Album Review Playlist: Volume 4
Posted Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:11pm PST by Robert of the Radish in The Y! Music Playlist Blog
Our Album Review Playlist series takes a random group of CDs, pulls a single track from each into a playlist, and includes a mini-review for each album. Anything is game, and you'll never know what's coming next.
The Danish noise pop duo The Raveonettes have released their forth album on Fierce Panda Records and I love it. Lust, Lust Lust has been getting great reviews (although not stratospheric), but I'm an absolute sucker when it comes to big, sugary, fuzzed out, Jesus and Mary Chain styling, and this album has it in spades. The plodding, hook-filled first track, "Ally, Walk With Me" is as good a noise pop song as I've ever heard and should be enjoyed at high volume for the full expericence.
Where 2006's fine electro-pop effort Supernature turned many heads with its powerful and danceable contents, Seventh Tree switches gears and finds Goldfrapp falling back to a more atmospheric, almost folkie vibe. Piano, strings and guitars take center stage here, and Seventh Tree successfully exposes the soft, white underbelly of the duo. And a beautiful belly it is. I came to the record hoping for and expecting a Supernature 2, but came away not only surprised, but pleasantly so.
Dengue Fever is a band that is doing something completely different. To describe their music as psychedelic world pop may come close, but you would do better just to ignore the labels or lack thereof and get lost in this album. Chhom Nimol's voice is not like anything ever paired with western rock instrumentation ever before, but you'll be glad it has once you get past your initial urge to reject the unfamiliar.
Former Soul Coughing front man Mike Doughty has released his second album, Golden Delicious, on Dave Matthew's ATO label. I would be hard pressed to deny that there are some really great moments on this album, but as a whole the record's college hippy vibe comes off as forced and uninspired. And although Doughty's nasal whine is as prevalent as ever, the lyrics make up for it to a great degree.
Vampire Weekend perfectly combine art school rock and African rhythms in such a seamless and delicious way that you'll find yourself wondering why you've not heard something like this until now. The result is a dreamy pop record that will put a big smile on your face. This is not Graceland, but it a record very much worthy of your time.
6. "Slow Race" - The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep don't quite know if they want to be a heady math rock band or an alternative pop rock band. This dichotomy would usually result in an uneven, forgettable record. But there is something about Sleep Forever that works with all it's grasping and changing between instrumental and vocal tracks. Big guitars provide the foundation here and the band's instrumental talents are impressive. But if you are looking to swoon over technical talent -- go for the jazz.
The Big Sleep don't quite know if they want to be a heady math rock band or an alternative pop rock band. This dichotomy would usually result in an uneven, forgettable record. But there is something about Sleep Forever that works with all it's grasping and changing between instrumental and vocal tracks. Big guitars provide the foundation here and the band's instrumental talents are impressive. But if you are looking to swoon over technical talent -- go for the jazz.
If you can only hear one new album in the first quarter of 2008 I vote for At War With Walls And Mazes by Son Lux. This debut album by the classically trained Ryan Lott is a gem you simply cannot let pass you by. Steeped with the same kind of immediacy, dynamics and interludes that make Radiohead such a superb band are found here. Lott's voice is limited, but will quickly grow on you to the point where it's a non-issue, and his musical cut and paste draws a perfect line between glitchy electronica and smart indie pop so perfectly that you'll get that warm tingly feeling only the very best music can provide.
8. “California Girls" - The Magnetic Fields
Distortion is the perfect name for this new album by The Magnetic Fields. The record has a din of fuzziness mixed through it as if it was recorded through a tin can telephone. This seemingly never ending hum helps blur the lines between the individual instruments. But under the haze are some hooks bigger and sweeter than anything Don Kirshner himself could manufacture. Noise pop fans should make sure not to miss this one.
Distortion is the perfect name for this new album by The Magnetic Fields. The record has a din of fuzziness mixed through it as if it was recorded through a tin can telephone. This seemingly never ending hum helps blur the lines between the individual instruments. But under the haze are some hooks bigger and sweeter than anything Don Kirshner himself could manufacture. Noise pop fans should make sure not to miss this one.
9. “Last Kiss" - Seven Mary Three
Many 90s alt rock bands have had a really tough time staying relevant in the aughties. Today music is more polarized than ever between the masses who take what is pushed by corporations and the Internet set that run from it in droves. Seven Mary Three have lost the major label support that promoted their smash 1995 hit "Cumbersome" into the ground. But Day & Night Driving shows how much better the band is when forging their own path. Although they will never see the same sales numbers, they have kept their integrity in tact.
Many 90s alt rock bands have had a really tough time staying relevant in the aughties. Today music is more polarized than ever between the masses who take what is pushed by corporations and the Internet set that run from it in droves. Seven Mary Three have lost the major label support that promoted their smash 1995 hit "Cumbersome" into the ground. But Day & Night Driving shows how much better the band is when forging their own path. Although they will never see the same sales numbers, they have kept their integrity in tact.
The melodic hardcore band Paint It Black hail from Philadelphia and their new album New Lexicon walks a line between the grit and power of early punk and over produced pop punk. The playing here is powerful, but by no means raw. It's polished, sharp and at times technically impressive. Only the in-your-face, broken glass-gargling vocals of Dan Yemin keep the album tied to credibility by a string.
11. “Slouched Over" - Take
Take's Plus Ultra EP picks up where the highly coveted Earthtones & Concrete left off. This time however Take has brought his friends along for some incredible remixes and collaborations. From futuristic machine click hop, to grimy Detroit influenced bass-heavy bangers, to heavy psychedelic up-tempo goodies, its all here.
Hello, Blue Roses is further proof that you simply don't make records with your unaccomplished girlfriend. There is no denying the incredible talent contained within Dan Bejar (Destroyer, The New Pornographers), but musically pairing with his artist girlfriend Sydney Vermont was a mistake. Her voice is monotone, grating and uninspired at best, and just when she's not singing long enough for you to get into the record, she shows up again. The Portrait Is Finished And I Have Failed To Capture Your Beauty indeed.
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