Holy Fuck
Latin
Young Turks/XL Recordings

This is friendly techno, with a real life drummer as well as drum machines. Nice to chill out to, but not good for dancing. It just sails gracefully to nowhere, with a beat so monotonous that it’s hard to concentrate on it. In the end, great background music, and nothing much else. [www.myspace.com/holyfuck]
Andrea Weiss


The National
High Violet
4AD records

Nothing quite fits together on this album, for all the right reasons. For example, depressing lyrics are offset by music that is hope filled, glorious, beautiful and soaring.
Nothing makes quite sense lyrically, whether the rather unclear meanings are about love or life, but the music picks up the slack, and makes the lyrics meaningful, filling the gaps with insight. The singing here is rich and reminiscent of Michael Stipe, yet the REM comparison doesn’t quite fit, because the band has its own sound and doesn’t emulate REM. Finally the lyrics are smart, and well-written, but a little too insular. This said, the overall sound of the music and lyrics is great, and proves to be just as rewarding at their last album Boxer. [www.myspace.com/thenational]
Andrea Weiss