1. “Floating Vibes” – A- 2. “Swim” – B 3. “Take It Easy” – B 4. “Harmonix” – B
5. “Neighbour Riffs” – C- 6. “Twin Peaks” – B 7. “Fast Jabroni” – B+ 8. “Slow Jabroni” – C 9. “Anchorage”- B 10. “Catholic Pagans” – B
Comments: What a fun way to start with “Floating Vibes”! There’s a very warm Spring/Summer feel to it. Certain parts of certain songs rescue them from being your average “chill-wave” offering. Now, now, I’m not going to be one of those critics who says this is exactly “chill-wave” because it’s not. I don’t even know what that means. This is a more sophisticated form of shoe-gaze rock that seems like it could either be loved or hated depending on who you ask. Side note: I have a feeling this band ran out of good song titles. Just to clarify. This album isn’t Best New Music material. In my books, a B- is just barely above average. So yeah, that’s exactly what this LP is.
What’s the best selling album in the United States? Vampire Weekend’s Contra. Not Lady Gaga or Ke$ha or any other crazy hip-hop electro sensation, but Columbia’s own. They sold 124,000 copies in the first week. And they aren’t even on a major label! Word.
Band: The Octagon Release: 1/2010 Label: Serious Business
1. “Suicide Kings” – A 2. “Cross Tops” – A- 3. “Swindler Minnows” – A 4. “Radio Days” – A- 5. “Loulou” – A- 6. “Hound Adams” – B 7. “Stop Snitchin'” – B+ 8. “To The Flame” – B 9. “Easton” – A- 10. “Tommy Bones” – B 11. “Clay Haywood” – A- 12. “Buffalo” – B+ 13. “Heart Calming Meditation” – C+ 14. “Charles Lavender” – B+ 15. “One Five Five” – B-
16. “Revolution” – B
Comments: Mixing ’90s college rock with the sights and sounds of today’s West Coast psychedelic scene, The Octagon have done well for themselves on this album. On some songs, I sense some Built to Spill inspiration, while others are straight up garage punk. My one real criticism is that a bunch of these songs sound like unfinished demos. If the band maybe spent a little bit longer on production, I’d love this more.
If you go to the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah official website, you can listen to their first two albums in their entirety. I will be reviewing them later on, but I thought I would let you know. It’s good music for January 20. On one hand, there is a whole lot of winter left, but on the other hand spring is coming and fun times and warmth are nearing.
1. “Acts of Man” – B- 2. “Winter Dies” – C+ 3. “Small Mountain” – C 4. “Core of Nature” – C- 5. “Fortune” – B 6. “Rulers, Ruling All Things” – C+ 7. “Children of the Grounds” – A- 8. “Bring Down” – C- 9. “The Horn” – C- 10. “The Courage of Others” – C 11. “In the Ground” – C
Comments: This is my first “official” experience with what they call progressive folk. All I can think of is Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan when I hear those two words. Actually listening to this record, it’s more than just folk. It has more sound and finish than what I’ve traditionally regarded as folk. Despite that, it can be a pretty boring thing. “Fortune” is pretty good until it ends in a flash. This is going to sound messed up, but I think the band should go full folk. Cut the prog shit and just go full folk. Something like Sunset Rubdown. It’s pretty clear when they make their best attempt at this (“Children of the Grounds”) and when they don’t (“Core of Nature”).
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 