Eschewing Obfuscation

Listen to "How Does Somebody Say When They Like You?"

Review: A Sunny Day in Glasgow: Autumn Again [B]

Artist: A Sunny Day in Glasgow
Album: Autumn, Again
Released: Oct, 2010
Label: self-published
Genre: dream pop / indie rock

Purchase Date: 29 Nov 2010
Format: mp3 files
Source: Amazon

I had never heard of this band from Philadelphia, but their album showed up as a free download from Amazon, so I thought I'd give it a try. The music is somewhere between alt rock and ambient dream pop, and is very nice. This is yet another band with a male and a female vocalist who trade off the lead and harmonize, which is a format I tend to fall for. The songs are catchy, with a hint of the currently-in-vogue '60s girl-group vibe, and the lyrics are clever. On the down side, this album includes many of the tropes of the current hipster sound. When a track from this album pops up on my iTunes party mix, I can immediately tell it's from the past two or three years, but can't put my finger on the artist.

While it didn't knock my socks off, I liked this, and I'm glad I took a chance on them.

Rating: B

Listen to "Write About Love"

Friday, April 15, 2011

Review: Belle and Sebastian: Write About Love

Aritst: Belle and Sebastian
Album: Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
Released: October 2010
Label: Matador Records
Genre: Indie pop / twee pop

Purchase date: 23 Nov 2010
Format: mp3 files
Source: Amazon

I've been a fan of Belle and Sebastian since the late '90s when I first heard If You're Feeling Sinister, and I've picked up all of their albums since. The eighth album by the premiere Scottish twee pop act comes almost five years after their previous release, 2006's The Life Pursuit. Despite the hiatus, Write About Love feels like it picks up right where Life Pursuit left off: it's exploring the same themes and is lyrically and musically very similar to its predecessor. That's not to say this is a bad album, but it's not breaking new ground or going into any direction that this band hasn't thoroughly explored previously. I think that any year that Belle and Sebastian put out an album can't be a bad year for music, but as much as I hate to say it, if you've heard their last three albums, you've pretty much heard this one.

A decent album from Belle and Sebastian, but more of the same.

Rating: B

"Welcome To The World of the Plastic Beach" Official Video

Artist not available on eMusic

Review: Gorillaz: Plastic Beach [B]

Artist: Gorillaz

Album: Plastic Beach

Released: March 2010

Label: Virgin Records

Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop

Purchase Date: 23 Nov 2010

Format: mp3 files

Source: Amazon

I'm not much of a hip-hop fan. There are a few hip-hop acts that I appreciate, and a few of those I actually like, but rap and hip-hop usually just don't do a whole lot for me. So, I was rather skeptical when so many other critics started to heap this album with praises: especially by a virtual band whose members are cartoon characters. (A phenomenon that reminded me of The Banana Splits.)

With the extremely positive reviews and a bargain-basement one-day sale price at Amazon, I decided to buy the album. I was really impressed

You've got to hand it to Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the real-world creative team behind this virtual band. First of all there's the sheer ambition of this album: It's concept album about an island called Plastic Beach that formed when enough of the pastic garbage floating in the ocean coalesced. The music is extremely eclectic: there are notes of dub, ska, indie rock, and pop all mixed together. And there's a long list of special guest artists including rappers like Mos Def and Snoop Dog, along with artists from outside the rap world like Lou Reed and the Syrian National Orchestra for Arab Music.

I mostly liked this record. I found the music to be engaging and that it had a real story to tell. It's not going to be in heavy rotation, but it works.

Rating: B

"Dancing On My Own" official video

Artist not available at eMusic

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Review: Robyn: Body Talk [B+]

Artist: Robyn

Album: Body Talk

Released: November 2010

Label: Interscope Records

Genre: Dance pop

Purchase Date: 23 November 2010

Format: mp3 files

Source: Amazon

As you could probably tell from reading my reviews, I'm not much of a dance pop fan. I don't have anything against dance pop as a genre, but clubbing was never my thing, and dance pop as music is best experienced when, um, dancing at a club.

However, some critics that I usually trust raved about this platinum-haired Swedish artist and the three Body Talk EPs that she released over the course of 2010. Then Amazon listed this album for $2.99 during their Black Friday Download sale. I figured that for three bucks, I'd gave it a try, and I was not disappointed.

For a genre known for its artificiality, I hear an authenticity in the lyrics that I find very appealing. Melodically, the songs are there too, and the production is excellent without drawing undue attention to itself. And while I don't see myself getting on the dance floor any time soon, I can totally see that this would be amazing music to dance to.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this record. Kudos to Amazon for pricing an album that I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise at a point that I was willing to take a chance.

Rating: B+

"Digging For Something" official video

Review: Superchunk: Majesty Shredding [A]

Artist: Superchunk

Album: Majesty Shredding

Released: September 2010

Label: Merge Records

Genre: Indie Rock

Purchase Date: 11 November 2010

Format: mp3 files

Source: Amazon

The first release in 10 years from the '90s indie rock powerhouse (and the band that founded the incredibly influential independent label Merge Records), Majesty Shredding sounds like Superchunk had merely stepped over to the minimart for another 12-pack, and came right back. It's a return to classic Superchunk, reprising their uptempo indie rock sound from the mid-90s. It doesn't sound like a re-hash: they may be in their early 40s but they still have something new to say. The music is energetic, catchy, tuneful, and just raw enough to keep it interesting. If you liked Superchunk in '95, you'll love this album. Standout tracks include "Digging for Something" and "Crossed Wires," and the rest of the album works well too. Highly recommended: this is one of the best albums of the year.

Rating: A

Artist not available on eMusic

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Review: Beach House: Teen Dream [B+]

Artist: Beach House
Album: Teen Dream
Released: January 2010
Label: Sub Pop
Genre: Dream Pop

Purchase date: 02 November 2010
Format: mp3 files
Source: eMusic

This album had been out for almost a year before it caught my attention. One of the great things about other critics' annual "Best Of" lists is that you find out about so many artists and albums that you had missed the first time around. One critic (I think it was Robin Hilton of NPR) called November and December the absolute best months for music discovery for that reason.

Anyway, the previous album from this duo from Baltimore (2008's Devotion) just didn't do a lot for me at the time. I had bought it based solely on the good reviews from other critics I trust, but I didn't understand the hype. So, I passed on Teen Dream when it came out.

In early summer, Beach House played live for Sound Opinions, and then NPR streamed a live concert, and then a bunch of critics put Teen Dream on their "Best of 2010" lists, so I thought I would give them another shot. I bought it as my last album ever under eMusic's older (and better) download policy. (More on my opinion of eMusic.)

Much to my surprise, I really liked this album. It's moody dream pop with some catchy hooks and lovely vocals, and is much more upbeat than their previous release. Honestly, I tend to listen to this album as an album and individual tracks don't really stand out, but the whole thing is has a quiet dreamy beauty that's hard not to like

Rating: B+

Listen to "Zebra"

Watch Old Fangs official video

Album listing on eMusic

Review: Black Mountian: Wilderness Heart [A]

Artist: Black Mountain

Album: Wilderness Heart

Released: September 2010

Label: Jagjaguwar

Genre: Hard Rock

Purchase date: 02 November 2010

Format: mp3 files

Source: eMusic

This was one of the albums that I had anticipated most this year. I really loved this band's 2008 album In The Future (it was my #3 album of 2008), so when NPR streamed the album as part of its first listen series, I was there. I was not disappointed.

Wilderness Heart is Black Mountain's third album, and is even stronger overall than their last one. The songwriting and playing are both tighter and much more mature. Wilderness Heart moves even farther away from the band's stoner rock beginnings, to more of a late-'70s hard rock sound, but they manage to avoid the bombast that plagued so many of the bands of that era (and the bands of today that echo them). This is yet another band with male and female lead singers, and Amber Webber's voice is showcased much more here. This may be due to her successes as the lead in her spin-off band Lightning Dust (which was my top pick for 2009).

Standout tracks are "Rollercoaster," "The Hair Song," and "Old Fangs," but this one doesn't have a weak spot. Another winner from Black Mountain.

Rating: A

Listen to "Everything Is Wrong"

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Review: Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle [B-]

Artist: Blonde Redhead

Album: Penny Sparkle

Released: September 2010

Label: 4AD

Genre: Dream Pop / Shoegaze

Purchase date: 01 November 2010

Format: mp3 files

Source: eMusic

The eighth full-length album from these veteran international New York-based indie rockers, Penny Sparkle sees the band take fewer chances and move toward an antiseptic electronic chill-out vibe. While it mostly works, Penny Sparkle lacks the balance between zoning and rocking that their brilliant 2007 album 23 seemed to get perfectly. It's also a move away from their driving, layered, bendy-guitar shoegaze roots (à la My Bloody Valentine) and more toward quieter trippy electronic dream pop (more akin to Beach House). While I appreciate that the band is playing with its sound a bit, it seem to me that Penny Sparkle is an entire album that sounds very much like what I had considered the slower, weaker tracks of 23. It's worth a listen, but if you are expecting the power and resonance of 23, you'll probably be a bit disappointed.

Rating: B-

Watch the "Who's Gonna Win The War?" official promo video

Album no longer available at eMusic

Vintage Review: Hawkwind: Levitation [B+]

Artist: Hawkwind

Album: Levitation

Released: 1980

Label: Atomhenge/IODA (2009 re-release)

Genre: Space Rock

Purchase date: 1 November 2010

Format: AAC files

Source: iTunes

Hawkwind is a British hard rock band that formed in the late 60s. They pioneered the "space rock" genre, and were the first band that metal-god Lemmy Killmister (of Mötorhead fame) every played with. (Note: Lemmy got the name for his new band from the last song he'd written and recorded with Hawkwind). Led by Dave Brock, Hawkwind is probably one of the closest British analogues to The Grateful Dead when it comes to die-hard fans who follow them around. (There isn't much similarity otherwise.)

One of my college buddies turned me on to Hawkwind back in the late '90s. (Hi, Curtis!) At the time, this band's records didn't have a US label, so I dubbed copies of his tapes and CDs onto cassette.

Levitation has a hard rock sound, bordering on heavy metal. The band downplays the intricate guitar solos typical of metal and instead uses sound effects, electronics, and spoken word interlude to evoke science fiction imagery that's typical of space rock. It's not a terribly intellectual take on science fiction, but I think it's a whole lot of fun.

Rating: B+