come back by saying “All I want is your pity/And all I want are your bitter tears”. Nothing quite packs the same resonance as “Sound of Silver”‘s big moment “All My Friends”, but there’s plenty of relatable and highly effective highlights across this album too.

What makes “This Is Happening” a truly great record is that James Murphy makes it crystal clear that he’s working as hard as possible to try and top himself yet again. Though he doesn’t completely succeed, that he comes extremely close is nothing short of admirable. Where other artists might use the opportunity to take a few chances and try something experimental or simply forego putting up as much of an effort, Murphy refuses to take such success with ease and candor. The drive to consistently make strides forward in the face of immense pressure and opposition is the mark of a true champion. What this new album lacks in an expansion of the overall LCD Soundsystem sound, it more than makes up for with stronger writing and vocal performances from Murphy. And of course if words and emotions aren’t your thing, there’s also plenty of classic beats to keep you happy on the dancefloor. In a year already filled with excellent albums, chalk up another great one from LCD Soundsystem. We’re less than halfway done with 2010, but mark your calendars and anticipate hearing much more about “This Is Happening” when year-end listmaking season comes around.

Buy “This Is Happening” from Amazon

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: 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

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Album Review: The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt [Dead Oceans]

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On 04/15/2010

In album review, mp3, music

It is remarkably easy to say that The Tallest Man on Earth (aka Kristian Matsson) is the heir apparent to Bob Dylan’s folk throne. Not only do the guy’s songs tend to have the raw acoustics of Dylan at his most heartfelt, along with some excellent wordplay, but what really sells the idea is Matsson’s somewhat nasal and gravelly voice. I’m assuming that after an EP and a debut record, he’s sick of all the Dylan references, and so for the rest of my review of his new album “The Wild Hunt,” I’ll do my best to avoid such comparisons. Just recognize from this point on that if you’re a fan of early Dylan material, The Tallest Man on Earth really feels like a continuation of those songs and ideas, similar to how Dylan felt like a new folk hero back in the day while following in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie. .

For those of you just now giving The Tallest Man on Earth a go for the first time, let me do my best to convince you that this is an artist you need to be giving more attention to. For much of “The Wild Hunt,” as with previous Tallest Man recordings, Matsson keeps the songs as sparse as humanly possible. That means just a singular acoustic guitar and voice most of the time, and quite frankly that’s good enough. You do get a small bit of banjo on the opening title track, and the closer pulls a surprise by trading in the acoustic guitar for a piano. Much of the new album is sprightly and jaunty though, maintaining a rough folk edge but at a tempo that’s quick enough to hold your attention and keep your toe tapping. There’s only a couple slow ballads on this record, placed strategically in the tracklisting to maximize their effect, and Matsson also uses them to an advantage by delivering some of his most highly emotive vocal performances to date. The guy may not have the biggest vocal range in the world, but given the right backing music, such as the carefully crafted folk he has here, he works it to the absolute best of his abilities.

The good news, for those of you introduced to The Tallest Man on Earth via his debut full length “Shallow Grave” or the self-titled EP before it, is that “The Wild Hunt” feels like a continuation of both those recordings. Given the strength of those earlier recordings, you might be wary of the thought that Matsson is a one trick pony whose only real skill is being able to write a good folk song. It would be a problem at this point had the material not been so strong. Plus, Matsson continues to grow as a songwriter, and his words are more vivid and intricate on this record than they ever have been before, and the additional emotion he puts into these songs is also a strong display of progression in a positive direction.

Should you have been lucky enough to have seen The Tallest Man on Earth perform live in the past couple years, either thanks to a headlining tour or opening up for similar artists such as Bon Iver and John Vanderslice, I hope he won you over with his starkly wonderful folk songs. Between Matsson and somebody like Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, I really do hope there’s yet another revival of folk in the next couple years. I understand a folk revival has happened a number of times before, but given the brilliance of some of these quiet acoustic records in the past couple years, it’d be nice to see some of these great artists get their due. “The Wild Hunt” marks yet another strong entry into the folk canon, and it also makes for one of the strongest releases so far this calendar year. You might be kicking yourself later on should you let this record pass you by, so I hope you’ll give The Tallest Man on Earth a try. Unlike the shakily hyped trends in music recently such as lo-fi and glo-fi, it’s really great to give a more traditional and “classic”-sounding record some press. Some trends just never go out of style, and I hope folk music continues to stay that way.

The Tallest Man on Earth- King of Spain

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