Really Important Reviews

R.I.R.'s Top 30 Albums of 2011

2012-02-19T05:15:00.066-05:00

It's finally here! Down below, you'll find a list of delicious albums that Owen and I liked the most from last year, and a few extras that didn't quite make the cut. Enjoy!

Also, thanks to Jon for the excellent picture, and to compensate for a slight lack of albums on this list, we've got a list of our favorite 75 songs of the year coming later this week! Also, let us know what you think in the comments below. What's your favorite album of the year?

-Julian

30.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

29.
Cults - Cults

28.
Thee Oh Sees - Castlemania

27.
Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital

26.
Mikal Cronin - Mikal Cronin

25.
Fucked Up - David Comes to Life

24.
Wild Beasts - Smother

23.
Black Lips - Arabia Mountain

22.
The Horrors - Skying

21.
The Antlers - Burst Apart

20.
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

19.
Yuck - Yuck

18.
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

17.
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

16.
Tristan Clopet - Name It What You Want

15.
Dumbo Gets Mad - Elephants at the Door

14.
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

13.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

12.
Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain in the Cloud

11.
Wilco - The Whole Love

10.
Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On

9.
Panda Bear - Tomboy

8.
Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

7.
Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings

6.
Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

5.
The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient

4.
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

3.
tUnE-yArDs - whokill

2.
Destroyer - Kaputt

1.
Real Estate - Days

Close contenders:
The Black Keys - El Camino
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Grouper - A I A
Jane Jane Pollock - Jane Jane Pollock
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
Psychic Paramount - II
Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic
Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

2012-02-02T12:22:00.001-05:00

Dylan Baldi is a 20-something kid who has been recording rad tracks under the name Cloud Nothings like Can't Stay Awake and Leave You Forever since 2009. Baldi's incredible knack for crafting a tune shone through the shoddy production quality on 09's Turning On and 2010's Leave You Forever EP. Cloud Nothings' intense fuzz and jangly guitars instantly grouped them in the ever-growing pool of "lo-fi" artists, also known as bands that for some reason object to using good microphones. In several interviews,Baldi expressed his distaste with the image that has quickly become associated with his work. Thus, after a successful and really tasty 2010 self-titled LP, a strange album has been brewing. This strange album is Attack on Memory, an 8 track 30 minute LP that, as Baldi himself puts it, conveys a message: we are not a "lo-fi" band, stop calling us that.

Look no further than the opening seconds and the transformation is clear. The opener, No Future/No Past is a real stunner. How a groovy kid like Baldi with such an ear for a tune could craft something this dreadful is beyond me. The opening track has got to be one of the hardest things I have ever tried to listen to (and keep in mind, this has been on repeat for a few days). Devoid of static and around a fourth of the tempo of a classic Cloud Nothings track, No Future/No Past is a sort of slow-dying tune in which not one note is in tune. It's not "rad," "punk," or "making a statement," it is much more than that: No Future/No Past is a full-fledged assault on your ears that genuinely hurts to listen to. It's safe to say I was a little nervous after hearing the first track.

A decent eight minute track picks things up. It sounds like Baldi has stopped recording on his MacBook microphone and has amped up the production (legend Steve Albini was called in for the job). However, the album finally has life in Fall In, the first really attractive song on the album. There's a catchyashell chorus, then they rock out, then they come back to the chorus. You really can't ask for more from Cloud Nothings; Fall In draws you in with a killer hook, knocks you back with a hard guitar line, only to bring you right back. The mediocre beginning continues to be left in the dust on Stay Useless, another great track on which there's sufficient amounts of experimentation with some good results.

After the crazy journey that is the first four songs, there's only a bit left, 12 minutes to be precise. Separation, a strange instrumental is followed by more dissonant vocals on No Sentiment, a dark horse track in Our Plans, and finally a cute closer, Cut You.

All in all, one could argue that Cloud Nothings achieved their goal with Attack on Memory; no one will ever call them lo-fi shoegazers again. However, Baldi seems to have sacrificed good music for the sake of conveying his message. No Future/No Past is absolutely dreadful, Separation hurts at times, and No Sentiment is perhaps the definition of mediocre. So what use does a message to your critics have if it's too painful to listen to?

Baldi is a great songwriter, next time he should just let his music do the talking.

-Owen

New Segment - Charlie Reviews!

2012-01-28T08:03:00.011-05:00

We've got a new member, and his name is Charlie! I'm launching a new segment for the blog called "Charlie Reviews", where I have my dog listen to a song and give his opinion. I'm thinking it'll either be a weekly thing, or I'll do it every other week, we'll see. But for now, check out his first review below of the new single by The Shins, from their upcoming album 'Port of Morrow'.

-Julian

Review: Of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks

2012-01-22T13:09:00.024-05:00

Kevin Barnes is often one to over-complicate things, but in the funnest way possible. This comes through in pretty much everything. The song styles, their structures, their silly yet sharp lyrics, their titles ('Exorcism Breeding Knife'.....?), his live performances, even the album covers. I sometimes found his songs to be a little too hectic for my liking, but nevertheless they are catchy as hell, and his vocal chords are a gift from god.

A couple years ago, Kevin took on a more simplistic style with False Priest. On Paralytic Stalks, he pretty much goes all-out on the wacky instrumentation, while concentrating more on adding layer upon layer of sonic mayhem. There is quite a bit more of experimentation too, which is understandable, except on a track like the accurately-titled 'Exorcism Breeding Knife', it comes off as less of experimentation, and more of an incohesive, distorted mess. It even starts to come off as a little self-indulgent.

The album even starts out in a confused jumble with 'Gelid Ascent', until it breaks out into a sonically-distant, but generally pleasant tune. It then segues into slightly more familiar territory with 'Spiteful Intervention', a messy yet fantastic track. It continues with the much more familiar 'Dour Percentage', which actually turns out to be the least convoluted one here. 'We Will Commit Wolf Murder' is another pretty good track, where he actually hints at his bizzare lyrics;

"....into some ancient reptilian form like an agnostic transubstantiation."
"I don't know what that is."
"Use your imagination!"

A couple decent tracks go by and before we know it, we're confronted with a series of unnecessarily-long experimental tracks before it ends with a relieving couple minutes of Kevin and a comforting melody from an intimate-sounding upright piano.

Paralytic Stalks is kind of like a tasty birthday cake, only covered in a mess of sugary sweets, mounds of colorful toppings and multi-flavored frosting, to the point where it just starts to make you sick. There are some delicious melodies there, you just have to find them under the layers of sugar.

Tracklist:
1. Gelid Ascent
2. Spiteful Intervention
3. Dour Percentage
4. We Will Commit Wolf Murder
5. Malefic Dowery
6. Ye, Renew the Plaintiff
7. Wintered Debts
8. Exorcism Breeding Knife
9. Authentic Pyrrhic Remission

Download of Montreal Wintered Debts

-Julian

Review: Hipocrite in a Hippy Crypt - Freak Me Out EP

2012-01-08T06:32:00.012-05:00

It's hard to get by with a name that makes you roll your eyes like that. And I'm sure that anyone would hate me to start a review of their album like that, but I felt the need to address it. But don't let the name fool you, for within these lo-fi, guitar-driven tracks lie bright melodies, thought-provoking, interesting lyrics, and tasteful song structure.

Earlier this year, this Indiana-based musician released an EP entitled 'Tweaker in the Park' (the names only get better), which had one of my favorite tracks of the year called 'The Town Crazies', and I somehow managed to skip over reviewing it. That track had more or less what's given here, except on this EP, I feel like i'm missing that catchy electronic beat that that track has. Also, I feel like he's being a bit lazier with the lyrics here. But nevertheless, that tracks are still catchy as hell, and each have their own feel to them. The title track is clearly the leading tune here, with its upbeat melody and not-so-upbeat lyrics. The next track, Digression, is more of a progressive track that pulls you in with its repeating melody and drums that roll along smoothly with the guitar strums. This is definitely my favorite of the three. The last one, Missed It, sets a slightly darker tone at the beginning with the singer's voice inflection that's very reminiscent of Doug Martsch in the earlier days of Built to Spill. Luckily, the dark tone is quickly lifted by a vocal harmony, and the humble guitar solo towards the end.

What this EP is missing is just that extra kick, perhaps in the form of an electronic beat, or maybe even a brass section, I don't know. That seems a bit silly, but hey. Anyway, you can download the EP for free on his bandcamp page, and I suggest you do. I can't wait to see what this guy has in store in the future.

-Julian

Feist - Metals

2011-12-28T02:32:00.007-05:00

Beauty exists in many forms in our society. We are frequently bombarded by media that is designed to inspire within us one specific reaction. Although any piece of art that fails to inspire any response whatsoever is arguably a waste of time, too frequently we are told how to respond to a piece of art. It is too often that we hear a song that crams its sadness down our throats, for example, to the extent that we cannot listen to this song without feeling this reaction. Although this bludgeoning may be useful in short exposures to convey simple emotions, this style of media is helpless in any attempt to express anything deeper. For instance, while Randy Randall and Dean Spunt of No Age can draw out your inner 17 year old punk and make you do your best to resist banging your head in less than a minute with their high powered vibes, can any three minute song truly force you to be in awe?

Thus, it requires something more special to be truly beautiful. True beauty is not something that can be shoved in your face. It may not even be something that is immediately evident. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present Feist. On her fifth full length Metals, we witness a subtle beauty, one that feels no need to flaunt itself.

Feist has been recording for more than 12 years now. After a few years spent bouncing around Canada covering old Bee Gee’s tracks, the Canadian singer-songwriter started releasing her own material. As early as 2004, Feist was releasing tasty music videos, something that, to this day, she continues to do. A cute cover of fellow-Canadian Ron Sexsmith’s Secret Heart earned Feist fair amounts of attention. Apple picked up on the first single off of her 2008 release The Reminder, and before anyone blinked 1 2 3 4 was officially “that iPod commercial song.”

Before I can say anything about her latest album, Metals, I must pay homage to this singer’s voice. Feist has perhaps the single most recognizable voice of any contemporary female singer. Her vocals effortlessly rise and fall with minimal accompaniment. She coyly teases you into The Circle Married the Line, while she knocks you back in your seat with a stunning performance on How Come You Never Go There. Her voice approaches and falls back into the instrumentation like a constantly shifting tide; you only need to feel the gentle foam rolling up the beach to know there is a powerful ocean behind it. However, with such a delicate vocal performance, Feist sounds best when the music drives the song; the strong instrumentation pushes Graveyard forward, one of Feist’s best songs to date. Although Feist loves to tug you through her songs with her voice alone, she does not acheive the same success of Get it Wrong, Get it Right and Cicadas and Gulls on each attempt. Feist is at her most vulnerable when she leads the music with her vocals alone. Bittersweet Melodies, altough beautiful, could use a bit of a kick in the pants to drive it forward. You could also find her guilty of lilting a bit too much on Anti-Pioneer as well.

However, what I love most about Metals is that no song feels like a throw-out. All 50 minutes of the record are well conceieved and laid out beautifully in front of us. To return to what I was discussing earlier, Feist does not overemphasize the beauty of her work. She lures you into each song, encouraging you find your own emotion between soothing organic instruments and stunning vocals. Having a totally unique experience with each track is an experience not many artists can provide. While her lilting vocals may lose you at first, the imperfections are just too beautiful to complain about. Sometimes thirlling, occasionally boring, but always gorgeous, Metals is well worth your listen.

- Owen

Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler/The Dream

2011-12-11T05:06:00.037-05:00

One of my favorite bands right now, not even in the garage rock scene exclusively, but in general, is Thee Oh Sees. If there's anyone that stands out in the garage rock scene more than anyone, it's these guys, especially thanks to lead singer John Dwyer's distinct vocal delivery.

Earlier this year, they released Castlemania, a departure from their familiar territory, as a chance to explore lead singer John Dwyer's intricate melody-making capabilities and acoustic side, and I really liked it. They knew that they needed a change at least once. But on Carrion Crawler/The Dream, we find these guys returning to their raw rock 'n roll spirit that can even date back to 2008's The Master's Bedroom. However, a lot of the songs here are much longer than we're used to with these guys, even reaching the 7-minute mark on The Dream. Now I'm all for long songs, but not when they stay the same throughout. That's what happened with the title track of their 2010 release Warm Slime, which started out awesome, then quickly lost my interest after 3 minutes. Basically, the long songs on Carrion Crawler are fantastic for the first couple minutes, then become tiresome, especially when we generally have one sound coming from these guys.

Also, it seems as though Thee Oh Sees are running out of ideas for hard-hitting tunes, so they just bang it away for 40 minutes, and after a while, the constantly banging drums and shredding, although spot on, starts to sound stale and monotonous. Each song sounds like a generalization of what The Master's Bedroom or Help sounded like as a whole. I can't say there are too many stand out tracks here because of that, but I do love the first two tracks a lot. Robber Barons is basically The Coconut, just duller, and almost nothing changes on Chem-Farmer. At least The Dream varies it up a bit, but still, why 7 minutes? The song could have been 3 minutes, and I probably would have loved it.

Carrion Crawler/The Dream, although fun, is just their previous efforts compiled together and made blunt and uninteresting. However I'm glad that they're back to their old selves, and I'm positive that their live shows are still amazing as ever.

-Julian

Tracklist:
1. Carrion Crawler
2. Contraption/Soul Desert
3. Robber Barons
4. Chem-Farmer
5. Opposition
6. The Dream
7. Wrong Idea
8. Crushed Glass
9. Crack in Your Eye
10. Heavy Doctor

Contraption/Soul Desert:

Kyle Bobby Dunn - Ways of Meaning

2011-12-11T04:08:00.013-05:00

Ambient music is sort of one of those genres that can either make me lose interest pretty fast, or enthrall me completely and make me wish the sounds coming through my ears could somehow be received at a higher level. Sometimes it even depends on the setting I'm in. If I could, I would have listened to this album for the first time on an airplane, just as it was floating over the clouds, but alas. The best I could do was a late night drive through the city. I can't say that's the right mood that this album captures, but it made a difference, if only slightly.

Ways of Meaning is the follow up to Kyle Bobby Dunn's 2010 release 'A Young Person's Guide to Kyle Bobby Dunn', which I probably should have given a higher score now that I think about it, because I listened to quite a bit of ambient/drone music after that, and that album is among the best I've heard so far. This album is more or less the same sort of stuff that was going on on that record, although definitely simplified and toned down. Where 'A Young Person's Guide' varied with each track, some of the songs on Ways of Meaning sound awfully similar. I guess you could say it's more of an album as a whole, rather than an album with individual songs where you can point out each song by a defining characteristic. With this one, you just sort of play the whole thing, and absorb everything at once. Although the track Canyon Meadows is the one track that is pretty distinct among the rest, and it ended up being my favorite track here. The track I felt really bored of though was Movement for the Completely Fucked, even though it had a slightly darker atmosphere, like New Pures.

Another difference with this album is that each song has a reoccurring melody, or just simply a few chords that just repeat throughout the whole song, whereas his previous release was full of constantly changing melodies and ideas. I'm not saying that these tracks are boring though, in fact the ones that did have distinct chord progressions seemed the most interesting to me.

Although I generally enjoyed listening to Ways of Meaning, it didn't grab me like A Young Person's Guide did. While the atmosphere and intricacy is still completely there, ambition and ideas are lacking.

-Julian

Tracklist:
1. Dropping Sandwiches (In Chester Lake)
2. Statuit
3. Canyon Meadows
4. New Pures
5. Movement for the Completely Fucked
6. Touhy's Theme

Artist Feature: The Summer Knights

2011-11-27T21:25:00.008-05:00

In recent weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of spending some time with Luke DeWilde and Chuckles O’Neill, the magicians behind San Francisco-based alternative act The Summer Knights. The duo have two releases to date, 2010’s Quest for California and this year’s Kairos EP. Shamelessly inspired by teenage heroes Blink 182 and Nirvana, DeWilde and O’Neill often channel the alternative punk vibe. However, TSK have a few more tricks up their sleeves than their punk role models, as Quest for California features even a Death Cab for Cutie Cover. While the band’s strengths are many, they are young and their work is not without its flaws.

We’ll start with the Summer in a Shoebox, the first song off Quest to California, The Summer Knight’s only full-length release to date. The opening track shows off the many strengths of the duo: aggressive songwriting, catchy guitar riffs, and great drumming. DeWilde dives right in to the album’s opener, Summer in a Shoebox, with one of the strongest guitar lines of the album. He never looks back. The Summer Knights turn up their amps all the way and keep them there. Fellow high-power tracks Seventy Five and You’d Think I’ve Changed are highlights of the LP. O’Neill is a constant presence on the drums, frequently adding some much needed depth to the band's sound sound.

However, Summer in a Shoebox is also the perfect platform to discuss the band’s weaknesses: thelack of a middle range end and limited vocal

explorations. Although DeWilde loves to noodle (and often crafts some great hooks) in the expansive gap between his mid-range vocals and O’Neill’s drumming, his guitar alone is sometimes not enough to fill the void. The Summer Knights are occasionally in need of a middle range. There’s one last thing. DeWilde’s presence at the mic is begging for some flavor.The group’s well-written songs are craving some harmonies, something that DeWilde, no matter how dynamic his performance in front of the mic may be, cannot provide for himself.

However, it is important to remember the big picture. DeWilde and O’Neill are both still youngsters on the music scene, and the amount of growth that we can see already is promising. These guys will do nothing but improve. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on these two.

-Owen

Tristan Clopet - Name It What You Want It

2011-11-20T22:16:00.007-05:00

Tristan Clopet dove into the vast pool of independently recording singer-songwriters earlier this year with his debut LP Name It What You Want It. However, before I say anything about the record, I owe the guy I huge thank you. He mailed up not only a copy of his CD but also a pretty sweet custom t-shirt only to wait patiently while his CD racked up the plays in my stereo. Thank you Tristan, you're a gentleman.

There is a lot to talk about here, but I'll start with undeniably the strongest aspect of Clopet's music: his voice.It's been a long time since I've heard such incredible vocals. Clopet's voice rumbles over the piano's lower octaves in A Chat with My Brain, it gently pulls you through the slower ballad Idiosyncrasies of the Resolute, and it absolutely soars in Hold on Lover, Hold on Girl. The vocals on Name It What You Want It are near flawless. Clopet helps himself out; his well-written songs really help him show off his full range. Although harmonies make only a cameo appearance in the album, you can't find a much sweeter hook than in Summer in Sussex, the dynamic first track. Songwriting is very strong aspect of this album. Simply put, Clopet is a fantastic songwriter. Clopet's genre-bending songs are all absurdly catchy. Small hooks grab you at every turn leaving absolutely nothing feeling boring.

Clopet drives his music forward with a wide variety of percussion, and this leads to the only real problem I can find with Name It What You Want It. Especially on the closing tracks An Introduction… To Forward Thinking and Fife and Drum, Clopet leans on his drums just a bit too much to pull you through the song. Clopet obviously experimented the most with the last few songs and they still feel a little bit raw. Although unfinished, they are certainly not throw outs.

Regardless of the highs and lows of this album, Clopet has one ace that is unavoidable. This guy has great style. Not only are his songs well-written, well-sung, and well-orchestrated, they radiate cool vibrations. We can almost hear him crack a smile as he hits that perfect funky chord. For such a young artist, Clopet's intuitive sense of flair is impeccable. Clopet's verve adds an entirely new level to his work, one that allows you to keep coming back more and more.

Crafty songs, beautiful lyrics, and a great dose of panache characterize Tristan Clopet's debut LP Name It What You Want It. He is, without a doubt, one of the most promising young artists I have heard in a while. Well done, Mr. Clopet.

-Owen

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

2011-10-17T11:53:00.007-04:00

Naming the follow-up single to your successful debut album Vomit is nothing short of an audacious move. However, Christopher Owens and Chet White of Girls did just that (it seems appropriate to mention that Vomit is just one song on a growing list of deliciously-named Girls’ songs, including standouts such as Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker, Hellhole Ratrace, and Die). However, the much lauded 2009 release Album introduced Girls’ jangly instrumentation and lyrical focus predominately on angsty teenagers. Girls’ relaxed surfer-style ballads won over the hearts of many. However, while Owens and White hit several enormous highs on Album, the overall work felt patchy and unfinished. In late 2010, Girls dished out the Broken Dreams Club EP, a superb six song album-ette that showed great stylistic growth and maturity. Two years after an intriguing debut, Girls have given us Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

Groovy, jangly, and catchy as fuck, the opener Honey Bunny is everything you could want in a Girls song. The cute riffs and sweet harmonies exhibited here characterize the album. Owens turns his amp volume up from his usual four to maybe five or six on Die, a song that tries hard to mix things up and throw some White Stripes-style heavy guitar at us. Simply put, the song is too pretty to give off any harsh vibes. Exhausted after going all out, the amps are quieted down and Girls settle down into a really solid five song streak, including my personal favorites Saying I Love You and Just a Song. Girls once again channel Elvis Costello on Magic, a song led by White’s strong drumming. Likely under-appreciated, White’s consistently great performances on the drums tie any loose ends on the album together, such as the closers Love Like a River and Jane Marie.

Father, Son, Holy Ghost is another great album from Girls. Owens continues to establish himself as a strong songwriter in a band that is settling into its own style. With the exception of some extraneous minutes that could have been cut out, this is album is fucking great. As reminiscent and sentimental as it is innovative and original, Father, Son, Holy Ghost is one of the most interesting listens of the year so far.

Tracklisting:

1. Honey Bunny

2. Alex

3. Die

4. Saying I Love You

5. My Ma

6. Vomit

7. Just a Song

8. Magic

9. Forgiveness

10. Love Like a River

11. Jamie Marie

- Owen

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Hysterical

2011-09-12T11:59:00.002-04:00

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is a band that's easy to hate upon first listen. Not because their melodies are crap, or that their far too lo-fi, because both of these things are untrue. It's simply because of Alec Ounsworth's singing voice. And I think that was starting to catch on with the band, because on Hysterical, the vocal crack has definitely been toned down, probably to appeal to a larger audience. I, however, found it pretty easy to get past the incessant voice crack, but for others, it was impossible. So I guess if you hated his voice on previous records, but in general liked the music, then you're in luck with this one.

But unfortunately, it seems as though the memorable hooks have disappeared with the vocal crack as well. The record, on a whole, is pretty enjoyable, but it's hard to think of a memorable melody once it's done. It basically plays on vanilla the entire time, with occasional forays into catchy territory. The songs often blend together and sound the same as well, so much that you might just miss a track or two. A good example of this is the entire last half of the album. Though I should note that Same Mistake is a damn catchy tune. Maniac varies it up a bit as well. In Your Alien Arms is a decent track, even though the last two minutes are exactly the same throughout. In A Motel and Misspent Youth are both graceful tracks, the former with its beautiful string arrangement and an actually memorable melody.

And then there's the rest of the album. Nothing in those last 5 or 6 songs will make me want to give them another listen, except for Adam's Plane, the closer to this 50-minute-long record. At least that song left me off feeling a little happier.

Back in 2005, they were rocking the indie scene with their quirky exuberance and catchy hooks. Here, they've lost their quirk, along with uniqueness and energy. With the exception of a few key tracks, Hysterical is a mostly forgettable, mildly enjoyable record with too much form and not enough substance.

Tracklist:
1. Same Mistake
2. Hysterical
3. Misspent Youth
4. Maniac
5. Into Your Alien Arms
6. In a Motel
7. Yesterday, Never
8. Idiot
9. Siesta (For Snake)
10. Ketamine and Ecstasy
11. The Witness' Dull Surprise
12. Adam's Plane

-Julian

The Really Important Music Video Review

2011-09-08T20:30:00.003-04:00

Since this little site is now growing into a much more music orientated place for reviews, I have decided to ride the wave built by Julian and Owen into musical territory. I have not an ounce of the taste they have in music, but I do know a bit about music videos. So, I hope you will all humor me as i try my hand every once in a while at reviewing some videos. As a major video fan I will have a great new video each time I do this. I also hope to each bring more attention to a video I bet you have not seen, but will love. I hope you all enjoy.
-Brendan

An awesome new video: Matt and Kim: Block after Block
Even though Matt and Kim's new album is no where near the powerhouse the 2006 "Grand", but "Block after Block" is one of my favorites off their new album. In the video for "Lessons Learned", Matt and Kim did their first ode to The Big Apple they love by getting completely naked in Times Square, ending with Kim getting hit by a bus. "Block after Block" brings back their love for the City by starting impromptu concerts all over the city as they sprint around avoiding cops and staying still. I love any video that shows the power of a good piece of music bringing random people together, especially if they all share a craving to party. Another thing I love about Matt and Kim is how every time they preform or make a video, they look like the happiest kids on Earth doing what they love and one can not help but smile along with them.
Watch the video here!
A music video I bet you have not seen: The Decemberists: Sixteen Military Wives
Seeing that The Decemberists seem to come out with a new album each month, none of us fans of them can keep up with all the music and videos they produce. Recently, I stumbled across this gem from the folk machine that is The Decemberists from their album "Picaresque". The video is a brilliant and obvious (in my opinion) to Wes Anderson's masterpiece "Rushmore". In the video, the band is in a high school Model U.N. club where The U.S. representative reigns supreme and the little countries band together for a mutiny. The video is goofy, well acted by the band and is gorgeously directed by Aaron Stewart and I'm sure good old Wes would be pround
Watch the video here!

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

2011-09-06T12:53:00.011-04:00

I suppose if you were one of those people whose introduction to this unique artist was her sophomore effort Actor, you probably fell in love with the edgy, intense march-like feel of Actor out of Work, or the impromptu distorted sax/guitar combo on Marrow. Either that or you turned it off immediately from the shear cacophony, but then later came back to it because you couldn't resist. When ever I listen to that record (and this one as well), I feel like I have to blast the loud parts to full volume, otherwise I don't get the same experience I got the first time.

This time, her quality-album-streak has continued with Strange Mercy. If you had to describe it based on sound, it's basically the same deal as Actor. Lots of fuzz, distortion, and of course, her lovely voice. There are a couple things that have changed, though. There are more electronic elements, and the drums are more prominent. The idea of more electronics might sound a little off-putting, but frankly they go brilliantly with the whole mix, especially on tracks like Cruel, Northern Lights, Champagne Year, and Dilettante.

My favorite track on Strange Mercy, by far, is Cheerleader. It opens acoustically with a beautiful melody, while Annie rolls out a few clever one-liners. "I've had good times with some bad guys, I've told whole lies with a half smile". After that, it's as if the four "I"s she sings are cracks being banged into the chorus, and then it just gives way and bursts open with overwhelming distortion, heavy beats, and synthy-goodness. This is definitely one of the best songs she's given us yet, if not the best.

The slow-going Surgeon is another superb number, with its playful guitar blips and shuffling drums. The random cheesy synth solo toward the end, though it spices up the track a bit, is pretty annoying to be honest. The title track, however, is a beautifully-crafted piece with drums that chug along, and a softly rolled out melody, but towards the end she turns up the amp and busts out the fuzz box, to my utter enjoyment. There are a couple tracks that I couldn't really get into, mainly Neutered Fruit, which is a bit too kooky and all over the place for my taste. Hysterical Strength is a pretty forgettable track which feels like a filler. Luckily the album concludes really well with Year of the Tiger.

Strange Mercyis an album filled with pleasurable grooves, blissful pop tunes, plenty of messy distortion, and of course, Annie Clark's endearing vocals. Yet her ability to blend all these elements together is just as outstanding as ever.

Tracklist:
1. Chloe in the Afternoon
2. Cruel
3. Cheerleader
4. Surgeon
5. Northern Lights
6. Strange Mercy
7. Neutered Fruit
8. Champagne Year
9. Dilettante
10. Hysterical Strength
11. Year of the Tiger

-Julian

Wilco - The Whole Love

2011-09-04T09:06:00.003-04:00

It's been nearly 10 years since Wilco graced us with their phenomenal album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and, at least to me, they've never quite matched up to it since. And I'm sure they hate to be the band that's been living in the shadow of their one truly great album, but they seem to be having a great time regardless. They've released a couple above-average records after YHF, namely their last one, which got my hopes up just a little. However, I've listened to The Whole Love through a few times, and I can safely say that they've gotten back in the game, pulled through, gotten their shit together, whatever you want to say.

And they haven't just done so with subtlety, no no. The opening 7-minute track, Art of Almost, is chalk-full of searing guitars, courtesy of Nels Cline, muddled distortion, electronic blips scattered about, and many layers of sonic epicness. They always knew how to open an album well, but this just takes the cake. Next up is the firm-footed I Might, which I wasn't taken with immediately upon first listen, but I'm finding myself warming up to it. More distortion and a rhodes organ make this song quite enjoyable. Now the next track, Sunloathe, is probably my favorite one here. It's got beautiful harmonies, a beautiful, heart-warming melody, and a nice, light feel to it. This is not Wilco, but I'm loving it.

After that, we've got a string of excellent songs, including Dawned on Me, which is just tons of fun, the softer Black Moon, which also has a stunning melody and a lovely blend of pedal steel, rhodes, and finger-plucking, and Born Alone, which has a great guitar lick. Capitol City is another great one, with a San Tropes-esque melody, and the ascending rhodes line makes this song even better. Rising Red Lung is another beautiful little number. The only ones I don't love as much are Open Mind and the title track, although they're still pretty decent.

So yeah, terrific melodies, terrific tunes, just overall a terrific album. Great job, Jeff and friends. You had me smiling all the way through the album.

By the way, if you ever get the chance, you have to see these guys live. They're incredible.

Tracklist:
1. Art of Almost
2. I Might
3. Sunloathe
4. Dawned on Me
5. Black Moon
6. Born Alone
7. Open Mind
8. Capitol City
9. Standing O
10. Red Rising Lung
11. Whole Love
12. One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)

-Julian

Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain In the Clouds

2011-08-30T20:14:00.006-04:00

30 days. 30 listens. That was the promise I made myself when I pre-ordered Portugal. The Man's newest album, In the Mountain in the Cloud, earlier this summer. After a month of intense time spent with the album, I am speechless.

There's something about Portugal. The Man that I struggle to put my finger on. The band has released five quality albums in the past five years, and any musician will attest to the remarkable feat that that that is. Their 2009 release The Satanic Satanist's sweet harmonies and jangling guitars quickly helped it become one of our favorites of the year. 2010 left us with American Ghetto, another superb album packed with lush instrumentation and breath-taking harmonies from the Maine-based quartet.

In the Mountain In the Cloud, however, is beyond anything the band has done so far. And I am, embarrassingly so, speechless. In the Mountain in the Cloud is beautiful, unique, confident, and damn near perfect. The swelling instrumentation meshes excellently with Gourley's permanent falsetto. The ambient fuzz with which the album is suffused is so sweet it kills. The melodies are beautiful, infectious, and superbly mixed. I tip my hat to Portugal. The Man; this album is excellent.

- Owen

Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital

2011-07-10T20:37:00.005-04:00

Handsome Furs is a name under which former Wolf Parade guitarist and complete badass Dan Boeckner and his wife record sandpapery electronic music. The duo blasts simple melodies constructed with heavy guitars and powerful beats. The follow-up to their solid ’09 release Face Control, Sound Kapital is another Boeckner-taught lesson in badassery.

Despite my profound admiration for Dan Boeckner, I was a little nervous when I heard that Handsome Furs’ latest album was written entirely on keyboards. Why would Handsome Furs, a band that lives, eats, and breathes harsh and fuzzy guitars, ditch their guitars for infant-sized synthesizers? Simple, they were just too busy doing badass shit to spend time in the studio with their guitars. Keyboards would fit in the tiny van they used to illegally tour in southeast Asia. That seems like pretty awesome excuse to me.

This transition has, amazingly, resulted in an overall improvement in the band’s sound. Boeckner’s vocals mesh well with the in-your-face attitude of their electronic style. The concise melodies that are a staple of the Furs’ sound are now more fleshed out. Although Sound Kapital may at first feel cold, Handsome Furs have successfully injected a blast of life into their electronic music, not by any means an easy task.

Sound Kapital, like all of Boeckner’s works, is very consistent. The band gets going with the brilliant Damage and never looks back. Sound Kaptial is great. Pick it up.

-Owen

Tracklist:

1. When I Get Back

2. Damage

3. Bury Me Standing

4. Memories of the Future

5. Serve the People

6. What About Us

7. Repatriated

8. Cheap Music

9. No Feelings

Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys

2011-06-10T17:27:00.006-04:00

If you have listened to Death Cab for Cutie for the past few years, then I bet you are reading this sheepishly. I don’t blame you. It took me a while to summon the strength to push play on Codes and Keys, the four-piece’s sixth LP. One simple question left me perplexed: Who are Death Cab? A decade into their career, the band has released underground lo-fi (Something About Airplanes/We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes), crafty acoustic guitar melodies (The Photo Album/Transatlanticism), piano ballades (Plans), and most recently Narrow Stairs, a melting pot for pretty much everything they have previously tried.

Not knowing what to expect from the album, I took several lazy summer afternoons and listened. And while the album itself is neither spectacular nor terrible, I struggled to focus on individual songs. Looking at Codes and Keys as a whole was more revealing. The album is not depressing, per se, but there is something pensive and sad about it.

Codes and Keys feels distant, as if a gentle haze has descended between the band and the listener. We can still hear Gibbard and Walla writing the same types of songs that they always have, but they seem to be playing on the other side of the curtain. We can hear their old work on the record as St Peter’s Cathedral gives a nod to 03’s Transatlanticsim, Underneath the Sycamore to 05’s Plans, and Doors Unlocked and Open to 08’s Narrow Stairs. However, songs are a tad more relaxed and more introspective. Codes and Keys is not the kind of record that makes me want to jump up and down and buy tickets for the newest tour; rather, it gives me an urge to dig out my old Death Cab CDs and enjoy all the great music that the band has made over the years.

While the album itself may not be great, what it means to a fan of the band is. If you like the band, pick it up. If not, don’t bother.

-Owen

Tracklist:

1. Home is a Fire
2. Codes and Keys
3. Some Boys
4. Doors Unlocked and Open
5. You are a Tourist
6. Unobstructed Views
7. Monday Morning
8. Portable Television
9. Underneath the Sycamore
10. St Peter's Cathedral
11. Stay Young, Go Dance

Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread

2011-06-07T07:58:00.007-04:00

What a fucking adorable album cover. I'd buy the album just for the cover, I'm not kidding. Anyway, Ty Segall is one of the more prominent garage rockers that peaked out of the ever-engrossing scene just last year with his third studio album 'Melted', which actually ended up on our Top Albums of 2010 list. That album was total lo-fi bliss, 'Finger' and 'Girlfriend' being clear-cut stand-outs for me.

Though he said he was trying a more pop-enthusiastic record, it's not completely obvious that he's shying away from the rough, raw garage rock approach. He's still retained the lo-fi aspect (don't mean to sound snobby or anything, but thank goodness), and the raw power of most of the songs still shines. I Am With You even borrows the melody from The Drag, a song off of his debut. But I suppose the poppiness is more apparent on tracks like 'I Can't Feel It', whose light-hearted dual guitar line totally lightens up the whole song, and the opening track Goodbye Bread. The songs here definitely feel more thought out too, whereas back on his first couple albums, it seemed as though he was just picking a few chords, going with it, and rocking the fuck out.

At a certain point though, the songs start to blend together, and the melodies get monotonous at times, especially on Comfortable Home, My Head Explodes, The Floor, and Fine. That's probably because all of the songs use the same four elements. An electric guitar line, sometimes two, drums, bass, and lazy vocals. I can see liking this album a little more if he had varied it up a bit, like on his previous album.

It's not as though his music is groundbreaking (not to say any of the music in the garage rock scene is), plus his melodies have never stood out for me that much, and his vocals leave a little to be desired, but there's something about his music that just draws me in and makes me feel good, and for the most part, that feeling remains on Goodbye Bread.

Tracklist:
1. Goodbye Bread
2. California Commercial
3. Comfortable Home
4. You Make the Sun Fry
5. I Can't Feel It
6. My Head Explodes
7. The Floor
8. Where Your Mind Goes
9. I Am With You
10. Fine

-Julian

Thee Oh Sees - Castlemania

2011-05-14T12:24:00.013-04:00

Thee Oh Sees have been rocking the whacked-out garage rock scene for about 5 years now, yet they've released 6 or 7 LPs, a live album, a bunch of EPs, some comps, and a handful of 7 inches. And if that wasn't enough, they're supposed to be releasing another LP this fall. Yet it only occurred to me that they might be rushing things after listening to last year's 'Warm Slime', a fairly disappointing release, which didn't have much to offer other than a couple good tracks, and a 13-minute, mostly boring jam. It didn't take a lot to get my hopes up for this release though, especially after listening to the blissfully catchy opening track 'I Need Seed' back in April.

It's safe to say that Thee Oh Sees have severely toned down the whole loud, raw, in-your-face garage rock approach that admittedly made me fall in love with them in the first place, and replaced it with an even more raw, psych folk sound. In other words, the raw electric guitars have for the most part been replaced with raw acoustic guitars. Unfortunately I can see this being a major turn-off for more than a few people, but it's totally refreshing to hear these guys out of their comfort zone. Above all, the melodies are still top-notch, especially on Corprophagist, Stinking Cloud, Pleasure Blimps, A Wall A Century 2, and The Whipping Continues. The psychedelic aspect is still there too. If anything, it's even more so.

Other stand out tracks include the sheer raw power of Corrupted Coffin, the addicting little 1-minute track Spider Cider, the cleaner-sounding Blood on the Deck, which has a nice solo, and their excellent rendition of The Creation song If I Stay Too Long, which is a little bit ironic, because both are bands that should be more popular than they already are. All of the other tracks are highly enjoyable too, with the exception of the title track, which though pretty epic-sounding, is a little too hectic for its own good, and too ill-fitting to the rest of the album. I Won't Hurt You and the closing track What Are We Craving? also get old pretty quick, and set the album back a little, which sucks because those are the two main tracks with long time Oh Sees member Brigid's vocals, and she has a really likable, soothing voice.

Coming in at a little over 40 minutes with 16 tracks, Castlemania is a refreshing, fairly strong comeback from the mostly tiresome misstep 'Warm Slime'. It didn't come close to reaching the heights of Thee Oh Sees' strongest effort 'Help', but I didn't expect it too. For now, I can't stop listening to it, and that has to count for something.

P.S. - The link for I Need Seed is actually a link to an awesome stop action music video.

Tracklist:
1. I Need Seed
2. Corprophagist (A Bath Perhaps)
3. Stinking Cloud
4. Corrupted Coffin
5. Pleasure Blimps
6. A Wall, A Century 2
7. Spider Cider
8. The Whipping Continues
9. Blood on the Deck
10. Castlemania
11. AA Warm Breeze
12. Idea For Rubber Dog
13. The Horse Was Lost
14. I Won't Hurt You
15. If I Stay Too Long
16. What Are We Craving?

-Julian

Architecture in Helsinki - Moment Bends

2011-05-13T20:49:00.012-04:00

The problem of bands that base their sound on childish instruments and melodies is that, at some point, they have to grow up. The cute niche of indie rock, now far distant from its 90s predecessor, the twee scene, has, in recent years, become characterized by childlike instruments. Xylophones and kazoos made bands like Architecture and Helsinki. However, Architecture could only clap their hands and sing together at circle-time for so long. After relatively positive reception of their debut, Fingers Crossed, Architecture in Helsinki released a few redundant follow-ups which wore thin their welcome in the genre. After 2007’s weak Places like this, it was clear the band had to mature. With Moment Bends, the latest release from the Aussie cute-pop group, it was make or break. In all honesty, it sucks.

Perhaps the strangest novelty of Moment Bends is its instrumentation. The joyful bounce that made Architecture enjoyable to listen to is surprisingly absent for long spells on Moment Bends. Synthesizers, cold and lifeless, weigh down parts album, especially the central tracks W.O.W and Sleep Talkin’. But most importantly, you won’t find all the instruments used here in a fourth grade music classroom. The instrumentation is much less carefree, but, at the same time, shamelessly produced.

As a matter of fact, the production on this album is a huge double-edged sword. The studio effect can take credit for the surprisingly catchy hit Contact High and the euphoric instrumentation of Escapee. However, the hyper-produced, often artificial production virtually nullifies any hipster-cred that the Aussies had left. The cute-pop fans, who, to be fair, represented a massive percentage of this band’s initial success, are likely burning any Architecture in Helsinki albums they owned. Whether this abandonment of a great portion of their band’s fan base was a wise move or not is still up in the air. Architecture in Helsinki are no longer playing with recorders and recording in tiny closets; they’re trying to make it big.

However, the worst and most important change on Moment Bends is the singing. What the hell happened? Like, actually, what the hell happened? Architecture in Helsinki’s vocals have been butchered on Moment Bends. This slaughter is best characterized by the closer, B4 3D, which reeks of the singing and dancing boy bands of the early 00s. The vocals on W.O.W make Architecture in Helsinki sound like they’re rolling over and begging the radio to fuck them (to loosely quote Johnny Borrel discussing the Kooks).

Similarly to the cute-pop genre as a whole, Moment Bends’ pluses are its minuses. The lyrics are both cute and immature, the instruments are both peppy and annoying, and the vocals, well, those just suck. The overall coat of polish on the band just looks tacky in the end, and perhaps subtly hints at the lack of overall quality of the band to begin with. Moment Bends reveals that Architecture in Helsinki might just have been a one trick-pony, and a mediocre one at that. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed.

Tracklist:
1. Desert Island
2. Escapee
3. Contact High
4. W.O.W
5. Yr To Go
6. Sleep Talkin'
7. I Know Deep Down

8. That Beep
9. Denial Style
10. Everything's Blue
11. B4 3D

-Owen

Scream 4

2011-05-08T00:44:00.001-04:00

Scream 4 is the newest and last in the Scream series that brings Ghostface into the digital era and in my opinion, he fits in just fine. Wes Craven brings Sydney Prescott (Neve Cambell) back to her home town where nothing could possibly go wrong. Shocker, Ghostface is back and this time he has a digital twist of streaming the killings live to the web. It is up to the hilarious duo of Courtney Cox and David Arquette to find the killer after they have been settled down since the last film. The film tries a little too hard for my taste to integrate the new young cast, but Craven still has the perfect mix of horror and self deprivation that I loved in all three of the other movies. Many critics have said that the first film was the only good one, but I am one of the last people who thinks they have stayed consistently good. It seems like the youth was sort of forced into a movie that would have been perfectly fine without it, but I enjoyed it overall.
My Review: B

-Brendan

Your Highness

2011-05-08T00:12:00.000-04:00

Your Highness is the newest film from many-time stoner movie supporter, Danny McBride, who writes and stars as a spoiled medieval prince. The film also stars James Franco as the more heroic prince, who's bride (Zooey Goddess Deschanel) is kidnapped by an evil warlock (Justin Theroux). This forces both of the princes to go on a quest to save the damsel in distress. Natalie Portman co-stars as a tough archer, also trying to defeat the warlock who killed her family. Portman and Franco put in a great effort to do what she can with one of the dumbest scripts I have heard in a long time, with not a second going by without a masturbation or weed joke. It is obvious that this film was originally a short for Funny or Die that McBride thought he could extend into a feature-length film. If you have to see this movie, see it for the hot and hilarious Portman and Deschanel.
My review: C
-Brendan

Top 10 Worst Movie Sequels

2011-05-06T23:15:00.003-04:00

I recently heard that the year of 2011 will have the most sequels of any other year in the history of film. To mark the occasion, I have compiled a list of my least favorite movie sequels.
-Brendan

10. The Godfather: Part III: Marlon Brando: The greatest. Al Pacino: awesome. Andy Garcia: meh.
P.S. Sofia Coppola, please dear god never act again.
9. Spiderman: The scene where he dances down the street. Enough said.
8. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over: I actually enjoyed the first two, but Robert Rodriguez put absolutely no effort into this terrible film, which was just a bunch of annoying teenagers that were far too old to play little kids playing a terribly boring video game.
7. Ocean's 12: Whenever I see this movie, it's just like all the actors are saying "There is no plot or demonstration of any effort put into making this film, but we are pretty so fork over the cash."
6. Terminator: Judgment Day: In retrospect, this film was actually not that bad of a movie. I think I only didn't like it because the first sequel blew the first away and might have been one of the best sequels of all time, so I expected this movie to be a gift from God when it ended up just being okay.
5. Batman and Robin
4. The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day: A film that once stood for one of the most thought-provoking messages in indie cinema, came back with this meaningless violence once they knew it had become a cult flick. If you are a real true fan of the original, you hopefully have never seen this.
3. Men In Black II: want an effective way to ruin a sequel to a decent movie? A talking pug-dog, that will do the trick.
2. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: I don't know this is one of the clearest things I remember about this movie, but I saw it when I was pretty little and seen all the others already and when I saw it in theaters, all I could think about was "Is Jar-Jar Binks mentally disabled?" I still wonder this today and if you re-watch this crappy movie with that question in mind, you will see it completely differently.
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull: I can not give you a brief one sentence synopsis of why this film sucks so hard because when ever I think about it, its like I go into the stages of grief. First, denial ("I bet it was just a goof, the real one will come out in a couple years!"). Then, anger ("A FLYING SAUCER? REALLY? THAT'S YOUR ENDING?") and finally, i go into a deep depression ("They pissed on Indy's grave, there is no hope for the world"). I think later I might transcribe the tangent I give about this terrible film to random people on the street that takes hours to explain.

Sucker Punch

2011-05-06T22:10:00.000-04:00

Sucker Punch is the newest film from semi-animated director of 300 and Watchmen, Zack Snyder. The film centers around Baby Doll (Emily Browning) being forced into a Brothel/strip club/insane asylum after she tries to kill her evil stepdad. Baby doll and the other girls are forced to dance for high powered politicians and a little something extra (if you know what I mean) and they dream of escape through a parallel universe Babydoll creates where they fight dragons, zombies, samurais and so many more over foes with Snyder-style graphics and production value. When I first saw this trailer, i was so excited to see some good old fashion ass-kicking, but was disappointed to see that it was exactly like an eleven year-old boy had written and directed it. The only thing I can never hold against Snyder and kept my attention through the whole film was the punk-rock, ass-kicking tunes he always brings to his films, with tracks from Bjork, Queen and Beck. I also have to give credit to Snyder for his gorgeous graphics, but without a good storyline like Watchmen or 300, the novelty wore off. I would say if you are a pre-pubescent boy, go check out this flick, but to everyone else out there, just get the soundtrack, listen to it and imagine your own better movie to go with the great music.
My review: C-

-Brendan

Brendan Returns with The MovieFortnight!

2011-05-05T22:48:00.000-04:00

To my many loyal readers-

I have been insanely busy with school and all that stuff that I have had no time to write. I feel so crappy that I have been such a deadweight as Owen and Julian have kept up writing the awesome reviews, that I have created the Movie Fortnight. for the next two weeks, I will write at least 2 reviews/articles a day. I promise to stick to my goal and will write many more as we move into summer.
-Brendan

tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l

2011-05-01T13:26:00.022-04:00

Sound-a-likes: Dirty Projectors, Micachu, Deerhoof

After giving w h o k i l l about ten thorough listens all the way through, I think I can confidently say that this is one of the freshest things I've heard in a while. The main instruments of this album are Merill Garbus' amplified ukelele, and her unmistakeably unique voice. Saxophones, primal drum beats, and a booming bass are also prominent. Oh yeah, and there's tons of looping, drum-wise and vocal-wise, which is an automatic plus in my book. Apparently she went to Africa before the recording of the album, and that seems to rub off on the music quite a bit.

Not only is this one of the freshest things I've heard, it's also quite strong, and in-your-face. Right out of the gate, the album opens with an unexpected beat, and Garbus' powerful vocal delivery. Not the most inviting way to start off the album, but it worked just fine for me. I only had to hear the first minute of the quirky next track Es-So, and I knew I would love this album. Gangsta only pulled me in further, with it's upfront beat and brilliant bass line. It's honestly something I can listen to for hours on end. Plus Garbus contorting her voice to sound like an ambulance makes the track amazing. The saxophones are a nice touch too.

The blissful eccentricity continues on tracks like the primal-sounding Bizness, where Garbus' vocals are especially enchanting, the light-hearted You Yes You, and Killa, the upbeat closing track with a bit of added sass and another classic bass line.

Now, a word of warning. Like I said, this stuff is very strong, and the kookiness only lets up on a few tracks, those being Powa, which is probably my favorite track here, Wooly Wolly Gong, and Riotriot. I can see this album being very off-putting to a lot of people. I can't promise you that you'll like it. You may even find it completely revolting, I don't know. You'll just have to see for yourself. But I can guarantee you that you won't forget it.

Tracklist:
1. My Country
2. Es-So
3. Gangsta
4. Powa
5. Riotriot
6. Bizness
7. Doorstep
8. You Yes You
9. Wooly Wolly Gong
10. Killa

-Julian

Bass Drum of Death - GB City

2011-04-28T12:25:00.012-04:00

Bass Drum of Death’s debut, GB City, hit the lo-fi heavy rock scene this month with little effect. Their rather anonymous effort stands out in no way whatsoever. As more and more bands try to ride the wake left by No Age’s successful splash into the genre of blessed out synthesizers, it is becoming harder and harder for young bands to establish a sound of their own. Just layering static above synthesizers and loud vocals isn’t cutting it anymore. This is the problem that Bass Drum are suffering from: a near complete lack of originality.

The general sound of GB City is evident only ten seconds into the opener, Nerve Jamming. It borrows a couple lines from the Black Keys, gives a quick nod to No Age, but, as a whole, goes nowhere. I found this to be true about most of the album; not much grows or changes. GB City is, for the most part, eleven songs that all are a bit too reminiscent of someone else.

Bass Drum do find themselves a few times on the album, such as on the throwback Heart Attack Kid. However, thirty seconds in one or two songs just isn’t enough to make me take any interest. Bass Drum of Death are a genre band, they would make great playlist fodder, but I don’t recommend picking up GB City. If you like this type of music, you’ve probably already heard everything that’s on here, anyways.

Tracklist:
1. Nerve Jamming
2. GB City
3. Get Found
4. Velvet Itch
5. High School Roaches
6. Spare Room
7. Young Pros
8. Heart Attack Kid
9. Leaves
10. I Could Never Be Your Man
11. Religious Girls

-Owen

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

2011-04-27T15:46:00.013-04:00

I never had any trouble warming up to Fleet Foxes' music. They're one of those bands that's immediately likable upon first listen. There's no thick sonic layers that you have to sift through to get to the heart of the music, it's all right there, and it makes me feel all cozy and warm inside. That's what I love about this band. They're unique in that they're most comforting on cold, wintery days, at least to me.

If you don't know Fleet Foxes, they're characterized by their wonderfully smooth-flowing harmonies, intertwining acoustic guitar lines, endearing, sometimes sad lyrics, and pleasing melodies. They sound like sweethearts, right? At least that's what their music suggests, it must be true.

Helplessness Blues shows more or less the same of what they displayed on their debut, except some of the songs here seem to strive to be more ambitious, which I like. And that certainly rubs off on tracks like Helplessness Blues, my personal favorite here, and The Shrine/An Argument, which actually changes it up a bit towards the end with Andrew Bird-esque string arrangements and a bunch of cacophonous saxophones playing at random. Totally un-Fleet Foxes. And I'm cool with that, I'm glad they're trying something different. Other stand-out tracks include Grown Ocean, a track which seems to sum up the music on the album perfectly, Montezuma, whose harmonies seem especially resonant, and Bedouin Dress, which takes a slightly different route and is lead by a jiggy-sounding violin line and drum combo.

Overall, the songs here are extremely pleasant, and there is just the right amount of exploration past their usual boundaries, but it's missing a lot of the hooks that made me fall in love with their debut. I can see myself listening to this a lot, but I won't remember the songs as well as I did on their debut (with the very strong exception of Helplessness Blues). And that's why this album falls short of something that could have been really great. But none the less, this is actually a really good album, and for everyone who was worrying that this would be a disappointment compared to their debut, I can guarantee you that you'll enjoy this to say the least.

Tracklist:
1. Montezuma
2. Bedouin Dress
3. Sim Sala Bim
4. Battery Kinzie
5. The Plains/Bitter Dancer
6. Helplessness Blues
7. The Cascades
8. Lorelai
9. Someone You'd Admire
10. The Shrine/An Argument
11. Blue-Spotted Tail
12. Grown Ocean

-Julian

The Antlers - Burst Apart

2011-04-25T06:33:00.013-04:00

Let's start with the most notable differences between this record and Hospice. Firstly, the tracks here are much more immediate. While Hospice required more attentiveness to how the songs were developing, and often the songs would just burst open out of nowhere with blazing drum beats and more pronounced vocals, here you know right off the bat how the whole song is going to turn out. In that aspect, I applaud The Antlers, as this is a record that plays in relaxed mode, and I can just listen to it without paying close attention to detail.

The next big difference is that Burst Apart is less moving than its predecessor, and the level of depression has gone way down, lyrics included. Another reason why this will make for an easier listening experience. Easier, but unfortunately less memorable. The first time I listened to Bear, I literally couldn't stop, I had it on repeat for days. Same goes for Sylvia, Two, Kettering, and almost all of the others. From this album, I'll certainly remember the raw scratchiness of the guitar chords on Parentheses or the catchy melody of Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out, but I can't say the same for the rest. It'll take a lot of listens for these songs to really stick. But this doesn't mean I don't like it. It's even one of the best things I've heard all year, and I can see myself returning to it several times in the future. And despite what I said about it being less moving, there are moments of sheer beauty here, like on the opener I Don't Want Love, Corsicana, and even Tiptoe, which puts me in a 1950s New York kind of environment, just kind of roaming the streets on a rainy night, and I love that. There are some other really chill tracks here too, like Rolled Together, which, to me, seems like it could fit in nicely with The Moon & Antarctica, and Hounds, which is one of the most touching, though one of the least memorable.

Overall, The Antlers have taken the safe route for this one, and I'm kind of glad that they did. Though much more accessible, these tracks don't hit as hard as most of the stuff on Hospice, but enough with comparisons. I definitely recommend this album to fans of The Antlers, new and old.

Tracklist:
1. I Don't Want Love
2. French Exit
3. Parentheses
4. No Widows
5. Rolled Together
6. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
7. Tiptoe
8. Hounds
9. Corsicana
10 Putting the Dog to Sleep

-Julian

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

2011-04-18T20:37:00.012-04:00

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s first album sounded like it fell right out of the 90’s. Front man Kip Berman’s hushed, pondering lyrics floated over jangly guitars and lo-fi fuzz. Adorable at times, contemplative at others, the indie pop group’s debut was a great success. Since then, only a few things have changed.

First, Kip Berman is now Kip Berman. The Pains have a definite front man on Belong, their second studio album. Berman’s voice was an integral part of The Pains’ precious sound, and his delicacy was responsible for much of their debut’s success. Vocals, sunk deep into the shoegazing style, were also essential to the group’s initial throwback sound. However, on Belong, Berman's vocals are clearer and more pronounced. This change could have proved costly for the band, yet, surprisingly, it wasn't. Thankfully, The Pains haven’t lost their magic. They’re still as cute and as shameless as they ever were.

However, the biggest change on Belong is evident in the opening seconds. Belong, the album’s title track, sounds very familiar, but there is something definitely different. The Pains have never sounded this hard. Above the fuzz, there is suddenly a commanding lead guitar, fuzzed enough for My Bloody Valentine, loud enough for The Jesus and Mary Chain, yet sharp enough to really get your attention. This significant change is really symbolic of the band’s progress. On The Pains’ debut, their gentle shoegazing was relaxed. But now, The Pains of Being at Heart are still cute, but they're a little more aggressive about it. On Belong, they're adorable and they make sure you know it.

While there is something tantalizingly reminiscent of the past about The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's style, Belong distinctly belongs in 2011. While often Belong can evoke that 90's bliss that they have become recognized for, The Pains no longer sound like a cassette tape. The Pains are growing as a band, and are developing their own sound, freeing them from sentimental labels that could have run them into a rut. All in all, Belong is a great album that shows growth and maturity from the young shoegazers.

Tracklist:

1. Belong

2. Heaven's Gonna Happen Now

3. Heart in your Heartbreak

4. The Body

5. Anne with an E

6. Even in Dreams

7. My Terrible Friend

8. Girl of 1000 Dreams

9. Too Tough

10. Strange

-Owen

Panda Bear - Tomboy

2011-04-06T11:43:00.015-04:00

Panda Bear has been the darling of the indie music scene and hipsters alike ever since the release of Person Pitch back in 2007. But he's one of those musicians that when I listened to him for the first time, I was confused, wondering why people would listen to this and like it (with the exception of Comfy in Nautica). Several months later and a reluctant return to Person Pitch found me singing a totally different tune, and I realized that I never really gave the hypnotic loops and soothing harmonies a chance to sink in.

Let me start by saying that this is a fairly different record than Person Pitch. On Tomboy, although constantly there (he still managed to keep me guessing how he makes the sounds that he does), the experimentation takes a step back and leaves more room for Noah's vocal harmonies to shine. The production is much tighter than the tinny sounds on Person Pitch. Also, while that album contained short loops repeated for long periods of time, the melodies here are stretched out, and the songs open up more. This makes the songs more immediate, especially songs like 'Slow Motion', 'Late Night at the Jetty', and 'Alsatian Darn', which are actually my three favorite tracks here (although I have to say, I don't like the reworking of Noah's vocals on 'Slow Motion' here as much as on the single).

The weak points on this album, though few, are pretty distinct. Friendship Bracelet is a pretty unpleasant experience, I'll admit, Afterburner, being just shy of 7 minutes in length, gets pretty boring after 2 minutes, and even after several listens, I still can't warm up to the title track, whose melody is almost aggressively repetitive. But that's pretty much all that's keeping this album back. Other highlights include 'Scheherezade', a beautiful, single-chord piano ballad that shows Panda Bear in a totally different light, and more unexpectedly 'Drone', which starts off sounding like it will be the most annoying track on the album, but turns out to be one of the most gratifying. And I couldn't think of a more perfect closer than the wonderfully dreamy 'Benefica'.

So there you have it. It's weird enough to hit the spot of experimental-loving Panda Bear fans, but accessible enough for newcomers, and that's why this album succeeds so well.

Tracklist:
1. You Can Count on Me
2. Tomboy
3. Slow Motion
4. Surfer's Hymn
5. Last Night at the Jetty
6. Drone
7. Alsatian Darn
8. Scheherazade
9. Friendship Bracelet
10. Afterburner
11. Benfica

*highlighted = highlights (duh!)

-Julian

The Strokes - Angles

2011-04-05T14:25:00.010-04:00

I have to admit, the announcement of a new Strokes album last January wasn't terribly thrilling. I didn't like First Impressions that much, although it has some really good songs (Jukebox, Fear of Sleep), and I figured that this would be a similar trail of boring melodies and over-produced songs. But the release of their excellent lead single Under Cover of Darkness is what got me all giddy. That and it's similarly great b-side You're So Right. But I guess I was tricked. Unfortunately nothing else on the album matches up to the exuberance of those two songs. Almost everything else takes an unexpected 80s approach, which doesn't settle with me at all, especially on 'Two Kinds of Happiness' and 'Games'.

Although I have to say, the opener 'Maccu Piccu' is a damn catchy track, and the power beats and synths are simmered down just enough to make it enjoyable. 'Taken for a Fool' is a good little number too. 'Metabolism' is decent, but it tries too hard to be the cool, out-of-place track, however 'Gratisfaction' is the most unfitting one here, with its poppy beat and happy guitar strums, and those tracks just happen to be elaborately placed right next to each other.

Angles closes on a slightly positive note (positive compared to the previous tracks) with 'Life is Simple in the Moonlight', a pretty neutral track that sounds nice with the rest of the album, but pretty boring alone. Another thing to add is that Casablancas has lost his attitude almost completely here, which is partially why I loved them so much in the first place. No more screaming into the mic for this guy I guess.

Overall, it's just descent. 'So decent' would sound too much like a compliment.
You literally can't even compare their music with anything from Is This It anymore. The songs are all polished and shiny now. But then again, they're evolving, that should be a good thing. So I guess it would be naive to say that I WANT THE OLD STROKES BACK!!! Especially in all caps like that. But I think that this case is different.

Tracklist:
1. Maccu Piccu
2. Under Cover of Darkness
3. Two Kinds of Happiness
4. You're So Right
5. Taken for a Fool
6. Games
7. Call Me Back
8. Gratisfaction
9. Metabolism
10. Life is Simple in the Moonlight

-Julian

Destroyer - Kaputt

2011-03-25T10:38:00.003-04:00

Destroyer is Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Bejar's most consistent project. Bejar has collaborated with The New Pornographers and Spencer Krug in recent years, but his best work has always been with Destroyer. On Kaputt, his ninth studio album under that name, Bejar is at his best. Often, on indie rock/pop albums, guitars are blissful, harmonies sweet, or xylophones pretty, but it is rare to stumble on something truly beautiful. Kaputt is just that. Bejar's gentle vocals and soothing saxophones and synthesizers are the best they have ever been.

A genre is hard to place on Kaputt. Equally as fit as a backdrop to a quiet dinner party as a late night drive, Kaputt is incredibly soothing. Bejar sings softly over natural synthesizers and saxophones for the majority of the album. He slides into a groove within the first few notes of Chinatown and rides it to the finish of the album. Kaputt has many small crescendos; it is filled with subtle peaks and grand valleys between them.

Occasionally rambling but always meaningful, Bejar's lyrics tie everything together. His voice is a little raspy and a little low by itself, but combined with the gentle swells of the music and lyrics, it fits. His lyrics, his melodies, his harmonies, and his instrumentation all fit together amazingly.

You'll never guess just what I've seen...

A horse abandoned midstream...

Quatrain etched on a dirtpile...

Quatrain etched, hey that's your style!

Bejar sings and we can almost hear the smile on his face. Bejar opens up his heart on Kaputt, letting us join in for the ride. On his ninth album, Bejar has made something special: Kaputt is beautiful.

-Owen

James Blake - James Blake

2011-03-17T21:18:00.004-04:00

James Blake finally releases his first full-length LP. Reading that sentence, one that popped up on just about every music blog worth its weight in peanuts, music critics everywhere started drooling. The minimalist keyboard-loving Blake had been lauded for his series of early EPs and singles. So much so, he was crowned the “prince of dubstep” by fancy critics who have their own offices across the music industry.

Blake’s synthed-over singing bounces above his often quirky synthed-over piano. His voice is just natural enough to avoid the emotionless purely electronic sound. However, he’s no Ray Charles on the piano. However effectively Blake may toy with dramatic pauses and gentle vocals, he still often sounds like a hopeless romantic robot poet. Let me explain.

Blake is ambitious. He shoots for emotional, electronic and naturally balanced, and techno-driven music. Let’s assess these in order. Blake's emotional melodies, many of which are quite beautiful, sound flat against his reverb production. Blake sounds like he should be hunched over in a dark room, writing down deep thoughts with a quill. Instead, he’s autotuning them. As far as balance is concerned, the “prince of dubstep” is too electric, too un-natural to achieve the simple emotion-evoking music that he was aiming for. And as far as dubstep goes, the last minute of I Never Learnt to Share is pretty sweet, but that’s about all there is.

On his debut, James Blake walks a very fine line. On one side, he’s a weak singer-songwriter hiding behind his producing. On the other, he's a revolutionary pop artist, one bringing an old sense of soul into a new medium. Which one he actually is, I really don’t know. However, after watching tons of live performances, I am starting to suspect the latter. Despite my criticisms of his debut, I have faith in this kid. I think he might be the real deal, but his debut just wasn’t that good. Fancy critics sitting in your big offices, give the kid a chance to prove himself before you call him a prince.

-Owen

The Adjustment Bureau

2011-03-13T12:09:00.007-04:00

The Adjustment Bureau is the directorial debut from George Nolfi, screenwriter for the film and other films like The Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean's 12. The film is about a politician (Matt Damon) running for the New York senate seat, when he falls for a dancer (Emily Blunt) right before a huge speech, leading him to make the speech of his life. One day on his way to work, he stumbles upon a group of men in fedoras who have frozen time and they tell him that if he ever tries to find the girl again, he will ruin both his future and hers. Of course, they defy the odds and go against the group of people who control their fate to stay together. The script itself is rather ingenious and the performances are adequate, but what really lost me is that the film can really never decide if it is a love story, an Inception copycat, or the Bourne Supremacy. I would say that it is a great film to see after you start to miss Inception, but it didn't have the performances, direction or storyline Inception had.
My Review: B-
-Brendan

Dumbo Gets Mad - Elephants At The Door

2011-03-12T09:13:00.016-05:00

Last year, Italian one-man-band Dumbo Gets Mad went into the making of this album with the mission statement, "No matter what it sounds like, it has to be psychedelic!" And as it turns out, that statement wasn't so far off. The sounds here flirt with 60s pop at times, but overall achieve total psychedelic bliss. And when I say psychedelic, I mean it. It really doesn't get more trippy than this.

The stand out track here for me is definitely 'Plumy Tale', which he actually released last year. The elevated chorus is breathtaking, while the delicious bassline, main synth melody and saxophones pull the song together so gracefully. Nothing else really reaches the heights of this song. Eclectic Prawn, however, rolls along with its catchy vintage-sounding guitar rhythm and drum beat quite nicely, and somewhere in the middle, the synths power through and the track gets magical. Two other fantastic tracks are 'Marmelade Kids' and 'Harmony'. The former sounds like it's from outer space, while the latter is way too catchy with its shuffling beat and skippable melody (by skippable I mean, like, the act of skipping with your legs, not skipping as in skipping songs. Just thought I'd clear that up). 'Raymond Play' starts off sounding like a Super Mario Bros level, if Mario was tripping on 1-up mushrooms.

However, the album it not without its weak points. It does at times get too caught up in synths, which distract from the melodies. Plus it gets a little too quirky to be enjoyable to the fullest. Luckily, there is only one dud on Elephants ('Why Try?'), and even that is kind of catchy. For a debut album from someone practically unheard of, the sounds here are totally fresh and wonderfully exploratory. Dumbo Gets Mad is secretly leading the 10s in the right direction.

Tracklist:
1. Limbo's Village
2. Plumy Tale
3. Marmelade Kids
4. Sleeping Over
5. Harmony
6. Why Try?
7. Eclectic Prawn
8. Self-esteem
9. Raymond Play
10. You Make You Feel

-Julian

Bibio - Mind Bokeh

2011-03-04T14:38:00.012-05:00

Over a span of five studio albums (and a string of annoying arguments that Bibio is essentially a rip-off of Boards of Canada), Bibio a.k.a. Stephen Wilkinson has transformed his sound from vintage-sounding, lo-fi folk songs, to a whole range of genres that became apparent on his last album, Ambivalence Avenue. There was the spastic electronic blips on Fire Ant and Sugarette, the more pop-oriented efforts of the title track and Lovers' Carvings, the straight-up funkiness of Jealous of Roses, but also the quiet, folk sound of that made up most of his sound prior to the album, and most of the songs on the album blended those genres together quite well. That's why AA remains one of my favorite albums of all time.

And fortunately, Bibio has decided to keep to the genre blending for Mind Bokeh. Only this time, the songs in general are a bit harsher and harder to get along with. There's K is for Kelson, for example, which is so outrageously poppy and upbeat, it can be really off-putting. Or the Phoenix-esque song Take Off Your Shirt, which adds 'rock' to Wilkinsons vast musical pallet. I get that he's trying something new, and I think that's great, but the song just isn't that strong. It sounds like he thought of the riff and didn't know what else to do to make the song longer. But I think it fits well with the rest of the album, despite it's being completely different.

More similar to Ambivalence Avenue is the track Light Seep, a clear call-back to the funkadelic Jealous of Roses. Unfortunately it doesn't manage to match up to the brilliance of Jealous of Roses, but it's still a great track. My favorite song from the album though, is the opener Excuses. It opens the album with eerie noise and rain, until the beat starts up, and Wilkinson's hazy vocals come in, and at about 4:20, the beat goes whack and the track gets awesome. Anything New is another favorite, although the noise gets overbearing towards the end. The song Pretentious starts off so perfectly, until the vocals come into the mix and screw up the vibe. Wilkinsons vocals on this one sound a little too overdone. Plus the song sort of gets tedious with an overusage of electronics and repeating melodies. The last minute features a very nice sax solo, though. Artists' Valley sounds much too muddled, and Mind Bokeh starts out great, but fails to go anywhere after that. The last song Saint Christopher is a much needed 6-an-a-half-minute breath of fresh air, and a track that you can get lost in the beauty of.

Simplicity is something that this album needs, but doesn't lack completely. What it lacks is the really memorable melodies that previous Bibio albums had. It's blissfully all over the place, like Ambivalence Avenue, but it's a little too eccentric and harder to warm up to. This is in no way a complete disappointment, but it's nothing to go nuts about.

Tracklist:
1. Excuses
2. Pretentious
3. Anything New
4. Wake Up!
5. Light Seep
6. Take Off Your Shirt
7. Artists' Valley
8. K is for Kelson
9. Mind Bokeh
10. More Excuses
11. Feminine Eye
12. Saint Christopher

-Julian

Cut Copy - Zonoscope

2011-02-27T14:42:00.009-05:00

From Cut Copy, there has always been a sense of instant satisfaction. Short songs off of In Ghost Colors and Bright Like Neon Love bombarded us with hooks that were impossible to forget. On Zonoscope, that instant catch is gone. For better of for worse, there’s a lot more going on.

The songs are no longer simple three-and-a-half minute dancehall anthems. This is immediately obvious as the opening track, Need You Now, makes you listen a little closer than normal. It sounds a familiar, but at the same time, a little different that usual Cut Copy. In other words it’s a reassuring start. After establishing that sense of comfort, the ridiculously catchy Take Me Over plays, and then that’s it. Things just get weirder.

Synthesizers are sharper and the music sounds a bit more spaceship-y. The distinctively retro song titles are replaced by names like Blink and You’ll Miss a Revolution, which is, to be fair, still a great song, but a terrible name nonetheless. And with the disappearance of cool names like Bright Neon Payphone and Voices in Quartz comes the disappearance of that bright sound that Cut Copy used to have.

With Zonoscope, Cut Copy were trying to explore new areas their sound. Recording in an empty warehouse, they were trying to revamp and revitalize their music. Success in this regard could have been excellent, if they had pulled it off. Unfortunately, the new "explorative" moments are boring, bland, and uninteresting, and weigh down the effortless charm that Cut Copy radiates

However, Cut Copy still shine through this gooey “explorative” coating that has covered their sound. The dance pop veterans are so good at what they do that even when they try their hardest to not be themselves, you can still hear them. They probably could have smeared their sound in dogshit, and it still would have sounded good. Zonoscope doesn't do what it was likely supposed to do, but it's not bad. I like it.

-Owen

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

2011-02-20T10:56:00.017-05:00

Following the anticipation that has been building up since last Monday when Radiohead released the information that their eighth album was going to be released on Saturday (actually turned out to be Friday), here's a full track-by-track review of The King of Limbs.

Bloom:
An odd keyboard loop fades in and starts the album off, then 4 synthed blips, and a clumsy beat begins. The song sounds as if it's stumbling over itself, until Thom's hauntingly reverbed vocals come into the messy mix and smooth everything over, along with Colin's bassline. I can't say I've heard an opening track to any Radiohead album that's set the mood as well as Bloom.

Morning Mr Magpie:
This might be my favorite song off of the album. More of the same structure of the first track, it has the schizophrenic beat, the echoey vocals, only this song is a little more eerie. Somewhere in the middle, the beat drops, and Thom's spooky vocals float about. Try to imagine you're in the middle of a dank, cold forest, at night, lost, running from something. I think that would set the right mood.

Little by Little:
Much more catchy than the first too, still quite dark though. Most notable on this track is that the beat is clear and the melody is more Radiohead-esque. I can tell that this is going to be a live favorite. I can already see Thom doing some crazy dance onstage.

Feral:
The beat here is much more straight forward, but the warped vocals are so scattered that it's hard to make sense of the song. I'd say that it would fit nicely with Thom's solo album.

Lotus Flower:
One of the more pleasant tracks. Thom's voice climbs high here, which could be very soothing for some, but a bit unnerving for others, as his pitch stays the same throughout, and it can become tedious. For me, the song doesn't evolve enough.

Codex:
This slow-churning piano ballad might not reach the heights of Pyramid Song, but it certainly comes close, and it surpasses the likes of In Rainbows closer Videotape by a long shot.

Give Up the Ghost:
For those of you who were listening to this album scratching at your eyes, begging for the electronic blips and confusing rhythms to stop, and for some sort of acoustic song to come up, well this is as close as you're going to get. The presence of the guitar here almost makes it feel like a Department of Eagles song. The song stays relatively subdued throughout, as Thom warbles innocently "Don't hurt me", and several sonic layers of vocals comes up towards the end. Pretty, but underwhelming.

Separator:
Couldn't think of a more perfect way to end an album. The quick but simple drum track and light hearted singing really lightens up the mood, especially when the playful guitar melody comes in about halfway through. The last couple of minutes of the song really prove to be the best two minutes of the album. Thom's singing "Wake me up, wake me up" towards the end, and the syncopated guitar notes descending feel distant, but very, very blissful.

So to wrap up, Radiohead have released another solid LP that has turned out to be one of their most consistent records to date, but feels a little more like a follow up to Thom Yorke's solo album, and unfortunately lacks on the memorable scale. Where In Rainbows had the awesome distortion of Bodysnatchers, or the excessively beautiful string arrangements on Nude, this album will have to make do with Little by Little, or Morning Mr Magpie. Of course I know that they're not going to make another OK Computer or The Bends, but that doesn't mean they can't pull through and make another superb record like In Rainbows. I'm curious as to whether they'll release more tracks on this double vinyl that comes out in May. In the mean time, I'll enjoy these songs just fine.

As an album, I'd give it an 8. As a Radiohead album, a 6.5. Also, if you don't like it at first, give it a few more listens and then see.

Tracklist:
1. Bloom
2. Morning Mr Magpie
3. Little by Little
4. Feral
5. Lotus Flower
6. Codex
7. Give Up the Ghost
8. Separator

-Julian

Blue Valentine

2011-02-18T11:04:00.004-05:00

Blue Valentine is the debut film by director Derek Cianfrance and was the darling of last years Sundance festival. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are a couple of about 5 years in suburban New York. The film constantly cuts between their current life with their young daughter and their failing marriage and their budding romance in Brooklyn. Michelle Williams's Cindy starts the film as a quiet girl in med-school who is caught in a relationship with a unsensitive jock until Ryan Gosling, the perfect mold of a mid ninties hipster, comes along and sweeps her off her feet. I don't want to spoil the movie, but their relationship goes through some rough patches before they settle down and make a family. The directors choice to show the beauty of budding love and the complete despare of dying love brings the audience right into their relationship and brings you on an emotional rollercoaster and breaks your heart in the end. This story affected me so much because it was unlike any recent romance films in the way that their relationship was so believeable and the acting on both of the lead's parts makes their chemistry and their complete hatred between each other scary realistic. Williams is nominate for the Oscar for her preformance, but Gosling not getting a nomination is one of the biggest snubs of the year. I would reccomend this movie to anyone, as long that they are braced to the fact that this is the farthest thing from a happy ending rom-com to hit theaters. This movie will not only wow you, but it will stay with you for a very long time and make you consider the relationships in your life.
My Review: A
-Brendan

Yuck - Yuck

2011-02-17T15:24:00.008-05:00

Yuck is a London-based band that's slowly been picking up speed within the blogosphere over the past few months. Almost everyone is drawing comparisons to bands like Yo La Tengo and Dinosaur Jr., and it's hard to argue with that. Basically, 'Yuck' embodies everything that I love about 90s indie rock, with layers of pop that are thick, but not too thick.

The melodies may be familiar and a little too forgettable, but the songs are crafted so well that it's hard to complain. Songs like Get Away, The Wall, Holing Out, Operation, and the 7-minute, slow-burning last track Rubber show that Yuck mean no bullshit, while Shook Down, Suicide Police, Suck, Sunday, and Rose Gives A Lily take a step back and explore a more poppy territory.

I can't find any tracks that I particularly dislike here. Even though the songs might not pack a powerful enough punch to satisfy to the fullest, Yuck's nostalgic melodies and youthful-sounding guitar lines have made this one of the most listenable albums of the year so far.

Tracklist:
1. Get Away
2. The Wall
3. Shook Down
4. Holing Out
5. Suicide Policeman
6. Georgia
7. Suck
8. Stutter
9. Operation
10. Sunday
11. Rose Gives a Lilly
12. Rubber

-Julian

Kingdom of Heaven: Hollywood vs. Reality

2011-02-17T08:20:00.002-05:00

The Kingdom of Heaven: Hollywood vs. Reality
By Brendan Zinser

As it is with many Hollywood movies based on true stories, The Kingdom of Heaven was greatly embellished for the sake of making an interesting film. It was directed by notorious action film director Ridley Scott, director of such huge-budget time pieces like this one that were based on true stories such as “Gladiator” and “American Gangster”. However, Kingdom of Heaven was by far the most historically inaccurate film and definitely does not do the remarkable true story justice. It is obvious that Scott did not think about huge historical inaccuracies in the film such as the main character Balian and the leader of the defense against the attacks on Jerusalem, was in fact, in real life, just a very good warrior in the battle and served a very small part in the actual story. The film depicts Balian as a black smith commoner who was thrown into the world of royalty and kings when his illegitimate father dies and makes him continue his work as a lord. However, in real life, Balian knew his father well, was not a commoner, but was raised with the royalty and the elite and not a commoner or a blacksmith. This was obviously left out because making Balian a regular average guy who was forced to carry on his fathers legacy, but an elitist that was trained from a young age to be a warrior. Moreover, there were also great directorial mistakes that Scott made that are bafflingly inaccurate, like the fact that Jerusalem in the film was completely flat, making it perfect for attacking armies, when Jerusalem is actually one of the most mountainous areas of the world. Also, the depiction of the relationship of the Christians and the Muslims was greatly offensive, depicting the Christians as great bullies trying to get Muslim land, when in real life, the Christians and Muslims mostly stayed out of each others ways. In Conclusion, it is clear to see that Ridley Scott put half of the effort into the accuracy of the story as he did spending millions of dollars and lots of time on making the epic battle scenes. In my opinion, I did not like the movie at all because I thought it made a film that was way too long, out of a main character that served little purpose in the real story, and although the battle scenes and sets of medieval times were great at depicting at what it looked like, the script and acting gave the viewer very little in what it actually felt like to be in Medieval times.

Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings

2011-02-10T21:00:00.005-05:00

First off, I am just going to tell you that this album is amazing and I love it. Okay, now that that is out of the way, we can talk about some of its finer points.Cloud Nothings, or basically nineteen-year-old Dylan Baldi and a couple friends, are a something more than just a great noise pop band.

They are, like they should be, young and loud. They have that fantastic upbeat feeling of Matt and Kim combined with the musical capabilities of a much more experienced group. However, this cleverness isn’t shoved in your face; Cloud Nothings aren’t snotty Ivy preps, but they aren’t bumming gigs in dumpy LA clubs either. They’re just amazing, and their humility makes them that much more fun to listen to. They’re so good that they don’t have to rub it in your face. The high-powered fuzzed-out guitars and raw lyrics fit together perfectly to give Cloud Nothings an amazing sound. Every track makes its own contribution to the album.

However, Cloud Nothings are something more than just a great noise pop band. What sets them apart is more of an intangible attribute. It’s in the middle of Not Important where Baldi's voice crack transitions to perfect harmony in under ten seconds. It’s that comical anger on You’re No Good at Anything that can only make you chuckle. It’s the simple 1:10 seconds of joy that makes up Heartbeat. Whatever it is, Baldi has it. And it’s amazing.

-Owen

Kyle Bobby Dunn - A Young Person's Guide to Kyle Bobby Dunn

2011-02-03T10:03:00.005-05:00

I'll admit, this kind of music has never really been my cup of tea. Call it what you want; ambient, minimalist, drone, most suiting would be a mix of all three.

A Young Person's Guide is brooklyn-based (originally from Canada) composer Kyle Bobby Dunn's fourth LP, and a fine addition to his previous works. The songs here tackle many ideas while flowing effortlessly between each drone. Though some tracks might seem to stretch out for longer than they need, the lines are never blurred between each idea. Most prominent are Butel, The Tributary (For Voices Lost), Promenade, Bonaventure's Finest Hour, and Sets of Four, in which the drones actually cut out and a pleasant piano melody repeats throughout the song.

If you're the kind of person who digs minimalistic music, this album is 90 minutes of drone heaven. I've really never heard ambient music done better, but unfortunately for me, I don't see a future for it in my music library. The album tends to lose me through its ever expanding atmosphere. But again, if this type of music is your thing, definitely check it out.

-Julian

Cake - Showroom of Compassion

2011-01-29T19:29:00.005-05:00

A handful of albums have lived up to high expectations so far this year, but Cake has provided mixed results.

Their first LP in six years, Showroom of Compassion soars past 2004’s Pressure Chief and challenges their excellent 2001 Comfort Eagle for the some of their best work. Lead vocalist John McCrea continues to write songs in his conversational register. Thus, it’s safe to say that Showroom is no lyrical masterpiece. However, the band is tight. Harmonies, guitars, and drums blend very well. Since they rarely have a killer solo part, it is easy to admire Cake’s songs as one unified piece of music with no divisions between melody and harmony.

The album really kicks off on Long Time, a song whose funky bass and great harmonies make it hard to put Showroom of Compassion down. Mustache Man (Wasted) is a perfect example of everything Cake can achieve with brass, handclaps, and an unforgettable hook. There’s more to enjoy on Teenage Pregnancy and Sick of You before Easy to Crash, a song that tiptoes along the fine line between a tune that is perhaps is a little too poppy and song that sounds like disgusting radio-playlist fodder. It’s an odd moment for Cake, a band that has managed to avoid sounding normal and boring for so many years. The album isn’t devoid of filler as the final couple songs are mediocre at best.

To try to avoid using cake as a metaphor would be impossible. Like an average slice of cake, Showroom of Compassion is light and enjoyable in places but also tends to be bland as a whole. The quality of the songs is inconsistent and the vocals are a bit boring, making Showroom of Compassion a just a little bit more than an average album.

-Owen

Disappears - Guider

2011-01-27T14:54:00.010-05:00

Disappears' latest LP is a handful of rambunctious, reverb-filled tracks whose unrelenting drum beats pull the songs along. It's also, for the most part, a handful of nowhere-going melodies and flat vocals.

The album does start off on a very strong note with the hard-hitting 'Superstition', but unfortunately as the album continues, the noise lets up a bit, and the songs start feeling more safe and are aware of their limited boundaries, especially Not Romantic and Guider. That is, until the epic closer 'Revisiting' comes on. That song is basically 15 minutes of awesome. Though a heartbeat guitar line and pounding percussion stay the same throughout, the constant energy never dies down even a bit, and it doesn't get boring in the least. This song even made me decide to give the album an extra star and a half.

It's distortion is sonically pleasing, and it's far from lifeless, but I expected more from Guider. Do check out 'Revisiting' though. And 'Superstition' while you're at it.

Tracklist:
01. Superstition
02. Not Romantic
03. Halo
04. Guider
05. New Fast
06. Revisting

-Julian

Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

2011-01-26T09:27:00.014-05:00

This past week, I've listened to this album in its entirety about 15 or 16 times. I'm probably listening to it as you read this. I keep thinking I'll get bored of it, but I don't, the songs just grow on me even more. That fact alone is enough for me to call it, without a doubt, the best album of 2011 so far.

Back in 2009, Smith Westerns released their self-titled debut, which consisted of 10 very lo-fi, noisy tunes with upbeat melodies and a reckless sound that totally gave off the vibe of teenagers just having fun. Not only does Dye It Blonde show maturity, but it's also cleaned up and polished their rough sound, while still sounding alive with tons of color. The seemingly effortless distorted guitar riffs on every single track have created a trademark sound for the band, while the overbearing happiness on tracks like Imagine Pt. 3, Only One, and Smile makes me feel like my face is melting off. In a good way, of course. Plus, the traditional pop melodies and cheesy love lyrics make this album feel almost nostalgic.

The only thing keeping Dye It Blonde from excelling even further is the loose and weak vocals. Although I have to say, they do fit the youthful spirit of the album pretty well. The songs End of the Night and Dance Away seemed a little empty at first, but after several listens, I find that they fit perfectly with all the other pop brilliance going on.

With an album devoid of fillers, Smith Westerns make it to the top of my list for bands that I have high hopes for in the future. It's hard to choose between an 8 and 8.5 for this one, but considering that I can't stop listening to it, I'll give it the latter.

Tracklist:
1. Weekend
2. Still New
3. Imagine Pt. 3
4. All Die Young
5. Fallen In Love
6. End of the Night
7. Only One
8. Smile
9. Dance Away
10. Dye the World

-Julian

Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil

2011-01-24T16:59:00.019-05:00

On their last album, Deerhoof cut straight to the point and occasionally got really loud with their bursting power chords and insane drumbeats, like on The Tears and Music of Love and My Purple Past. But in general, they kept it subdued, something that they do even more on Deerhoof vs. Evil. The kookiness is still there, it's always been, but on songs like No One Asked to Dance, they cut the crap and lead singer Satomi Matsuzaki's soft vocals really shine, which makes it a key track on the album. It's also nice to hear these moments balanced with Deerhoof's classic style.

While bizarrely flustered tracks are what you'd expect from this band, some songs end up sounding a little too weird, even creepy. Luckily though, there are a few kick-ass tunes here that can satisfy the acquired taste that's required when listening to these guys. Stand-out tracks include Qui Dorm Només Somia, Behold a Marvel in the Darkness (my personal favorite), No One Asked to Dance, Let's Dance the Jet, and Secret Mobilization. While it's an admirable effort, they've failed to show anything new on Deerhoof vs. Evil, and the tracks at the end are all pretty dull. If you're a Deerhoof fan, you know exactly what you're getting here, minus the rocking out more often. For non Deerhoof fans, I might hesitate, as their all-over-the-place musical style might take some effort to get used to.

Tracklist:
1. Qui Dorm, Només Somia
2. Behold a Marvel in the Darkness
3. The Merry Barracks
4. No One Asked to Dance
5. Let's Dance the Jet
6. Super Duper Rescue Heads!
7. Must Fight Current
8. Secret Mobilization
9. Hey I Can
10.C'Moon
11.I Did Crimes for You
12.Almost Everyone, Almost Always

-Julian

Peter Bjorn & John: "Breaker, Breaker"

2011-01-20T16:53:00.005-05:00

Swedish indie rock outfit PB&J have released a killer little track that I can't stop listening to called "Breaker, Breaker". Download it for free here!

Their new album 'Gimme Some' comes out March 28th in England, Sweden, and similar places, and March 29th in North America.

-Julian

Tapes 'n Tapes - Outside

2011-01-20T15:48:00.009-05:00

Let's start with the negatives and get those out of the way first. Tapes 'n Tapes haven't been as good as they were back in 2005 when their debut album was released, that's apparent. On The Loon, you can hear the energy of each song bursting at the seems, while the tunes on Outside tend to rely on sheer pep and less captivating melodies, something that made their second album Walk It Off so dull.

On the positive side, Outside is definitely a comeback from the sonically empty Walk It Off. The songs also vary much more making it a diverse album. The melodies might not be brilliant, but there's something about many of the songs here that makes me want to listen to them over and over again, namely the opener Badaboom, One In The World, Nightfall, Freak Out, The Saddest of All Keys, and Hidee Ho, which rolls along slowly at the start, but toward the end, picks itself up and socks you in the face with searing guitars and shouty vocals.

Some other songs feel a little too loose and lack drive, like Desert Plain, SWM, and a couple tracks toward the end, but Outside has enough juicy guitar licks and energetic vocals to satisfy anyone. Early Tapes fans might complain that this record doesn't have the originality and raw charm that The Loon had, but in my opinion, it only gained what it lost on their last album.

Tracklist:
01. Badaboom
02. SWM
03. One In The World
04. Nightfall
05. Desert Plane
06. Outro
07. Freak Out
08. The Saddest Of All Keys
09. Hidee Ho
10. People You Know
11. On And On
12. Mighty Long

-Julian

Girls - Broken Dreams Club EP

2011-01-14T17:31:00.010-05:00

There are certain times in life when I really wonder what I was thinking. Like those times when I leave a pot of boiling water on the back burner and forget about it, or when I use really bad metaphors to describe what I’m trying to say. What I’m getting at here is that I completely chose to ignore Girls’ new EP last year. Although their debut, Album, was good, I was among the many who thought it was overrated. So when their Broken Dreams Club EP was released and received many similarly amazing reviews, I assumed it was more of the same.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Broken Dreams Club, while only 6 tracks, is spectacular. The opening tune, The Oh So Protective One is deliciously reminiscent of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, while Heartbreaker is the song Conor Oberst wishes he had written. The third and fourth tracks, Broken Dreams Club and Alright continue the quest for really simple yet beautiful tunes. Then there is a Substance, a song that sounds like it was written and performed by a band with decades more experience and maturity. The 7-minute closer, Carolina, meanders around for about 4 and half minutes, exploring pleasant dissonances before erupting into gorgeous simple melodic lines to close the album.

Despite only having six songs, Broken Dreams Club feels like it could be an entire album. There’s enough here to entertain you for a while, and it’s all well done.

-Owen

The Decemberists - The King is Dead

2011-01-13T07:47:00.013-05:00

I can't say I've ever had a favorite Decemberists album. I love their first four albums all pretty much equally. Castaways and Cutouts introduced them as a unique band with poetic lyrics and intricate melodies. Her Magesty and Picaresque did pretty much the same. The Crane Wife was especially ambitious and progressed the band even further. Their fifth album The Hazards of Love has some fantastic songs (namely The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid, A Bower Scene, Won't Want For Love), but seems a little too over the top to be a Decemberists album. However, on The King is Dead, we can hear a refreshing return to their earlier material.

The opening track 'Don't Carry It All' sets the mood perfectly and makes it clear with its resonant harmonica and powerful harmonies that The Decemberists have scrapped the whole epic, dramatic progressive-rock sound from H.O.L, while still retaining the captivating, lively folk-rock sound that made me start listening to them in the first place. The next few songs keep the pace going and the vibrant melodies don't let down. Towards the end though, the songs start to get weary and a little bland, but luckily the last track 'Dear Avery' ends the album comfortably.

Clearly The Decemberists weren't looking for another huge album. They chose a very familiar route for this one, but in general the songs on the second half of it are fairly dull and too neutral to stand out. I don't like it as much as their first albums, but I could see myself listening to The King is Dead in the future, and it's certainly a good road trip album, like any Decemberists album.

Tracklist:
1. Don't Carry It All
2. Calamity Song
3. Rise to Me
4. Rox in the Box
5. January Hymn
6. Down By the Water
7. All Arise!
8. June Hymn
9. This Is Why We Fight
10. Dear Avery

-Julian

Best Breakout Performances of 2010

2011-01-12T10:22:00.003-05:00

Best Breakout Performances of 2010
I am very proud of the performances of great leading men like Colin Firth and James Franco this year, but when it comes to the breakout performances of 2010, this one belongs almost entirely to the girls. I hope you enjoy the list.
-Brendan

5. Hailee Steinfeld-True Grit: I am not the biggest fan of the film True Grit, but what made the film so intriguing to me was the ability of this young actress to carry herself so well through such a gritty movie and still be able to look like the star next to leading men like Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges.
4. Emma Stone- Easy A: I have noticed this girl in her silly and ditzy performances as “that girl” in Superbad and Zombieland. But, I never would have expected the comedic talent of this actress. Her performance in Easy A made this dumb teen comedy completely hilarious dry humor and quips. I expect to see great things from this girl.
3. Andrew Garfield- The Social Network: This young Brit truly was one of the best parts of the social network for me and gave a very thought provoking performance as the Facebook founder’s unknown co-founder. If he was not up against such great supporting performances like Christian Bale, I would give this boy the Oscar
2. Chloe Mortez- Kick Ass: If you have seen the film Kick Ass, I don’t think I even have to explain the pure awesomeness of this girls performance. But, if you haven’t Chloe gave by far the most hilariously shocking performance as the murderous super hero, Hit-Girl. I have not seen her in the new vampire flick Let Me In, but I expect another mind blowing performance.
1. Mia Wasikowska- Alice in Wonderland, The Kids are Alright: I would like to be the first to start the campaign for this young actress to get an Oscar nod for her astounding performance in The Kids Are Alright. However, this young Aussie actor will remain under the radar for her performance as a girl truly losing her innocence, but she will remain in my mind the breakout actor of 2010.

January Songs

2011-01-07T13:16:00.004-05:00

Here's something cool. Darren Hayman, who was the lead singer of Hefner, is releasing a song every day for the month of January on his blog. For those of you who don't know, Hefner was an indie rock band who release a couple of very good albums in the late 90s, and unfortunately broke up in 2002. You can check out the blog here. Most of the songs so far are pretty good. Who knows, maybe he'll release an album sometime this year.

Happy listening!

-Julian

Our Most Anticipated Albums of 2011

2011-01-06T17:31:00.008-05:00

2011 is already looking good so far for music, with a bunch of great bands scheduling their new releases in January and February. The promising Decemberists and Cloud Nothings releases in January and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's new LP in March are just a couple albums that should keep us busy until several bigger releases with names we don't even know yet come out later this year (Coldplay and Radiohead, we're looking at you guys). We hope we'll like most of these, but even if we don't, we're sure there will be plenty of really important stuff to talk about this year.Here are some of the albums that we're looking forward to the most, grouped by month:

January:
Cake - Showroom of Compassion
Cloud Nothings – Cloud Nothings
The Decemberists – The King is Dead
Cold War Kids - Mine is Yours
Destroyer – Kaputt
Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean
Smith Westerns – Dye it Blonde
Tapes n Tapes - Outside
Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil

February:
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key
Cut Copy – Zonoscope

March:
Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong
Panda Bear – Tomboy
Peter Bjorn and John - Gimme Some

Here are those previously mentioned albums that we don't know much about yet except they're coming out at some point this year. We hope.
The Shins – TBA
Radiohead – TBA
Death Cab for Cutie – TBA
The Strokes – TBA
Neon Indian – TBA
Santigold – TBA
Beck - TBA
Islands - TBA
Portishead - TBA

- Owen and Julian

Wilderness Survival - On Belay Belay On

2011-01-06T07:35:00.013-05:00

If there was one record that had to sum up the decade in indie music, 'On Belay Belay On' would be it. It's not as though any bands in particular come to mind when I listen to Wilderness Survival, but it's more like a mesh of past indie bands that I hear. There's the sweet yet flat tracks like We Fall Asleep and Drive Me Wild, the dark and breathy vocals, and quick, often electronic beats. There isn't much that's notably unique about this mix, but the way that this band picks up elements of many different genres and strings them together so smoothly makes the likelihood of someone listening to the whole record instead of just one track that much higher.

Something else that I picked up on pretty quickly was how immediate the songs on this record are. This San Diego-based duo clearly aren't looking for deep, 3-dimensional songs that grow on you over time, but rather catchy songs that anyone can enjoy.

The one thing that kind of annoys me though is something I mentioned before, and that's the dark, slightly raspy vocal delivery, which bothers me on some tracks more than others, like Overnight, I Didn't, and Catch and Release. I just feel like I've heard that voice way too many times before.

Despite its few shortcomings, Wilderness Survival have made one of the most listenable albums of 2010. I can't decide whether this is necessarily a good or bad thing, but all I know is I'll be listening to this album several more times in the coming months. Maybe even in the coming years.

Listen to the album here.
Favorite tracks: All the Ways I Do, Hierarchy, We Cannot Lose, Byzantine Empire, Well Made Ads

-Julian

Top 50 Albums of 2010

2010-12-30T15:52:00.002-05:00

Well here you have it. 50-and-a-few of our favorite albums of 2010, with short blurbs for the top 20 (like last year). Enjoy!
-Julian/Owen

50)
The Drums - The Drums

49)
Love Is All - Two Thousand and Ten Injuries

48)
Menomena - Mines

47)
Crocodiles - Sleep Forever

46)
Cloud Nothings - Turning On

45)
Mogwai - Special Moves

44)
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

43)
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast

42)
Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday

41)
The Chemical Brothers - Further

40)
Phantogram - Eyelid Movies

39)
Future Islands - In Evening Air

38)
Wavves - King of the Beach

37)
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me

36)
Small Black - New Chain

35)
Tobacco - Maniac Meat

34)
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

33)
She & Him - Volume Two

32)
Foals - Total Life Forever

31)
The Black Keys - Brothers

30)
School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire

29)
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles

28)
The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme

27)
Vampire Weekend - Contra

26)
Wolf Parade - Expo 86

25)
Fang Island - Fang Island

24)
Ty Segall - Melted

23)
The Love Language - Libraries

22)
Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

21)
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt

20)
Las Robertas - Cry Out Loud

It may not be the most original album to be released this year, but there's something about Las Robertas' rough yet very studio sound and the lead singer's endearing vocals that draws me in and keeps me listening.

19)
Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love

Indie twee legends Belle and Sebastian returned from a four year hiatus with Write about Love, an album where they acknowledge their earlier recordings while at the same show continued development as a group. While it's definitely not as good as any of their nineties' masterpieces, Write About Love is still a great album.

18)
Best Coast - Crazy For You

Best Coast create something special in their low-fi two-minute pop bursts. Fuzzy and lovable, every track here is adorably catchy. Not serious in the least, these guys are perfect to kick back and relax to.

17)
Ra Ra Riot - The Orchard

Chamber pop group Ra Ra Riot follow up their excellent debut with The Orchard, a concise album that puts all of their strengths on display: fantastic string arrangements, simple hooks, and great vocals. Faced with the daunting task of not sounding too overblown with their many intricate accompaniments, Ra Ra Riot triumph and make it look so easy.

16)
Women - Public Strain

Some songs might sound like they're being shoved through a woodchipper, but in general, Public Strain is a strong sophmore album. It builds upon the rough sound that their debut didn't follow through with completely, and uses more conventional song structures to even it all out.

15)
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

After releasing their self-titled EP two years ago, this Australian band got together last June to record their debut album. The result: psychedelic rock at its finest. Intricate, spacey chord progressions and stylishly lazy vocals make Innerspeaker a trippy experience that deserves its spot in the top 20. Listen to this with a good pair of headphones.

14)
Matt & Kim - Sidewalks

Matt & Kim are one of the most upbeat groups in the business, consistently churning out three-minute dance beats. Similar song structure doesn't get old as each tune carries its own distinct melody, an important addition that Matt & Kim have fixed since their often repetitive earlier albums. Immense progress so far shows show only signs more growth and improvement for the Brooklyn duo.

13)
The National - High Violet

Beautiful composition and song-writing continue to help The National live up to their early acclaim. High Violet is an intimate record with layers begging to be explored and listened to again and again.

12)
Wild Nothing - Gemini

A good example of how a dream pop album should sound. Though some of the songs might stay the same and linger a little longer than they need, each song has its own characteristic, and the lulling vocals mix well with the spacey synths. Wild Nothing don't exactly have their own sound, but they're doing a top-notch job with what they have.

11)
Portugal. The Man - American Ghetto

Unfairly criticized for being too refined on their excellent 2009 release The Satanic Satanist, Portugal. The Man silenced the critics with their fantastic new album this year, combining their signature weirdness with their recently-found ear for harmonic perfection.

10)
The Thermals - Personal Life

Ridiculously good when they go for loud and hard yet struggle when they slow down. They're one of our favorites this year for still churning out a great front-to-back album despite working with of one of softest and prissiest producers known to man, Chris Walla.

9)
Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Mercer and Mouse mesh well and sit in a happy medium between both of their really, really excellent sounds.

8)
Yellow Ostrich - The Mistress

A terrific third album from this little-known lo-fi folk rock musician. Captivating harmonies and charming melodies make this album. Even listening to the immensely beautiful harmonies on the track Mary was enough to get me to download the whole album. In short, this guy deserves a lot more recognition.

7)
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

I've never heard such an oddly satisfying blend of addictive beats and ramdom-ass noises hurled at my ears like this. Though it's hard to make sense of the majority of these blissfully frenzied tracks, not a beat is missed on Cosmogramma. It has to be on the favorite albums list of any avant-guard/electronic loving music geek.

6)
Julian Lynch - Mare

One of the more sublime, uniquely beautiful records to come out this year. Some of the tracks here give off a strong vibe of psychedelic Indian music, especially Just Enough, Mare, and Travelers. Also, it's nice to hear something outside the two main genres of 2010: retro-electronica, and noise pop.

5)
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

A beautiful and tasty album, Gorilla Manor is catchy and likable enough to grab you on the first listen and deep enough to keep you hooked through the ninth or tenth.

4)
Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

Apart from the last track which, though it was dedicated to the late Jay Reatard, doesn't seem completely nessesary to the rest of this incredibly ambitious album, I didn't find a single dull moment on Halcyon Digest. The distortion on tracks like Don't Cry and Revival fits in comfortably with the more quiet, acoustic presence of tracks like Sailing and Basement Scene, and everything in between brings the album together in a way that makes this the most accessible Deerhunter album to date.

3)
The Morning Benders - Big Echo

The Morning Benders were behind some of the best live shows you could have seen this year. They rocked Lollapalooza along with dozens of smaller venues on their Big Echo tour this year. Great ambition and musical growth since Talking Through Tin Cans leaves us in anticipation of what their next LP will bring.

2)
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

For his third studio album, James Murphy once again shows us an impressive display of catchy melodies and danceable beats. Definitely my favorite electronica album of 2010. Though this is probably Murphy's last album as LCD Soundsystem, I certainly hope it's not his last album as a musician.

1)
Beach House - Teen Dream

An amazing album that earned its way to the top of our 2010 list. Released in January, Teen Dream has had all year to sink in and impress. Excellent instrumentals combined with gorgeous vocals produce our favorite record of 2010.

Close Contenders:
The Phantom Band - The Wants
OK Go - Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
Suckers - Wild Smile
Shugo Tokumaru - Port Entropy
Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
Weekend - Sports
Diamond Rings - Special Affections
Tokyo Police Club - Champ

Top 60 Songs of 2010

2010-12-29T13:56:00.001-05:00

As a preview for our upcoming Top 50 Albums of 2010, we're listing our 60 favorite songs of the year. Yeah.

-Julian/Owen

60) Caribou - Odessa

59) Weekend - End Times

58) Happy Birthday - Girls FM

57) Tobacco - Fresh Hex (feat. Beck)

56) Cee-Lo Green - Fuck You

55) Wild Nothing - Golden Haze

54) Wavves - Post Acid

53) Belle and Sebastian - I Want the World to Stop

52) Vampire Weekend - Giving Up the Gun

51) Yellow Ostrich - Hate Me Soon

50) Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes

49) Wild Nothing - Chinatown

48) The National - Anyone's Ghost

47) Mines - TAOS

46) She & Him - Ridin' In My Car

45) Fang Island - Daisy

44) Tame Impala - Solitude is Bliss

43) The Tallest Man on Earth - You're Going Back

42) Matt & Kim - Cameras

41) The Walkmen - Stranded

40) The Black Keys - Next Girl

39) Ty Segall - Finger

38) Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La

37) Deerhunter - Don't Cry

36) Wolf Parade - What Did My Lover Say

35) Happy Birthday - Too Shy

34) Women - Narrow With the Hall

33) Portugal. The Man - The Dead Dog

32) Julian Lynch - Still Racing

31) Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union

30) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

29) Sleigh Bells - Crown on the Ground

28) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round

27) Holy Fuck - Latin America

26) Local Natives - Sun Hands

25) The Radio Dept. - Heaven's on Fire

24) The Thermals - I Don't Believe You

23) Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo

22) Best Coast - I Want To

21) Joanna Newsom - You and Me, Bess

20) Kate Nash - I've Got a Secret

19) Panda Bear - Slow Motion

18) LCD Soundsystem - All I Want

17) Ra Ra Riot - Shadow Casting

16) OK Go - White Knuckles

15) Flying Lotus - Zodiac Shit

14) Local Natives - Airplanes

13) Yellow Ostrich - Mary

12) The Morning Benders - Cold War

11) Tame Impala - Desire Be Desire Go

10) Broken Social Scene - All to All

9) LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean

8) Crystal Castles - Baptism

7) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Heart in Your Heartbreak

6) Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside

5) Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill

4) The Morning Benders - Excuses

3) Beach House - Silver Soul

2) Gorillaz - Some Kind of Nature (feat. Lou Reed)

1) Deerhunter - Helicopter

Thee Oh Sees - Warm Slime

2010-12-28T16:29:00.000-05:00

The first three minutes of the title track/opener got my hopes very high up for the rest of the album. It starts with the peaceful sounds of birds chirping, then 'One, two, threeee four!' and it kicks off with loud reverb-filled guitar chords and tons of energy, something Thee Oh Sees are known for. It then continues on like this for about three minutes. Normally, the song would be fantastic if it had stopped there, but unfortunately they had to stretch it out and make it 10 minutes longer, a very boring and tedious 10 minutes. Luckily after that finishes, I Was Denied picks up the pace, with a comfortable song length and the classic, raw Oh Sees sound.

Apart from the quickly-paced Castiatic Tackle, the rest of the album, which consists of 4 uninspired songs, isn't terribly ambitious or eventful, and the album kind of trails off near the end.

Warm Slime is decent, but it doesn't retain the same melodic brilliance of Help or The Master's Bedroom. Instead it relies more on the get-up-and-rock-out feel that Thee Oh Sees are famous for, which isn't much without some notable melodies. Maybe they'll spend a little more time with their next album.

-Julian

The Really Important Reviews Movie/Tv Awards!

2010-12-19T11:50:00.003-05:00

As the year comes to a close and the award season sneaks up on us, everyone is faced with the decision to pick a side of their favorite flick. Believe me, I love the winter dramas and the award season as much as the next guy, but my mind does not choose the "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" categories. This is why I have come up for the idea for the first Annual Really Important Reviews Movie/TV Awards. Get ready to get your mind grapes BLOWN!!

TV:
The I-cannot-believe-this-is-a-show award:
Winner: Bridalplasty
Bottom feeder of television E! creator of televison gems like Keeping up with the Kardashians and the Girls Next Door brings you the true downfall of television, women competing for the perfect wedding and the plastic surgery of their dreams.
Nominees: Sarah Palin's Alaska and Dance Your Ass Off

The Best New Show award:
Winner: The Walking Dead
What makes this zombie show better then the hundreds that have been made for TV is that you can tell that it is written, directed and acted by zombie movie nerds like me who have waded through hours of zombie flicks and picked out the best parts of them and put them in this little perfect show.
Nominees: Modern Family, (I know this doesn't count, but it is awesome) reruns of Freaks and Geeks on IFC

MOVIES:
Best Actress
Winner: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
It is not usual for me to have an actress take me on such an emotional roller coaster as Natalie in this film. The first half of the movie I wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay and he needed to calm down, the second half of the film I really was terrified to my core of her and her crazy ass mind.
Nominees: Annette Benning (The Kids Are Alright), Michelle Williams (Blue valentine)

Best Actor
Winner: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
In my time of film, i have seen many British films centered around the royal family. Never have I seen a portrayal of royalty that is so human and so shockingly relate able as Colin Firth's portrayal as King George VI
Nominees: James Franco (127 Hours), Robert Duvall (Get Low)

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: The girls in The Fighter
Not only am I going to hand it to the obvious Melissa Leo and Amy Adams for their astounding performances, but I also will be the first to acknowledge the great acting by the 8 drunk sisters in the movie.
Nominees: Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech), Mia Waisikowski (The Kids Are Alright)

The Pass - Burst

2010-12-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

There are two ways of looking at The Pass’s new release, Burst. One is rather positive while the other is definitely less so. But let’s start with the upsides first.

I’m pretty sure The Pass sound are a couple of guys with pretty solid music taste. They sound like they picked up a bunch of great records and said, “Hey, we can do this, too!” The result is a familiar-sounding record, one that will sit comfortably in your library without standing out too much. A series of pleasant tracks (perhaps lacking a strong middle section and perhaps a bit verbose in just about every song) really give Burst an “album feel” as something you can listen to front to back. The familiarity here makes for a really cozy album that you can’t help but enjoy sometimes.

However, and you might have sensed this coming, The Pass’s familiar sound isn’t without its setbacks. Lying somewhere between Franz Ferdinand and Cut Copy on the music spectrum, The Pass are faintly reminiscent of just about everyone. The opening track throws Animal Collective and Cut Copy at you, while Vultures captures you with friendly and rather generic Phil Collins disco beats. Criminal feels a bit like a toned-down School of Seven Bells with some MGMT chucked at it. Out of Hand is definitely a shout out to old Bloc Party and some Morning Benders lines and Local Natives licks make an appearance later in the album. Despite desperately making a case for themselves to be the safest-sounding and most anonymous band in the world with absolutely nothing new and exciting here except maybe new combinations, the Pass still sound like their own band.

They pop up on shuffle and somehow you still recognize them. The Pass can either be enjoyed as a comfortable-like-a-worn-in-armchair-band or perhaps rightly left alone for their blatant unoriginality. I personally lean towards the former of the two and I have realized that, while sometimes it’s nice to hear bands taking risks and branching out into new sounds, sometimes we can enjoy a band marching right behind them picking up the pieces.

-Owen

Coming Soon:

2010-12-18T04:48:00.001-05:00

As the year is winding down and coming to and end, expect to see some serious listage sometime soon. In the mean time, we'll try to get a few reviews in.
Also, R.I.R. is working on a new logo.

-Julian

Shugo Tokumaru - Port Entropy

2010-11-23T11:25:00.000-05:00

Let me fill you in, because I doubt you've been informed of this genius. Shugo Tokumaru is a Japanese musician who's been writing quirky, very animated Japanese indie-pop songs since 2003. Last year, he made it to #1 on our Top 50 Albums of 2008 list, and with reason. 2008's Exit brought light-hearted, complex songs that were colorful and childish enough to put a smile on anyone's face. Oh, and they're all catchy as hell. To put is simply, it was a work of art. I think the best way to describe it is music accompanying a creative kindergartner's drawing for art class. I hope that made sense somehow.

Port Entropy had the same drive, but not much stands out compared to Exit. For example, Exit has the bright and quick guitar line on Parachute, the perfect mix of dissonant woodwinds and scattered drums on Clocca, and a bunch of other significant moments. But that's not to say Port Entropy just ends, leaving you with no memorable choruses or melodies going through your head. It opens really well with the resonant duo of Platform and Tracking Elevator, which both have the shine of previous Tokumaru songs, and though Rum Hee may not be as quirky as classic Shugo songs, it has one of the catchiest intros ever. The rest of the album is consistently good too. Even the last two songs, Orange and Malerina, are among my favorite Shugo Tokumaru songs now.

If you're not really into bright indie pop like this, I might be a bit hesitant, as some of this stuff is really sugary. But otherwise, I recommend.

Listen to the full album here.
Recommended: Tracking Elevator, Rum Hee, Laminate, Drive-Thru, Suisha, Orange, Malerina

-Julian

Red

2010-11-20T12:50:00.000-05:00

Red stars pretty much every actor ever, Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malcovich and Mary-Louise Parker. They star as a group of retired C.I.A. agents that are put on the RED list (Retired and Extremely Dangerous) and are hunted down by the government and fight back. All of these actors are impossible to not completely love, but it seems like they put absolutely no thought into their roles and were all in this movie for the sake of saying they were all in the movie. I cannot lie to you and say that I could not help but love all of these old people shooting everyone, especially Helen Mirren wielding a machine gun. The dialogue and direction pretty much does not exist, but one can not help but love all of these great actors.
My Review: C

-Brendan

The Social Network

2010-11-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

I commonly use the phrase "I had high hopes for this movie", but I am not sure if I have ever had higher hopes for a film than The Social Network, directed by one of my favorite directors and screenwriters, David Fincher (Seven and Fight Club) and Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). The hopes got even higher when it had 97% on RT. I was sort-of satisfied. In case you have been in a coma for a past few months, The Social Network is about Mark Zuckerberg, the creative genius behind Facebook, and what he had to do to get his website the biggest in the world. Mark Zuckerberg is played by Jesse Eisenberg who, don't get me wrong, is a great young actor, but is not really playing a character, but Jesse Eisenberg making a website. However, there are two phenomenal stand-out performances by Andrew Garfield, Mark's partner in the creation of Facebook, and Justin Timberlake as Napster creator Sean Parker. Aaron brings his razor sharp and speedy dialogue, as was expected, and truly captures how college students talk. The big disappointment of the movie for me was David Fincher, who of course directed the movie as best as he could, but it seemed to me that they repressed his creativity and innovative perspective. Overall, it was a great look at what it takes to get to the top, but it could have been a little better.
My Review: B+

-Brendan

The Town

2010-11-20T11:59:00.000-05:00

This is Ben Affleck's second try at directing since 2007's great "Gone Baby Gone" and his first starring role in years. He stars with Jeremy Renner and an all star cast as a bank robber who takes a bank manager hostage and falls in love with her. When I saw the trailer, I thought this was just another attempt to make the next "The Departed", but I was very wrong. It was beautifully written by Affleck, who gets the dialogue of his home town of South Boston that literally hundreds have tried to perfect. The acting is just as mind-blowing as I expected, with great performances by Affleck, Renner, Jon Haam, and a surprising brilliant performance by Gossip Girls' Blake Lively as an oxy-dealing single mother who is always tossed aside by Affleck's character. The plot is a little slow at times, but these great preformance, screenwriting and directing by Ben Affleck makes me feel like he has a comeback in store and I will be first in line to see his next film.
My review: A-

-Brendan

Top 5 Christmas Movies

2010-11-19T23:16:00.000-05:00

I take Christmas very seriously, so this list has had a lot of thought put into it.
5.Elf - Will Ferrel makes what was probably his best performances ever as a stupid elf in the big city. Classic. Also notice one of the debut appearances by goddess Zooey Deschanel.
4.Home Alone - Little boy beats robbers to near death.
3.Home Alone 2 - Same thing as #4 but in NEW YORK!!!!
2.A Christmas Story - You know this movie is a classic when you literally can't remember a year when you did not watch this on Christmas.
1.Christmas Vacation - If this is not number one on your list, there is probably something wrong with your childhood.

-Brendan

5 Movies I Am Pumped For; Winter 2010

2010-11-19T22:51:00.000-05:00

This is my list of 5 movies I am pumped for this winter, a.k.a. the drama season:
1. Black Swan - Darren Aronofsky brings the crazy back to the cinema this winter with his trademark 'tortured-people-and-their-terrible-lives', and it will end with the main character definitely killing themselves.(Example: Every Darren Aronofsky movie ever).
2. Somewhere - Sofia Coppola is hanging out in a hotel again. I am going to love it.
3. The King's Speech - Colin Firth plays the king of the U.K. during WWII who has to lead his country, but he has a crippling speech impediment. Co-stars Helana Bonaham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. In summary, this is Oscar crack.
4. 127 Hours - Danny Boyle directs his latest movie since Slumdog Millionaire. James Franco stars as a hiker that gets his arm trapped under a rock in the middle of a completely deserted canyon. I won't tell you how it ends, but it involves a pocket knife, a video camera and he cuts his arm off.
5. Sucker Punch - I was not the biggest fan of Watchmen, but 300 was so good that I will give Zack Snyder another chance. It's about crazy girls that escape into their minds and fight zombies and ninjas with machine guns, dragons and explosions. If a 10 year old could make a movie, this would pretty much be it.

-Brendan

Waiting for Superman

2010-11-19T21:05:00.000-05:00

Since I am currently a member of the public education system, I was excited to see this film from the genius director of "An Inconvenient Truth" to expose the flawed educational system, and I was not at all disappointed. The point of this documentary is to give the audience not just statistics about children trying to get into good public schools, but to give them a face of a child to match with the statistic. This technique has been used in many documentaries, but never has one effected me as much as these kids. It made me not just angry at our government's educational system, but terrified of what was to come for my education and the education of future generations.
My review: A

-Brendan

Best Stand-Up Comics Currentley Performing

2010-11-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

5. Sarah Silverman - I know, it is like the whitest thing ever to like Sarah Silverman, but we all have our guilty pleasures. From her racist rants to her penis jokes, I find that her subtle cuteness matched with her terrible thoughts make me chuckle at any time.
4. Bo Burnham - My new discovery of this musical comic have Julian and I completely hooked. He has been publishing his routines on YouTube since he was in high school and got a record deal right after he graduated, making him one of the most talented young rapper-comedians on the comedy scene right now.
3. Aziz Ansari - The young comedic indieness and observational comedy gives him one of the most accurate depictions of this generation. I cannot talk about Aziz without mentioning his player and more confident alter ego Raaaaaaaandy (has to be spelled with 8 A's), who was the best part of last summer's Funny People.
2. Russel Brand - The British wonder-kid comedian has brought his comedy to the U.S. in such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, but when his comedy was showcased on last year's Comedy Central Special that brought out his flamboyant tendencies and child-like humor, it had me doubled over in laughter.
1.Louis C.K. - This underrated indie gem comedian has been close to making it big on multiple comedy specials, his HBO sitcom Lucky Louie, and his newest work of genius, the late night FX show that just ended. His depressing, self hating and angry-at-the-world attitude makes him one of the most unique and hilarious comedian out there right now.

-Brendan

Skins

2010-11-19T20:16:00.000-05:00

I will attempt to put my feelings about this television show in a review, but I will do it no justice. This British BBC import is about a bunch of slacker British teens in the U.K. who's lives are pretty much centered around partying, drugs and sex and being the kinds of people anyone would kill to party with. But underneath the surface, their true lives and feelings are revealed one episode at a time, each episode centering around one character of the gang. This sounds like every teen angst drama ever, but it leaves all of the competitors in the dust. The writing, directing and of course acting make this show completely mind blowing and powerful that has you fall in love with every character the episode focuses on. I feel terrible not explaining the show enough, but I would have to describe very little of it, or would have to explain every single episode. All I can say is I literally beg you to watch this genius piece of art.
My review: A+
P.S. This is like the best poster ever. Just saying.

-Brendan

Fair Game

2010-11-19T20:15:00.000-05:00

Naomi Watts stars in this accurate depiction of Valerie Plame, the C.I.A. agent who's identity was revealed by the Bush Administration and whose life completely fell apart. Sean Penn co-stars as Valerie's ambassador husband who can not get enough of himself and completely juices his wife's reveal to try and take on the entire Bush Administration all by himself. The story of Valerie is so astounding and terrible that it couldn't be intriguing, and was only helped by the gritty director of The Bourne Ultimatum, who made a good structure for the film, but Naomi and Sean's semi-half-assed acting made this movie a disappointment. If the actors had put more work into their roles, it would be a great film and total Oscar bait.
My review: C

-Brendan

I Love You Phillip Morris

2010-11-19T19:43:00.000-05:00

This indie was a hit at all of the film festivals this year and came out in the U.K. in March. It won't come out in the U.S. until mid-December but, I could not wait. I Love You Phillip Morris is the first film in very long time from Jim Carrey, and I was pumped to see that it was not one of his crossovers into drama, but found the trailer to be a classic Carrey comedy. However, this ended up being his best preformance of all time (BEATING THE TRUMAN SHOW). He stars in this true story about a man that reveals he is gay to his family and proceeds to go on a crime spree, landing him in jail for robbery and insurance fraud. In jail, he falls madly in love with a cellmate named Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) and vows that he will stay with Phillip at all costs, including multiple prison outbreaks and schemes to get money. Not only was Carrey at his comedy and drama best, but great dialogue and directing lead to the most surprising, shocking, and extremely offensive ending. This film will have you laugh out loud, tear up and effectively make your jaw drop.
My Review: A

-Brendan

Easy A

2010-11-19T19:31:00.000-05:00

It was about 2:00 in the morning and I had no hope of going to sleep. So, like with most of my problems, I turned to movies. I scanned my favorite illegal sites and found this movie. I IMDB'd it and saw an all-star cast led by Superbad's breakout star, Emma Stone. I started the movie thinking this teen comedy would make me sleepy, but I ended up stifle my laughter from waking my parents. It is about a nobody-teen girl (Stone) who gets caught up in the rumor mill after faking sex with a gay friend and becomes the slut of the school without doing a thing. It's razor sharp dialogue and Stone's spot on delivery made me literally laugh out loud. After seeing Emma Stone host SNL a couple weeks ago, I had high standards for her performance which she surpassed. This is a teen comedy that is the stereotype of a teen comedy while making fun of itself. Its great writing and acting from a young teen star made this movie the new Mean Girls.
My review: A-

-Brendan

The Walkmen - Lisbon

2010-11-12T11:59:00.000-05:00

Something about The Walkmen’s newest album just feels empty. While it’s not really a happy album, it’s definitely not a sad album. There’s just something in the arrangements that really leave you wanting something more. The Walkmen are somewhere between Beach House and Local Natives, musically speaking. The slow, almost nonchalant guitar lines are accompanied by a lead vocal line that is just depressing. Even on a song called Victory they sound pretty defeated, and that’s never a good sign. Not to be unfair to The Walkmen, a good band with some pretty decent albums (08 release You & Me, I’m talking to you), they’re good at what they do. The chords progressions, the entrances of melodic lines, the variety, it’s all very well-done. It’s just I can’t ever find myself really excited to listen to this album. I fail to understand how anybody can get pumped when a song from Lisbon pops up on shuffle. Sure, the music is pretty, Walkmen are a good band, Lisbon is just... boring.
And my problem with that is that The Walkmen aren’t that kind of band. It’s not like Lisbon is just a slow album and I’ve just been impatient. Lisbon is slow and boring. Yet somehow, I look forward to The Walkmen’s next try and I think you should, too, since, I mean, it is some well-written stuff.
A conflict of great but often boring songs leaves Lisbon earning just below average.

-Owen

The Thermals - Personal Life

2010-11-11T10:24:00.000-05:00

The Thermals haven’t lost much since their brilliant release Now We Can See a couple years back. The prissy Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla produces Personal Life, The Thermals third full LP. His effects on the album are obvious, and for the most part fail to improve the overall sound of the record. The rather cheesily named first and last tracks are called I’m Gonna Change Your Life and You Changed My Life respectively, and they don’t really get things going or close things out well. However, Personal Life’s energy as whole is good as the middle of the album is superb. It’s just as loud as everything else these guys have thrown at us and even a little bit more in tune. My personal favorites on Personal Life are I Don’t Believe You, Never Listen to Me, and Your Love is So Strong. On all three tracks The Thermals quit the crap and get down to business. Side note: generally speaking, taking the catchiest hook on your old album and slipping it in your new one doesn’t go over so well. Now We Can See and Your Love is So Strong have nearly identical openings.

When The Thermals bang their heads and smash on their guitars, they’re amazing. It’s when they try to write emotional ballads that they begin to falter. So why ballad-producer Walla was brought in I have no idea. It may be lacking a couple of hooks that Now We Can See brought to the table, but whatever. The Thermals will still rock your pants off.

-Owen

Of Montreal - False Priest

2010-11-10T10:37:00.000-05:00

I've never really loved an Of Montreal album. The closest I've gotten was with their debut Cherry Peel, and that was during their lo-fi-guitar-pop-with-pretty-melodies phase back in the 90s. Other than that, I love individual Of Montreal songs, like Disconnect the Dots, Sink the Seine, Gronlandic Edit, A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger, and even Id Engager from their previous album Skeletal Lamping, which was slightly disappointing. But never a whole album.

False Priest is different, however. There aren't any specific songs that I love on it, but not any that I strongly dislike either. In other words, nothing stands out for me on this very animated record, which isn't entirely a bad thing. The songs on False Priest are more consistent with each other, and seem to flow much more smoothly than on Hissing Fauna, or Skeletal Lamping. This makes it their most accessible pop album to date, and it's pretty hard for a band like Of Montreal to be considered 'accessible'.

The high points of this album are in the lyrics, which sound best when Kevin Barnes sings them. Most of the lyrics are about teenage romances, and random experiences. They're pretty funny though, like most Of Montreal lyrics. Here he sings about a girlfriend throwing his beta fish out the window, female erections, sexual innuendo related to playgrounds, and a bunch of other bizarrely hilarious topics.

It almost seems like Kevin Barnes was spending a little too much time on the lyrics rather than making some memorable melodies. But all negativity aside, I really enjoyed listening to False Priest, and I think it's an improvement from Skeletal Lamping. Give it a listen.

Funniest track: Our Riotous Defects

-Julian

Belle and Sebastian - Write about Love

2010-11-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

Some things take time. For Scottish twee pop legends Belle and Sebastian, it was releasing their eighth studio album after four years apart. For me, it was figuring out what to say about it.

There are remnants of Belle and Sebastian’s genre-defining 90s sounds on Write about Love that we haven’t heard since long before their 06 release The Life Pursuit. Although not a compromise of their old and new sounds, Write about Love sits somewhere in the middle of the Belle and Sebastian spectrum.

90s releases If You’re Feeling Sinister and The Boy with the Arab Strap were built on mellow guitar and soft vocals. The early 00s led to a poppier Dear Catastrophe Waitress and the extremely upbeat bursting 06 release The Life Pursuit. Now we have Write about Love, an album that doesn’t quite sit anywhere comfortably in the B&S timeline. The band’s sound is more mature than their most recent work. Their upbeat pop grooves have mellowed and are now more relaxed, taking their time to say what they’re trying to say. Their slower ballads are now flushed out, with more powerful instrumentals. On Write about Love, Belle and Sebastian take their time when they go fast and hurry things along when they slow down.

Sarah Martin is, for the first time, the lead vocalist as she sings on a majority of the album. However, we can still hear Murdoch as his harmonies nestle between Martin’s vocals and tight instrumentals.

Belle and Sebastian have always been crafting cheeky little pop tunes. To twee fans, Scots, and Scottish twee fans, among others, these guys are legends. It is difficult, therefore, to try and pick at Write about Love like any other album. To me it just seems less important to critique each song individually than it is to recognize this album for the accomplishment that it is.

-Owen

Due Date

2010-11-08T20:49:00.001-05:00

The latest film from comedy heavyweight Todd Philips, writer and director of last years hit The Hangover, comes the new comedy starring Zach Galifinakis and Robert Downey Jr. Downey plays an expecting father put on the no-fly list in Atlanta, a day before his wife is due in L.A. He catches a ride with Galifinakis and his masturbating bulldog. My colleague Julian and I have followed Galifinakis's career a while before The Hangover and we were pumped to see another awkward and insane character. I was surprised to see that Galifinakis did not have the same effect on me as The Hangover and it really seemed that Philips was saving the good material for The Hangover 2, out next summer. Downey brought an unsurprising charming and witty protagonist as usual and having you rooting for him the whole time. The film was a silly dude comedy that made me laugh out loud, but was not as much of a revolutionary comedy as The Hangover.
My review: B

-Brendan

Matt & Kim - Sidewalks

2010-11-08T11:21:00.000-05:00

I'll admit, at first I didn't really dig this album, mainly because Sidewalks is much more electronically-based than the two previous Matt & Kim albums. Each song is extremely immaculate and much synthier than their other songs, which makes them hard to get used to. Also, it seemed a bit over-produced. But several listens later, I realised how catchy it really is.

Almost every song has a high replay value, and I think that outweighs any bad mainstream pop vibes that I get from it. There are some songs that put me off a bit, specifically the peppy opener Block After Block, and Good For Great. But other than that, Sidewalks is a fun record that's chock-full of hooks and catchy tunes that shine as bright as the smiles on Matt and Kim's faces when they play live. I think Matt & Kim are headed in a positive direction.

Favorite tracks: Cameras, Where You're Coming From, Northeast, Wires, Ice Melts

-Julian

Fang Island - Fang Island

2010-11-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

Fang Island are young, loud, and immature. What’s not to like? Jamming out on synthesizers and guitars with thirty-year-old amps, these guys make a lot of noise. Dream of Dreams and Careful Crossers open the album well with surprisingly tight arrangements of vocal harmonies and arpeggio guitar lines. Their sound is tastefully rough around the edges at times, giving a great raw feel, which fits really well with their sound. No steam is lost in the middle of the record with Daisy and The Illinois recorded exclusively to make you want to turn your volume knobs to maximum. Matt and Kim influences can be picked up on Life Coach, another loud tune. The young cymbal smashers and distortion punks are weighed down only by their main asset, rawness. It’s a great album at times, but occasionally, especially on the later tracks, they make you wish that they had listened to the track they just recorded before they threw it on the album.

-Owen

The Seagreen Incorruptible - Ten Things to Do With Ninety Thousand Sequins

2010-10-29T06:32:00.001-04:00

I can't really say I know any bands that sound much like The Seagreen Incorruptible. What we have here is a completely unique blend of electronic mishap, random bursts of dialogue, a fuzzy atmosphere, and song titles that fit their bizarrely schizophrenic and experimental tunes. Most of these songs don't have a main melody or even a main rhythm, but they don't exactly sound like they're improvised. Occasionally, you'll hear a clear beat, but that's rare, and when it happens, it changes pretty quickly.

There are some moments on Ten Thousand Things to Do that make more sense, like the chill opener Make a Dress, Treat Your Senile Mother Well, and my favorite track Build a Castle, which sustains an audible and highly catchy melody for a few minutes before it fizzes out. I also liked the last 3 minutes of Shove Them Up Your Ass a lot.

All in all, Ten Thousand Things to Do may not benefit from its originality and avant-garde style all the time, but it has some brilliant moments. A good deal of this album is a little too weird for me, but if you're into this style of music, you'll love it. I'll give it a 6.5, closing in on a 7.

-Julian

Paranormal Activity 2

2010-10-24T18:08:00.000-04:00

Sorry I have not written any reviews lately, but i hope to write many starting......NOW! I have been waiting for this movie forever and finally the day had come for the sequel, and it did not disappoint. The film follows Katie's sister, her husband, step daughter and new born baby. The film brought back the high quality of suspense you saw in the first and had the same nerve wracking sense of claustrophobia. However, the feeling of the crappy camera work could not be blamed like the first on its small budget because they are now being sponsored by a big studio. Although not as good as the first, it still kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
My Review: B

-Brendan

Eleven Tigers - Clouds are Mountains

2010-10-24T17:48:00.000-04:00

Clouds Are Mountains is, to be polite, a bunch of boring arrangements of percussion noise made on one of those Casio keyboards you smash your hands on when you're a little kid. Which is funny, because normally when some Lithuanian former-dubstep producer's comeback album ends up on my iPod, it's pretty decent*. Too bad that's not the case with Clouds Are Mountains, which is, quite frankly, a waste of time. It's a medley of nowhere-going beats and synthy arrangements that just fail to deliver on any plane. There's nothing quite as boring as hearing every sixteenth note banged out on an electric snare drum for minutes on end. When the least annoying track on an album is called Atomic Turnip, you know something's wrong. Clouds Are Mountains is so boring that you'll excitedly be able to watch paint dry for weeks after listening to it. Hey, at least it's good for something.

*never actually happened

-Owen

Women - Public Strain

2010-10-16T12:39:00.000-04:00

A couple of years ago, Women released their slightly bizarre eponymous debut, which consists of edgy lo-fi guitar lines, vocals that sound like they're sung through a series of tin cans, out-of-place beats, lost of noisy dissonance, and in general, a very rough sound. And yet, all of these elements combined turned out to be surprisingly appealing. My favorite tracks from it include Cameras, Black Rice, Group Transport Hall, and Shaking Hand. With their new album, they haven't departed from their old sound too much, but they've certainly refined it.

Public Strain still keeps the strangely pleasant dissonance and lo-fi atmosphere, like on Can't You See and Drag Open, but this time the familiar pop-song threads shine through the loud banging and scratchy guitar chords a little more, like on Narrow With the Hall, Penal Colony, Venice Lockjaw, and Eyesore, all of which blow a few of the songs on their debut out of the water. Public Strain also has a few oddly well-fitting moments like Heat Distraction, which is sure to to throw you off with its time signature of 13/8 (which then changes to 10/8 for a little while), and Locust Valley, in which the guitar arpeggios are much too catchy. The song Bells also fits in perfectly with the rest of the album, despite it being 3 and a half minutes of drone. It kind of reminds me of Stars of the Lid, which is a good thing.

There are a few dull moments here, mainly on Untogether and Drag Open, but don't let that stop you from buying Public Strain. If you liked their previous album, then you'll like this even more, unless you find it to not be pretentious or weird enough. Definitely giving this one an 8 out of 10, to add to all the other 8 out of 10 reviews (seriously though, almost everyone who has reviewed this has given it an 8/10).

-Julian

Ra Ra Riot - The Orchard

2010-10-16T10:04:00.000-04:00

For an album that is often so quickly dismissed as a predictable let down to it’s predecessor, Ra Ra Riot’s The Orchard is excellent. It is, to me, the ideal second album: a rather challenging concept for bands with an excellent debut. As a result of pressure to produce another superb album, we often see a polished sophomore LP that loses much of the raw charm of the debut. Good news.
Ra Ra Riot haven’t lost anything.

On a (rather long) side note, Ra Ra Riot’s connections to Vampire Weekend (Riot lead singer Wes Miles and Weekend keyboard wizard Rostam BATMANglij teamed up for an '09 techno release under the name Discovery, plus the Batman did some producing on Orchard) are on display everywhere here, especially in Boy and Massachusetts, among others.

On The Orchard, things are smoother than on The Rhumb Line. Instead of always playing alongside guitars, drums, and vocals, the strings seamlessly flow out of lead lines and into harmonies and back again. The orchestration might not always be as tight, but it sure is fantastic when it is. Amazing standout tracks The Orchard, Boy, Too Dramatic, Foolish, Shadowcasting, and Kansai make up for the surprisingly poor You and I Know, which feels bizarrely out of place.

To summarize, what we have here is an excellent band following an excellent debut with a superb second album that shows exploration, maturity, and improvement. An all-around great album, I highly recommend The Orchard.

-Owen

Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

2010-10-10T05:56:00.000-04:00

While Seven Swans, Michigan, and Illinois were likable at first listen, The Age of Adz takes a little more effort to love. On Sufjan's new record, he ditches the easy-going melodies and delicate instrumentals for a harsher, more electronic approach. You might have guessed this was where he was headed after hearing Traffic Shock from The BQE, or maybe after noticing the ambitious leap he took from Michigan to Illinois, but most likely, you didn't.

Now, I've listened to this album a few times, and I've gotta say, I was very torn at first, and still am. On one hand, Sufjan has made a great electronic album with more ambitious vocals and the same intimate lyrics. On the other, it's missing a good deal of the hooks that made his previous albums to terrific. Also, when listening to it, I can't help but think of the softer songs from Illinois and Michigan, and my good feelings for the album get slightly diminished. It also makes the listening experience for me a little more uncomfortable.

Although most of what I'm saying is negative, the album opens very nicely with the delicate melody of Futile Devices, which reminds me of old Sufjan the most. There are some other excellent songs here as well; The epic title track has some very complimenting and extremely adventurous orchestral work, Too Much and Get Real Get Right are both very catchy and in-your-face, and most of the 25 minute Impossible Soul is genius.

I like The Age of Adz more than I did at first, which is advice for you. Don't immediately reject it, it might take some time to get used to. Give it a try.

-Julian