THE BREAKDOWN: Free Energy - Stuck on Nothing

Band: Free Energy
Album: Stuck on Nothing
Sounds Like: OK Go, Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult
Sub-Sub Genre: Soft-Hearted 70's Rock Revivalists
Essential Tracks: Bang Pop, All I Know, Free Energy

I don't mean to knock Free Energy too hard, but little about Stuck on Nothing appears to have any staying power. These kids never claim to be wise, but instead ballyhoo "cruising across town/lost in the endless sound" ("Dream City"). Yet they lack the manic youthful frenzy of early Arctic Monkeys or the sonic adventurousness of something like Japandroid. Free Energy seem unashamed to revel in a world where handclaps and cowbells are not only cool, but act as suitable lifeblood.

Not to allude that Stuck on Nothing is completely without life. "Bang Pop" is a taste of unadulterated joy quite rare in the indie rock realm, and which would be destined to become an alternative radio summer hit in a just suburban America. This is followed up by the most mature and textured piece, the string-heavy, mandatory-bob-along "All I Know" (and that hypnotizing finale...). Indeed, this track pairing would've made a fine finale to a excellent four-track EP.

Bang Pop - Free Energy

All I Know - Free Energy

SONG OF THE MOMENT: Gorillaz - On Melancholy Hill

Damon Albarn's take on dreamy sentiment makes me giddy inside. Even when he closes with the straight faced "Up on Melancholy Hill sits a manatee/Just looking out for the day when you're close to me..."

THE iTUNES TOP 100 & THE END OF THE WORLD: Ludacris - How Low

Thank you Ludacris for Pop Music: The Squeakquel. This chorus might be the most evil thing this side of the Black Eyed Peas. Check out the video if you like low budget science fiction aesthetics and/or sluts.

WORTH A LISTEN: Broken Bells - Vaporize

The Dangermouse-Shins project is complete, and here's an early favorite. You can definitely hear both elements in balance on "Vaporize," blending in and out and together like only the best collaborations manage.

FYI...Erykah Badu Reenacts JFK Assassination, Getting Naked

This video for "Window Seat" off Badu's New Amerykah Part Two is perhaps more overtly controversial than enlightening, but give her props for the originality and gusto.

WORTH A LISTEN: Morning Benders - Excuses

This is like the red wine of indie-ism: all lush and poetic and gleeful.

Check out this video from a pretty massive studio session in San Francisco:

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Ted Leo - The Brutalist Bricks

Band: Ted Leo
Album: The Brutalist Bricks
Sounds Like: Clash, The Thermals, Okkervil River
Sub-Sub Genre: Personal Political Indie Punk
Essential Tracks: Bottled in Cork, Even Heroes have to Die, The Mighty Sparrow


DJ Sub Par Says:

Ted Leo is a steady hand. Every couple years he releases an album that comes from a punk rock impulse (read:the clash) that is unafraid to incorporate other influences, including reggee, dub, folk, celtic. While not every detour is successful, it is delivered with enough energy until Ted finds his feet again. He certainly finds his footing a few times on this album. He comes out of the gate with The Mighty Sparrow and the lyrics "When the cafe doors exploded I reacted to/reacted to yoooou." Try starting your morning of with that a see if you don't have a better day.

DJ Responsible Says:
Ted & the gang are at their best when they're making songs about places. "Bottled in Cork," the high point of The Brutalist Bricks's many peaks, is the sound of aging realists maintaining a bright-eyed wonder towards their globe-trotting ways. After name-dropping the United Nations and maybe a dozen (mostly European) cities, the narrative eventually drifts into something more narrow and immediate: "I tell the bartender/I think I'm falling love" repeated optimistically over the sound of dizzy, clinking glasses.

Even when Ted Leo are sounding raw for the sake of being raw ("The Stick"), or weird for the sake of weirdness ("Mourning in America"), they are simply avoiding the semi-downfall uniform-catchiness of 2004's Shake the Sheets. The Brutalist Bricks is just another example of Ted Leo giving 'prolific' a good name.

Bottled In Cork - Ted Leo & Th...