tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42902615691833233482024-03-13T17:55:57.264-04:00Weekly CritiquelyMusic. Movies. Opinions.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-44556439680807192722010-12-16T08:00:00.004-05:002010-12-16T08:06:08.660-05:00Ra Ra Riot: The Orchard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TQoIYmAqmSI/AAAAAAAAA94/M6aIiKNy7yA/s1600/rarari-orchar_03-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TQoIYmAqmSI/AAAAAAAAA94/M6aIiKNy7yA/s1600/rarari-orchar_03-1.jpg" /></a></div>The Syracuse, New York, sextet released <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Rhumb-Line/dp/B001VEDKC4?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">their successful debut</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001VEDKC4" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> in 2008, and the follow-up effort, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Orchard/dp/B003YEPQL2?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Orchard</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003YEPQL2" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> dropped in late August. "We both had doubts, / We're both in doubt," croons lead singer Wes Miles on the opening track. Welp, that makes three of us. My first few listens sensed a sonic sophomore slump, but after spinning the album a dozen times, I became convinced that it wasn't a slump so much as failure to match or eclipse the debut.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Chris Walla of Death Cab fame mixed nine-tenths of the albums, but there's no hint of death cab here. <span class="misspell">Rostam</span> <span class="misspell">Batmanglij, perhaps better known as the other half of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Osaka-Loop-Line/dp/B002EAP0HW?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Discovery</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002EAP0HW" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, mixed the remaining track ("Do You Remember"), but maybe it's just my ears searching for something, but this album sounds more like Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut -- at least in "Boy":</span><br />
<span class="misspell"><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F6530288&show_comments=false&auto_play=false&color=0b0b0b"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F6530288&show_comments=false&auto_play=false&color=0b0b0b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object></span><br />
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RRR has always had an upbeat, pop-ish sound, but <i>Orchard</i> feels slightly more poppy than <i>Rhumb Line</i>. I can't quite place my finger on it. A couple of tracks usually require the skip button as soon as they start ("Massachusetts" and "You and I know"--<span class="misspell">which will likely be known as "that one disappointing song where the girl sings"</span>). The album feels a little nondescript at times -- not bad, not good, just ... there. It got off to a promising start, stalled in the middle, and then winds down without much fanfare.<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: C+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: It's not a bad effort, but it is a little disappointing after <i>Rhumb Line</i>.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-53473787505174881522010-12-14T07:55:00.000-05:002010-12-14T07:55:40.890-05:00Arcade Fire: The Suburbs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TQY6rPYfhEI/AAAAAAAAA90/_gjXmt7CPqA/s1600/Suburbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TQY6rPYfhEI/AAAAAAAAA90/_gjXmt7CPqA/s1600/Suburbs.jpg" /></a></div>If you haven't already heard about Arcade Fire's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Suburbs/dp/B003X73QA8?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Suburbs</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003X73QA8" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>, then try displacing the rock under which you've been living. This album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, which, to my recollection, may be the first time an indie album has debuted (or even reached) number one on the charts. There have certainly been plenty of deserving records that never reached that mark, but this album has earned its success.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The buzz surrounding Arcade Fire has been building for the better part of a decade, but that buzz reached a near-deafening peak when <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Funeral/dp/B000U7XUKK?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Funeral</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000U7XUKK" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>, Arcade Fire's full-length debut, tied Radiohead's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kid-Radiohead/dp/B00004XONN?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Kid A</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00004XONN" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> for most appearances in top ten lists outlining the <a href="http://features.metacritic.com/features/2009/best-albums-of-the-decade-a-roundup-of-critic-lists/">best albums of the past decade</a>. It seems likely that <i>Suburbs</i> will be the most widely recognized <a href="http://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/music-critic-top-ten-lists-best-of-2010/">best album of 2010</a>.<br />
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<i>Suburbs</i> is about exactly what its title suggests. It's almost a concept album of sorts, an on-again off-again love/hate affair with the suburbs (in which lead singer Win Butler grew up), with buoys of nostalgia and sentimentalism in a sea of frustration and disappointment. I grew up in a rural area, so the subject matter doesn't really have much of an emotional affect, but I appreciate its approach (as opposed to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hazards-Of-Love/dp/B001UXR996?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">one of last year's concept albums</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001UXR996" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />).<br />
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What <i>Suburbs</i> lacks in the angst-inspired choral shouting of <i>Funeral</i>, it possesses in cleverness and a mature sound of a band that continues to develop its sound. In an age of instant communication (texting, twitter, etc.), Butler nails the now-ancient anticipation of waiting for the mail:<br />
<object height="390" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w44cdIOor7E&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w44cdIOor7E&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="600" height="325"></embed></object><br />
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<b>Grade</b>: A<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: This is absolutely one of the year's best albums. It's worth the time it takes to grow on you.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-15264037312205103422010-12-10T00:46:00.001-05:002010-12-10T00:51:12.256-05:00Jónsi: Go<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TQF2vdha39I/AAAAAAAAA9w/5umLC-CSpxI/s1600/Go.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TQF2vdha39I/AAAAAAAAA9w/5umLC-CSpxI/s1600/Go.jpg" /></a><br />
Jón "Jónsi" Þór Birgisson might be best known as "the Sigur Rós guy that sings words I can't understand and <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/J%C3%B3n_%C3%9E%C3%B3r_Birgisson_at_the_Roskilde_Festival_in_2006.jpg">plays his guitar with a bow</a>." Well, that's not incorrect, but Jónsi has definitely made a name for himself with his solo/debut album, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Go/dp/B003DHULF6?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Go</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003DHULF6" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The first thing I had to do was expunge the notion that <i>Go</i> would be <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Med-sud-eyrum-spilum-endalaust/dp/B001AGHC1I?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Med Sud</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001AGHC1I" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> II</i> or <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Takk/dp/B000W1TIN2?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Takk...</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000W1TIN2" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />II</i>. <i>Go</i> is far less acoustic-guitar driven than <i>Med Sud</i>, and it does not have the sprawling electronic expanse that <i>Takk</i> features. <i>Go </i>is, in some sense, Sigur Rós lite -- which is what you might expect when a lead singer sets out on his own -- a bit poppier, brighter, shinier (not necessarily "fitter, happier, more productive"). <i>Go </i>also provides the first full-length album on which Jónsi sings in English. It's almost as if he wants a breakout album!<br />
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The album gets off to a great start, with its three best songs arriving in the first four tracks. "<a href="http://vimeo.com/9910570">Go do</a>" features a percussion section somewhat reminiscent of <i>Med Sud</i>, but there's enough musical distraction (that flute thing for starters, and the little blips of Jónsi's voice sprinkled at certain spots to add additional beat) to remind you that this is not Sigur Rós. The lyrical content -- again, in English -- is a striking difference from almost all things Sigur Rós. "<a href="http://vimeo.com/14568050">Animal Arithmetic</a>" does have a line in Icelandic, but it's English lines talk about waking up, eating breakast, and making out (among other things)... kinda weird to hear recognizable words in Jónsi's voice, but he does far less of the falsetto lilting on <i>Go</i>, so in that way, Jónsi sets himself apart from, well, his other self.<br />
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If there's one song that could fit most undetectedly (is that a word -- no? Too late) in the Sigur Rós discography, it might be "Tornado." It starts off slow, with a piano and a bass (timpani?) drum, but -- in typical Sigur Rós fasion -- it builds and builds, adding strings, symbols, a rolling snare, and Jónsi performing his own background vocals... just in time for it to all melt away. Classic:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="398" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/13907938?byline=0&portrait=0" width="600"></iframe><br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: If you ever wanted a happier, shinier Sigur Rós -- and you wanted to sing along to it -- then go pick up <i>Go.</i>Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-19278847234740234472010-12-08T08:13:00.001-05:002010-12-08T08:15:48.676-05:00Chiddy Bang: The Preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TP9-OI1kR_I/AAAAAAAAA9s/XmGPimokpV8/s1600/Oppo_of_Adults.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TP9-OI1kR_I/AAAAAAAAA9s/XmGPimokpV8/s1600/Oppo_of_Adults.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TP6s1qf5HOI/AAAAAAAAA9o/0a0CcK6mrF0/s1600/chiddy-swelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege and Noah "Xaphoon Jones" Beresin were both attending Philadelphia's Drexel University. They got together and made a mixtape of a few songs that featured Chiddy rhyming over existing songs that Xaphoon put together with some fresh beats. The story might have ended there just ten years ago, but in true Internet Age fashion, they put the songs up on a Myspace (remember those AwEsOmE FlAsHiNg BaCkGrOuNdS?), got discovered <a href="http://prettymuchamazing.com/">by a blog</a>, who then put out <a href="http://www.chromemusic.de/music/dwnld-full-chiddy-bang-mixtape-the-swelly-express/">their original mixtape</a> (and <a href="http://prettymuchamazing.com/mp3/chiddy-bang-air-swelly-a-mini-mixtape">their follow-up mixtape</a>), and somewhere in there the kids from Drexel scored a record deal from EMI/Virgin, eventually putting out <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Preview-Explicit/dp/B0044JXGOK?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Preview</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0044JXGOK" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>. Niiice.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>One thing Chiddy Bang does well is sample indie bands: Passion Pit, MGMT, Dr. Dog, Sufjan. I'm a sucker for groups that sample bands I like (or mash them up like <a href="http://www.thehoodinternet.com/">the Hood Internet</a>). Perhaps in order to gain permission from the original artist, they have to alter the song a bit too much (like on Sufjan's "<a href="http://soundcloud.com/smithblogsatlanta/chiddy-bang-all-things-go">All Things Go</a>"). But it works perfectly on "Opposite of Adults," Chiddy Bang's breakthrough track:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="338" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9469984?byline=0&portrait=0&color=08e9ec" width="600"></iframe><br />
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<i>Preview</i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0044JXGOK" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> is a bit short, clocking in at under 30 minutes, but when coupled with the two best tracks of their <i>Air Swell</i> mixtape ("<a href="http://soundcloud.com/thedopestop-com/chiddy-bang-breakfast">Breakfast</a>" and "<a href="http://soundcloud.com/bramlistens2/pass-out-chiddy-bang-freestyle">Pass Out</a>") and a separately released track (<a href="http://soundcloud.com/chiddy-bang/because">featuring Radiohead</a>), it's long enough. Nearly each track is enjoyable, though "Bad Day," a song about a cheating ex-girlfriend, smacks of juvenile lyricism, and "Nothing on We" is kinda blah. Sprinkled throughout the album are tons of pop culture references: Uncle Jesse from Full House, Cory from Boy Meets World, Mario from Mario Bros., etc. Absent (at least from what I can tell) is the misogyny that plagues most hip hop albums -- a welcome relief. Chiddy Bang seems mostly about having fun:<br />
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Grade: B-<br />
Blurb: This isn't as good as last year's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-Moon-End-Day-Explicit/dp/B002NXPTDK?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Man on the Moon</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002NXPTDK" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> or <a href="http://www.maxtannone.com/projects/jaydiohead/">Jaydiohead</a>, but it's fun and it's not nearly as self-indulgent as that Kanye guy.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-57237901351754010392010-12-07T07:55:00.002-05:002010-12-07T08:07:14.873-05:00Phosphorescent: Here's to Taking It Easy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPzdeeCZEDI/AAAAAAAAA9g/YSrZCVXJZQQ/s1600/phosph-heres-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPzdeeCZEDI/AAAAAAAAA9g/YSrZCVXJZQQ/s1600/phosph-heres-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Phosphorescent, one of the many, many bands to emerge from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens,_Georgia#Music">Athens, Georgia</a>, didn't register on my radar until last year, when they put out an album of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/To-Willie/dp/B001QP5UM6?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Willie Nelson covers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001QP5UM6" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />. I'm not particularly a fan of the bearded, bandaned, pot-smoking Texan, so Phosphoresent's 2010 effort, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heres-Taking-Easy-Digital-Booklet/dp/B003JFZBES?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Here's to Taking It Easy</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003JFZBES" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, wasn't one of the albums I marked on my calendar before its release in May (possibly the year's best month, musically speaking, with <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-pornographers-together.html">one</a> - <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/11/broken-social-scene-forgiveness-rock.html">two</a> - <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/11/national-high-violet.html">three</a> - <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/11/band-of-horses-infinite-arms.html">four</a> - <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-keys-brothers.html">five</a> - <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/11/sleigh-bells-treats.html">six</a> -- and now seven -- good albums)... but it should have been.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Led by front man Matthew Houck, who has been around for a while, the alt. country band seems to have made their breakthrough with <i>Taking it Easy</i>, earning high marks from Pitchfork, Paste, the A.V. Club., <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/music/heres-to-taking-it-easy/critic-reviews">and others</a> (can anyone still take <i>Rolling Stone</i> seriously? They're like the print version of MTV.), and <i>Taking it Easy</i> has already turned up on a few<a href="http://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/music-critic-top-ten-lists-best-of-2010/"> best-of-the-year lists</a>.<br />
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I've always enjoyed Ryan Adams' alt-country tunes and his lyrics, especially early in his career. Houck picks up that torch (Adams has been fumbling around for ~five years) and carries it brilliantly. Houck kickstarts the album with a rockier tune ("It's Hard to be Humble (When Yr From Alabama)"), replete with horns, but as indicated by the album's title, the rest of the record is a bit more mellow.<br />
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"Apart from the things I touched," Houck croons out on <a href="http://soundcloud.com/jonny-atencio/02-nothing-was-stolen-love-me-foolishly">the second tune</a>, "Nothing got broke all that much." Through the first two tracks, Houck perfectly balances ironic, sentimental, and serious -- not an easy task. He also takes Zen to the max on "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1LzsXQP2yc">I Don't Care if There's Cursing</a>," uttering the words "I don't care" at the beginning of every verse. Maybe it's just a stoner jam, but it strikes me more as purposeful complacency (possibly born out of depression). The absolute stand-out track -- one of my top ten songs from the year -- is "The Mermaid Parade." Take a listen (especially to the lyrics) and see if you don't agree:<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: A-<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: Wish Ryan Adams was still a drunk stoner? Welp, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/phosphorescent/music/albums/here-s-to-taking-it-easy-15748791">here's to taking it easy</a>.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-53394174661932987702010-12-03T07:32:00.002-05:002010-12-07T07:31:47.201-05:00Local Natives: Gorilla Manor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPhf96SpB-I/AAAAAAAAA9c/r0dkFkuplh0/s1600/folder+%25282%2529-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPhf96SpB-I/AAAAAAAAA9c/r0dkFkuplh0/s1600/folder+%25282%2529-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
First released in the U.K. in late 2009, <i>Gorilla Manor</i> appeared <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-Manor/dp/B0035VLGE0?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">on [digital] shelves</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0035VLGE0" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> in the U.S. in early 2010. Local Natives, from Los Angeles, benefited from the British buzz and hit the ground running in February.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The cultural name-dropping (NPR's World News, Cubism, teaching abroad in Japan) earned the band a comparison to Vampire Weekend (for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g">"Oxford Comma"</a> action), but beyond that footnote, the comparison is unwarranted in my mind. Local Natives doesn't sound terribly influenced by afropop more than the Dodos do (prevalence of drums in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4YO2v_xiYk">"Wide Eyes"</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiduMkT8Rgc">"Sun Hands"</a> -- the former is the album's opening track and the latter was the album's advance single).<br />
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The percussion on a few songs may be afropop-influenced, but on several tracks ("Who Knows Who Cares," "Camera Talk," "World News," and "Airplanes") I think Local Natives sound more like Maroon5 than Vampire Weekend (and that's not necessarily a knock; "Airplanes" is my favorite song from <i>Gorilla Manor</i>):<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B-<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: Not sure if it was worth the hype, but Local Natives usually manages to fuse a percussion-driven, piano-featured, and guitar-guided sound into cohesive songs.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-18242188938483975832010-12-02T08:30:00.003-05:002010-12-02T08:37:03.359-05:00Blitzen Trapper: Destroyer of the Void<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPb3Yj00akI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/n2LLvkDEmrU/s1600/blitze-destro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPb3Yj00akI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/n2LLvkDEmrU/s400/blitze-destro.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The posse from Portland produced <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Furr/dp/B001GD5KDM?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">one of 2008's best albums</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001GD5KDM" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, so I was amped for <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Of-The-Void/dp/B003O6SJGY?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Destroyer of the Void</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003O6SJGY" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, released back at the start of June. At first listen, I was disappointed with <i>Void</i>, but I continued to spin the record and it grew on me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Perhaps what threw me off my [listening] game was the album's title track -- its opening track. In a Plants-and-Animals vein, the song contains three (or four) separate song melded into one:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F5714697&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=910d20"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F5714697&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=910d20" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After getting over the fact that it struck me as a non-Blitzen-Trapper-type song, I was able to appreciate it. Overall, <i>Void </i>strikes a balance between the helter-skelter compositions of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Mountain-Nation/dp/B003K5G4UC?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Wild Mountain Nation</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003K5G4UC" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> and -- a bit to my chagrin -- the head-bangable tunes of <i>Furr</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lyrically, <i>Void</i> has several sci-fi or fantasy-based songs. BT's lead singer/songwriter, Eric Earley, has explained that he's a fan of fantasy and sci-fi literature, but I've previously enjoyed Earley the most when he's offering folk tunes about murders (<i>Furr</i>'s "Black River Killer"). On <i>Void</i>, Earley combines fantasy and folk, telling stories about or a man whose tongue turned into a flower in "The Man Who Would Speak True" (<i>Void</i>'s version of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqtlcHiSHTE">"Furr"</a>?) or a space/time-traveling family man in "The Tailor":</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F7616810&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=a31d30" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F7616810&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=a31d30" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Grade</b>: B</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Blurb</b>: A solid effort and a good album, but the absence of the rock-and-rollicking good times from <i>Furr</i> makes it feel like a step backward.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-48736388201983251982010-11-30T23:10:00.011-05:002010-12-02T08:38:16.955-05:00Ratatat: LP4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPXBRqX0GUI/AAAAAAAAA9U/V4jS6u4lVk8/s1600/ratata-lp4_04-1+%2528600x162%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPXBRqX0GUI/AAAAAAAAA9U/V4jS6u4lVk8/s1600/ratata-lp4_04-1+%2528600x162%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I first came across Ratatat in a commercial for -- ready for this? -- Hummer. Back in '04, I was sitting on my couch in college and this commercial came on and my roommate and I Googled the information before the spot ended. <br />
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(Parenthetical footnote: Hummer actually had a killer commercial campaign back then, featuring <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsmUu4nEv6Y">this awesome spot</a> -- set to "Swamp" by Midwest Product -- and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgvzZ4-VyUc">another ad that featured Album Leaf</a>. When indie bands get accused of "selling out" by putting their song in a commercial, what they are actually doing is getting their music to the widest possible audience, getting paid, and making more fans!)<br />
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Fastforward five years and I'm catching Ratatat at the House of Blues in New Orleans on the heels of the somewhat disappointing <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/LP3/dp/B001AKN6Q4?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">LP3</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001AKN6Q4" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> </i>(the concert was awesome (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3xH4dzBjdM">I danced</a>)). Then the leftover tracks from <i>LP3</i> turned into <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/LP4/dp/B003JOKU04?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">LP4</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003JOKU04" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, which sounds like a recipe for disaster but I think I prefer <i>LP4</i> to its predecessor. In fact, looking back, <i>LP3 </i>is the album that sounds like songs from the cutting-room floor, while <i>LP4</i> feels like the sonic successor to 2006's fantastic <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Classics/dp/B000S58YRI?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Classics</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000S58YRI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />. There are no <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrU3X_DCiv8">inexplicable growling panthers</a> on <i>LP4</i>, but the soundbites of random people talking are back (sidenote: I have <i><b>no idea</b></i> what's going on in this video):<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B <br />
<b>Blurb</b>: There is no <a href="http://vimeo.com/6188954">"Seventeen Years"</a> here, but <i>LP4 </i>is a solid album and it gives me my electronica fix.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-83577160904051469132010-11-30T08:24:00.003-05:002010-11-30T23:30:37.078-05:00Tokyo Police Club: Champ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPOkfACEifI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/cpXPq2ydNq8/s1600/Champ+Cover+%2528blog%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPOkfACEifI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/cpXPq2ydNq8/s1600/Champ+Cover+%2528blog%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Once dubbed "the Canadian Strokes," the gang from Ontario probably had too much pressure put on them after they recorded <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lesson-Crime-Tokyo-Police-Club/dp/B000F2BP0W?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"><i>A Lesson in Crime </i>EP</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000F2BP0W" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> when they were teenagers. For some reason, their debut LP, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Shell/dp/B0016UNO1K?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Elephant Shell</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0016UNO1K" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>, seemed to fall relatively flat. Undeterred, the Canucks left Saddle Creek Records<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003AU9HB0" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/March-2010-Saddle-Creek-Sampler/dp/B003AU9HB0?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969">free sampler</a>) for the greener pastures of <a href="http://www.momandpopmusic.com/">Mom + Pop</a>, and released <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Champ/dp/B003PBDSCI?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Champ</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003PBDSCI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> back in May.<br />
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Sometimes relegated to the backseat in <i>Elephant</i>, the synthesizer opens <i>Champ</i>'s first track and stars in "Bambi" (along with the electric claps reminiscent of that featured on "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7JRuLEp-w">Tessellate</a>"), "Gone," and "Not Sick." There's no group yelling on <i>Champ</i>, which is a shame since it makes "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KGCAffvGIw">Your English is Good</a>" <i>Elephant</i>'s best track.<br />
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"Less big words and more exclamation marks!" Dave Monks screams out in "Big Difference." That seems to be the sonic motto for the album, sort of a rock-now-think-later policy, but it isn't the lyrical motto. Monks captures the feeling of getting to know someone in whom you're interested in "Favourite Colour" (the Queen's English!), possibly being left by said person in "Gone," and doomed relationships in "Not Sick" ("Not sensible, I wanna marry a dancer; / Vegetarian, can't stand to be wrong."). The fast-paced nature of [touring] life seems to be the focus in "Breakneck Speed":<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="308" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/12053469?byline=0&portrait=0" width="600"></iframe><br />
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<b>Grade</b>: A-<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: While a little part of me misses <a href="http://soundcloud.com/jagger10986/be-good-tokyo-police-club">the Strokes-ish sound</a>, TPC has moved onward and upward on <i>Champ</i>.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-54834107471144472012010-11-29T08:32:00.004-05:002010-11-30T23:31:01.432-05:00Sleigh Bells: Treats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPJPZDWH-bI/AAAAAAAAA9I/AzYyfokPb0c/s1600/Treats+1400x1400+%25282%2529+%2528600x169%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TPJPZDWH-bI/AAAAAAAAA9I/AzYyfokPb0c/s1600/Treats+1400x1400+%25282%2529+%2528600x169%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Sleigh Bells was perhaps the most hyped indie band of 2010 (or at least they had the most pre-release internet buzz) after <a href="http://vimeo.com/8227917">they rocked the CMJ<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002SAGC6Q" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> fest in 2009</a> and were signed by M.I.A. The duo in Sleigh Bells, Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, has <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQrxpKK09xo">one of the most disparate sonic backgrounds</a> of any band out there. Krauss was in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHf_OgbqWwE">Rubyblue</a>, all-girl pop group, and Miller was in a hardcore band called Poison the Well. While waiting her table in 2008, Miller told Krauss he played guitar and was looking for a singer. Krauss' mother, also at the table, offered her daughter's vocal services, and Sleigh Bells formed.<br />
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The silvery sweet vocals of Krauss are a strange compliment to Miller's fuzzed out guitar and heavy drum beats, but the duo makes it work. If you threw <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNJ96imMskk">M.I.A.</a>,<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt6imgDYoTg">Wavves</a>, and a high school cheer squad into a blender, you'd end up with this track from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Treats-Sleigh-Bells/dp/B003KT3NS4?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Treats</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003KT3NS4" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />:<br />
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Krauss and Miller are all about turning up the volume and having fun. They don't go down any self-righteous streets (*cough M.I.A. cough*), but they still manage to dance, rock out, and burn down the place:<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: Their fuzzed out guitars and vocals may not be for everyone (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZyG3XLWzl8">toddlers dig 'em,</a> apparently, and so do <a href="http://bftrek.blogspot.com/2010/11/california-at-last.html">RV-driving lawyers</a>), but if you want to have a good time (and thought <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maya-Explicit/dp/B003UP3VY4?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">M.I.A.'s latest album</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003UP3VY4" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> was <a href="http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/5514/mia-maya-2010">awful</a>), then pick up <i>Treats</i>.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-5310733860700728102010-11-24T08:34:00.008-05:002010-11-30T23:31:21.070-05:00The Black Keys: Brothers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TO0MCLbAp2I/AAAAAAAAA8o/slSSFRKczBg/s1600/Brothers+Cover+%25282%2529+%2528600x217%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TO0MCLbAp2I/AAAAAAAAA8o/slSSFRKczBg/s1600/Brothers+Cover+%25282%2529+%2528600x217%2529.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've been on The Black Keys bandwagon since 2003 or 2004, and I feel confident saying that the boys from Akron have just put out their best or second-best album. The name of this album is <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Black-Keys/dp/B003AO1SVS?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Brothers</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003AO1SVS" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In a departure from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Release/dp/B001661RC2?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Attack and Release</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001661RC2" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>, TBK only let Danger Mouse produce one track ("Tighten Up"). It's a great track -- and you can hear Danger Mouse's influences after the bridge -- but TBK retreated a bit to their roots (compared to <i>A&R</i>), rather appropriately so considering they recorded some of the songs at <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1437161">legendary Muscle Shoals studio</a>, while also keeping some of the keyboard influences. What emerges is a fantastic album -- not only <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/person/the-black-keys">their most critically acclaimed album</a>, but also <a href="http://www.nonesuch.com/journal/the-black-keys-brothers-debuts-at-no-3-on-billboard-album-chart-bands-best-one-week-sales-ever-2010-05-26">their highest selling album</a>. After a bit of a lull (2006's <i>Magic Potion</i> was the weakest link in their discography), the boys are back in town.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Brothers </i>rocks. Metaphorically, of course, but also in a close-your-eyes-and-make-the-devil-horns-with-your-hands-and-headbang sort of way. Even more, <i>Brothers</i> rocks live (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Eo72JApAQ">trust me, I'm [almost] a doctor</a> ... and yes, I know that track isn't from the album, but it's the only Youtube video with decent sound from the show I caught). This is face-melting stuff here. And clocking in at 16 tracks -- if you include bonus track <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT689GXn8qs">"Ohio"</a> -- it's a rollicking good time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dan and Patrick also offer up a few slower tracks, perhaps the best of their career (excluding <i>Chulahoma</i> -- <a href="http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/t/the-black-keys/album-chulahoma.jpg">I love that artwork!</a>). "Everlasting Light," "Unknown Brother," and "Never Gonna Give You Up" are all slow songs that don't slow down the album (perhaps the key to a successful rock album that eases off the pedal from time to time).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lyrically, <i>Brothers</i> won't stack up to Sufjan or Andrew Bird ... but since when has bluesy-roots rock ever gone highbrow? Historically speaking, the lyricism has been simple (it seems like Blind Lemon Jefferson included the word "blues" in just about every song). I'm not going to fault TBK for not writing songs about the Apocalypse or using multi-syllabic words... I don't want to reach for my dictionary when I'm banging my head. Furthermore, there is nothing here to suggest that simple words can't be meaningful, especially when accompanied by great tunes. For example, "Next Girl" has become my anthem for the year (turn up the volume):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><object height="338" width="600"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16355987&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16355987&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="338"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Grade</b>: A</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Blurb</b>: I didn't hold the punchline: <i>Brothers</i> is just as good -- or almost nearly so -- to <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Factory/dp/B001GXNBJW?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Rubber Factory</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001GXNBJW" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>.</div>Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-5076149366639642882010-11-23T08:24:00.003-05:002010-11-30T23:31:56.086-05:00Band of Horses: Infinite Arms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOu7EpV-3GI/AAAAAAAAA8g/53JlLC_t46Q/s1600/IA+-+1400x1400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOu7EpV-3GI/AAAAAAAAA8g/53JlLC_t46Q/s400/IA+-+1400x1400.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dropping on the same day as <i>Brothers</i> by The Black Keys -- and coming just two weeks after new albums from Broken Social Scene and The New Pornographers, and one week after The National -- I tried to give <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Arms-digital-booklet/dp/B003PX85GK?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Infinite Arms</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003PX85GK" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> a fair shake... I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle. Sadly, the album couldn't stand up to any of the aforementioned (except The New Pornos), and it eventually got pushed to the back of the listening stack.<br />
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I had no cause for worry when the album was dubbed <i>Night Rainbows</i> in the fall of 2009 when I caught these guys at Headliners in Louisville (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7nIFncMM0k">that show was awesome!</a>). They played four songs from the new album and three of them were fantastic, but somehow I think only one or two of them made the cut into the new album <i>Infinite Arms</i> (for the record, I thought "Night Rainbows" was a poor name for an album,).<br />
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Something happened between the fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010. Not only did BoH change their album's name, they also left SubPop -- their fantastic label -- and recorded and produced <i>Infinite Arms</i> themselves (signing a distribution deal with Fat Possum/Columbia). They went into the studio with at least 29 songs, but came out of it with the 12 on <i>Arms</i>. Something tells me those other 17 songs really, really need to be released.<br />
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The album gets off to a promising start with "Factory," "Compliments," and "Loredo," but seems to stall until the final track. The next-to-last song, "NW Apartment," simply seems lazy, as Ben Bridwell just sings "Northwest Apartment" over and over again (not unlike Plants and Animals' "Kon Tiki"). Uhhh, okay. I'm sure that song is great live, but the studio version is stale right out of the box. And then there's songs like "Dilly," that sound like a cheesy band covering a BoH song. I'm not against bands changing their sound (SUFJAN!), but "Dilly" and "NW Apt" don't belong in the BoH catalog for quality issues, not sound issues. On the other hand, here's an effective bit of change in sound found on "Compliments":<br />
<object height="338" width="600"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10566868&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10566868&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="338"></embed></object><br />
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<b>Grade</b>: C+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: It's not a bad album, but it's not as good as their first two and I don't think it's as good as a SubPop-helmed <i>Night Rainbows</i> would've been.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-82068235392898433432010-11-22T08:35:00.007-05:002010-11-30T23:33:44.476-05:00The National: High Violet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOpkhSbQD_I/AAAAAAAAA8c/9WDdiWBLOX8/s1600/highviolet-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOpkhSbQD_I/AAAAAAAAA8c/9WDdiWBLOX8/s1600/highviolet-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I missed the boat on <a href="http://www.americanmary.com/">the National</a> until late 2007, when <a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/">Paste</a> made dubbed <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boxer/dp/B000S5BUXI?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Boxer</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000S5BUXI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> as the <a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/5893/review/music/signs_of_life_2007_best_music?page=2">album of the year</a>. I gave the album a listen and was immediately repulsed by Matt Berringer's vocals. I thought, "<i>This </i>is the album of the year?" I kept listening, hoping that I would "get it." Long story short: I got it. Once I embraced Berringer's baritone, I was sold on the National's combination of good music and great lyrics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At the initial listen of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/High-Violet/dp/B003KVNV4S?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">High Violet</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003KVNV4S" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003BKF696" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>(only $6.99!), I was a little disappointed; I can't really explain it, but I felt like something was missing. I think, however, that I expected to be immediately bowled over, but that's not how the National works. For each of their albums (I got my mitts on <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alligator/dp/B000S5AH8W?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Alligator</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000S5AH8W" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> in '08), there was a period of 4-5 listens where I had to feel things out. Once I got through those initial listens, I was, indeed, bowled over.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While <i>Violet</i>'s opening track gets off to a slow start with "Terrible Love," I was grabbed by the lyrics of follow-up track "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IIYjPlnCi4">Sorrow</a>," which repeated "I don't want to get over you" at the end of its chorus. I'm not sure how anyone that's ever been on the receiving end of a break-up couldn't make a sincere connection with that statement. It's an undeniably simple set of lyrics, but the National wrap it in a perfect sonic package, and the rest of the song's lyrics are mysterious and broodish, thus fitting the post-break-up malaise.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The screaming on <i>Alligator </i>("Mr. November" and "Secret Meeting") is absent from <i>Violet</i> -- there's not a track where the band lets loose (like they do in concert) -- but what <i>Violet</i> lacks in Red-Bull-fueled vocals, they more than make up for in brilliant lyrics. "Bloodbuzz Ohio" has a poppy sensibility (and <a href="http://vimeo.com/11653518">a goofy video</a>), while "Lemonworld" deals out a bit of irony: "I gave my heart to the army, / The only sentimental thing I could think of." Personal stand-out track "Conversation 16" features lyrics about eating brains because "I'm evil" -- but this isn't lazy/cheap zombie gimmickry; the National pull it off with references to Hollywood and black dreams stating, "We belong in a movie," and a darker line about sticking his head in the oven.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The slower-paced tracks "Runaway" and "Vanderlyle" make the album feel like it ends with a bit of a whimper, but sandwiched in between those songs is the aforementioned "Conversation 16" (unofficial video):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><object height="338" width="600"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16951021&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=16951021&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="338"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Grade</b>: A-/A</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Blurb</b>: This album will only get better when <a href="http://www.amazon.com/High-Violet-Expanded-LIMITED-National/dp/B0043YGT1I?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">the expanded addition</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0043YGT1I" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> comes out on Friday.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-39465886952058867652010-11-17T22:53:00.005-05:002010-11-30T23:33:53.717-05:00Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOSm83-54WI/AAAAAAAAA8U/Yi126P2_kkM/s1600/FRR-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOSm83-54WI/AAAAAAAAA8U/Yi126P2_kkM/s1600/FRR-1.jpg" /></a></div>The <i>other</i> Canadian supergroup released<i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forgiveness-Rock-Record/dp/B003FBUMJA?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Forgiveness Rock Record</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003FBUMJA" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> (<i>FRR</i>) on the same day as The New Pornographers put out <i><a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-pornographers-together.html">Toghether</a> </i>(perhaps a bizzaro-Canadian version of the <a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/343806/album_sales_50_cent_versus_kanye_west.html">50 Cent vs. Kanye battle</a>?). I'm not sure about the sales figures of the respective albums (my money would be on TNP), but as far as brilliance, the nod goes -- rather easily -- to Broken Social Scene (BSS).<br />
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I'd never been much of a BSS fan. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ordinaryneighbors">My brother-in-law</a> introduced me to the band back in '05, so I picked up <a href="http://amzn.to/bqiTXr" target="_blank">their self-titled double-disc album</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000QZSX26" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, but I could only get into about half the tracks (skipping the other half; the same holds true for <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/You-Forgot-It-In-People/dp/B000QZW70A?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">You Forgot It In People</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000QZW70A" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>). <i>FRR</i>, however, doesn't have a throwaway track; pretty much every other song is a favorite and there is no skipping involved (and that's without much involvement from Leslie Feist). Of the album's thirteen tracks, I rated seven of them as four- or five-star tracks.<br />
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While they still have jam-band tendencies, it never seems self-indulgent or over-fanciful (<a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/05/broken-social-scene-forgiveness-rock-record.html">as one critic claims</a>). In fact, some of the instrumental songs are downright awesome (esp. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HmsUKxn0pg">"Meet Me in the Basement"</a>). As its opening and closing track show, BSS doesn't shy away from grandiose compositions (and long fade-ins), best illustrated by the record's intro track, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv5HEcsPG28">"World Sick"</a> (am I allowed to bob my head to a song set in "a minefield of wounded affection"?).<br />
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The sound of <i>FRR</i> is all over the map, but that isn't to say that it's disjointed; far from it, in fact. I didn't blink twice when the electronic beats and sexy female vocals of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0BkgakEKVk">"All to All"</a> gave way to the guitar-cum-horns sound of "Art House Director." BSS weaves the different sounds together in near-seamless fashion -- you can tell these guys are pros.<br />
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BSS has always had provocative lyrics (and provocative song titles), and <i>FRR</i> is no different, most notably apparent on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6cyIQOgjJA">"Texico Bitches."</a> My personal favorite track is "Art House Director" (though I can't decide of the song is a satire or critique of art-infused films, film making, and/or celebrity culture):<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: A<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: For me, this is their best album and it might be my surprise of the year.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-58422904982741828552010-11-17T08:18:00.002-05:002010-11-30T23:34:24.312-05:00The New Pornographers: Together<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOPRyhoY8HI/AAAAAAAAA70/9x5r9wsSbFg/s1600/desktop+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TOPRyhoY8HI/AAAAAAAAA70/9x5r9wsSbFg/s1600/desktop+%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jFccALw2L._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>This Canadian supergroup (with, uhh, a <a href="http://www.chartattack.com/news/85907/the-new-pornographers-reveal-the-true-origin-of-their-name">unique name</a>) put out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Challengers/dp/B000UUBLOE?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">one of 2007's best albums</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000UUBLOE" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (top 20, at least), so I was pretty pumped about their latest release back in early May. However, I ended up being a little underwhelmed.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Together/dp/B003H3D8L0?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Together</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003H3D8L0" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> starts off with much promise, and the first three songs have that classic TNP feel. Pretty upbeat (read: poppy) compared to the first third of <i>Challengers</i>. "Moves," "The Crash Years," and "Your Hands (Together)" are all fantastic. The rest of the album, for the most part, doesn't seem to match the pace or the quality of the songs at the album's outset (with the exception of "Up in the Dark"). As with previous albums, I'm not a fan of the songs on which Dan Bejar (of Destroyer) sings ("Silver Jenny Dollar," "If You Can't See My Mirrors"). His voice just kills me.<br />
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The slower songs on <i>Together</i> don't seem to carry the lyrical weight that songs on <i>Challengers</i> did ("Challengers," "Go Places"). And I don't seem to hear all the guest stars here, either (Zach Condon from Beirut, Annie Clark of St. Vincent, Will Sheff of Okkervil River, and the horn section from Sharon Jones' Dap Kings). I love/like all those guest stars, but I wouldn't have known they were even on the album unless I had read it in the pre-release press. If you're going to let Dan Bejar sing, please let me hear the vocals of Condon and Clark!<br />
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Even the videos from <i>Together</i> don't match up to their previous efforts:<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B-<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: Better than <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twin-Cinema/dp/B000S570MS?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Twin Cinema</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000S570MS" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, not as good as <i>Challengers</i>.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-27766933248169397182010-11-12T08:38:00.003-05:002010-11-30T23:34:58.451-05:00Plants and Animals: La La Land<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TN06MMEZ8SI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/K6219A2v0Vg/s1600/PlantsandAnimals_2010pressshot2492_credit-CarolineDesilets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D0TIpj1T4yE/TN06MMEZ8SI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/K6219A2v0Vg/s400/PlantsandAnimals_2010pressshot2492_credit-CarolineDesilets.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I first stumbled across Plants and Animals (P&A) in the summer of '08 while watching <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qigmz2YWZtY&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=MLGxdCwVVULXd4B3hKpbSe0hEyXDSctUGf">Patrick Watson YouTube videos</a>. The labelmates form a pretty strong one-two punch for the small <a href="http://www.secretcityrecords.com/">Secret City Records</a>. P&A's 2008 release, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Parc-Avenue/dp/B002A3RIXW?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Parc Avenue</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002A3RIXW" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>, was <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/08/plants-animals-parc-avenue.html">absolutely fantastic</a>, so I had high hopes for <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/La-Land-Digital-Booklet/dp/B003F6RS6A?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">La La Land</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003F6RS6A" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>. Like some other bands' 2010 efforts (Joe Pug, Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses, New Pornographers), I was a little disappointed.<br />
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<i>Parc Avenue</i> was a feast for the ears, both musically and lyrically; <i>Land</i> leaves a little bit of both to be desired. I'm certainly not against bands changing their sound (hey there Sufjan), but it's got to be executed to near perfection if you're going to pull it off. <i>Land</i> leaves behind the sprawling, '70s gypsy jam band behind in favor of something a little more modern (?), titling one of it's songs "Tom Cruz." They explained that the song was all about having fun (and paranoia?), and Mr. Cruise apparently came to mind.<br />
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"Cruz" kicks off the album and <i>Land</i>'s first three songs lures you into thinking that it might match <i>Parc Avenue</i>, but it's a ruse. Most frustrating for me is the apparent lazy lyricism of <i>Land</i>. I guess when you put "La La" in to your album's title, that's an indication, but <i>Land</i> takes it to an extreme, one song is a description of lounging at a motel ("Kon Tiki"), another song is all about watching game shows on television ("Game Shows"), and yet another song is about blue jeans ("Jeans Jeans Jeans"). Even stand-out track "American Idol" gets repetative with the line "I want to be your American Idol." Maybe there's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK4vc-LqClI">a deeper meaning there</a>, maybe it speaks to the show's lack of creativity and its status as a lowbrow form of music, but the lyrics on the rest of the album don't warrant such a logical leap. That is not to say that all those songs are bad -- "Jeans Jeans Jeans," "American Idol," and "Tom Cruz" happen to be my favorites from the album -- but it takes far longer for those songs to grab a hold of you than most of the songs on their previous album.<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: C+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: <i>La La Land</i> isn't bad, it just can't hold a candle to the soundscape and lyrical content of <i>Parc Avenue</i>.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-34253874853277836402010-10-25T22:46:00.002-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.795-05:00Horse Feathers: Thistled Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.limewirestore.com/artists/3/e/fa/dac5/9a1a/e357/cd53/ef81/a7f4/d4a4/64ee/6ea7/17153--1503367841-horse%20feathers%20tn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.limewirestore.com/artists/3/e/fa/dac5/9a1a/e357/cd53/ef81/a7f4/d4a4/64ee/6ea7/17153--1503367841-horse%20feathers%20tn.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>If you've talked to me for the past two years, I have probably chewed your ear off about this set of Portlanders. They dropped their third LP back in April and I immediately fell in love -- I know, big surprise -- <i>but</i> what is surprising is that I love <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thistled-Spring/dp/B003LWWMDC?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Thistled Spring</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003LWWMDC" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> just as much as <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-With-No-Home/dp/B001FLMKK6?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">House with No Home</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001FLMKK6" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> (my favorite album of '08).<br />
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Lead singer Justin Ringle and his compatriots didn't change their sound that much from '08 until now, but there's enough differentiation to make it feel like a new album. Horse Feathers also prove that you <i>can</i> judge an album by its cover. <i>Home</i> featured an old barn atop a snow-covered hill, suggesting emptiness and melancholy, while <i>Spring</i>'s cover is budding leaves, suggesting new life. However, the music seems to fit the season of spring, but there is a lyrical undertone that suggests death instead of life, as evidenced in the song "<a href="http://vimeo.com/13253818">Starving Robins</a>." That's something that's so amazing about Horse Feathers: they can sing about death in such a beautiful sounding setting. This is also true with my favorite track, "The Drought" (which is, not surprisingly, about a severe lack of water):<br />
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I'll be honest: the first two or three times I heard that song I held my hands over my mouth and sat silently. I probably could've forced some tears or something. Breath-taking. Haunting. Beautiful. "It's bearing down on me, / There's no clouds in the sky. / [I] Hear the pines crack and cry, / There's no reason to try." Stuff is <i>dying</i> in that song, but the sonic beauty somehow envelops the lyrical sadness, and pushes past it ... but to what, I don't know. I would absolutely love to have a long sit-down conversation with Justin and the gang about the lyrical content versus the overall sound.<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: A+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: I'm not sure how the best keep getting better, but these guys do it. It'll be a miracle if this isn't my favorite album of the year when January rolls around.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-67224664380029600642010-10-25T08:33:00.002-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.798-05:00The Morning Benders: Big Echo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://zandymangold.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/untitled-1_collage_web.jpg?w=800&h=1020" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://zandymangold.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/untitled-1_collage_web.jpg?w=800&h=1020" width="250" /></a></div>These young-looking chaps from San Francisco have a bright future. I'm talking don't-look-directly-at-that-150-watt-equivalent-CFL-bulb bright. Somehow I missed their <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Talking-Through-Tin-Cans/dp/B00183O15I?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">debut album</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00183O15I" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, but their follow-up,<i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Echo/dp/B0039M64MO?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Big Echo</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0039M64MO" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, caught my eye with its good reviews and its <a href="http://www.albumartexchange.com/gallery/images/public/mo/mornin-bigech_03.jpg">fantastic album cover</a> (which reminded me of one of my all-time <a href="http://www.artchive.com/artchive/b/bellows/bellows_coney_island.jpg">favorite paintings</a>).<br />
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The fact that <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/08/best-music-of-2009-5-1.html">Grizzly Bear</a>'s Chris Taylor shared production duties with Morning Benders' lead singer (and driving force) Chris Chu, should give you an idea of the layering within the album (and Chu is a self-professed fan of Phil Specter's "Wall of Sound"). The Morning Benders trade in acoustic-guitar-driven sound of their debut for orchestral arrangements accompanied by guitar, especially noticable on opening (and stand-out) track, "<a href="http://vimeo.com/8322868">Excuses</a>." However, the sounds of their debut album can be heard on my favorite track, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCaK9GJ4PHU">Cold War</a>" (but the timpani drums, glockenspiel, handclaps, and woodwinds(?) add to the depth).<br />
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Although the album does have slower songs, the upbeat ones are generally my favorites. "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwagsh--L4s">Promises</a>" could be tweaked to be a Grizzly Bear b-side, but "All Day Day Light" is distinctly the Benders' own sound, blending that of their debut with the growth evidenced on <i>Big Echo</i>:<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: If you've got <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Echo/dp/B0039M64MO?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">$5.99</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0039M64MO" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, I suggest you pick up this album.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-6331581980108370102010-10-14T22:38:00.005-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.802-05:00Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ym9LjJIXL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ym9LjJIXL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The folks from Philly known as Dr. Dog have been around for almost 10 years, and for my money, they've only gotten better (which means they're the anti-Weezer). <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fate/dp/B001BGJ00S?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Fate </a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001BGJ00S" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />was one of my favorite records <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2009/01/best-music-of-2008-10-6.html">in 2008</a>, and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shame-Deluxe-Version/dp/B003ELMBFE?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Shame, Shame</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003ELMBFE" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> is just as good, if not better. Dr. Dog felt they had grown, too, and they switched labels, from tiny indie <a href="http://www.parkthevan.com/home.php">Park the Van</a> to nice-sized <a href="http://www.anti.com/home/">Anti-</a>.<br />
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The Beatles-esque harmonizing that has made Dr. Dog so enjoyable is back, and their 1960s homage to pop-rock is even more prominent. The album also feels a little more personal. Referencing specific streets in West Philadelphia (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBe0VCso0qs">born and raised?</a>) gives "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_4_By9NJOc">Shadow People</a>" the sense that the narration is non-fiction. "Station" references the drain and strain of touring (perhaps the only track that both feels and sounds melancholy), while "Jackie Wants a Black Eye," tackles serious subject matter (physical pain being only thing that can provide the sense of being alive), but you wind up tapping your toe.<br />
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Dr. Dog pulls off the same trick (somber lyrics + upbeat music) with "Where'd All the Time Go," which contains a sad story (being depressed, attending funerals, anti-social behavior) but somehow leaves you feeling optimistic. Hear for yourselves (in this unofficial video):<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B+/A-<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: I can't wait until their next album because they've already put out <a href="http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/aolmusic/mp3s/Dr_Dog_Nobody_Knows_Who_You_Are_128.mp3">a new little ditty</a>. Pick this album up, it's a keeper.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-82775556023430022982010-10-09T09:26:00.002-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.805-05:00Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GVefofmpL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GVefofmpL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These Scotsmen know how to rock. Their debut album, 2008's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Midnight-Organ-Fight/dp/B00130PS2G?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Midnight Organ Fight</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00130PS2G" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, rocks, but it is partially in the fetal position in the corner, dealing with the pain and anger following a broken heart. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Winter-of-Mixed-Drinks/dp/B0037UV71Q?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Winter of Mixed Drinks</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0037UV71Q" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>, however, has the tone and feel of an album that is "over it." If <i>Organ Fight</i> is the setting sun at the end of a long and painful day, <i>Mixed Drinks </i>is the dawn of the next morning, bringing with it hope and healing.<br />
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The opening track, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DaXd8tQUVY">Things</a>," makes it clear that the narrator has moved on; he realizes that things are just things, so he abandons them and embraces the freedom. From there, he moves on and he doesn't care to where, offering up one of my year's favorite lyrics: "Swim until you can't see land." Continuing to find self-assurance, lead singer Scott Hutchison proclaims one another song that a girl in his past "was not the cure for cancer." One of the song titles, in fact, is "Not Miserable."<br />
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In addition to the less depressing lyrics, the tempo and sound of the music seems happier -- not cheesier, mind you, but filled a bit more with contentment. Even the slower-paced piano rock of "FootShooter" or the fuzzed-out and few-noted "Not Miserable" don't feel melancholy. While no song matches the pace of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfpXLu62hGE">Living in Colour</a>," it's "Swim" that takes the cake on this album with its added strings:<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: B+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: If you're in the midst of post-break-up angst, then throw on <i>Organ Fight</i> and cry it out, but if you've moved on or if you're trying to move on, <i>Mixed Drinks </i>should give you a buzz.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-36999639534621484022010-09-06T09:04:00.001-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.809-05:00Yeasayer: Odd Blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61op6m0JYYL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61op6m0JYYL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These Canadians are weird. But it's weird in a good way ... mostly. Sometimes the weirdness can get a little out of control, but when its kept within bounds, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-B4CYD7FFY">it works</a>. That may sound like a contradiction; weirdness doesn't necessitate neatness, and I'm not advocating for a tidy sound that can be packaged away in a little box, but Yeasayer has a tendency to let their freak flag fly. Maybe that's the only way to do it; go big or go home, as they say. Perhaps part of Yeasayer's weirdness is to let it fully take control -- no boundaries -- but for my ears, the weirdness works best when it's contained.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Odd-Blood/dp/B00367TZ46?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Odd Blood</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00367TZ46" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>'s lead single, "Ambling Alp," is a good example of this combination of weirdness and goodness. First, the lyrics are fantastic, referencing 1930s boxing great Max Schmelling (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Glory-Louis-Schmeling-World/dp/0375726195?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">whom I read about in a grad seminar a few years back</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0375726195" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />), lead vocalist Chris Keating goes all falsetto, the beats almost have a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q7FFjUpVLg">bow-bow-chicka-chicka-ohhh-yeahhhh</a> feel, and the synth lets out fart-like sounds during the chorus and then saxophone lines during the bridge. Weird, but it totally works.<br />
<br />
There are other songs, however, for which the weirdness gets a little out of control: the vocal synth thing on opening track "The Children"; the over the top Star-Wars-cantina-scene synth instrument in "Rome"; and the unnecessary sense of urgency provided by the beats and fast-paced vocals on "Mondegreen."<br />
<br />
Yeasayer doesn't just make weird music, they also make weird music videos. Check out Kristen Bell (AKA Sarah Marshall AKA <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbSxwMC46zI">Uda Bengt</a>) taking care of <a href="http://www.promonews.tv/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Yeasayer1.jpg">whatever this thing is</a> in the video for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO1y1wJduCo">"Madder Red"</a>, or stay here and watch the weirdness on top-track "Ambling Alp":<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="338" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9029899?byline=0&portrait=0" width="600"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Grade</b>: C<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: Weird but good... but sometimes the scales tip in the balance of weird.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-69315346312605133292010-09-01T08:10:00.004-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.813-05:00Gorillaz: Plastic Beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51prVomhp1L._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51prVomhp1L._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I found it hard to believe that Gorillaz hadn't put out anything since 2005 ... five years is a long time between albums (unless you're Guns N' Roses). Perhaps I had my expectations set too high after five Gorillaz-less years, or perhaps the lack of involvement of Danger Mouse took it's toll, but <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Beach/dp/B003A9OVS0?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Plastic Beach</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003A9OVS0" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> is not up to the standard set by <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Days/dp/B000TENKEK?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Demon Days</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000TENKEK" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i>.<br />
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The first clue that I was about to be let down by <i>Beach</i> should've been the first track with vocals, which featured the rhymes of Snoop Dogg. I've never been a fan of the D-O-double-G, or any of his rap-izzles (what?). However, I was tricked after that when the album's two best songs, "White Flag" and "Rhinestone Eyes," followed directly thereafter. The rest of the album, with the exception of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNUzz898tAs">Sweepstakes</a>" (featuring <a href="http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/02/17/69-mos-def/">white people's favorite rapper, Mos Def</a>) is mediocre. <br />
<br />
I don't know if I can put my finger on the specific reason why <i>Beach</i> doesn't earn the favor that <i>Days</i> does, but <i>Beach</i> lacks something -- harder beats, glitchy-ness, experimentation, heart -- something. And the experimentation that comes on some songs falls flat (like the random dude belting it out at the end of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs&ob=av2e">Stylo</a>," or the random chick singing at the end of "Empire Ants," totally ruining both tracks for me), although I appreciated the freshness of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsMrtWAgTnE">Superfast Jellyfish</a>." The track "Rhinestone Eyes" seems reminiscent of past Gorillaz efforts:<br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JvPKDZ4ty68?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JvPKDZ4ty68?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<b>Grade</b>: C+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: It's not bad ... it's just not that good (that's what mediocre means). After five years, I expected a bit more punch.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-25446909228637702612010-08-30T22:53:00.000-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.816-05:00Broken Bells: self-titled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blog.peacemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/broken-bells.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="http://www.blog.peacemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/broken-bells.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>James Mercer and Brian Burton ... sounds like a boring combination unless you're aware that Mercer is the lead singer from The Shins, while Burton is better known by his DJ name, Danger Mouse. It seems an odd pairing at the outset, seeing as how The Shins are largely unplugged (aside from the occasional electric guitar), and Danger Mouse is, well, almost exclusively plugged. But hey, if <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vtWNDI_EOI">The Black Keys and Mos Def</a> can hook up (and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DovWd5MIvQ">also RZA</a>), then why not Mercer and Burton?<br />
<br />
Pretty much everything Danger Mouse has ever touched has turned to gold. The dude is a digital King Midas. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/JAY-Z-GREY-ALBUM-DANGER-MOUSE/dp/B003X9FDPW?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Gold</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003X9FDPW" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Days-Gorillaz/dp/B00082IJ08?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">gold</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00082IJ08" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/St-Elsewhere/dp/B0013JZDSG?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">gold</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0013JZDSG" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Odd-Couple/dp/B0015V4D92?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">gold</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0015V4D92" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Release/dp/B001661RC2?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">gold</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001661RC2" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Guilt/dp/B001NBK6GI?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">gold</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001NBK6GI" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (some in terms of sales; all in terms of sound). Danger didn't change his tune for Broken Bells' self-titled debut.<br />
<br />
The duo of Mercer and Burton hooked up in 2009 to record for<i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Booklet-Amazon-Exclusive-Version/dp/B003TJ3OY8?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Dark Night of the Soul</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003TJ3OY8" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, a project helmed by Sparklehorse (produced by Burton), and produced <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlhs7oukvdQ">my favorite track</a> from the album. The sound reproduced itself for the Broken Bells album, but less glitchy, less experimental; more tuneful, more poppy. I'm not complaining though; tuneful and poppy are fine by me if they are done well... and Mercer and Burton do it well. However, if tuneful and poppy are the themes for the album, then it simply sounds like Burton put electronic beats/sounds behind The Shins. I wouldn't have minded it if they had branched out a bit on a few tracks. This one, however, is fantastic:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="380" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9348156" width="500"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/9348156"></a><br />
<br />
<b>Grade</b>: B+<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: It lives up to its billing. The question now becomes, who <i>couldn't</i> Danger Mouse work with?Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-30628927313809296812010-08-27T08:07:00.003-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.820-05:00Joe Pug: Messenger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51y5CPulNYL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51y5CPulNYL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Joe Pug's 2008 EP <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nation-of-Heat-Ep/dp/B0019A4TC0?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Nation of Heat</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0019A4TC0" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> was outstanding, front to back; 2010's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Messenger/dp/B00381NYLU?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Messenger</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00381NYLU" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> is anything but. I should have been concerned when, last year, Mr. Pug gave away his <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/In-the-Meantime-EP/dp/B003Y1YH0G?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">In the Meantime</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003Y1YH0G" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></i> EP for free. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the "free" part that concerned me -- it was the fact that there were no really good songs on it. In fact, I didn't care much for that EP at all, but I brushed it off, thinking that maybe those were all the songs not good enough to make <i>Nation of Heat</i>. Untrue.<br />
<br />
The biggest difference between <i>Heat</i> and <i>Messenger</i> is that almost every song on <i>Heat </i>has a set of lyrical spiral steps, winding in various directions. The music is great, but it's just a dude strumming a guitar, so it's the lyrics that shine. Each song had its own story, its own bit of mystery. <i>Messenger</i> lacks mystery. <i>Messenger</i> also feels "bigger" -- which is not, as they say, always better. His backing band shines on the redux of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgmKUEmlz5k">Speak Plainly Diana</a>" (I was at that show btw), but for the most part, I miss the sonic simplicity of <i>Heat</i>.<br />
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As was the case with Vampire Weekend's <a href="http://weeklycritiquely.blogspot.com/2010/08/vampire-weekend-contra.html"><i>Contra</i></a>, my favorite song from <i>Messenger</i> most resembles the sound and story of the songs on <i>Heat</i>. "How Good You Are" is not only the best song on this album, it's one of my favorite songs from the year. Absolutely fantastic; full of mystery and simplicity. Take a listen:<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1qobrud2tow?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1qobrud2tow?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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<b>Grade</b>: C-<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: It's not a terrible album, but it seems (to me) to be a step backward from the amazing tone set by <i>Nation of Heat</i>.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290261569183323348.post-70329427380712897552010-08-25T23:01:00.001-04:002010-11-28T12:29:49.824-05:00Phantogram: Eyelid Movies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs092.snc3/15947_175308003741_47738073741_2920668_5665664_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs092.snc3/15947_175308003741_47738073741_2920668_5665664_n.jpg" width="252" /></a><a href="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kyw6dvqtwo1qz6dm7o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kyw6dvqtwo1qz6dm7o1_500.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br />
I came across Phantogram while learning about the <a href="http://cmj.com/marathon/">CMJ</a> Festival in NYC back in November of 2009. I immediately went to Phantogram's website, saw when their album was coming out (9 Feb 2010) and put it on my calendar. I even set it up to e-mail me the day of the release so I wouldn't forget. That's how much I loved their sound. Instantly smitten. And as soon as<i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eyelid-Movies/dp/B0035TSP3C?ie=UTF8&tag=cinemen-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Eyelid Movies</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cinemen-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0035TSP3C" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> dropped, I picked it up and I knew I'd purchased one of the year's best albums.<br />
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Right off the bat, the album hits you with its two best tracks, and keeps on trucking. There are one or two songs that don't seem up to snuff on the album, but most of the album is littered with gorgeous vocals, hard-but-not-too-hard electronic beats (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u64AHtmAP-c">"these beats are dope"</a>), and interesting lyrics. "You've got a mouthful of diamonds / And a pocketful of secrets." I'm not sure exactly what that means (I can guess), but I like it. Here (hear), see for yourself:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="380" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/10284371" width="550"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/10284371"></a>.<br />
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<b>Grade</b>: A<br />
<b>Blurb</b>: <i>Eyelid Movies</i> is one of the best albums of 2010, and it's probably going to wind up as my favorite debut album. It's hard to believe that these New York natives have only just gotten started.Micahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14098148767783227970noreply@blogger.com0