record review: Beirut - The Rip Tide

When Sufjan Stevens started making music, he proposed that he would devote an album to each of our great country’s fifty states. And while Michigan and Come on Feel the Illinoise are stunning and gorgeous albums, there wasn’t much of a chance (from a time-constriction point of view) for Mr. Stevens to complete his task—unless he grouped states together.

On the other hand, Zach Condon—the heartthrob prodigy behind Santa Fe-based Beirut presented an equally compelling yet much more doable task. Since his breathtaking debut, Gulag Orkestar, Condon’s musical vision has been to fuse world music with indie sensibility and plenty of lush, layered sounds—horns, percussion, strings—one country or world region at a time. Gulag was inspired by the music of the Balkans; The Flying Club Cup nodded toward France; the double EP March of the Zapotec/Holland simultaneously tackled Mexican music and the Netherlands.

On his third full length album, the one thing that ties each of Condon's songs together is that they all give you the unshakable feeling that you are at a beach. It all starts with the lyrics in opener “A Candle’s Fire” that mention the allure of campfires. Indeed, the lyrics found on The Rip Tide are the strongest and clearest that Condon’s ever written. This is especially striking in light of the fact that Condon has insisted time and time again that his lyrics are more a mode of vocal delivery than anything else—he used to mumble because he wanted his voice to be heard as an instrument rather than a way to deliver poetry.

Perhaps the most striking thing about this record is Condon’s vocals. They’re clearer and more precise, and they really set the mood for the entire album. As always, Condon’s songwriting is simply superb; “East Harlem” and “Port of Call” are two of the strongest things he’s ever released (although “East Harlem” has been kicking around for a while, creeping to the surface for air every so often at concerts). All in all, The Rip Tide is an unquestionably wonderful album, and irritatingly listenable. It’s also much more accessible than his previous albums, because he leaves the baroque-elements to the music and adopts a more normative approach to singing. Yet, it still sounds like Beirut.

That being said, Condon’s musical evolution on The Rip Tide is both swift and natural; he sounds as he always has—at ease and in control, yet the musical progression that he’s made here is vast. Condon is no longer only experimenting with what makes a country’s folk music interesting—he’s actually emulating nature. The Rip Tide is the perfect way to encompass the ocean. The Rip Tide—therefore, isn’t simply the reflection of a certain ethnic group’s music: it harmoniously blends together all of the wonderful elements which contribute to the unparalleled happiness we gain on those weekends at the coast. And for a person who misses the Pacific Ocean like a junkie misses their needle, it’s a much needed source of comfort and joy.

4.7/5

The Rip Tide is now available for purchase digitally on itunes. You can stream the entire thing HERE. It hits your local record store on August 30th.

Beirut - East Harlem [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

record review: Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Never a fan of Fleet Foxes’ debut album (I love their live sound but didn’t enjoy the recorded versions of their music), their second album, Helplessness Blues, took me by surprise. The album, which incurred many losses from the band (financial, emotional, personal), is absolutely stunning. It garners lush sounds, perfect harmonies and, oddly enough, sharp lyrics from frontman Robin Pecknold, who struggled a lot while writing this album. When he sings: "What makes me love you/what do I see in your eyes--besides my reflection", you can just hear heartbreak in his voice.

Helplessness Blues flows beautifully, a result of the band’s tried and true efforts to record everything at once, flaws and all. The two songs with slashes in their titles ("The Plains/Bitter Dancer" and "The Shrine/An Argument") remind me the most of Simon and Garfunkel, weaving gentle yet gripping stories of love, loss, and the mingling of souls. The latter song contains a very avant garde horn solo which is kind of off putting at first but it’s one of the most memorable bits of the album, and it grows on you.

“Bedouin Dress” has a very old time folksy violin part which I love. When overlooking the oft-harsh lyrics, the entire album is very peaceful and calm--like something you'd play for your child if they were sick.

“Grown Ocean”, one of Fleet Foxes’ most musically ambitious tracks, closes Helplessness Blues perfectly by looking to Sufjan Stevens for inspiration. Pecknold sings as if he is completely at ease on a beach coast, and the song’s soft, steady percussion is the icing on the cake. That is, if cakes could be made with granola and twigs...

4.5/5

Fleet Foxes - Montezuma [mp3]

record review: Arctic Monkeys - Suck it and See

Arctic Monkeys have come a long way since their hyperactive debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, evolving into a darker, more mature sound heavy on the drums and distortion. They have changed and they have blossomed, but there are certain essential elements which define the band that haven’t changed since 2006. Alex Turner’s interesting lyrics and voice that makes anyone melt weave within songs that are both subversive and groovy.

That being said, Suck it and See is much more like the Sheffield band’s second and third albums than their debut. It seems like the band have found what really drives them artistically and continue to push the limits therein. They draw a lot from the far away guitar sound that Johnny Marr perfected in The Smiths and all of the songs on their fourth album - whether aggressive or slowed down - are deeply emotive. This album makes you feel things, and that's what makes it great. There is not one weak link here, and while the songs are all superbly crafted, they somehow form a very cohesive album when taken together.

“Black Treacle” hosts a super familiar guitar lick and “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala” could have been taken from Pulp’s discography. “Library Pictures” draws from Arctic Monkeys’ second album more than any other track on Suck It And See, however, there are many allusions to their past work throughout the LP (the following track, “All My Own Stunts” sounds like a song from their third album Humbug). “Love is a Laserquest” is eerie and gorgeous like “Cornerstone” was before it. “Brick By Brick” cements the band’s place as a serious rock band (and one under the wing of Josh Homme), no frills, just volume.

The title track may be the best love song Turner has ever written, and it’s not the lone romantic sentiment on the album. Turner sings “when she laughs the heavens hum a stun gun lullaby” on “Reckless Serenade”, easily the best track on the album, which builds itself over a simple bass line and Alex’s slowed down croon. Here we find AM at their finest, cohesive and slowed down, and leaving an imprint on your memory that is not easily forgotten.

4.9/5

Arctic Monkeys - Suck it and See [mp3]

record review: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

When Nirvana’s career reached its untimely end in 1994, nobody could have imagined what would spur forth from their shaggy haired drummer, Dave Grohl. But not only did Grohl end up being the Nirvana member with the most longevity, he has been and remains to be one of the most consistent musicians of the last two decades. Dave Grohl started Foo Fighters as a way to play the music he wrote six months after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain took his own life; Foo Fighters have since evolved from their grungy roots on their eponymous album to the mostly rollicking, (albeit oftentimes sentimental) and ever so recognizable brand of rock they’ve been producing since 2002's One By One. Since releasing 2007’s Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, Grohl had collaborated with Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and QOTSA’s Josh Homme as the melt-your-face bona fide wetdream of a supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. However, on Wasting Light, Grohl abandons the hard rock vibes of the side project (with the sore thumb exception of “White Limo”) and returns to the alternative roots which he found and became comfortable with in the early middle stages of his band’s career. “I never wanna die”, he screams on “Walk”, a song whose chorus is reminiscent of “Learn to Fly” and other early Foo songs. The album’s first song, “Bridge Burning”, opens with “These are my famous last words!” the first of many clichéd lyrical themes found on the album. The song, however, is just as energizing as its predecessor, “The Pretender”, filled with all of the right kinds of rock’n’roll anger; overall, “Bridges Burning” and the songs which follow it are musically superb, especially when judged by the applicability of their on(festival)stage badassery. Wasting Light was recorded using analog equipment in Grohl’s garage, which serves as an obvious statement to how Grohl feels about the industry itself and his eternal loyalties to his roots. Regardless, the album just begs to be amplified to thousands of eager fans in a huge setting. Lead single “Rope” sounds exactly like what you would expect a Foo Fighters single would sound like. Throughout the album, the drumming is tight, the guitar riffs go BANG-BANG-BANG like lightning bolts of alt-rock glory, and most importantly, Grohl’s songwriting and delivery are nothing short of excellent. Foo Fighters’ essence and appeal lie in their consistency of sound throughout the years, and Wasting Light only falters when Grohl defiantly departs from their tried and true sound, like in the metal-esque “White Limo”. Some people write Foo Fighters off as a band who writes the same album over and over, however this assertion is misguided and reductive. Foo Fighters have perfected a certain post-grunge sound and continue to reinvent it in every album they release, providing rock-lovers with triathalon-training music that always manages to sound comfortably familiar yet electrifyingly ground-breaking.

4/5

Foo Fighters - Bridge Burning [mp3]

record review: The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

On their debut album’s first track, “Wrecking Bar: Ra Ra Ra”, The Vaccines achieve an admirable although not altogether original feat —a forget me not neo-punk track with an indie twist, like the Ramones through a lo-fi filter. The rest of the album crests and wanes with a lovely British voice either rhapsodizing excitedly or moping about “how you won’t understand” with the comforting sounds of powerhouse bands in the background music, which wears its influences on its sleeves. Spanning post-punk, noise-pop, and straight up garage, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? seems to poke fun at itself and its lack of new-sounding-sounds, instead finding its niche in emulating The Jesus and Mary Chain. The album isn’t derivative in a bad way, it just lacks depth. But somehow, I feel that a band that sings about “Post Break Up Sex” are a tad too young and blasé to be concerned with musical integrity at this point in their career. Over all, I would say that The Vaccines are a very promising band who will probably release their a-ha record as a third or fourth lp. In the meantime, they’ve crafted an album full of short, sweet songs which hipsters will inevitably play at house parties.
3.4/5

The Vaccines - Norgaard

record review: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have, since their inception, been a band that channels older music really well and efficiently, warming your cold hipster heart with comforting shoegaze sounds of the My Bloody Valentine variety. On their sophomore effort, the NY band continues with this trend, although they look to slightly different places for inspiration. I hear more upbeat post-punk music all over Belong, and The Cure being their focal point. Robert Smith could have written “My Terrible Friend” or “Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now”, which features the most memorable guitar solo I’ve ever heard from TPoBPaH. The song, which is clearly the strongest on the album, winds round and round, like two young lovers on a merry go round. “Heart in Your Heartbreak” is driven by a delightfully cheesy 80’s guitar line while “Anne with an E” is wistfully delicate and slightly reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel. The band dips into more modern sounds with “Girl of 1000 Dreams”, a song vying to be the indie version of Blink 182 and the final two tracks, which are softspoken and begging to be beat up in a way that I used to think were reserved for Keane.

All in all, although it's neither groundbreaking nor absolutely vital, it's a decent (albeit often times too sweet) album, definitely worth a listen or two.

3.6/5

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Heaven's Gonna Happen Now

TPoBPaH will play a free in-store gig at Amoeba San Francisco on April 19th at 6:30 PM.

record review: The Strokes - Angles

Nikolai Fraiture, the bassist for NYC band and world-dominators-in-progress The Strokes once referred to Angles as the album which should have been released between Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth. I never really understood what he meant until I had listened to the album a couple of times. Sonically speaking, the band’s first two albums, including their universally acclaimed debut Is This It are more classic, with muffled production and an old school vibe, mixing upbeat and down tempo tracks to a delightful and continuously revisitable listening experience. First Impressions of Earth, however, jumped very far from ITI and RoF and this essentially impulsive leap baffled critics and fans alike, garnering harsh backlash for the band once dubbed “the saviours of rock and roll”. But how was FIoE different, really? It was the band’s most cleanly produced album, but more than that, it featured both incredibly aggressive tracks like the bass-heavy “Juicebox” and the Eastern-sounding “Vision of Division” as well as a handful of calmed down tracks including the mellotron-driven “Ask Me Anything”. In other words, it strayed too far, too quickly, from the first two albums, which Rolling Stone had called “perfect twins”.

Angles is The Strokes’ first collective release in five years (during which time the band members released a total of five side project albums) and it shows that frontman Julian Casablancas really has taken everything leading up to its release to heart. What critics said, how fans reacted, and more importantly, what the rest of his band thought and wanted. Angles starts off with two incredibly catchy songs, kicking off with the beat-drenched dance floor/lady-of-the-night anthem “Machu Picchu”, and the “Under Cover of Darkness”, the album’s first single with undeniable, crossfire guitars and the best chorus that anybody anywhere has heard in years.

But then the album slows down to the in-betweenness that Nikolai had mentioned, both regarding production quality and content. Angles seesaws between in-your-face intensity (“Metabolism”, “Gratisfaction”, “You’re So Right”), and mellow groove tracks that oddly combine Julian’s obsession with soul music and 80’s New Wave music. At one point, during “Two Kinds of Happiness”, Casablancas channels Ian Curtis so thoroughly, it’s slightly disconcerting, especially because he tackles ambitious falsettos in other tracks. But out of the ten songs here, that’s the only track I have issues with. And it’s growing on me.

“Call Me Back” is one of the best tracks on Angles, building slow vocals over a simple guitar progression. “Wait time is the worst”, oh yes it is. The song dazzles and hypnotizes, just as Is This It worthy album closer “Life is Simple In The Moonlight” does. “Taken for a Fool” is the coked-out brother of the pothead “12:51”, racier, skankier and less prone to fascination with shiny objects. “I hope this goes over well on the toxic radio”, Julian sings. “Monday, Tuesday is my weekend.” In other words, fuck it. The Strokes are back, and they’ve finally reached the level of confidence and stability to properly channel their creativity without roller coaster ups and downs. Because in the end, more than anything else, Angles is a fresh, interesting record. It’s not like anything else out there today and proves that no matter what you say, you still care about The Strokes. Everyone does. The Strokes don’t matter because they’re cool or wealthy or handsome. The Strokes matter because, in a world filled with posers, pricks and pop music that is genuinely crap, they manage to salvage that thing that we turn to for hope, inspiration and solace—music.

record review: Radiohead: King of Limbs

There is a certain unspoken "I'm kicking myself as I'm writing this" aspect of reviewing a Radiohead album. On one hand, it's Radiohead, that supermassive creative genius with Thom Yorke acting as it's neck and head. Thom Yorke, who's aeons ahead of you, musically and otherwise.

We're dealing with a super, super natural phenomenon here.

On the other hand, Radiohead is a band. A band with a catalogue of albums, some more impressive than others, some more colourful than others. One thing that can be stated across the board for all of RH's discography is that is takes some time for their music to sink in. But when it does, watch out, because it will take over your life and pale almost every other musical artist or album in comparison. Even King of Limbs' beat drenched predecessor which any music fan is bound to take a liking to almost immediately.

Radiohead's eighth studio album, King of Limbs, is a magnificent ode to individuality. It's like a musical coming of age, the same thing that avant garde artists like Anthony Hagerty do all of the time. It doesn't have to be loud or attention grabbing because it's Radiohead. It can be quiet and subdued and its own entity and still make a place for itself in the music world. This new album might initially come off as one that lacked editing, deliberation or the capacity for radio play. I think I read it described somewhere as an album of "b-sides". But that's like calling Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures an album of b-sides. Just because something strays from the commercial doesn't make it any lesser as a work of art that can be enjoyed by fans and critics alike.

All five members of Radiohead are very much present here. There may not be an abundance of "Paranoid Android" guitar licks but that's because Radiohead is a group of highly evolved musicians. They work together to recreate the sounds of nature, of the open airs and seas. They come together beautifully on the eerie single "Lotus Flower" and the closer, "Separator", which is the closest that Radio comes to In Rainbows.

That being said, my favourite two tracks on this album are the rollicking "Morning Mr Magpie" and the equally enthralling ocean floor ode "Codex". The latter song takes muffled horn sections and drowns them in an sea of Thom's slow and deliberate croon alongside a piano chord progression you would have to toil to forget. I swear Thom must have been possessed by the spirit of the late John Lennon when he wrote "Morning Mr Magpie". It's so very British, so very reminiscent of the history of rock music in that area. Thom's threatening repetitions of "you've got some nerve coming here" makes you think twice about all those wrongs that you pretend not to notice anymore. Give King of Limbs a chance. It might just surprise you and your preconceived notions of entertainment both.
4.6/5

Radiohead - Morning Mr Magpie [mp3]

record review: Cage the Elephant - Thank You Happy Birthday

“taste of blood/broken dreams/lonely times indeed/eyes cast down”

Thank You Happy Birthday is Cage the Elephant’s second album, and it heralds two things above all else: unironic, Cobain-esque self-loathing and PixiesPixiesPixies basslines/anger. “Indy Kidz” is menacing and self critical, spinning a fuzzy, surfer tornado prelude to “Shake Me Down”, a hesitantly hopeful (and ever so endearing) song lost among explosive songs predicting the apocalypse and lamenting the inevitable stings of mainstream success. The 90’s alt-rock influences are abundant, most strongly manifested in the merciless self-disparagement which Matt Shultz uses to reflect his band’s artistic cred (or what’s left of it). Like Nirvana’s tortured frontman before him, Shultz contemplates how fame, radio play and commercial endorsements have blighted his band’s vision. No longer is there a distinct “us vs them”, and that is scary as hell to the Kentucky band that started out with such an undeniably fearless stance. The songs ricochet back and forth from seizure-inducing to Jimmy Eat World tender, but Cage the Elephant resonate best as they rock the living daylights out of your ears and any amps. Nothing’s sacred, and nothing is spared.
3.8/5

the album was released last week, buy it HERE

record review: The Walkmen - Lisbon

Lisbon is like Christmas. Somehow, a toned down album is always expected from any band’s repertoire but there are little surprises along the way that make it memorable.

The Walkmen have crafted the most brilliant ode to times past, to the beautiful meeting points of our past and future selves. The seasawing guitars in “Angela Surf City” allow all of the attention to be focused on Matt Barrick’s impeccable drumming. In a way, the song is an analogy for the record, which really accentuates the individual strengths of each band member, down to Hamilton Leithauser’s vigourous croon which grapples with trials of love, loss and hope. Lead single “Stranded” layers a beautiful horn section over a strained declaration of “oh I’m stranded”, culminating in a flourish worthy of a military send off. The double whammy of “All My Great Designs” and “Woe is Me” nods towards the mellow direction which Cold War Kids embarked upon on Loyalty to Loyalty. Recorded in five days, Lisbon is imperative in the best sense of the word, as each of its tracks sounds organic and free flowing. This is a record to cherish, to mull over, to keep as a companion for dreary days beside the fire.

4.5/5

Lisbon drops on September 14th, make sure you pick it up

record review: Dead Confederate - Sugar

When Dead Confederate released Wrecking Ball—their dense yet rollicking debut—in 2008, there were abundant comparisons to Nirvana and critics championed them as revivers of the grunge form. With this new album, however, Dead Confederate are taking a different approach. Less shaky, more self assured, Sugar channels Audioslave guitar wails via the raw power of The Stooges, dousing the songs with copious amounts of distortion. The album bounces back and forth from delicately pensive tracks (“Run from the Gun”) and bread and butter 90’s alt rock (“Quiet Kid” is equal parts Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins). The album is loud, we’re talking My Bloody Valentine status, so it might serve as better company to a night of whiskey and mischief than it would, to, say, the resulting hangover. Regardless, the band has managed to step up the game and have crafted a stunningly vigourous album containing ten songs that will surely translate to deafening bliss in concert.
3.8/5

Dead Confederate - Run from the Gun [mp3]

Sugar drops today. Dead Confederate are currently on tour and will visit SF's Great American Music Hall on Wednesday 8 September with Alberta Cross

visit them on MYSPACE for more tour dates

record review: Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People (EP)

Last year, Sufjan Stevens released the BQE, a musical ode to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. I enjoyed the album thoroughly, but it threw me off a little, being instrumental and all. A couple of the tracks reminded me strongly of Christmas, but, like my fellow music bloggers, I happened to forget to post about the album.

As of last week, however, Sufjan is back, and he has once again taken the world by storm. His new self-produced EP, All Delighted People, seems to have risen out of nowhere, but how can anybody complain when it sounds like Simon & Garfunkel through a brass section lens? I don’t understand how he has released it under the guise of an EP; the eight track album is just shy of an hour, and includes an LP worthy 17 minute closer ("Djohariah") which would have Pink Floyd reeling. This time around, Sufjan’s gorgeous vocals continue to relay his commitment to spirituality, but also incorporate Flaming Lips-esque weirdness before they plunge back into softly plucked banjo interludes. It’s simple, it’s beautiful, it’s eccentric and even borders freakish. But in the end, we need guys like Sufjan to remind us of the simple joys of looking through a kaleidoscope. It sure beats watching Rivers Cuomo go through a mid-life crisis.
4.2/5

Sufjan Stevens - Enchanting Ghost [mp3]

record review: Best Coast - Crazy For You

“my highs are high, my lows are low, and I don’t know which way to go”

When it comes to dreamy, sun-drenched nostalgia, LA’s Best Coast have bested SF’s Girls. The irony, of course, lies in the fact that Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino is actually a girl whereas Christopher Owens is gay at most. And whereas Owens' channels Costello, Cosentino's vocal style is much more comforting, like a friend's whisper delivered with perfect clarity.

Crazy For You is the musical equivalent of reading a teenage girl’s diary, swimming with the nonsensical derision, the fogginess of self-medicating, the stubborn insistence on apathy when in reality, you’re emotionally attached.

It’s striking in the sense that teenage girls have as much emotional turmoil as there is water in the ocean. Theoretically, herein would lie its weakness—how interesting can this actually be? Surprisingly enough, though, the magic of the summer, which best summed up by the straightforward lyric “there’s something about the summer” (“Summer Mood”) gives the album more layers than it could ever have had if it relied on lyrics alone. Whether it’s the jangly tambourines in “Our Deal” or the ever-so-relatable desperate pleas in “Bratty B”, Cosentino’s songs don’t represent adolescent females as much as they reflect the general unpleasantness of being alone. The interplay of her lazy vocals and surprisingly advanced musicianship (aided by partner in crime Bobb Bruno) is reminiscent of early Sonic Youth albums. "I Want To" begins with two minutes of hazy wistfulness before an invigorating set of aggressive guitars changes the tempo of the song, and with it, the self-pitying perspectives that preceded it.

The songs are painstakingly genuine; on the closing track, Cosentino croons "my mama always told me there'd boys like you" before she concludes "I hate sleeping alone". Lo-fi indie doesn't get this honest. Ever. Put on Crazy for You and be comforted by the fact that misery makes for the best art, if not always the warmest sleeping companion.

4.3/5

Crazy for You dropped today. Pick it up at your local indie record shop.

Visit Best Coast on MYSPACE

record review: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Imagine spending hours constructing an elaborate path of dominos, winding yard upon yard in various loops and shapes. Now imagine a small crack in your window—letting in just the slightest breeze from the clear skies above. It’s May. The silence of the sunny afternoon spent in solitude has enveloped your being and you have become content with the inactivity of your surroundings.

Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt strikes. There is no storm. Just a single, vicious jolt of electricity directed exactly at the tiny fenestration in your wall.

There go your dominos. There goes your silence. There goes your ease.

Now let’s give this lightning a name.
The Suburbs.

There are a lot of words that my mind associates with Arcade Fire. Full, orchestral, baroque, warm, communal. On their third album, however, the band reinvents itself into a fascinating combination of apocalyptic and gothic. I hear “Ready to Start” and I think of Robert Smith. “Rococo” sounds exactly like its title: creepy, Romantic-era horror story, complete with spine tingling violins and layers of echos and repetition. The band falters when it emulates U2 (“City With No Children”; “Half Light II”) but quickly redeems itself with the snarkiness of “Month of May”, a song that cleverly juxtaposes urgent guitars with lyrics lamenting the prolonged difficulty of the songwriting process. But nothing compares with the menacing rawness of “Deep Blue”, a song that captures the band’s warnings about suburban complacency with frightening precision.

Highly recommended.
4.7/5

The Suburbs drops next Tuesday, 3 August

record review: Rodrigo Y Gabriela -11:11

Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s 2009 album, 11:11, is smashing. Drawing influences all across the board, the duo redefine what the acoustic guitar can do, nodding heavily to Carlos Santana (whom their opener, “Hanuman”, is dedicated to). With an astounding flourish and impeccable tempo, the band pays tribute to 11 different guitarists who have inspired them, while tactfully paralleling them stylistically. The aggressive and blunt arrangements in “Buster Voodoo” showcase the band’s underlying love for the thrash of metal music. The album is electrically charged and brazen, even in its subtler tracks (“Santo Domingo”, “Chac Mool”). It races back and forth between Mexican folk and psychedelia, even showing some Middle Eastern influence on the Moorish track “Atman”. 11:11 is an ode to triumph; to sexual conquest; to spontaneous scuba diving adventures. It’s a spectacular simple-yet-layered instrumental album which you can turn to when you’re feeling down to pick you right back up and remind you that this world is overflowing with beauty and boundless potential. Carpe Diem.
4.3/5

the band is currently ON TOUR

record review: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti- Before Today

Ariel Pink’s 2010 release Before Today is a lot of things, but boring is not one of them. The psych-electronica LP is like an uncooked shake-and-bake concoction of Michael Jackson and 1960’s Warholian aesthetic—it draws you in with its enticing aromas but is not fit for consumption in its raw state. “Beverly Kills” is a dazzling dance floor number, but, like its siblings on Before Today, cannot be seriously considered as a self-sustaining musical entity. There is something missing here, or rather, too much all of the time—the over-stimulated Hollywood frontman bears all of his influences simultaneously. “Little Wig” represents a high point on the record, as it draws sensational power by combining horror-punk vocals over surfer-inspired nouveau-new-wave music. Before Today will no doubt find its strength in the arms of knowledgeable djs and subsequent plays on dance floors, but fails to strike a chord for the personal realm of headphone use.
3/5

Ariel Pink on MYSPACE

record review: Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

“We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.” – Tyler Durden

If Fight Club heralded the superiority of male company over the heteronormative status quo, creating a thwarted utopia of knuckles and sweat, Dum Dum Girls have presented the world with an equally magnanimous contestation to the battle of the sexes. I Will Be is dark, twisted and reeks of girl-power conniving, but there are moments when the drugs kick in and all that you’re left with is the soundtrack to a alternate-reality story of Jonah, a whale lost upon some shore, but content in its comatose inebriation (“Jail La La”). Like a toned down Siouxie and the Banshees, the LA band manages to carry fanciful beats over stifled yet powerful Pixies-inspired guitars on their debut LP. A modern-day hipster version of the Ramones, the girls' anthems are often playful and fun (the repetition of gun shot sounds rendered in whispers in "Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burnout" will slowly but surely draw out grins).The record as a whole, though, epitomizes the rare high points of the oft-laughable subgenre of “angry grrrl music of the indie rock persuasion” (so fittingly labeled in 10 Things I Hate About You). But this anger is sublimated in the dreamy tones which fit in with their label-mates at Sub Pop Records—less screaming, more subtle deviousness. Dum Dum Girls know something you don’t, and no, you’re not allowed to join the club. You just have to content yourself with watching from the sidelines.

4.2/5

Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be [mp3]

Dum Dum Girls on MYSPACE

record review: Mister Loveless - Three Words [EP]

Three Words displays a marked development of Mister Loveless’ sound. The SF based quartet originated in Walnut Creek and have skirted around a few lineup changes in the past, but they’ve finally reached a point of aural homeostasis. The precise marching band beats from drummer Nick Clark and haunting baritone vocals from Rob Miller dominate the EP, surrounded by delicate chord progressions drowned in post-punk misery. The guitars surreptitiously emerge from the shadows in the vein of Echo & the Bunnymen, but by the third track (“What People Do”), they strike powerfully, spinning like sirens. The music is less angry, more chilling—and the lyrics lament the sinking feelings of loss and alienation. Rob sings about “feeling like the poorest rich kid” yet how "hope still remains, a slow burning flame that guides me through these dim lit times". The angst of the first few tracks fade into lulled acceptance in“Hidden Just Enough”, like a group of lost campers finally lying down and stargazing after hours of aimless wandering in the dark forest. Three Words stands as proof that it’s ok to be lost, and that we often have to make the best of the situations which we are faced with. Solace is probably lurking somewhere around the corner—come out to a gig and see for yourself.

4.5/5

Jul 23 2010 Ghost Town Gallery w/ Black Baloon and Human Toys (France) Oakland, CA
Jul 31 2010 The Casbah w/ TRANSFER (21+) San Diego, CA
Aug 6 2010 Mississippi Studios (21+) w/ The Prids Portland, OR
Aug 13 2010 MILK Bar (21+) w/ The Prids and Veil Veil Vanish San Francisco, CA
Sep 10 2010 The Loft @ The Siena Hotel & Casino (21+) w/ The Shames Reno, NV

Mister Loveless - What People Do [mp3]

Mister Loveless on MYSPACE

record review: Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

Band of Horses have come a long way since their 2006 masterpiece debut, Everything all of the Time. The South Carolina band, originally from Seattle, retained their sweeping flourish of a sound well into their second album, Cease to Begin (2007). With this third LP, however, the band’s lineup has finally solidified, but the music has disintegrated. The starry album art for this new record would have been better utilized to express their earlier music—the songs found on this new offering do nothing to provoke the soul, let alone in the astral sense which you are misled lies within. Infinite Arms is a surrender to the mendacities of middle age—the oh-too-soft songs are like a testament to mediocrity and Bible camp. Half of the time, it sounds like a poor man’s Wilco via your grandmother’s weathered hymn book. The underdeveloped, cabin-recorded style is so far removed from the powerful songs that dominated their first two releases—there is no magic, just pitfall upon pitfall. There is a surplus of harmonies and none of them are anything remotely spectacular. If Ben Bridwell has any sense, he will get his ass back to the Northwestern coast and quickly, else he and his band fall by the wayside, just like the drippy songs found on this miserable excuse for a record.

2/5

Band of Horses - Factory [mp3]

record review: What Laura Says - Bloom Cheek

What Laura Says is a group of very talented musicians from Phoenix, Arizona who have been on Devendra Banhart's list for a while now. Their second album, Bloom Cheek, reflects their defining quality as a band: that is, their sound escapes the confines of normalcy, it expands and settles in your brain, drawing out colours and tones that you never realized existed. Bloom Cheek is divided between the first half of the album, which is more straightforwardly rock (in the Americana direction with a tinge of Southern intimacy) and its experimental second half. “Tape It” is airy, like early Who and “Lamb Hair” delivers like a fresher, more spirited Animal Collective. The title track is slow and emotive, like what John Mayer’s music would be if he weren’t a self involved douche bag. The chirpy keyboards and floating harmonies of some songs (“Lines and Colours”) contrast brightly with the choppy, reggae-structure of others (“Spoke”). The album is a winner because it’s eclectic but not in an ADHD way. It’s vivid and flows like a trip to the record store with numerous unrelated finds, dissimilar in everything but the fact that you love them all.

3.7/5

Bloom Cheek was originally slated for a 6 July release but the date was expedited to today. preview it below and pick it up at your local record shop or, better yet, at a show. this band is definitely a force to behold live, check out their MYSPACE
for tour dates (they play CDN on July 7th)