My boy Young took a beating for this editorial cartoon, which was published in Thursday’s edition of the Huntington News, the independent student newspaper for Northeastern University. Did Young really send “a middle finger” by drawing this? Come on Baby Fart…you Baby Fart.
Band: Surfer Blood
Release: 1/2010
Label: Kanine
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.
Grade: B- (83)
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.
Grade: B+ (87)
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.
I will have to pick this up and add it to my Nirvana collection.
Chris
Chris
Chris
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 