Category: Reviews

The Dodos – Time To Die

One comment

the_dodos_time_to_dieRating: ★★★★☆

Since you’ve already been introduced to the Dodos in the ACL Spotlight, I won’t waste any time with the bands history.  Time to Die is the bands second full length (both released on Frenchkiss Records), and initially it shared a lot of similarities with it’s predecessor, 2008’s Vister, but on repeated listens the familiarity wanes into something completely different.

On their debut the Dodos existed as a two piece and, per my experience, two piece bands tend to have a certain something that sets them apart from larger groups. Some would say it’s sloppiness, and I would I agree that there is a looser sound when it is coming from such a small outfit, but I would also argue that, in a two man band, there exists an earnestness that sometimes eludes bands with 3+ members.  When listening to Visiter you are listening to band trying to fill the space with their modest instruments and voices.  It was spectacular and exciting.

With Time to Die the Dodos have expanded to a three piece, filling out their sound with an extra percussionist.  This extra member doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the band, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t change the bands sound.  Gone is the frenetic pace, guitarist/vocalist, Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber are no longer scrambling to fill out the space.  They have let themselves relax and in that relaxation came a fuller, more realized sound.  On tracks like ‘Small Deaths’, ‘Fables’, and ‘Acorn Factory’ we find a more mature Dodos, content on letting their songs unfold naturally rather than rushing them.  ‘Troll Nacht’ showcases the newest member, Keaton Snyder on the xylophone, and is probably one of the most well rounded tracks on Time to Die.

I am excited about what the Dodos will do in the future, and if Time to Die is any indication this is a band we should all be excited about.  Check them out at the LiveStrong Stage at ACL on Sunday, October 4th at 12:30 p.m.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/07-Troll-Nacht-1.mp3]

Download: The Dodos – Troll Nacht [MP3]

BLK JKS – After Robots

One comment

SC197lpjacketRating: ★★★★½

Having started in 2000 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and only releasing an EP (Mystery EP, recently reissued by Secretly Canadian in March) the BLK JKS (pronounced “Black Jacks”) have built up quite a substantial buzz stateside in the recent months in anticipation for their debut album, After Robots. After several listens to After Robots I have to tell you, that buzz was justified.

BLK JKS will initially be compared to The Mars Volta, but to write them as a prog-rock doppelganger would be unfounded.  Sure, the frenetic pace of the music is there, but the guitar work of Lidani Buthelezi and Mpumi Mcata is way more focused and stable than Omar Rodriguez-Lopez could ever hope to be and Buthelezi’s vocals is an even mixture of Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) and Nick Urata (DeVotchka) rather than the caterwauling of Cedric Bixler-Zavala. (This paragraph just won Scrabble)

Having lived in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya and Mwanza, Tanzania, specifically) for a considerable amount of time, the beats and rhythms showcased by BLK JKS encapsulates the frenzied lifestyle that exists most major metropolitan areas on the continent: it’s dirty and hot, but vibrant and alive.  In the songs ‘Molalatadi’ and ‘Banna Ba Modimo’, I can see the streets of Nairobi, with heavily armed police officers and feel the tear gas stinging the back of my throat.  These songs are punctuated by the 9-piece Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (Mos Def, Erykah Badu) which adds an extra layer of urgency.

The other seven songs in this collection run the musical gamut from jazz (‘Lakeside’) to dub (‘Skeleton’) and even hints of folk (‘Tselane’).  Throughout these changes in style one thing remains constant: joy.  These songs are played with a verve that, I assume, could only come from group of individuals that grew up with the specter of apartheid looming throughout your country. These nine songs have a spirit not found in the majority of the music we easily label fresh and groundbreaking, they feel like they were poured out on to tape not because a new record was due, but because they had to be.  Music needs more of that.

Between the success of District 9, Charlize Theron’s appearance on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis and the release of BLK JKS After Robots, South Africa is having a pretty good month.

You can also catch these guys live October 12 @ Emo’s.  Tickets for that show will be sold at the doors for $10.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/molalatladi.mp3]

Download: BLK JKS – Molalatladi [MP3]

Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up

8 comments

pete_yorn_scarlett_johanssonRating: ½☆☆☆☆

With Break Up Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson have made something unique. Is it a deconstruction of the anatomy of a relationship? No.  Is it a transcendent pop record that balances sweetness and heartbreak? No. What Scete Jornsson (will this catch on?) have made is quite possibly the whitest record ever to be put on a five inch disc (The Proclaimers can now breathe easy).

Is it possible for Pete Yorn to be any less inoffensive than what he already was? Apparently so.  This is also two more vanity projects than what Scarlett Johansson needed.  First she ruins the songs of Tom Waits, and now she, over a two day recording session (is that something to be proud of?) has put down some of the most boring vocal tracks I have ever heard.

I will give two songs their due: the opening track, ‘Relator’ is actually a catchy pop song, and it gave me hope (and earned the album half a star), but only gave way to blinding whiteness.  The closing track ‘Someday’ gets noticed because it means that this listening experience is finally over.  This album is perfect for buying a caramel macchiato, if you love Jack Johnson, or if you need something to listen to while killin’ time waiting for DMB.

So boring.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/pete_yorn__scarlett_johansson-relator.mp3]

Download: Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Relator [MP3]

Taken by Trees – East of Eden

3 comments

eastRating: ★★☆☆☆

Vicotria Bergsman has long been the chanteuse of my dreams.  First, she warmed-me over with her sultry vocals during her tenure in The Concretes, and later, she kept me going with Taken by Trees. Now, she is releasing her second album under the latter, this one titled East of Eden.  Much will be made of her venture East, which like most Europeans gone East, has had a profound influence on her music.

Whilst many will no doubt link the sounds of this album to India, thanks to the unnecessary success of Slumdog Millionaire, Victoria went elsewhere for her muse: Pakistan. “To Lose Someone” is such a song, as it carries the ornate horns of such cultures to accompany Bergsman’s voice.  Even the percussion resembles the spirit of a simpler life. And while the wooden horn/flute/whatever dances in the background, the song closes with syllabic chanting that probably means little for listeners.

One of the best songs on the album, and easily one that you will find the most commercial is titled “My Boys.”  Why does it seems familiar you ask?  Well, it’s a cover of “My Girls” by Animal Collective. The melodies are precisely the same as the original, and in fact, the song completely mimes AC’s version, aside from a few lyric changes, and the obvious use of real instruments.  It’s interesting that this is the most accessible song, as it’s not one Victoria can call her own.

As a concept piece, it’s a great idea,  mixing her powerful vocals with an entirely different arrangement musically, but it has more failures than successes due to this.  “Watch the Waves” is a song that is full of flourishes from the travels to the East, but using non-pop-centric instruments strips Bergsman of her vocal prowess, and renders her somewhat dismissable for the greater part of the song, let alone, the album as a whole.

She goes too far at times, especially including “Wapas Karna” in the project, which is merely a number that is full of chanting, and little else.  If we wanted to listen to world music, there are surely better places to find such tunes (no offense Victoria).  It even seems as if she spent more work on developing a sound that stayed true to its roots, rather than create an album of her own songs, backed by the newer sonic discoveries.

In the end, the highlights of East of Eden are few and far between.  Taken by Trees has perhaps been taken to far East and away from the blissful harmonies that we associate with its lead singer Victoria Bergsman, leaving a concept album with limited range in its wake.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/taken-by-trees-watch-the-waves.mp3]

Download: Taken by Treese – Watch the Waves [MP3]

Polvo – In Prism

2 comments

polvo-inprism

Rating: ★★½☆☆

 Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Polvo began in 1990 when most of us were mere babes.  After four critically acclaimed albums, a sting of EPs released on Merge and Touch and Go, and tours across the United States and Europe with bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement, Polvo called it quits in 1997.  But, as is the recent trend, Polvo reunited in 2008 for All Tomorrows Parties and several stateside shows, this string of performances then mutated into Polvo’s first album in twelve years, In Prism.

To this reviewer, Polvo has always been one of those bands that is familiar in name, not by output; the scene workhorse that consistently releases albums without much fanfare.  I always felt a bit guilty about not really giving Polvo my attention: they wrote solid well-crafted songs and delivered them genuinely, what’s not to love?  The problem I saw Polvo having was that they there were other active bands at the time (Archers of Loaf, The Jesus Lizard, and Jawbox, to name a few) that were doing the exact same things, only better.  Polvo got relegated to the indie rock B-team with bands like Giants Chair and Gauge.  I am not trying to slight these bands. They all deserve much more credit than what they received for one reason or another.

That brings us to In Prism, which, like the rest of Polvo’s career, isn’t good or bad, it’s just okay.  The songs are interesting, but they all seem to follow the mid-nineties math rock playbook: riffs on top of riffs, changes on top of changes, quiet part, vague emotional lyrics, noodling solo, repeat for 5-8 minutes, TA-DAH!  The songs that having staying power are track three “Beggar’s Bowl” and the album closer “A Link in the Chain”:  “Beggar’s Bowl” deserves recognition for two reasons, besides being one of the stronger cuts on the album, 1) It’s laughable, yet endearing use of chimes, and 2) I defy you to listen to the song without singing Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust”.  “A Link in the Chain” displays the slower side of Polvo, which does well to show how truly great guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski are at their instruments (although I could’ve done without the epic Yes-ian build-up only to be met with, essentially, an instrumental cock-block [don’t worry I won’t quit my day job]).

We live in a time where everyone longs for their favorite bands to reunite and release “just one more album” or go on “one more tour” and while In Prism is a solid album that any band should be proud of, I think it’s time to retire those thoughts of Pavement, Archers of Loaf, or Quicksand reuniting and just be happy with memories of the way things were, rather than grieving over what those bands have become (I’m looking at you Weezer).

Vivian Girls – Everything Goes Wrong

Leave a comment

 vivian_everything

Rating: ★★★½☆

After riding a wave of critical acclaim with their 2008 self titled debut, the Brooklyn based Vivian Girls return with their brand of lo-fi garage-pop on the sophomore release of Everything Goes Wrong.

Having hated, HATED, their debut, I approached Everything Goes Wrong with much trepidation.  I was already coming up with snarky comments based on the album title and track names like ‘I Have No Fun’ and ‘Before I Start to Cry’. I was pre-planning diatribes asking questions like “Do bands hide behind the ‘lo-fi’ aesthetic to mask their lack of talent?” It was going to be fun tearing this thing apart. 

The first three tracks, ‘Walking Alone at Night’, ‘I Have No Fun’, and ‘Can’t Get Over You’ didn’t do much to assuage my fears. It was sloppy with bored vocals and maybe the worst guitar ‘solos’ I have ever heard.  It’s almost like, mid-song, the bass player mouthed ‘guitar solo’ to the guitarist, and feeling tired of arguing over the pettiest shit with the bass player (that’s what you do with bass players) the guitar player relented, and the unnecessary solo was born.  I digress.

Something happened in the fourth track, ‘The Desert’, though, and I began enjoying myself.  The music tightened up, the vocals become more dynamic. By track seven, ‘The End’, I became a fan.  ‘The End’ is definitely the winning track on this album, the Vivian Girls take the best parts of early Hole (yes I feel odd using that comparison, but Live Through This was and is a great album), and the garage-y aesthetic and makes it their own.  The rest of the album plays out much the same way. It’s light, airy and fun: Everything Goes Wrong is great for a road trip or a quick jog around Williamsburg (from the hipster J. Peterman catalog).

If you have one Vivian Girls album in your collection (and really, you only need one) make it Everything Goes Wrong.  But, and this is a big but (HA!): I get the feeling that the Vivian Girls don’t have many more tricks in their bag, and will have to step it up big time on their third release, because, while Everything is Wrong is a fun record I can see more of the same getting awfully tiresome.

Amy Millan – Masters Of The Burial

Leave a comment

amy-millan-masters-of-the-burial-artRating: ★★★☆☆

Having clocked in years with Canadian indie mainstays Stars and Broken Social Scene Toronto native Amy Millan struck out on her own in 2006 to release her debut album Honey from the Tombs to mostly favorable reviews, receiving comparisons to Emmylou Harris or Lucinda Williams.

Arts and Crafts Records will be releasing Amy Millan’s sophomore release, Masters of the Burial, and I must admit, coming into this review the only exposure I had had with Amy Millan was her work with the aforementioned bands.  Being a fan of Broken Social Scene and the solo outings of Brendan Canning, Kevin Drew, and Leslie Feist I was excited about the prospect of jangly, slightly quirky indie-pop album. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

Masters of the Burial is a very mature record. The majority of the eleven tracks could easily be seen as middle of the road adult contemporary, but in the best way possible.  This album is very easy to listen to, relying on softly brushed drums, well placed mandolins and, of course, Millan’s beautiful voice.  On tracks like ‘Bruised Ghosts’, ‘Towers’, and the album closer ‘Bound’ it is evident that Millan could easily hold her own with the Allison Krauss’ and the Norah Jones’ of the world, just ask your parents or Brenda in the accounting department if you don’t believe me.  When Millan breaks away from the country-tinged folk trappings on tracks like ‘Bury This’, the percussion heavy ‘Day to Day’, and the beautifully haunting ‘Lost Compass’, she truly shines, easily evoking feelings of loss and regret.  Plus there is a cover of Death Cab for Cutie’s ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’, if you are into that kind of thing.  Like my mama always says “A cover is as a cover does…” (my mama never says that).

While this record won’t be on my end of the year lists, I have nothing but respect for it.  It is comforting, and I know it has an audience out there that will love it. I just fear that, with it’s ties to indie rock, it will be shot down before it even has it’s chance to shine.

Sondre Lerche – Heartbeat Radio

Leave a comment

sondreRating: ★☆☆☆☆

Long ago, upon the heels of Faces Down, Sondre Lerche was quite the boy-wonder many fans of simple pop had been looking for all their lives.  His lyrics weren’t to abstract, and his handle over melody made his innocence resonate with every listener.  Here we are now, 2009, and he’s releasing Heartbeat Radio to great anticipation.  How has he grown up, and where does it leave him now?

First track, “Good Luck,” is something of a statement song, as grandiose symphonic arrangements are placed throughout the tune.  Here is Sondre, sounding as hypnotic as ever, yet something seems a bit off from it all.  Guitars are really low in the mix, placing the emphasis more on the orchestral arrangements instead of his own songwriting.  But this backs into “Heartbeat Radio,” which comes off with the sensible delivery Lerche has always carried with him.  It’s as close to the proximity of his earlier work as you are likely to get on this album.  And that is the problem that lies at the heart of this album overall; Sondre seems to have indulged his fancy one too many times, forgetting that the quality of his tunes lived in the simplicity of his arrangements.

Songs like “I Cannot You Go” or “Pioneer” are pleasant enough songs, but they don’t seem to have the passion in the vocals and the lyrics that used to make Sondre so appealing to the masses that followed him.  More so, he’s placed some unforgivable moments in here, such as “If Only,” which seems like a half-assed Jack Johnson impression. At the middle of the album listeners will possibly start to lose interest, as the creativity seems to have stalled around this mark.

Diehard fans should not be discouraged by all this, as there are definite moments in the album when you can see the maturity of Sondre Lerche has led to some new elements that you might find pleasing. “Words & Music” seems as if it was penned in the bouncing fashion of a classic Spoon song. The chorus, of course, brings back that memorable croon, but the overall bounce of the song is somewhat of a trip into new territory for Sondre. “Almight Moon” is similar in the fact that it seems radio to be an instant radio hit, not to see it doesn’t have that trademark touch of Lerche, but this is probably one of the more commercial tunes he’s written.

But, for all the decent moments, the most lasting impression of this album is that there isn’t really an impression left for you by the completion of the album.  In the past, he’s made some missteps, but he’s always had certain songs with a “wow” factor that have kept you salivating for more tunes, but this time around, the album seems devoid of genius.  Overall, Heartbeat Radio is a boring effort that lacks a lot of the panache of previous efforts by Sondre Lerche.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/05-heartbeat-radio.mp3]

Download: Sondre Lerche – Heartbeat Radio [MP3]

The Clean – Mister Pop

Leave a comment

misterRating: ★★★★☆

It’s hard to tell where a band will end up after remaining rather quiet since 2001, yet alone to see how they’ve progressed in a career that has spanned over three decades.  Still, New Zealand’s The Clean have left their jangling influence all over the map, and with the release of Mister Pop on Merge Records, they look to reestablish themselves in your listening rotation, if they aren’t there already, as they probably should be.

Of course, the jangling has diminished a bit, and we have seen the band expand their sound, completing the expansion of their sound to include slow surf-psychedelia such as they do on the album’s opener “Loog.”  Despite the lack of a proper lyrical track, you cannot really pull yourself away from the song. “Simple Fix” works similarly, though it has a standard beach appeal to the instrumental, while the other instrumental track wavers on a more space-influences structure.

Then they move on to the meat and potatoes in “Are You Really on Drugs.”  Although the lyrics may resonate with many, there’s not much to them overall, but what will get listeners is the subdued strumming with the hollow, yet moving, vocals that seemingly bounce off the background of the song.

Never satisfied the group goes into a territory that will seem familiar to everyone, combining that classical indie guitar sound that distinctly belongs to them along with the female backing vocals.  You’ll also find one of the staples of the album inside “In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul” as guitar licks cut through the blank spaces; it’s something that the band uses to near perfection on this album, without ever overdoing it.

“Back in the Day” and Factory Man” are two of the strongest songs on the album, stuck right smack dab in the middle.  Vocals are delivered in that classic Lou Reed delivery circa “I’m Waiting for the Man” while the rest of these songs come off like similar artists such as Comet Gain.  There is something in these songs that immediately makes them feel familiar, as if you’ve been listening to them all of your life, and in fact, you probably have.  Whether or not The Clean have influenced hundreds of bands will never be discovered, but if they didn’t, then people have done a great job approximating their sound without admitting to common thievery.

An odd bit in the midst of the album is “Tensile.”  The vocoder effect used just sort of throws off the mood momentarily, although it clearly portrays the expanding horizons of the group.  Still, it’s a bit off, which is somewhat shocking, as the rest of the album has seemed to fit perfectly up until this point. But rest assured that the group close the album properly with “All Those Notes,” a song drenched in the electronic cloak of a keyboard. Such a slow number as this is a fitting end to Mister Pop, an album filled to the brim with interesting listens you’ll keep coming back to as you graciously thank the heavens for the return of The Clean.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/3-the-clean-in-the-dreamlife-you-need-a-rubber-soul.mp3]

Download: The Clean – In the Dreamlife you Need a Rubber Soul [MP3]

HEALTH – Get Color

One comment

health_get_colorRating: ★½☆☆☆

Coming from the same scene that birthed No Age, Abe Vigoda, and The Mae Shi, Los Angeles’ HEALTH crashed onto the scene with their cacophonous brand of noise rock garnering favorable reviews with their 2007 self-titled debut, the ensuing remix collection DISCO, and spastic live shows.  On their newest offering, Get Color, HEALTH attempts to produce a more easily accessible album while retaining their trademarked aural destruction, which they do, but to a fault.

What made their debut so great was that it felt dangerous; it made you uncomfortable while listening to it, but in such a good way. The giant drum sound and the shrillness of the vocal manipulation just seemed right. I remember the first time hearing “Crimewave”, just be being blown away and wanting more.  On Get Color, HEALTH switched from recording digitally to recording directly to 2” tape.  In an interview with Drowned in Sound, bassist John Famiglietti, discussed this decision: “On tape, you can be as loud and abrasive as you want, and the more brutal it gets it just feels good to hear.  On a computer that abrasive sound registers as a brittle spike, and even though it’s the sound you want, it’s terribly annoying when it comes out of the stereo”  This is true, Get Color is easier to listen to, but it just comes off as flat noise with a beat,  sterile as a cadaver on an examiners table.  When you embrace the term “noise” as an identifier of your bands sound you shouldn’t be afraid of the “brittle spike” in the recording.  I don’t yearn for a smoother sounding Lightning Bolt record, and HEALTH shouldn’t strive to make their noise easier on my ears.  Just plug in your fifty guitar pedals and tear shit up!

The biggest mistake HEALTH made on Get Color was wrangling in their greatest asset, drummer Benjamin Jared Miller. On their debut Miller was a force to reckoned with but here, while being completely competent behind the kit, he is regulated to generic flourishes and strategically placed blast beats.  The songs on Get Color feel overly planned out, to the point of coming off as a dead behind the eyes Hollywood starlet; pretty to look at and listen to, but offering nothing of value to our world.  I struggle to discuss individual tracks, because they all, essentially, sound the same.

I originally wanted to give this release a half of a star, but I hold on to hope that seeing the band live at Fun Fun Fun Fest this year will redeem this collection of songs. After all I hated At the Drive-In’s In/Casino/Out until I saw them live.  So, HEALTH, the ball is in your court, bring it in November.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/03-health-nice_girls.mp3]

Download: HEALTH – Nice Girls [MP3]

1 … 78 79 80 81 82 … 102
Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com