This Song Starts A Craze...

Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Blog Somewhere Else

2013-12-09T22:03:00.003-08:00

You knew this was coming.

It's been a rocky 2013. Lots of listening and life choices. At the end of it all, I've come to the realization that my time running This Song Starts A Craze... is over. There's a myriad of reasons why, but for now, let's hang this decision on the constantly changing variables in the life of someone who self-publishes.

Call it a refocusing, if you will.

To that end, I want to thank you for supporting this blog, either as my friend, a reader, or as a fellow blogger. This blog will always be special to me--it's helped me develop my voice over these past 6 years and it's been a platform to meet some really wonderful people like Matt and Liz. Along the way, I like to think we've had fun, and that I've even adhered to my own Orson Welles-like standards of exactitude to produce some thoughtful reflections. If I haven't...well, my bad. YOLO, I guess. Is that how you use it?

Anyway, the bigger point I'm trying to make here is that I'm not finished writing.

Call this new chapter my Side 2. If you want to keep up with my musical ramblings, I'll be shifting over to my personal Tumblr (motifs in the city) for shorter reflections and the ever important End Of The Year List (don't worry, I got one for 2013). I also have some other opportunities in the works, projects slated for 2014. Those collaborations have me all sorts of excited, and I hope this post gets you excited for the future as well.

So, since this is too long already, thank you.

I hope this blog ignited some of your airwaves.

Most Anticipated Albums Of '13

2013-01-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

2012 was so...2012. Right? It's 2013 people, which means there are some great releases on the horizon. Per time honored tradition, here are Matt's picks over at The Sight Of Sound.

Bayside- TBA:

When you break out during the emo phase of the early 2000s, it’s hard to come out as anything different. Ask a lot of similar bands, from Taking Back Sunday to Fall Out Boy - it’s hard to make new music when you are constantly being compared to what you put out during that time period. But Bayside has begun to break as a credible rock band, with 2011’s Killing Time serving as a surprisingly strong record. All that’s been said is a Facebook post that a new album is coming in 2013 and longtime fans have been excited. The most interesting part of new material: Can Bayside breakout and earn some new fans in 2013?

The Black Keys- TBA:

While technically not confirmed for a 2013 release, all signs indicate the follow-up to El Camino will arrive at some point this year. The duo has said they are going in the studio this spring to work on new material and that may be the smartest move for one of the hottest acts in the industry. Though they’ve deviated from a their early sound, the past two records have been fantastic and can only be built upon.

Cage The Elephant- TBA:

Not much is known about Cage the Elephant’s third album, but that could be a good thing. The debut provided some catchy, albeit schizophrenic rock that netted their biggest song to date in “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked.” The follow-up sounded the same, but with more effort shown in the production side. All that has been posted for the untitled third record is studio footage from working on songs, but if these guys make anything half as good as the first two then it will be good. Anything more than that and we could be looking at a surprise hit of 2013.

Paramore- Paramore (April 9):

If controversy creates interest, then Paramore is one of the most popular acts in music. After lighting up the Internet a couple years back with the high school-type stories that surrounded the Farro brothers’ departure from the band, the reenergized trio is pushing on. Five songs have been released since the lineup change, one for the Transformers soundtrack, a three-song E.P. and the first single of the upcoming self-titled fourth record. “Now,” along with the other tracks, show that Paramore is more than ready and able to keep going. More than a dozen tracks were revealed to be a part of the record so fans are in for a treat come April.

Vampire Weekend- TBA (May 6):

Vampire Weekend was one of many bands to take advantage of Internet buzz and be one of the first “hipster” bands to make it to the mainstream in the second half of the 2000s. Their first album could have been considered a one-off (like so many others from that time period) but their follow-up was just as good. Now, three years later Vampire Weekend will return once again. The live performance of “Unbelievers” on Jimmy Kimmel shows the band hasn’t changed much and that could bode well for an album that will be mostly about the question of if they can perform more so than the music itself.

Honorable Mention:

Justin Timberlake- The 20/20 Experience (March 9)

The Neighbourhood- TBA

New Politics- TBA

Senses Fail- Renacer (March 26)

Taking Back Sunday- TBA (*possibly* 2013)

And here are MY picks for 2013....

Atoms For Peace- Amok (February 25): Thom Yorke and Flea for the price of one LP? Count me interested. While the spacey “Judge, Jury & Executioner” sounds like an anxious computer at some cosmic dive bar, expect some red-hot grooves this time around. There’s life outside of Radiohead and the Red Hot Chili Peppers for these two famed musicians, let’s hear what that sounds like.

Jimmy Eat World- TBA: Edgier and brasher, Jimmy Eat World are promising a record that really goes for the throat in 2013. Recent Twitter posts suggest the album is in its final mixing stages, but the real surprise is to see where they go after the emotive, and Marshall stacked fuzz of 2010’s Invented.

Queens Of The Stone Age- TBA (April/May): Josh Homme has a party on his hands because Dave Grohl is laying down drum tracks and everyone from Trent Reznor to Nick Oliveri are laying down vocals. Whether the new Queens record will continue to explore the angular robot-rock of Era Vulgaris is anyone’s guess, but it sounds like they’re having fun making it.

Sleigh Bells- TBA: Sounds like Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller are antsy. After their 2012 world-conquering tour, the Internet’s favorite bubblegum-pop by way Slayer contingent are reportedly hard at work on their follow up to the bone-crushing Reign Of Terror. Viva la feedback.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Mosquito (April 16): Mayhem comes in many forms for Karen O; gone are the post-disco Blondie trappings of It’s Blitz! and enter the tribal, dubby, “Sympathy For The Devil” swagger of Mosquito. If the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ live previews are any indication, this record should be a real barnburner.

Honorable Mention

The Black Keys- TBA

Black Sabbath- 13 (June)

James Blake- TBA

M.I.A.- Mantangi (April 15)

My Bloody Valentine- TBA

What are YOU looking forward to on 2013? Let me know in the comments!

2012: The Year In Music

2013-01-19T16:14:00.001-08:00

You didn’t think I forgot about this, did you?

It may have taken a bit longer than usual, but after a great deal of re-listening and reflection I can definitively say THESE are the albums in 2012 that caught my ears, piqued my interest, and took up space on both my iPod and computer. And now, without further adieu…

Best Release: Sleigh Bells- Reign of Terror (*****)

From the stereo to my ears, no album conquered 2012 quite like Reign of Terror. Coming off 2010’s speaker blasting Treats, Sleigh Bells opted to twist their noise-crunk sound into something immense, personal, and sweeping. Reign Of Terror is a warzone of a record; between Derek E. Miller’s spikey Slayer-sized riffing, its cold 808 drums, and Alexis Krauss’ girl-group vocals, this LP is the gritty chronicle of living in desperate times. From pep rally in Hell clatter of “Crush” to the proto-thrash of “Demons,” Sleigh Bells expand their sound in jagged, splashy fashion, giving their particular brand of noise-pop an incredible focus. Nowhere is this more apparent that on the suicide-valentine of “You Lost Me” a track that marries chiming Def Leppard arpeggios with a story of tragic devotion. In many ways, Sleigh Bells have crafted an album that explores America’s culture of violence, how pain and anguish is packaged through our media and mythmaking. Krauss and Miller’s metallic dream-pop musings aren’t simply for novelty, but in fact present the perfect mechanism to examine how fear, addiction, and combat have become so darn stylish (Must be the Ray-Bans). Between its M16 samples and smutty bubblegum sheen, Reign Of Terror’s unyielding dread and grand scope make it 2012’s crowning musical achievement.

Key Cuts: Crush, Demons, You Lost Me

Best Debut: Gary Clark Jr.- Blak & Blu (***½)

There weren’t many debuts that caught my ear in 2012, but Gary Clark Jr. kept me interested. The blues man splatter on Blak & Blu invites Jimi Hendrix comparisons by the truckload, but Clark doesn’t play on 60s nostalgia to captivate audiences. Blistering blues chops aside, Blak & Blu works because of Clark’s surprisingly nimble voice, caramel smooth one moment and deep-bellied the next. It gives the more R&B inflected numbers, like the album’s purple haze-hued title track, more credence when juxtaposed with the real barn-burners, of which there are many. For instance, the hard riff workout on “When My Train Pulls In” is simply punishing, taking its time to ramp up before Clark’s expressive fretwork pierces through the mix. Make no mistake—Clark slings a mean axe, from the janky, broken-down twang of “Next Door Neighbor Blues,” to the fuzz-rock bravado of “Glitter Ain’t Gold.” He’s a musician’s guitarist, one that plays from his gut instead of the studio booth. True, the album is a bit bloated and a tad too eager to crossover (Clark’s worst songs remind listeners of the neo-Hendrix promise Lenny Kravitz never delivered) but he’s soulful, which makes up for even the most egregious, and cheesy, editing errors. For all its warts, Blak & Blu is a promising start for an artist that’s destined to play for a long, long time.

Key Cuts: When My Train Pulls In, Glitter Ain’t Gold, Next Door Neighbor Blues

Best Rock Release: The Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten (*****)

When you’ve got Brendan O’Brien behind the boards, you’re no longer in the underground; you’re in the major leagues. This is a good thing for The Gaslight Anthem, because Handwritten is too impressive to keep hidden. Gritty and sentimental, Brian Fallon’s songs act like mini movies, as powerful as a supped up Trans AM barreling down Thunder Road. “45’s” soaring vocals and searing guitars cut like hot knives, while the hard-hitting “Biloxi Parish” finds Fallon perfecting the art of the anthem. Long time fans will notice the bluesier touches and foggy atmospheres that punctuate Handwritten, but the biggest difference is in the storytelling. Handwritten chronicles Fallon’s quest to reconcile the past with the man he is today. While past Gaslight Anthem LPs relied on American icons like Marilyn and Elvis to evoke a sense of Golden Era romanticism, Handwritten places listeners in the shoes of Fallon’s characters, painting vivid portraits of what it means to deal with loss and love. The results are mesmerizing and personal, from the flange soaked lullaby of “Mae” to the twisting guitar duals and high tension of “Mulholland Drive.” Records like these don’t stay hidden, and Fallon reminds listeners that you don’t always need to over think music, you just need to feel it. In the end, Brain Fallon makes records the way they used to: With a whole lot of heart—handwritten.

Key Cuts: “45,” Mulholland Drive, Biloxi Parish

Best Punk/Post-Hardcore Release: Every Time I Die- Ex Lives (*****)

Coming from the punk/post-hardcore end of the spectrum really means you’ve got attitude, enough grit and chutzpah to douse your songs in gasoline and light the fuse. After the brittle, ambling New Junk Aesthetic, Every Time I Die return with the soul-crushing Ex Lives and enough “everything-be-damned” fire to roast the world. And it shows, the arrangements are schizophrenic slices of chainsaw-inspired hardcore and southern rock crunch while Keith Buckley’s serpentine scream rounds out their sound. Ex Lives is simply bone-crushing, from the behemoth-sized weight of “Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space” to the banjo inflected, hardcore bull-rush of “Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow.” Buckley gives the performance of this life, no longer relying solely on his deafening rasp to recount twisted social nightmares, but also implementing his rather nimble mid-range to give his punk rock sermons some sass. The biggest surprise, however, is how Every Time I Die have really expanded their sonic palette without sacrificing their aggression. “Indian Giver” orbits and blasts doom-laden riffs with ethereal psychedelic flourishes, while “I Suck (Blood)” sets a new bar for sludgy breakdowns. Unafraid to charge full speed ahead, Ex Lives shows that Every Time I Die continue to take the hardcore scene by their own, aggressive terms.

Key Cuts: Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space, I Suck (Blood), Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Best Metal Release: Converge- All We Love We Leave Behind (*****)

Hard to believe Converge formed their punishing brand of hardcore-meets-thrash more than twenty years ago, especially after releasing All We Love We Leave Behind. Musicians that work within extreme music genres tend to arrange music that’s more conservative as they get older, losing aggression and replacing it with atmosphere, as if the two are mutually exclusive. Converge, on the other hand, play like a band during the peak of their powers, continuing to preserve their intensity as the years pile on. The slash and burn riffing is as furious as a heaven-sent swarm of locusts, while their cyclonic drumming churns and stops on a dime. “Aimless Arrow” twists and scratches skyward while the all-out hardcore blasts of “Trespasses” and “No Light Escapes” hit with savage intensity. When Converge shift gears however, the results don’t lose any less bite. “Sadness Comes Home” sports titanic, heaving riffs before speeding off into a spiraling-oblivion, reaffirming the fact that Converge’s sound is as gargantuan as their ambition. Yet what’s most refreshing about All We Love… is its enormity. In an age where heavy music is pristine, mechanical, and sterile, Converge reminds listeners that fury and feedback go a long way, creating brutal vistas along the way. The result is a group, 20 years in, still making some of the best and uncompromising music of their career.

Key Cuts: Aimless Arrow, Trespasses, Sadness Comes Home

Best Electronic Release: Death Grips- NO LOVE DEEP WEB (*****)

Electronic music is not known for harrowing aesthetics, but that’s the first thing that comes to mind with Death Grips’ newest album NO LOVE DEEP WEB. Their second LP of 2012 (after the chopped up punk noise of The Money Store), MC Ride and Zach Hill twist their keyboards to mirror the real life End of Days disaster they see unfolding before them. NO LOVE is acrimoniously stitched together with lacerated vocal samples and terrifying vitriol as the duo implements a mish-mash of stuttering 808s and synthesizers that sound like overloaded circuit breakers. MC Ride’s death-howl flow is here too; whether it’s exploring his tortured anguish on the manic “Come Up & Get Me,” or his fire and brimstone sermon on “Lock Your Doors.” This isn’t electronic music for background accents; NO LOVE is a nightmarish Frankenstein, every synthetic sound warped and blasted into an uncompromising expansiveness sorely needed in today’s tepid electronic scene. Instead, Death Grips aim to shake listeners out of complacency, whether it’s the metallic clank of “Stockton” or the phantasmal-glitch rumble of “Bass Rattle Stars Out The Sky.” Raw, immediate, and explosive, NO LOVE DEEP WEB is a force of nature for the digital age.

Key Cuts: Come Up & Get Me, Lock Your Doors, Stockton

Best Produced: Kanye West Presents: G.O.O.D. Music- Cruel Summer (***½)

Aside from the Kim Kardashian stories, the Taylor Swift interruptions, and the leather kilts, Kanye West continues to intrigue because of his Renaissance-style vision for hip-hop. Cruel Summer culls together some of the bright up and comers on his G.O.O.D. Music label, and Yeezy directs them with a master’s sense of perspective for a rather thrilling set of collaborations. Blending opulence and arrogance, Kanye works his studio magic to create a record fascinated with refinement but with enough crushing grooves and modernism for the clubs. The wobbly flow of “Clique” and the pitch-shifted murk of “Mercy” act as the perfect stage for egos like Jay-Z, 2Chainz, and Pusha T to twist their punch lines around their personalities. Crystal clear, and space-age clean, the whole experience on Cruel Summer plays like one of Kanye’s beautiful, dark, twisted, fantasies, blending 90s style excess with pristine vibrant keyboards. Yet Kanye doesn’t just steal the show behind the boards, he makes his presence felt often on the mic, whether it’s over the aggressive buzz saw hooks of “Cold” or trading quips with Ghostface Killah on the gunshot-piano climb of “New God Flow.” While the record’s second half loses momentum and cohesion, the sheer recklessness and confidence of Kanye’s vision makes Cruel Summer one hell of a ride.

Key Cuts: Clique, New God Flow, Cold

Best Comeback: Bloc Party- Four (*****)

Who expected Bloc Party to ever put out a record this angry? Cut with a relatively live feel, Four is Bloc Party’s triumphant comeback after the lukewarm reception of 2008’s electronic-leaning Intimacy. While the group hasn’t necessarily traded in all their keyboards and effects pedals, Four plays out like a much more groove-obsessed post-punk record, while incorporating spacey atmospheres and rusty dissonance. From the rubberband rhythms on “Octopus” to the fuzzed-out blitzkrieg of “We’re Not Good People” Bloc Party explores a sound that’s primal, immediate, and surprisingly heavy. However, that doesn’t mean they’ve let this newfound drive squeeze out their more confessional offerings. Lead singer Kele Okereke’s falsetto is still one of the brighter portions of Bloc Party’s arsenal, especially with his lilting delivery on the shimmering late album cut, “The Healing.” While fans of Silent Alarm may balk at the bigger, beefier use of distortion, they’ll be missing out a Bloc Party record that sounds less like a computer and more like a 4-piece again. Drummer Matt Tong is simply relentless, whether it’s on the dizzying heights of “So He Begins To Lie,” or machine gun space-funk of “Team A.” All in all, Four reminds listeners that no amount of bad press can knock down Bloc Party, especially when they sound this confident.

Key Cuts: Octopus, The Healing, We Are Not Good People

Best EP(s): My Chemical Romance- Conventional Weapons (*****)

If you’ve forgotten what dangerous and desperate rock n’ roll sounds like, look out for Conventional Weapons. Originally scrapped from their 2009 sessions with producer Brendan O’Brien, My Chemical Romance is presenting this “album-that-could-have-been” in 2-song E.P.s over the course of several months. Yet the real shocker is how these songs were shelved in the first place in favor of the synthed-out futurism of Danger Days. The band returns to their bloody-soaked brand of post-hardcore, paying homage to punk heroes like The Stooges and MC5 with a truly liberated batch of songs. “Tomorrow’s Money” barely hangs together with car crash drumming and Ray Toro’s blistering lead work, while “Kiss The Ring” sports hyper-macho swagger and enough sleazy riffs to burn down L.A. Though the songs tread on MCR’s usual “us-against-the-world” pulp fiction, Conventional Weapons out shines the technicolor Danger Days because of how these songs attack our disposable culture with startling precision. Whether it’s Gerard Way’s come-at-me sneer on “Boy Division,” or “AMBULANCE’s” movie-ready anthem of devotion, MCR continue to explore how the enduring power of love can conquer even the darkest world. Bold, black, and still alive, Conventional Weapons finds MCR firing on all cylinders.

Key Cuts: Tomorrow’s Money, AMBULANCE, Kiss The Ring

Most Ambitious: Kendrick Lamar- good kid, M.A.A.D. city (****)

Hype is a dangerous double-edged sword, but thankfully for Kendrick Lamar, it works to his advantage. good kid, M.A.A.D. city is the kind of open narrative statement that hip-hop is starving for amidst the Lil Waynes and T-Pains of the world. Mentored and produced by the famed Dr. Dre, M.A.A.D. city is a sprawling concept record detailing the trials and tribulations of Lamar’s rise to fame from Compton, CA, set against smoky atmospheres, soulful production, and an ever-evolving cast of characters. “The Art Of Peer Pressure” uses brooding string arrangements cut through Lamar’s late night anxiety with switchblade precision, while the blissful “Poetic Justice” goes down easy like fine cognac. Though rags to riches stories aren’t anything new, Lamar’s ability to tell a multi-character story within the confines of such a sonically accessible album is impressive. He knows when to place his tonged twisting skills to the test (“Backseat Freestyle”) and when to let the gravity of his narrative overtake listeners (“Swimming Pools (Drank)”). While Lamar struggles to turn M.A.A.D. city into a classic, especially considering the absence of a bona fide crossover hit like “Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang” or “Jesus Walks,” there’s plenty here he should be proud of—it’s not everyday debut albums are this deep, affecting and sincere.

Key Cuts: The Art Of Peer Pressure, Poetic Justice (Feat. Drake), Swimming Pools (Drank)

Most Experimental: Childish Gambino- Royalty (****½)

Oh, to have Donald Glover’s expansive resume. The comedy writer-turned-actor-turned-rapper continues to mesmerize with his latest mixtape under the name Childish Gambino, Royalty. Listening to these cuts feels like stumbling onto a psychotic version of Glover’s Google search history. All his brainiac, blog buzzing, pop-culture addled fantasies are on display, from the blinking club bang of “One Up” to the electro-Kavinsky swiping on “R.I.P.,” painting him as Jay-Z and Ryan Gosling within three songs of each other. His tastes are diverse though, suggesting he had a great deal of fun assembling this mixtape, from the Tina Fey guest verse on “Real Estate” to RZA’s brass-band digital breakdown on “American Royalty.” While the public jury still might be hung on what Glover can bring to the table in terms of substance and storytelling, his fearlessness is certainly engaging. The stuttering, chopped and skewed punch lines on “Toxic” nick Britney’s biggest hit for a surprisingly dread filled atmosphere, and hell, even junk king Beck Hansen shows up with his smooth drawl for a verse on “Silk Pillow.” While Glover is certainly making a name for himself as a kid with quick wit, it’ll be fascinating to watch him work his magic in the future because for Childish Gambino, limits don’t seem to exist.

Key Cuts: One Up (Feat. Steve G. Lover), R.I.P. (Feat. Bun B), American Royalty (Feat. RZA & Hypnotic Brass Orchestra)

Most Eclectic: fun.- Some Nights (****)

Pop music should be inclusive and accessible, which is why fun.’s major label breakthrough Some Nights is so refreshing. Dabbling in fuzzed-out beat making, carnival-style whimsy, and Nate Ruess’ ever-impressive register, Some Nights was a 2012 smash that virtually everyone could enjoy. “We Are Young” is a lighter waving anthem filled with hip-hop clatter and naked sentimentality, while the trip-hip bounce of “All Alone” provides playful yearning and a cotton candy hook. The Grammy buzz is well earned though, because Some Nights hangs its hat on expert songwriting instead of an exploitation of genre trends. From the choir-backed “All Alright” to the album’s vocoded title track, Ruess comforts and reminds listeners of the splendor found in self-defining life moments. For Ruess, the adventure is just a lonely night away, even if mortality is fleeting. He embraces self-revelations like adrenaline straight to the heart (“Man, you wouldn't believe/The most amazing things/That can come from/Some terrible lies...”), extolling the virtues of saying “YES” over pinch-harmonized guitars and lush production. While pop music typically exudes positivity, it doesn’t always hit the personal kind of reflection Some Nights explores, which make this bombastic set of songs such a fascinating listen. For lack of a better way to say it, pop music is rarely, if ever, this kind of fun.

Key Cuts: We Are Young, All Alone, All Alright

Most Crapped On: The Offspring- Days Go By (**)

Some men decide to buy an extremely extravagant car as they get older, a vessel to park not only their fading youth but to blast their homemade demo tape from the college band they used to play in. If you’re The Offspring, however, you call up Bob Rock and make another record. To their credit, few 90s punk revivalists have aged well, but time has been especially cruel to Dexter Holland, his voice shriller than ever. Yet the real problem comes with passion: Days Go By is mechanical, slick, and tame, everything that doesn’t support the adrenaline-addled energy of The Offspring’s best material. Most of the album is a mid-tempo malaise, and the jokey electro-blitz of “California (Bumpin’ In My Trunk)” makes you think they should have won a Pulitzer for “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)” in 1999. Still, the band shows flashes of their old selves, even for a brief moment, with the staccato crunch of “Dividing By Zero.” Too little, too late though. Days Go By deserves the criticism: When you’re covering your own songs (I’m looking at you “Dirty Magic”), it’s time to hang things up for good. So long and thanks for all the jams Offspring, you gotta keep your dad selves and your old lives...yup, you guessed it—you gotta keep ‘em separated.

Key Cuts: The Future Is Now, Dirty Magic, Dividing By Zero

Biggest Surprise: Gallows- Gallows (****)

Frank Carter WAS Gallows. His vulture scream was as recognizable as the group’s strident and angular take on hardcore punk, and that voice helped create some of the most engaging punk records of the past decade. So when it was confirmed that Carter was leaving, and that his replacement was ex-Alexisonfire growler Wade McNeil, there was cause for concern. Surprisingly, Gallows is a wholly different beast that stretches the band into new and exciting territory. “Victim Culture’s” sledge-hammer stomp and “Last June’s” swervy hardcore splatter finds the band locked, loaded, and ready for war. Though not as terrifying as Carter, McNeil’s biker snarl adds an intimidating facet to the Gallows sound that simply feels bigger and brasher. While there are moments of all out-white noise fury, like on “Vapid Adolescent Blues,” some of the record's brighter moments are on the second half anthems like the call-and –response depravity of “Odessa.” Though the group trades some of their more angular sounding arrangements for a chunkier, faster slice of the hardcore pie, Gallows displays a band that’s revitalized by their line-up change, rather than hampered by it. Frank Carter might have been Gallows, but McNeil & Co. have proven that Gallows is so much more than one man and one era in time—it’s a beast with a mind of it’s own.

Key Cuts: Victim Culture, Last June, Vapid Adolescent Blues

Biggest Letdown: Frank Ocean- channel ORANGE (***)

For a record that’s topped out nearly everyone’s End Of The Year List, channel ORANGE is expected to be a GREAT album—and it isn’t. There’s no denying that Frank Ocean, the most velvety member of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, is blessed with a blissful set of pipes, but his debut is simply too disorganized to take seriously. From the celebrity bloc party of John Mayer and Andre 3000 to the bloated interludes, channel ORANGE distracts more than it immerses. The frustrating part is that there IS a great album in there—it’s just buried. “Pyramids” may be the most inventive, multi-suite soul song of all time, its glacial movements and cool synthesizers feelings more at home on a Radiohead record. Elsewhere, Ocean’s free-verse inspired delivery on “Crack Rock” shows his drive to take future soul somewhere new and exciting, into the spacey abstract where slow jams rarely orbit. Between the PlayStation samples and digital mist, channel ORANGE is certainly expansive, but it plays like a collection of Ocean’s thoughts and sketches rather than a statement of purpose. Though interesting in scope, Ocean’s debut simply confirms what we already knew about him—his potential is only as powerful as the producer that edits him.

Key Cuts: Thinkin’ About You, Crack Rock, Pyramids

Biggest Blog Buzz: Lana Del Rey- Born To Die (***)

You couldn’t escape 2012 without talking about Lana Del Rey (a.k.a. manufactured pop queen Lizzy Grant), and with good reason: She was as divisive a pop-star as we’ve ever seen. The “Gangster Nancy Sinatra” was a bit of a tabloid target from her barely-there GQ spread to her strange fling with Axl Rose. Yet it was Born To Die that really set the Internet on fire, lambasting her for a less that pristine set of pipes and her comatose stage presence. It’s understandable, mainly because Born To Die is a classic exercise in style over substance. Lana puts on a Scorsese-sized production: Metallic trip-hop beats and movie score strings rest against a backdrop of Hollywood glamour and enough drugs and cheap thrills to make anyone seem numb on Sunset Boulevard. The problem is it’s hard to buy into Lana’s mystique and easy to digest her product, which ultimately makes her blasé. There are slow burn home runs like the funeral piano crawl of “Video Games,” or the buoyant come-on of “Diet Mountain Dew” but it’s hard to know where the allure starts and the anguish begins. For all the spectacle that’s present, there’s little tension, and Lana’s darkness is never really earned. This lack of sincerity ends up making Born To Die feel more like a commercial—interesting to take in but dangerously disposable.

Key Cuts: Video Games, Diet Mountain Dew, Radio

The Record That Should Have Caught On: P.O.S.- We Don’t Even Live Here (****½):

Stefon Alexander’s lack of name recognition is a bit criminal at this point. Whether it’s from his spitfire work with the Doomtree collective, or under the moniker P.O.S, Alexander is simply the most energetic presence in hip-hop today. Combining blitzed out synthesizers with punk rock percussion, We Don’t Even Live Here continues to illustrate Alexander’s undying passion for authenticity and his love of glitched-out noise. “**** Your Stuff” is a volatile cocktail of anarchist tongue twisters, while the graveyard clatter of “Lockpicks, Knives, Bricks & Bats” and the relentless bang and buzz of “Bumper” show Alexander’s zeal for urgency. We Don’t’ Even Live Here ultimately amounts to the strongest musical call to arms in years, an album that reflects the pastiche instincts of our modern world while preserving something uniquely human in spirit. In an age of cookie-cutter celebrities, manufactured nostalgia, and a never-ending cycle of tragedy addiction, it’s refreshing to hear Alexander rap about what it means to be a human being in the face of such a disposable culture (especially from a genre that’s known to perpetuate it). So if you want your hip-hop to say something, check out P.O.S—Stefon Alexander has something to say.

Key Cuts: Bumper, **** Your Stuff, Lockpicks Knives Bricks & Bats

Worst Release: The Mars Volta- Noctourniquet (0)

If you’re a Mars Volta scholar you’ll probably be determined to like this disaster of an album. Nothing I type about how it’s a fractured malaise of pretentious art rock noodling, wrapped with dubstep twitches and spastic wailing will deter you from liking this album. For all I know, you’re into this too. Fair enough.

Key Cuts: Say, how’s that At The Drive-In reunion going?

WILDCARD: Deftones- Koi No Yokan (*****)

Tragedy can really affect people, and for the Deftones it has focused them. While the smash-and-scream of 2010's Diamond Eyes carried a sense of frustration around their fallen brother Chi Cheng, Koi No Yokan finds them reflective and contemplative. Taking prog-rock cues from bands like Pink Floyd and Radiohead, the Deftones marry spacious soundscapes with their mammoth sized riffing to create a truly otherworld experience. Whether it’s the crushing grind of “Swerve City” or the robo-thrash breakdown of “Leathers,” the Deftones have created one of the more immersive albums since 2000’s White Pony. Chino Moreno is still one of the most underrated vocalists in heavy music today, continuing his impressive streak with the soothing space coo of “Entombed” and his almost rabid delivery on the lurching “Poltergeist.” Above all though, the album’s real achievement comes in the form of “Tempest” a swirling maelstrom of polyrhythmic drumming, hypnotic rhythms, and dream-like vocals. Replacement bassist Sergio Vega intimated that Koi No Yokan translates from Japanese to mean “the premonition of love,” or “love at first sight.” That’s not too far off base. After the tragedy the Deftones have endured, Koi No Yokan is the sound of a band exploring what’s next for themselves, their music, and the things they love. As such, listening to Koi No Yokan bloom and develop should thrill fair weather and fanatic Deftones fans alike.

Key Cuts: Swerve City, Leathers, Tempest

Honorable Mention: Music in 2012

2012-12-21T08:50:00.001-08:00

The amount of albums that came out in 2012 is staggering. Wikipedia can give you a general idea but the truth is unless you're Michael Fassbender in Prometheus, that's not a math problem you'll have fun solving. Yet it's become increasingly apparent that when I roll out my end of the year lists, I spend I great deal of time with records that don't end up represented in that coveted collection. So here are the less-sung heroes for me, the albums that brightened my 2012--the ones worth your time but impossible to place. Enjoy!

Alabama Shakes- Boys & Girls (***½): Brittany Howard’s soulful pipes and brash blues riffs are tailor made for fans of Sharon Jones and the Black Keys’ most recent stab at retro chic.

Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra- Theater Is Evil (***): The Wagnerian/Elton John ambition is there, but Palmer’s Kickstarter-funded project plays more like Dresden Doll b-sides instead of a creative manifesto.

Bad Books- Bad Books II (****½): A bit foggier, and sporting more keyboard quirks, Bad Books II finds the Andy Hull/Kevin Devine braintrust going strong with sensitive-guy charm.

BADBADNOTGOOD- BBNG2 (****½): Anything but bad, BBNG2 finds basement jazz masters balancing tight drums, slinky bass twitches, and a healthy side of hip-hop swagger, mingling with their free-form ambitions.

Beach House- Bloom (***½): Playing like Teen Dream at midnight, Bloom continues Beach House’s preoccupations with ethereal chimes, breathy whispers, and cooler end of 80s new wave.

Ben Gibbard- Former Lives (***½): The sweeping string arrangements and sweet sentimentality owe a great deal to the Beatles, but much like Gibbard’s idols, solo record will make fans hungry for his former band.

Blockhead- Interludes At Midnight (***½): Aesop Rock's favorite DJ casts swervy, late-night shadows and sports dense beats that would make Beck Hansen blush.

Clams Casino- Instrumental Mixtape 2 (*****): Dramatic without being overly pretentious, Michael Volpe's latest batch of larger than life beats borrows from nightmarish landscapes, intoxicating trip-hop, and just enough movie score gravitas to make E.S. Posthumous proud.

Cat Power- Sun (***): Charlyn Marshall’s fascination with David Bowie's Low era pushes her band to try on summertime synths and trip-hop thumps where her smoky bar presence would typically reside; call it sobering if a bit somber.

Crystal Castles- Crystal Castles (III) (***½): Alice Glass' Apocalypse-pixie shtick is warped into oblivion but Ethan Kath's thin, fluttering beats, make longtime listeners hungry for the thick low-end of Crystal Castles (II).

David Byrne & St. Vincent- Love This Giant (***½): Floating in a sea of clamoring horns and awkward funk, David Byrne and Annie Clark only really click when they focus their energy onto icy synth-sprawls.

Death Grips- The Money Store (****): This chopped up punk-rap is blasted with noise and staccato samples, while MC Ride's tortured braggadocio makes Tyler, The Creator look like Bruno Mars.

Divine Fits- A Thing Called Divine Fits (***½): Sporting Wolf Parade's wavey atmospheres and Spoon's angular bass-heavy work-outs, Divine Fits' 80s-ramped debut is the perfect antidote to a lonely night drive with nothing to do.

Fiona Apple- The Idler Wheel Is Wiser That The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords WIll Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (****): Older, wiser, and more neurotic, Apple's fifth LP specializes in free-jazz anachronism and bitter communication breakdowns.

Flying Lotus- Until The Silence Comes (***): If you can stand how ADD-riddled FlyLo's Alka-Seltzer style beats are, his Miles Davis approach to warped dubby samples might just be for you.

Garbage- Not Your Kind Of People (*****): Butch Vig and Shirley Mason's victory lap; an LP that truly embodies their band from film-score grandeur to electronic-robot rock, and the effervescent cool-gaze that separated them from their 90s contemporaries.

Gold Motel- Gold Motel (***½): Sleepy and subdued, Greta Morgan continues to plunk around her keys while the rest of her group channels retro-Beach Boy vibes.

Green Day- ¡Uno! (****½): Berkeley’s National Treasure keeps it short and sweet with songs about personal empowerment and love, channeling Cheap Trick and their Gilman days with Ramones-style energy.

Green Day- ¡Dos! (****): If you were looking for the 60s trash-rock sequel to Foxboro Hot Tubs’ Stop Drop & Roll!!!, look no further than this lustful batch of garage-ready cuts—just don’t be surprised when the party comes crashing down.

Green Day- ¡Tré! (****): After Billie Joe and Co. made a mess of the whole damn place they put the evening and their lives in perspective; ¡Tré! fluctuates between lean and mean pop-punk, 50s rock n’ roll glamour, and Green Day’s multi-suite American Idiot ambitions.

Hot Water Music- Exister (****): With some modern production and heaving bass lines, Chuck Ragan’s rag-tag punk battalion sounds like the powerful basement band he’s heard in his head since the very beginning.

How To Destroy Angels- An omen_E.P. (***½): Feeling more like sketches than a full body of work, Trent Reznor’s anxiety humming glitches and twitches coast under his wife’s siren-worthy presence.

Jack White- Blunderbuss (***): The Hardest Working Man at Third Man Records opens up his blues-rock vault, revealing that the discipline in his other groups allows him to serve up sizzle instead of the lukewarm Grammy fodder on this solo LP.

Japandroids- Celebration Rock (****): Earnestness never felt so tremendous as this duo powers through 9 cuts of “forever young” epiphanies, sounding like a proper 5-piece in the process.

Lamb Of God- Resolution (***½): Randy Blythe may be facing criminal charges overseas but let’s not forget his band’s immense fury—Resolution marries expansive dirges with rattlesnake riffs, making Blythe’s legal battles sound like child’s play.

M. Ward- A Wasteland Companion (***½): Playing like the kind of songwriter that plays bars in the evening and sleeps during the day, Ward conjures up some old folk magic on his latest album.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- The Heist (***½): The synthesizers are glitzier, the beats bigger, and the sound brighter as hip-hop’s resident boy scout churns out an album of strikingly honest rhymes.

Matt Skiba & The Sekrets- Babylon (****): As if Matt Skiba’s back catalog wasn’t expansive enough, the hyper caffeinated power-punk punch and textured Cure-keyboards on Babylon remind us all why he inspires such a devout, albeit gloomy, following.

Memoryhouse- The Slideshow Effect (***½): Soft and sweet, like a mid-afternoon nap, The Slideshow Effect is an exercise in syrupy melodies and breathy allure.

Mumford & Sons- Babel (****): Though the group trades in some of their quaint bluegrass flair for some feverish acoustic energy, Babel is the kind of album that ascends on the backs of thick harmonies and heartfelt stories.

Muse- The 2nd Law (****): Looks like Matt Bellemy just flipped through the Mos Eisley jukebox: Some flashy Zeppelin riffing, operatic Queen flourishes, blitzed-out electronics, and some blooming snyths jettison The 2nd Law into its own musical galaxy.

Motion City Soundtrack- Go (***): Slightly more subdued, Justin Pierre leads his usually bouncy band through the inner workings of his half-acoustic Atari heart—think bed room confessionals for gamers.

Neon Trees- Picture Show (***½): Mining the 80s for all their pulpy thrills, the Neon Trees move past their Sandals-ready sound to something bigger, brasher, and surprisingly artier.

Norah Jones- Little Broken Hearts (***½): Danger Mouse is gonna Danger Mouse, which amounts to a smoky record with tight drums, but Jones reminds us that her honey-smooth voice is the real reason we’re tuning in.

oOoOO- Our Love Is Hurting Us E.P. (****): Call it make-out music for ghouls but these witch house pioneers continue to take their warped vocal warbles and click-clack beats to Halloween-style heights.

Passion Pit- Gossamer (****): Holy 1980s Batman--If you’re looking for some slick keyboards, hooks engineered to move Mentos, and some spaztic pixie wailing, look no further than this glimmering LP.

Purity Ring- Shrines (***): Unsure if it wants to be Depeche Mode or the next witch house flavor of the month, Shrines is as sexy and scary as Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice, with its music box keys and dime-a-dozen programming.

The Raveonettes- The Observator (****½): Eisley Brothers sensibilities intact, the Ravenonettes continue to toy and tinker with shoegaze fog over their usually gloomy valentines.

Say Anything- Anarchy, My Dear (***): Max Bemis’s marriage has mellowed him some, so Anarchy… doesn’t blister and burn like his previous work, but in between dorky string laced come-ons and Weezer earnestness, it’s good to hear Bemis happy.

The Shins- Port Of Morrow (***½): Garden State might have been eons ago but the fuzzy radio transistor vistas on Port Of Morrow will take you back to a time where people got excited about The Shins.

Sigur Rós- Valtari (****): Thanks to Sigur Rós, I’m convinced that the expansive Icelandic country side resonates with the sounds of fantasy creatures swooning (or dying) in slow motion—so if you like that, plus healthy does of ivories, check this album out.

Silversun Pickups- Neck Of The Woods (****½): Channeling their inner Radiohead, the Pickups grow into a spacious sound that’s lush, angular, and down right mesmerizing, finding a happy medium in between dizzying and despondent.

The Smashing Pumpkins- Oceania (***½): Billy Corgan’s Curmudgeon Republic channels spacey synths, incense and peppermints psychedelia, and world religion mysticism, but this record really comes alive when Corgan splatters his guitar solos like it’s 1993.

Trash Talk- 199 (****): Everything here is sharp, overblown, blasted, smashed, and on fire—you’ll be hard pressed to find a more immediate addition to your hardcore punk collection in 2012.

The xx- Coexist (****½): Even if they’re spearheading this new dub-inspired PBR&B aesthetic, The xx keep their stark minimalism intact while adding some lightness and softness to their sound.

Walk The Moon- Walk The Moon (***½): A dizzy stab of indie dance jams that you’d swear Maroon 5 would try to make; then again, what’s refreshing about Walk The Moon is that no one has a record quite like it.

Yellowcard- Southern Air (***): They may not be tearing up the OC anymore, but Yellowcard continue evolve in interesting fashions, especially with some Americana flourishes creeping into their violin-powered pop-punk.

2012: A Playlist

2012-12-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

There was a point where I promised a part deux to a large compendium of summer listening. Man, that was a delightful idea. You were going to marvel at how eclectic my listening was and we could discuss the relative merits of everything revolving Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean. (Spoiler: Frank Ocean is wasting your time, half the time).

Oops.

2012 has been an exceptionally busy writing year for me, both at my internship and at school. As such, this blog has had to be unusually patient for me to...you know....get with it. But my ears have been busy. They always are. And in an attempt to stay on top of my massive year end roll out, I thought I'd kick it off with a Spotify playlist detailing some my favorite songs from 2012. While my more in-depth analysis of this year's albums is coming, this is to give you an idea of what some of my mixtape staples were in 2012. Enjoy! (Spoiler: There's no Frank Ocean to waste half your time).

The Subversive Dichotomy Of Adele Adkins (Or The Frenemy Of My iTunes Is Still My Frenemy)

2012-10-08T12:26:00.003-07:00

Adele bothers me more than most major pop-stars.

This sentiment comes on the heels of her James Bond theme hitting the Internet (which to my surprise is a fairly strong effort) as well as my latest attempt to give 21 another umpteenth listen in the hopes that I’ll finally “get it." I suppose part of this also stems from the fact that I glanced through her Rollingstone cover story, which also added gasoline to the hypercritical flames I usually hold her over. In any event, I’m bothered. This is gonna be a long one, buckle up.

Though I’ve long ago resigned to the fact that my listening habits are not of the Top 40 variety, Adele is something of an anomaly for me. She is the only artist in recent memory that's compelled me to obtain her records, listen to them with escalating levels of rage, delete them from my iTunes, forget about her, and then obtain her records again in some sort of vicious Groundhog Day/Mobius Strip of hilarity. This is problematic for me because I generally stick to my opinions. Except with Adele, that is. With Adele, I weigh the evidence, make a rational decision, and then offend all my friends that have “Rolling In The Deep” as their ringtone. It is what it is, and the snark remains the same.

I guess my relationship with Adele is a complicated one because I WANT to cut her a break and understand what 24+ million people find appealing. Like most human beings, I want to be part of the party. Yet, something happens mid way through 21, where I'm consumed with resentment that she's got my attention again, and it's wasting my time. And for some absurd reason, I still stop just short of dismissing her completely. The cycle repeats endlessly, and it’s quite the sinister enigma to solve. She’s the third shooter in Dallas, my Cubs World Series, my white whale (and no, that’s not a weight pun).

Thanks to “Skyfall,” and Rollingstone, I think I now know why.

There are two Adeles within Adele Adkins, two distinct narratives that are simultaneously interwoven with each other. Interestingly, the manner in which they're blurred has left me with the inability to decide how I feel about her artistic output. More to the point, the fact that these two narratives are twisted in on themselves might just be indicative of where pop culture is going in the next decade or so, which is either terrifying or hilarious depending on how your listening habits function. Allow me to elaborate on these two very different Adeles:

Adele #1—Adele The Sophisticated

This is the Adele 24+ million people think they’re getting when they watch Adele in an interview, a music video, or what they imagine her artistic persona to be. This is the Adele I want to buy into: The smoker, the drinker, and the girl with the broken heart. The earnest little artist that could, telling super producers like Rick Rubin and Paul Epworth to strip back all the studio trappings on 21 to make it raw and immediate. She’s a songwriter. This Adele is visceral, tapping into a rich Motown tradition that’s all but been forgotten. She doesn’t play to “traditional” body images, and she’s ambivalent to the press that picks her part for it. This Adele has a boyfriend, a reclusive private life (in fact, she CREATES a private life), and is the most technically proficient singer of the past five years. She’s Dusty Springfield and Joan Holloway, all chutzpah and hand grenade vocals. She’s a champion, a storyteller, and alchemist that can translate talent into mountains of awards, and legions of followers.

Adele #2—Adele The Ordinary

This is the Adele 24+ million people get when they hit play on 21, who we read about in the gossip columns, and who’s real legacy is grounded in manufactured awards show buzz. This is the Adele that functions within the rigid pop-paradigm, with enough raw talent to support an album full of three singles and indistinguishable filler, a Grammys' reckoning. She’s the kind of radio wonder that will put out a decidedly nostalgic sounding LP plagued by the hilariously modern Loudness War—A record constructed to feel resonant and warm but comes across as flat and cold. You hear this singer in the super market aisle while you’re shopping at Whole Foods. This is the kind of malleable talent that Columbia Records will hand-pick to work with super producers like Rick Rubin and Paul Epworth, focus-grouping ballads about John Q. Anybody-But-Somebody-Specific. This is the Adele that swings the pendulum the other way for me, the one that exists in a manufactured pop-vacuum, not a cultural revival. More to the point, this is the Adele Columbia Records tries to hide from you.

If you’re feeling a bit like Keanu Reeves right now, I can assure you that was planned.

I suppose this is sort of true for any artist. There is a romanticized ideal that we think we’re experiencing juxtaposed with the cold calculating reality we’re oblivious to. Art is a reaction to commerce and commerce reacts to art.

Then again, some musicians really create art with a message and drive. Sometimes that romantic rock n’ roll narrative is 100% true--your Iggy Pops, the Tom Waitses, and the Johnny Cashs. There, it’s harder to differentiate danger from the "narrative" because they truly live their story. Kurt Cobain was an insanely depressed drug addict. Raise your hand if you wince(d) when watching Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged? These artists embody the kind of stories that shake us as listeners, and these narratives help us create lasting bonds with musicians--endearing us to records we’ll listen to over and over again. The closer the connection to reality and art, the more human, personal, and resonant it becomes. We love to be immersed in this mystique because it simultaneously validates the artist and ourselves.

We like manufactured pop music for different reasons. With pop music, with Top 40 radio, the invented narrative you’re being asked to believe is never hidden. We ALWAYS see the Wizard behind the curtain. Here, HOW the narrative is constructed helps us shop around. For as ridiculous as the 90s boy-band explosion was, as well as the bubblegum-glam of everyone from Debbie Gibson to Britney Spears, no one will mistake who made these stars popular and how they did it. This is why we loved them, and why they've sold more records than God. The beauty of Top 40 is these artists don’t have to hide how the sausage is being made—people will eat it up because they like the way it’s made. If you’re loyal to the process, who cares about substance?

If you buy into Top 40 pop-stars, you buy into what you’re expecting.

The problem is that market is only so large, and record companies are greedy little greed mongers.

Adele is a fascinating exception, the pop-star disguised as sophisticated songstress. In a technological age that blurs reality more and more, Adele effortlessly muddles the line between romantic and manufactured. Her personas are not divided by authenticity, but by weapons grade advertising. She’s a massive success because her reach extends past those who traditionally buy into constructed pop-escapism. This is because in the modern warfare of democratized digital listening, Adele is the perfect stealth bomber to sneak past enemy lines. She looks, feels, and embodies the serious and dramatic, but she’s been assembled a few doors down from Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Rihanna. She’s the perfect product. With Adele, the fact that you can’t always see the Wizard is why she’s a massive success. She consciously appeals to those that would normally buy her records as well as those that would typically shun such a massive commercial titan, totaling 24+ million Adele-colytes in the process.

Then again, maybe I’m just bitter that Adele continues to trick me into listening to 21 over and over again, without really enjoying more than three tracks on it.

Oh well, fool me once, right?

How I Spent My Summer Non-Vacation: Episode IV--A New Update

2012-08-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yo Bruce Springsteen...you wrote Born To Run and all, and I'mma let your finish...

We open on what seems like an ENDLESS spaceship as it shoots at a much smaller, more rundown spaceship. There are lasers, and definitely some ooozin’ ahhs from the crowd. A film like that would probably be pretty rad, especially when the black caped villain shows up. Guess I need to finish my screenplay...

This post is kind of like that sort of movie. Except, you know, with the music critique and all. In case you were curious, my ears were as busy as I was this past summer. Here’s what kept them company…in the first of two rad installments…

BADBADNOTGOOD- BBNG2 (****½)

Talented jazz trios that love the antagonistic and violent stylings of Odd Future don’t just drop out of the sky, do they? They do if you’re BADBADNOTGOOD, a group that specializes in tight Charles Mingus grooves while sporting an ear for contemporary hip-hop and electro-soul, wrapping their big beats in smoky atmospheres. The result is one of the more interesting jazz efforts to come along in a long time, simultaneously paying homage to the past and the present, with deft precision.

Key Cuts: Earl (Feat. Leland Whitty), Limit To Your Love, Flashing Lights

Bloc Party- Four (*****)

Those that had a raging conniption about the electronic leaning Intimacy and Kele Okereke’s synthed-out solo project, The Boxer, can rest easy. Four is the masterpiece Bloc Party fans have been waiting for since the early aughts, its raw, “live-in-the studio” swagger energizing the group’s most immediate set of songs since Silent Alarm. From twangy, angular space-punk, to palm-muted, sweeping ballads, Bloc Party gives fans an impressive comeback record that’s as confrontational as it is comforting.

Key Cuts: Octopus, The Healing, We’re Not Good People

Cat Power- Sun (***)

When she’s not recounting her fractured past in broken down bars, Charlyn Marie Marshall is apparently indulging in the coldest kind of sunbathing. Hovering between scattershot trip-hop beats and Bowie-esque keyboards, Sun revels in Marshall’s indie-R&B fascinations, stretching them in more somber directions than lustful ones. Though Sun isn’t as consistent as her past offerings (it lacks anything resembling a radio-earworm), these hypnotic atmospheres help keep her afloat without an abundance of memorable hooks.

Key Cuts: Cherokee, 3,6,9, Nothing But Time

Childish Gambino- Royalty (****½)

Donald Glover might be the newest prince in the rap game, but his charisma and talent is undeniably earned. After last year’s breakthrough Camp, Glover chose to keep grinding on his 808s and came up with Royalty, a mixtape that plays like a list of his hyper-caffeinated YouTube favorites. You simply won’t find a more fun sounding hip-hop recording this year, where 80’s neon glitz, deeply dark bass, quirky brass touches, and diverse MCs (Everyone from GZA to Tina Fey) add fuel to Glover's urgent, fiery flow.

Key Cuts: One Up (Feat. Steve G. Lover), American Royalty (Feat. RZA & Hypnotic Brass Orchestra), R.I.P. (Feat. Bun B.)

Fiona Apple- The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw & Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (****)

There might not be an artist out there that makes you feel the labor of her music more than Fiona Apple, maybe because there are no other artists out there that are as ruthlessly self-critical. Multi-syllabic title in hand, Apple is back with one of the more frantic entries in her deeply confessional catalog. Sporting broken lullaby bombast, free-form jazz percussion, and enough sardonic spite to sink an aircraft carrier, Apple is still plunking on her ivories as the Internet burns.

Key Cuts: Valentine, Left Alone, Werewolf

Frank Ocean- channel ORANGE (***)

It’s impossible to talk about Odd Future without mentioning Frank Ocean’s pure, unadulterated talent. He’s got silky smooth pipes, but his ambition is stretched too thin, crushing an otherwise interesting stab at future soul. There are complicated vocal runs, space-age blips and strings, and about a million rappers coming out of the wood-works to support Ocean, but channel ORANGE is classic case of having too many cooks in the kitchen, overwhelming the most devout listener.

Key Cuts: Pyramids, Crack Rock, Pink Matter (Feat. André 3000)

The Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten (*****)

Brian Fallon writes the kinds of songs Bruce Springsteen wishes he could write. That statement isn’t hyperbolic: Handwritten has guts, an LP chock full of the self-reflection that often comes with staying honest in desperate times. Super producer Brendan O’Brian adds some texture, encouraging the group to incorporate blusier melodies into their punky chug, but it’s Fallon’s images that keep listeners grounded, spinning tales of American ghosts that were made to crash through muscle car radios.

Key Cuts: “45”, Mulholland Drive, Biloxi Parish

Gold Motel- Gold Motel (***½)

Going the DIY route takes chutzpah but it also takes the kind of meticulous follow through that Gold Motel exhibit on their new self-titled, self-produced album. The group's chemistry is endearing, mixing hazy guitars with chunky slabs of Beach Boy pop and girl-group charm. The slower mood might make it seem like there's a bit of a hangover from partying at the summer house, but Gold Motel’s latest effort feels like the work of real musicians playing real songs, the best kind of result from a DIY mentality.

Key Cuts: Brand New Kind Of Blue, In Broad Daylight, Slow Emergency

Japandroids- Celebration Rock (****)

There is nothing more rock & roll than feedback and anthems, two things Japandroids has in spades. Celebration Rock is quite the statement, marrying driving rhythms with stadium punch, and enough late-night ennui to choke the dudes from Hüsker Dü. Though the group is only two albums into their career, this sophomore effort hints at a bright future for Japandroids, full of the kind of music that embodies mix tapes and feelings that forever stay in our bones.

Key Cuts: Adrenaline Nightshift, The House That Heaven Built, Continuous Thunder

Tons Of Tunes Comin’ At You

2012-05-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

"Wait, which one of you knows where the camera's at?"

Oh look…tunes n’ such.

Alabama Shakes- Boys & Girls (***½): Thank goodness Brittney Howard has come along to disrupt the malaise of Top 40 Adele-like “soul singers.” Alabama Shakes rumble with some real blues fire, from their gospel-organ swells to their raucous riffing. There’s power in their chords and in Howard’s vocal chords, the sort of presence that used to punctuate the Grammys way back in the day. Maybe Alabama Shakes will be the ones to shake that up.

Key Cuts: Hold On, Heartbreaker, I Ain’t The Same

Beach House- Bloom (***½): Chances are if you didn’t hitch your wagon to 2010’s Teen Dream, Bloom isn’t going to do much to change your mind about Beach House. The music is still wobbling between glacial and celestial, and the choruses tend to rise instead of sporting punchy hooks. Still, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scully have supped up their keyboards and added a little weight behind their typically chiming guitars, just so to remind you that you’re listening to the new stuff.

Key Cuts: Myth, Lazuli, The Hours

Best Coast- The Only Place (**): Jon Brion works his producer magic and polishes up The Only Place into a shimmering 1950s dreamland, but the results are less than stellar. Without all that bitterness and lo-fi crunch of her debut, Bethany Cosentino is forced to come to terms with the fact that she’s a flat singer with a fairly limited emotional pallet. Bummer city, but at least she left us swimming in a handful of drifting ballads and the hope that she’ll bring the fuzz one her next go around.

Key Cuts: My Life, No One Like You, How They Want Me To Be

Blockhead- Interludes After Midnight (***½): Insomnia vibes wash all over Blockhead’s new LP, whether it’s the narcotic trip-hop stomp, the fractured jazz samples, or the flickering electronics that color his music. Though Blockhead originally broke out making beats for Aesop Rock, Interludes After Midnight’s late night crawl is more indebted to instrumentalists like Fat Jon or DJ Shadow, rather than underground hip-hop. Tense, claustrophobic, and immersive, Interludes… displays an instrumental alchemist that’s content to experiment well into the night.

Key Cuts: Never Forget Your Token, Meet You At Tower Records, Midnight Blue

Death Grips- The Money Store (****): If you’ve ever wondered about dropping your old SNES into an echo chamber owned by Public Enemy, you should probably pickup The Money Store. Death Grips’ brand of hip-hop is an assaulting amalgam of noise rock collage, chip tune freak-outs, and Stefan Burnett’s junkyard dog flow. Though the smashed together, clipped-to-death nature of these tracks isn’t for everyone, there’s an energy about Death Grips that will shock even the most fervent Odd Future supporter.

Key Cuts: Hustle Bones, I’ve Seen The Footage, Hacker

Garbage- Not Your Kind Of People (*****): Butch Vig leads Garbage through a veritable IMAX-sized mix on Not Your Kind Of People, and it makes for perhaps the most thrilling record of the year. Electronic squeals blast and buzz from every angle, waves of blissed-out fuzz drag listeners into almost spacey dreams, and group’s mechanized rhythms punch alongside Shirley Manson’s timeless presence. The end result sounds like the biggest rock record of 1999, recorded in the biggest spaceship of 9991.

Key Cuts: Automatic Systematic Habit, Big Bright World, Felt

Hot Water Music- Exister (****): Hearing an old band revitalized on their latest LP is like a breath of fresh air…and a punch to the gut. Enter Hot Water Music, playing things lean and mean on their seventh album, Exister, which sports charging power chords, beefy bass lines, and a lock-step drummer that’s fast as all Hell. Vocalist Chuck Regan seems to get angrier and courser as the years go by, reassuring fans that not everyone mellows with age.

Key Cuts: Mainline, Boy, You’re Gonna Hurt Someone, Exister

Jack White- Blunderbuss (***): The world knows how talented Jack White is, but it’s quite a shock hear him so tame on his first solo record. Blunderbuss draws from the pantheon of White’s past blues travels: 60s pop, rootsy Americana, Paul McCartney rambles, but for some reason the sprawling and eclectic nature of this LP fails to give the songs any bite. White could have used some restraint to focus his meanderings, and while there’s nothing here that should offend longtime fans, there’s also not a whole lot that will make you pay attention (the exception being Sixteen Saltines).

Key Cuts: Missing Pieces, Sixteen Saltines, Trash Tongue Talker

M. Ward- A Wasteland Companion (***½): M. Ward always has a story to tell, and A Wasteland Companion is no exception. The characters in A Wasteland Companion’s musical vignettes all struggle-- with being alone, being together, and being themselves. But no one quite ties it together like Ward with his dry rasp, finger picked acoustic, and jumpy piano making you feel like they’re right in the room with you.

Key Cuts: Clean Slate, Primitive Girl, There’s A Key

Matt Skiba & The Sekrets- Babylon (****): In retooling several cuts from 2010’s Demos alongside Hunter Burgan (A.F.I.) and Jarrod Alexander (My Chemical Romance), Matt Skiba proves yet again that he’s got a thing for gory anthems. Everything gets butchered on Babylon, Skiba’s mournful memories drowned in soaring choruses, 80s snyths, and buzz saw riffs. While the album expands to include sounds reminiscent of The Cure and The Chameleons, Skiba taps into a romanticism largely avoided on his previous work with Alkaline Trio, which should please new and old Skiba acolytes alike.

Key Cuts: Voices, All Fall Down, Luciferian Blues

Neon Trees- Picture Show (***½): When they’re not busy kicking it at Sandals, the Neon Trees are adding some technicolor flair to your Internet radio. What’s surprising is the amount of growth the Trees are sporting this go around—The record’s second half is considerably artier than longtime fans have come to expect, exploring an almost layered, robotic sheen. While Picture Show might carry less blockbuster singles than its predecessor, it may ultimately prove to be a more satisfying album overall.

Key Cuts: Moving In The Dark, Everybody Talks, Trust

Norah Jones- Little Broken Hearts (***½): Though not as consistent as The Fall, Norah Jones’ Little Broken Hearts packs a surprising punch. Danger Mouse’s production keeps the snare hits snappy and the guitars smoky, but it’s Jones’ velvety voice that continues to age like fine wine. Maybe she’s a bit far removed from her good-girl Grammy days, but Little Broken Hearts splits the sultry difference between a midnight dream and a distant memory.

Key Cuts: Good Morning, She’s 22, Miriam

oOoOO- Our Love Is Hurting Us E.P. (****): If witch house is officially passé, no one told oOoOO. Consider this a great big win, for 2012 electronic music and the genre in general. His latest E.P. continues the set the bar for the witch house scene, adding clarity and crispness to his jerky beats and séance-ready atmospheres. Spooky, twitchy, and definitively witchy, Our Love Is Hurting features several strong contenders for your future “Halloween” mixes.

Key Cuts: TryTry, Spring, Break Yr Heart

The Shins- Port Of Morrow (***½): When we last cared about The Shins they were blowing up Zach Braff’s iPod, right before their sharp descent into mediocrity. Port Of Morrow is the sound of the righting their ship, a vibrant, full-band effort that takes their soft folk leanings and blows them up with all manner of twinkling atmospheres and slow burn distortion. If they keep this up, they just might secure a soundtrack spot in Garden State 2: The Gardening.

Key Cuts: The Rifle’s Spiral, Simple Song, September

Silversun Pickups- Neck Of The Woods (****½): Teaming up with Jacknife Lee was a stroke of genius for the Silversun Pickups. On Neck Of The Woods, the group scales back their neo-shoegaze plod for a more angular, percussive, and groove-oriented batch of songs. Electronics play a more pronounced role on ...Woods than on their previous material, but the biggest change seems to be in the Pickups’ willingness to reach for bigger vistas and splashier crescendos, a sound that suits them well.

Key Cuts: Make Believe, Mean Spirits, Simmer

Adam “MCA” Yauch: 1964 – 2012

2012-05-06T09:39:00.002-07:00

I’ve spent the past few days attempting to make sense of Adam “MCA” Yauch’s passing, but it all still feels strange and random. Sort of like MCA and the rest of the Beastie Boys: You could never fit them into just one box. Were they rock? Were they hip-hop? Were they pioneers or were they musical Philistines? Perhaps at one time in their career the Beasties, MCA included, were all of the above. You can read about those trials and tribulations elsewhere, in bigger magazines and more pretentious blogs.

I’d just like to talk about what MCA meant to me.

The first time I heard the Beastie Boys was in 2001. A classmate in my second period Spanish class burned me a copy of Licensed To Ill, assuring me that I was going to love the album. He didn't need to sell it that hard, an album like Licensed To Ill sells itself. I still have that CD, mainly because these were the days of Roxio, and my classmate made the mistake of burning the songs in the wrong order. It was too weird to throw away. In effect, my first taste of the Beastie’s brashness came backasswards, starting with “Brass Monkey” and ending with “Time To Get Ill.” I can’t remember the exact context in which I received the CD, but I know that I played the hell out of it in high school, out of order and everything.

Call it the new style if you’d like.

MCA came into my life at a time when I needed a new style. High school was a strange, foreign place. I didn’t party. I knew nothing about hip-hop. I knew even less about girls. Perhaps thankfully, him and the Beasties didn’t teach me about ANY of those things. However, Licensed To Ill was/is liberating, suggestive of an attitude that you can take the world hostage with. There was a confidence to that album, and a charisma with which MCA’s cracked flow scraped against his nasally counterparts, warped record scratches, and Led Zeppelin samples. Maybe it’s a cliché now, but MCA fought for that, for the chance to go against the grain, for the right to party while the whole world freaked out. At a time where the hyper militant N.W.A. and Public Enemy raised their fists high, MCA seemed to be raising his craft even higher.

This made more sense as I explored the rest of the Beastie catalog. From Paul’s Boutique…To The 5 Boroughs, I quickly realized that the Beasties and MCA were never content in towing the line. They compulsively took their music places that were too splashy, too showy, and too funny for other hip-hop artists to feel comfortable with. That’s courage. While other rappers ached to live up to Snoop and Dre, the Beasties focused on weaving jazz, hardcore punk, and hard hitting 808s from the 80s into something completely different. They had robots in their videos. Lasers. Dalliances with Sasquatch. Moustaches. Everything that was off limits to “serious” rappers, the Beasties reveled in like no other.

For a pessimist like me, that’s a whole lot of optimism.

At center of that optimism was MCA. Maybe it’s a little late to say he was my favorite of the three, but it’s the truth. He had a seasoned smoothness to him that was unmatched. Of the three Beastie Boys, he rocked the most nimble flow, whether he was rapping about artisan cheeses or Klingons. Not only that, but the biggest surprise is that he got BETTER as he got older. In 2009, MCA rocked moccasins on Jimmy Fallon, doling out rhymes that would make people like 50 Cent hang up their tank tops in shame. “Sucker MCs…” he’d call them. To hear MCA was to hear a master a work, someone who had first class style and finesse, a presence that commanded attention without ever making it about his ego. MCA’s rhymes always came from a place of honesty, and in the midst of the zany Beastie adventures he found himself in the middle of, he always had time to keep things real. In fact, MCA dropped my favorite Beastie couplet on “Sure Shot:”

“I want to say a little something that's long overdue/The disrespect to women has got to be through/To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends/I want to offer my love and respect to the end…”

I don’t know another rapper out there who has displayed that kind of solidarity.

If albums like Licensed To Ill rhymed the rebel rhyme well, LPs like the rag & bone soup of Ill Communication and the bassed-out blitz of Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 were made to bring people closer, continuing to democratize a genre of music that was never meant to be exclusive. Maybe that’s the thing that will stick with me most about MCA. Where other rappers have become increasingly entitled as they’ve aged, MCA and the Beasties never did. They understood that hip-hop is only as good as the hodgepodge of sounds you’re working with, and only if it casts a net to reach everyone within ear shot. The idea surrounding hip-hop has always been to bring people together, whether it was on a block party or at a huge concert. I owe a lot to MCA, some of my closest friendships, my sense of humor, and certainly my strangeness. Though my chance to see the Beasties fell through at Outside Lands a couple years back, I imagine those that got to see them first hand felt that more than anything else. Wackiness aside, MCA’s life seemed to be about leaving that kind of impact on people, and I can’t thank him enough for what he’s given me.

Wherever you are MCA, I hope you’re having dope times dropping ill rhymes.

Loud Lockdown

2012-03-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Sleigh Bells: Still reignin'.

Remember when I updated semi-regularly? Of course you do. This is to remind you of what that was like. Sort of. Oh, and it’s also to catch up on all the rad LPs that have been blowing up my headphones through the law school grind.

Every Time I Die- Ex Lives (*****): Let’s be real for a moment: Ex Lives is a punishing piece of music, a twisted storm of angular hardcore, bristling metallic grind, and ambient psychedelia, straight from the perverse mind of Keith Buckley & Co. This is the kind of record that comes once in a blue moon, a kaleidoscopic hodgepodge of aggression and groove that’s as beautiful as it is chaotic. In a world where everyone can play like a lazer-guided robot, it’s refreshing to see a group explore the heavy end of the spectrum with soul and feeling. Oh, and there’s banjo. In short, Every Time I Die is the best heavy band you're not listening to, and Ex Lives is the most face melting fun you’ll have all year.

Key Cuts: Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space, I Suck (Blood), Indian Giver

fun.- Some Nights (****): How does a group cross over from indie-pop royalty to full blown iTunes heavyweights? If you’re fun., you call up Kanye West’s producer Jeff Bhasker, listen to Queen’s Jazz obsessively, and apply all of that to some solid song writing. Some Nights captures the grandeur of hope in a way that few pop albums in recent memory have been able to do, wrapping it up with massive beats (“We Are Young”), plunking piano (“All Alone”), and enough electronic fuzz and vocal warbling to turn Top 40 on its ear. This bigger sound suits the band well, creating a theatrical carnival that’s warmer, more wistful, and intensely gratifying. If you want a fun night, check out fun.’s Some Nights.

Key Cuts: We Are Young (Feat. Janelle Monáe), All Alone, All Alright

Lana Del Rey- Born To Die (***): Whether or not you buy into the idea of Lana Del Rey as the “gangster Nancy Sinatra,” it’s hard to listen to Born To Die without feeling uncomfortable. This is partially because the album’s arrangements are actually pretty interesting, fusing movie score sighs with spacious, minimalist trip-hop clunk and clatter. Too bad Del Rey makes the listening experience…disconcerting. The more-numb-than-cool, Lolita pandering, pop-star exploitation story does more to unsettle than engage, especially since she just doesn’t have a set of pipes to pull it all together. File under: Hot Mess.

Key Cuts: “Mumble mumble mumble, videeooooo gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaames…”

Lamb Of God- Resolution (***½): Ever since 2005’s Sacrament, Lamb Of God have been trying to find their groove metal mojo. Wrath, although thrashy, just felt too clean for these metal mastodons. Resolution benefits from some much needed muscular crunch this time around, whether it’s on the atom bomb shudder of “Straight For The Sun” or the rattlesnake stomp of “Ghost Walking.” Unfortunately, the album unravels during the second half, mining past sonic hellfire-riff workouts, feeling aimless in the process. Though Resolution is a step in the right direction, Lamb Of God’s next record is really going to have to bring something new to the table to keep us listening.

Key Cuts: Straight For The Sun, Ghost Walking, The Number Six

The Mars Volta- Noctourniquet (*): Ugh. This record sounds like a fax machine, spazzing out to a Tito Puente remix done by Skrillex (Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire). Too many ideas, no focus, and no real drive. Hell, even Cedric wasn’t enthused about this album. Pass.

Key Cuts: The At The Drive-In reunion at Coachella.

Memoryhouse- The Slideshow Effect (***½): Striking a subtle balance between Beach House’s warm spaciousness, the syrupy slide of The Field Mice, and some twinkling keyboards for good measure, Memoryhouse is the real deal. Occupying the space between a faded photo and wasted afternoon, The Slideshow Effect is a soothing, lush exploration of romanticism. Though Denise Nouvion’s register falls on the flatter end of the spectrum, the soft layers of reverb that punctuate these tracks makes them shimmer like summer. The album’s shining standout out is “The Kids Were Wrong,” its drum machine patter and luscious licks painting a picture of youth too personal for our skin to forget.

Key Cuts: Little Expressionless Animals, The Kids Were Wrong, Walk With Me

Say Anything- Anarchy, My Dear (***): Anarchy, My Dear isn’t dragged down by the fact that Max Bemis isn’t having frantic, bi-polar freak-outs anymore. It languishes because Bemis constructed a really safe record, and, for the first time in his career, isn’t really saying much of anything. There are some barnburners, the searing buzz of “Burn A Miracle” and the synthed-out come-on of “So Good,” but Anarchy… plays out like a neutered version of Say Anything’s previous album, without the pop bombast. The whole affair seems tired, especially considering there’s a sequel to the group's anti-hispter anthem “Admit It!!!” titled “Admit It Again.” Admit it Max, this one was a tad phoned-in.

Key Cuts: Burn A Miracle, Say Anything, So Good

Sleigh Bells- Reign Of Terror (*****): Coming from lo-fi, in-the-red dance party beginnings, Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss have constructed a flashy and emotive church of noise on Reign Of Terror. Indebted to Miller’s love of heroic axe shredding and Krauss’ R&B-meets-riot grrl schtick, Reign... balances breathy ballads with 808 drum machine gun fire. This album is cooler than cool, from the evil cheerleader stomp of “Crush,” to the harmonized siren moan and Def Leppard arpeggios of “You Lost Me.” And of course, there’s “Demons,” the sexiest, most violent stab at biker metal you’ll hear this year. Bigger, brasher, and at times more adventurous, Sleigh Bells have taken the recklessness of their debut and blown it up in all its gory 80s glory. Terrorific.

Key Cuts: Crush, Demons, You Lost Me

Most Anticipated Albums Of '12

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

The rumors of my submission to the treacherous second semester of law school are...sort of spot on, actually. However, that doesn't mean I've thrown the headphones out with the bathwater, especially since we've got such a great year of music ahead of us. In between no sleep and less sleep, I was able to settle on a list of my most anticipated records for 2012. Much like last year, my good friend Matt over at The Sight Of Sound has contributed his picks as well, mostly so we could form a Voltron-style super list for you, the loyal reader.

If that piques your interest, you should probably take a gander below...

Matt & Mike's Shared Picks

Green Day- “TBA” (Summer 2012)

Matt: Whether you like the Ramones-style punk of earlier Green Day work or the Queen-style punk (yes, I’m going to say that’s a valid description) of the recent albums, here is one thing to consider - you don’t have to choose between the two. Not much is known about Green Day’s ninth studio album, but I could be happy with it being a call to the Dookie days or a continuation of the storytelling found on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. Or a combination of the two. Just give me some new music from this band and I will be happy.

Mike: Something interesting is brewing in the world of Green Day, something they can’t quite contain due to sheer excitement. After holding several secret club shows last fall, it’s evident that the Bay Area natives are sitting on an explosive stockpile of new material. Of the 15 new cuts they debuted live, there are brash bar burners like the stutter-stop punch of “Carpe Diem” and sweet, acoustic picked ballads like “Amy.” Rumors are swirling that the yet to be titled album will be reminiscent of nimrod. or Warning:, but what ever it sounds like, you know that the group’s signature energy and snide sense of humor will remain firmly intact.

Muse- “TBA” (Fall 2012)

Matt: With the expected release date to be sometime late in the year, there is a chance that new material from Muse could be pushed back to 2013. I’m going to still hold out hope that we get it before the world ends. Reports have stated that the material will be something “radically different” and a change of pace is always good. Personally, I think Muse is at their best when they go for a sound that employs the best of their instrumental work (“Knights of Cydonia,” “Time is Running Out”) so my hope is that it at least stays in that direction. But the success of The Resistance shows that the piano-heavy tracks can be a factor too. I expect big things out of this band.

Mike: Though The Resistance was a bit of a grower, Muse have promised fans that their latest musical concoction will be “radically different” than anything they’ve done before. Does that mean more face melting solos? Heavier synthesizers? Symphonic art-rock? Probably all of the above. Boasting the tightest rhythm sections in modern music with Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme, and one of the most recognizable falsettos in Matt Bellamy, Muse sound like they have their sights sets well beyond the Milky Way. Expect it to be brash, expect it to be bold, and expect it to bee 100% Muse.

Silversun Pickups- “TBA” (Spring 2012)

Matt: Silversun Pickups have been the dark horse in the alternative scene for a few years now, mainly because their sound is one that you can’t really pinpoint. At times it can be played alongside the heaviest Manchester Orchestra songs and at times alongside the slowest Death Cab for Cutie songs. Using those two bands as comparisons, you can sense my excitement when it was posted that 3 (as it has become unofficially called) was to be “darker.” I’m not sure what this means, or if it was a joke among the band, but I can tell you that I am salivating for this spring release after still giving Swoon some heavy rotation.

Mike: Quaintly dubbing their new material 3 via Twitter, the Silversun Pickups seem to be hard at work on the follow-up to their massively successful sophomore album, Swoon. While their last effort incorporated a fuller, thicker wall of sound, and some dramatic strings as accents, it’s still unclear what sonic direction this new material will take. Though the group dropped a glacial and fuzzy 7” a couple weeks ago, those tracks were outtakes from previous recording sessions, rather than a teaser of things to come. In the end, we’ll simply have to keep an ear on the Pickups. Odds are, there will be plenty to swoon over come spring.

Matt's Picks

Mumford & Sons- “TBA” (Spring/Summer 2012): A friend of mine once told me that you can’t really call an artist one of your “favorites” until they put out a second album. Until then, you are just a fan of that debut record. And believe me, I was a HUGE fan of Sigh No More, the debut release from Mumford & Sons. In fact, it was the album that introduced me to the folk genre and allowed me to explore other acts. What this new album brings will be the turning point in whether Sigh... was just a fantastic collection of songs or if M&S is a band that is here to stay. If “Ghosts” is any indication, I may just have a new band to call my one of my favorites.

Neon Trees- “Picture Show” (Mar. 27): I have been itching for new material from this group since 2010's Habits, mainly because the debut album was nothing more than a glorified E.P. Eight tracks clocked in at around 30 minutes that left me wanting more when it was over, especially "In The Next Room" and the smash single "Animal." The Christmas song "Wish List" and the newest single "Everybody Talks" show that the band isn't aiming to change much, which is a good thing. If it ain't broke, why fix it?

Paramore- “TBA” (Spring/Summer 2012): Four songs have been released since Paramore went through a lineup shakeup that essentially changed nothing: Hayley Williams is still the focus of the band. And her voice carries with the modified sound on released singles such as "Hello Cold World" and "Renegade" as well as "Monster" from the latest Transformers movie. I don't think these will be on Paramore's newest release, but if the new material sounds like those tracks then count me in as a supporter.

Honorable Mention

All American Rejects- “Kids In The Street” (Mar. 27): AAR have been a bit all over the place in the near decade since their self-titled album. Along with Fall Out Boy, there are one of the few bands that has strayed into pop that I have actually stuck with. If the new album is anything like “Someday’s Gone,” I’m definitely in.

Linkin Park- “TBA” (Unknown): Talk about a band that has refused to stay in one genre over the
years. I initially hated 2010’s A Thousand Suns but grew to appreciate it. I have no idea what the new material is going to sound like and for that reason alone I’m intrigued.

No Doubt- “TBA” (Unknown): Will they or won’t they? This reunited album has been in the works for a couple years now but the stars are seeming to align and indicate that something will happen from Gwen Stefani and company in 2012. I sure hope so.

Pierce The Veil- “TBA” (Unknown): PTV is a band I fell in love with after seeing them live at a time when I had no idea who they were. They've continued to blow me away at shows, and I'm honestly looking forward to their third album so I have new songs to go crazy to at a future Warped Tour.

Mike's Picks

Bloc Party- “TBA” (Summer 2012): After quieting the rumor mills revved up over front man Kele Okereke’s supposed exit, Bloc Party confirmed their studio efforts to create new music for this year. Whether it borrows from the spiky energy of Silent Alarm or the heavy electronic stomp of Intimacy, the silence surrounding what kinds of sounds they’re exploring is simply tantalizing. No one knows what Bloc Party is going to sound like in 2012, and that might just be the most exciting part.

Garbage- “Not Your Kind Of People” (May 14): Though Butch Vig has been busy producing everyone from the Foo Fighters to Green Day since Garbage’s 2005 effort Bleed Like Me, it’s exciting to see him back in action with Shirley Mason and the rest of the Garbage crew. Not only that, but their reunion seems fruitful. Vig and Manson and described Not Your Kind Of People as extremely noisy and abrasive, while channeling their energy of their self-titled debut. With the 90s coming back in force it’s nice to see one of the more dynamic groups from that era still kicking out meaty, attitude drenched jams.

Sleigh Bells- “Reign Of Terror” (Feb. 21): Guitarist/producer Derek Miller and hipster siren Alexis Krauss have shared similar sentiments regarding the new Sleigh Bells album, namely, that it’ll be BIGGER than their raucous debut. Reign Of Terror has been billed as a twisting hurricane of Def Leppard guitars, winding arrangements, and machine gun-like beats. If the dizzying helicopter patter of “Born To Lose” and the blitzkrieg R&B onslaught of “Comeback Kid” are any indication, it’s gonna be an atomic bomb of noise pop.

Honorable Mention

Best Coast- “TBA” (Summer 2012): Bethany Cosentino swears that the new Best Coast record will boast a “mature” sound and concept. Even if it doesn’t, Jon Brion’s often-pristine production will certainly be an interesting contrast to her typically choppy-surf overtones, and retro fuzz.

Every Time I Die- “Ex-Lives” (Mar. 6): When Keith Buckley isn’t proselytizing about the ills of social media, he continues to contribute grisly vocal performances for the next Every Time I Die record. Judging by the chainsaw frenzied single “Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space,” Ex-Lives alludes to an effort just as punishing as their past records.

fun.- “Some Nights” (Feb. 21): Aiming to prove something past the sunshiny baroque pop of their debut, fun. is looking to really break through with their sophomore album Some Nights. Based on the soaring electro-buzz of “We Are Young (Feat. Janelle Monáe),” this proves to be a more sophisticated effort than their debut.

The xx- “TBA” (Summer 2012): “Club music” seems to be the loose/ambiguous influence on The xx’s new record. It remains to be heard if they can surprise the world via an Achtung Baby style departure, but hopefully The xx won’t lose their signature sense of space and silky bass lines in the process.

2011: The Year In Music

2011-12-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a long time coming, filled with self-promotion and waiting, but I can definitively say that THESE are the albums in 2011 that caught my ears, piqued my interest, and took up space on both my iPod and computer. For a more complete list of music releases this year, check this out.

And now, without further adieu…

Best Release of 2011: No Devolución by Thursday (*****)
Complete albums, ones that make a specific statement in mood and execution, are hard to come by. That said, Thursday’s No Devolución is perhaps the MOST complete album of 2011. Here, the New Jersey five-piece is at their most inventive, merging shimmering post-rock flourishes and icy keyboards with their already visceral, car-crash style guitarwork. The frostbitten synthesizer stabs and twisting guitar chime of “No Answers” displays a group that’s interested in sculpting the space around them. Elsewhere, the oozing bass driven dirge of “A Darker Forest” shows they’re unafraid explore heavy overtones without always pushing their instruments into the red. Yet the storm-like atmosphere might be the most engaging part of No Devolución, for Thursday effortlessly shifts from bludgeoning, angular dissonance (“Past & Future Ruins”) to glistening reverb soaked heights (“Magnets Caught In The Metal Heart”). Through it all, Geoff Rickley’s dream-like explorations of intimacy and devotion ties it together, throwing his personal struggles against this musical maelstrom. While his prose is more abstract than past Thursday offerings, Rickley explores the tightrope we all walk in search of authenticity, acceptance, and ultimately, love. This conceptually coalesces in the swirling, white noise dénouement of “Stay True” where Rickely ultimately reveals that devotion is only real if we ourselves remain true about our desires and dreams. Discovering this sort of truth has lead the group calling it quits after 14 years, but even still, it’s breathtaking to see a band follow their instincts, conviction, and hearts to create a modern masterpiece. If this is the last time we hear Thursday, at least we’ll know they went out following their vision with an incredible swan song in No Devolución. Key Cuts: No Answers, A Darker Forest, Past & Future Ruins

Best Debut: Yuck by Yuck (****½)
Someday, the 90s will be remembered liked the 60s: As a hot bed of musical creativity both in sound and aesthetic. Until then, however, we’ll have to settle for a handful of groups that understand that while the critics and the mainstream calls it “retro.” Yuck is one such band invested the sonic freedom that the 90s fostered (even if it’s 2011), and they used their exciting blend of Archers Of Loaf fuzz-pop and Smashing Pumpkins style emoting to create the year’s most exciting debut. The group’s self-titled album starts with the reckless crunch and wail of “Get Away,” while “Shook Down” incorporates pillowy vocals and drifting acoustics before the feedback-wrapped solo knocks it into the stratosphere. Yuck doesn’t stop there; “Suicide Policeman” falls somewhere in between the quaintness of The Kinks or The Beatles if Butch Vig got them signed to Sub Pop. But by and large, the album’s real standout is the slow-motion ballad “Stutter,” where Daniel Blumberg’s dreamy vocals make time stop over trailing guitar lines and heartbeat bass work. Part of the charm of these old 90s groups was their knack for finding a way to make the most intimate moments seem like lifetimes, and whether you listen to Yuck with nostalgia or critical curiosity they’ve certainly accomplished that here. Key Cuts: Shook Down, Suicide Policeman, Stutter

Best Rock Release: Belong by The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (****½)
How do you make your charming indie debut seem like a demo tape cut in your Mom’s basement? You write a blissfully transcendent record while hiring Flood and Alan Moulder to add some much needed punch to the mix. For The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart this resulted in Belong, a 10-track journey through shoegaze, twee pop and everything else in between. The album’s title song starts things off with a blitzkrieg of space-like riffs that would make Billy Corgan blush, while the 80s-inspired synthesizers on “Heart In Your Heartbreak” display the group’s ability to balance texture with swirling, kaleidoscopic guitars. Aside from its obvious genre cues though, the thing that makes Belong sparkle is its intimacy, both in sound and in subject matter. Kip Berman spends a lot of time using his soft, androgynous voice to explore the moments where relationships fall apart or when the realities of impermanence catch up to us. On the hazy, haunting power-pop thump of “Even In Dreams,” Berman examines the ideal of boundless loyalty, existing in a place we could only imagine. Like the best rock albums, Belong catapults listeners into a place where mood becomes paramount to rationality, giving us impressions of feelings all too familiar, yet larger than who we are. At the end of the day, this accounts for very little growing pains for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, as they've created a record that displays natural maturity while keying in on the hurt that happens when we all grow up. Key Cuts: Belong, Heart In Your Heartbreak, Even In Dreams

Best Punk/Post-Hardcore Release: Parting The Sea Between The Brightness & Me by Touché Amoré (*****)
Urgency has always been the hallmark of great punk rock. Today, this is doubly true to separate the spectacular from the mundane; groups are playing louder, vocalists are harsher, and with the democratization of recording technology everyone can have an “authentic” sounding record. Yet listening to Touché Amoré’s sophomore album, you get the sense that urgency may still be alive and well, even if it’s simply relegated to the underground. Clocking in at around 20 minutes, Parting The Sea Between Brightness & Me is the most important punk record this year. Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt smash each other’s guitars together like crashing waves, while Tyler Kirby’s sliding bass hits like a low-end battering ram. “The Great Repetition” is a driving, sonic tailspin of claustrophobia, while “Art Official” benefits from slam-and-release style distortion. Though things slow down on the funeral-style piano ballad “Condolences,” don’t think it’s the token sensitive track on the record. Everything on Parting… has been constructed to be immediate and raw; the group recorded this album live in the studio, drummer Elliot Babin’s brash beats stop/start on a dime, and NONE of the tracks clock in over 2:21. In short, Touché Amoré aren’t interested in distractions, they're interested in what’s real, both lyrically and in execution. On “~,” Jeremey Bolm’s sandpaper shouts layout the group’s musical manifesto, set against adrenaline rush riffs and shimmering vistas, “If actions speak louder than words/I'm the most deafening noise you've heard…” Key Cuts: ~, The Great Repetition, Art Official

Best Metal Release: Time Is Up by Havok (****½)
Contrary to what every 13-year old with an Internet connection believes, metal music doesn’t succeed solely on how fast or how LOUD the musicians might be. A great metal record creates mood, a level of energy that gets your blood pumping and head banging. Here’s where Havok comes in, because with Time Is Up, they’ve fashioned an exciting metal record that focuses on something crucial: Atmosphere. Of course the riffs here are mean fighter pilots of palm-muted crunch, especially like on the blistering opening of “Prepare For Attack,” but amidst the plethora of laser dive bombs and pick slides they’re able to establish some infectious grooves that add heaviness without blowing out your ear canal. The entire disc falls firmly in between the Metallica/Megadeth school of 80s thrash, but Havok isn’t afraid to shift time signatures with purpose, which ultimately avoids the current ADD-style riffing that needlessly complicates modern metal. “Killing Tendencies” begins with a fat, low-end march, before exploding into a frenzied onslaught, while “D.O.A.” sports an honest to goodness spider-riff that would make Dave Mustaine tear up inside. Though Jesse de los Santos’ vocal range may only cover a howl-to-shriek type of delivery, the thing that really gives Time Is Up its teeth and its staying power its sense of melody. The solos here twist and flurry with the best axe men, but they suit the arrangements rather than being a flavorless grab bag of self-indulgence. Indeed, Havok have delivered something special here, reminding us that sometimes composition and tension are just as important as rocking the hell out. Key Cuts: Prepare For Attack, D.O.A., Killing Tendencies

Best Electronic Release: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo OST by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (****½)
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ kinetic, clamorous cover of “Immigrant Song (Feat Karen O.)” is as sexy and sleek as it is gothically inclined. Moreover, the layered, slow-burn drift of “Is Your Love Strong Enough?” (Featuring How To Destroy Angels) provides another haunting bookend for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo OST. But where this three-disc collection of music really ascends is in Reznor and Ross’ continued drive to retain their signature voice while expanding their sonic palate. Decidedly less glitchy than The Social Network OST, Girl… finds Reznor residing on the softer end of the spectrum, while creating menacing and tense soundscapes. Synthesizers swirl and moan all over Girl…, casting shadows over these creeping, slinking arrangements. Rumbling bass work often gives the sense of impending dread, while organic percussion is looped and warped to shimmer and hum, creating an ominous instrumental fog. Additionally, white noise freak-outs are at a premium on Girl…, allowing Reznor and Ross to display their touch for the delicate without coming across as too ballady. On “What If We Could?” listeners are treated weighty piano while tense electronics create a wailing haze against twinkling xylophones. While it probably adds another layer of weight to David Fincher’s new film, Reznor and Ross should be proud of what they’ve accomplished here, once again proving how innovative their creative chemistry is to electronic music. Key Cuts: Immigrant Song (Feat. Karen O), What If We Could?, The Heretics

Best Produced Release: Codes & Keys by Death Cab For Cutie (****½)
The more Chris Walla takes up the producer credit on albums, the more impressive his ear and his skills behind the boards seem. With Death Cab For Cutie’s latest offering, Walla helps Ben Gibbard and Co. blend soft keyboards and programmed drums with an organic, live-in-the-room sound. Most of the time, Codes & Keys comes across like a vintage photograph, evoking vivid/arresting moods while seeming distanced from the harshness often displayed in modern production. It's a special kind of feeling on Codes & Keys, soft but clear. Though the album’s title track is a lumbering mix of stompy piano and soothing strings, cuts like the robotic hum of “Unobstructed Views,” or the buzzed out, zippy “Monday Morning” feel effortlessly spacious, and warmer than their keyboard-centric instrumentation would lead you to believe. Gibbard’s surprisingly self-assured song craft is in fine form here, but Codes & Keys largely succeeds because of how in balance everyone’s instruments are. Each player’s contributions are highlighted within Walla’s pristine mix, whether it’s Gibbard’s soaring guitar lines on “You Are A Tourist,” or Nick Harmer’s decisive bass work on the echo-soaked “Some Boys.” Yet ultimately, Walla’s touch grants some crisp cohesion to an album that could have just as easily gone off the sonic railroad track. Amidst soaring strings, snappy cymbal sequencing, and syrupy guitar lines, Walla allows all of his band mates to shine on Codes & Keys, a feat only a deft producer could display as effortless. Key Cuts: Codes & Keys, You Are A Tourist, Monday Morning

Best Comeback Release: Neighborhoods by blink-182 (****½)
From plane crashes to Grammy announcements, the story of blink-182’s storied reunion has been plastered all over then Internet and then some. The biggest question after the hatchets were all buried though, was could this trio recapture the promising potential they displayed on 2003’s (untitled)? The short answer is Yes: Neighborhoods adds some beefed-up punk punch to the group’s continued preoccupation with 80s style synthesizers, trailing delay effects, and the tried and true dual vocals of Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus. Look no further than the album’s opening number: “Ghost On The Dance Floor” features Travis Barker’s thunderous drumming, shining/technicolor snyths, twitchy guitar lines, and climbing bass work before it all explodes into a raucous, flange soaked bridge. Though the group opted to self-produce given the passing of long-time “fourth member” Jerry Finn, they seem a lot more comfortable melding their divergent musical interests without an outside influence. From the ascending, star-struck buzz of “Up All Night” to the downstroked frenzy of “Heart’s All Gone,” Neighborhoods might be the most diverse blink record yet, even if the production errs on the dry side. Lyrically, Neighborhoods keys in on the decay of youth and old haunts, which seems apt given the trials and tragedy surrounding blink’s reunion. Whether it’s the broken relationships immortalized on the high-hat heavy “After Midnight” or the twisting, Cure-flavored sexual tension of “Snake Charmer,” Neighborhoods finds blink-182 looking within while sticking to their adventurous sonic instincts. Welcome back guys, it’s been a long 8 years. Key Cuts: Ghost On The Dance Floor, Up All Night, Snake Charmer

Best E.P.: ††† by ††† (*****)
While the Deftones had a smash album last year, leave it to lead singer Chino Moreno to get antsy on the road. Much like his 90s electronic side project Team Sleep, ††† (pronounced “Crosses”) has allowed Chino to scratch that creative itch while exploring yet another huge electronic trend: Witch House. Yet unlike Salem, oOoOO, or any other variant of typographically challenged acts, ††† is a shining example if what the genre can yield rather than an exercise in tired beat making and pitch-distorted vocals. Things get witchy pretty quickly on this E.P., whether it’s the snappy clatter and keyboard shower of “Op†ion” or the phantasmal shine of “†hholyghs†.” While considerably lighter on gothic flourishes in relation to other witch house contemporaries, Moreno makes up for that with his often breathy, desperate, and hungry croon. ††† as a whole does a great job of continuing to showcase how gifted a vocalist he is, especially on the midnight séance come-on of “Bermuda Locke†.” But ultimately, what separates this fabulous E.P. from the deluge of lesser bands it’s grouped with is Moreno’s sense of grandeur. With a little bit of financial means to back this vanity project, ††† never sounds like it was recorded on a janky four-track, and the large cathartic swells here seem bigger, brighter, and more powerful then one might expect from this genre. On the closing, middle-eastern tinged “†,” Moreno’s project sounds simultaneously dream-like and cultish, the perfect musical storm for this supernatural take on electronic music. Key Cuts: Op†ion, Bermuda Locke†, †

Most Ambitious: Bon Iver, Bon Iver by Bon Iver (***½)
Justin Vernon couldn’t go back to crafting ramshackle acoustic numbers after collaborating with everyone from Kanye West to Gayngs in 2010. When you fly that close to the sun, the expectation is that you’ll shine brighter, and Vernon has done everything to make Bon Iver, Bon Iver into a vivid work of art. If For Emma, Forever Ago was the sound of a man’s heartache secluded in a winter cabin, Bon Iver’s follow up is the thaw afterwards, with percussion that sounds like babbling brooks, keyboards that rise like the sun, and an infusion of horns and electric guitars to sculpt dreamy soundscapes. Vernon takes sonic cues from icons like Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, all in an effort to make his record feel like expansive place, almost like its Thomas Kinkade-style cover alludes to. From the smoky guitar ring of “Perth” to the sighing keyboards on “Calgary,” Vernon marries slick instrumentation with soft atmospheres to give these songs a quiet sense of tranquility. Arrangements weave and bend here, rather than rattle and creak, and the warmth suits Bon Iver even if it’s a bit distracting at first blush. While this push towards a brighter, fuller sound can sometimes get him into trouble (The horn heaving “Beth/Rest” comes to mind) it’s commendable to see an artist, so lauded for his simplicity, stepping into something that requires a bit more meticulousness in terms of composition. On “Holocene” Vernon’s whisper-honey voice chimes “And at once I knew, I was not magnificent…” over finger picked tension, but don’t buy it, it’s a sly misdirect. Even with its imperfections, it’s hard to deny the pristine glimmer of Bon Iver, Bon Iver. Key Cuts: Perth, Holocene, Calgary

Most Experimental: The King Of Limbs by Radiohead (*****)
Though it might not be entirely shocking that The King Of Limbs is unlike any other Radiohead album before it, it still stands to reason that Thom Yorke and the gang continue to twist our conception of music with every successful release they put out. Not only that, but they make it seem effortless. Borrowing everything from free-jazz to dubstep glitches, woodsy folk, and weightless space-rock, Radiohead’s latest release might be their most genre-bending batch yet. Whether it’s the sultry clatter and groove of “Lotus Flower” or the misty, echo-soaked acoustics of “Give Up The Ghost,” Radiohead seem more insistent to challenge their listeners (and themselves) more than ever before. Yet despite the increased level of programmed drums and laptop buzz, there’s something about The King Of Limbs that feels organic and secluded, a hidden sort of beauty that only reveals itself after repeated listens to these sometimes fractured songs. “Bloom” unfolds with swelling horns, thick beats, and Charles Minus swagger, while the piano dirge and sole French Horn call of “Codex” is blissfully mesmerizing. Though if there’s one constant in the land of Radiohead, it’s Yorke’s continually ethereal voice, balancing a wistful tenor with a darkly sexy coo. He shifts from confrontational (“Morning Mr. Magpie”) to immersive (“Separator”) with a master’s touch, often contributing the most arresting moments on the LP. While it may only be 8 songs long, The King Of Limbs is a confident display of restraint and experimentation, a labor of love from the most forward thinking group in modern music today. Key Cuts: Lotus Flower, Codex, Separator

Most Eclectic: Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by The Beastie Boys (*****)
One of the most exciting aspects of hip-hop has always been the cut-and-paste hodgepodge of sounds that producers and DJs string together for MCs. There’s a beautiful sense of diversity/ingenuity that comes from mining those found sounds, proliferating the craft of turn tabling as well as allowing the music itself to be aesthetically accessible to just about anyone. Championing this in the 80s (and making a nearly 3 decade career out of it), The Beastie Boys reminded us in 2011 just how much fun that kind of music making could be with Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. There’s thick, overblown bass, chunky reggae rhythms, spaztic jazz passages, punk rock whirlwinds, and a song called “Funky Donkey” for goodness sakes. While the deceptively youthful Mike D., AD Rock, and MCA keep their dynamic tag team rhymes intact, it’s the instrumentation that takes precedent on Hot Sauce... From the metallic clang and slide of “Nonstop Disco Powerpack” to the mammoth-sized beats and synthesizer pulse of “Long Burn The Fire,” the Beasties work like musical mad-scientists. No sound is too strange, no instrument or aesthetic too far-out to pair with their absurdist bravado. “Lee Majors Come” again features rhymes about the 6 Million-Dollar Man, set against dirty bass work and twitchy record scratches, while the speaker blasting fuzz of “Too Many Rappers (New Reactionaries Version)” feels gargantuan. There are guest spots of course; everyone from Santigold to Nas, but the real feat here is how the Beasties still make their “everything-and-the-kitchen-sink” approach to hip-hop work, especially after 30+ years in the business. With cuts this good, we can only imagine what Part One might be like. Key Cuts: Nonstop Disco Powerpack, Long Burn The Fire, Lee Majors Come Again

Most Crapped On: Lulu by Lou Reed & Metallica (***)
For reasons other than the hype and pretension surrounding its overblown release, Lulu is an easy record to hate. It’s needlessly long, dangerously monotonous, and to top it off, Lou Reed sounds like a homeless Allen Ginsberg at the depths of a heroine binge. HOWEVER, if you can forgive all of the above (Which believe me, is a TALL order), you may actually find something to appreciate on this two-disc monster. This is mostly because in the midst of Reed’s self-indulgent homage to a set of German plays exploring sexuality and violence, Metallica actually strings together some interesting arrangements, even exploring texture and mood in addition to their usual savage thrash metal. While “The View” has been ridiculed for James Hetfield’s rough proclamation of being a table, the song’s main riff is doom-inspiring and Sabbath-esque, before crumbling into a chugging bridge and Kirk Hammett’s splattering lead work. It doesn’t stop there: “Pumping Blood” alternates from clean passages to “Leper Messiah” style crunch, while “Mistress Dread” cuts faster than some of the group’s work on Kill ‘Em All, possibly for twice the length. Elsewhere, the menacing heave and plod of “Iced Honey” recalls RELoad’s biker metal cool, proving that with all the problems surrounding Lulu’s execution and conception, Metallica aren’t an overwhelming part of that. Still, it’s sort of a shame to feel like this star-studded album is simply a rough draft, especially when Reed’s dried-up croak makes an interesting collaboration into painfully average one. Key Cuts: Pumping Blood, Mistress Dread, Iced Honey

Biggest Surprise(s): Camp by Childish Gambino (****)/No Kings by Doomtree (****½)
I had to pair these next two records together because I think with their DIY aesthetic and hunger they BOTH hit me in the exact same way. Additionally, they’re both from underground artists that have been honing their craft for a while now; ones who are just now starting to see their discipline pay off. With Camp, Donald Glover (a.k.a. Childish Gambino) has put his pop-culture machine gun of a mouth to good use, spinning tales of his awkward upbringing, while undermining the hyper masculine bravado still prevalent in hip-hop. Over an expansive mix of genres, Glover hits on just about area sonic area imaginable, whether it’s 90s R&B glide of “Fire Fly” or the slash and burn fuzz of “Bonfire.” The real gem, however, is “Backpackers,” where Glover’s Hans Zimmer-meets-Kanye West clatter provides the backbone for him to call out his contemporaries with masterful precision. Given his tenure in the television world (30 Rock, Community), Glover has a comedian’s sense of timing that truly elevates his delivery on Camp, displaying a sense of timing that other rappers would cut their arms off for. Elsewhere, No Kings by Doomtree takes a slightly different approach: While this Minneapolis rap collective has spawned some great individual artists (P.O.S, Dessa) No Kings is the first time the group exudes confidence, both in their music and in their message. Whether it’s the barracuda bass line of “No Way” or the aching blues shuffle of “Little Mercy,” Doomtree are able to marry the punk spirit of rebellion with the gritty realism found in hip-hop. The music here goes for the jugular: “Bangarang” features a shower of dizzying synthesizers, while cuts like “Bolt Cutter” and “Gimme The Go” relish in chip tune dissonance and expressive electronics. Yet what sets No Kings apart is the fact that it’s a call to arms; addressing everything from the Occupy movement to racial inequity and social justice, No Kings is the kind of record that pushes people to see how the sausage is made, and whether or not it’s worth the price. That said, the only question left to answer is with hip-hop records like Camp and No Kings, who needs Drake? Key Cuts from Camp: Fire Fly, Bonfire, Backpackers / Key Cuts from No Kings: No Way, Bangarang, Little Mercy

Biggest Letdown: Major/Minor by Thrice (**½)
Though the bar may have been set to astronomical heights following Thrice’s sonically adventurous The Alchemy Index and the crystalline slow-burn of Beggars, it’s hard not to be disappointed with Major/Minor simply on a basic level of composition. This may be the most vanilla sounding album of 2011, from Dave Schiffman’s “11-hues-of-flat” mix to Teppei Teranishi and Dustin Kensrue’s disappointingly cumbersome riffs. Riley Breckenridge’s drum kit sounds muddled and muted throughout the entire record, and his brother’s bass simply disappears at times. Nothing leaps out of your speakers, nothing makes listeners appear that things could go off the rails at any moment, and the result is a listening experience that never really takes off. Part of the problem may be the group’s lack of initiative to explore new sonic territory. Thrice went back to that stripped down, live-in-room setting they explored on Beggars, but with about half as many quality riffs. Though the group occasionally finds a grinding groove (“Yellow Belly”) or a glimmer of grandeur (“Anthology”), it all seems too careful and calculated to really resonate in a meaningful fashion. While Kensrue’s strained and cracked vocals add insult to injury, Major/Minor ultimately suffers from lack of purpose. The album is a re-tread of ideas that Thrice have performed better on previous offerings: Nothing here is heavy enough to grab our attention, or surprising enough to defy our expectations. Perhaps the group’s self-imposed hiatus will allow them to think about where to go next, rather than offer us another record like Major/Minor. Key Cuts: Yellow Belly, Call It In The Air, Anthology

Biggest Blog Buzz: Torches by Foster The People (****)
From Pitchfork to NPR, you couldn’t adequately cover music in 2011 if you ignored Foster The People’s lively debut. Propelled by the nimble bass bump and twitchy electronics of “Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster The People’s MGMT Jr. charm either won you over or stood as the commercial thorn in your side. Place this blog and this reviewer in the former: Torches won me over not because of its sonic similarity to a lot of other electronic indie-pop acts, but by how it was able to sound pristine and immersive while still demanding your attention. “Helena Beat” buzzes and slides with skittering keyboard chatter while the chiming “Waste” just might be the brightest sounding ballad this year. Though the group’s ability to craft a radio-friendly hook is well established on Torches, the sweeter part of the record is how the group is able to maintain a great sense of space and balance throughout the disc’s running time. Most pop production smashes instruments into an unidentifiable soup of sounds, but Foster The People put in just enough ear candy (a synth line here, a looped sample there) to keep things lively while allowing each instrument to occupy its own space. Whether it’s the two-step arcade push of “Houdini” or the drifting fog of “Miss You,” Torches was the ready-to-listen-to record no one could ignore in 2011, and it’s no wonder why the radio and blogs kept buzzing about it. Key Cuts: Helena Beat, Pumped Up Kicks, Waste

The Record That Should Have Caught On: Elsie by The Horrible Crowes (****½)
If The Gaslight Anthem’s last album (and Bruce Springsteen elbow rubbing) made them a household name, one can only hope that Brian Fallon’s ever growing notoriety cultivates some love for his low-key side project, The Horrible Crowes. Drawing on jazz bar angst and smoky blues grit, Elsie might be the best record you haven’t heard this year. From the thunder and sparkle of “Sugar” to the pub-crawl slur of “Ladykiller,” Fallon and co-partner Ian Perkins weave tales about fractured love in an all-or-nothing kind of world. While the aesthetics may not be innovative or earth shattering, the songs feel fresh and new, almost cinematic without an overabundance of fancy instruments. “I Witnessed A Crime” benefits from weeping guitars and Fallon’s weary croak, while the finger picked “Cherry Blossoms” is as aching as the disintegrating relationship it chronicles. Spacious and rich, Elsie is nighttime music, the kind of record that’s as confessional as it is majestic. On the chilly hymnal closer “I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together,” Fallon explores the cold burn of emotional distance with lines like, “Do you wanna come over?/I was just about to miss you/Did you say you were lonely?/I was just about to call you…” Though there might have been more upbeat and effervescent albums this year, the songs on Elsie demand your attention. Fallon taps into something primal here, exploring all the worries, scars, and ghosts that creep into our heads before we hit the pillow. If you’re looking for a new record to speak to you in that starry-eyed sort of fashion, pick up The Horrible Crowes pronto. Key Cuts: Sugar, I Witnessed A Crime, Cherry Blossoms

Worst Release of 2011: Angles by The Strokes (*½)
If I wanted to listen to an emotionless Flock Of Seagulls tribute band, I’d hit up Google. Were Julian Casablancas to get over himself in the slightest I might consider cutting The Strokes some slack, but this is lazy music making. For every dual guitar thrash-out that you hope will lead to something interesting, that hope is dashed away by a nasally croon that sounds like it'd rather be anywhere else than in the recording booth. No thanks. Key Cuts: Machu Picchu, Two Kinds Of Happiness, Games

WILDCARD: Strange Mercy by St. Vincent (****½)
As with my past WILDCARD picks, this is always a space for me to highlight a noteworthy album that I can’t seem to highlight in anywhere else. There’s a certain amount of irony attached to my pick this year, mainly because the music present on St. Vincent’s Strange Mercy defies any sort of traditional categorization in its own right. A cross between a swelling Disney soundtrack and a drugged-out, electronically bent nightmare, Strange Mercy finds multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark at her most musically adventurous. Whether it’s the quirky zips and dives during the pulsing thump of “Cruel” or the twisted, gauzy climb of “Cheerleader,” Clark has finally settled into a sound that’s as threatening as it is elegant. Though her voice may seem sculpted by angels, Clark spends the majority of the disc lamenting on how absolute faith and devotion can destroy absolutely everything, pairing it with her icy musical touch. Indeed, love is a dangerous proposition in Clark’s world as she coos to be cut open on the blanket soft “Surgeon,” or rants about its production and sale on the frosty drift of “Champagne Year.” For Clark, intimacy can be as much of a suffocating monster as loneliness can, and the twisted robotic crunch she brings to her soaring sweetness sonically mirrors this lyrical dichotomy. In the end Strange Mercy, much like love, finds its beauty resting in the womb of contradiction, a delicate tightrope of pain and passion, light and dark, feeling and numbness, a set of contradictions that Clark is able to craft within her uniquely compelling musical perspective. Key Cuts: Cruel, Cheerleader, Champagne Year

So there you have it, the records that left a sizable impression on me this past year. What were your favorites of 2011? Your most hated/loved? Underrated? Leave a comment below and share what records from 2011 stuck with YOU.

Honorable Mention: Music in 2011

2011-12-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you're all well aware but a TON of music dropped in 2011. So much so that I couldn't review it all, nor fit it all onto my customary Year In Review List. However, I was listening with the best of them, and I thought you might like to listen as well. Therefore, in keeping with last year's tradition I've assembled a collection of records that I personally endorse with a rating of 3/5 and above. Some of these LPs were close calls for my main list, so I definitely encourage you to check them out!

Adele- 21 (***): A bitter breakup and Rick Rubin’s sparse production lead to a pop-soul crossover that’s sure to slay the Grammys; too bad none of the above granted it real personality.

A New Found Glory- Radiosurgery (***½): It’s a clash of the 90s as Neal Avron sends NFG back to 1995, just long enough for some of Rancid’s chunky rhythms to brush up against some Sticks & Stones-style love songs.

Angels & Airwaves- Love Pt. II (***): Tom DeLonge’s Peter Gabriel-meets-U2 vanity project reaches further towards spacely proportions (now with more synthesizers), but there are some great moments where he lets his crunchy, phaser soaked guitar do most of the ego tripping.

The Antlers- Burst Apart (****): Coming off their piano-laden debut, The Antlers push listeners into the swirling mists of their subconscious, complete with twisting guitar lines and earnest emotionalism.

Atmosphere- The Family Sign (***½): Slug isn’t swearing about hood rats anymore, but the laid back/jazz-flavored beats Ant provided forgives some of the cringe-worthy couplets present here.

Beruit- The Ripe Tide (***½): Zach Condon scales back his synth-heavy preoccupations and draws more on Beruit’s Euro-folk influences to add a few more sentimental ballads to everyone’s iTunes.

The Black Dahlia Murder- Ritual (****½): On their 5th proper album The Black Dahlia Murder continue to solidify their legacy as one of the most evil sounding metal groups of the 2000s by conjuring sludge covered buzz saw assaults and pairing them with demon-winged drum patterns.

The Black Keys- El Camino (***½): Less stripped-down booze soaked abrasion and more full-band 70’s R&B swagger gives El Camino some commercial traction at the expense of the Keys’ signature minimalism.

Boris- Klatter (***½)/New Album (***½): Two records than couldn’t be further apart: Klatter is a thick, heaving mastodon of droning crunch while New Album plays like a hyper-caffeinated twee pop soundtrack to FLCL, or some equivalent anime.

Bright Eyes- The People’s Key (****½): After a country road detour, Conor Oberst emerges Rastafarian with a driving new wave pulse, a spacious mix, and his signature warble to convey the weight of the world.

City & Colour- Little Hell (***½): Layers of hazy distortion, some expanded piano, and some full-band punch illustrates Dallas Green’s hunger to transcend his acoustic beginnings and be more than the poor man’s Jesse Lacey.

Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto (***½): Entering the Zooropa phase of their career, Coldplay continues to rip pages out of the U2 handbook with their most electronic, keyboard-heavy bid for pop acceptance yet.

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi- Rome (****½): Turns out that Danger Mouse had been hiding that lost Ennio Morricone score all along, allowing Jack White and Norah Jones to sing over its twinkling, sun-soaked passages.

The Decemberists- The King Is Dead (****½)/Long Live The King (****): Colin Meloy should record albums in barns more often because the rootsy Americana sighs that populate this proper album, and E.P. of outtakes, instantly dash away the pomp and pretension of The Hazards Of Love.

Explosions In The Sky- Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (***½): A little less drone intensive than their past records, but Explosions are drifting towards a more twinkling and pristine sound that’s just as engaging.

Feist- Metals (****): Leslie Feist decided to scrub away all that poppy, iPod-plugging sheen with a batch of murky, foggy, and weighty folk tunes, resulting in an album that won’t pigeon-hole her as a flash in the pan indie darling.

Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues (***½): Some studio polish creeps over the Foxes, but bare moments like “Blue Spotted Tail” keep their gentleness intact.

Florence + The Machine- Ceremonials (***): Much colder and rigid then Lungs, Florence Welch opts for sophistication rather than rawness; the passion may be hiding, but it’s hard to deny songs like the sparking “Never Let Me Down.”

Foo Fighters- Wasting Light (***½): The brightest moment on Dave Grohl’s “not as thrashy as you’d expect” reunion with Butch Vig can be nailed down in two words: “WHIIIIIIIIIIIIITE LIIMMOOOOOOOOO.”

Goldmund- All Will Prosper (****): Keith Kenniff continues his streak as the most underrated pianist of all time with his soft, somber, and stripped-down take on classic Civil War era traditionals; indie/roots music for history nerds.

Hugh Laurie- Let Them Talk (****½): Dr. House writes a prescription for some full-bodied New Orleans-style blues, which should alleviate any symptoms of thinking actors can’t be musicians too.

In Flames- Sounds Of A Playground Fading (****): In Flames may have decided to ditch one of their founding guitarists and add more electronic flourishes, but that doesn’t stop from delivering some jack hammer-sized riffage.

Iron & Wine- Kiss Each Other Clean (****½): Nobody expected Sam Beam to go all Kraftwerk, but the pristine keyboard textures marry well with his gospel/folk overtones.

Jack’s Mannequin- People & Things (****): Shedding the skin of sickness that’s dogged him for the past half-decade, Andrew McMahon dives head first into the Tom Petty pool, resulting in the warmest sounding/forward thinking Jack’s album yet.

Jay-Z & Kanye West- Watch The Throne (***½): Drawing on the new millennium’s fascination with witch house, dubstep, and robot-style electronics, Jay and Ye still inject some old school flavor into this mechanized, uneven kingdom.

James Blake- James Blake (****): Robo-Soul never sounded so sweet and somber as it does from Blake’s digitized, stutter-stop heartdrive; Marvin Gaye for the Twitter generation.

Kevin Devine- Between The Concrete & The Clouds (***½): Devine rides that Pavement-meets-Elliot Smith shtick until the cows come home, but this latest offering seems a bit tame by his usually perfectionist standards.

The Kills- Blood Pressures (***½): Everything seems bolder on Blood Pressures: Jamie Hinne and Allison Mosshart add muscular crunch to their sexy blues stomp while their piano ballads incorporate more spaciousness and longing frailty.

Manchester Orchestra- Simple Math (****½): Andy Hull and the rest of the Manchester crew are finally starting to find their groove, whether it’s on the rough and tumble string-wrapped march of “Mighty,” or the spooky gang vocals on “Virgin.”

Max Bemis & The Painful Splits- Max Bemis & The Painful Splits 2 (***½): The Say Anything front man continues to make a bid to be the pop-punk version of Bob Dylan with his hyper-confessional anecdotes and 4-track acoustic chic.

Megadeth- TH1RT3EN (***½): Dave Mustaine continues to run Megadeth like the Michael Bay of the metal world, and it results in the group’s most infectious collection of flashy leads, over-caffeinated double bass, and dive bomb riffs in years.

Metallica- Beyond Magnetic E.P. (***½): 4 unmastered, menacing cuts from the 2008 Death Magnetic sessions illustrate that even mid-process, there’s something remarkable about James, Lars, Kirk and Robert that merits committing those sounds to tape.

Patrick Stump- Soul Punk (***½): Michael Jackson’s torch has officially been passed to Patrick Stump; Soul Punk's grimey, bombastic break beats give way to Stump’s energetic falsetto, creating some of the most propulsive pop numbers since Dangerous ruled the charts back in 1991.

Phantogram- Nightlife E.P. (***½): While opting not to take a giant leap forward sonically, Phantogram continues to refine their trip-hop, jazz-horn bursting style for everyone’s nighttime mix tapes.

The Raveonettes- Raven In The Grave (***½): While this LP borrows a little bit more from The Cure’s expansiveness than The Jesus & Mary Chain’s noise rock, The Ravenoettes continue to spin mournful pop valentines set to fuzzy rhythms.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers- I’m With You (***½): Josh Klinghoffer dashes away any concerns of John Frusciante’s recent defection with swirling, crawling, and textured lead work; too bad Anthony Kiedis seems to be phoning in his 1/4 of the record.

The Roots- undun (***): ?uestlove and Black Thought’s Memento-style concept album about the events leading up to Redford Stephens’ death should be Album Of The Year type stuff, but the disc never gets going until the mid-section where the beats start hammering and the strings wrap around neo-soul keyboards.

Sainthood Reps- Monoculture (****½): Angular buzz saw riffage, hazy grooves, and muscular 90s heft catapults Derrick Sherman’s new project towards serious legitimacy.

Taking Back Sunday- Taking Back Sunday (****): Balancing big time ballads with grinding arena punch, TBS’s reunion album seems crafted for maximum impact but ends up being a tad conservative given the group’s rocky past.

Tally Hall- Good & Evil (***½): Decidedly more Beatlesesque than their hyper-eclectic debut, Tally Hall opt for more ornate/subdued arrangements, sacrificing some of their humor and energy in the process.

TV On The Radio- Nine Types Of Light (****½): Drawing on expertly crafted beats, shimmering atmospheres, and soft synths, TV On The Radio put forth an incredibly poignant exploration of modern intimacy with their most accessible record yet.

Tom Waits- Bad As Me (***½): With a career that spans several decades, Waits continues to tinker with modern industrial sleaze and his own twisted, rusty take on American jazz.

Yellowcard- When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes (***½): Revving up the sentimentality and throwing down some Saves The Day shout-outs, Yellowcard’s latest record is surprisingly consistent, even if there isn’t enough of their signature violin to go around.

2011: A Playlist & Sampler

2011-12-11T20:17:00.001-08:00

It's that time of the year again, where bloggers everywhere are starting to dole out End Of The Year lists like PCP-laced candy, detailing their opinions as well as the musical high points of the past 12 months. In an effort to tide you guys over until mine is released in late December/early January, I decided to compile a little sampler to show you what's stuck with me this past year. While the following playlist is by no means exhaustive, I feel like it gives a nice snapshot for 2011, and may even function as a great jumping off point for some of these great artists.

Belong- The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

El Paso- Taking Back Sunday

Paradise- Coldplay

I Don't Want Love- The Antlers

You Are A Tourist- Death Cab For Cutie

Ghost On The Dance Floor- blink-182

~ - Touché Amoré

Yonkers- Tyler, The Creator

Cruel- St. Vincent

Immigrant Song (Feat. Karen O)- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

No Answers- Thursday

Simple Math- Manchester Orchestra

Shell Games- Bright Eyes

Graveyard- Feist

Sugar- The Horrible Crowes

Walking Far From Home- Iron & Wine

Television- Jack's Mannequin

Otis (Feat. Otis Redding)- Jay-Z & Kanye West

Helena Beat- Foster The People

June Hymn- The Decemberists

Six Cold Feet In The Ground- Hugh Laurie

Bonfire- Childish Gambino

Will Do- TV On The Radio

Gold On The Ceiling- The Black Keys

Stutter- Yuck

Give Up The Ghost- Radiohead

Download & Enjoy

And before you ask: Adele is missing because I made it a point to leave her off. I know this may be an unpopular stance to take since she's a shoe-in for the "Album of the Year" Grammy, but I found 21 to be average at best. If female singers are your thing, pay careful attention to the St. Vincent track here. Annie Clark's voice is a light as a feather as it glosses over zippy snyths and some downright nasty, fuzzed-out leads.

Solidarity Through Sound: Kara McGraw

2011-12-09T20:41:00.001-08:00

I know you guys haven’t heard from me in a long, LONG time, but this post is going to be about a person far more interesting then I am.

It may surprise you to know that unlike many other blogs on the Internet, I don’t get a ton of fan mail. I also don’t get much mail worth writing about. So imagine my surprise a few days ago when sitting in my inbox is an email from someone with a) real passion b) incredible talent and c) an honest story to tell.

Kara McGraw is an artist in the truest sense of the word, one of the many DIYers making their expressions known through the digital marketplace. While her vibrant piano playing and silky voice will assuredly speak for itself, what really sets McGraw apart is the vision she has for her creations. In the few emails I’ve exchanged with her, I can tell she’s driven. Equal parts composer, playwright, and performer, McGraw is currently finishing a full-blown musical, the process of which is chronicled here. This sort of creative transparency is rare in music today, but it shows that McGraw is interested in more than merely entertaining people. It’s not enough for her simply to make something; she wants to see it shape the world around her. In an age where the looming, technicolored claw of Glee has crushed the feeling out of musical theater, it’s refreshing that someone is still operating with real heart, about real issues.

This goes to the main reason McGraw contacted me: To share awareness about her new Christmas composition “The Chandelier,” a song that explores frailty both in tone and timbre. But more specifically, McGraw was also writing to let me know that all the proceeds from purchase (before Jan 1, 2012) will go to assist local farmers in Vermont that were hit by Hurricane Irene. The holiday track is a “name your price” sort of situation, and McGraw has graciously offered a variety of formats (FLAC included for all you audio nerds out there).

In model and in message, I believe that such a gesture (especially around the holidays) is one that other artists could really take to heart, and one that gets at the core of what Kara McGraw is trying to do with her impeccable talents. If you have a moment, give her Facebook and website a quick visit. Very few artists out there can make solidarity through sound seem so effortless, to use their art as a catalyst for healing rather than one for pure profit. If you want to support one that can, look no further than Kara McGraw.

Would you believe...an update?

2011-09-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

BY WHAT MEANS OF SORCERY IS THIS?!

The means, I can assure you, came at a crack in my schedule. For the most part, law school has you mortgage ALL of your blogging time to talk about things like consideration, in personam personal jurisdiction, and mens rea. However, that doesn’t mean my jukebox has stayed silent. Consider this a piecemeal run down of my past few months of listening. Enjoy!

blink-182: Neighborhoods (****½): It may not be Tom, Mark, and Travis’ finest hour, but it’s certainly an exciting homecoming. Picking up where their 2003 untitled record left off, Neighborhoods is the sound of three strong men letting their musical chemistry take them down some interesting avenues. The good news? It’s 100% a blink-182 record rather than an AVA or a +44 album. “Up All Night” soars with spazzy phasers and call-and-response vocals while the crashing pop-punk juggernauts of “Hearts All Gone” and “Natives” call to mind blink’s early roots. Though less spacious than their previous efforts, blink-182 has really explored groove this time around (The stompy, Cure-flavored “Snake Charmer”) while coloring their instantly recognizable hooks with some driving melodies and ringing snyths (“Ghost On The Dance Floor”). The deluxe edition is well worth the purchase, but the big draw here is how effortless it sounds for these men to play together again. It’s been a long 8 years, welcome back blink.

Jay-Z & Kanye West: Watch The Throne (***½): Distracted seems to be the name of the game on Watch The Throne, a jumbled amalgamation of buzzed out dubstep future soul that seems to have been constructed in a space ship run by No I.D. and Frank Ocean. It’d be a disaster if Yeezy wasn’t so charming as hip-hop’s class clown, but the slew of machismo-rap bravado he trades with Jay does the project a disservice. It mercilessly points out Jay’s age and seems forced from two rappers that never produced their best work in that vein. Still, with personalities this enticing, who needs depth? “Otis” make clever use of Otis Redding's chopped and skew vocal scats while the space thump of “No Church In The Wild” is as elegant as it is hefty. A lot of hype went into Watch The Throne, too bad it felt a bit out of character for Jay and Ye’s kingdom.

The Horrible Crowes- Elsie (****½): Don’t you miss it when albums carried that live pub feeling, the singer barely able to croak into the microphone? So did The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon, which is why he wrote Elsie alongside good friend Ian Perkins. Somber, spacious, and world weary, Elsie is a throwback to when music hinged on subdued theatrics and cigarette breaks. “Sugar” features Fallon at his most confessional, set against nimble acoustics and thunderstorm drums in the distance. Elsewhere, “I Witnessed A Crime” throws in some slide guitar sigh, while “Cherry Blossom” rests on rattled whispers. A touch of old amplifier crunch here, a Tom Wait yowl there, and you’ve got a collection of songs that aim to bring people together instead of pull them apart. It’s bar music, nighttime music, proud to be alive music.

Sainthood Reps- Monoculture (****): Someone call Derrick Sherman because 1994 wants its buzzsaw swagger back. Falling somewhere in between In Utero-Era Nirvana and the chiming atmospherics of Alice In Chains’ balladeering, Monoculture is one jagged thrill ride. “DINGUS” exploits the epitome of slash and burn dynamics where the album’s meticulously crafted closer “Widow” balances swirling white noise shimmer with a hefty groove. Though the Brand New comparisons are unavoidable given Sherman’s musical connection, Monoculture is an album that blasts and gasps with it’s own rusty pulse. While many bands mine the 90s for nostalgia, Sainthood Reps mine them for a focus on atmosphere, resulting in a record that feels familiar and new all at the same time.

Saves The Day- Daybreak (**½): Even if Chris Conley is the last vestige of Saves The Day leftover from Through Being Cool, it’s hard for anyone to have imagined that Daybreak would be so…sedate. While the album’s title track tries to infused some multi-suite, moog flavored pop into Conley’s usual pop-punk blast, it feels a bit too cut and pasted. Overall, Daybreak seems too clean, too muted, as if someone filed off all the rough edges and macabre chic Conley crafted on Sound The Alarm. Cuts like the power-pop flavored “1984” should take off with a caffeine rush of energy rather than settle for “been-there-done-that.” Though the disc picks up with the twangy Weezer-like crunch of “O,” the obvious is clear: Uninspired artists make uninspiring music.

St. Vincent- Strange Mercy (****½): Armed with an arsenal of icy synthesizers and rubber band fuzz guitarwork. Annie Clark lays out all her enigmatic charms on Strange Mercy. “Cruel” features swelling Disney-esque strings, alongside jumpy keyboards, while “Cheerleader’s” gauzy ascent swirls around Clark’s dreamy register. While her past efforts had more of an orchestral leaning, Strange Mercy revels in bending the synthetic, balancing digital crunch and heave like “Dilettante” with the glowing minimalism of “Champagne Year.” There’s an underlying sense of dread lurking just beneath the surface of these songs, but like the best big bad wolves, Clark does a lot more showing than telling. Her breathy voice keeps it all together, part coy seductress, part violent angel, an engrossing blend of contradictions that makes Strange Mercy a monster release.

Thrice- Major/Minor (**½): Thrice needs help. A new direction, a new producer, ANYTHING. Everything about Major/Minor smacks of tired, whether it’s Dustin Kensrues’ strained timber or the group’s second “live-band-in-a-room” LP. Though the rough and tumble riffage on “Yellow Belly” starts the album on a high note, Thrice march through 10 more shades of modern rock gray, coupled with a flat mix. Ultimately, the disappointment stems from the fact that the group seems to be under performing, which has never been a hallmark of their output. If Beggars was expansive and wistful, Major/Minor is dry, cookie-cutter, and understated, the kiss of death for sonic chameleons like Thrice.

First Half Surprises/Second Half Hopefuls (2011)

2011-08-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Revisiting the spirit of our Most Anticipated List back in January, Matt and I decided to have a look back at the year it’s been for music as well as what’s to look forward to for the rest of 2011.

First Half Surprises

Matt:
In our Most Anticipated Post that we did in January, Mike and I had five bands each that we spotlighted as usboth looking forward to. Of those five, three artists have already released new material. Two of them I am putting in a tentative top five of the year: Manchester Orchestra’s Simple Math and Death Cab for Cutie’s Codes & Keys. Both showed the growth of their respective band’s discography as each are at new points in their career. Simple Math takes a few listens to really sink in, but when it does it grabs a hold and doesn’t let go. And while DCFC’s Plans is one of my favorite albums of all time, Narrow Stairs just didn’t grab me in that same way. But the soft tones and simple yet sophisticated lyrics of Codes & Keys have made it one of my most played albums of the year.

The third one in the above of category was the self-titled release from Taking Back Sunday. Admittedly, these guys are one of my top two favorite artists so any music from them I am going to like. And I gravitated toward this release instantly, but noticed something when I finally took it out of my car - I never put it back in. Don’t get me wrong, if I hit play I still enjoy most of the tracks, but it’s missing that “I have to listen to this all the time” element. Two other bands that sort of had the same “We’ve been gone for a while/had lineup changes” sort of story was Panic! At The Disco and Yellowcard. Both came out with albums in the spring and both did their job. They weren’t great – but they were satisfying and showed that both may be back on track.

As stated earlier, with all the attention on the heavy hitters returning this year (Foo Fighters, Radiohead - both with good releases in their own rights) there was room for some newcomers to step up and provide a spark. In my opinion, Foster the People answered that call. When they debuted with “Pumped Up Kicks,” the band hadn’t even recorded other tracks for an album. But when Torches was released, there were more than just “those guys that kind of sound like MGMT.” Foster the People could end up being the best new artist of the year. Other surprises for me this year included how much I liked the Sublime With Rome album and gravitating to Sum 41’s Screaming Bloody Murder after hearing “Jessica Kill.”

Honorable Mentions: The Childish Gambino E.P. from “Community” star Donald Glover; Suburbia I’ve Given You All & Now I’m Nothing from The Wonder Years (thanks Liz); the overall album quality of Bayside’s Killing Time and some new artists (for me) I’m still getting into including Givers, Company Of Thieves and Cults. Oh yeah, I don’t think Adele’s 21 is the greatest album of the year, but singing along to “Rolling in the Deep” might be one of the funnest things to do.

Mike:
Records that surprise you have a way of sticking around. It’s not necessarily that they’re undiscovered gems, it’s more that they call your musical taste into question. Those albums force you to evaluate the way you explore new music, leading to some fascinating results. 2011 has been full of those types of releases and they’ve kept the year interesting amidst hyped LPs and critical darlings. Alkaline Trio’s Damnesia (4/5) is one such record that comes to mind; the Trio compile some of their most well known hits in a semi-unplugged format. It works because this stripped down approach displays just how tight Matt Skiba and Dan Adriano’s songwriting is, while their warm acoustic jangle grants these tracks a sing-a-long buoyancy that’ll please old and new fans alike. Speaking of older groups, it’s hard to argue that The Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (5/5) is anything less than extraordinary. While they’re pushing 40, the Beasties came back with their fuzziest, synthi-est, and most urgent sounding album in years. Mike D, Ad Rock and MCA are still class clowns, but their musical elasticity is undeniably flawless.

Older bands aside, however, the one release that’s really made a lot of waves this past year is Foster The People’s Torches (3/5), a record I originally wrote off completely. Falling in-between classic MGMT and skittery 90’s dance, Torches has to grow on you despite its radio-ready aspirations. “Pumped Up Kicks” has been puffed up to death, but the real stars are songs like “Helena Beat” with its zippy, synth pop pulse and trapdoor drums. If Foster The People figures out how to add some substance behind their pristine sound, they might be in for a great career. Of course, keeping that fire alive is tough to do, something Incubus learned the hard way on If Not Now, When? (2.5/5). Resting within the calmer, keyboard/acoustic driven portion of the group’s sound, If Not Now… comes across as sedate rather than exploratory. While there are some breathtaking moments (The album’s blooming opener, the finger picked harmonics of “Tomorrow’s Food”) they sparkle briefly on a record that’s far too subdued.

Yet when it all comes down to it, the biggest surprise

for me this year was Yuck’s 90’s flavored self-titled record (4/5), an album that revels in masterful construction and rich sentimentality. Yuck runs the gambit of crunchy and crashy to calm and collected, never feeling overmatched with either. The album’s crown jewel is the drifting, open-picked “Stutter,” a sweet love song that examines why we fall in love and the comfort that comes with it. And much like Yuck’s composition, that’s the reason music fans love to be surprised, for such surprises put our musical adventures into a comforting perspective.

Second Half Hopefuls

Matt:

Going back to the five artists Mike and I collaboratively highlighted, there were two that have yet to show up, though blink-182 did announce a release date (Sep 27) for Neighborhoods and also debuted a new single, “Up All Night.” It’s nice to have something to look forward to - unlike Dr. Dre, the last artist in our collaborative five. It hasn’t just been pushed back for months, it’s been pushed back for years but for some reason 2011 looked to have been the magical year. Still it seems not to be and I have to be honest - the longer it takes for Detox the less interest I have in hearing it.

Another band toying with my emotions is Coldplay. They released a three-pack of singles (my favorite being “Major Minus”) but have still not given a release date to when we can expect the fifth album. But at least we know we are getting it sometime, unlike No Doubt whose new album may not arrive until 2012, which may be good due to the fact that this year has been so packed.

Here is what I’m still looking forward to:

Jay Z/Kanye West (a.k.a. The Throne)- Watch The Throne (Aug 9): This dynamic duo has released “H.A.M.” and “Otis” to mixed reviews for both. Doesn’t do anything to lessen the hype for what should be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of the year.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers- I’m With You (Aug 26): “The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie” is honestly a better single than I was anticipating and sheds all doubt about these guys still being able to get it done.

Sleeper Agent- Celebrasion (Sep 27): I’m a huge fan of their song “Get it Daddy” and am really looking forward to what this band can do with a whole album. Kind of hoping they turn into the second half’s Foster The People.

Jack’s Mannequin- People & Things (Oct 4): I have to be honest, I didn’t really care for “My Racing Thoughts” the first time I heard it, but it grew on me like I knew it would. Regardless of how good a single is, a new album from Andrew McMahon is always something to look forward to.

Honorable Mention:
Patrick Stump - Soul Punk (Oct 18)
Gym Class Heroes - Papercut Chronicles Part 2 (Fall/Winter)
Lil Wayne - The Carter IV (TBD)

Mike:

Though Matt and I outlined what we were anticipating earlier in the year, there are some releases I’d like to continue to highlight as well as some additional heavy hitters due up in the next 5 months:

blink-182- Neighborhoods (Sep 27): If lead single “Up All Night” is any indication of what to expect from Neighborhoods, then we should expect some great things. It includes everything we love about Tom, Mark, and Travis: Anthemic dual vocals, grinding riffs, and relentless drumming. 6 plus years seems like it was worth the wait. More please.

Jay-Z/Kanye West (a.k.a. The Throne)- Watch The Throne (Aug 9): Lead single “Otis” is oh-so-soulful, complete with a stutter-stop Otis Redding sample alongside Jay-Z and Kanye’s contagious chemistry. While it’s miles apart from the pseudo shock-rap of “H.A.M.” Watch The Throne seems to be aiming for high heights, which is all anyone would expect from Jay and Ye.

Saves The Day- Daybreak (Sept 13): It’s been 4 years since Chris Conley has given us anything new to sink our ear into. Thankfully, that dry spell comes to an end with Daybreak. Backed by an entirely new band, Conley is looking to conclude the trilogy he began in 2006 with songs like the power-pop punch of “1984” and the album’s multi-suite title track. Conley’s ambition seems big, let’s see if he executes.

Sainthood Reps- Monoculture (Aug 9): Derrick Sherman might be the touring guitarist for Brand New, but he’s got something to say, and he’ll say it alongside his band mates in Sainthood Reps. The album’s title track is a heaving, menacing love child between In Utero-era Nirvana and Alice In Chains. With minimal hype and solid singles, Monoculture might just be this year’s sleeper hit.

St. Vincent- Strange Mercy (Sept 13): Annie Clark’s music always strikes an interesting chord. One part Walt Disney grandeur, two parts morbid dread, St. Vincent’s sound is predicated on this fragile dichotomy. Strange Mercy is shaping up well though; the lead single “Surgeon” teases fans with Clark’s signature slinky voice, wrapped in hypnotic beats and swirling keyboards. Annie, have mercy and drop the darn thing already.

Honorable Mention:
The Horrible Crows- Elsie (Sept 6)
Jack’s Mannequin- People & Things (Oct 4)
Thrice- Major/Minor (Sept 19)

So what are YOUR past/future favorites of 2011? Let us know in the replies!

Taking Back Sunday- Taking Back Sunday (A Dual Review)

2011-07-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Tell All Your Friends defined the 2000s both in aesthetic and construction. It set the standard for the “Long Island Sound” and for Taking Back Sunday as a band. Unfortunately for the members that came into the TBS fold after that album (Fred Mascherino, Matt Rubano, and Matt Fazzi), it was also a testament to the songwriting partnership of singer Adam Lazzara and singer/guitarist John Nolan.

That's a tough act to follow.

And in a way, Taking Back Sunday’s career has been guided by the presence and absence of the Lazzara/Nolan connection, which makes this eponymous record a VERY big deal. For the first time in 9 years, Lazzara and Nolan are collaborating on music together, something that seemed impossible after their bitter split. Given the importance of this reunion, I've enlisted the help of my good friend Matt (Over at his new blog, The Sight Of Sound) for a track-by-track review of Taking Back Sunday to help decide if the classic line-up can rediscover that old magic together:

El Paso
Matt- I will never forget where I was when I first heard “El Paso,” the first official single off the album. I immediately took to it and just sat there grinning because I was so happy. It is, by far, one of the strongest and heaviest songs in the band's discography and the perfect opener to let you know you are in for one hell of a ride on this disc.

Mike- This is a statement of purpose, the song that says “Guys, we’re back.” It’s the most bone-crushing Molotov cocktail of wailing guitar, sledgehammer drums, and lumbering bass that TBS has ever produced. Lazzara and Nolan’s howls twist around each other like barbed wire soaked in acid.

Faith (When I Let You Down)
Matt- For some reason, when I first heard this song I was just kind of like “eh.” I have no idea what happened, but a few more plays and I became hooked. “Faith” is a simple and honest song that, if pushed right, has a sound capable of being a better radio single than “MakeDamnSure.”

Mike- Louder Now hinted at TBS’s stadium-sized aspirations, but this is the full realization of that. Crashing drums, organ swells, and flange soaked guitar leads accentuate Lazzara’s voice as it climbs skyward. This is an ANTHEM.

Best Places To Be A Mom
Matt- The demo version of this song was the first to be leaked (by frontman Adam Lazzara himself) and I felt at the time it was the perfect blend of an old sound that is attempting to be progressive. The finished version has some nice touches and this song brings to mind the old saying of “having the band back together.”

Mike- One of the big things TBS started to shy away from in the post-Nolan years was the dual vocals they popularized on Tell All Your Friends. They’re front and center here, detailing romantic strife as the song shifts between stutter-stop crunch and open note swells. It’s so 2002.

Sad Savior
Matt- I was put off at first by the country twang of the verses, but the choruses complement the song nicely. It's an example of great lyrics being the backbone of a decent song: “You don't have to pretend to be an orphan anymore/You don't have to pretend to be important anymore.”

Mike- Eddie Reyes’ 50s-inspired pluck sets up sweetly against Lazzara’s naked voice before the group plunges into thick, chunky power-pop. Some arresting images and turns of phrase in this one, “Skin against skin, covering bone/On the body you're in, is aggressively slim/Yeah, you earned the clothes you put on it…”

Who Are You Anyway?
Matt- An example of something that happens a couple of times on this album: Strong verses and mediocre choruses. TBS got knocked a lot in their early days of being repetitive in their lyrics and I think that notion fails them here in the chorus. But it's ok: The verses are bouncy and fun as hell.

Mike- The most telling feature about Taking Back Sunday is how focused the group is in capturing a live energy. This track is easily the best example, complete with buzzsaw riffage and Mark O’Connell’s precision perfect drumming.

Money (Let It Go)
Matt- Let me say this about "Money": I like to turn it up and really feel it... but I could also do without it. I struggle to find meaning in the track but I guess every album needs that “distraction” where you just don't think much about it and go with it.

Mike- This track seems to be the dividing line for old and new fans alike. Still, Shaun Cooper’s bass holds it together with dirty heft while the bridge features driving melodies and handclaps. TBS has always dabbled in hip-shaking grooves, but this is the closest they’ve ever come to funk.

This Is All Now
Matt- From start to finish, from lyrics to instrumentals, from verses to choruses (and bridges): This is the best track on the album. If this is the kind of music that is representative of TBS 2.0 (or is it like 4.5 at this point?) then I want front row tickets for this ride.

Mike- A distant cousin to “Ghost Man On Third,” this cut implements delicate open notes rounded out by warm bass work. Lazzara and Nolan’s sand paper vocals trade lines like, “This is, all I ever ask from you/The only thing you couldn't to do/Tell me the whole truth…” during a heaving chorus and perhaps the album’s heaviest emotional apex.

It Doesn’t Feel A Thing Like Falling

Matt- Remember that “repetitive chorus” thing I talked about in “Money?” Well it returns here but with a different result – it works. It's a perfect example of the vocals working with the instruments and one of the best examples of the dual vocals that were absent on New Again.

Mike- Reyes and Nolan trade fuzzy, spidery riffs before the group slams down around them. There’s a relentlessly climbing atmosphere featured here, which is definitely destined to shine live. Imitators should take notes.

Since You’re Gone
Matt- I want to not like this track. Parts of it just seem so simple and thrown together, but dammit: I relate to it and because of that the song has me in its grasp. “There's no one to take for granted now you're gone” is an open statement that any fool that thought they were better off can relate to. Though, once again, it gets repetitive, I can feel the emotion in the chorus and that's what separates it from the other tracks.

Mike- Of all the tracks on Taking Back Sunday, this is the throw away. It’s simply disjointed; the soft piano breaks seem out of place within an otherwise placid mid-tempo number. Elsewhere, Lazzara simply whines “I’M SORRY/COME BACK!” to the point where it’s obnoxious, not anguished.

You Got Me

Matt- While the song has some of the best instrumental work, it is probably one of the weakest songs lyrically. I actually didn't think that until I heard the demo for “Mourning Sickness” (a track I DESPARATELY wish was included) and saw that the chorus in that song is only the bridge in here. While not bad, this one had a lot of potential.

Mike- If “Since You’re Gone” found Lazzara whining about his ex, “You Got Me” has him fixated on his current, “I was there when you were lonely/I was then when you were bored/I was there when you were feeling scared/And you were not sure what for…” The song blasts by quick with Nolan’s spiraling solo being a huge highlight.

Call Me In The Morning
Matt- I love this band to death, but I will be the first to admit that Lazzara's vocals sometimes walk a very thin line between being different and being annoying and this one is an example where he almost slips. I think near the end had one of the strongest examples of the dual vocals and a nice closer of an album that builds to give you an overall ending.

Mike- Twinkling acoustics give way to sweet sentiments that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Straylight Run record. Lazzara and Nolan fixate on the afterglow of a one-night stand but there’s a tenderness here that the group rarely explores. Though the hook is fairly obvious, it’d be nice to see them push this type of ballad writing in the future.

Overall (Telling All Our Friends)

Matt- While this is the same lineup as Tell All Your Friends, it is definitely not the same music. And that is a good thing. A lot can happen in nine years, especially when a teenager with plenty of angst turns into a twenty something adult who is starting to see the world for what it really is. I feel this release was a perfect example of the good kind of growth and it only makes me anticipate future releases from this revamped lineup to see where they can grow from here.

It's hard to look critically at a band you connect with on a “favorite” level. Admittedly I can find flaws in this release if I look for them and no, this album is not going to win any “Of The Year” categories. But at the end of the day, from track 1 to track 11 – I enjoy it. And at its simplest form, isn't that what the music is all about?

Mike- If there’s a criticism to throw at Taking Back Sunday it’s the fact that the group focused on creating an immediate record at the expense of sonic diversity. Though Nolan’s indie sensibilities crop up here and there, this self-titled record is aimed at big riffs and shout-along choruses. Those limitations aside, however, Lazzara (and the rest of TBS) seems revitalized working with Nolan and Cooper, and eager to explore where they’ve been during their creative separation. Additionally, the group has effectively shed their adolescent skin to explore weightier themes (Faith, Guilt, Self-Preservation) with an aggressive mix, courtesy of producer Eric Valentine. All in all, Taking Back Sunday is a record that exhibits growth amongst musicians that were born to play together, even if it’s within a tightly specific framework this time around. (****)

Key Cuts: El Paso, Best Places To Be A Mom, This Is All Now

Click on the album artwork to sample Taking Back Sunday for yourself!

Tally Hall- Good & Evil (***½)

2011-06-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Timing is everything.

In Tally Hall’s case, timing meant delays. The multicolored tie-clad five-piece dropped the carnival pop bombshell Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum in 2005, remixed/recorded it for Atlantic records in 2008, and toured endlessly through the end of the decade. As such, they had to work sporadically on their follow up, Good & Evil, a record that arrives a full six years after their cult-like break out.

Talk about timing, that’s more like bad luck for their eager fans.

But despite the delays, Tally Hall have crafted bold follow-up with Good & Evil, a record that presents the band’s growth as well as their detailed song craft. Though more subdued (and less eclectic) than their debut, Good & Evil operates as a consistent pop record, one with clearly a defined mood that exhibits acoustic folk, shimmering keyboards, and sincere lyrics.

Things start out big: “Never Meant To Know” builds from acoustic strums to flittering synthesizers and shuffled drums, courtesy of Andrew Horowitz (Green Tie) and Ross Federman (Grey Tie). The accompaniment wraps around Rob Cantor’s (Yellow Tie) soft register as he delivers quaint couplets like, “Everything will fall away/To order from the disarray…” Though Tally Hall has always prided itself in its massive four-part harmonies, their musicianship has never felt so spacious and open, something that permeates throughout Good & Evil.

Yet after such a grand opener, one thing is drastically clear: The boys who once screamed about loving Potato Monkeys are mining a far different ideological nerve these days.

Much of Good & Evil is centered on the duality of extremes, the sources of conflict in our world, and what we’re willing to do for love. The Joe Hawley (Red Tie) penned “&” takes this to a literal sense over fuzzy bass work from Zubin Sedghi (Blue Tie) and shambling percussion, singing, “Stop & Go &/Hot & Cold &/John & Yoko/Dark & Light…” Elsewhere, the folky stomp and lilting keyboards of “The Trap” examines the elements that obscure our personal boundaries, “Whispered leaves on swaying trees and/Mysteries define/Summer nights of endless light/Remind us of the line that's/Yours & Mine…”

While this newfound lyrical cohesion really gives a voice to Good & Evil (and to the group’s overall songwriting), it does so by sacrificing Tally Hall’s famously whimsical sense of humor. Though producer Tony Hoffer helps glean warm clarity from the group’s instruments, he also doesn’t encourage them to push the zany heights they exhibited on Marvin’s. The music here comes across as expertly performed, but without the explosive rush and genre twisting that punctuated the group’s previous effort. A few more pinball machine freak-outs (“Turn The Lights Off”) and less by-the-numbers bubblegum pop (“Sacred Beast”) would have done wonders for the LP’s overall energy and momentum. Sadly, Good & Evil feels too comfortable (or at the very least, overworked) from a group that always seemed sonically elastic.

Yet when the album hits, it hits hard, and it’s on the more ornate tracks that the band’s magic really shines through. “Hymn For A Scarecrow” revels in a sleepy summer sway, complete with sweeping strings, syrupy psychedelic guitar, and sky-high whistles. Elsewhere, the album’s multi-movement closer “Fate Of The Stars” nicks the melody from Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” dressing it up with glitchy electronics, orbital harmonies, and Horowitz’s crystal clear ivories. Though multi-segmented songs are nothing new to Tally Hall, “Fate Of The Stars” reaches dizzying heights that some of their earlier work only hinted at, an impressive feat of growth for a second album.

Still, while Good & Evil is an easy record to appreciate, it’s a hard one to love.

Tally Hall’s experimentation leads them to some wonderful new sonic avenues, but Good & Evil seems labored. The group’s ability to dazzle listeners with simple transitions between big genre shifts has been eschewed for a more anchored sound. That ultimately takes a lot of energy out of the album, and out of the band’s performance.

Actually, Tally Hall’s old effervescence crops up only once on Good & Evil, on the expertly crafted “Misery Fell,” which features a thumping bass line, dipping and diving melodies, and some George Harrison-style lead guitar to boot. It’s the one time that the band feels unencumbered by expectations, even if they’re lamenting about heady concepts like faith vs. reason. When Cantor and Sedghi’s earnest voices break through the group’s quirky groove to deliver lines like, “The bad guys surrender their chemistry books at the fair/Oh well/Then frolic and take in the love that persists everywhere…” it works because there’s a looseness to it, a moment that feels earned rather than planned.

From its gestation period to its running time, Tally Hall’s second record was shaped by the idea of WHEN: When it peaks, and when it ends. It dictates the record’s energy, its construction, and how fans will ultimately react to it. In the end, timing defines Good & Evil more than anything else, which can be good or bad depending on when you started listening to Tally Hall.

The bigger question, however, is WHEN you’ll give this album a try.

Key Cuts: Never Meant To Know, Hymn For A Scarecrow, Misery Fell

Sounds Like: Abbey Road (The Beatles), The Broken String (Bishop Allen), A Night At The Opera (Queen)

Click on the artwork to sample Good & Evil for yourself!

Best Of 2011 (Thus Far)

2011-06-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe we're just past the midpoint of 2011!

It seems like only yesterday we were putting out Best-Of-The-Year Lists for 2010. Since then, we've had a steady stream of new tunes to keep us occupied and it's been a great ride thus far. Considering how much fun it's been, my fellow music blogger friends Matt (A Rush Of Blog To The Head) and Liz (Dance To The Radio) and I have been looking back at our favorite musical offerings from the past few months. What follows are our attempts to encapsulate the first half of this great musical year with 3 individual mixtapes. Hopefully, you'll all have fun listening to these as we did making them. Enjoy!

Liz's Mix

These Days- Foo Fighters

Shook Down- Yuck

Calamity Song- The Decemberists

Love Is- Meg & Dia

Walking Far From Home- Iron & Wine

It's Not A Bad Little War- Bayside

Calgary- Bon Iver

Came Out Swinging- The Wonder Years

Freak Out- Tapes N Tapes

Little Cup- Thao & Mirah

Meantime- Givers

Life Is Killing Me- Fireworks

Grown Oceans- Fleet Foxes

Cradle- The Joy Formidable

Sadness Is A Blessing- Lykke Li

Weekend- Smith Westerns

Everything With You- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Download & Enjoy!

Matt's Mix

Bridge Burning- Foo Fighters

Darling Buds Of May- Brother

Get It Daddy- Sleeper Agent

I Need A Doctor- Dr. Dre (Feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey)

Rolling In The Deep (Adele Cover)- John Legend)

Second Chance- Peter, Bjorn, & John

We Are The Dead- Does It Offend You, Yeah?

El Paso- Taking Back Sunday

Fireball- Royal Bangs

Freaks & Geeks- Childish Gambino

Words I Never Said- Lupe Fiasco (Feat. Skylar Grey)

Bread & Butter- Hugo

Who’s The Boss?- Farewell Continental

With You Around- Yellowcard

April Fool- Manchester Orchestra

2024- Cage The Elephant

Machine Gun Blues- Social Distortion

Shot In The Dark- Augustana

Houdini- Foster The People

Monday Morning- Death Cab For Cutie

The Wrong Way- Bayside

Sarah Smiles- Panic! At The Disco

Download & Enjoy!

Mike's Mix

Belong- The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Mighty- Manchester Orchestra

Shell Games- Bright Eyes

I Don’t Want Love- The Antlers

Best Places To Be A Mom- Taking Back Sunday

On Stirring Seas Of Salted Blood- The Black Dahlia Murder

Heavy Metal Lover- Lady GaGa

Long Burn The Fire-The Beastie Boys

Mexican Grand Prix- Mogwai

En t’attendant- Mélanie Laurent

Lotus Flower- Radiohead

Perth- Bon Iver

Don’t Carry It All- The Decemberists

Six Cold Feet In The Ground- Hugh Laurie

White Limo- Foo Fighters

Two Against One- Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi

We Found Each Other In The Dark- City & Colour

Limit To Your Love- James Blake

Codes & Keys- Death Cab For Cutie

Misery Fell- Tall Hall

Walking Far From Home- Iron & Wine

Will Do- TV On The Radio

Turnpike Divides- Thursday

Download & Enjoy!

Looking Back At June

2011-06-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some records I've been mulling over this past month. Some have been out for a while but I felt like they needed a few more listens for me to digest them fully.

City & Colour- Little Hell (***½)

It was only a matter of time before Dallas Green pushed City & Colour’s somber sound past its acoustic leanings and into something new. Little Hell chronicles that process, an 11 song LP that effectively splits the difference between Green’s familiar, stripped down aesthetic and his new love of electric haze. Though Green's familiar fragile vocals are intact, like on the album’s slow-motion opener “We Found Each Other In The Dark,” they're now supplemented with swooning slide guitars and fuller drum kits. “Hope For Now” sports waves of swelling keys and crawling overdrive while “Natural Disaster’s” wistful Americana touches display an artist that’s growing gracefully rather than impatiently. In fact, such flourishes display a musician that exercises and values restraint above all else. The meatier tones Green implements on Little Hell serve to add texture rather than dissonance, but ultimately, the album’s more rewarding songs are the more basic, subdued offerings. From the naked acoustic fumble of “Northern Wind” it’s clear that Green is at his most inviting when unplugged. While Little Hell offers up some interesting sonic detours, it’s clear which road leads Dallas Green home again: The organic one.

Key Cuts: We Found Each Other In The Dark, Northern Wind, Hope For Now

In Flames- Sounds Of A Playground Fading (****)

By now it’s clear that In Flames are no longer catering to the metal fans anxious for a return to the group’s so-called “classic” sound. Thank goodness. Sounds Of A Playground Fading fearlessly takes the group’s unique brand of melodic death metal into more anthemic and experimental territory. The album’s most striking quality is its sense of balance as guitarist Björn Gelotte and singer Anders Fridén twist the group’s melodic sensibilities around guttural crunch and spacious production. For every relentless, dual guitar fire-fight like “Deliver Us” or “All Of This,” there is an equally engaging mood piece, like the blues inflected “The Attic” or the pseudo-industrial “Jester’s Door.” While this means more of Fridén’s clean vocals than his harrowing rasp, it also allows for greater sonic diversity. The album’s title track starts with shimmering acoustic tension before bursting into angular thrash, while the fuzzed out staccato of “Where The Dead Ships Dwell” is complimented by buzzing synthesizers and soaring vocals. Much like Metallica’s Load, Sounds Of A Playground Fading concerns itself with atmosphere and weight rather than by-the-numbers aggression. What results is an album that might not be immediately easy to categorize, but ultimately comes across as a more rewarding listen.

Key Cuts: Sounds Of A Playground Fading, Where The Dead Ships Dwell, The Attic

Thurston Moore-Demolished Thoughts (***½)

Sonic Youth’s music has always suffered because the band couldn’t decide if they wanted to be underground overlords or stadium art rock heroes. That tension always forced them to compromise dynamics, which in turn caused their songs to meander. Going solo, Thurston Moore is able to escape those pitfalls with the agency and luxury to craft music without such compromises. In fact, Demolished Thoughts comes across as the freshest set of songs Moore’s ever had a hand in creating. Its beauty lies in its simplicity: Demolished Thoughts hangs its hat on spindling acoustic melodies, soft keyboard accents, and sparse bass work, all with just enough reverb to take the place of percussion. It’s a soothing record, and songs like the chamber pop buoyancy of “Benediction” display Moore’s gift for creating sonic intimacy without playing to schmaltzy clichés. Far from a lo-fi recording, producer Beck Hansen adds small studio embellishments throughout Moore’s gentle musical odyssey, whether it’s in adding sloping strings to the pillowy pluck of “Illuminine” or creeping bass to the twitchy twang of “Blood Never Lies.” Yet throughout, Moore and Beck keep things dry and airy. The aesthetic does wonders for record’s overall mood, especially on songs like the wobbly “Space.” Yet in the end, what really makes Demolished Thoughts special is Moore’s voice, which for once, feels free and unencumbered by his surroundings.

Key Cuts: Benediction, Illuminine, Space

The Vines- Future Primitive (***)

To their credit, The Vines are still making sleazy, fist pumping rock & roll, in spite of fickle music critics and Craig Nicholls’ battle with Asperger’s Syndrome. What’s even more remarkable is how they’ve stuck to their guns to do it, well after they’ve lost the bid for the garage rock crown. Future Primitive doesn’t reinvent The Vines’ sonic template (Blend equal parts Nirvana and Kinks worship on HIGH), but it is comforting in the fact that fans know what to expect, and if anything, The Vines are at their best operating in such extremes. The album’s lead single “Gimme Love” provides the snarl with rusty, rubber band guitar work and Nicholls’ nasally bravado while the syrupy harmonies and acoustic strum of “Leave Me In The Dark” offers the sentimentality. So it goes for 13 tracks, alternating between the only two gears The Vines have at their disposal. Without a doubt, Future Primitive caters to the group’s hardcore fan base, one who’s more impressed by their sound than their substance (How many times can you rhyme “Crazy” with “Baby?”); nevertheless, they’ve managed to hide a few surprises to differentiate it from past offerings. The proto-thrash plod of “Black Dragon” is accentuated by dive bomb guitar leads and pulverizing drumming, all to remind listeners that sometimes fun music is just about the attitude. Good thing The Vines have that in spades.

Key Cuts: Gimme Love, Leave Me In The Dark, Black Dragon

Death Cab For Cutie- Codes & Keys (****½)

2011-06-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

Bands with a great deal of longevity always possess a distinct voice.

It’s the reason they last so long; you don’t confuse Bon Jovi with Def Leppard, The B-52s with The Cars. Something stands out with those artists, through their sonic aesthetic and lyrical perspective. The feelings they conjure stick with you, and often, they’re the ones that can make experiments seem natural. Groups that present a fully realized sound are the ones that stick with you through the one hit-wonders and the yearly critical darlings, simply because their distinct voice always allows for growth and evolution.

They don’t need to genre-hop, they simply funnel their essence through a different musical prism.

Death Cab For Cutie found their voice on 2003’s landmark Transatlanticism, one that balanced the frustration of youth with ornate arrangements and bouncy melodies. Since then, they’ve found a way to maintain a comfortable level of elasticity within their music without throwing out their delicate touch. If Plans was their bid at pure unabashed pop, and Narrow Stairs was a murky shadow land of grief, than Codes & Keys is a welcomed surprise, an album full of soft textures that come into focus like an old Polaroid.

Billed as “keyboard heavy” by singer/songwriter Ben Gibbard and guitarist/producer Chris Walla, Codes & Keys is deceptively less sterile than one might think. Less riff heavy than it’s predecessors, Codes & Keys is propped up by sturdy bass work, twitchy drumming, ethereal loops, and, of course, Gibbard’s stellar piano skills. The album’s title track benefits from Gibbard’s jumbling ivory crawl, set to Beatlesque strings and Jason McGerr’s booming drums. Elsewhere, Death Cab explores reverb-laden caverns with the cool Ooos of “Some Boys,” and the zippy guitar licks on “You Are A Tourist.”

There are no wildfire dirges here, just some lilting sounds to visit.

Though Codes & Keys is a more vibrant record than Narrow Stairs, it’s also not the sound of Death Cab pandering to their sizeable fan base with something slick. There’s a real soulfulness to this album, a sense of warmth that the group has only hinted at with past releases. What’s remarkable is that given Walla’s obvious studio-based experiments (The cymbal rush intro of “Home Is A Fire” comes to mind), he never pushes the band into a place where computers and sequencers takeover for human performances. That warmth, that human connection, shines through. Codes & Keys’ greatest strength is in exhibiting a strong sense of balance, whether that’s on the shimmering robotic vistas of “Unobstructed Views,” or the crunchy percussion and swelling atmospheres of “St. Peter’s Cathedral.”

Yet all this musical and production oriented restraint ultimately showcases how strong the songwriting is, which all falls on Ben Gibbard. “Stay Young, Go Dancing” is painted with swooping strings while Gibbard’s sugary tenor belts out “Cause when she sings I hear a symphony/And I'm swallowed in sound/As it echoes through me…” If Narrow Stairs was the sound of Gibbard’s world crumbling around him, then Codes & Keys simply reminds us this isn’t Kansas anymore. Instead, Gibbard approaches his lyrics with a sense of growth and perspective (“Such ambition never failing to amaze me/It's either quite a master plan/Or just chemicals that help us understand/That when our hearts stop ticking/This is the end…”). Now in his mid 30s, he's is no longer the desperate youth that bemoaned the New Year, but that’s okay.

In fact, it’s welcomed.

Whether or not you chock it up to marrying Zooey Deschanel, or his newfound sobriety, Gibbard sounds confident on Codes & Keys. His often-intimate observations are wrapped up with a punchy delivery, offering some immediate pep to second half highlights like “Monday Morning.” Over a buzzing bass line from Nick Harmer and fluid guitars from Walla, Gibbard recalls somebody he used to know, not out of anger, but with a solid sense of experience, “She may be young but she only likes old things/And modern music it ain't to her taste/She loves the natural light/Captured in black and white…”

Yet even if Gibbard’s raw emotionalism has been tempered, what's more impressive is how his personality and traveled outlook blends with the group’s overall sound.

That’s the thing: Death Cab For Cutie’s solid voice remains intact even if there are more keyboards than average, even if it’s not as “dark,” and even if Gibbard seems a bit more chipper. What’s noteworthy is that the group comes off sounding fresh, dodging the bullet of sounding tired when they possess such a recognizable identity. In a lot of ways, Codes & Keys is the perfect example of a band aging gracefully, not by becoming more abstract or pretentious, but by being themselves.

Key Cuts: Codes & Keys, You Are A Tourist, Monday Morning

Sounds Like: Field Manuel (Chris Walla), Figure 8 (Elliot Smith), In Rainbows (Radiohead)

Click on the artwork to sample Codes & Keys for yourself!

Author’s Note: I know this album’s been out for a while, but given my last brush with reviewing a Death Cab album, I wanted to give this album a proper listen without rushing out a review. Do yourself the favor and give it a whirl. It’s their most immediate song cycle in a while.

Beauty & The Beast

2011-05-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'll let you decide which is which.

Bon Iver- Bon Iver, Bon Iver (***½)

Bon Iver fans HAD to expect that they weren’t going to get another For Emma, Forever Ago. After being heralded as indie rock’s new singer-songwriter Jesus, Justin Vernon spent the year collaborating with anyone he could get into a studio booth, including maximalist hip-hop mastermind Kanye West. There was no way he could come out of that as the same musician. As a result, Vernon no longer seems interested in the quaint acoustic strums we’ve come to associate with his main band. Bon Iver, Bon Iver is the sound of Vernon “going electric,” a 10-track work that aims to blend the synthetic with the organic, creating shimmering sonic vistas instead of ramshackle melodies. “Perth” introduces us to Vernon’s new, fleshed out sound, complete with disciplined marching band percussion, pregnant horns, and smoky guitar work. It doesn’t stop there, “Wash.” revels in twinkling ivories while “Michicant” is a flood of finger picked reverb and see-saw harmonies. Though Vernon seems less focused on Emma this time around, his lyrical images are still as arresting as ever. Bon Iver, Bon Iver seems to be a testament to where he’s been and where he’s going, evident even in his choices for song titles themselves (They’re all places.) On the pristine guitar pluck of “Holocene,” Vernon examines his own worldview and perception with lines like “…And all at once/I knew I was not magnificent.” Ultimately less confessional, Bon Iver, Bon Iver seems to be focused on creating something outside of Vernon’s reach instead of crystallizing a moment in his life. Yet for as meticulous as the album is, it does misfire on occasion, partially because Vernon has jumped head first into new sonic territory. “Beth/Rest” is an indulgent, horn-swathed number that will polarize the most loyal Vernon supporters. Even if Yeezy has taught him well this past year, a sense of self-editing could really aide Vernon in the future. Many of these songs lack the strong resonance of his old material, even if they’ve been expertly crafted. Often mesmerizing, Bon Iver, Bon Iver is the sound of an artist blooming into something special, and like with all kinds of growth, expect some growing pains.

Key Cuts: Perth, Holocene, Calgary

Lady GaGa- Born This Way (**)

It’s ironic that Lady GaGa would put out a record titled Born This Way given that it’s such a gross misrepresentation of the album’s actual material. Coming across like a suicide cocktail of S&M dungeon chic, lazy Madonna worship, and Def Leppard riffage, Born This Way is GaGa’s desperate/failed bid for mainstream immortality. The problem lies in the album’s construction; Born This Way sounds sonically confused and ideologically labored, two things Mama Monster has avoided up until this point. When the album reaches towards the Top 40, it’s a snooze; “Born This Way” falls flat with muddled beats and sterile programming that would embarrass even Teddy Riley, while “Americano” rehashes the Latin theatricality first explored on “Alejandro,” but with twice as many studio layers. Sadly, the record doesn’t know if it wants to be a crossover smash or take an aesthetic risk. While The Fame displayed a pop star that had a knack for synthesizing various musical styles, Born This Way seems sloppy, the product of a pop star throwing everything together to see what will stick. “Judas” sports the meanest, most metallic dance beat on the record and it’s squandered under a wailing hook that goes nowhere. Surprisingly, the album’s brightest moments are on its second half, when GaGa decides to push atmospheres rather than choruses. “Bloody Mary” is positively sultry with throbbing low-end contrasting GaGa’s rather restrained vocals. Elsewhere, “Heavy Metal Lover” sports glitchy drag beats over a heavy dose of chipmunk soul. Yet the biggest shock seems to be how GaGa has phoned in her once subversive voice, writing an album’s worth of clichés when she used to write pointed satire. The pre-packaged sloganeering on “Born This Way (“Don’t be a drag/Just be a Queen”) or “Hair” (“And I want you to know/I am my hair…”) ring hollow and calculated, cutesy turns of phrases to help move CDs instead of opinions. In the end, Born This Way is less a statement of strong individualism and more a drunken confession of insecurity. Lady GaGa wants so desperately for you to like her that she will kill herself to sell her persona. Too bad it’s not worth buying.

Key Cuts: Bloody Mary, Heavy Metal Lover, Electric Chapel

Hit Parade

2011-05-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

If I could avoid getting sick and avoid working, I’d be doling out musical opinions all day/everyday. You’d love it, really. Alas, that’s not the case, but here’s the stuff I’ve been mulling over for the past few distracted weeks. May they tickle your iPod like they’ve tickled mine.

The Beastie Boys- Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (*****)

In the middle of “Make Some Noise,” the first track off of The Beastie Boys’ long-awaited Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, MCA sums up their new record perfectly, “My rhymes/They age like wine as I get older…” That’s because no matter how old they get, MCA, Ad Rock and Mike D. understand the hip-hop genre better than anyone, and their skill is still mesmerizing, even 3 decades later. Falling somewhere in between spaced-out funk, unhinged hardcore, and absurdist/synth inspired 80s hip-hop, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is the best Beastie Boys album since 1994’s Ill Communication. “Nonstop Disco Powerpack” is a rush of rag and bone percussion, stitched together with booming stand up bass and warped record scratches. Elsewhere, “Say It” heaves with rusty feedback while “Too Many Rappers (New Reactionaries Version) (Feat. Nas)” benefits from stadium sized beats and crunchy keyboards. Unlike the often dry To The 5 Boroughs or the laid back instrumental detour The Mix-Up, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two showcases an aggressiveness to the Beasties’ genre bending that hasn’t been heard in a while. Hot Sauce is HEAVY, boasting a deep, fuzzed-out thickness that adds might and muscle to cuts like the blitzkrieg-inspired “Lee Majors Come Again.” Of course the real cherry on top is the Beasties themselves, still boasting the best collective rap chemistry in the game. Even in their 40s, they come off tight, fresh, and smooth, often like a fine Chardonnay. “I got Shark’s teeth that’ll bite your head/I got Tiger’s claws that’ll scratch you dead…” MCA boasts on the head banging “Long Burn The Fire,” showcasing just how far other MCs have to climb to get to their level of flawlessness.

Key Cuts: Nonstop Disco Powerpack, Long Burn The Fire, Lee Majors Come Again

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi- Rome (****)

To say that Danger Mouse loves the 60s is an understatement. His career is predicated on taking sounds that have cracked with age and brightening them for today’s listeners. That’s been his bread and butter for a while now, especially when you consider The Grey Album, Gnarls Barkley, and Broken Bells. Yet Rome is a beast of a different color entirely, even if it borrows heavily from Enno Morricone’s spaghetti western scores and Danger Mouse’s penchant for vintage. Together with Italian film composer Daniele Luppi, Danger Mouse has created something that falls in-between film score and side project. Cuts like “Morning Fog” and “Her Hallow Ways” come across pristine and expansive, constructed with technicolor strings and rumbling percussion. Yet the real masterstroke is enlisting the vocal talents of Norah Jones and Jack White, both of whom add just the right touch of tension and melancholy to the sonic backdrop. Jones’ smoky allure shines brightly on “Black” while White’s in full on outlaw mode during the twitchy guitar pluck of “Two Against One.” While nothing on here rivals “The Ecstasy Of Gold,” it doesn’t need to. Rome is the perfect blend of rustic homage and modern refinement. If Danger Mouse continues to cobble together this much talent for his music, Trent Reznor might have some competition come Oscar time.

Key Cuts: Season’s Trees, Two Against One, Black

Hugh Laurie- Let Them Talk (****)

Aside from rocking differential diagnoses as Dr. Greg House, Hugh Laurie simply rocks out on Let Them Talk, his decisive leap into American roots music. Though Laurie has always been known as one hell of an ivory tickler (even during his days on A Bit Of Fry & Laurie) it’s here on Let Them Talk that his talents come out front and center. Throughout the disc’s 15 tracks, Laurie leads his band through blues classics with shambling percussion, heaving horns, and wobbly steel guitar. While his singing voice lacks the coarseness often associated with New Orleans jazz/blues aesthetics, Laurie sells it well for operating in the more nasally end of the spectrum. “Six Cold Feet In The Ground” finds Laurie’s anguished wail lurch forward in waves of deft piano and spidery lead guitar. Let Them Talk won’t WOW anyone for being particularly innovative, especially since it draws from the fine (but familiar) traditions of Robert Johnson, Ray Charles, and other blues icons. But it SOUNDS good, full and muscular rather than some slick, major label disaster you’d expect a TV star to produce. It’s Laurie’s execution and natural charisma makes these classics sparkle, in every down and dirty groove and rustic vocal run. In the end, Let Them Talk is not only a fine edition to Hugh Laurie’s marvelous career but to anyone that’s jonesin’ for a dose of old time, jazz club panache.

Key Cuts: Six Cold Feet In The Ground, Police Dog Blues, Let Them Talk

Manchester Orchestra- Simple Math (****)

Ambition is scarce in a singles driven music landscape. Yet unlike the slew of faceless one-hit wonders that populate the iTunes charts, Manchester Orchestra are itching to say something important, both in their sound and in their thoughts. Decidedly less heavy than their previous album, Simple Math is their bid for crossover recognition. If those words scare you, they shouldn’t. Chief songwriter Andy Hull doesn’t aim to make his crisis of faith and weak self-esteem issues more palatable, he aims to make them dynamic. The soft keys and sleepy slide guitar of “Deer” gives way to the angular crunch and sweeping strings of “Mighty” for one of the year’s most powerful album openings. It doesn’t stop there, “Virgin” sports an ominous southern rock groove set against chiming xylophone, defeated brasswork, and a downright spooky children’s choir. Overall, Simple Math is brighter than it’s predecessor, less punky but no less short on energy. The group stretches it’s quirky take on indie rock and marries it with Queen-like grandeur, Ozma-style hooks, and pristine production. However, the real meat and potatoes are Hull’s lyrics, which find him examining his life and his relationships like a careful surgeon. On the album’s revealing title track, Hull attempts to connect the unconnected portions of his life, set against the cinematic swoop of strings, drifting guitar atmospherics, and mammoth walls of distortion, “What if I was wrong and you had never questioned it?/What if it was true, that all we thought was right, was wrong?/Simple math, the truth cannot be fractioned…” In the end, it doesn’t take a mathematician to see that Manchester Orchestra are destined for great things, 3 stellar albums into their career.

Key Cuts: Mighty, Virgin, Simple Math

Tyler, The Creator- Goblin (**)

Every so often there’s a rap album that personifies the idea of the Hip-Hop Boogeyman, the one that’s going to send us down the road of no return. 2011’s version of that is Goblin, the latest creation from the Odd Future’s musical general, Tyler, The Creator. Taking minimalist cues from Public Enemy and sprinkling them with some spaced-out jazz grooves, Goblin’s dense, spectral-laced production offers an interesting counterpoint the richness currently lauded in mainstream hip-hop. Yet it’s Tyler’s rapping that’s the real sticking point. A clumsy MC, Tyler spends a great deal of these 15 tracks conversing with his pitch lowered “therapist,” allowing listeners a glimpse into his supposedly dark psyche whilst offering a few “If anything happens, don’t ****ing blame me White America….” warnings a few bars later. It just goes to show you how disposable his thoughts are. Goblin is a record that survives solely on Tyler’s misplaced rage, anti-gay/rape-murder fantasies, and shock-rap appeal, rather than substantive expression. The slinking “Yonkers” finds him lashing out at everyone from Bruno Mars to Hayley Williams while “Sandwitches” is simply another entry about what he can do to the female anatomy. Bloated, gratuitous, and grim, Goblin is the sound of a teenage hip-hop star that thinks Relapse is the best record of all time. Tyler won’t ever save hip-hop, but once the buzz dies down, we’ll forget him like all the Boogeymen that came before.

Key Cuts: Yonkers, Nightmare, Tron Cat

Mike & Liz's Monday Mixes: Volume Twelve (Back To 2002)

2011-05-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

I had a great deal of fun making today's Monday Mix with Liz from Dance To The Radio. Unlike genre-centric themes in the past, we simply picked a time period to work with, the year 2002. Not only did this allow for some fluidity regarding the artists we could use, but it made for a wonderful trip down memory lane. It was a blast sifting through the edges of my past, seeing the music that shaped me and have shaped others in the same way. By comparison, it was interesting to see the artists and songs I wasn't aware of during that time, the musicians I've grown to love but that I didn't grow up with. Enjoy!

You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire- Queens Of The Stone Age

All My Life- Foo Fighters

The Way We Get By- Spoon

Lover I Don't Have To Love- Bright Eyes

A Song For The Optimists- Atreyu

Great Romances Of The 20th Century- Taking Back Sunday

Sunday Morning- Maroon 5

Dosed- The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Samskeyti- Sigur Ros

Lonesome Tears- Beck

You Know You're Right- Nirvana

The Red Death- Thrice

**** You Lucy- Atmosphere

Alice- Tom Waits

Stay With Me- Finch

Trigger- In Flames

Fall Together- Weezer

Brooklyn Bound- The Black Keys

Sucker- A New Found Glory

Mr. Jack- System Of A Down

Map Of Your Head- Muse

Come Away With Me- Norah Jones

It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door- Underoath

Download & Enjoy!

There's No Going Back- Foo Fighters

Cause = Tim- Broken Social Scene

How It Should Be (Sha Sha)- Ben Kweller

Understatement- A New Found Glory

The Good That Won't Come Out- Rilo Kiley

Cat Heaven- Jets To Brazil

Halo- Foo Fighters

Head Club- Taking Back Sunday

Radio Player- Allister

Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!- Minus The Bear

By The Way- The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Secondary- Brand New

Lover I Don't Have To Love- Bright Eyes

Mall Of America- Desaparecidos

Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect- The Decemberists

Monument- Mirah

Becomes One Anything One Time- The Promise Ring

The Way We Get By- Spoon

Download & Enjoy!