Tag Archives: 2011 In Music

CD Review, Music

CD Review: Mine Is Yours [2011]

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Band: Cold War Kids
Release: 1/2011
Label: Downtown

1. “Mine Is Yours” – B-
2. “Louder Than Ever” – A-
3. “Royal Blue” – C
4. “Finally Begin” – C
5. “Out of the Wilderness” – B-
6. “Skip the Charades” – B
7. “Sensitive Kid” – B-
8. “Bulldozer” – C
9. “Broken Up” – C-
10. “Cold Toes on the Cold Floor” – C-
11. “Flying Upside Down” – C

Comments: If we get over the fact that Cold War Kids have historically been rather high-aiming, we all might appreciate this record a little more. There is some intrinsic value in CWK’s way of going about sounding ‘big’ — their ‘art’ doesn’t come off as forced. They’ve always incorporated blues and soul into their pop appearance more emphatically than a group they are often compared to — Kings of Leon. Keeping that in mind, there indeed seems to be a limit on creativity (confirmed via this record) in pop-sensible modern rock. For a decade or two, we’ve all heard dry John Mayer/dry Matchbox 20/dry (insert lame top 40 “rock” band here).  “Mine Is Yours” is pretty bland (good, but generically so) and “Louder Than Ever” also sounds like just another anthemic tune. I’m not sensing any of the depth that debut LP Robbers & Cowards or 2010 EP Behave Yourself brought to the table. Even something strippeddownLOUDstrippeddownLOUD like “Out of the Wilderness” just doesn’t come off as triumphant as it wants to be, minus a few satisfying parts here and there. “Skip the Charades” is a nice idea and a pretty solid slow song, without sounding retarded or cheesy. The last four or so songs are just utterly un-fulfilling. I don’t think I’m going to completely give up on Cold War Kids, but where are the immediate hooky tunes (“Saint John,” “Heavy Boots,” etc) that got me interested in them in the first place? Except for “Louder Than Ever” not on here.

Grade: C+ (77)

CD Review, Music

CD Review: The Babies [2011]

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Band: The Babies
Release: 02/2011
Label: Shrimper

1. “Run Me Over” – A-
2. “Sunset” – A
3. “All Things Come to Pass” – A-
4. “Meet Me In The City” – A+
5. “Personality” – A-
6. “Breakin the Law” – A-
7. “Sick Kid” – A-
8. “Wild 1” – B+
9. “Wild 2” – A
10. “Caroline” – A-

Comments: The Babies, featuring Cassie Ramone (guitar/vocals Vivian Girls), are like The Beets if The Beets were clearer and were more prone to trying new things. Don’t get me wrong, much props to The Beets for their great music, but this (after all) is the product of musicians who have been making fairly respectable/good music in their own bands for a long while. “Run Me Over” features the coy vocals of Ramone, which sound slightly out of place in an unadulterated garage rock song, but at the same time seem very fitting. Her singing comes out the best on something like “All Things Come to Pass,” which is comfortably in Vivian Girls territory. Kevin Morby of Woods sings when Ramone doesn’t (and sometimes they even harmonize!). He can get his folk on (“Sunset”) or do his best Black Francis at will (“Meet Me In The City”, “Wild 2”). Speaking of “Meet,” it’s truly the best on the record. It’s so catchy! “Wild 2” is sweet through-and-through, like a slowed down “Mr. Grieves” or an old-time Weezer tune or something. Overall, I am very impressed by this band and by this record. It’s quick and very fun. So yeah, good job Babies.

Grade: A- (91)

CD Review, Music

CD Review: Cape Dory [2011]

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Band: Tennis
Release: 01/2010
Label: Fat Possum

1. “Take Me Somewhere” – A
2. “Long Boat Pass” – A
3. “Cape Dory” – B
4. “Marathon” – B+
5. “Bimini Bay” – A-
6. “South Carolina” – A-
7. “Pigeon” – A-
8. “Seafarer” – A
9. “Baltimore” – A-
10. “Waterbirds” – A-

Comments: This band’s back story has been blogged about and blogged about and blogged about some more. Their music has been written about just as much, too. So how is the music, since that’s all we care about?…well pretty good.  It’s kind of like Best Coast if Best Coast was folkier and surfier. Cape Dory is pretty all-around surfy. Minimal surf, though, not hectic. That should be noted. The girl singer (what’s her face!) in Tennis can do some fine stretching of her vocal cords. The first song on here isn’t illustrious in the sense of musical creativity/expansion, but it’s merely a light pop song to be enjoyed. Her voice is like that of trad/mod pop singer, but she really packs the punches better and possesses that innocent-but-really-pretty quality. I’m a sucker for the drum beat on “Long Boat Pass” and the surf guitar twang. Don’t twang and surf go well together? That said, how much shore line can we take, damn it?! Not all is awesome (rarely is everything); some of the techniques are pretty tired a la “sha la la sha la la” on “Cape Dory” for instance. On “Bimini Bay,” Tennis brings to mind the stripped down, laid-back nature of label-mates Walkmen’s 2010 LP Lisbon. This aesthetic carries on deep into the second half of the record. Another album I’d compare this to purely based on the metric of ambition is Teen Dream. ‘Course that was one of the best things that I heard last year and this does not match up to that record, BUT compositionally and sonically Cape Dory similarly sounds so natural and free-flowing. I can’t really praise it enough for that. At the end of the day, the hype that Tennis has received seems well warranted. Their take on girl group/oldies revivalism is unique nowadays and will probably stay around for a while.

Grade: A- (90)
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Tennis plays Great Scott on February 28.

CD Review, Music, Peter Bjorn and John

CD Review: Gimme Some [2011]

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Band: Peter Bjorn and John
Release: 3/2011
Label: Wichita Recordings

1. “Tomorrow Has To Wait” – A
2. “Dig A Little Deeper” – A
3. “Second Chance” – A-
4. “Eyes” – A-
5. “Breaker Breaker” – A
6. “May Seem Macabre” – B
7. “(Don’t Let Them) Cool Off” – A
8. “Black Book”- B+
9. “Down Like Me” – A-
10. “Lies” – A+
11. “I Know You Don’t Love Me” – A

Comments: Peter Bjorn and John have been around for more than a decade and, after many a pop song, have established themselves as an upper-echelon independent band. Their big break as you all may remember was Writer’s Block from 2006 which won ubiquitously positive reviews. It’s a personal favorite of mine. On that record was their biggest hit, the whistle hooked “Young Folks.” Their experimental follow-up came in 2009 with Living Thing, which was reviewed in the mainstream with far less enthusiasm and much more mixed feeling than Writer’s Block. My feeling is that critics weren’t expecting the band to make as much of a departure as they did from standard rock and roll. I actually really enjoyed Living Thing, which was still PB&J at its core, just with a bunch of electronic stuff thrown in the mix. Gimme Some is not really a return to their old style of songwriting, but more of an evolution towards unchartered territory. On this album, backing vocals and involved guitar riffs and parts are more dominate than ever before I’d say. I wouldn’t have expected PB&J to veer into a garage-pop/punk direction, but they do pretty nicely on “Breaker Breaker” and “(Don’t Let Them) Cool Off”. The power-pop of “Lies” is real good! If they have another brush with b-level ‘fame’, I’d like to think it will be because of this song.  Pretty sure I just said this, but they really never have played as fast as they do here! It’s awesome. Gimme Some initially lacks that ‘oohhh shit!!’ element that Writer’s Block has. That was almost a concept album, though. It ran the gamut of musical emotions. This is more of a variety platter, but one that has a little bit of all of the ‘good stuff’. It’s like ordering a pu pu platter that comes with a bunch of tasty items like chicken wings, fingers, and ribs and some other stuff that is edible, but not the greatest by any stretch.

Grade: A- (92)

CD Review, Music, The Beets

CD Review: Stay Home [2011]

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Band: The Beets
Release: 1/2011
Label: Captured Tracks

1. “Cold Lips” – A-
2. “Dead” – B
3. “Hens and Roosters” – A-
4. “Watching T.V.” – B
5. “Pops N’ Me” –  A-
6. “Floating” – A-
7. “Eat No Dick 2” – C
8. “Let It Dim” – B-
9. “Knock On Wood” – B-
10. “Just A Whim” – A-
11. “Your Name Is On My Bones” – A-
12. “Young Girls” – B+
13. “Flight 14” – A-

Comments: The Beets of Queens, New York (word to Queens — the best borough in NYC), a staple in the NYC DIY community, have followed up their first collection of songs with Stay Home, thirteen new songs about staying home. The coy, stripped down nature of these tunes are typically inviting and catchy. Stay Home is definitely meritorious of better acclaim than it will probably get. The more ‘professional’ music personalities will most likely brush this to the side given its home recording quality. The songs themselves have a Beat Happening feel to them, driven by neat vocal harmonies (“Floating”) and puerile topics (“Hens and Roosters,” “Pops and Me”). What separates The Beets from the rest of them is the singer Juan Wauters…his accent and delivery, specifically.

Grade: B (86)

CD Review, Music

CD Review: Outside [2011]

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Band: Tapes ‘n Tapes
Release: 1/2011
Label: Ibid Records

1. “Badaboom” – A
2. “SWM” – B+
3. “One In The World” – A-
4. “Nightfall” – B-
5. “Desert Plane” – B+
6. “Outro” – B-
7. “Freak Out” – B+
8. “The Saddest Of All Keys” – B
9. “Hidee Ho” – A-
10. “People You Know” – A
11. “On and On” – A-
12. “Mighty Long” – A

Comments: Tapes have always had a ‘bigger’ feel to them, but it seems more manifest on this record. They can pull a ballsy Kings of Leon on “SWM” and a fine orchestral sophisticated, extralocal Vampire Weekend esque swag on “One in the World.” The horns don’t disappear on “Nightfall,” which is a bit of a mess of a song. “People You Know” has a moderate Walkmen feel complete with a soothing organ and a tranquil rhythm. Just awesome. On that note, the last four songs on here rule; the sound that dominates on these songs is the sound that won me as a fan of the band. T+T keeping things simple and slowed down is best. I’m going to try to let the lower graded tracks grow on me. There’s a lot to like on here.

Grade: B+ (88)

Tapes ‘n Tapes play at the Paradise Rock Club on February 3, 2011.

CD Review, Music

CD Review: Dye It Blonde [2011]

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Band: Smith Westerns
Release: 1/2011
Label: Fat Possum

1. “Weekend” – [A]
2. “Still New” – [A-]
3. “Imagine Pt. 3” – [A]
4. “All Die Young” – [A-]
5. “Fallen In Love” – [A-]
6. “End of the Night” -[A]
7. “Only One” – [A]
8. “Smile” – [A-]
9. “Dance Away” – [A]
10. “Dye the World” – [A-]

Comments: Smith Westerns are a band that, like label-mates Wavves in 2010, benefited immensely from a bigger studio budget. The clarity and direction on Dye It Blonde is a thing of beauty. Stylistically, this is something of a neo-psychedelic or psychedelic pop record, quite a few LSD blotters more psychedelic than the trippiest offerings from Magic Kids, but not as pop-sensible as say former tour partner MGMT. One thing that persists from the start of the record is that clean lead guitar effect, which sounds good, but is a bit overused. “Weekend” and “Imagine Pt. 3” have qualities that immediately hit ‘ya, so with good reason these tracks were made available before the official release. “Dance Away” may be the album’s most experimental track, but in the strangest way possible: it’s the fastest, most accessible, and most randomly discombobulated recording on here. Sounds like it’s going for that Diana Ross “Upside Down” disco meets ’90s Ricky Martin feel. Anyway, this is a record to remember. Fuck, it ain’t even 2011 yet so to make any predictions about this being in contention for Best of 2011 would be wildly erratic and unbecoming. I will say it’s the best thing from 2011 that I heard in 2010. K?

Grade: A- (92)

Music, Uncategorized

2011 In Music: A Preview

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2010 is still not over. It’s worth mentioning that 2011 is shaping up to be an interesting year, at the very least, in terms of new music coming from some of my long-time favorite bands/potential favorites. Let’s take a look at what is definitely coming out:

Arctic Monkeys – Fourth Studio Album – Sometime!

The Beets – Stay Home – January 11

Black Lips – Sixth Studio Album – April 5

Bright Eyes – The People’s Key – February 15

Davila 666 – Untitled – February

Gentleman Jesse & His Men – Untitled – Sometime!

Hunx and His Punx – Untitled – April

Jens Lekman – Untitled – Sometime!

Lovely Feathers – Untitled – Sometime!

Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Untitled – March

Panda Bear – Tomboy – Sometime!

Peter Bjorn and John – Gimme Some – March

Radiohead – Untitled – Sometime!

Sam Roberts – Untitled – Sometime!

Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde – January 18

The Strokes – Untitled – Sometime!

Tapes ‘N Tapes – Outside – January 11