Album Review: Beach House - Devotion

Beach House - Devotion

(Carpark, 2008)

86.5%


"Holy Dances"(mp3)

"I haven’t been able to get you off my mind for months now. You might be this year’s Boxer. Maybe not the #1 album of the year, but #1 in my heart.”

“Really? You mean that?”

“That’s why I don’t think I should be the one to review you.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s just I’ve seen you naked too many times. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still gorgeous. A knockout, really. It’s just I’d pegged you for an 8.9 or 9.0. And you’re just – not. I mean I didn’t know what to think when I found out that bracelet wasn’t even yours. It’s not like it was my favorite thing about you. Maybe I just needed an excuse.”

“You don’t like Daniel Johnston?”

“No, I mean if he’s good enough for Jeff Mangum, he’s good enough for me. And you wear it so well.”

“Better than him?”

“Don’t push it. Though I will say you’re way better than that slut Mazzy Star.”

“Really? You think so?”

“Yes.”

“What about Galaxie 500?”

“Look, I can’t even say I really understand that comparison. So I’m not going to answer that question.”

“A few weeks ago you said I was the first album to make you feel this way in a long time. That you already knew in January I was going to be one of your favorites of the year.”

“I know I said that. It’s just you never change. I mean even from your last album. And on this one, it’s like you’re in this trance the whole time. This crazy lovesick trance. And I just can’t be around you all the time when you’re like that.”

“I thought that’s what you loved about me.”

“It is. It’s what I love and hate about you. I hate how you make me feel about myself. Which isn’t really your fault. There’s just this moment when I see this other side of you, when you get all Animal Collective on me and the song just rolls around on the floor in this fit of glee. I want more of that.”

“It’s just this mood I’m in. You should relate. You’re the one who still listens to “Guest Room” over and over again feeling sorry for yourself. I guess ‘Some Things [Do] Last a Long Time.’”

“We’ve been over this. That isn’t even your song. Look, I think it might be time for me to see other albums. 2008 is looking like it’s going to be a great year for me. And you’re fantastic, really you are. It’s just I’m too close to you right now. Let’s give it a few months. If we both still feel the same way, I’ll put you in my top ten.”

“What about top five?”

“Don’t push it.”

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Monade - Monstre Cosmic

(Too Pure; 2008)

Initial Grade: 81.8%

[mp3]"Regarde"


Why I'm Torn
I like to fancy myself as a big Stereolab fan. I'm far from a crazed, obsessed fanatic, but I own most of their albums, have my favorites, and listen to those particular albums frequently. So it was with great anticipation when the folks at Too Pure were kind enough to send me Monade's latest album, Cosmic Monstre. You see, Monade is Lætitia Sadier's (of Stereolab, uh, fame?) other project. What started in 2003 as a way to release her bedroom recordings has grown into a full band, one that is now three albums into their career. I put the album on my iTunes and listened to it immediately. My initial impression about two minutes into the album was, this sounds just like Stereolab. Then I got high.


Instantly, it was like a portal opened in my brain, and rather than listening to the songs on my computer, it was like the songs were downloaded into my head, playing through hidden speakers that lie somewhere inside my brain. Over the course of the next 50 minutes I let Monade take me on a cosmic journey, and listened as they played some of the most space-age sounding lounge/jazz music I've ever heard. It was pretty awesome, to say the least.

So why am I torn? Well, I'm not really torn about how I feel about it; I love it. What I was unsure of was whether or not this album was really that good, or was I just so overjoyed to hear something as close to a great Stereolab album as this that I became a little overzealous? In an early draft of this review I even went as far as to state something to the effect of, "Monstre Cosmic is probably the closest we'll ever come to hearing a classic Stereolab album," and in some aspects I still feel this is true. I mean, who knows what Stereolab's up to these days, and even if they did release a new record, which Stereolab would show up? The one that made classic records like Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops, or the one that's responsible for releasing their most recent albums, some of the most hit-and-miss works in the Stereolab canon. Because I wanted this review to be fair and balanced, I put off writing it for several weeks so I could let it sink in, and form a natural, unbiased opinion. I'm glad I did.

Repeated listens have revealed subtle differences - a richer guitar tone, extremely audible bass, a consistent flow throughout the album, and a tendency to push each song's boundaries, to name a few - that reveal more of a separation between Monade and Stereolab than I once thought. Sure, the genes are similar, but identical twins they are not. As a result, I no longer feel like I'm listening to the great Stereolab album that never was, I feel like I'm in love Monade's third album. I also feel like I can safely say, without any hint of overzealousness, that Monstre Cosmic is the first great record I've heard this year (or second, I fancy that new Beach House album quite a bit too, but you'll have a chance to read more about that soon enough).

Final Verdict: 87.4%
Obviously, I'm no longer torn. My early draft, now revised, would read, "Monstre Cosmic is not the closest we'll ever come to hearing a classic Stereolab album, rather it is Monade's first big step in writing their own entry into rock's history books." [Gold Sounds]

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead...

(Kranky; 2008)

82% [GOLD SOUNDS]


"Scraping Past" [mp3]




Bradford Cox has done it again.

Last month I raved about discovering Fluorescent Grey, the 2007 EP that in many ways picks up where Cryptograms left off. You could say much the same about Cox's first full-length under the Atlas Sound banner. Let the Blind Lead is springtime Deerhunter, Cryptograms worn inside out -- airy ambience with the occasional dark streak.

Go ahead and skip the first track, “A Ghost Story.” In short, it’s a misguided opener featuring a young child’s oh-so-precocious attempt at telling, that’s right, a ghost story. Spoken word is one thing, but this is so much worse, and honestly was enough to knock down the album's score a few good points. Beyond this misfire, however, this collection of atmospheric pop songs rarely stumbles. I’ll admit a few intense listens were required to unearth the album’s intricacies – not unlike my initial experience with Cryptograms – but once more the dense soundplay has begun to give up its secrets.

Atlas Sound does a remarkable job of melding familiar sounds, both from Cox's reportoire as well as the best of his contemporaries'. "Quarantined" would fit snugly amongst Fluorescent Grey's four tracks, whereas "Winter Vacation" and "Small Horror" evince classic Deerhunter. "Cold As Ice" forges Deerhunter with self-titled-era Broken Social Scene. "Bite Marks" and other tracks could be sampling new Field for all I know, whereas the darkest track, "Scraping Past," features impressive bass evoking prime Johnny Greenwood.

Bottom line: if you like Deerhunter, you'll love Atlas Sound. Yet even if Deerhunter hasn't won you over with its brooding hallucinogenics, Atlas Sound's lighter take just might.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Headlights - Some Racing Some Stopping

Headlights - Some Racing, Some Stopping

(Polyvinyl; 2008)

Grade: 79% [GOLD SOUNDS]

[mp3]"Cherry Tulips"


Just when I think I'm tired of the whole Indie Rock scene, tired of all the bullshit posturing and posing, the hype, the hyperbole, the hit and miss albums that just won't go away, epic songs, the word "epic" describing nearly every song that's over 6 minutes, and overwrought album reviews that have more semi-colons than references to the actual music, an album like Some Racing, Some Stopping comes along and reminds me of the simple pleasures that only a good pop song can offer.


When you get right down to it, Some Racing is bound to be overlooked and underrated. It's not as if it jumps up and down, screaming "Ooh, ooh, over here! Listen to me!" Yet, the unassuming nature of this album is part of the charm, because it will positively suck you in without you even knowing. Songs that might initially evoke Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura take subtle shifts and make all the right moves, often building into blissful bedroom rock for bleeding hearts. Even better is the pairing of the titular track and "So Much For the Afternoon." These two tracks see the band flexing their creative muscle, proving once and for all that they have more to offer than just energetic indie pop. "Afternoon" is especially stunning, as it manages to evoke both Radiohead's excellent, slow burning, infidelity laden "House of Cards," and Broken Social Scene's swirling "Shampoo Suicide," yet Headlights make it sound uniquely their own.

Some Racing, Some Stopping may not be a revelation, but like Tapes 'N Tapes' debut or, yes, Camera Obscura's most recent release, it is unpretentious, refreshing, and enjoyable. Given the chance, this album it should keep you humming for weeks.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Hot Chip - Made in the Dark

Hot Chip - Made in the Dark

(DFA/Astralwerks; 2008)

80%


"Wrestlers" [mp3]





Last October Hot Chip’s official web site posted a press release stating Made in the Dark was “faster and rockier” than 2006’s The Warning. “Faster” I could fathom, but a Hot Chip rock album? P4K was apparently similarly miffed heading into their interview with frontman Alexis Taylor, as they asked if these adjectives were accurate. He replied, “Yeah, some of it is rockier, and there are moments that you could detect a bit of a heavy metal influence.”

Heavy metal, huh? Now he’s fucking with us.

Perhaps that’s the most charming quality of a band like Hot Chip. They have a good time. If you’ve ever been to one of their live shows, you know they have a really good time. They write songs that make people dance, even those who normally feel uncomfortable committing more than a fervent head bob. They write satirical songs like “Over and Over” that make fun of the very genre they happen to be mastering. Sometimes, they pen a slow number that melts your heart, right before they bite you on the neck and push you back on the dance floor.

Made in the Dark has all the Hot Chip trappings and much, much more. You have your dancey numbers, a la “Ready for the Floor” or “Touch Too Much.” You have your tongue-in-cheek diddies like “Wrestlers,” a classic Hot Chip number that features Taylor singing oh-so-sweetly, “Everyone knows Monday night means wrestling” over break-your-heart backing vocals/piano. It would be difficult to write a review and not mention the titular track, which features bonafide break-your-heart music and lyrics (albeit featuring a winking line like, “Since I stole this song we have made a new start.”)

There’s a lot to like here, maybe even love. Unfortunately a few snoozers dampen the party. “Shake a Fist,” despite being the album’s first single, fails to make me want to shake much of anything (perhaps they should have stuck with the song’s original title, “Shake a Stick”?). “Don’t Dance,” on the other hand, does a fine job living up to its imperative title.

For the record (ha), the album does employ more organic rock sounds, such as the opening guitar on “One Pure Thought” (which, for one horrifying moment, sounds like the heralding of a Sheryl Crow song). I’m reminded of TV on the Radio’s transition from Desperate Youth to Cookie Mountain – no more drum machines, more guitar – though Hot Chip hasn’t entirely abandoned the electronic sound that defined them on standouts like “And I Was a Boy from School” or “Over and Over.” I’m intrigued by the band’s more soulful side on “Made in the Dark” and “In the Privacy of Our Love,” though the slower numbers on The Warning fit that album’s aesthetic much more seamlessly.

Ultimately Made in the Dark may not be “the definitive Hot Chip” as their press release has asserted. Nonetheless, the band’s shown they have a palette of sounds to choose from as they continue to stake out this satirical/dance/heavy metal territory only they can inhabit. I might even say a palette of colours and colours and colours and – you get the picture.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Evangelicals - The Evening Descends

Evangelicals - The Evening Descends

(Dead Oceans; 2008)

81.6%


[mp3] "Skeleton Man"



Towards the end of "Bellawood," a swirling, haunting epic of a song about a mental institution named, you guessed it, Bellawood, singer Josh Jones repeats the phrase "Strange things keep happening / all around my head / strange things keep happening." With topics that cover ghost stories, drugs, and a boy who nearly dies following a car crash only to actually die from the shock of having his legs removed in order to save his life - to name only a few - it's quite possible that these lyrics might very well contain the album's not-so-hidden mantra.

But The Evening Descends is more than just a vehicle for Josh Jones' fantastic, slightly twisted imagery, there's also some great fucking music. The album is what you might get if you tossed some early Flaming Lips (naturally, given the Oklahoma connection), Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's most epic climaxes (not to mention Jones' voice, which at times is similar to Alec Ounsworth's caterwauling yelps) and Sunset Rubdown's seamless production into a blender with hallucinogenic mushrooms. It's a dense, layered album that teases the brain and really takes hold with repeated listens on headphones, where the music best lends itself to Jones' storytelling. Though its way too early to make any bold predictions, I feel confident in saying that 2008 should be a good year for Evangelicals, and I'm proud to say that The Evening Descends is, at the very least, the year's first really good record.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Radiohead - In Rainbows (Disc 2)

Grade: 82%

(2007, self-released, In Rainbows DiscBox)


"Bangers & Mash" [mp3]

"4-Minute Warning" [mp3]



Ordinarily I don't like to read other critic's reviews before I write my own. I'm late enough reviewing Disc 2, however, that I've unwittingly come across several. What intrigues me is not just that most of these other reviewers have given Disc 2 a low score, but that they seem to be evaluating the collection of songs as its own album. To my mind, this makes about as much sense as evaluating dessert with the same criteria as you would the main entree.

Yet perhaps this slight is more a testament to the strength of the songs than anything. There is definitely a "feel" of an album to these eight tracks, though they total just twenty-six minutes. First we encounter the bridge between Disc 1 closer "Videotape" to Disc 2, "Mk1." It's brief and gauzy, and absolutely perfect for those other nerds listening to Discs 1 and 2 in succession. "Down is the New Up" is a piano-driven number that echoes the jazzy/lounge-y feel of "15 Step" and "Reckoner." It's followed by "Go Slowly," a haunting, breathy track that would probably be one of my favorites if the guitar riffs weren't so unabashedly thieved from "There There" (Go listen to it! Tell me I'm wrong!)

"Last Flowers" is classic Thom Yorke in the vein of "True Love Waits." I've read that the song, which was originally titled "Last Flowers to the Hospital," was taken from a road-side sign in Oxford. The song suits this anecdote.

"Up on the Ladder" is quite different from the other tracks on Disc 1 or 2, and sounds more suited for a Hail to the Thief b-side. (Isn't it interesting how, even though HTTT was in many ways a fusion of the band's styles over the years, it still has a definitive sound? Listen to "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" and tell me it's not HTTT material.)

My two favorite tracks off Disc 2 can be found side-by-side at its conclusion. "Bangers & Mash" is Radiohead at its most raucous. I can just see Thom Yorke, tambourine in hand, writhing on-stage. More to the point, I'd love to see him, tambourine in hand, writhing on stage to this song. This year. Please God. Please God.

"4-Minute Warning" is one of the most achingly beautiful songs I've heard from the band in some time. As much as I've defended the synthy production of "Videotape," I think I would have been even happier with this track in its place. Only Radiohead could make a bomb raid sound so soothing.

Though all of the Disc 2 tracks are accomplished, even for a band like Radiohead, I'm pleased they left them off the "real" album (with the exception of the latter two). So many times we Range Lifers joke about "Bands That Need an Editor." Radiohead is smart enough to never be one of those bands.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X

Grade: 80%

(Italians Do It Better, 2007)

A Glass Candy Sampler

My notorious pre-concert boozing has cost me over the years. Sure it's saved me some cash at overpriced venue bars, but I've missed out on some incredible opening acts (maybe THAT'S why I couldn't offer much input regarding that whole Upstaged! post Ryan did). Lately I've wised up, and started dragging in to shows earlier. I'm thrilled I did for November's Architecture in Helsinki show, or I would have missed Glass Candy.

B/E/A/T/B/O/X isn't what you would call a "real" album. It's a tour-only CD. Still, give this a listen and you'll wonder what the band is concocting for their next LP. You'll also wonder why the critics haven't looked too kindly on Glass Candy's previous outings. Maybe that's because they've had such high hopes for them. Apparently, when the Italians Do It Better compilation was released earlier this year to moderate acclaim, some said Glass Candy were outdone by their labelmates (upstaged, if you like). Maybe I don't know enough about New Wave/Italo dance to speak intelligently on this matter, or maybe I was so wowed by Ida No's austere live presence, but I have to disagree. Take a whirl with "Digital Versicolor," "Beautific," or "Rollin' Down the Hill," and get ready to dance like it's New Year's 2007. Wait...

Real album or no, B/E/A/T/B/O/X proves Glass Candy has staying power. And, dare I say, "soul power"?

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Sigur Rós - Hvarf-Heim

Grade: 78%........................................."

"Halfsol" - mp3

Under my “Genre” column, ITunes has deemed Hvarf-Heim “Unclassifiable.” The term could suit any Sigur Rós album, right along with dreamy, escapist, bleak, dense, sparse, ephemeral, crystalline, wasteland, wonderland. Hvarf-Heim may not be the band’s most accomplished effort, but proves the perfect aperitif for that post-Takk, pre-next-album transition.

The eleven tracks appear on two EPs: Hvarf, or “Disappeared,” ones that disappeared, aka never made it into the band’s catalog; and Heim, or “Home,” reworkings of old favorites.

First-out-of-the-gate “Salka” sounds like a ( )-era number, which might prove a turn off for listeners burnt out on Jonsi’s wailing “E-sai-you.” (Apparently this is the only word in the made-up Hopelandic language -- does this seem like a wasted opportunity to anyone else?) The band picks up the pace with “Hjamalind,” then blasts us with “I Gær,” one of the album’s finest stampeding moments. Yet disc one’s show-stopper, literally, is the ten-minute closer “Hafsol,” whose plucked strings and flutes and e-bows evoke the bombastic epics of Ágætis Byrjun. “Hafsol” buoys, and more to the point, justifies the album.

Disc two commences with “Untitled #3” (under its "real" name “Samskeyti”), the album’s only real “D’uh” moment. The completely faithful version of a piano-only track left this listener wondering, “Why bother?” “Staralfur,” though by no means superior to the album version, sees Jonsi’s vocals at their most tender (See: four-minute mark. Feel: shivers). Ágætis' gorgeous titular track receives an equally elegant send-up here, a Heim highlight along with a recording of “Von” that crushes the original and Hvarf versions under its mighty steel-toed boot.

With Sigur Rós, criticisms seem like nitpicking. I’m reminded of that late-semester freshman paper. There’s always that A-student who spends a semester proving himself. Then he hands in a perfunctory final paper that, while not his best work, evinces potentiality glimmering under the surface, ready to be mined when he comes up for air.

Sigur Rós: Take this C+ in stride. Relax, enjoy your break. I'll see you next semester.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

The Best of 2006: A Retrospective

Perspective is an incredible phenomenon. As we prepare for this year's Best Of List, it seems fitting to look back on THE YEAR THAT WAS 2006. Unlike this year, when I suspect we shall proclaim a unanimous No. 1, 2006 was a tad spotty, maybe even skimpy (in a bad way). Nonetheless, as you'll see from our lists, 2006 proved the year for 60s girl-pop, steaming up the dance floor, and above all, the dense and delicate grower.

Nicole

10.) El Perro del Mar - El Perro del Mar
9.) The Knife - Silent Shout
8.) TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
7.) Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
6.) Hot Chip - The Warning
5.) Danielson - Ships
4.) Califone - Roots and Crowns
3.) Annuals - Be He Me
2.) Joanna Newsom - Ys
1.) Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

Rounding Out a Top 15: Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block, Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye, Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You..., Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit, Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped.


Ryan

10.) Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
9.) TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
8.) Califone - Roots and Crowns
7.) Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
6.) Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
5.) Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
4.) Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon
3.) Joanna Newsom - Y's
2.) Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block

1.) Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

Most of my favorite albums don't hit me right away. OK Computer, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Siamese Dream, and Turn on the Bright Lights all took some time to gestate. Yellow House has settled itself into my brain much the same way, gently making room and cozying up in the corner of my mind over the course of several months. Now a year after its release, Yellow House still sounds like honey to my ears. If you're tired of hearing about Grizzly Bear, I can relate. But if you're tired of listening to Yellow House, well, I suppose you're just not human.


Chad

10.) Peter Bjorn & John - Writer’s Block
I listened to this for about two weeks straight. This album is good from start to finish. Despite being fun to listen to, it doesn’t really challenge me – leaving it at the end of my list.

9.) The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine
The most rockin title to make the list. Also on my Top Five Albums to Get Completely Smashed To.

8.) Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Another solid album. I’m a huge fan of the Seattle radio station KEXP, and they pretty much shoved this down their listeners’ throats throughout most of last year – a good thing.

7.) Junior Boys - So This is Goodbye
These guys sure know how to put on a good show. 2006 was the year of dance music for me. I’m usually not one to shake my groove thing, but last year I just couldn’t help myself.

6.) Tapes ‘n Tapes - The Loon
T&T need to give the Midwest some love. Sadly they are the only band on the list I have yet to see live (well them and PB&J, but I’ll get to see them soon).

5.) TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
This got a lot of hype. I still prefer Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes.

4.) Hot Chip - The Warning
Another dance title. I think Hot Chip has some violent tendencies – “Hot Chip will break your legs/snap off your head.”

3.) Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
You can easily get lost in the harmonies. SonicRyan did a mean cover of “Knife” on my roof.

2.) Califone - Roots and Crowns
A grower. It’s taken me most of 2007 to solidify this at the top of my 2006 list. Seeing them at Pitchfork Music Festival was incredible.

1.) Joanna Newsom - Y's
This album is so good I don’t even want to listen to it – I’m saving it. Five tracks of the most creative and talented music you’ll ever hear. Cryptic lyrics, dense song structures, beautiful orchestration.

Jenna

Snooze, Booze, or Cruise?

Are these albums good for nothings or good for everythings? Snooze (napping), booze (I think you can figure this one out), or cruise (driving in the car)...

10. Gnarls Barkley -St. Elsewhere

*Cruise*
9. Tapes n’ Tapes –The Loon

*snooze and cruise* (preferably not at the same time)
8. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain

*booze and cruise*
7. Camera Obscura –Let’s Get Out of This Country

*snooze, booze and cruise*
6. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

*snooze and cruise*
5. Yo La Tengo –I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

*snooze, booze and cruise*
4. M. Ward –Post-War

*booze and cruise*
3. Thom Yorke –Eraser

*booze and cruise*
2. Man Man – Six Demon Bag

*booze and cruise*
1. Beirut –Gulag Orkestar

*snooze, booze and cruise*

Beirut- Gulag Orkestar
To be honest the first time I heard this album I didn’t think much of it. The second time I heard this album I thought okay this is starting to grow on me… The third time I heard this album I was resting naked in my old apartment amidst the glowing KC skyline thinking hmm…this may lead to a lasting relationship. The 8th time I heard this album I thought I don't just like this album I like like this album. The 15th time I heard this album I bought it on vinyl to surprise my lover. The 35th time I heard this album I was sitting on the porch drinking rum over ice thinking I believe this is my favorite. The process of realization may be slow but it is definitely worth the wait. Thank you Beirut for the many days/afternoons/evenings of pleasure.

We'll see everyone again at the end of 2007! Will Radiohead secure its coveted No. 1 spot? Who will win the battle between Animal Collective and Of Montreal? Will the Range Life staff witness its first fisticuffs? Stay tuned.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Radiohead - In Rainbows

Radiohead - In Rainbows

(Note: This review is for the mp3 release. A separate review for the Discbox will be written upon its arrival.)

(Self Released, 2007)

Grade: 94.7

In Rainbows (the album)
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (mp3)


One day after being "rickrolled" by some jackass with too much time on his/her hands, Radiohead surprised the world with the announcement that their seventh album would be self-released, digitally, in a mere ten days. Okay, maybe the entire world wasn't shocked, as I'm certain there are parts of Africa that could care less about what five British blokes do with their time, let alone their music, but still, you and me and everyone we know had Rainbows on the brain. Personally, I don't think I even counted down the final week to my 21st birthday, but I sure as hell counted down the "release date" for Radiohead's seventh album. Why? Radiohead has a hold on my heart and a special place in my life, all thanks to a bald MTV VJ, a killer performance on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and a little album called OK Computer. The excitement over counting down 'til midnight (again like my 21st birthday) for my personal download link was fairly new to me, as the territory was slightly unfamiliar. I am old enough to remember midnight CD release parties at record stores - the last Radiohead release, 2003's Hail to the Thief, was the last album I bought at a midnight sale - but something about mixing old-school impatience with modern technology made Radiohead's experiment something I wanted to be a part of. Knowing that somewhere on this Earth, a million people (or more) would be sharing a similar experience with me made it even more fun. As cool as Radiohead's social experiment was, though, nothing tops the actual album itself, which is easily Radiohead's best album since Kid A, and their most widely accessible since The Bends.

Listening to In Rainbows, even for the first time, it seemed like Radiohead was more comfortable with these songs than with anything they have released in the past decade, which I presume is a direct result of the band spending two years writing, recording, and playing the songs live (nine of them at least; "Nude" has been around for nearly a decade). Yes, a similar approach was used on Hail to the Thief, but the results here are significantly better. Where Hail sounds like Radiohead made a mixtape of their songs disguised as a record, In Rainbows is a cohesive, near flawless Radiohead album.

There are many reasons why In Rainbows is such a fantastic, fascinating listen. Nicole may have covered many of them in a recent post, but bear with me while I muse on a few observations of my own. For starters, In Rainbows is, at times, the most "rock" Radiohead has been in quite some time. Traces of rock have appeared on each of the band's albums since The Bends, but In Rainbows has so much guitar you might think it was released in 1997 rather than 2007, especially on "Bodysnatchers", which is easily Radiohead's most intense and gnarliest song since "Electioneering". Every time I listen to it I can picture Jonny ripping into his guitar strings, while Thom rapidly shakes his head from shoulder to shoulder as he wails, "I'm aliiiiiiiiive!" I bet this song kills live.

Speaking of live Radiohead, after attending a Radiohead concert in 2003, I walked away from the show with the impression that the live versions of Radiohead's songs are funkier, or at least more bass heavy, than their album counterparts. I was pretty fucking high at that show, I'll grant you, but I'm convinced Radiohead noticed it too, as it seems to have bled over onto In Rainbows' production and mixing. Colin Greenwood's bass work is prominent throughout the album, and Radiohead do sound funkier, at times even soulful and sexy, like an R&B band or Portishead's self-titled album. It doesn't hurt that Thom's lyrics are oftentimes playful, even sexual. It is a unique direction for the band, proving that even when they're comfortable and accessible, Radiohead are still capable of throwing a curve ball in our direction.

Lastly, the most fascinating aspect of In Rainbows is, in this writer's humble opinion, just how accessible the album is. Radiohead have spent most of their career making jarring follow-up albums to excellent, sometimes iconic releases. Many of these albums were growers, albeit growers that yielded good vibrations with each listen. Kid A, perhaps the new standard to which albums that divide the fans and the critics are set, was so polarizing upon its release it had more than one major music publication proudly hailing Coldplay as the next Radiohead. And while a rock album with touches of R&B might sound polarizing, I assure you that it is manufactured as one easy-to-swallow pill. The songs are arranged and sequenced perfectly, like jigsaws falling into place. The album is long enough to engage the audience, while short enough not to overstay its welcome. It is also highly addictive, and rewarding. My current favorite, "Reckoner," reveals its beauty more and more with each listen, more so than some of the album's immediately engaging songs ("Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", "All I Need").

As you can probably tell, I am in love with In Rainbows. I feel like a teenager all over again. Somewhere in a different space/time continuum, the younger SonicRyan who did his math homework to OK Computer is smiling. Already my $81 is well spent, and the arrival of my Discbox set is still two months off. I have been listening to this album on repeat since the download completed, following the rainbow. Already I have found several pots of gold, with no end in sight.

--Ryan

It is hard to put into words what constitutes an exceptional album – you just know. This one I knew it right away. It’s in the moments – the ones I’m still anticipating after having heard them a million times, the ones where there is burgeoning meaning behind the vocals, the ones that are comfortably familiar, and the ones I grow to love.

The moments. The entrance of a sleepy guitar on the backdrop of a synthetic beat. The pure Radiohead rock song where Thom really loses himself. “I’ve seen it coming/I’ve seen it coming.” The isolated falsetto in a song I fell in love with years ago. The wavy, creepy strings. The slow building of distant howls backed by a whirling guitar. The personal lyrics finally let out of the bottle since The Eraser. “I’m in the middle of your picture.” The catchy melodic upbeat acoustic heavily orchestrated number. The drums hiding in the off-beats. The parts that stick in my head and slip loose when no one is around. “Because we separate/it ripples in our reflection.” The expansive, smoldering melody that took awhile, but now cannot seem to get out of my head. The OK Computer droned voices. The organic looped toward its exacted purpose. It’s in the moments.

--Chad


I was waiting for an old friend. It had been years since I’d seen her, left her blistered and angry, a little weathered. Before she’d worn dark half-moons under her eyes, carried self-loathing in frail bones. She never looked so beautiful. Now I wondered how time would mark its passage upon her in undetectable but certain ways, like the inching of the long arm on a clock. I knew nothing. I knew she would not disappoint.

For days I’ve breathed nothing but Radiohead. I’ve craved nothing else. I’ve prowled the Internet, scraped my knees on the album’s tiniest criticisms. I’ve championed “House of Cards” after seeing it spurned, like that summer a boyfriend said orange wasn’t my color and I vowed to prove otherwise. I’ve sung caricatures of “Reckoner” with friends. Doodled rainbows on faded receipts. I’ve stirred the coals of conversation with my squat grocery-checkout hermaphrodite, to whom I evinced that the new album was, for lack of a more concise companion to my linking verb, amazing.

Already I fear my friend’s absence. I fear the moment I’ve traversed every haunted inch, explored each crook of an elbow, sung her in the car, out screamed the rain, falling in love, falling from love, falling in.

--Nicole

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Beirut - The Flying Club Cup

Beirut - The Flying Club Cup

(Ba Da Bing!, 2007)

Grade: 78.4

"The Penalty" (mp3)






"It's your move," my opponent tells me as he pulls several new tiles out of a nearby silk bag. His reminder recovers my senses from a daydream. The culprit, the latest Beirut album, The Flying Club Cup, is nearly a quarter finished, yet already I am daydreaming. Though I am not impressed, I dare not voice my displeasure to his face, instead refocusing my attention on the Scrabble board that sits on the coffee table that separates us. Before I study my tiles I must check my opponent's previous move. I grimace at the newly added cliquot. All seven letters used, placed on a triple word score to add further insult. The game, like the album, is nearly a quarter finished, yet I am already beat. "You're not going to challenge?" he asks. I consider the option. "The Penalty" begins on the stereo, and instead I resign. I tell him he played a great game as we sweep the tiles back into the silk bag. What I wanted to say was much harsher.

The charmed young man departs for the streets, bottle of wine in one hand, mandolin in the other. I watch him from the window. He pulls his collar up as the snow falls and takes a swig from the bottle. I decide to retire for the evening and cozy up to my lover as "Forks and Knives (La Fete)" plays softly in the background. The warm bed makes everything better. Even the music, despite its low volume, charms my ears for the first time. I suppose I was wrong about you, I think to myself as I drift into a deep sleep. The music continues its passage into my ears, into my head. I hear a voice calling me, it is the young man from a few moments earlier. He looks the same, yet somehow I am clothed and my shoddy apartment transformed into a deli. Confused, I accept his offer to lead me back home. Together we wander through cities I have only seen in PBS documentaries and Jean-Pierre Jeunet films. I am amazed, and suddenly it becomes apparent that I am dreaming. No longer eager to return home, we decide to take a hot air balloon over the coast of Italy. I weep at the sight. To the North, everything. To the South, everything else. I thank the young man for his kindness, and for showing me the world as I had never seen it before. "I only brought the balloon", he replied, "you did the rest."

It is morning when my lover wakes me up, and though I normally prefer to sleep in on Sunday mornings, this moment feels appropriate. "Its been a long time since I've seen you smile," she says. I kiss her as gently as the needle does a record, and play the album again so the two of us can fly together.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends

Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends

(French Kiss, 2007)

Grade - 79.5%


Pots & Pans




A disclaimer: Before hearing Les Savy Fav's latest Let's Stay Friends, I had been diggin' on singles collection Inches (2004) and merely flirted with the more dance-infused Go Forth (2001). Writing a competent review for this album became increasingly difficult. As I visited the band's back catalog, I found myself mystified, intrigued, and completely won over.

Occasionally a friend or acquaintance will say in defense of a band, "But they're really good live..." I suppose I've always found such claims bordering on bullshit. If said band is so incredible live, why don't they make an effort to achieve this level of brilliance on their albums -- the place where the songs are set in stone, the place where they are most often encountered, whether driving in the car, over dinner, echoing in the background of idle conversation? Then I encounter a band like Les Savy Fav and it all makes sense.

You see, I read a post recently that observed how amazing it is that a "morbidly obese" man could belt out such impressive vocals. Morbidly obese, you say? I had to look into that. This was when I uncovered this:



















(from aubreyedwards.com, whatever the fuck that is)

And this:














(from mog.com)

And don't forget this:



















(from afterthebirthofthecool.com)

One more, pretty pretty please?:






















(from villagevoice.com)

The Internet is literally rife with images of Tim Harrington in his underwear. I can attest that, after witnessing a few terribly rendered YouTubes, followed by fans' lamenting the band's absence from the tour circuit, I started wishing I weren't such a johnny(err, jenny?)-come-lately. I've also been left wondering how, after seeing one of the best concerts of the year, I could possibly whine about missing the brief LCD/Arcade stint with LSF. So it goes.

So what's the scoop on the new Les Savy Fav? you ask. This is an album review, after all. Well if you're a fan of Inches like myself, Friends should keep you from yawn, yawn, yawning. There are songs that evoke "Meet Me in the Dollar Bin" ("Patty Lee") and "Hello Halo, Goodbye Glands" ("Brace Yourself"). You'll find your throw-a-chair-at-the-wall punk anthems a la "The Equestrian" or "The Year Before the Year 2000." Friends offers some surprises, too. Opener "Pots & Pans" is a remarkably slow builder (for the band), and one of the album's highlights. "Comes and Goes," featuring Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces, was intriguing (for both LSF and FF), if not altogether at home with the other tracks on the album.

Ultimately Let's Stay Friends may not be the stampeding ruckus superfans expected to herald the band's return, but it's attracted this jenny-come-lately, and I suspect many others, too.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Better Late Than Never: Newish Old Album Reviews

-NP
Oct. 1, and I'm already eagerly anticipating our end-of-the-year list of top albums (especially now that Radiohead is releasing their album next week). As we approach the final quarter of 2007, I want to give love to some fabulous albums we've yet to review.

In no particular order, except for alphabetical:



The Clientele - God Save the Clientele

(Merge, 2007)

Grade: 85%


"The Garden at Night"




I've been a fan of the Clientele since downloading the hauntingViolet Hour in preparation to see them open for Spoon in 2005. At first listen, the Clientele may seem like one-trick ponies. Every track features jangly guitars, swelling violins, Alasdair MacLean's distinctive reverb-laden vocals. Repeat listenings are mandatory: the songs sound similar because the band has honed its unique aesthetic. It's the subtle anomaly that differentiates the tracks on a Clientele album, and makes listening to them rewarding.

This description certainly would be true of both The Violet Hour and follow-up Strange Geometry, though on God Save the Clientele we see a new Clientele emerge. Long gone is the uniform bleakness that marked the previous releases. At long last we have a Clientele album suitable for summer evenings, for happy moods, for wistful daydreaming. Give "Winter on Victoria Street," "Bookshop Cassanova," or "The Garden At Night" a spin, and you may find yourself dancing, or maybe just emphatically tapping a loafer.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

The National - Boxer

(Beggars Banquet, 2007)

Grade: 90%


"Guest Room"




The National has gotten a considerable amount of love on this blog recently, though we've never written an official review. That said, Boxer is a phenomenal album that deserves every minute it's spent riding our left sidebar under "Gold Sounds."

What's perhaps most remarkable about this album is how effortless it seems. Many indie artists seem intent on pushing the envelope as much as possible, sometimes to amazing, other times disappointing, effects. Boxer is an album that does not try to reinvent the wheel, but rather takes great care with the meat-and-potatoes of good songwriting.

What does stand out on this album, the band's fourth, is Matt Berninger's lulling baritone. Whether he's crooning about losing "ruffian" status in "Racing Like a Pro," feeling out of touch with the world in "Green Gloves," or appreciating the little moments in a relationship in "Slow Show," I pine for his every longing, travel along for every misstep.

I could whine about wanting more upbeat tracks like "Mistaken for Strangers" or "Brainy." Or I could go listen to Alligator and shut the hell up.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy

Forget about the Kanye/50 record sales spar, that was merely the under card to the month's main event: Kevin Drew vs. a man who needs no introduction, Thurston Moore (or, K-Dog and 'On as they're affectionately called here at the Range Life office). We'll post our Kevin Drew album later this week, possibly tonight.

Cheers.




Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy
(Ecstatic Peace, 2007)
82.5%

"Frozen Gtr" (mp3)








In the music video for "The Empty Page", the lead-off track from the outstanding Sonic Youth album, Murray Street, Thurston can be seen writing the words "I am not Beck" on a plain white t-shirt. Listening to the first track on Trees Outside the Academy, Thurston Moore's first solo rock album (as opposed to instrumental/experimental noise) in 12 years, you might understand where the confusion lies. The opening notes of Thurston's detuned acoustic (yes, acoustic!) guitar recalls certain songs from Mr. Hanson's back catalog, a bygone era that many Beck fans, including myself, mourn for with each passing Beck album. However, it doesn't take long for Thurston to establish his presence on the album, his voice may be plain, but it is also unmistakable after two-and-a-half decades of playing a major role in one of the most innovative and inspirational bands to ever put music to tape. The song eventually takes its shape, and eventually sounds like, wait for it...

...a long lost Sonic Youth gem.

In many ways, "Frozen Gtr" is the perfect precursor for what to expect on the rest of the album's twelve songs. Sonic Youth's signature sound is all over the album: Thurston's voice, the trademark (de)tunings, spot on overdubs that accentuate rather than hog the headphones, and yet there are a couple of surprises on both the song and the album that make it a worthwhile addition to even the biggest Sonic Youth fan's already overloaded collection.

The first surprise, at least to this listener, is the use of acoustic guitar. For decades it has seemed as if an acoustic guitar might be Sonic Youth's enemy, the instrument making only brief appearances during the bands long and storied career (though one does pop up in another music video highlight, Sonic Youth's cover of The Carpenters' classic, "Superstar"), but Thurston rocks the shit out of the hollowbodies on Trees. Don't get me wrong, Trees still rocks, its just that many of the songs rely on momentum rather than rocking in the more conventional sense, while traditional Sonic Youth-esque mid-song jam-outs still retain their impact despite the lack of distortion. Take the song "Silver>Blue" for example, there is no distortion or feedback distracting the clarity of the notes being played, for the better. Still, there's plenty of actual rockage in the Trees, courtesy of Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis, who lets his hair down on several of the album's tracks.

Speaking of Mascis, I should mention the album's other contributors. Though this is first and foremost a Thurston Moore record, the contributions will not go unnoticed, nor should they, as they provide the album's other big surprise. The lead violin work of Samara Lubelski often takes the place of a guitar overdub or a Mascis solo, and to great effect. The song "Never Light" would probably be quite a bore without her gentle touches. The other notable contribution comes from Christina Carter, of the Charalambides, who sings on both "Frozen Gtr" and "Honest James", another one of the album's standout tracks. There's no denying the fact that I am a big, BIG, Sonic Youth fan, but even I must admit that hearing Thurston duet with a woman who can actually sing (sorry Kim) is quite pleasing.

Because I was never a big fan of Psychic Hearts, I had my doubts as to whether or not Thurston could craft a really good solo album, but the expansion of Thurston Moore's musical palate on Trees, thanks in no small part to the album's aforementioned guests, prevents this album from going in the record collection merely for completion's sake. I believe that this is an album that you will find yourself listening to down the road, not just this month, and easily holds its own with most of the Sonic Youth catalog (the exceptions being Daydream, Sister, and possibly Murray Street). This Tree is solid, and further proof that rather than killing yr idols, you should buy their records instead.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: Animal Collective - Strawberry Jams

Femme Fatale says...

92.0

Great albums come and go, but great bands are rare. What differentiates artists with a flash-in-the-pan success from those who rest comfortably among the greats? Longevity, of course, but also reinvention and rediscovery. Nothing speaks more for a band than diehard fans, but more specifically, diehard fans of particular albums.

In less than a decade Animal Collective has forged a fanbase that includes Here Comes the Indian followers who fell in love with the band at its most primitive, Sung Tong worshippers who prefer airy, drum-beat chants like “Winter’s Love,” and Feels fans who seek poppier, more traditional song structures. Now from the proverbial mixing pot springs Strawberry Jams, the band’s latest witches’ brew. Somewhere “Fireworks” are exploding in music lovers' headphones, and a new wave of sycophants is falling under the band’s spell.

How does a band stay true to its core while pursuing a new, singular sound? For Animal Collective this has meant experimenting with what makes songs. I’ll never forget my first crack at “College,” the breezy Sung Tongs charmer that distills its theme in its sole lyric, “You don’t have to go to college.” You don’t have to live life according to an instruction manual, the band purports, any more than we have to make music following one. On Strawberry Jams experimentation means shifting the focus to more lyric-based tunes. Standout track “For Reverend Green” proves that being lyrical doesn’t have to hold up to the term's pleasant connotations. The result? Avey Tare’s vocal cords run ragged on a loaded gun of a track that could have misfired -- if it didn’t pop on every gut gripping level. The track's jagged edge is the perfect segue into the sleepy builder "Fireworks."

An Animal Collective for every season, perhaps? Perhaps it’s because I’ve been jamming to these jams all summer, but the album evokes the tingle of an early sunburn, palms sticky with popsicle. With Strawberry Jams Animal Collective has proven they have the wherewithal to journey from the promise of spring to the isolating bleakness of winter and back again. This is the moment that music lovers/critics revere, the moment they can say a favorite band has what it takes to be one of the greats.

Sonic Ryan says... Click here.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Little Blurbs

August 21st was a big day for new releases, and to only review the New Pornographers and Architecture in Helsinki is a shame. Not because those albums are undeserving, they are, that's why they took precedent, but there were plenty of others that, had they been released any other week, would have probably seen some larger blog space. Below you'll find a few blurbs on some of those albums, and with any luck one of us will at least get a Kala review sometime in the near future. Enjoy.

Recommended Album
Caribou - Andorra

Score: 81.7 %

What the Others Think:

Pitchfork Score: 8.3
Tiny Mix Tapes Score: 4 1/2 out of 5
Coke Machine Glow Score: 60%






I have to admit that I'm far from a Caribou/Manitoba aficionado, though with the release of Andorra I may have to work on becoming one. The album is perhaps electro-pop at its near best. At times Andorra is reminiscent of Panda Bear's latest album Person Pitch, in that it does Brian Wilson and the Beatles justice while retaining its own identity. At the very least, give this album a spin or two, if only to hear such standout tracks as "After Hours", "Eli", and the album's closing track, "Niobe" which is an electronic menagerie of sound for the first 6 or so minutes that then shifts into a gentler, comfortable, science fiction movie-esque ending.

Caribou - "After Hours" (mp3)



Travis Morrison Hellfighters - All Y'all

Score: 69.5%

What the Others Think:

Pitchfork Score: N/A
Tiny Mix Tapes Score: N/A
Coke Machine Glow Score: N/A







Solo albums are not always very good, but for fans of the artist's previous endeavors, solo albums are usually, at the very least, interesting to hear. For example, after listening to Thom Yorke's The Eraser, you get a better idea of what styles and sounds he brings to Radiohead. But even The Eraser was far from perfect, and Travis Morrison, who helped take the Dismemberment Plan from Washington D.C. basements and dive bars to the cusp of indie stardom before their self-implosion in 2003, is no Thom Yorke. All Y'all is a marked improvement from Travis' previous solo outing, 2004's Travistian, otherwise known as the album slapped with a 0.0 rating at Pitchfork. Mostly the album picks up where the D-Plan left off on their underrated swan song, Change, but standout tracks like "Just Didn't Turn Me On" and "You Make Me Feel Like a Freak" branch off into a funkier, groovier direction that winds up being both refreshing and nerve racking, as its only a brief reminder of just how wonderfully off kilter D-Plan could be. Trimmed up a bit, this could have been a promising EP, but as it stands the album just a notch below pretty good.

Listen to the whole album here.



Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight

Score: 42.1%

What the Others Think:

Pitchfork Score: 5.1
Tiny Mix Tapes Score: N/A
Coke Machine Glow Score: N/A







Two years ago, Rilo Kiley jumped ship to a major label and released the sleeper single "Portions For Foxes", a guilty pleasure of mine I have to admit. Their not entirely alt-country, not quite indie-rock, not quite emo sound wasn't exactly thrilling, no more so than the new Wilco record, but pop songs don't necessarily have to take risks in order to work. In fact, taking risks is probably the biggest reason why this album feels like an underachiever. Rather than coming across as more adventurous, Rilo Kiley instead sound like they're struggling with their identity, trying to force songs to sound more exciting than they actually are. Granted, putting Jenny Lewis' cowpoke vocals over disco beats, which you'll hear several times on this album with varying degrees of success, does make for an interesting concept, but mostly winds up sounding more forced than fun. If you must, go ahead and call it a transitional record or a growing pain for a band that's still relatively new to the world of major labels, just don't expect to see it on too many "Best Of" lists come December.

Rilo Kiley - "The Moneymaker" (mp3)

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: New Pornographers - Challengers

Official Score: 87%

What the Others Say

Pitchfork: 6.0
Tiny Mix Tapes: 3.5/5
Coke Machine Glow: N/A




Early in my parents' marriage my stepfather bought my mother a shirt that featured a giant heart with the words "Leftover Lover" scrawled in sleazy script. She had been livid about the purchase, though perhaps still reeling from the last divorce, let the aberration slide.

On the New Pornographers' latest, you could call frontman AC Newman somewhat of a leftover lover. In an interview earlier this year, Newman said that after letting Dan Bejar and Neko Case take their pick of his newly written songs, he cheerfully resigned himself to the scrappings. Does this shameless placating signal that the New Pornos may be on shaky ground? I hope not, as Challengers is yet another confident and sophisticated addition to the New Pornos' impressive catalogue.

No, I'm not one of those AC-Newman-crazed fan girls that I keep hearing about. That signature lisp just doesn't do it for me, sexually anyhow. I am a big fan of his power-pop, or "power-folk" as he proclaimed in a recent PF interview. AC Newman is the brains behind the band, and the man shouldn't have to beg for his own scraps from anyone, not even Neko Case. Neko snags the titular track here, a slow-burner as restrained as the affair she croons about. Admittedly Neko's tracks on this album, though good, don't stand up to "The Jessica Numbers" or "These Are the Fables." I know Neko's a country chantreuse, but does she have to sing all the slow ones? On a side note, I should point out that Neko's duties as backup singer have been passed on to apparently permanent new member Kathryn Calder -- perhaps another sign the New Pornos are on the decline?

Strangely, odd-man-out Dan Bejar outshines his fellow band members on Challengers. I've always suspected Bejar would be the first to renege on the whole New Pornos arrangement --damn you, Destroyer! Perhaps part of that shameless placating I mentioned earlier involved Bejar saying, "I'll do some songs, if I can have 'Myriad Harbour.'" Or maybe Newman simply recognized Bejar would be the best vocalist for what is easily the most ground-breaking track on the album, which I heard another blogger say reminded him of the way he felt when he first heard the Pixies. "Myriad Harbour" has everything a good power-pop/folk/rock song demands: jangly guitars, a catchy beat, the ramblings of an apparent mad-man (maybe that's where the Pixies' analogy comes in?)

Newman did wrestle a few gems here, such as the wistful builder "Unguided" or the closest track on Challengers to the incredible chant-inducing "Bleeding Heart Show," "Adventures in Solitude." If only "All Those Old Showstoppers" or "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" lived up to their names. And don't even get me started on "Mutiny, I Promise You."

Challengers reflects AC Newman's desire for a more folky, less power-pop sound -- a successful if not seamless transition. Let's hope the shift is merely a new, intriguing addition to the New Pornos' palette, and not the end of an era.


Note: No Neko accompanying the New Pornos at Pitchfork Music Fest 2007. Maybe that guy's big head is covering her.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...

Album Review: The Twilight Glad?

Grade: 89%

What the Others Think:

Pitchfork Score: 8.6

Tiny Mix Tapes Score: N/A

Coke Machine Glow Score: 64% (ouch!)

(It's Nicole here... Long time no see. The following is a review I submitted to the Pitchfork Music Festival review contest. Fingers crossed!)

For a band that purports to be the Twilight Sad, it’s been a while since I’ve heard an album so full of joy. Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters is a blissfully dark debut that wallows in the delights and despairs of childhood. What listener couldn’t relate to that?

If the album art of a child gleefully holding a pillow over another child’s face fails to signal the dreariness afoot, one can consider the titles: “Cold Days from the Birdhouse,” “And She Would Darken the Memory,” “Last Year’s Rain Didn’t Fall Quite So Hard.” Then there are the lyrics themselves, speaking of the apathy of parents, the despair following the death of a child, the pain of leaving the family nest. When James Graham shrieks, “The kids are on fire in the bedroom,” one recalls the Arcade Fire’s similarly dark yet triumphant debut Funeral, in which Win Butler wails about children dying in the snow: “Look at them go, look at them go!”

Graham’s thick Scottish accent might alienate some listeners, but its heaviness matches the weight of the music – and the subject matter – seamlessly. Although at times indecipherable, the lyrics strike the listener “like a knife in your chest.” The guitar hits you like a knife in your chest, too; at times heavy and bold, at times dissonant and dizzying.

Indeed the music is sprawling, and though the term is overused by many a music journalist, atmospheric. “Last Year’s Rain Didn’t Fall Quite So Hard” swirls and builds, priming us for the subsequent three tracks, the album’s centerpiece. “Talking with Fireworks” puts the spotlight on drummer Mark Devine, backed by My-Bloody-Valentine-esque guitar. In “Mapped by What Surrounded Them,” the theme of innocence marred by experience is encapsulated by the protagonist’s choice of playthings: “And she’s cutting herself with stain glass window, and she’s playing with her toys.” The track is perhaps the best example of the band’s aptitude for economy: at just over four minutes, the listener encounters a dense sonic experience that never feels rushed, anemic. Consider the twinklings that conclude this track and many others – the Twilight Sad understand that you can’t run this hard for this long without a cool-down lap.

Finally we encounter the album’s seventh track, “And She Would Darken the Memory.” As the title suggests, this is the darkest song on the album, and the band’s masterstroke. When Graham wails over fierce drum beats and heavy bass, we want to wail along with him. When he sings, “I’m putting in the boot tonight,” we know to get out of the way.

How can such a dreary album fill listeners with glee? Perhaps it’s simply because it's exceptional music. But maybe it’s also because of the common experience echoed here: the inseparable pleasures and pains of growing up, of growing old. Perhaps it’s because The Twilight Sad know what it’s like to be “so far from home,” and because they can say it so much more eloquently than we can.

Keep Reading...

Close Up Shop...