Cymbals Eat Guitars open along with The Depreciation Guild for The Pains of Being Pure At Heart at the Middle East Downstairs this Saturday, September 5.
Comment: This album is reminiscent of early Animal Collective, except a tad bit noisier and a tad bit more random. If you are noise/electronica/slowcore kind of person, this will please you. The deal with albums like this is that the listening experience is subjective. Unlike with most other albums that came out this year, there are going to be a wide variety of sentiments that come with the listening experience. My 8.5 might be a 10 to one person and a 5 to another.
Band: Flashy Python (Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) Release: 2009
1. “Let Us Hallucinate Together” – 9.2 2. “The Lady Is A Ghost” – 9.7 3. “Ichiban Blues” – 9.2 4.“Skin and Bones” – 9.4 5. “Obscene Queen Bee” – 9.8 6. “In the Darkness” – 9.6 7. “Cattle’s New Clothes” – 9.1 8. “Avalon’s Snake Breath” – 10.0 Comment: If anything can be said about Alec Ounsworth it’s that there is really no limit to what he can produce. His voice can work wonders on just about any song. The album is filled with what I would like to call psychedelic folk…it’s more intricate than what we know as folk and it’s faster and deeper than pure modern neo-psychedelia.
Comments: You’re going be like “whoa this is Wavves” (or better yet an incredibly unpolished No Age influenced trio) while listening. There’s really nothing revolutionary going on on this album besides a lot of experimenting with guitars and drum beats that scream, intentionally or otherwise, lo-fi surf-punk. Somewhere and somehow, at least on some of the songs, sense can be made. Noise rock making sense! That’s the No Age comparison. Most of the tracks don’t have an overly catchy flair — they are more like sophisticated jams. So say, for instance, you went to a Talbot Tagora concert for the first time without ever listening to them before. You’re going to have a good time rocking out. And if you have listened to them before, you are going to have a bitch of a time deciphering songs. Admittedly I got a little bored with this after a while. I kind of just wanted to change it up and get my noise fix from the Losing Feeling EP…or the Talking Heads (alphabetically next on my playlist).
Grade: 8.3 (I haven’t done this yet, but I have to take off .5 points because it lacks originality to a sad point.)
Band: Lovely Feathers Label: Equator Records Release: 2009
Comments: This, the third studio album from the Montreal indie rockers certainly was a crucial record, in my opinion. The group won my attention with their spectacular 2006 release Hind Hind Legs. Hind Hind Legs was heavy on the synths and almost what I would describe as “glam-folk.” Every song had a great quality, whether it was “Pope John Paul” (funny, heavy), or “Rod Stewart” (funny, pop). Fantasy of the Lotstarts off with “Lowiza,” a Hind Hind Legs-ish song filled with irresistible vocals and great drums. “Long Walks” sounds like dark faux postpunk at first. It’s sort of hard to classify the Lovely Feathers as anything “officially” because they combine so many different sounds. The middle of “Long Walks” changes to something more powerpop based before going back to what it originally was. Returning to the light-hearted jangle folk that I loved so much on past records is “Fad.” Think Paul Simon meets Jens Lekman meets traditional calypso. “Gifted Donalds” features a lullaby-esque piano sequences, yet manages to be persistently upbeat. “Finders Fee” has the bass-line, for starters, to be a significant track. It follows through on all notes to be exactly that. The title track doesn’t exactly suck…it just doesn’t stand out. It never picks up. “Family That Doesn’t Know the Game” is pure Lovely Feathers. “Ossified Games” has a notable “woo-ooo-aaahhh-ooo.” I love those. And a pres Asian little guitar riff. “Argotaker” has a bit of a Canadian folk thing going on. “Loading Dock” is a bit meh. The last track “Vaulted Precedents” is psychedelically slow but amusing.
Final Comment: Overall, I think the Lovely Feathers toned things down a little bit. The music seems more serious than it has in the past. Slower. More experimental than ever. The sad part is there aren’t any tracks that stick out besides “Lowiza.” By the way this thing came out in America today.
1. “Blues Not Speed” – 9.4 2. “Turkey Sandwich” – 9.3 3. “I Got A Lot (New New New) – 9.6 4. “Wild Bore” – 9.2 5. “Sex” – 9.5 6. “Totion” – 9.5 7. “On the Rise” – 9.6 8. “Beat the Rush” – 9.7 9. “Johnson R. Cool” – 9.1 10. “Sex Jazz” – 9.4 11. “Keep on Calling” – 9.3 12. “Turkey Barnyard Mix” – 9.5
Comments: Sounds like an all-girl version of early Black Lips material, except a little bit more punk and a little bit more catchy. It’s no wonder why Ian St. Pe said this is a band he is really digging.
Comments: This album is quite the experience on headphones! It’s weirdly catchy. That means there are some songs that you might not dig at first, but that you quickly gain respect for. You could argue that Deacon suffered from the disease of “over-doing” it while making this album. The symptom was mostly quality music being made. The Alvin and the Chipmunks cover (not really), “Baltihorse,” is strangely amazing. You know what I mean?
Comments: Spin almost hits the bulls-eye in a phrase of its review: “accomplished, but not particularly infectious.” Those last three words are pretty damn crucial. Just think about the first two Arctic Monkeys albums. Whatever People Say I Am excellent from top to bottom. Favourite Worst Nightmare picked up right where Whatever… left off and is packed with some of the best tunes of this decade. Humbug isn’t as instantly infectious. The first two tracks are darker and heavier, but just as noteworthy as what can be considered this band’s best. There are also some lighter, lyrics-focused songs that exemplify Alex Turner’s exquisite song-writing like “Secret Door” and “Cornerstone.” Definitely to me this is one of the best albums of the year. I’m embracing the new direction band has taken, if you want to call it that.
1. “Only If You Run” – 9.8 2. “Fun That We Have” – 9.5 3. “Skyscraper” – 9.5 4. “Games For Days” – 9.8 5. “Madrid Song” – 9.1 6. “No Chance Survival” – 9.3 7. “Unwind” – 9.5
8. “Girl on the Sporting News” – 9.3 9. “On the Esplanade” – 9.6 10. “Fly As You Might” – 9.7
11. “H” – 9.0
Comments: Paul Banks is down to serious business with this, which is seriously amazing. The critics hit the mark when they categorize this as part folk, part pounding art rock. A lot of it is better than Interpol — and that’s saying a lot.
Band: Cymbals Eat Guitars
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 