Serena-Maneesh
S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor
4AD
The first track of this album sounds very sensual, but also very industrial musically, but sounds nothing like the rest of the album. The rest sounds like a popper version of My Bloody Valentine, with wonderful melodies, and sweet singing from both vocalists. It’s very creative and experiential music, but totally accessible at the same time. The lyrics are buried in the mix, which is not a bad thing. They blend with the music nicely. The few clear fragments seem to be about sex and desire. In the end, there is nothing not to like about this album, which makes it very enjoyable.
[www.myspace.com/serenamaneesh]
Andrea Weiss
The Unthanks
The Unthanked
Rough Trade Records
The Unthanks are sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, who have made a terrific modern folk album. Their musical style is to meld traditional folk with an eerly calm atmosphere reminiscent of Radiohead and Fleet Foxes. This makes for tranquil music that is also arresting. Their voices are gorgeous: lilting, sweet, but also tough.
Lyrically it’s storytelling. For example “Annachie Gordon.” They are good writers, especially on “Not Much Luck in Our House” and “Where’ve Yer Bin Dick?” the two best tracks. So let’s give thanks to the Unthanks for a wonderful album, one that has already won raves in the UK, and hopefully will get them in the US. [www.myspace.com/rachelunthank]
Andrea Weiss
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
XL Recordings
This is a fun concept album. Was the American Civil War won, lost or ever completed? A young man leaves New Jersey for Boston, and hopes his future is there. What does it means to be an American in 2009? And should indie rock ask all of this? Finding out the answers to these questions is great, especially when the music goes full tilt throughout the album.
Lead singer/songwriter Patrick Stickles makes fun of Conor Oberst and pays tribute to Springstein simultaneously by sounding like Conor, roaring drunk, tries to imitate Bruce, and does a great job of it. The music is raucous, rowdy, fantastic, and funny. There are lots of New Jersey in-jokes, but you don't have to get the jokes to enjoy the record.
Since this is a Jersey band, there are a lot of cool jokes about the Garden State, like “there’ll be no more cars on the Garden State Parkway.” The song titles do have something to do with the Civil War, like “Four Score and Seven Years Ago.” And the album ends with all the loose ends tied up neatly, for one thing, the union did with the Civil War, and that’s damn good, with feedback fading quietly, and respectfully, a way to bring to a close a terrific album. [www.titusandronicus.net]
Andrea Weiss
Ted Leo
The Brutaliist Bricks
Matador Records
Leo’s Matador debut finds him making a few changes to his basic punk rock style. He sings and plays softer on some songs, which has the effect of emphasizing his messages. On others, especially “Even Heroes Have to Die” are folk/rock, and where he sounds like Billy Bragg in his prime.
Elsewhere, his music bristles with sharp guitars, which start the revolution, and end it in triumph. A nice contrast to the more singer/songwriter songs. His music makes the lyrics bite, never more so than this line on “Ativan Eyes”: “The means of production are now in the hands of the workers.” That’s an old-fashioned Communist slogan, which he’s serious about. Better a leftist revolution than a right wing one. Likewise on “Bartolomeo and the Buzzing of Bees,” he dreams of happy times after the revolution has been won.
Love is also political to him, and not as sexual politics, but as a foundation to build a new world. He knows he’s messed up with a lover, and wants her forgiveness. And love is a revelation to him, one that makes him happy and hopeful.
A clear-eyed leftist message set to fiery punk rock, and to gentle folk, is a tonic for crazy political times. It makes for a fine album, and one that makes you think about rising up, and making sure tomorrow better than today. [www.myspace.com/tedleo]
Andrea Weiss
The Morning Benders
Big Echo
Rough Trade
Lead singer Christopher Chu and Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear produced this album to sound apparently like a 90s power pop album. Specifically, the sound is along the lines of the people Jon Brion worked with in the 90s, like Aimee Mann and Rufus Wainwright. The sound of the Posies and the Eels also show up in the mix. That does not mean that the music is bad or retro, just fresh, different and interesting. It is very good, grand, playful, and creative.
Lyrically, the writing is smart and witty. One example is a line in the single “Excuses,” “You tried to taste me, and I taped my tongue to the southern tip of your body.” Another is “Hand Me Downs” about death and what you’ll leave behind for others to carry on with.
This is a very good album whose pleasures hit in a rush at first, then slowly sinks in. The afterglow stays after the album is finished, lingering a long time. [www.myspace.com/themorningbenders]
Andrea Weiss
Pavement
Quarantine The Past
Matador
This career-spanning comp’s songs were selected by the band, who are currently on a reunion tour. They document a great band, that in it’s own way, was as good as Nirvana.
While they didn’t have the chart success that Nirvana had, they, and many other bands like Sebidoh to Liz Phair, were just as influential.
Pavement’s music was both a comment on and compliment to grunge, they created a sound, lyrically and musically, that showed there was more to 90s rock than grunge. They offered an alternative to grunge, especially on “Range Life” where they made fun of the Smashing Pumpkins and played a lighthearted joke on the Stone Temple Pilots.
Lighthearted irony was also a big part of Pavement’s sound, whether is was Spiral Stairs (Scott Kannberg) shredding on guitar or Steven Malkimist’s wry voice and dry wit. Joking around when everything looks hopeless is a lot of fun to listen to, and a good attitude to have. Even when they played a song that was more serious, they didn’t take themselves seriously, which was great, and adds to the fun.
“Summer Babe,” “Stereo,” and “Shady Lane” to name a few masterpieces, are all on the comp, with lesser known prizes like the REM tribute “The Unseen Power of the Picket Fence.” “Cut Your Hair,” which rang true in 1994, rings even truer today.
Quarantine The Past is a good starting point for new fans, a romp for the faithful, and a wonderful look at a band that should have been huge. It is great to have them back, and this comp is a cool way to welcome them. [www.myspace.com/pavement]
Andrea Weiss
The Monitor
XL Recordings
This is a fun concept album. Was the American Civil War won, lost or ever completed? A young man leaves New Jersey for Boston, and hopes his future is there. What does it means to be an American in 2009? And should indie rock ask all of this? Finding out the answers to these questions is great, especially when the music goes full tilt throughout the album.
Lead singer/songwriter Patrick Stickles makes fun of Conor Oberst and pays tribute to Springstein simultaneously by sounding like Conor, roaring drunk, tries to imitate Bruce, and does a great job of it. The music is raucous, rowdy, fantastic, and funny. There are lots of New Jersey in-jokes, but you don't have to get the jokes to enjoy the record.
Since this is a Jersey band, there are a lot of cool jokes about the Garden State, like “there’ll be no more cars on the Garden State Parkway.” The song titles do have something to do with the Civil War, like “Four Score and Seven Years Ago.” And the album ends with all the loose ends tied up neatly, for one thing, the union did with the Civil War, and that’s damn good, with feedback fading quietly, and respectfully, a way to bring to a close a terrific album. [www.titusandronicus.net]
Andrea Weiss
Ted Leo
The Brutaliist Bricks
Matador Records
Leo’s Matador debut finds him making a few changes to his basic punk rock style. He sings and plays softer on some songs, which has the effect of emphasizing his messages. On others, especially “Even Heroes Have to Die” are folk/rock, and where he sounds like Billy Bragg in his prime.
Elsewhere, his music bristles with sharp guitars, which start the revolution, and end it in triumph. A nice contrast to the more singer/songwriter songs. His music makes the lyrics bite, never more so than this line on “Ativan Eyes”: “The means of production are now in the hands of the workers.” That’s an old-fashioned Communist slogan, which he’s serious about. Better a leftist revolution than a right wing one. Likewise on “Bartolomeo and the Buzzing of Bees,” he dreams of happy times after the revolution has been won.
Love is also political to him, and not as sexual politics, but as a foundation to build a new world. He knows he’s messed up with a lover, and wants her forgiveness. And love is a revelation to him, one that makes him happy and hopeful.
A clear-eyed leftist message set to fiery punk rock, and to gentle folk, is a tonic for crazy political times. It makes for a fine album, and one that makes you think about rising up, and making sure tomorrow better than today. [www.myspace.com/tedleo]
Andrea Weiss
The Morning Benders
Big Echo
Rough Trade
Lead singer Christopher Chu and Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear produced this album to sound apparently like a 90s power pop album. Specifically, the sound is along the lines of the people Jon Brion worked with in the 90s, like Aimee Mann and Rufus Wainwright. The sound of the Posies and the Eels also show up in the mix. That does not mean that the music is bad or retro, just fresh, different and interesting. It is very good, grand, playful, and creative.
Lyrically, the writing is smart and witty. One example is a line in the single “Excuses,” “You tried to taste me, and I taped my tongue to the southern tip of your body.” Another is “Hand Me Downs” about death and what you’ll leave behind for others to carry on with.
This is a very good album whose pleasures hit in a rush at first, then slowly sinks in. The afterglow stays after the album is finished, lingering a long time. [www.myspace.com/themorningbenders]
Andrea Weiss
Pavement
Quarantine The Past
Matador
This career-spanning comp’s songs were selected by the band, who are currently on a reunion tour. They document a great band, that in it’s own way, was as good as Nirvana.
While they didn’t have the chart success that Nirvana had, they, and many other bands like Sebidoh to Liz Phair, were just as influential.
Pavement’s music was both a comment on and compliment to grunge, they created a sound, lyrically and musically, that showed there was more to 90s rock than grunge. They offered an alternative to grunge, especially on “Range Life” where they made fun of the Smashing Pumpkins and played a lighthearted joke on the Stone Temple Pilots.
Lighthearted irony was also a big part of Pavement’s sound, whether is was Spiral Stairs (Scott Kannberg) shredding on guitar or Steven Malkimist’s wry voice and dry wit. Joking around when everything looks hopeless is a lot of fun to listen to, and a good attitude to have. Even when they played a song that was more serious, they didn’t take themselves seriously, which was great, and adds to the fun.
“Summer Babe,” “Stereo,” and “Shady Lane” to name a few masterpieces, are all on the comp, with lesser known prizes like the REM tribute “The Unseen Power of the Picket Fence.” “Cut Your Hair,” which rang true in 1994, rings even truer today.
Quarantine The Past is a good starting point for new fans, a romp for the faithful, and a wonderful look at a band that should have been huge. It is great to have them back, and this comp is a cool way to welcome them. [www.myspace.com/pavement]
Andrea Weiss
Monday, March 1, 2010
Beth Thornley
Wash U Clean
Stiff Hips
Thornley was initially compared to Aimee Mann, but currently sounds more like Tegan and Sara, especially on the album’s best track “You’re So Pony.” The overall sound is 21st century indie rock, a little harder, a little rougher, and sharper. Thornley’s take on romance is smart, tough, and no nonsense. It’s a very good album, fun to listen to, especially on an iPod, and also good for doing some deep thinking. [www.myspace.com/beththornley]
Andrea Weiss
Wash U Clean
Stiff Hips
Thornley was initially compared to Aimee Mann, but currently sounds more like Tegan and Sara, especially on the album’s best track “You’re So Pony.” The overall sound is 21st century indie rock, a little harder, a little rougher, and sharper. Thornley’s take on romance is smart, tough, and no nonsense. It’s a very good album, fun to listen to, especially on an iPod, and also good for doing some deep thinking. [www.myspace.com/beththornley]
Andrea Weiss
Monday, February 22, 2010
Efterkland
Magic Chairs
4 AD Records
The band is from Copenhagen, their third album overall, and their 4 AD debut. The band’s name means “remembrance” or “reverberation.”
Musically and lyrically the band combines the soft, soothing wonder of Nursery Crime era Genesis, or Radiohead without the doom and gloom. Lead singer Casper Clausen is a better singer than Peter Gabriel or Thom Yorke. Clausen is not obnoxious or whiny. He and the band are very good, pleasant to listen to, and very relaxing. [www.myspace.com/efterklang]
Andrea Weiss
Holly Miranda
The Magician’s Private Library
XL Recordings
It is wonderful to hear an album as fresh and unique as Miranda’s debut. By avoiding all the lyrical clichés about how life and love is filled with joy or pain in favor of dreamscapes, especially lucid dreamscapes, she imagines a world where anything is possible.
Musically the sound is soft, lush, and yes, dream-like. It is a magical sound, happily not hackneyed, one that shimmers, and adds texture to the lyrics, especially on “Sweet Dreams.” David Andrew Sitek of TV on the Radio produced the album, and it’s what Miranda gets from that band’s sound that lends weight and power to it, with extra power provided by Kip Malone’s duet with Miranda on “Slow Burn Treason.”
The album’s title comes from her uncle David, who said Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon sounded like “the magician’s private library.” This album is dedicated to him. Miranda says the title could be anything and anywhere, which fits this album just right, and sum up this great album very neatly. [www.myspace.com/hollymiranda]
Andrea Weiss
Shearwater
The Golden Archipelago
Matador Records
The wonder of nature found in solitude is the theme of The Golden Archipelago. Researcher and singer/songwriter Jonathan Meiburg has lived on various islands, among them the Falklands, the Galapagos, and Madagascar. He found numinous silences, lushness and austerity, and how nature and humans live with these kinds of extremes. The music reflects all of this, quiet one minute, swelling to a roar the next, beautiful and eerie, with Meiburg’s calm, deep voice tying everything together.
While the lyrics put into words his feelings about living in very remote places, after awhile it’s apparent that Meiburg would prefer to live without human contact, and that nature is all he needs. It’s what makes this album so sad to listen to, almost unbearably sad, and in the end annoying. What is so bad about humankind that makes nature preferable? The question is never answered. It is that unanswered question that in the end makes this an album to skip, it is beyond belief that Meiburg would want to be alone like that. People need people, and anything else isn’t creditable. [www.myspace.com/shearwater]
Andrea Weiss
Magic Chairs
4 AD Records
The band is from Copenhagen, their third album overall, and their 4 AD debut. The band’s name means “remembrance” or “reverberation.”
Musically and lyrically the band combines the soft, soothing wonder of Nursery Crime era Genesis, or Radiohead without the doom and gloom. Lead singer Casper Clausen is a better singer than Peter Gabriel or Thom Yorke. Clausen is not obnoxious or whiny. He and the band are very good, pleasant to listen to, and very relaxing. [www.myspace.com/efterklang]
Andrea Weiss
Holly Miranda
The Magician’s Private Library
XL Recordings
It is wonderful to hear an album as fresh and unique as Miranda’s debut. By avoiding all the lyrical clichés about how life and love is filled with joy or pain in favor of dreamscapes, especially lucid dreamscapes, she imagines a world where anything is possible.
Musically the sound is soft, lush, and yes, dream-like. It is a magical sound, happily not hackneyed, one that shimmers, and adds texture to the lyrics, especially on “Sweet Dreams.” David Andrew Sitek of TV on the Radio produced the album, and it’s what Miranda gets from that band’s sound that lends weight and power to it, with extra power provided by Kip Malone’s duet with Miranda on “Slow Burn Treason.”
The album’s title comes from her uncle David, who said Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon sounded like “the magician’s private library.” This album is dedicated to him. Miranda says the title could be anything and anywhere, which fits this album just right, and sum up this great album very neatly. [www.myspace.com/hollymiranda]
Andrea Weiss
Shearwater
The Golden Archipelago
Matador Records
The wonder of nature found in solitude is the theme of The Golden Archipelago. Researcher and singer/songwriter Jonathan Meiburg has lived on various islands, among them the Falklands, the Galapagos, and Madagascar. He found numinous silences, lushness and austerity, and how nature and humans live with these kinds of extremes. The music reflects all of this, quiet one minute, swelling to a roar the next, beautiful and eerie, with Meiburg’s calm, deep voice tying everything together.
While the lyrics put into words his feelings about living in very remote places, after awhile it’s apparent that Meiburg would prefer to live without human contact, and that nature is all he needs. It’s what makes this album so sad to listen to, almost unbearably sad, and in the end annoying. What is so bad about humankind that makes nature preferable? The question is never answered. It is that unanswered question that in the end makes this an album to skip, it is beyond belief that Meiburg would want to be alone like that. People need people, and anything else isn’t creditable. [www.myspace.com/shearwater]
Andrea Weiss
Monday, February 8, 2010
Gil Scott-Heron
I’m New Here
XL Recordings
The music is barely present. It serves as various grooves, or foundations, and is always shortchanging itself by never sounding as rich or full as it could be. It’s the words that matter.
Most of these lyrics hit home, whether spoken or sung. Scott-Heron looks back on his life. He tells the truth, as he sees it, and it’s sometimes bitter, sometimes sad, and sometimes angry. “On Coming From a Broken Home, Parts 1 and 2,” he expresses love for his grandmother, mother, and all the women who raised him who made him a man. He had no men in his life growing up.
There is one little wrinkle with that two part song though. On “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” his most famous song, he slams feminists as “hairy armed women’s liberationists.” But all the women who raised him do sound like the very feminists he sneers at, so it’s hard to know how seriously to take “On Coming From a Broken Home.” This and the music mars a great album, which is too bad, he still has all his talent intact at 60, and still has plenty to say. [www.gilscottheron.net]
Andrea Weiss
Pantha Du Prince
Black Noise
Rough Trade
This album is somewhere between ambient tencho and new age music. Prince takes synthesizers, mixes them with acoustic guitars, steel drums on some tracks, marimbas on others, and found sounds such as knocking, ringing, and barking. Noah Lennox of Animal Collective sings on “Stick to My Side” and Tyler Pope of !!! and LCD Soundsystem plays bass on “The Splendour.”
However, for all the ambient noise, the beat is too fast to be much good for meditating, which is what new age music mostly is used for, but not fast enough for danceing. What is left is an album that hums loudly in the background, which is not much fun for chilling out to. But for doing choirs or exercising, for example, it is perfect, and no use for reading, writing or painting. [www.myspace.com/panthaduprince]
Andrea Weiss
I’m New Here
XL Recordings
The music is barely present. It serves as various grooves, or foundations, and is always shortchanging itself by never sounding as rich or full as it could be. It’s the words that matter.
Most of these lyrics hit home, whether spoken or sung. Scott-Heron looks back on his life. He tells the truth, as he sees it, and it’s sometimes bitter, sometimes sad, and sometimes angry. “On Coming From a Broken Home, Parts 1 and 2,” he expresses love for his grandmother, mother, and all the women who raised him who made him a man. He had no men in his life growing up.
There is one little wrinkle with that two part song though. On “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” his most famous song, he slams feminists as “hairy armed women’s liberationists.” But all the women who raised him do sound like the very feminists he sneers at, so it’s hard to know how seriously to take “On Coming From a Broken Home.” This and the music mars a great album, which is too bad, he still has all his talent intact at 60, and still has plenty to say. [www.gilscottheron.net]
Andrea Weiss
Pantha Du Prince
Black Noise
Rough Trade
This album is somewhere between ambient tencho and new age music. Prince takes synthesizers, mixes them with acoustic guitars, steel drums on some tracks, marimbas on others, and found sounds such as knocking, ringing, and barking. Noah Lennox of Animal Collective sings on “Stick to My Side” and Tyler Pope of !!! and LCD Soundsystem plays bass on “The Splendour.”
However, for all the ambient noise, the beat is too fast to be much good for meditating, which is what new age music mostly is used for, but not fast enough for danceing. What is left is an album that hums loudly in the background, which is not much fun for chilling out to. But for doing choirs or exercising, for example, it is perfect, and no use for reading, writing or painting. [www.myspace.com/panthaduprince]
Andrea Weiss
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Elizabeth Frazer
Moses EP
Rough Trade
Three versions of the same song, “Moses,” and all have a hushed, surreal atmosphere. They are basically ambient tencho with a beat, bittersweet to hear, as well as lovely. All three versions are recommended, simply because of their beauty. The proceeds from this EP go to the family of Jake Drake-Brockman, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in September of last year. Jake, along with Frazer’s partner, Damon Reece, play on all three versions, making this EP, and Frazer’s first solo recording, a tribute to him. And what a fine tribute it is. [www.elizabethfraser.com]
Andrea Weiss
Fucked Up
Couple Tracks, Singles 2002-2009
Matador
Fucked Up is a Toronto-based hardcore band that has put out many singles for different labels, two full-length albums, and Epics in Minutes, a singles comp from 2004. This comp collects hard to find singles and alternative takes spanning the years in the album title.
They are as melodic as classic Husker Du, as principled as Fugazi, as angry as prime Black Flag, with a sense of humor all their own, like “I Hate Summer” and “He’s So Frisky.” They are fun to listen to, to get some aggression out, or to start a revolution, like on “No Pasaran,” an anti-fascist commentary of the Spanish Civil War. The title is Spanish for “they will not pass” and the phrase over the years has become a rallying cry at leftist rallies.
This band was great from the get-go, and if their last single “No Epiphany “(fast version)” is any guide, this comp, will also be cool, as in fucking cool. [www.myspace.com/epicsinminutes]
Andrea Weiss
Basia Bulat
Heart of My Own
Rough Trade Records
Multi-instrumentalist Bulat sings like a cross between Joan Baez and Sandy Denny, with lyrics that bring to mind Dar Williams. She uses her voice to good effect to bring out the emotions in the songs, never over sings. Her guitar and autoharp playing, just two examples of the instruments she can play, is wonderful. She plays with grace and style. Her lyrics are traditional folk, but the modern twist is that they’re somewhat quirky, just like Dar Williams. Heart of My Own is a very good album, a nice mixture of folk and pop and recommended to folk music fans, and to anyone who likes good pop music. [www.myspace.com/basiabulat]
Andrea Weiss
Moses EP
Rough Trade
Three versions of the same song, “Moses,” and all have a hushed, surreal atmosphere. They are basically ambient tencho with a beat, bittersweet to hear, as well as lovely. All three versions are recommended, simply because of their beauty. The proceeds from this EP go to the family of Jake Drake-Brockman, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in September of last year. Jake, along with Frazer’s partner, Damon Reece, play on all three versions, making this EP, and Frazer’s first solo recording, a tribute to him. And what a fine tribute it is. [www.elizabethfraser.com]
Andrea Weiss
Fucked Up
Couple Tracks, Singles 2002-2009
Matador
Fucked Up is a Toronto-based hardcore band that has put out many singles for different labels, two full-length albums, and Epics in Minutes, a singles comp from 2004. This comp collects hard to find singles and alternative takes spanning the years in the album title.
They are as melodic as classic Husker Du, as principled as Fugazi, as angry as prime Black Flag, with a sense of humor all their own, like “I Hate Summer” and “He’s So Frisky.” They are fun to listen to, to get some aggression out, or to start a revolution, like on “No Pasaran,” an anti-fascist commentary of the Spanish Civil War. The title is Spanish for “they will not pass” and the phrase over the years has become a rallying cry at leftist rallies.
This band was great from the get-go, and if their last single “No Epiphany “(fast version)” is any guide, this comp, will also be cool, as in fucking cool. [www.myspace.com/epicsinminutes]
Andrea Weiss
Basia Bulat
Heart of My Own
Rough Trade Records
Multi-instrumentalist Bulat sings like a cross between Joan Baez and Sandy Denny, with lyrics that bring to mind Dar Williams. She uses her voice to good effect to bring out the emotions in the songs, never over sings. Her guitar and autoharp playing, just two examples of the instruments she can play, is wonderful. She plays with grace and style. Her lyrics are traditional folk, but the modern twist is that they’re somewhat quirky, just like Dar Williams. Heart of My Own is a very good album, a nice mixture of folk and pop and recommended to folk music fans, and to anyone who likes good pop music. [www.myspace.com/basiabulat]
Andrea Weiss
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Vampire Weekend
Contra
XL Recordings
Vampire Weekend’s second album is fairly bursting with ideas, thoughts, and feelings. It succeeded on every track putting its points across both musically and lyrically. It is wonderful in every way, and easily tops their debut.
They opened their sound to other cultures, from third wave ska bands like Operation Ivy to Brazilian baile funk, to name a couple of examples, and moved beyond their basic afro-pop sound. Ezra Koenig’s singing has improved greatly, much more adult, and what he does with his voice, whether by scatting like on “Cousins”, or entwining his voice with a Kalimba thumb piano on “Horchata”, makes the emotions and thoughts in the music come out in the lyrics as well.
“Diplomat’s Son” is a great example. Assuming the main character is gay, a man looks back at a best friend, the diplomat’s son, who wasn’t very diplomatic. The main character knows he loves him, can’t bring himself to admit it, so he wants to use him instead. One night they smoke a joint, go to bed for what turns out to be a one night stand, and leaves the main character with a terrible memory. Musically there is a lot going on, the warm, bouncy melodies and rhythms of dancehall, Bollywood, West African guitar music, a percussive sample from MIA’s “Hussel”, and a guitar interpolation of “Pressure Drop” makes the emotions of the song come through nicely, and powerfully.
Because it’s mid January, it’s probably too early to say that there will be very few albums that are as good. These songs are wonderful, and the band’s vision so strong, that it is hard to say anything else. This truly is the first masterpiece of the year, and what a cool way to start the musical year. [www.myspace.com/vampireweekend]
Andrea Weiss
Contra
XL Recordings
Vampire Weekend’s second album is fairly bursting with ideas, thoughts, and feelings. It succeeded on every track putting its points across both musically and lyrically. It is wonderful in every way, and easily tops their debut.
They opened their sound to other cultures, from third wave ska bands like Operation Ivy to Brazilian baile funk, to name a couple of examples, and moved beyond their basic afro-pop sound. Ezra Koenig’s singing has improved greatly, much more adult, and what he does with his voice, whether by scatting like on “Cousins”, or entwining his voice with a Kalimba thumb piano on “Horchata”, makes the emotions and thoughts in the music come out in the lyrics as well.
“Diplomat’s Son” is a great example. Assuming the main character is gay, a man looks back at a best friend, the diplomat’s son, who wasn’t very diplomatic. The main character knows he loves him, can’t bring himself to admit it, so he wants to use him instead. One night they smoke a joint, go to bed for what turns out to be a one night stand, and leaves the main character with a terrible memory. Musically there is a lot going on, the warm, bouncy melodies and rhythms of dancehall, Bollywood, West African guitar music, a percussive sample from MIA’s “Hussel”, and a guitar interpolation of “Pressure Drop” makes the emotions of the song come through nicely, and powerfully.
Because it’s mid January, it’s probably too early to say that there will be very few albums that are as good. These songs are wonderful, and the band’s vision so strong, that it is hard to say anything else. This truly is the first masterpiece of the year, and what a cool way to start the musical year. [www.myspace.com/vampireweekend]
Andrea Weiss
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)