Tag Archives: 2010 In Music

CD Review, Music

CD Review: The Age of Adz [2010]

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Band: Sufjan Stevens
Release: 10/2010
Label: Asthmatic Kitty

1. “Futile Devices” – B
2. “Too Much” – C
3. “Age of Adz” – C+
4. “I Walked” – B
5. “Now That I’m Older” – B+
6. “Get Real Get Right” – B-
7. “Bad Communication” – C
8. “Vesuvius” – C+
9. “All For Myself” – B-
10. “I Want To Be Well” – C
11. “Impossible Soul” – B

Comments: S.S has made a return to show business…as the band Phoenix. Not quite, but as you may or may not know, this is an electronically driven piece of work. A bit like when Peter Bjorn and John went electronic…except that actually worked rather well. Sufjan is still pretty much Sufjan of old. He sort of “wow”-ed me with Illinois — not going to lie — though I’d never consider myself particularly fond of his work, holistically. You either have to stick orchestral or go full electronic. None of this half and half BS is acceptable in my eyes. Sufjan thinks since he’s Sufjan he can do whatever he wants. He’s not Radiohead. Some of these tunes are decent throw-away listens. That’s a depressing thing to say given the current music culture, but it’s true. I mean, I have a pretty short listening span so these 4+ minute tunes aren’t ever going to cut it. Even the shorties are just little one timers. Twenty-five minute songs aren’t acceptable…ever.

Grade: B- (80)

CD Review, Music

CD Review: Crush [2010]

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Band: Abe Vigoda
Release: 9/2010
Label: Post Present Medium

1. “Sequins” – B+
2. “Dreams of My Life (Chasing After You)” – B
3. “Throwing Shade” – B
4. “Crush” – B+
5. “November” – B
6. “Pure Violence” – B
7. “Repeating Angel” – C+
8. “To Tears” – B
9. “Beverly Slope” – B
10. “We Have to Mask” – C+

Comments: Ha ha! What funny guys Abe Vigoda are. Well, funny…sort of. They’ve all but ditched their lo-fi “tropical” punk aesthetic for something more…hi-fi and softer.  This record sounds a bit like a Bloc Party record in that it combines traditional post-punk revival tendencies with synth/electro pop. It’s a wimpy showcase that is momentarily fun, but rather stale. I sense they had a hard time parting with their earliest asset: tropicalismo. There are some slight elements of that genre present on this record like on “Pure Violence” in the form of reverb-drenched guitar riffs (a la Real Estate and the like). The band gets all Arcade Fire Suburbs on “To Tears.” I might even have to call this out as “chillwave.” Gross. I guess if you plan on falling asleep in the middle of listening to this then it’s all right.

Grade: B- (83)

Entertainment, EP Review, Music

EP Review: Out of Nowhere [2010]

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Band: Prismo Perfect
Release: 2010

1. “TV Dream” – A+
2. “Summer In The Kitchen” – A+
3. “Dead Shadow” – A-
4. “Enable Stop” – A-
5. “Wired Feelings” – A

Comments: Prismo Perfect is a band from France. They’re really good. Like they say, they play fast, but poppy rock music. They seem to be influenced by noise, punk, and garage and no track wears such influences on its sleeve greater than “TV Dream.” I only had to listen to it a couple of times before deciding that it’s amongst the best tracks I’ve heard in this young decade. That’s pretty remarkable for an obscure band from France! Combine one part No Age, three parts Ponys, and two parts Deerhunter (like on “Dead Shadow” really really) and the result might just be Prismo Perfect. I highly recommend people check out this band. They could easily become the next breakthrough Goner act or something.

Grade: A (94)

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CD Review: First Blood [2010]

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Band: Nobunny
Label: Goner Records
Release: 9/2010

1. “Ain’t It A Shame” – A
2. “(Do The) Fuck Yourself” – A
3. “Blow Dumb” – A-
4. “Gone For Good” – A+
5. “Pretty Please Me” – B+
6. “Breathe” – A-
7. “Live It Up” – A+
8. “Motorhead With Me” – A+
9. “Never Been Kissed” – A
10. “Pretty Little Trouble” – A+
11. “I Was On (The Bozo Show)” – A

Comments: Nobunny is a master of bubble gum pop. We learned this on Love Visions, his debut album replete with goodies like “I Am A Girlfriend” and “Chuck Berry Holiday,” among every other song on there. This record is the same way, but it’s quite a progression for Nobunny. Gone is the drum machine and extreme lo-fi production. This isn’t clean by any stretch of the imagination, but you can tell that it’s been worked on more and has more depth than Love Visions. “Ain’t It A Shame” starts out like a cut to a commercial break, but becomes a passionate “ha, doesn’t it suck what I’ve done to you?”  “(Do The) Fuck Yourself,” which is about as easy to understand as a fourth grade short story novel, should win something for being so triumphant and explicitly lucid. “Feels so good. Feels so nice. I do it every morning and night. Bite my lip, close my eyes, take me away to Paradise.” A little cowbell, a lot of power-pop, and a lot of having fun. That’s ‘blowing dumb,” the new way of saying having fun. I think. “Gone For Good” is the album’s first venture into the great musical style that is garage/punk. The chick wasn’t having it. Nobunny loves her (like he does everyone), but that just wasn’t enough! “Pretty Please Me” is an old sounding country number about the most casual of encounters. No love required! Just a little knack for kissing. “Breathe” is full of cheese and nonsensical lyrics. It’s funny and stuff, probably the least catchiest tune on here, but still always worth a listen. “Live It Up” is an excellent ode to turning things around and just start branching. Just do as many things as possible and not be afraid. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? As people have said time and time again, “Motorhead With Me” will get stuck in your head. If it doesn’t, there’s a problem. It’s probably my second or third favorite Nobunny song ever ever! The toy piano complements the trashy guitars so damn good on “Never Been Kissed.” “Bozo” is the longest Nobunny song ever. It’s the weirdest for sure…especially when the fame circus theme “Entrance of the Gladiators” riff kicks in. After ten songs explaining the ups and downs of having (or lacking) femmes in life, we have “Bozo.” Nobunny is down for anything, y’all.

Grade: A (94)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music, No Age

CD Review: Everything In Between [2010]

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Band: No Age
Release: 9/2010
Label: Sub Pop

1. “Life Prowler” – A-
2. “Glitter” – A
3. “Fever Dreaming” – A
4. “Depletion” – A+
5. “Common Heat” – A-
6. “Skinned” – A-
7. “Katerpillar” – B-
8. “Valley Hump Crash” – A
9. “Sorts” – B
10. “Dusted” – B+
11. “Positive Amputation” – B
12. “Shed and Transcend” – A
13. “Chem Trails” – A+

Comments: No Age is back in No Age form. Once again! What that means is the same as it has ever meant for Dean and Randy: 1)  catchy noise-punk and 2) atmospheric experimentalism. The dudes could have definitely abandoned the filler atmosphere stuff like they did, to an extent, on Nouns. The instrumental sample heavy tracks on that album fit well. Not really so much the case here, but that’s fine! “Life Prowler” is a harmony of the sampler, the drum kit, and the guitar. Dean’s drums hammer away…Randy’s guitar enters a short while later. Dean sings. The samples come on. Noise. This is pretty cool introductory fare; a little taste of what the band is all about. It’s not a life changing track or even close to a great one, but it serves its purpose well. “Glitter” is the first song off this album that we all got to listen to. I’ve heard better, but it captures the “sound” so to speak of the band’s 2009 Losing Feeling EP. I really like how it comes together (via noise assault) toward the end. Y’all want punk No Age? Good. “Fever Dreaming” is moshing material a la “Brain Burner.” It shreds so great, though it doesn’t seem to be mixed as soundly as it could be.  “Depletion” is another heavy yet catchy number. “Common Heat” is slower, but still a really good track. The shaker really stands out! “Skinned” changes up so often it’s almost hard to keep up with, but that’s nearly the beauty of it. “Katerpillar” is a decent little sound collage. “Valley Hump Crash” is lyrically cheesy, but the Minutemen-esque guitars compliment the surfer rock sampling very nicely. “Sorts” is really good. “Dusted” is just as good as “Katerpillar.” And “Positive Amputation” is not too positive. “Shed” is at first a mere noise explosion, but it picks up and becomes…so so fun. I love the back-and-forth on the verses of the closer, “Chem Trails.” The firecracker sound effects are cool, as well. I contemplated not counting some of the atmospheric tracks, but in the end I decided that since they are an inevitable part of the album, I must. Had I not included them, this would be amongst my very very favorites. The songs that rock on here…rock hard. So the tell-tale question…is this better than Nouns? Nope! It’s well-rounded effort, but even the best tunes on here are a few light years behind 75% of the Nouns LP.

Grade: A- (90)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Interpol S/T [2010]

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Band: Interpol
Release: 9/2010
Label: Matador Records

1. “Success” – B+
2. “Memory Serves” – B
3. “Summer Well” – B
4. “Lights” – B+
5. “Barricade” – A-
6. “Always Malaise” – B-
7. “Safe Without” – C+
8. “Try It On” – B-
9. “All of the Ways” – B-
10. “The Undoing” – B

Comments: I started listening to Interpol a few short years ago, a few short years after their so called glory days. Paul Banks’ crazy voice was really great and the band basically shit out a bunch of excellent tracks over a two year span. Then they signed to Capitol and people accused them of sucking. The songs on their major label debut didn’t suck; they just weren’t as good. Now, the band is back on Matador. Last year Banks recorded a solo album Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper, which had a couple of really awesome songs. I think Interpol have had their day by now. They’ve already gotten to the outer reaches of their musical limit. If you can’t stand this band to begin with, good luck trying to like this! Fans will probably find a few songs particularly worthy of attention. It’s not as terrible as the online community is making it out to be. It’s exhausted and boring with a few somewhat catchy hooks here and there. It drags. I’ve always been able to tolerate Interpol at their weakest, which may be why I’m attempting to stick up for them here. “Lights” has a good build-up and becomes pretty solid. “Barricade” is the most memorable and most catchy tune on this album.

Grade: B- (83)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Personal Life [2010]

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Band: The Thermals
Release: 9/2010
Label: Kill Rock Stars

1. “I’m Gonna Change Your Life” – B+
2. “I Don’t Believe You” – A
3. “Never Listen To Me” – A-
4. “Not Like Any Feeling” – B+
5. “Power Lies” – B+
6. “Only For You” – A-
7. “Alone, A Fool” – B
8. “Your Love Is Strong” – B+
9. “A Reflection” – B+
10. “You Changed My Life” – B+

Comments: The Thermals, how am I so divided on thee, I do not know. You guys are catchy and stuff, although vocally a little annoying. Sorry. I said this about your last album, too. You sound good, don’t me wrong. “I Don’t Believe You” is an amazing track. It’s their best since “A Pillar of Salt,” maybe because it works so much like that one. What is admirable about The Thermals is that they work against the grain of traditional “pop-punk” or revivalist “post-punk.” The instrumentation is superb — you can kind of tell these guys have “had it” since they’ve formed. This saves them on the songs that aren’t of “A Pillar” or “I Don’t Believe You” substance. When all is said and done, I think this is a really positive step forward for The Thermals. It’s a better record than Now We Can See.

Grade: B+ (88)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise [2010]

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Band: Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
Release: 8/2010
Label: RCA

1. “Repo Man” – C
2. “New York City’s Killing Me” – C-
3. “God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise” – C-
4. “Beg Steal or Borrow” – C+
5. “Are We Really Through? – C-
6. “This Love Is Over” – C+
7. “Old Before Your Time” – C+
8. “For the Summer” – C-
9. “Like Rock & Roll” – C
10. “The Devil’s In The Jukebox” – C-

Comments: This guy. He’s the darling of today’s mainstream folk-pop community. A.K.A WERS Daytime. LaMontagne is bearable and — at times — good, but he hardly has any edge that differentiates him from (insert artist) that played at the (insert year) Newport Folk Festival. The problem with his music is that it’s not memorable. The title track ends before it begins! “Beg Steal” is pretty catchy, if not stereotypically structured. “All your friends in school/They used to be cool.” Yay, I can rhyme! At Ray’s best, he writes like Paul Weller. At his worst, he sounds like…oops, see my second sentence.

Grade: C- (73)

Entertainment, Music, News, Nobunny

New Nobunny LP: “First Blood” !!!

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Previously Known As: ONO

Track Listing:

1 Ain’t It a Shame
2 (Do the) Fuck Yourself
3 Blow Dumb
4 Gone For Good
5 Pretty Please Me
6 Breathe
7 Live It Up
8 Motorhead With Me
9 Never Been Kissed
10 Pretty Little Trouble
11 I Was On (the Bozo Show)

Release: September 21, 2010

Label: Goner Records

Midheaven Description: Hail! Hail! America’s favorite loopily leporine rock ‘n’ roller, Nobunny, is back with a new album, First Blood, and it’s his catchiest batch of tunes yet. The melodious masked man kicks it off with “Ain’t It a Shame,” a bittersweet tale of a rocky romance in which Nobunny’s lover has no choice but to endure his frequent indiscretions. He’s just that damned charming. “Blow Dumb” is a Velvet-y tribute to all the things that make life worth livin’–“smokin’ Copenhagen,” make-out sessions and “burger breaks.” In fact, First Blood never overstays its welcome and lasts about as long as a particularly adventurous mid-party burger run.  “(Do the) Fuck Yourself” immediately jumps to the top of the list of onanistic rock songs along with the Who’s “Pictures of Lily,” Devo’s “Praying Hands” and the Gizmos’ “Pumpin’ to Playboy.” Have fun trying not to sing this infectious little number in inappropriate situations. Sure, we all know that Nobunny can deliver a raunchy, good-times number like no one else, but can our floppy-eared fop get sophisticated? Let the contemplative vibe and beautiful strings on “Breathe” answer that. “Live It Up” is the most optimistic of a collection of upbeat songs. Nobunny is so happy, he makes the 1910 Fruitgum Co. sound like Joy Division. On “I Was On (The Bozo Show),” Nobunny dreamily recalls a moment from his childhood where he actually shared the stage with the late, great clown-god Larry Harmon. In under half an hour, Nobunny goes through every worthy rock ‘n’ roll subgenre–bubblegum pop, garage, rockabilly and psych–and still beautifully articulates every single human emotion with ease.

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: That’s How We Burn [2010]

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Band: Jaill
Release: 7/2010
Label: Sub Pop

1. “The Stroller” – A-
2. “Everyone’s Hip” – A-
3. “On the Beat” – A-
4. “Thank Us Later” – A-
5. “Summer Mess” – B+
6. “She’s My Baby” – A-
7. “Snake Shakes” – B+
8. “Demon” – B+
9. “Baby I” – B+
10. “How’s the Grave” – B+
11. “That’s How We Burn” – A-

Comments: Bringing to mind the likes of The B-52s and other pop, yet weird mainstream acts of yesteryear, Jaill’s all right. “The Stroller” is a post-punk revival jam with strong streaks of catchiness. Despite it being a fairly unoriginal jam, it still’s great on the ears. “Everyone’s Hip” reeks of ‘alternative’ genius. No complaints on the powerpop/post-punk flavored “On the Beat,” either. The Shins comparisons are justifiable on the vocal-centric “Thank Us Later,” surely one of the better songs on here. Some songs that I’d normally think are great just don’t have the memorable kind of chops I wish they had. What I thought may have been a near-the-top album for me turns out to be lost in the midst of above-average obscurity.

Grade: B+ (89)