WORTH A LISTEN: Walkmen - Woe Is Me

A low-key oddball indie strummer off the much-hyped Lisbon.

THE BREAKDOWN: The Books - The Way Out

Similar to Flying Lotus' Cosmogramma, I'm not sure when I would ever listen to The Way Out. But Cosmogramma is at least a compelling piece of craft. The Way Out feels like a slapdash idea-mash.

The Books do a lot of sampling work, like a poor man's Avalanches or even Lemon Jelly. "Group Autogenics" provide the two-part album bookend, some whispered wisdom over mechanical twinkle-scapes, which is unoffensive enough. But "A Cold Freezin' Night" is a child talking about murder, and it's some uncomfortable balance between edgy and non-musical. This is more typical.

The odd part is that there are some nice acoustic ballads on the tail end of The Way Out. "All You Need is a Wall" and "Free Translator" are both lovely. Check them out, and ditch the album.

Essential Tracks:

WORTH A LISTEN: Liars - No Barrier Fun

The kings of weird throw a three-note piano loop over a bubbling cauldron backbeat for a song that is (somehow) surprisingly fun.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

DJ Sub Par Says:
For many fans, will Arcade Fire ever make an album better than "Funeral"? Probably not. The alchemy of new but approachable sound, emotional but not sentimental is rare. So lets move on. "The Suburbs" is thematically and aesthetically as you'd expect it - filled with mid-tempo strummers about growing up and raising families. My favorite tracks get lost in the mix - "Rococo," where Win Butler seems to be joshing us, and the clap-along "City with no Children." But perhaps these were just the first to perk my ears with their hooky choruses. People may say this album is a little overlong and same-y, but on an album where there are two songs called "Sprawl" I suppose ambling might be the intention.

DJ Responsible Says:
I got a little nervous thirty seconds into The Suburbs. I was listening to a song called "The Suburbs," looking over song titles like "Wasted Hours," "Suburban War" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)," and thinking that this acoustic guitar sounds a little too polished. I mean, do we really need another meddling reflection on middle class ennui?

The Suburbs, despite its thematic familiarity, is so expertly crafted and finely written that it pushes this band's already fascinating musical arc. There's a reason Arcade Fire are the perpetual punching bag for indie-haters (well, two): they're popular, but more importantly, they make epic, envy-inducing albums that leave outsiders looking in. For example, The Suburbs manages to mesh the Breakfast Club sentiment of "Suburban War" ("And now the music divides us into tribes/You grew your hair so I grew mine") with the pummeling faux-angst of "Ready to Start" and the glimmering "Sprawl II" (note to Arcade Fire: release an entire EP of this new sound, please!). If you're too cool for The Suburbs, I can see why you might be envious.

Essential Tracks:

WORTH A LISTEN: Arcade Fire - Ready to Start

Canadian softies The Arcade Fire kicking a little ass.

SONG OF THE MONTH (July 2010): Janelle Monae - Sir Greendown

I'm not sure how to describe this song outside of its calm-within-storm context betwixt two stellar upbeat song series (including the excellent "Cold War" and "Tightrope"). I think David Lynch-ian works best.

It's positively fantasmical and non-sequitous ("Here the dolphins walk like men/Here the cyborgs have a plan"), yet also sung so earnestly and full of calm urgency ("The dragon wants a bite of our love...Let's leave in an hour/Meet me at the tower"). Who knew a fairy tale could be so compelling in 2010?

THE BREAKDOWN: Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

This is an outstanding record (although can you really call it a Rock Record?). Up there with career best You Forgot It In People.

From the unbeat finger pointer "Texaco Bitches" to the downtrodden slip slide "Sweetest Kill" to the indie meander "Ungrateful Little Father" to the sultry-electro "All to All," I am perpetually asking myself: how does this all mesh so smoothly? 

But it does. So give it a spin.

Essential Tracks:

Texaco Bitches


Sweetest Kill

WORTH A LISTEN - The Black Keys - Everlasting Light

A sexy ass mid-album track (off Brothers) from the Black Keys, a.k.a. the only blues that people like myself ever need.

QUICK RIFFS: Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

The echoing Band of Horses sound doesn't sound quite as gripping as before. But, alas, that's okay. It's the noticeable dropoff in songwriting that drags this album down a notch from previous efforts.

Band of Horses has never been about brilliant songwriting ("When I lived alone/Is there a ghost in my house?"). But there are some definite duds on Infinite Arms: "I had a dream that I was your neighbor about to give birth/And then everything was really hurt" ("Infinite Arms"), "I thought about you and a candy bar/The Now and Laters now that I've got stuck between my teeth" ("Factory"), "I put a bullet in my Kia Lorenzo/A kitchen knife up to my face" ("Laredo").

"Laredo" is still a really quality song, and the album could have used more of it.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Janelle Monae - Archandroid

DJ Responsible Says: 

Seriously, Bad Boy Records? Puff Daddy found this chick? I guess the man has an eye for talent, which he manages to separate a decade or two apart (Notorious B.I.G., Janelle Monae). 

I love the idea of this album: the most memorable and awesome cover art in years meets the madness of the songs themselves--orchestral interludes, jazzy ballads, psychedelia, hip hop, Of Montreal, cut and dry Rhythm & Blues. This album is America's melting pot in the year 2200.


I found new favorites on every listen, transitioning from obvious favorites like "Cold War" to the down-tempo tractor beam of "Sir Greendown" and Monae channeling her inner Willy Wonka/Pigeon John on "Wondaland." For any band or artist releasing a debut album this year, good luck toppling this epic.


DJ Sub Par says:
"Epic" is right. this album flips though genres like it is shuffling cards. What makes it remarkable is how the album doesn't sacrifice flow while indulging a restless creativity. Songs unfold seamlessly from the last, making each progression feel natural rather than audio whiplash.


This is the second album this year that I can confidently say to anyone I know, "go listen to this from tip to tail." The first was Big Boi's efforts that came out only weeks ago. That half-of-Outkast actually produced this album and contributes a few verses on the single Tightrope. Someone is having a good year...

Essential Tracks:

QUICK RIFFS: Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - I Learned the Hard Way

I saw Sharon Jones open for, let's just say, the top touring act of the decade, and I was instantly impressed by her timelessness. Or, more specifically, her perfectly conceived throwback sound: the all-black dress, the high heel strut, the wailing, soulful vocals over sturdy bass grooves.

I Learned the Hard Way is even more of a time machine. Unlike Amy Winehouse, who adds a little 21st century subject matter and production flair to her retro homages, Sharon Jones is entirely old school. The result is a fresh batch of beautiful old soul.

Essential Tracks:

THEY STILL MAKE MUSIC VIDEOS: Black Keys - Tighten Up

Playground love meets playground angst, multi-generational-style.

WORTH A LISTEN: The Books - All You Need is a Wall

Beautiful and haunting ballad from The Books' new The Way Out.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot

DJ Responsible Says:

Let's just get this out of the way: "Shine Blockas" is an amazing song (Pitchfork nailed that one on their 'best of' last year). It stands out like the last M&M in a bowl full of trail mix.

But there's a lot of other good stuff on Sir Luscious. And there's a lot of questionable stuff. It's just one of those dense, throw enough ingredients into the soup kind of albums.

For whatever reason, rap albums get a free pass in this regard. If any indie band outside Yo La Tengo released an album with unnecessary tracks like "You Ain't No DJ" or obnoxious interludes like the David Blaine segment, they'd be taken down a peg. But not Big Boi. He manages to remain on the pedestal, largely because 85% of his work is somewhere between good and stellar.

Sir Luscious is only a great hip hop album in relation to the rest of the drivel out there. And it could use a final edit. But why can't more rap music be this adventurous and fun?

DJ Sub Par Says:

Lets keep this simple. Go listen to this album. It might be the best album you hear this year. It is sonically daring. Here is a classical guitar. Here is KRS-ONE reference. Is that Opera? In addition to Shine Blockas listen to "Shutterbug," 'Tangerine," and "Daddy Fat Sax" (Be warned that Big Boi is an enthusiastic fan of sex.) Also don't miss the tracks exiled from the album by legal troubles, the Andre 3000 assisted "Lookin' for Ya" and "Royal Flush."

Essential Tracks:

QUICK RIFFS: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below

This man is like Jesus (aesthetically and tempermentally, at least), this woman is a godsend (that voice!). At their most joyous and corroborative, the result is undoubtedly splendid. You can't fault them for the fall off from the trio of hypnotic summertime singles that are found here.

Note to self: wait one year, release upbeat indie song with whistling intro.

Essential Tracks:

WORTH A LISTEN: Japandroids - Darkness on the Edge of Gastown

Japandroids apparently used to sound fuzzier and more angsty. Good to know.

WORTH A LISTEN: Janelle Monae - Sir Greendown

An amazing, sultry jam that combines the retro with the futuristic in a haunting and dreamy kind of way. A must-listen.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

DJ Responsible Says:

American Slang answers the eternal question: what if a slightly-more-eloquent Sam's Town-era Brandon Flowers made an album with the drummer from The Hold Steady and the lead guitarist from My Morning Jacket?


Sound exciting? Not really. It's more like a mere two notches above a waste of time.

The Hold Steady drumming: check out the uninspired 'thump-thump-thump' ad nauseum on the titular opening track. The My Morning Jacket guitaring: very talented, but often wanky and disconnected, like when Michael J. Fox solos to an unimpressed crowd in Back to the Future. The Brandon Flowers-esque vocals: throaty and serious and, my God, does he know how to rough up some ballad backing vocals.


Sometimes, when it all meshes together, American Slang can be quite palatable. "Orphans" and "Boxer" offer a spirited, concise one-two punch. But don't expect this album to find its way into my heart anytime soon.


DJ Sub Par Says:

I'm often a fan of backwards looking rock bands. (See Visqueen and Free Energy.) And Gaslight Anthem can turn out uptempo straight ahead rock. Their best weapon, as Kevin mentioned, are rock god vocal chords stolen from Bruce Springsteen. The band falters when they continue to rehash "Born to Run." They open the album with the profoundly mediocre title track, which casts a shadow over the tracks that makes everything sound the same. The second track "Stay Lucky" may be better, but still feels like a band coasting. It isn't until they slow down with "Bring it On," does it feel like the band is making music and not just playing songs. They follow it up the finger-snaps of "The Diamond Church Street Choir." Let's hope they continue to evolve their sound, maybe even making their own Nebraska.

Essential Tracks:

QUICK RIFFS: Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

This album might be a little too cool for me. It's a wild, manic slice of California hip hop-infused electronica that wavers between ambient soundscapes and not-quite-danceable beats. I'm filing it away into the genre I call "painting music."

Essential Tracks:

QUICK RIFFS: Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do

My brother once asked, skeptically, why the Drive-By Truckers weren't just another Kings of Leon. I can see the misunderstanding: the twang of the guitars, the Southern-inflected vocals. But Drive-By Truckers are much better songwriters, have a much darker and diversified sound, and don't have a ubiquitous "Use Somebody" clogging the radio.

That said, The Big To-Do is there most lackluster album since I first got into 2004's impressive Decoration Day. "Birthday Boy" is a clever glimpse into the world of rural stripper-dom ("Pretty girls from the smallest towns/Get remembered like storms and droughts"), but "This Fucking Job" and "Drag the Lake Charlie" are pretty straightforward numbers from this normally more creative outfit.

SONG OF THE MONTH (June 2010): Broken Social Scene - "Texico Bitches"

Few songs are as catchy and mysteriously subversive as Broken Soc's latest greatest. It's like a middle finger amidst a sun-soaked carnival. Enjoy, bitches.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void

 DJ Sub Par Says:

Since 2007 album, Wild Mountain Nation, Blitzen Trapper have incurred comparisons. This album is so overstuffed with ideas that that critics tried to explain it by calling it "Grateful Dead meets Pavement", for their sound that veered from loose Americana to crunchy angular guitars. On their more focused follow up, Furr, critics tossed around the Band and 60's era Dylan. On Destroyer of the Void, they come out of the gate with the title track a proggy number, that I'm sure will invite comparisons to a prog-band-I-don't-know very well (maybe ELO?). After the title track and Laughing Lover, proving they are willing to try something new, they settle back into the folk of Furr. Who wouldn't welcome the delightful storytelling of "The Man Who Would Speak True" and "Heaven and Earth"? However, this album feels like a transition between the sound of "Furr" and whatever will come next.

DJ Responsible Says:

I initially thought that Destroyer of the Void was too prog--and the musical comparison I might offer would've been Rush. But on repeat listens, Destroyer doesn't stray too far from Blitzen Trapper's first two albums, instead further revealing the band's strengths and weaknesses. Blitzen Trapper, much like fellow Pacific Northwesterners Fleet Foxes, can knock a ballad out of the park. "The Tree" is gorgeous, both simple and understated, and beautifully sung over a minimal acoustic arrangement. Their 'rockers' are more of a mixed bag: "Destroyer of the Void" ultimately succeeds, but a song like "Evening Star" falls into meddling Fleetwood Mac territory (for however that makes you feel). I still don't think Blitzen Trapper have put together an amazing album-in-full, but they continue to release promising collections with a sprinkling of memorable tracks.

Essential Tracks:

"The Tree (ft. Alela Diane)"

"Heaven and Earth"

WORTH A LISTEN: Dr. Dog - Mirror, Mirror

It's rare that the chorus is my least favorite part of a song, but the calmer repetition of "mirror, mirror" acts as the only stumbling block to an otherwise impressively jubilant effort. Still can't tarnish a great song, which builds towards a manic finish.

QUICK RIFFS: David Byrne & Fatboy Slim - Here Lies Love

Admittedly, I didn't slog my way through both discs of this I-can't-believe-it-exists collaboration, featuring collaborations. But here's what I think of the standouts: they're quite good. "Eleven Days" is sultery post-millenial disco, and the non-David Byrne vocals on "Seven Years" both give me the chills and make me want to take this ridiculous concept album seriously. "American Troglodyte," on the other hand, along with much of the Talking Heads oeuvre (!), feels underproduced and overcooked.

Essential Tracks:

THE iTUNES TOP 100 & THE END OF THE WORLD: Young Money - Steady Mobbin (ft. Gucci Mane)

I like this song. Lil' Wayne has a lot of noticeable lines for a pop song, like tens of good ones betwixt the standard drivel and his amiable giggles. Including: "[y'all] softer than Roseanne's son," "[I'm] givin' the universe my damn tongue," "Fuck wit the money get ugly as coyote," and the politically-ambiguous "I'm the hip hop socialist/Life is a gamble and I'm all about my poker chips."  At the very least, these lines are weird. And with a danceable beat, that's the point.

MIXTAPE CHALLENGE: LCD Soundsystem

In "Mixtape Challenge" my obsessive categorizing and rearranging of music is put to the test.

This challenge is to create a LCD Soundsystem mix in five to nine tracks. All killer, no filler.

DJ Responsible's LCD Soundsystem Mix:

1) You Wanted a Hit
2) All My Friends
3) Dance Yrself Clean
4) Tribulations
5) North American Scum
6) Daft Punk Is Playing at My House
7) All I Want
8) Someone Great
9) Home

DJ Responsible's defense:

LCD Soundsystem are at their best when they are given room to meditate, and, much like their excellent live shows, when they patiently build momentum with the steadfastness of their approach. I almost included the eleven-minute, pummeling "Yeah (Pretentious Version)" for that very reason, as well as the hypnotic "Us v. Them," but these tracks ended up just missing the cut. Not to be overly modest, but my mix perfectly captures LCD's strengths with a sandwich of brilliantly long-winded opening and closing threesomes: the eternal "All My Friends" and "Someone Great" (off Sound of Silver) inter-spliced with the best tracks from This Is Happening, resulting in a time capsule of definitive turn-of-the-decade indie electro-pop. The mid-section, a masterfully tightknit 1-2-3 powerpunch, also manages to incorporate some of James Murphy's best lines ("And for those of you who still think we're from England/We're not, no"). Only missing is LCD's more meandering concoctions ("Losing My Edge," "Pow Pow") and their more alt-type sound ("Drunk Girls," "Watch the Tapes"). Unfortunate but necessary sacrifices, I'll admit.

QUICK RIFFS: Mose Allsion - The Way of the World

If you like jazzy hippies along the lines of Randy Newman meets Bad Plus, this is for you. I remain skeptical.

WORTH A LISTEN: Blitzen Trapper - The Tree (ft. Alela Diane)

A beautiful acoustic guy-gal duet full of natural imagery and elegant twang. "La La  La   La   La   La  La La  La La  La..." Oh, how the Blitzen Trapper can handle some easy listnin'.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

DJ Responsible Says:

This is Happening is a whirlwind. Every track is restless (some just fidgety, others epileptic). Emotions and insecurities are strewn about. The dance floor is spinning on a miraculous axis. It's a lifetime, albeit a drunken New York lifetime, crammed into a little over an hour.

The coolness isn't the draw, it's the tunes: there's always a new favorite, but you can't go wrong with the splendidly over-the-top synth-and-squeal of opener "Dance Yrself Clean" or the Bowie-esque "All I Want" (or the extended chug of "You Wanted a Hit", or the outer monologue musings of "Pow Pow"--"We have a black president and you do not, so shut up"--goddamn there's a lot to love here).

Best of all might be "Home," which is all shimmery and warm and full of cowbell. The sentiment is all the more pertinent, given James Murphy's desire to quit this whole album, touring thing. You can't blame a man for growing up, at least when he captures it this magnificently.

DJ Sub Par Says:

LCD broke into the conscious of the indie rock scene with the exuberance and humor of "Daft Punk is playing at my house." Since then he has reused his tricks of danceable beats, synthesized squelches, and jokey talking lyrics to similar effect with the previous single like "North American Scum" and now "Drunk Girls." James Murphy makes the most of these elements and seems to be striving to get past his own cool. The half humor of "Drunk Girls" seems to be a way for him to squeeze in a chorus that claims "I believe in waking up together."

Essential Tracks:

"Dance Yrslf Clean"

"All I Want"



"You Wanted a Hit"



"Home"

WHEN TALENT COLLIDES: Phoenix - Fences (Def Starr Remix)

Eight seconds into this song, I realized how ripe "Fences" was for a quality remix. Just rip out all the mid-tempo, between-chorus chugging and let the juiciest segments shine. Def Starr's remix isn't anything too fancy: it work with what works.

WORTH A LISTEN: Apples in Stereo - Dream About the Future

There's a few tracks off Travellers in Space and Time that are Apples in Stereo's most buoyant in years, but the one most begging to accompany an iPod strut is the infectious "Dream About the Future." Sure, it sounds exactly like ELO circa 1985, but this would've definitely made the Best Of.

GREAT COVERS: Bird And The Bee - Heard It On The Radio

I don't know about calling Hall & Oates "Masters" (Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates), but this unabashed, time capsule rendition of the duo's 80's staple "Heard It On The Radio" is bowls of fun.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): The National - High Violet

DJ Sub Par Says:

To say an album needs to be listened to over and over to "get it" tends to be an excuse for mediocrity. Often the best music is immediate and gripping. We don't need to ask ourselves, "Do we like this music?" We either we do or don't. Sometimes, however, bands that don't give us immediate thrill still have something of value.
The National consistent create moody guitar driven indie rock and High Velvet is no exception. Occasionally they achieve the emotional power of Arcade Fire or Frightened Rabbit, though pounding drums and jagged guitars, but for the most part they could fall inline with a hundred other indie rock bands. A few extra spins of the National and one of the best aspects of the band emerge: the lyrics. On their last album, Boxer, I had become disinterested until I heard the lyrics of "Green Gloves", where the narrator breaks into his friends house while he's not there and questions how much we really know people. On High Velvet singer Matt Berninger uses images of floods and bee swarms to craft tales of spiritual emptiness and becoming a father.

DJ Responsible Says:
The lyrics are actually the first thing that I noticed about The National; Alligator fit a perfect balance between  Sam Shepard's poetical clarity and Isaac Brock's nervous detachment. Curious psychoanalytical lines like "I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain/It went the dull and wicked ordinary way" swirled alongside anthemic, Americana-capturing classics like "I'm the new blue blood, I'm the great white hope...I won't fuck us over, I'm Mr. November."

High Violet is no Alligator, but I suppose that's not really the point. High Violet is a gentler affair.

The National have obviously grown comfortable in their own skin--too comfortable, I would argue, since much of the album's first half drifts along about as memorably as an afternoon lost. But anything The National releases is still special, and anything Berninger sings is still essential: the album feels destined to be part of a larger narrative we'll one day be proud to have shared at the source. As Berninger might suggest, everything's just a series of moments.

Essential Tracks

"Bloodbuzz Ohio"



Runaway

WORTH A LISTEN: Big Boi - Daddy Fat Sax

The Outkast half that still consistently writes verses drops this horn-heavy jam that makes cool look easy. The deep Southern voice over the chorus and the Milky Way synths justifies lines like "My ear to the streets and my eyes to the sky/I'm on another planet my nigga and you just fly."

WORTH A LISTEN: JJ - Let Go

These Swedes got a bad rap for their recent foray into the soft and understated (as opposed to the Lil' Wayne sampling "Ecstacy"). But, much like beautiful ballad "Are You Still in Vallda?" off jj no. 2, "Let Go" (jj no. 3) is as beautiful and calming as a river rowboat dream.

QUICK RIFFS: Fang Island - Fang Island

Fang Island, the Pitchfork-driven prog-rock debut, is actually a bit of fun. Don't expect the party album that their review would lead you to expect, but do expect a couple of half-frenzied upbeat instrumentals in "Daisy" and "Careful Crossers."

Essential Track:

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Caribou - Swim

DJ Sub Par Says:
One man electronic wrecking crew, Dan Snaith, must have made a pact with the Devil never to make the same album twice. He has torn through flavored his albums with over-loaded psychedelia (Up in Flames), Beat heavy Kraut Rock (Milk of Human Kindness) beach-boy tinged pop (Andorra). Here he returns with a album that sounds if it was actually recorded under the sea with bleached out cassette tapes. He takes the strange summery sounds of a wave of pitchfork approved indie bands (Memory Tapes, Neon Indian, Real Estate) and out does them all with the track, "Sun." My only suggestions is give these tracks a few spins - what might first appear as calculated beats eventually shows itself do be as comfortable as worn-out walkman on a summer day.

DJ Responsible Says:
"Odessa" is amazing. Dance floor ghosts, a mesmerizing bass beat, Prince-lite guitar twangs, salt shakers, hand claps, Chromeo drum rolls, church bells, synth archipelagos, and thoughtful lines like "Turn around the life she let him siphon away": this is one impeccable opener. And, indeed, an impossible bar for the rest of the (impressive) album to match.

"Sun" is quite bliss as well. As is "Lalibela" (a.k.a. maple syrup electronica).

Swim (I always want to call it simply "Odessa") succeeds in its density, texture, and cohesive experimentation. There's not a dud in the bunch. But it lacks in two regards: 1) occasionally, Caribou drift too far into straightforward electronic music (as on the Pantha-du-Prince-but-not-as-good "Bowls"); 2) more broadly, sometimes I just miss the real, double drum set sound of the eternal "Melody Day" (and the rest of Andorra, really). Maybe next album.

This one'll do for now.

Essential Tracks

"Odessa"

 

 

"Sun"

 

"Lalibela"

WORTH A LISTEN: MGMT - Congratulations

A great, laid-back cut from MGMT's latest. I wouldn't mind another "Time to Pretend," or at least another "Kids," but I guess this is a nice lil' summer strum-along...

FYI...David Cross's Bigger and Blackerer

It's no Shut Up, You Fucking Baby (clever, too-soon post-9/11 observations drawn over two fairly-packed legendary discs). It's more of an It's Not Funny (same shock and political insights without as much longevity and/or humanness).

I mean, the brotha's 45-years-old. This stand-up comedy plateauing is pretty much the industry norm. Still worth a listen, from one of my favorite Hollywood outsider-insiders.

THE BREAKDOWN: Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

Local Natives surprised me with their adult contemporary-ness. I mean, look at the formula: much-hyped L.A. quintet releases much-hyped debut, complete with artsy could-be-Vampire-Weekend album cover and incongruous album title (Gorilla Manor). Here we go again, I thought.

But not quite.

It's not that I don't like their adult contemporary-ness, it's simply not as compelling as their more adventurous (and, paradoxically, more traditional) first half of the album. The second half couplet of "Who Knows Who Cares" and "Cubism Dream" could be The Fray with a respectable ghost writer and less restrained drummer. John Kerry wouldn't be offended to hear "Airplanes" on his ham radio. It's nice to see a band with range, it just happens to be at odds with the rest of the album. And schmaltzy, I suppose.

There's a lot of good stuff: "Wide Eyes" and "World News" put the bands amazing-yet-not-overbearing percussion work on full display. These guys are talented, obviously, but still need to solidify their sound.

Essential Tracks:

"Wide Eyes"

"World News"

"Camera Talk"

QUICK RIFFS: Ray Wylie Hubbard

It's always nice to see songwriters get weirder with age. Too much of the American populace melts into suburbia never to be relevant again.

I literally know nothing of Mr. Hubbard and his storied discography. But I do know a song like "Opium" drips with experience, pain, and grace: "It's such an elegant decay/such an elegant decay."

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): New Pornographers - Together

DJ Sub Par Says:

For those of you who don't know the New Pornographers, please for the love of music give them a listen. In an alternate universe this is the pop music that plays on the radio and gets covered on American Idol. This Canadian super group crafts three and half minute songs that are hooky and fun with cryptic lyrics that bare repeated listens.

For those who know this band: You may have been thrown off by the last album by A.C. Newman and the gang - "Challengers." The prevailing opinion was that they had abandoned the energy-cranked-to-ten approach for a mellower (read: boring) sound. I couldn't disagree more. "Challengers" was a natural progression from the Hey-la-las of stellar song "The Bleeding Heart Show." While the last album may have slowed things down it allowed them to bring in a complexity of sounds and find a strange highlight from weirdo contributor with "Myriad Harbor." So some critics may be calling this a come back of sorts, the bad-ass cello hits that start this album, the whistling bridge on "Crash Years" and fuller sound are a natural continuation.

DJ Responsible Says: 

Normally my least favorite contributor, Dan Bejar, is on fire here. I used to think he was sprinkled in for the sake of indie cred--Electric Version's wordy "Testament to You in Verse" just couldn't keep up with A.C. Newman's splendour-pop like "It's Only Divine Right." No more. Maybe I've matured, or maybe last year's whimsically epic Destroyer single "Bay of Pigs" was simply a turning point, but try not to love "Silver Jenny Dollar."

Together's best song, however, has been wrapping around my head for almost a week now: "Valkyrie in the Rollerdisco." Holy lovely banjo, I [heart] this duet. "You're a gold mine" New Pornographers. Keep making songs this bliss and albums this cohesive, and you're in for one hell of a discography.

Essential Tracks:

"Crash Years"

"Silver Jenny Dollar"



"Valkyrie in the Rollerdisco"

IN THE NEWS: R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio

I know very little of his music (80's Black Sabbath, Dio), so I'll let Tenacious D do the honors with this sweet live vid:

IN THE (FAUX) NEWS: Heckled Christian Rock Band Knows How Jesus Felt

Check out the full story here.

FYI...Steve Brule Audio Clips = Happiness

See here.

IN THE (FAUX) NEWS: Not Very Good Album Takes a Little While to Get Into

I like to imagine it's Rogue Wave's latest. Or The Dodos' last album.

See the full story here.

QUICK RIFFS: Devin the Dude - Suite 420

The cover says it all. Old ass Devin the Dude still smokin' and not knowing what else to rap about. Clever or not, listening to Suite 420 is like walking into an errant time machine. It's too bad, because his last album Waitin' to Inhale (get it?) had some stellar cuts--including the surprise "What a Job (ft. Snoop Dogg & Andre 3000). "People Talk" is the best cut here, sadly.

WORTH A LISTEN: Caribou - Odessa

What genre is this? Don't matter. Stellar, danceable, hypnotic.

The video = drab, but weird enough.

WORTH A LISTEN: Strong Arm Steady - Best of Times (ft. Phonte)

It's worth a listen for Phonte (a.k.a. the third rapper), who's one of the best at his best.

THEY STILL MAKE MUSIC VIDEOS: M.I.A. - Born Free

It's gimmicky and takes itself too seriously, but it's also got some really cool shots to go with that bass-y intro/outro and, you know, it's edgy (note: violence, nudity, and attempts at mind-blowing).

You've gotta appreciate the effort.

Check it out here.