Friday, August 28, 2009

Jay Reatard - "Watch Me Fall"




When I heard Jay Reatard for the first time, I brushed his act off as another thoroughly average indie lo-fi rock thing that wouldn't last past an album or two, which there seems to be a dauntingly increasing amount of in modern music, however he slowly and progressively made me think a little bit more positively. First, there's his first single that really took off on college radio stations and various blogs, "Always Wanting More". I liked this single, but when I checked out his other music, it honestly all sounded the same. "Always Wanting More" is a good song in its own respect, but the artist still seemed average to me. Last Thursday, Reatard (?) released his long-awaited sophomore record, "Watch Me Fall".

The whole tedious "everything here sounds the same" feeling is still present, but this occured to me in times that were much fewer and farther apart for this particular record than with his last album and few EPs. Reatard seems to get a tad more adventurous with the instrumentals on a few of the tracks, without totally losing his style that drew in so many fans of bands like Wavves and No Age and other lo-fi punk bands such as the previously reviewed rock duo, Japandroids. That being said, some of the songs actually don't sound very lo-fi at all, especially compared to some of his earlier work. Reatard's sharp, treble-heavy vocals are, in ways, charming, and at other times can be a little overpowering. About 3/4 of your way through the LP, you start to get that feeling I talked about earlier, the "everything here sounds the same" one, but that's honestly my only qualm with this sophomore effort. I personally believe Jay Reatard has improved since the last LP, and "Watch Me Fall" is a much more listenable record than "Blood Visions", the fuzzy debut. Jay Reatard has taken the style he's used to and bended it to fit a wider audience, which is highly respectable.

Also, I apologize if Jay Reatard is a band rather than a solo artist, I don't really know what's up with that and I honestly don't feel like Wikipedia'ing it. Is there an apostrophe in the word "Wikipedia'ing"? Wikipedia'ing. Wikipediaing. Yeah, I think there is. Or is it just Wiki'ing? That looks weird. Nevermind.

Key Tracks: "It Ain't Gonna Save Me", "Faking It", "Wounded"


Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Japandroids - "Post-Nothing"


The world has a gradually increasing amount of fuzzy, distorted lo-fi rock. With bands like the Raveonettes and Jay Reatard, fuzz is coming back. But there are some flaws with modern lo-fi...the first of which is that it's hardly ever listenable. There may be some nice melodies hidden behind the distortion, but it's never really comfortable and easy to just sit back and listen to. Secondly, it doesn't really change. Throughout an entire heavy lo-fi rock album, there's usually one theme that is masked by fuzz and played over and over ten or eleven times. Japandroids, a rock duo from Vancouver, BC, has managed to evade both of these curses with their debut LP, "Post-Nothing".
As I previously said, Japandroids is a duo. Brian King and David Prowse play guitar and drums. They both sing, because when they formed Japandroids in high school, they wanted to "avoid the trouble of having a lead singer", according to a short description of the band on Polyvinyl Recording Co.'s website. The band lives up to their subgenre, the music is fuzzy, but there's also a playfulness and a sense of direction. So many bands like them take themselves completely seriously, but it is made obvious that Japandroids are having fun with their shredding guitars and disjointedly crashing drums. Their music is more relatable, and more listenable, because you can tell they aren't just shredding in a dark room somewhere, fresh from sitting in some corner and crying or something. Japandroids make music that is fun but also stylistically pleasing. This is an extremely promising debut record, and I'd love to see where they go from here.
Key Tracks: "Young Hearts Spark Fire", "Wet Hair", "The Boys Are Leaving Town", "I Quit Girls"



Modest Mouse - "No One's First, And You're Next"



After two years of no new releases from Modest Mouse, they decided to take the same strategy that many popular musicians are taking now (including Jay-Z, the Black Eyed Peas and the Jonas Brothers), which is to release your first, third, and third singles before the album is released to pick up hype. I listened to these singles respectively and today I listened to the new record, "No One's First, And You're Next".

"No One's First..." is not a regular record. Modest Mouse recorded most of the songs included at various points throughout their career...the songs are mostly album outtakes or songs that they simply didn't release. This gives them some slack for the album being eight tracks long...making it shorter than every Modest Mouse album to date with the exception of 2001's "Everywhere & His Nasty Parlour Tricks", and making it shorter than your average general indie rock album.

The opening track is the first of the three singles released, "Satellite Skin". This is a good track for Isaac Brock's trademark shaky vocals, but otherwise, I find it to be a very average song. This is followed by one of my favorites, "Guilty Cocker Spaniels". This song starts out with the higher strings of an electric guitar being rapidly strummed, giving the song a light, almost tropical sound, but halfway through the song gets a bit more distorted, almost a little lo-fi. After this is the second single, "Autumn Beds", and one of my other favorite tracks. It's soft and slower, but doesn't contradict Brock's vocal style. The fifth track is "Perpetual Motion Machine" the third single, and another good one. The song is a stumbling, slow song that has a really honky-tonk kind of feel. The seventh track is "King Rat", the song indie rock fans know as "the song with the video that Heath Ledger directed but never released". The song itself has good instrumentals, and, in the Modest Mouse way, swiftly goes from a slow, clumsy song to a fast song and then back without ever losing construction. The last song, "I've Got It All (Most)", is my favorite track on the album. I really like the way the vocals and the bass line come together to form a harmony. This song has a feel similar to that of some of the songs on 2004's "Good News for People Who Love Bad News", making me believe it was recorded around that time. The song goes from the nearly minimal strum to a heavy rock tune for a little while during the chorus and then back, and then it goes to the rock chorus until the outro. Still, the song's structure stays intact the whole time.

All that positivity being said, I think that, as an album, "No One's First..." is a thoroughly average record. There are tracks that I liked above others, but those aren't even fantastic standalone tracks. Modest Mouse have had much more ambitious efforts in the past with albums like "Good News..." and 1997's "The Lonesome Crowded West". I think "No One's First..." is an album for Modest Mouse die-hards who have collected every album so far and are very familiar with the MM sound rather than casual listeners.

Key Tracks: "Guilty Cocker Spaniels", "Autumn Beds", "Perpetual Motion Machine", "King Rat" "I've Got it All (Most)"



Monday, August 3, 2009

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Dirty Projectors - "Bitte Orca"


Ever since I heard the first notes of "Knotty Pine", the Dirty Projectors' collaboration with David Byrne for the "Dark Was the Night" charity album, I knew that the Dirty Projectors were one of my new favorite bands. Why, though? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it was the charming vocal harmonies created by Dave Longstreth, Amber Coffman, Haley Dekel and Angel Deradoorian. Maybe it's the plucky, highly rythym-influenced guitar work by Amber and Angel. Maybe it's the intricate, all-over-the-place beats concieved and played by Brian McOmber. I'm not entirely sure, I just know that the Dirty Projectors rock.

The band's lineup has greatly varied throuh the years of their existance...from 2002-2005, they had an epic lineup of 15 members, including two members of Vampire Weekend, Ezra Koenig and Rostam Batmanglij. In 2007, they toured with only Angel, Amber and Brian. But the Dirty Projectors have always had a quirky, melodic and complicated sound.

The album "Bitte Orca" opens with Cannibal Resource, a solid track in itself. The second track, is an equally impressive tune entitled "Temecula Sunrise". The fourth track is the first single, and one of my favorites. "Stillness in the Move" is wild, crazy and fun. It has a soulful chorus with some impressive vocals from Angel Deradoorian. After this is the soft, violin-spiked "Two Doves". Next, the Projectors go poppy, synthy, and even hip-hoppy, I would say, on the sixth track, "Useful Chamber". The seventh track is another good one, entitled "No Intention". Dave Longstreth takes the mic again for this one, and his falsetto is pretty flawless...he sort of reminds me of Antony from Antony & the Johnstons and the disco side project, Hercules & Love Affair. The last two tracks, "Remade Horizon" and "Flourescent Half Dome" are packed with instrumentals and provide an epic closer to the album. I would recommend this album to almost anyone...the whole gang really knows what they're doing. The instruments are played very well and all of the vocals are way more proficient than one would expect from a rock band. The Dirty Projectors are a very appealing band that I feel I will still like a year from now.

Key Tracks: "Cannibal Resource", "Temecula Sunrise", "Stillness is the Move", "Useful Chamber", "No Intention"

Below, hear "Cannibal Resource" and the charity track with David Byrne that introduced me to the Dirty Projectors, "Knotty Pine".


Discovery - "LP"


A few weeks ago, Discovery, the side project of Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles, released their debut album, "LP". On this record, Batmanglij and Miles explore a new sound that hasn't really been touched on by Vampire Weekend or Ra Ra Riot before...electro hip-hop.

The album opens to "Orange Shirt", one of the first of the four songs leaked by the band before the release of the album. Initially, this song was my favorite, with the pulsating synths and laid-back vocals from Miles. Then there's what was widely considered to be the first single, "Osaka Loop Line", which has pounded synth chords seperated by silence for the intro. This is another very solid track, but it becomes repetitive quick. There are a couple covers on this album..."Can You Discover?", a great-sounding cover of Ra Ra Riot's "Can You Tell", and an appropriate Jackson 5 cover, "I Want You Back (In Discovery)". Other songs include "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" featuring Angel Deradoorian of the Dirty Projectors and "Carby" featuring Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend vocalist, which is one of my favorite tracks. Two other good tracks are the other leaks, "So Insane" and "Swing Tree". "So Insane" has a chorus that is mind-bendingly catchy, almost kind of like a more poppy version of your average Ra Ra Riot or Vampire Weekend chorus. "Swing Tree" is bouncy and playful, and showcases one of many great hip-hop beats on this record. The Bonus Track Version of the LP (available on iTunes) comes with a rock remix of "Orange Shirt" that's just as good as the original. With this side project, Rostam Batmanglij and Wes Miles have conquered tons of new ground, and opened themselves up to a wide new audience.

Key Tracks: "Orange Shirt", "Can You Discover?", "So Insane", "Carby", "I Want You Back (In Discovery)"


Best New Music #1

Thanks to MixPod.com, I'm starting a new thing where, every once in a while, I will post a playlist of some of my new favorite music that I haven't talked about on the blog. Below is the tracklist for this installment:

1. Warm Heart of Africa (feat. Ezra Koenig) - The Very Best
2. Be My Girl - Smith Westerns
3. Dominos - the Big Pink
4. Gold & Warm - Bad Veins
5. Remember Severed Head - Clues
6. Zero (Animal Collective Remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. Summertime Clothes (DamFunk Remix) - Animal Collective
8. Psychic City - YACHT
9. No Hope Kids - Wavves
10. Chemical - Stardeath & White Dwarfs

To skip around, click the up tap.




Thanks, bye.

Hey!

Now, album reviews will have special music players at the bottom where you can listen to my favorite track or tracks on the album, thanks to Mixpod.com! Later on, after I put in some more of those fancy-schmancy Mixpod music players, I might do some reviews of albums I just got from the Dirty Projectors and Discovery, and maybe others. So, umm, yeah. See you later.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Stuff I Just Bought That Isn't New #1

Sometimes I buy music that isn't new. If I like it or dislike it, what am I supposed to do? I couldn't review it, could I? Well, yes. Yes I could. Right here. In my first edition of my new little segment thing, "Stuff I Just Bought That Isn't New". This opening edition is the Electronic Music Edition, as I've been purchasing a lot of electronic music recently.

First, there's the songs "11h30" by Danger and "Escape (Bloody Beetroots Remix)" by the Toxic Avenger. These tunes sound like some popular French techno like Justice and Daft Punk and sound amazing if you play them really, really loud. I also just recently bought some music by a techno band called Heartsrevolution. I am familiar with some of their other work, such as the first single they released, "C.Y.O.A.", and "The Prince and His Rose", the song that appeared on a Kitsune record label sampler. I bought the Dubka remix and the Chateau Marmont Remix of "Ultraviolence"...the Dubka remix reminds me of 80's metal, and the Chateau Marmont mix adds a nice beat and a new rythym section to the song, creating a very nice techno tune. I also purchased their "Switchblade" EP. The title track has a haunting but catchy chorus sung by the band's vocalist, Leyla Safai. That leads into the ubeat track "Wolves and Libertines", which may be my favorite track on the EP. The next is "Dance Till Dawn", which, I suppose, is the most clubby-sounding one. It was featured in the last season of the television show "Gossip Girl". The next song is "Digital Suicide", a slow, moody track that is proof that feeling exists even in the lyrics of shred electronic music. The last track is "Take It or Leave It", another suspect HR song, and a good way to finish off the EP. I recommend this band, as it is one of my favorite new techno bands right now.

On the player below, you can listen to "11h30", "Escape (Bloody Beetroots Remix)", "Ultraviolence (Chateau Marmont Remix)", "Switchblade" and "Wolves & Libertines".




Will out.

the Fiery Furnaces - "I'm Going Away"



This morning, I bought the new Fiery Furnaces record, "I'm Going Away", and I listened to it this evening.
It becomes evident from the first few tracks that "I'm Going Away" is not your average Fiery Furnaces LP. This album is softer, more piano-driven. Electric guitars are used merely to create an accent, not to shred your brains out. Also, the songs are slightly more constructed and easier to follow, making it a more listenable record, but the Furnaces still keep their quirk. On their first single, "The End is Near", Matthew and Elanor Friedberger show off their mellow vocals with a piano melody section and a solid bass line. After this comes what is probably one of my favorite tracks on the record...a lively, jazzy rock song entitled "Charmaine Champagne" That mixes the piano with a distorted guitar riff in a near perfect way. Before "The End is Near" is another solid track, "Drive to Dallas". Heartfelt but still very FF, it's a standout for me. My other favorite tracks are the surprisingly catchy, "Even in the Rain" and "Lost at Sea". There's also a faster, more vocally exploratory reprise of "Charmaine Champagne" entitled "Cups and Punches". I was almost disappointed when I heard that FF were going in a different direction with this record, because I'm a pretty big fan of "Widow City" and "Bitter Tea", but "I'm Going Away" has, overall, more outstanding tracks than not. It's a great album, while it's also the Fiery Furnaces that you can take home to your mother. An amazing effort, and an LP that I would recommend to anybody.


Key Tracks: "Drive to Dallas", "Charmaine Champagne", "Even in the Rain", "Roy Bouvier", "Lost at Sea", "Take Me 'Round Again"



the Horrors - "Primary Colours"



I'm sorry that I haven't been on in a few weeks. I've kind of slipped out of the routine, but I'll try to do a few more reviews this week.

I recently bought the new Horrors record, "Primary Colours", at the suggestion of a friend, and I listened to it earlier tonight.

What an album. The Horrors explore their sound a lot more than they did on the mediocre precedent record, "Strange House". The Horrors' sound, in short, is fuzzy, off-kilter rock, stirred with abnormal chord progressions and some interesting-sounding loops. On this record, the Horrors throw in some synths and the like that were absent on "Strange House" A lot of the tracks on "Primary Colours" are quite dark, including the bleek love song "Who Can Say", which just so happens to be one of my favorite tracks on the album. Some of the other songs are brighter and poppier, more reminiscent of some eighties rock bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen and the Jesus & Mary Chain, like on another one I like, "You Could Never Tell", the closing track. The first single, "Sea Within a Sea", is nearly eight minutes long, making it the longest track on the LP, and it's broken into two sections seperated by a long, slightly prog-like interlude. Before this is the title track, which, once again, has that eighties rock feel that I really like.

I enjoyed "Primary Colours" from beginning to end, this is a great effort from a band that seems to go nowhere but up.

Key Tracks: "You Could Never Tell", "Primary Colours", "Sea Within a Sea"