I like to laugh at the weirdo middle school girls swept up in the “Team Jacob” vs. “Team Whoever” thing from Twilight. Stupid petty book rivalries! But then I look to the reception of Vampire Weekend’s 2008 self-titled album and the two contentious camps that developed there: “Team Vampire Weekend Is Awesome” and “Team Vampire… Continue reading Vampire Weekend’s Contra is a perfect sophomore effort
Category: Album Reviews
Jadiid
Jadiid is an interesting band. If you asked me to give you their overall “sound,” I suppose I’d say something about acoustic guitars, folk, soul, and the like, but it wouldn’t be a fair description. The band’s full-length, It’s OK, Be Anxious, definitely has an acoustic bend to it, but it also features electric guitars,… Continue reading Jadiid
Weezer’s Raditude is just silly and bland
Who is Weezer’s audience anymore? Back when they released Weezer (The Blue Album) and Pinkerton, they attracted a sort of indie power pop crowd which slowly changed to the 15-year-old suburban white kid crowd which slowly changed into the random assortment of people crowd and now here we are. The band’s seventh studio album in… Continue reading Weezer’s Raditude is just silly and bland
Atlas Sound’s Logos is weirdly immersive in the best possible way
Did I make that album cover big enough for you? Well, I sure hope I did! Atlas Sound is the side project of Bradford Cox, much of the creative force behind Deerhunter. On Logos, his second full length under the Atlas Sound moniker, he reaches deep into his trippy bag of tricks to produce one… Continue reading Atlas Sound’s Logos is weirdly immersive in the best possible way
Kings of Convenience stay true to form on Declaration of Dependence
I’ll admit it – the Kings of Convenience make me jealous. Everything seems to come so easy to them. Intricate guitar arrangements and dissonant harmonies are like simple math. But it’s not like I get frustrated listening to their music. In fact, it’s rather the opposite; stressful situations call for Kings of Convenience. Warm, delicate… Continue reading Kings of Convenience stay true to form on Declaration of Dependence
Ólafur Arnalds creates some lovely, if unmoving, tunes on Found Songs
It makes sense that Ólafur Arnalds‘ newest, Found Songs, doesn’t pack quite the same punch as Eulogy for Evolution does. In April, Arnalds composed and recorded a song daily for seven days, releasing each one to the web immediately. As a result, we have ourselves some Ólafur lite — while this isn’t the worst thing… Continue reading Ólafur Arnalds creates some lovely, if unmoving, tunes on Found Songs
The Flaming Lips make beautiful, confusing art with Embryonic
The Flaming Lips are often called an “alternative” band by people like “Grammy award selection committees” and “moms who heard that one song they do,” but one look at any live show and one listen into their latest album, Embryonic, and you know the only way to classify this group is “art.” The band has… Continue reading The Flaming Lips make beautiful, confusing art with Embryonic
Headlights are solid, if confusing, on Wildlife
Wildlife is one of those albums that’s really hard to have a confident opinion about. I’m sure you know the type: you know the music is good, and the band is obviously talented, but you can’t really say why it works. Just me? Oh. Anyway, Headlights‘ Wildlife is that album. The sound has a certain… Continue reading Headlights are solid, if confusing, on Wildlife
The Raveonettes’ In And Out Of Control is just darling
Few bands have evolved as beautifully as The Raveonettes. They have always had an admittedly apparent 50s pop influence, but the band started as something more rough and tumble. The first track on their first release, “Attack Of The Ghost Riders” from 2002’s Whip It On, is intensely dark and harder-edged. From there, they patiently… Continue reading The Raveonettes’ In And Out Of Control is just darling
The Mountain Goats’ downtempo “The Life of the World to Come” is haunting and lovely
The Life of the World to Come is as much a book of tales as it is music. We already are well-aware of John Darnielle’s deft and stimulating storytelling ability, but he takes “story” to a new level on The Mountain Goats‘ latest. With biblical references for song titles, The Life of the World to… Continue reading The Mountain Goats’ downtempo “The Life of the World to Come” is haunting and lovely