Week of June 29, 2009

Wilco - Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch)

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Wilco find themselves in a unique position on the amusingly-titled Wilco (The Album). For the first time, Jeff Tweedy has kept the exact same band lineup two records in a row. Wilco (The Album) is sonically closer to 2007's mellower, hopeful Sky Blue Sky than any other Wilco record. Kicking off with the jaunty "Wilco (The Song)" (maybe the band has spent too much time watching Spaceballs: The Movie?), Wilco (The Album) stays on an even keel for the most part.

Lead single "You Never Know" finds Tweedy assuring those nervous about the state of the planet that "every generation, thinks it's the worst, thinks it's the end of the world," while guitar hero Nels Cline nicks the classic guitar riff from George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord." Tweedy also takes a look around in "Country Disappeared," and realizes he's spent too much time looking inward on "Solitaire." The menacing rocker "Bull Black Nova" is the centerpiece of the record, with some trademark guitarwork from Cline. It’s no "Impossible Germany," but it's the closest we get to a guitar scorcher. Feist duets with Tweedy on "You & I," continuing a theme from Sky Blue Sky of examining mature relationship issues.

Musically, the record stays in the same tastefully produced, slightly twangy mode as Sky Blue Sky, with Cline and Tweedy's spiky electric guitars coloring the edges, along with Glenn Kotche's unique drumming. Wilco (The Album) is certainly a fine addition to the band's catalog, and as with all their records, rewards multiple listens, but it also feels like the first time the band has sonically repeated themselves from album-to-album. However, Wilco's best material truly comes alive in their epic concerts and you can catch them live in Delaware at Frawley Stadium on July 10th.

Review by Joey O.

Week of June 22, 2009

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm (Jagjaguwar)

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For four albums between 1991 and 1997, Dinosaur Jr. was better described as the solo project of guitarist J Mascis.  Bassist Lou Barlow left in 1988 to form Sebadoh and Folk Implosion, and drummer Emmett "Murph" Murphy’s parts were eventually taken over by Mascis himself.  Given all that, it's quite surprising how swimmingly the trio's recent reunion has been going.  Farm, the guys' second album since reuniting in 2005 and first for Jagjaguwar Records, comes across as much more comfortable than 2007's Beyond.  Where that album found old band mates coming together for one more hurrah, Farm cements the reunion's legitimacy as more than just a rent-paying venture.  In its hour-long running time, Farm covers all of the Dino Jr. bases: Mascis' slack-jawed vocals (opener "Pieces" is particularly unintelligible), searing guitar figures ("There's No Here") and a great slowed-down blues stomp ("Said The People").  There are also two obligatory Barlow songs, "Your Weather" and the closing "Imagination Blind," both of which would have made the last Sebadoh album much, much better.  There aren't very many immediate moments on Farm like there were on the band's first three albums (the only other ones to feature this lineup), but "See You" and "I Want You To Know" have sufficiently catchy guitar riffs.  We may have to wait until their "next" third album until they go pop like they did with 1988's Bug.  Regardless, it seems that Dinosaur Jr. are back to stay (for now).

Review by Eric Schuman

Spinnerette - Spinnerette (Anthem)

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Brody Dalle fronted punk rockers The Distillers for eight years, before settling down with Queens Of The Stone Age main man Josh Homme and giving birth to their daughter. However, Dalle wasn't done with music by a long shot and had been taking her time with her next project: Spinnerette. A collaboration with QOTSA cohort Alain Johannes, Spinnerette finds Dalle creating a new sound, mixing her punky past with a sexier future. Johannes brings in the sleazy guitar sounds that are a staple of QOTSA's music, with ex-Distiller Tony Bevilacqua and veteran drummer Jack Irons (Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers) lending a hand as well. The last time we heard from Dalle was the Distillers' 2003 album Coral Fang. But with Spinnerette, Dalle stretches out vocally beyond the primal screams of her old band's cathartic swan song. The record kicks off with the grinding, hooky "Ghetto Love," which was released early this year as part of a digital EP teaser. Songs like the single "Baptized By Fire," with its surprising mandolin-tinged breakdown, and the melodic "Distorting A Code" (which is reminiscent of the lower-key danceable moments on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' latest record) prove what Dalle is capable of. The sassy, fuzzed-out "Sex Bomb," roaring "All Babes Are Wolves" and strutting "Geeking" help round out the Spinnerette sound. With this long awaited debut, Dalle is on her way to a successful second act in her music career.

Review by Joey O.

Week of June 15, 2009

Placebo - Battle For The Sun (Vagrant)

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After releasing Meds in 2006, Brit-rock vets Placebo toured extensively around the globe for over a year straight, but were worn out and unhappy. Singer/guitarist Brian Molko has said there was a “breakdown of personal relationships” in the trio, which eventually led to the exit of drummer Steve Hewitt after over a decade as part of Placebo’s lineup. Molko and bassist Stefan Olsdal found drummer Steve Forrest, opted out of the major label game and set about recording their sixth album, Battle For The Sun. The first half of the record is some of the brawniest, strongest material of the band's career and certainly less morose than Meds. Lead single “For What It's Worth” adds a powerful horn section on top of Placebo's familiar glam rock. Opening tracks “Kitty Litter” and “Ashtray Heart” pack a rocking one-two punch, with the band clearly swinging for the arena seats with huge shout-and-clap-along moments. Other songs such as “The Never Ending Why” and the title track also ramp up the radio-ready guitars. Battle For The Sun certainly won't be mistaken for the work of anyone but Placebo, though the record does suffer from a bit same-ness by the end. Battle For The Sun is a worthy (and louder) next chapter in the band's career.

Review by Joey O.

Week of June 8, 2009

Sonic Youth - The Eternal (Matador)

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Where do you see yourself at 50?  What about 56?  Do you think you'll be co-fronting on of the most influential bands of our generation?  It's okay if you don’t, because Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon have already gotten that under control.  With Sonic Youth nearing its 30th year, the group continues to make music that most other people their age can't even stand to listen to.  Since 2002's magnificent Murray Street, the band's musical arc has followed a strange progression, producing album after album of more controlled, melodic guitar rock.  The Eternal, the band's 16th (!!!) studio album, continues that trend, but with a healthy dose of classic SY fuzz and noise.  Beginning with "Sacred Trickster," one of the shortest, punkiest songs in their recent catalogue, the album condenses the band's career into one tight package.  The two "tribute" songs on The Eternal betray Sonic Youth's varied influences: "Leaky Lifeboat," featuring vocals from Moore, Gordon and Lee Ranaldo, is dedicated to poet Gregory Corso, and the shaky "Thunderclap" pays tribute to Bobby Pyn, an alias of the late Darby Crash of The Germs.  Punk and poetry has always been Sonic Youth's game, and songs like "Anti-Orgasm" and "Malibu Gas Station" seamlessly blend art and rock.  The Eternal also marks the studio debut of second bassist Mark Ibold (formerly of Pavement), who has been touring with the band since 2006.  "No Way" and "What We Know" both feature appropriately prominent basslines, while the spacey, multi-part closer, "Massage The History," hearkens back to the band's early, no-wave days.  That track may encapsulate The Eternal's message: always move forward without forgetting to keep the past alive.  If that's not something for everyone to live by, musician or otherwise, I don't know what is.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of June 1, 2009

Rancid - Let The Dominoes Fall (Epitaph)

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On their seventh album, Let The Dominos Fall, Rancid prove that you can stick to your roots (and the radical too) and still be current and relevant. Nineteen tracks that are instantly familiar, yet feel fresh and new at the same time. East Bay shout out song? Check. Sing-a-long choruses? Check. Impossibly fast bass lines that make you wonder how one man’s hand can move that fast? Yep, still there too. Rancid returns with their straight four on the floor punk rock and their classic reggae-ska-punk vibe. Things even get a bit folky with mandolin and what sounds like steel guitar on "Civilian Ways," a song co-frontman Tim Armstrong wrote about his brother Greg coming home from fighting in Iraq. "Up To No Good" sounds a lot like 1995's "Time Bomb" but this time tickling the Hammond B3 keys is none other than the legendary Booker T - yes that one – of Stax Records backing band Booker T and the MG's fame. Bassist Matt Freeman sings a lot on this record (sounding more like punk rock Grover every time I hear it) and gets his rockabilly on in "L.A. River" – complete with "Boom shacka lacka lacka" choruses. Of course, it wouldn't be a Rancid record if there wasn't some social commentary going on in the lyrics. Not only do you find more Iraq war tones on "Bravest Kids," Tim sings about how while this is all going on overseas, most of the "news media" in the U.S. is fixated on celebrity culture, pop star weddings and the like instead of the issues our military are facing overseas fighting for our freedom. "This Place" deals with the U.S.'s "Rust Belt" – the area where factories are being shut down, left to rust abandoned and the effects it has in those communities. Of course, there are classic Rancid tales of music, salvation, and friendship as well, which are my favorite tracks on the record. "Punk rock is my religion," sings Lars Frederiksen on "You Want It, You Got It." "This is a place where everyone can belong" the gang chorus echos the sentiments – everyone's welcome in the church of punk rock. And a perfect closer for this soon to be a classic Rancid album, the acoustic campfire-esque "The Highway," sums up just why this band is still kicking around making music together for such a long time  - "It's all I've ever done, all I've ever known.  Just wanna play one more show and make some music with my friends."

Review by Casey Landman

eels - Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire (Vagrant)

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You know how sometimes, in the days or weeks following a concert, you either listen nonstop to the records of the band you saw, or you take a break from listening to them for a while?  After seeing eels early last year, I listened to them continuously for months.  I had always been a causal fan of Mark Oliver Everett's heart-breakingly personal songwriting, and his stylistic shifts from album to album have always been captivating, if not always rewarding.  Since the release of 2005's double-album Blinking Lights And Other Revelations, the Man Called E released a live album and DVD (which is stunning, if you've never heard it), a best-of collection, a B-sides collection, an autobiography and won a BAFTA award for his BBC documentary, “Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives.”  Amidst his exploration of his troubled past in various media, E penned 12 songs about the varying degrees of desire, released as Hombre Lobo.  Sonically, the album mixes Blinking Lights' pop sensibility with the overdriven scuzz of 2001's Souljacker. Close-listening fans will recognize lead single “Fresh Blood,” with its ethereal vocal and haunting keyboard riff, as being a dark yet close relative of “Flyswatter” from Daisies Of The Galaxy.  As the subtitle suggests, these songs aren&'t about love, but desire.  “Tremendous Dynamite” finds the titular wolf man on the prowl, and “Beginner's Luck” sets a tale of adolescent longing to a “Town Called Malice” backbeat.  E certainly hasn't lost his knack for rocking out, with rave-ups like “Lilac Breeze” and “What's A Fella Gotta Do?” rivaling some of his best-loved rockers.  Of course, it wouldn't be an eels album without a few well-placed ballads, and “All The Beautiful Things” and the closing track, “Ordinary Man” fill that quota nicely.  He's come a long way from the sample-based grooves of his debut, but E has never lost the unmistakable voice (both musically and lyrically) that has defined each of his ventures.

Review by E. Schuman

Week of May 26, 2009

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glassnote)

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Simply put, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is Phoenix's pop album; an album tailor-made to be blasted at countless outdoor parties and soundtrack various high school movies. More to the point, it's their best album, with sharper hooks and more immediate songwriting than anything on their first three albums combined. The most attention will doubtless be paid to the first two songs on the album, the swinging "Lisztomania" and the rollicking "1901." Both songs bring out the best in the band lyrically and compositionally, with riffs and beats instantly, almost effortlessly infectious and choruses (belted with frantic gusto by frontman Thomas Mars) destined to fill arenas. This opening would provide a hell of a challenge for most bands to follow, but damned if the rest of Wolfgang doesn't come through in spades, from the slinky "Fences" to the gradual gallop of "Rome" to the Sigur Ros-worthy instrumental interlude "Love Like a Sunset Pts. 1 and 2." Coming off a well-received performance on Saturday Night Live and already garnering raves for their current tour (alas, no Philly dates on the horizon), there's no better time for Phoenix to become the indie stars they're so clearly ready to be, and no better album to do it with than this one.

Review by Rob Huff

Week of May 18, 2009

White Rabbits - It's Frightening (TBD Records)

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On their follow-up to 2007's Fort Nightly, White Rabbits have stripped away much of their former Walkman-esque reverb and placed the emphasis on their formidable piano melodies and percussion. On first listen, this shift in sound will have listeners thinking one thing: Spoon. No surprises then that It's Frightening was produced by that band's mastermind Britt Daniel. His touch lends a much welcome tension to the proceedings. Greg Roberts' vocals take on a rawer, more guttural quality when they're no longer drenched in echo while dueling drummers Matt Clark and Jamie Levinson (assets never fully exploited last time around) get a much deserved chance to shine. The opening one-two punch of "Percussion Gun" and "Rudie Fails" successfully builds on their winding interplay, as Roberts' voice literally bursts through on the choruses. The rest of the album doesn't quite live up to this introduction, but remains solid and enjoyable throughout, with the band's natural swagger and charisma shining through even when a few numbers sound less like the White Rabbits and more like outtakes from Kill the Moonlight (again, Spoon). Robert and the gang have proven adept at changing their sound and running with it. Now they just need to pick a sound and stick with it and we'll get our true masterpiece from them, which may not be too far off judging from their present output. If you missed White Rabbits' Free at Noon last week, they'll be playing Johnny Brenda's on June 5th.

Review by Rob Huff

Week of May 11, 2009

Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise)

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In 2004, Green Day released American Idiot and changed everything for the Bay Area trio, as they went from the biggest Pop-Punk band in America to one of the biggest bands in the world, period. American Idiot brought four smash singles, Rock opera aspirations, Bush Administration-bating and sold out shows across the globe. How do you follow that? Aside from a detour as the 60s Rock side project Foxboro Hot Tubs, Green Day took their time crafting 21st Century Breakdown (which gets a special Friday release on May 15). And quite a follow-up it is. The band ups the ante by expanding their bag of tricks and artistry, while keeping melodic three-chord rock and roll as the beating heart of it all.

Starting off with a crackly radio transmission of the intro track “Song Of The Century,” 21st Century Breakdown really kicks in with the multi-part title track. Green Day mix in more pianos, strings and textures throughout the record, but it’s always the three band members’ instruments at the center of each song. Billie Joe Armstrong remains one of the best melody writers and song craftsmen of his generation. Perhaps as a result of their cover of “Working Class Hero,” you can hear the late John Lennon as a major influence on the record, in Billie Joe's voice as well as his guitar tone. In songs such as the love ballad “Last Night On Earth,” Lennon's solo work is certainly an inspiration. Elsewhere, the band experiments with Spanish guitar and a spaghetti western feel on “Peacemaker” and the beat of “¿Viva La Glora?” makes you think the song could morph into a Gogol Bordello rave-up any second. Armstrong reaches into his highest register on “Restless Heart Syndrome” and the lovely “21 Guns,” the “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” & “Wake Me Up When September Ends” of the album.

There isn't a real 'storyline' on 21st Century Breakdown, though Armstrong has said his recurring characters “Christian” and “Gloria” are symbolic of the two sides of the same coin: rage and anger vs. hope and optimism. (And of course they can't resist invoking Them's classic “G-l-o-r-i-a!” chant in the thrashing “Horseshoes And Handgrenades.”) The album’s 18 songs certainly have more than enough of these emotions on display. The Butch Vig-produced 21st Century Breakdown is bigger and more expansive than American Idiot, and while it may not live up to that instant classic, it's certainly Green Day once again reaching for the arena seats while staying true to themselves. Green Day will return to Philadelphia to play just such an arena, the Wachovia Spectrum (for the first and last time!), on July 21.

Review by Joey O.

Week of May 4, 2009

Art Brut - Art Brut Vs. Satan (Downtown)

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Art Brut burst onto the scene in 2005 with the brilliantly enthusiastic declaration of “Formed A Band.” But where do you go after proclaiming you would be eventually writing “the song that makes Israel and Palestine get along”? Their third record, Art Brut Vs. Satan, might not bring us world peace, but it does bring us their best album yet. Produced by Black Francis of the Pixies, Art Brut Vs. Satan finds frontman Eddie Argos tackling some of his favorite topics with insight, depth and plenty of humor. Argos sing-speaks of hangovers (the album bookends “Alcoholics Unanimous” and “Mysterious Bruises”), public transportation (“The Passenger”) and unrequited crushes (“Am I Normal?). Few bands tackle music geekiness better than Art Brut, who prefer albums recorded “Slap Dash For No Cash,” where Argos asks “Why is everyone trying to sound like U2?” They also pay tribute to “The Replacements,” where he gets excited about acquiring “second hand records, reissue CDs, extra tracks!” from the 'Mats. Best of all is “DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake,” where the narrator doesn't want to grow up but can't get over the greatness of Batman and dessert. All of Argos' clever words wouldn't mean as much if they weren't backed by the rest of the band's guitar riffage and post-punk influences. You can shout along with Art Brut yourself at Johnny Brenda's on June 6.

Review by Joey O.

Week of April 27, 2009

Depeche Mode - Sounds of The Universe (Capitol)

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Depeche Mode fans desperately tried attaching the tag "best album since Violator" to every album the band put out through the 1990s and early 2000s. Only with 2005's Playing the Angel has that title stuck. The new Sounds of the Universe may indeed earn the same praise but it will take a significantly different path. That's because where Angel was forward and grabby and hooky, this new album is a grower, a slow burn. Everything about Universe, from the creepy atmosphere of first single and video "Wrong" to throwback instrumental "Spacewalker," feels subtle and sinister. Here Depeche Mode sound like many dour European synthpop groups they once inspired because, excepting songs like "Fragile Tension" and Dave Gahan's gothic country explorations "Little Soul" and "Miles Away," many of DM's grunge-inspired guitar sounds have been replaced with toy pianos, video game lasers, and other analog fuzz and dissonant pinging. Considering how spotty their catalog got post-Violator, that news alone should cheer even the most grizzled fan. Various expanded editions of the album offer extra tracks and demos going all the way back to the days of "Little 15," and a special iTunes subscription provides months of downloadable Depeche Mode exclusives -- the Martin Gore-voiced "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" might be worth the price of admission alone. So on many levels, Sounds of the Universe at its core is a gateway to great things. Hear it for yourself when they play a sold out show at the Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City with Peter Bjorn & John on August 1.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of April 20, 2009

Silversun Pickups - Swoon (Dangerbird)

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If I had to pick the one band that I'm most proud of Y-Rock exposing Philadelphia to first, it would have to be Silversun Pickups. While it was an initial "this sounds like The Smashing Pumpkins" reaction that drew me to SSPU, I found so much more in their debut album Carnavas and the Pikul EP that preceded it. On their second full length album Swoon, the Silverlake, CA quartet of Brian Aubert, Nikki Moninger, Joe Lester, and Christopher Guanlao have stayed true to their signature sound: dreamy, fuzzy, distorted guitars; thick basslines and slightly nasal high pitched vocals that you could almost confuse for a woman's. What's been added to the mix are some beautiful strings and lyrics which are possibly more accessible to the wider audience that has come to know them from the almost ubiquitous radio airplay and film & TV placement of "Lazy Eye" over the last 2 years.  Swoon's lead single "Panic Switch" is as catchy a rock song as they come and will surely have people "waiting and fading and floating away" to pick up the album.  Other standouts of the rockin' variety include "It's Nice To Know You Work Alone," opening track "There's No Secrets This Year" and "Sort Of".  But Swoon has its quieter, more contemplative moments as well, such as "Growing Old Is Getting Old" and "Draining."  Much as I could not stop listening to Carnavas for months back in 2006, I anticipate that I, and hopefully many of you will feel the same way about Swoon.   Whereas that album got the Silversun Pickups' proverbial foot in the door, this one will make stars out of them.

Review by Josh T. Landow

Metric - Fantasies (Metric Music International)

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After spending the last few years as an acoustic soloist, Emily Haines is finally ready to rock again. And rock she and the rest of Metric do on Fantasies, their resurgent follow-up to 2005's middling Live it Out. True to its title, the album sounds like one Metric have been wanting to make their entire careers. Song titles like "Front Row" and "Stadium Love" make it clear from the offset where their ambitions lie. These are ten alluring, arena-ready anthems with a slick production sheen worthy of Butch Vig. Lead single "Help I'm Alive" almost plays like his former band Garbage if he had hired Kim Deal on vocals instead of Shirley Manson. The idea of Haines and company leaving the Old World Underground behind for a bigger, brighter sound may prove initially jarring to many long-time listeners, but repeat listens will reveal this to be the group's most rewarding album yet, with several numbers rivaling the repeatability of past peaks "Dead Disco" and "Monster Hospital." The obvious contender for Single #2 is "Gimme Sympathy" with its propulsive, Bloc Partying beat and shimmering, synth-riddled chorus sporting a timeless rhetorical question ("Who would you rather be - The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?). Not far behind it are "Sick Muse," a seething rocker leveled by Haines' wistfully plaintive delivery, and "Twilight Galaxy," which proves that she can still do subtle electro-balladry with the best of them. A perfect example of radio-ready alt-pop done right, Fantasies demonstrates the sound of a band fully transformed and ready to move into the mainstream that too often eludes their peers. The invitation they've extended to us to follow along is sincerely warm and inviting, and if anyone opts not to take it, it's their loss. These may not be the fantasies everyone shares, but Metric make them a stunning reality, nonetheless.

Review by Rob Huff

Week of April 13, 2009

Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart (Mercury)

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May I interest you in a sleeper candidate for 2009's Album of the Year? On Fortress Round My Heart Norway's Ida Maria takes an old soul tainted by booze and misplaced love, and camouflages it with button-cuteness. Well, that plus three chords and a cloud of dust. Is this it, you ask? The better question is, is this Is This It all over again? The Strokes once filled a debut with old and new music that ran painfully obvious influences through their own particular filter, yet still managed to alter music's orbit. Ida and her band do nothing different here, and we're not just talking the Banana Splits riff in year-old European hit "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" or the Martha & the Vandellas chorus in prostitution tale "Stella." Fortress Round My Heart has surprising twists and turns throughout: huge choral parts and giggling that recall the looseness of Be Your Own Pet, chugging power-pop insecurities that invoke everyone from X-Ray Spex ("Forgive Me") to Ted Leo ("Morning Light"), and especially Ida's use of strained melodies and fragile, aching whispers to make particular musical points. To nick her lyrics, with this debut Ida Maria may be lonely forever, but today she's queen of the world.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of April 6, 2009

Doves - Kingdom of Rust (Astalwerks)

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It's been four years since Doves released a full-length album and Kingdom of Rust continues the band's ambient journey, picking up electronic and rock influences along the way. Never quite breaking the US market, the Manchester England trio enjoyed chart topping success across the pond in the early 2000s with Lost Souls, The Last Broadcast, and Some Cities. While this album is lacking a clear driving single from the past like "Catch The Sun," "There Goes The Fear," or "Black & White Town," they have moved away from the stripped down sound of their last album and shows bold confidence in taking chances. The album has the familiar cascading rhythms, muted vocals, atmospheric sound effects and lyrical themes of endless searching and loneliness, however, approaches the tracks with a fresh rock and almost optimistic attitude. The title track paints peaks and valleys with melodic guitars and xylophones driving, but not quite getting to, a musical climax. "Jetstream" reflects the band's dance influence incorporating pounding beats and layered synths, removed vocals and a touch of retribution. "10:03" is a simply lovely ballad that keeps us wanting more. Endlessly compared to their fellow Brit band Elbow, hopefully they will gain similar attention in 2009. You can catch Doves when they return to Philadelphia on June 5 at the Trocadero.

Review by Liz Romaine

Week of March 30, 2009

Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing (Almost Gold/Wichita)

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Last year, when I reviewed The Black Keys' Attack & Release, I mentioned that Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton and Mark Ronson were bringing the spotlight back to the producer's chair.  I neglected to include the middle child of Peter Bjorn And John, keyboardist/producer Bjorn Yttling, who has been making quite a name for himself, both within and outside of his (partly) namesake band.  In the past few years, Yttling has worked with Primal Scream, the Shout Out Louds, the Caesars and Lykke Li, to name a few.  His work with Li may have proved the greatest influence on his own band's latest album, Living Thing, as the minimalist electro-sass that made Li's Youth Novels so much fun returns here in abundance.  Beginning with the kettle drum- and vocals-as-rhythm-sampling “The Feeling,” Living Thing’s mood is immediately set as much darker than its proper predecessor, 2006's Writer's Block.  It may have been a conscious move to not try to replicate the playful back-and-forth of "Young Folks," but the group's new direction is intriguing if not instantly inviting. The record's strongest element is its cohesive sound, with many unusual instruments showing up more than once, such as bass-heavy slide guitar ("4 Out Of 5," the title track), and arty but noisy synth effects ("It Don't Move Me," "Blue Period Picasso").  It's hard to forget, though, that the trio are still a pop group, and even with the change of tone they deliver some outlandishly smart singles, including "Nothing To Worry About," with its children's choir echoing the chorus in Lykke Li's "Breaking It Up," and the bouncy but obscene "Lay It Down," which will hopefully be edited for airplay soon.  Different as it may sound from the group's previous efforts, Living Thing shouldn't come as a complete surprise, as last year's mostly-instrumental Seaside Rock hinted at the guys' more experimental leanings.  It's that combination of outsider art ("I'm Losing My Mind") and unabashed sweetness ("I Want You!") that makes Living Thing so enjoyable.  You can see Peter Bjorn And John shake things up at World Café Live on May 1st.  And don't fret if you can't whistle along; there isn't any on this record, and it's hardly missed one bit.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of March 23, 2009

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love (Capitol)

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As the leader of The Decemberists, Colin Meloy has been less a songwriter than a storyteller. With each new album, the individual songs have mattered less than the overall arc of the album they're trying to convey. With The Hazards of Love, the willfully epic follow-up to 2006's The Crane Wife, Meloy has delivered his most demanding, cinematic opus yet. It's an operatic tall tale involving murderous rakes, evil queens, shape-shifting suitors, and a sweet, innocent girl named Margaret caught in the thick of it all. Make no mistake. This is no album for Decemberists novices where you can just pick songs to listen to at random (there are four different incarnations of the title track alone). Save possibly for current single "The Rake's Song," the songs are merely scenes of the bigger play that has to be heard from beginning to end to understand. Fortunately, Meloy has found some able players to fill the supporting roles and flesh out the narrative. Lavendar Diamond's Becky Stark gives a sweet turn as our heroine Margaret on "Won't Want for Love" and "Isn't it a Lovely Night," while My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden brings a menacing swagger to her role as the queen on "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing" and "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid." Speaking of swagger, there's no lack of that in the music itself, either, as all of the band members bring an arena-ready vitality to the instrumentation that might make one wonder at some points if they've stumbled into a concert by The White Stripes or The Arcade Fire. Casual Decemberists fans may find themselves put off by the amount of attention Hazards requires, but the long-time listeners who voted it Y-Rock's "Most Anticipated Album of 2009" will no doubt be drawn in by its ambition and ultimately rewarded for their patience with the group's boldest artistic statement yet.

Review by Rob Huff

Week of March 16, 2009

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! (Geffen/Interscope)

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Two songs into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' third album It's Blitz!, frontwoman Karen O. sums up her current outlook thusly: “Dance dance dance til you're dead! After the band went through some challenging times with their excellent sophomore effort Show Your Bones, and cleaned some noise-pop gems out the closet on the Is Is EP, the trio have settled on a new direction on It's Blitz! Nick Zinner's ripping guitar is still in the mix, but there's also an icy layer of synthesizers and drummer Brian Chase amps up the BPMs on the dancier numbers.

Karen continues to show off her vocal range, though "Maps" proved years ago she can do far more than snarl and yelp like in their early days as art stars. The joyousness conveyed in older tracks such as "Y Control" and "Cheated Hearts" is heard throughout It's Blitz!, especially on the lead single "Zero" and album highlight "Dull Life." There are plenty of contemplative moments as well. Songs such as "Runaway," "Little Shadow" and "Soft Shock" are quieter ballads, showcasing the band's most melodic sensibilities. It's Blitz! finds the Yeah Yeah Yeahs continuing to live up to their limitless potential, as they further prove to be one of the most exciting bands of this decade.

Review by Joey O.

Week of March 9, 2009

War Child Presents Heroes (Astralwerks)

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Making a solid tribute album is a tough game to win.  There's the inevitability of filler tracks, songs whose original versions are untouchable, and otherwise questionable inclusions.  The redeeming part is that tribute albums, no matter how uneven, often support very worthy organizations.  The newest album from international charity War Child (www.warchild..org), Heroes, follows the pattern of mostly-great covers for a good cause.  War Child, whose efforts bring aid to children in war-stricken countries, mixed the album’s assembling process up a bit, asking veteran artists to nominate younger contemporaries to cover a tune from their classic catalogue.

Some of the choices were painfully obvious, such as The Kooks' predictable cover of The Kinks’ "Victoria," and The Hold Steady's take on (who else?) Bruce Springsteen.  More enjoyable are the covers by bands whose influences are a bit more subtle, such as Scissor Sisters’ boogie-down take on Roxy Music's "Do The Strand" and a live version of Franz Ferdinand covering "Call Me" by Blondie. A few of the legends' choices work almost puzzlingly, such as Iggy Pop picking electroclash girly-girl Peaches to do The Stooges' "Search And Destroy," (which gives new meaning to the line, "Look out, honey, 'cause I'm using technology") and the surviving members of Joy Division (i.e. New Order) nominating Hot Chip to cover "Transmission" (though Alexis Taylor's plaintive tenor makes you wonder how Bernard Sumner would've sounded if he would have been Joy Division's lead singer).

The set isn't without its missteps, as Welsh soulstress Duffy sucks all the fun out of "Live And Let Die," and Leonard Cohen's son Adam delivers a strange version of "Take This Waltz," incorporating a lot of the original Spanish poem his dad used as inspiration.

While I'm won over by the cinematic balladry of Rufus Wainwright's Beach Boys medley, I'm sure War Child is counting on Beck's raucous translation of Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' pogo-ready take on "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" to catch prospective donors' attentions.  No matter what your style, odds are Heroes has what it takes to please your palate.  And after all, isn't universal happiness what these charities are all about?

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of March 2, 2009

U2 - No Line On The Horizon (Interscope)

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Years in the making, the long-awaited No Line On The Horizon is unmistakably a U2 record, though it might not be exactly what fans were expecting. After traveling around the globe to reinvent themselves once again, the Irish superstars have come up with a "transitional" record of sorts, instead of the straightforward, crowd-pleasers of their last two releases.

No Line On The Horizon features a number of experimental tracks, reminiscent of the deeper cuts on The Unforgettable Fire or the moodier moments of Achtung Baby. The Edge's guitarwork is impeccable as always, but Bono makes some odd choices vocally and lyrically throughout. The title track builds to become one of the strongest songs on the record, while "Magnificen"” is the most 'classic' U2 song, with the Edge's chiming guitar straight out of the early 80s. "Stand Up Comedy" rides a big funky guitar riff, and the epic "Breathe" comes as a pleasant surprise late in the album, with Bono spitting out Dylan-style verses, then switching into a crooning chorus.

However, the stately, 7+ minute "Moment Of Surrender" is a bit overlong. "Unknown Caller" features more Unforgettable Fire-era atmospherics but is held down by Bono's awkward techno jargon lyrics. "Force-quit and move to trash"…really? "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is the closest fit to the "classic U2" mold of the last two albums, but it's weighed down by an unwieldy title and chorus (and the Edge nicks part of a Journey melody!).

In "Get On Your Boots," Bono sings, "I don't wanna talk about the wars between nations (Not right now!)" Saving his soap box for the moonlighting gigs, Bono instead looks at individuals affected by war through the narrators of "White As Snow" (a song that oddly interpolates the music of the hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel") and "Cedars Of Lebanon." No Line On The Horizon may be uneven, but it's a fascinating and risky step for The Biggest Band In The World. If I may paraphrase The Dark Knight, No Line On The Horizon is the U2 album we deserve, but not the one we need right now.

Review by Joey O.

The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die (Cooking Vinyl)

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Hailing Captain Obvious: The Prodigy will never again capture pop lightning in an electronica bottle as they did on The Fat of the Land, an album simultaneously signaling the height and the death of 1990s "big beat" music. Now the mission seems to be a simple reclamation of relevance in a crowded field of familiars like Does It Offend You, Yeah? and Justice. Considering their rather lackluster 2004 comeback Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, the new Invaders Must Die means mission accomplished, easily. As on The Fat of the Land The Prodigy manage a few edgy songs worthy of curious radio play, among them "Run with the Wolves," the title track (with a high-pitched synth hook you'll nevertheless end up humming), and "Piranha" (approaching digital slams and screeches with Rob Zombie's precision and an L.A. Style sample). More noteworthy, though, is the time they spend revisiting pre-big beat sounds that first earned them acclaim. The old-school house-music conceits they once twisted into grooves with dark, seething undercurrents reappear in the tinkly bell tones of second single "Omen," and the minor-key riffs and reggae toasters of "Thunder" and "Take Me to the Hospital." The physical and musical centerpiece of this album, "Warriors Dance," suggests The Prodigy may not have been at their strongest when they were jousting with The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim for face time, but instead back in the days of "Out of Space" and Music for the Jilted Generation.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of February 23, 2009

N.A.S.A. - The Spirit of Apollo (Anti)

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Maybe The Spirit of Apollo, the debut from new production duo N.A.S.A., is the album to drag hip-hop kicking and screaming towards relevance with indie-rock audiences, closer than the arm's length of grudging acceptance of acts who are white (Beastie Boys), British (Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A.), sing-songy (K-os), or all of these in one (Gorillaz). It helps that there's a veritable army of rocking talent matched up with a mob of microphone fiends here, the guestlist reading like a redux of "We Are the World." N.A.S.A. employ Lykke Li and Santigold, for example, to propel Kanye West's Eurotrash fascination on "Gifted," and pair Tom Waits' naturally chopped-and-screwed vocals with Kool Keith's non sequiturs on the subversively entertaining "Spacious Thoughts." David Byrne, Chuck D., Ras Congo, and Seu Jorge trade rhymes; so do Karen O., The Pharcyde's Fatlip, and the late ODB. With rappers and their producers constantly expanding their embrace of musicality, The Spirit of Apollo features more natural progressions from Rihanna/Jay-Z collabs than you might expect.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Dark Was The Night (Rounder)

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There was once a time called The 90s. It was a very different era from today; people liked greasy hair and screamy self-loathing, and every season seemed to bring a new compilation CD raising money and some vague thing called "awareness" for the latest cause célèbre. While some of the previous generations' causes seem somewhat obscure 15 years after the fact (Tibetian Freedom Concert, anyone?), one that retains its relevance is HIV/AIDS. In 1993, the Red Hot organization released the No Alternative compilation, gathering together a definitive roster of the era's artists to raise money and, yes, awareness, about a global health epidemic. Today, AIDS has been downgraded from a life sentence to a treatable disease, but the statistics remain on the rise. And Red Hot, admirably, is still at it. Here on Y-Rock, we've been playing a number of tracks from their new benefit comp, Dark Was The Night: The Dirty Projectors and David Byrne's jangling "Knotty Pine," The National's suave and stylish "So Far Around The Bend." Those cuts don't even scratch the surface of this two-disc treasure trove of today's best indie and alternative musicians. Some is very direct and lively: "Snow White" by The New Pornographers is the jaunty power pop we've come to expect from A.C. Newman and co.; "Lenin" will sate your Arcade Fire cravings while they work on a Neon Bible followup; and the outtake "El Caporal" is better than most of what My Morning Jacket left on their last album. But more of the comp takes a mellow slant, though, which doesn't always work; "Brackett, WI" is par for the course for bearded snoozer Bon Iver, and Cat Power contributes an unnecessary rendition of "Amazing Grace." But with so many tracks across two discs, there is bound to be some filler, and in the end, the tapestry has far more moments of soft beauty and what my fellow Y-Rocker Eric Schuman called "lovely lovlieness," songs that take your hand gently and don't let go: Yeasayer's dreamy soundscape "Tightrope" (which you've also heard on Y-Rock), Conor Oberst's re-version of "Lua" with singer-songwriter Gillian Welch, The Books and Jose Gonzales electronic-infused take on Nick Drake's "Cello Song." This generation of musicians might not screaming, but their voices are directing you to a cause that still needs your attention, all these years later.

Review by John Vettese

Week of February 16, 2009

Morrissey - Years of Refusal (Attack/Lost Highway)

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A salient description of Morrissey's career, both with The Smiths and now as a solo artist steadfastly ignoring the law of diminishing returns, seems lodged with near-prescience in the third verse of a very old, very good Billy Joel song: The Moz appears destined to go to the grave as an angry old man. If the new Years of Refusal is any indication, at worst he'll have constructed a sturdy facade of misanthropy by the time death calls. "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris," for example, is his musical strategy for when no person wants his offered love, masterfully underpinned (undermined?) by piano-pop pleasantries. "When I Last Spoke to Carol" is a slight return to the Smiths classic "Bigmouth Strikes Again," similar acoustic riffs paired up with Latin horns. There are also a few excursions into windy ambience, as well as successful reaches for soaring, soulful howls on "It's Not Your Birthday Anymore" and "Something is Squeezing My Skull," the latter track a grungy lament of happiness achieved through better science. Some listeners may rail against the m.o. Morrissey's developed -- they complain that he really is fair and true and boring as hell -- yet Years of Refusal reinforces the swirling snarl of rocking disaffection he's honed with session players like Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Sam Roberts - Love At The End of The World (Rounder)

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Well-executed pop music is the end result of many elements, chief among them being balance.  Quiet verses and loud choruses, happy lyrics and downbeat music, charismatic guitarist and gloomy keyboardist; the matched pairs are endless but crucial.  On the third album with his eponymous band, Sam Roberts combines two very contrasting emotions, optimism and futility, into the fascinating journey that is Love At The End Of The World.  The title itself conveys several conflicting messages: is Roberts a modern day Nero, playing his music to an inevitably collapsing culture, or is he the last bearer of sunshine in a world that's suffocating itself with dullness?  Though introduced relatively late in the album, the character of "The Pilgrim," a man steeped in old-time ways and cut off from modern news and concerns, seems to serve as the record's narrator.  The more upbeat songs deal with observations of crises like rampant materialism ("Stripmall Religion") and the beat(en) generation's disregard for knowing how to dance ("Them Kids")..  Roberts takes time to look inwards as well, tackling past lovers ("Oh Maria," "Words & Fire"), as well as his own present ("Sundance") and inevitable fate ("The Lions Of The Kalahari").  The album culminates with "Up Sister," a tempo-shifting battle between the past and the future, between comfort and change.  Our northern neighbors have had the chance to soak in Love At The End Of The World for nearly a year already, but don't let the delayed release date deter you from checking out this tour de force from one of indie rock's most original songwriters.  In fact, Roberts and his band will be performing at World Café Live on February 25th.  Let's hope that the end of the world waits at least until the encore is done.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of February 9, 2009

Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You (Capitol)

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Is it possible to write about Lily Allen and focus on her talent, instead of her tabloid exploits? I'm going to certainly try! Allen's outstanding debut album Alright, Still mixed sharp-witted lyrical barbs and observations with bouncy Ska and Brit-Pop influences and made for a really fun and diverse record. But Lily's matured and while there's still plenty of fun to be had on It's Not Me, It's You, there's also some bigger issues to tackle. Lead single "The Fear" hits at the materialist mixed messages sent to young women, while "Everyone's At It" calls out hypocrisy on drug use in our culture. Allen tackles relationships with her trademark bluntness on "Not Fair" and "Never Gonna Happen." The peppy "F*** You" is perhaps the catchiest (and most obscene) moment on the album. The music is closest to the sound of Alright, Still but lyrically it's a scathing take on the 43rd President. And later, she gives her take on God and religion on the serious-yet-goofy "Him," in which she manages to work in a reference to 9/11 and a joke about CCR in the same song.

Musically, It's Not Me, It's You mostly stays with a glossy, keyboard laden sheen, courtesy of producer and co-writer Greg Kurstin of The Bird and The Bee. The electronic Pop sound does get a bit same-y in the second half of the album, weighing things down a bit. It's Not Me, It's You doesn't reach the wonderful heights of Alright, Still but is certainly a step towards Lily Allen as an actual artist, not Just Another Female British Pop Star.

Review by Joey O.

Week of February 2, 2009

Ben Kweller - Changing Horses (ATO)

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Ben Kweller's fourth full-length album is titled Changing Horses for a reason, as the likeable singer-songwriter has taken a sharp turn into his Texas roots with a twangy, Country-based record. We're talking more rootsy, olde fashioned Country influences here…Kweller certainly isn't in Carrie Underwood territory or anything here. Besides, he's always worked in a little Country influence here and there in his earlier albums anyway. Much of the material on Changing Horses was previewed by BK and his band on a short tour late last year, which included a fun low-key gig at Johnny Brenda's in October. The majority of the record is made of gentler songs that get by on a lot of steel guitar and BK's considerable charm. The upbeat, start-and-stop "Sawdust Man" is one of the highlights, along with "Hurtin' You" and "Fight." In someone else's hands, a song like "Things I Like To Do" could come off a bit too on-the-nose, but BK's personality carries much of the songs on Changing Horses, even when the music gets a little same-y. BK always puts on a good show in concert and you can catch him again at the TLA on February 27th.

Review by Joey O.

Week of January 26, 2009

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Epic)

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Earlier this decade, Franz Ferdinand was really the first band to ride the wave of blog overhype into mainstream success. Their debut album was full of insanely catchy songs, almost all of them single worthy. The follow-up, You Could Have It So Much Better… mixed in some mellower textures and Kinks influences, but these dapper Scottish lads have taken their sweet time releasing a third record, while the indie-blog world that birthed them has moved on at an accelerated rate. The first two-thirds of Tonight: Franz Ferdinand finds the band in familiar Franz territory, right from the start with the sexy, slinky drumbeat of "Ulysses" giving way to that familiar dance-stomp. The band works in some electronic and keyboard textures, notably on "Live Alone," which could fit in on The Killers' Day & Age.

We were introduced to the song "Lucid Dreams" as a compact classic Franz single via last year's Madden game, but it appears on Tonight as the centerpiece of the record. The track grows into an epic, eight minute electro-jam, as the titular "tonight" gives way to a dream state. The last two tracks are the aftermath, the comedown the next morning, with "Dream Again" and "Katherine Kiss Me" winding things up on a mellow note. Tonight isn't as much of an evolution for Franz Ferdinand as the band had promised, and the hooks aren't as sharp as on their self-titled debut, but then again, how could they be?

Review by Joey O.

Week of January 19, 2009

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)

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Brace yourselves everyone. After months of ridiculous hype (even by music blog standards), "accidental" leaks and Web Sheriff intimidation, Animal Collective's newest release, Merriweather Post Pavilion is finally here. What's even more shocking is that it not only lives up to the impossible expectations that precede it. It surpasses and defies them. It begins with opening track "Into the Flowers," when Avey Tare expresses a yearning to leave his body for a night. The subsequent rush of four-to-the-floor beats that follows and permeates the remainder of the album is exactly that: an out-of-body experience. It's a thrilling, fulfilling sonic journey and like the Magic Eye image on the cover, the songs on it come alive and change shape, enveloping the listener and often abandoning conventional structures altogether. This free-form approach has always been a staple of the group, but never before have they been able to to craft such confident and tangible melodies within it. They may have hinted at it in last year's Strawberry Jam or Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox's solo work, but those moments now sound incomplete by comparison. Songs like future classic "My Girls" and portable beach rave "Brothersport" are kinetic, catchy, and absolutely gorgeous. They create a sense of euphoria (the former sums it up perfectly with the triumphant "Whoo!"s in the chorus) that most artists struggle to achieve in brief moments once an album, let alone throughout entire songs. Lyrically, these tracks and several others deal with desire, whether that be to walk around with an object of affection or adobe slats for their children. Almost every song here could work as a single, but Merriweather is indisputably an album's album, one that both demands and deserves repeat listens in its entirety. The only disappointment that anyone should feel once its over is to be back in their bodies again.

Review by Rob Huff

A.C. Newman - get Guilty (Matador)

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As the closest thing The New Pornographers have to a lead singer, Allan Carl "A.C." Newman sure knows his way around a great pop melody.  Even with four New Pornographers albums and their related tours, the key members somehow find time to record their own solo projects.  Though Newman is fairly new to the solo scene compared to his New Porno bandmates (his debut, The Slow Wonder, came out in 2004), his motto is clearly quality over quantity.  Newman's follow-up, Get Guilty, shows off indie veteran's reverence for pop heroes of yore, as well as some of his sunshiny contemporaries.  The music of Get Guilty owes particular debts to Village Green­-era Kinks ("Prophets"), the 'big music' of The Waterboys ("There Are Maybe Ten Or Twelve") and even Belle & Sebastian ("Elemental").  There is also a lot we can learn from Get Guilty, such as how simple phrases can be turned into intriguingly clever lyrics (the "One in a series of" chorus in "Submarines Of Stockholm"), and how to give a song a title that would make Stephin Merritt jealous ("All Of My Days & All Of My Days Off").  Newman's solo albums may not be as freaky as Danny "Destroyer" Bejar's, or as down-home as Neko Case's, but they, like Newman himself, act as the ray of familiarity that makes the more experimental releases make sense.  Get Guilty delivers what any classic pop record promises: delectable music without distractions.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of January 12, 2009

The BPA - I Think We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat (Southern Fried Records)

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If anyone knows how to throw a party, it's Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook.  If you've ever seen pictures of the shindigs he hosts on Brighton Beach, you already know how massive a crowd he can draw with the mere spin of a few good records.  Cook's newest project, the Brighton Port Authority (or BPA), has taken the 'party record' concept to new heights with their debut album, I Think We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat.  The 'Jaws' reference may not only be a nod to Cook's taste in movies, but a reference to the small army of guest vocalists that populate the album.  Like Mark Ronson's smash Version, the BPA record employs a different voice on each track.  Unlike Version, though, most of the guests are relative unknowns outside of the British electro and R&B scene.  The Latin-inflected "Should I Stay Or Should I Blow" features fellow DJ/producer Ashley Beedle, and Tom "Cagedbaby" Gandey takes the mic on the slow-burning "Superlover."  Naturally, someone as world-renowned as Fatboy Slim has some high-profile friends, and they're plenty well-represented here.  From the unlikely pairing of David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal ("Toe Jam") to the peerless Iggy Pop covering post-punk goofballs The Monochrome Set on opener "He's Frank (Slight Return)," the BPA's ranks are quite heavy with personality.  The set ends as it began, with a cover: folk balladeer Olly Hite's slowed down and souled-up take on Nick Lowe's classic "So It Goes."  Cook has said in interviews that, with the BPA, he is forever retiring his Fatboy Slim moniker.  Though this may come to change, if Cook's got more tricks up his sleeve for future BPA records, be sure to keep an eye out for a crew of "alarmed and not especially dangerous" characters carrying tape recorders and turntables.  They may just cause a festival to break out.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of January 5, 2009

Glasvegas - Glasvegas (Columbia)

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I always felt it was a gutsy move for a band to begin an album (especially their debut) with a song of above-average duration.  It's been done by Air, twice by Wilco, and that's not even mentioning the countless prog-rock set openers.  The latest embracers of this trend are Glasvegas, who, yes, are Glaswegian.  The four-piece takes all that's great from Glasgow's long history in music and neatly packs it into a sweeping 10 song package.  Immediate comparisons to Snow Patrol's bombast and Primal Scream's dense atmospherics are easy to make, but the group's sound is bigger than any one of its influences.  The long opening song I alluded to is "Flowers And Football Tops," which weaves in and out of a moody haze before breaking into a chorus of "You Are My Sunshine." With each following song, both the guitar layering and leader James Allan's brogue get thicker, the latter spouting out tales of love ("Geraldine"), brawling ("Go Square Go"), and being morose ("Daddy's Gone").  Between the dynamic "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" and "Polmont On My Mind," (which sounds like a lost fifth single from the latest Cure album) Glasvegas' debut is a promising one; a welcome addition to the Glaswegian indie rock library.  Glasvegas never really get too upbeat, but no one ever said that sounding a certain way would prevent a band from rocking.  Indeed, Glasgow has birthed many a band who warp pop music through a strange filter (where have you been, Belle & Sebastian?), and Glasvegas are right in line with that regional quirk.  If anyone in Glasgow is reading this, bottle your water and take a deep breath: there's musical genius all around you.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of December 9, 2008

Los Campesinos - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (Arts & Crafts)

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I recently watched a documentary about 80s D.I.Y. icons The Minutemen. The trio inspired scores of bands to take their careers into their own hands by self-producing their albums and promoting all their shows on their own. Though they arrived nearly 20 years after the Minutemen (and feature more than twice as many members), Cardiff's Los Campesinos! exhibit the same underground ethos. Only a few months ago came the release of their debut full-length, Hold On Now, Youngster..., which itself followed a string of singles and EPs (just like the good old days). Showing blatant disregard for their debut's titular warning, Los Campesinos! have already released their follow-up, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. As the band suggests, this is no B-Sides or outtakes collection, but a collection of 10 new songs that were recorded over an 11-day session in June. While most of the album is sonically similar to previous efforts, with rapid-fire lyrics over feedback-laden violins and glockenspiels, the septet's songwriting is growing up at an alarming rate. Take, for example "Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time," a woozy, mostly-acoustic song that's actually about loving someone rather than just wanting to dance with them. True to their rebellion, the band hasn't released any official singles from this new album, though opener "Ways To Make It Through A Wall" and the buzzy title track would make fine choices. In "You'll Need Those Fingers For Crossing," co-leader Gareth Campesinos! says (as if reading a letter), "I'm nothing if I'm not a pragmatist." The band's shunning of the modern rules of indie rock is quite similar to the Minutemen's philosophy of "jamming econo;" that is, making records quick and dirty and not looking back. Though Los Campesinos! have only been around since 2006, they are doing an outstanding job of bringing back the creativity and attitude of indie's formative years.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of December 1, 2008

Rivers Cuomo - Alone II: The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo (Geffen)

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Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo has been known for years for his prolific songwriting; cataloging hundreds of demos and incomplete songs. Exactly a year ago, he released the first volume of Alone, full of song sketches from throughout his career, along with elaborate liner notes detailing his thought processes behind writing and recording. For better or worse, Alone II is more of the same. Cuomo compiles pared-down versions of unreleased hooky songs, more pieces of Weezer's abandoned "space opera" Songs From The Black Hole and a few other interesting odds and ends. "Can't Stop Partying" is a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri, though in Cuomo's hands, the ode to hedonism becomes a sad lament. Cuomo gave the riff-y "I Want To Take You Home Tonight" its world premiere during Weezer's recent Y-Rock Radio Takeover. One of the highlights is a perfectly fuzzed-out cover of The Beach Boys' classic "Don't Worry Baby." Oddly, a demo of the Weezer track "Paper Face," which already surfaced on the deluxe edition of The Blue Album is also included on Alone II. But the real reason to delve into Alone II is actually the in-depth liner notes. Cuomo discusses at length his songwriting process and inspiration behind each recording and the different eras of Weezer's career. It's almost like excerpts from an unfinished autobiography, complete with awful, embarrassing photos. While Alone II is obviously made for Weezer diehards, Cuomo's essays make for a fascinating look into the songwriting process and would intrigue many casual fans as well.

Review by Joey O.

Week of November 24, 2008

The Killers - Day & Age (Island)

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In a mere matter of years following their smash debut, The Killers have gone through a lot of changes for such a young band. Hot Fuss was the sound of the door to the fraternity of indie rock's elite being kicked down, and Sam's Town was an unexpectedly mature follow-up that only widened their appeal. With Day & Age, the boys take the sonics of Sam's Town and focus them into a neat and ambitious package. Brandon Flowers' songwriting is the most developed of the band's changes, with lyrics exploring alienation ("Losing Touch") and the synthetic backdrop of their native Las Vegas ("Neon Tiger"). Not all of the set is humorless (this is, after all, the band that brought us "Where The White Boys Dance"), as the guys spin tales of alien abduction in "Spaceman," and provide a grammar-confounding hook in lead single "Human." Where The Killers began their careers as synth-pounding, hi-hat-smashing Anglophiles, Day & Age finds Flowers and company branching out with odder instrumentation, like the afrobeat chants of "This Is Your Life" and the exotic steel drums on "I Can't Stay." While one of the best songs only appears as a bonus track on some editions ("Human" B-Side, "A Crippling Blow"), Day & Age is an intriguing set from a band that isn't afraid to be over-the-top. They may not take themselves too seriously (I mean, have you seen their press photos lately?), but The Killers are clearly more comfortable making the musical equivalent to a white sequined jumpsuit and cape than something more formal. Grown-up as they may be, I suspect that The Killers would much rather be dancer than human.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of November 17, 2008

The Decemberists - Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series (Capitol)

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Speaking to a shoulder-to-shoulder Electric Factory audience (and radio listeners worldwide), Colin Meloy explained that The Decemberists' upcoming release, Hazards Of Love, would feature fewer "jaunty" songs than their previous efforts. Not wanting those songs to go to waste, the group has released Always The Bridesmaid, a set of vinyl-and download-only singles over the past two months, with a third coming out soon. The songs hearken back to The Decemberists' pre-Crane Wife days, with a mix of big, joyous arrangements and introspective acoustic ballads. The six song collection (three A-Sides and three B-Sides, just like the good old days) begins with "Valerie Plame," which is indeed an ode to the ousted CIA operative. It may seem out of character for Meloy to write about events that didn't occur in the 19th century, but the "la-la" and "hey-hey" coda evokes a hand-holding-and-swaying campfire as well as any modern folk song. Aside from inexplicably describing New York City, "O New England" features the first mention of rainfall, a theme that carries throughout several of the other songs. The third tune, the upbeat "Days Of Elaine," is featured in both a short and long version, and is coupled with "I'm Sticking With You," a Velvet Underground outtake that was originally sung by Velvets drummer Moe Tucker. Tucker's childlike voice is echoed in The Decemberists' version as keyboardist Jenny Conlee takes the lead on vocals. The last two songs, "Record Year" and "Raincoat Song" both show off Meloy's more melancholy side; the first features a mournful string section and the second has Meloy in a duet with drummer John Moen. Here's to hoping that Meloy liberally lays on the "jauntiness" in the future, and that the songs on Hazards Of Love are just as enjoyable as the ones on Always The Bridesmaid. In the meantime, you can listen to The Decemberists' show at the Electric Factory whenever you want by clicking here. For the full effect, be sure to sit down on the floor during "The Perfect Crime #2."

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of November 10, 2008

Travis - Ode To J. Smith (Red Telephone Box/Fontana)

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Last year, the likable Scottish band Travis made a welcome return to form with The Boy With No Name, which found the foursome reminding music fans why they paved the way in the late 90s for melodic rock from across the pond (including a certain British band that broke through with a song about Big Bird's favorite color...). Coming just about a year and a half later is Ode To J. Smith, recorded and written quickly earlier this year and released on the band's own label, Red Telephone Box.

While Ode To J. Smith was expected to be a return to the comparatively more-rocking sound of their debut Good Feeling, it still contains plenty of mellower Travis moments. The record kicks off with a big, classic rock sounding riff on "Chinese Blues," followed by the title track "J. Smith." The song starts with a simple little guitar riff but builds to a mammoth choir coming out of the blue. The single "Something Anything" cranks up the volume a bit on the riffage, but is still a hooky Travis song. After the upbeat first half of Ode To J. Smith, the record does mellow out with some less memorable moments. While the album isn't quite the giddy, post-Blur Brit-pop of Good Feeling, it's good to see the lads of Travis still making music and being prolific once again.

Review by Joey O.

Week of November 3, 2008

Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads (Universal/B-Unique)

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Sometime in the future, there will probably be a compilation disc of the Kaiser Chiefs' singles. On their first two albums, it was clear that their creative pendulum swings hard; songs were either fist-pumping, beer-swilling battle cries or groan-inducing, pun-laden clunkers. Their best tunes tend to be a balancing act between the two, and their new album, Off With Their Heads, is easily their most cohesive set to date. Possibly driven to stricter quality control by co-producer Mark Ronson, the Kaisers bring their best material to their shortest album so far. Ronson's fingerprints aren't as overt as you might expect (see: Danger Mouse all over the most recent Black Keys album), as string and horn flourishes pepper only a few songs on the disc. The majority of the songs are based in the classic Kaiser Chiefs trick of packing verses with indiscernible lyrics before launching into a minor-key, sing-along chorus ("Half The Truth" and "Can't Say What I Mean"). Joining lead singer/occasional BBC presenter Ricky Wilson at the mic are Lily Allen ("Always Happens Like That") and the New Young Pony Club ("You Want History"), though the guests seem rather buried in the mix on the call-and-response "Never Miss A Beat." The one thing that ties each of the three Kaiser Chiefs albums together is the band's sense of humor. On Employment, they countered The Beach Boys with a song titled "Caroline, Yes." With Yours Truly, Angry Mob, it was the Buzzcocks that were lampooned with "Everything Is Average Nowadays." For the new album, the joke goes beyond the song's title with the Robert Palmer-referencing "Addicted To Drugs," whose refrain is as silly as it is catchy. At this rate, maybe the Kaiser Chiefs truly are destined to be more than whatever people say they are.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of October 27, 2008

The Cure - 4:13 Dream (Polyvinyl)

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Robert Smith and his crew in The Cure don't have a whole lot of growing up left to do, seeing as they have families and are pushing 50 and all that. Instead, the music on their 13th studio album, 4:13 Dream, wants to grow "out." The playing, featuring the long-developed string skills of Smith, Porl Thompson, and Simon Gallup, is about as close as any gothic act might get to being a jam band, at times recalling the coolly noodling Peter Buck/Mike Mills grunge on R.E.M.'s Monster. Smith's lyrics, meanwhile, move from The Cure's centrist nebula of goth ennui to actual emotional extremes of happiness, anger, and evil. He now seems more willing than ever to shine rays of light in the darkness, although some show the way out ("Tell me you love me before it's too late," from "Sirensong") while others are blinding obstacles ("I won't try to bring you down about my suicide," from "The Reasons Why"). To that end, apart from the swirling, chime-filled opener "Underneath the Stars" the production on 4:13 Dream is also startlingly up-front and clear, rather like listening to an album by Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, or even the latter's doppelgangers Silversun Pickups. The Cure's strategy of teasing the album with four singles -- best among them being "Freakshow" and "Sleep When I'm Dead" -- therefore isn't the only thing that makes 4:13 Dream feel like it's full of songs that the band want to be their next "Friday I'm in Love" or "The Lovecats," shocking the system of both longtime listeners and casual fans.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns (Polydor/A&M)

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It's funny that I'm reviewing the new disc from Snow Patrol so close to Halloween, because my connection to the band is decidedly spooky. At one of the semi-annual "monster shows" in south Jersey, I met Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I mentioned that I worked at a radio station (she may have asked about a Y-Rock button I was wearing), and she wanted to know if we played her nephew's band. As it turns out, Patricia is the aunt of Johnny Quinn, Snow Patrol's drummer. At the time, the Scottish quintet were still riding high from 2006's Eyes Open and its massive single, "Chasing Cars." For A Hundred Million Suns, Gary Lightbody and company maintain their energy and bombast, but in a much more contemplative and focused manner. As the album's title suggests, many of the songs conjure images of outer space, like "The Planets Bend Between Us" and "Engines." Musically, the album recalls the mellow glitch of The Shins' most recent album; though the upbeat moments in songs like "Take Back The City" and "Disaster Button" keep the cosmic balance in order. The last third of the album's 58 minutes is made up of "The Lightning Strike," a three-part oeuvre that is, in itself, a miniature version of the whole record. A Hundred Million Suns might be the portrait of a band taking a daydream break from their usual epic nature, but even a modest Snow Patrol is still Snow Patrol, and that's how the message ran.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of October 20, 2008

Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl)

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Of Montreal's main man Kevin Barnes is a good man, and thorough. If there is room in one of his songs for a reference to fornication, he won't let that void go unfilled. In fact, his new album Skeletal Lamping is so heavy with sexual imagery that I'm pretty sure the physical disc will only appear under ultraviolet light. The 15 track song cycle revolves around Barnes' trans-transgender alter-ego, "Georgie Fruit," who first appeared in a few of the songs on last year's Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?. While the whole multiple personalities thing is intriguing enough, try making heads or tails of the titles of the songs. As usual, none of them are overtly related to the tunes they represent. Names aside, the songs alternate between funky disco ("Gallery Piece" and "Beware Our Nubile Miscreants"), smooth R & B ("St. Exquisite's Confessions"), and classic of Montreal electropop. Originally, Barnes intended to release the album as a hundred or so minute-long tracks, and though that may have been abandoned, there are a few multi-part suites made up of fragments of songs (opener "Nonpareil Of Favor" and the epic "Plastis Wafer"). Like most every other Skeletal Lamping reviewer, I'll point out how Barnes' evolving music and image are very similar to another musical chameleon. He might not be purposefully trying to emulate David Bowie, but Barnes brings wonderful theatricality to indie rock, as seen in of Montreal's videos and outlandish stage shows. Skeletal Lamping, with its relentless pop hooks and dancefloor-ready beats, is sure to get you to boogie (and might just land you a new relationship). Try your luck at both of those when of Montreal come to the Electric Factory on Halloween.

Review by Eric Schuman

Electric Six - Flashy (Metropolis)

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Back again with their fourth album in as many years, Electric Six seek to grow their expanding cult following with their latest release, Flashy. After the band's unforgettable debut Fire, most of the lineup turned over, but Dick Valentine and his merry crew of Detroit musicians have an incredible work ethic. The band has held a steady pattern over the past few years of non-stop touring, pausing only to record and release another album of absurdist rock and roll. Once again, the E6 stick to their template of mostly sexy dance songs about being sexy and dancing (with the random social commentary thrown in for good measure). Opener "Gay Bar Part 2" isn't really a sequel to the Six's beloved early hit, but more of their attempt at The Beatles' "Glass Onion." The song references "She's White," "Be My Dark Angel" and other E6 tunes. Elsewhere you get the single "Formula 409" and "Graphic Designer," about a woman who is, yes, a graphic designer whose "designs on me are graphic." Musically, the law of diminishing returns may be starting to hit the Six, as there are less catchy hooks and dance beats this time around. However, there are certainly more saxophones all over Flashy, which is the most notable musical change. The Six are always a must-see show whenever they come to town and are guaranteed to pack the most fun possible into the Khyber when they come to town on November 20. I'm sure you'll see quite a few Y-Rockers in attendance.

Review by Joey O.

Week of October 13, 2008

Keane - Perfect Symmetry (Interscope)

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Keane's third studio album, is slightly more risky than their previous albums, with less pounding sing-along choruses and epic stadium anthems and more experimental sounds characterizing them as Radiohead-lite. It would be hard to describe Perfect Symmetry as revolutionary, however with a few repeated listens this album stands up to their earlier anthemic work. Singer Tom Chaplin trades in his Freddie Mercury vocals for an 80's style, reminiscent of Tears For Fears. With tracks like "Better Than This" borrowing heavily from David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" and the new wavy synth sounds of "You Haven't Told Me Anything," the trio is clearly paving a fresh path for the band and not staying the course of their Brit-pop peers. But some of the songs steal from their tried-and-true formula of lingering pianos, exploding vocals and addictive hooks. Just try listening to "The Lovers Are Losing" or "Spiralling" and not hum along. Just try. Perfect Symmetry somehow accomplishes the unthinkable: an album with only a piano, a drum set and a few new tricks in the studio that is full-sounding, life-affirming and plain-old catchy. Like their previous albums Hopes and Fears and Under the Iron Sea, songwriter and keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley integrates happy melodies with mopey and haunting lyrical themes that make you want to reach for a loved one and hug them tight. Perfect Symmetry will probably not change the face of Brit pop, but its new approach is middle-of-the road yet fantastic.

Review by Liz Romaine

Week of October 6, 2008

Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul (Reprise)

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And they're back. The brothers Gallagher, along with pals Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and Zak Starkey, have released their seventh studio album, titled Dig Out Your Soul. With Dave Sardy (Don't Believe the Truth) back producing, Oasis has put out an album that at first listen, doesn't really sound like an Oasis album at all. Noel Gallagher, who penned most of the record, took Dig Out Your Soul in a "groovy" direction, a reference back to his psychedelic trips as a young rock 'n roll star. The album starts out with "Bag It Up," where thumping drums, distorted guitar and Liam's unmistakable vocals drag you in to what you think is going to be a full out rockin' album. But with tracks like "The Turning" and "Falling Down," one can clearly hear the groovy direction that Noel wanted to take the album. Liam Gallagher, whose writing responsibility has greatly increased over the years, throws in a couple tracks of his own as well. "I'm Outta Time," which sticks with the slow and psychedelic theme, is an album stand out. It's so different from Noel's songs, that when listening to the album in its entirety, it's like a breath of fresh air. Throw in the fast paced, rockin' single "The Shock of the Lightning" and some tracks written by mates Gem and Andy, and you do in fact have another Oasis album. The truth is, there is no definition of what an Oasis album is supposed to sound like, which makes them great. Dig Out Your Soul is another shining example of what the boys from Manchester are capable of, whether it "sounds" like Oasis or not.

Review by Matt McGrath

The Spinto Band - Moonwink (Park The Van)

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Why has the music world bestowed such kindness upon The Summertime Album? Are albums released at other times of the year not as party-ready, or not as symbolic of a season, or just not as good? Hogwash! Moonwink by The Spinto Band is a "fall album" if there ever was one, its Delaware-bred chirpiness immediately invoking images of cider-fueled fireside hangouts, dumping sweater-clad friends into piles of fallen leaves, and hayrides and corn mazes on farms throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. Might this have anything to do with the "Oh Mandy"-powered Sears TV commercial that launched them to fame? Of course it might! Then again, so might insistent guitar jangle, keyboard whine, and glockenspiel shtick that drops hints of pleasant pop and theatrics from the 1940s through the 1960s ("Later On"), putting a happy face on even the most sour of lyrics with no bombast or big ideas in sight ("Needlepoint"). Amanda Palmer and Vampire Weekend would be proud, Weezer and The Killers would be jealous. Prepped by rather incessant touring over the last three years and summed up nicely in the riffs, horns, and timpani of "The Carnival," this second effort from The Spinto Band is denser and maybe even more polished than their world-beating debut Nice and Nicely Done.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of September 29, 2008

Ben Folds - Way To Normal (Epic)

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One of our favorite artists 'round Y-Rock, Ben Folds is back with his first studio release in over three years. Folds has been touring non-stop in that time, but got sidetracked from the studio by a drawn-out divorce. While the piano man swears that Way To Normal isn't about the d-word, there are definitely undercurrents of a breakup throughout the cast of characters we meet on the new record. But character sketches rooted in reality have always been Ben's bread-and-butter, going back to Alice Childress, Uncle Walter and the folks we met way back on the first Ben Folds Five album.

Musically, Way To Normal is certainly livelier than 2005's restrained Songs For Silverman. It comes closest to the free-wheeling vibe on Ben's trio of EPs that were later collected as Supersunnyspeedgraphic. The record kicks off with the autobiographical "Hiroshima (B-B-B-Benny Hit His Head)," recounting Ben falling onstage in Japan and going to the hospital (an X-Ray of his head is in the album art). "Dr. Yang" is a fuzzed-out piano rocker out of the early BF5 playbook. The album calms down in the middle stretch for an introspective, mellower set of songs, including "You Don't Know Me," the lead single/duet with Regina Spektor. As I said, while Way To Normal isn't a "divorce album" per se, there are certainly relationship difficulties at the heart of "You Don't Know Me, the goofball "Bitch Went Nuts" and the moving finale "Kylie From Connecticut." Way To Normal may not reach the highest heights that Folds has hit throughout his career, but is a welcome step back towards the balance between the smart-ass and sentimental.

Review by Joey O.

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night (RCA)

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Continuing to move farther and farther away from the garage that spawned them, the members of Kings of Leon expand on the template of last year's Because of the Times (for better and for worse) on the massive-sounding Only by the Night. As was evident on its predecessor, Night sounds like a conscious effort to abandon the Southern rock leanings that once defined the Kings' sound in favor of arena-ready anthems closer in spirit to U2 than former contemporaries like My Morning Jacket.

On first listen, the stylistic shift would appear to pay off: the reverb-drenched "Closer" and crushing "Crawl" make for a powerful one-two opening punch, cribbing the best tricks from Led Zeppelin and Achtung Baby without sounding like thieves or poseurs. As the album progresses, however, it begins to sound less like a logical sonic evolution and more like the band is trying to force a square peg into a round hole. While the band may be able to whip up quite the storm melodically, the lyrics rarely match the grandeur for which they are aiming. "Sex on Fire," despite a potent riff, proves to be a little too literal in its narrative and as a result comes off as a tad sophomoric. Meanwhile, "Revelry's" rhyming of "dancing machine" with "kerosene" betrays a complete lack of irony and inspiration.

That said, if one is willing to overlook these shortcomings, there's enough superficial appeal here to make for a fairly diverting listen. These songs have easy, graceful melodies that will no doubt open the doors to a newer, wider fan base that will certainly fill up stadiums to hear them played live, even if the older fans will be left rolling their eyes over what they're expected to sing along with. If Kings of Leon manage to push themselves lyrically like they have musically, they may be onto something here. The question isn't their potential in this realm of music, but how long people will be waiting for them to achieve it. As Caleb Followill says himself: "You better learn to crawl before I walk away."

Review by Rob Huff

Week of September 29, 2008

TV On The Radio - Dear Science (Interscope)

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The members of TV on the Radio have never been shy about expressing their frustrations on record, be they personal or political. If only people would listen to them. With little improvement in the cultural climate, those frustrations have only gotten worse in the two years since they released their last oddball opus Return to Cookie Mountain. Just listen to the way frontman Tunde Adebimpe howls "This is beginning to feel like the long-winded blues of the never" on "DLZ." Bitter much? Since they haven't change the song, the band settled for changing the tune (for the better) on Dear Science,. Simultaneously tighter and more sprawling that its predecessor, Science, filters its dystopian narratives through everything from industrial distortion (commanding opener "Halfway Home") to smooth R&B ("Stork and Owl") to disco dirge ("Red Dress"). The band is ably aided and abetted by their ever-growing roster of cool friends, including the Antibalas Horn Section on the aforementioned "Dress" and Celebration's Katrina Ford on the closing "Lover's Day." Lyrically, the album and the band continue to draw from the same political disarray as records prior, but packs not less of a sting. Adebimpe's partner-in-crime Kyp Malone even lets a little ray of optimism shine through the clouds on funky album standout "Golden Age" with "There's a golden age comin' round." Only time will tell if circumstances fulfill that promise for him. In the meantime, he and the rest of TV on the Radio continue to fulfill their own musical promise more and more with each successive effort.

Review by Rob Huff

Cold War Kids - Loyalty To Loyalty (Downtown)

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The debut album from Cold War Kids, 2006's Robbers And Cowards, introduced us to a group of guys who knew their way around religion. While they may have folded up the revival tent, their new disc, Loyalty To Loyalty, draws from plenty of other vivid stories and situations. Possibly singing from the point of view of a tyrannical government, opener "Against Privacy" sets the tone for the record with echo-y guitars and Nathan Willett's barely-restrained wail. Lyrics veer towards the personal on songs like "Something Is Not Right With Me" and "Every Man I Fall For," which probably isn't about what I think it's about. Though it was primarily the lyrics that drove Robbers And Cowards (namely "We Used To Vacation" and "Hospital Beds"), some of Loyalty To Loyalty's best moments are due to the instrumentation. The buzzing keys on "Relief" and the primal drum stomp of "Welcome To The Occupation" are impressive, as are the occasional breaks into delightfully messy funk-rock. My favorite song on the disc might be "Golden Gate Jumpers," a tale of someone who talks a girl out of jumping off the San Francisco bridge and becoming another statistic. It's a great melding of what made Cold War Kids' debut so great and what they're doing to move forward. I guess that accident didn't leave them too shaken up, after all.

Review by Eric Schuman

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (Warner Brothers)

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Let me start off by saying that Jenny Lewis' solo debut (with the Watson Twins), Rabbit Fur Coat, was my favorite album of 2006. Heartbreaking, catchy, twangy and cohesive, the album fulfilled the promise of many of Lewis' stand out moments in her day job with Rilo Kiley. Her solo tour received rave reviews. After returning to Rilo Kiley for last year's classic rock-tinged Under The Blacklight, Lewis goes back to her solo career on Acid Tongue. The new album is a bit more sprawling and less concise than Rabbit Fur Coat, with Lewis bringing aboard an armada of guest stars yet keeping her powerful voice front and center. After appearing on Elvis Costello's Momofuku earlier this year, the King returns the favor and duets on the country rocker "Carpetbaggers." Actress/singer Zooey Deschanel sings backup on a few tracks, with M. Ward, The Black Crowes' Chris Robinson and Lewis' boyfriend Johnathan Rice all making contributions as well. The mellower openers "Black Sand" and "Pretty Bird" continue the 70's AM radio vibe, but then Lewis takes a turn with "The Next Messiah" a multi-part, nearly 9-minute epic. The more upbeat highlights include the Vegas-styled showstopper "Fernando" and White Stripes-go-the-church feel of "Jack Killed Mom." Acid Tongue alternately rocks more than its predecessor and less, with many of the gorgeous ballads (like the title track) taking up a good bit of the record. Even if it doesn't reach the heights of Rabbit Fur Coat, Acid Tongue proves that Lewis remains one of the most compelling songwriters of her peer group. You can hear Jenny Lewis' amazing voice live and in person when she comes to the area twice next week: October 1 at the Keswick Theater and October 3 at the Wilmington Grand Opera House.

Review by Joey O.

Week of September 15, 2008

James - Hey Ma (Mercury)

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Along with the recently-disbanded Beautiful South, Manchester's James was one of many bands who went undeservedly underappreciated outside their native England. Sure, everyone knows "Laid" and maybe even "Sit Down," but vocalist Tim Booth and company had been making music for a good 12 years before the Eno-produced Laid provided them with their most well-known track. After a six-year hiatus, James is back with a new album that features some of their biggest and best songs in their catalogue. Produced by Lee "Muddy" Baker, who worked with Tim Booth on a successful project during the James break, Hey Ma tackles deep social and emotional issues against a backdrop of bright horn arrangements and classic 'Madchester' psychedelic-dance. The title track is a lament to 9/11 and the war in Iraq, bringing a modern resonance to a band who usually stuck to non-political songs (a trend that continues to "72" on the album's second half). The following song, "Waterfall," stands is stark contrast to "Hey Ma," with a bright, upbeat melody that features Booth's trademark vocal acrobatics. It also provides one of my favorite lyrics of the year so far, "Don't take a phone company to tell you life's pay-as-you-go." Coming from a band whose early records were mostly Happy Mondays-style freakouts with risqué lyrics, Hey Ma has many slower, introspective songs like the spacey "Semaphore" and the dynamic-shifting standout "Upside." Despite all these reflective tunes, Booth hasn't lost his sense of humor, which plays out in "Boom Boom" and "Whiteboy." Though James never really sounded like young punks, Hey Ma is truly a portrait of a band the world (or at least their loyal fanbase) has watched grow up.

Review by Eric Schuman

Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer (Roadrunner)

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Who Killed Amanda Palmer was to be a bedroom-recording project for the Dresden Dolls' chanteuse, one not requiring her drumming Doll Brian Viglione. That was before Palmer met fellow complex piano rocker Ben Folds, who gifted her his producing skills and time at his Nashville studio to flesh things out. WKAP on its surface sounds like yet another quasi-concept album in a catalog stocked with them, but the sources for Palmer's solo debut are actually more disparate than, say, her duo's Yes, Virginia. There are Dresden Dolls live staples like "The Point of It All" and "Ampersand" backed by strings. "Guitar Hero" skewers machismo with help from a Dead Kennedy as St. Vincent joins Palmer on Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics. The breathlessly delivered "Runs in the Family" comes from old Palmer scribblings, while the bluesy romp of "Leeds United" is a Scotland toss-off that worked. Yet for such a quietly ragtag set - studio chatter between songs and all - WKAP holds together amazingly well. Folds and other player/arrangers feed Palmer's punk-cabaret roots so she delivers both the playful and taboo in a manner matched by few (maybe Tori Amos circa "Me and a Gun," maybe Billie Holliday circa "Strange Fruit"). In the year of Santogold, with song castoffs still suggesting just how good a proper album might be, Amanda Palmer might want to take a hint and get back in the studio, like, yesterday.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of September 8, 2008

Tricky - Knowle West Boy (Domino)

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Managing to redefine the thoughtfulness (and boundaries) of electronica as did last year's War Stories album from UNKLE, the eighth album from trip-hop pioneer Tricky finds him less of a narrator or author than an editor. On Knowle West Boy the Bristol musician is often here in name only, his loping half-raps de-emphasized in favor of relative unknowns helping to vocalize his autobiographical story arc. A ragga singer boasts through "Bacative" and "Baligaga"; one woman plays the dismissive Kate Nash or Lily Allen foil to his barfly in "Puppy Toy"; another joins Tricky in covering Kylie Minogue's "Slow," converting it from romance to sleaze. It's a complex path he navigates, made all the more twisted and interesting by his decisions as producer, bandleader, and talent scout. What effort he saves on vocals is instead poured into the pounding juvi-hall tale "Council Estate," the dreamy acoustics of tracks like "School Gates," and the dirgelike "Past Mistake." By adding elements of other musics like punk and folk to the styles he first developed as part of Massive Attack, Tricky "just" makes trip-hop in the same manner as Tool "just" makes metal or Coldplay "just" pop.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of September 2, 2008

Delta Spirit - Ode To Sunshine (Rounder)

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Unfortunately, my only real memory regarding San Diego's Delta Spirit is a bit cloudy. They played at the TLA with Dr. Dog back in November, and I was the lone representative of Y-Rock at the XPN volunteer table in the lobby. I was so busy the whole night, I barely got a chance to hear any of the performances, and what I did hear was garbled by the ambient noise of the densely packed venue. As it turns out, the choice to pair Delta Spirit with Dr. Dog (and, on an earlier tour, Cold War Kids) was a wise one, given the bands' affinity for acoustic soul. On their self-produced debut, Ode To Sunshine, Delta Spirit let loose a tight set of songs that fluctuate between rousing Americana and heart-wrenching ballads that all showcase singer Matt Vasquez's expressive delivery. Along with their often religion-inflected lyrics, Delta Spirit set themselves apart by using atypical percussion instruments. Lead single "Trashcan" features the eponymous item rattling around as the infectious piano riff carries the number along. Some of the strongest moments on the album are when the guys slow things down, giving "House Built For Two" and "People, Turn Around" an aura that recalls The Band at their finest. The stripped-down "Bleeding Bells" sounds like a lost track from Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, and the title track closes the record with a country-tinged stomp. If anything, Ode To Sunshine has inspired me to go out to see Delta Spirit (for real) the next time they come to town. That next time happens to be October 23rd at Johnny Brenda's, so don't miss your chance! (Listen to Josh T. Landow's interview with Delta Spirit)

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of August 25, 2008

The Verve - Forth (On Our Own/RED)

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One of the bands least likely to reunite, The Verve surprised everyone last year with the announcement that they were working on a new record. The psychedelic Brit band broke through in 1997 with their third album, the masterpiece Urban Hymns, combining the band's spacey tendencies with gorgeous songwriting and the soaring voice of frontman Richard Ashcroft. They had a hit single ("Bitter Sweet Symphony") and then things fell apart for the band, just as they'd finally cracked America. Ashcroft spent the past decade making soulful solo records and the other members kept busy as well, but the out-of-the-blue announcement finally reunited the founding foursome. Now we have Forth, an album of slightly mellower and trippier tunes than were found on Urban Hymns. The record opens with "Sit And Wonder," an excellent merging of Ashcroft's soul-searching vocals and Nick McCabe's psychedelic guitar work. "Rather Be" and "I See Houses" are solid ballads and the highlight is certainly the single, "Love Is Noise," with its odd 'space duck' samples. It is still one of my favorite songs of the year, but it's also the most rocking that Forth gets. The album could have really used the non-album track "Mover" that was given away as a free MP3 earlier this summer. However, there are a number of songs such as the meandering "Numbness," which just space out a bit too much. Only one song on Forth clocks in at under five minutes ("Valium Skies"). "Noise Epic" is the longest and most experimental song on the album, moving from a driving beat early on to feedback to a massive rocker in the last minute and a half. Though it's somewhat unfair to compare the mellow Forth to a classic like Urban Hymns, it is nice to have one of the shining lights of the 90's Brit-Rock movement back in tact.

Review by Joey O.

Bloc Party - Intimacy (Atlantic)

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Part one of their rock career captures punky lightning in a bottle. Part two shows off an earnestness sometimes muddled and overeager. Suddenly, part three incorporates a potentially divisive infatuation with dance music. We are of course addressing Bloc Party and their new third album Intimacy, which often sounds like lead singer Kele Okereke starting a tangential electronic project like Thom Yorke (The Eraser) and Zack de la Rocha (One Day as a Lion) before him. But we could just as easily be discussing the career arc leading to the Achtung Baby-Zooropa-Pop period of U2, and they're none the worse for wear, eh? The dancier, programming-heavy tracks on Intimacy are not merely fuzzy but skillfully dense, "Mercury" going so far as to tip its cap to Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee." There are also razor-sharp rockers like "Ares," its lyrics drenched in ironic militancy, while "Halo" and "Better than Heaven" signal the resurgence of Matt Tong's insistent drumming, the band's secret weapon. Bloc Party aren't blog-house bandwagon-jumping; amid all of their sonic experiments, they're really just burning the aura of their masterpiece debut Silent Alarm to a backup disk. Speaking of disks, physical copies of Intimacy (with a slightly different tracklist from the digital version out now) will be available in America on October 28.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of August 18, 2008

The Dandy Warhols - ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols... (Beat The World)

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Okay, I get it; the CD is dead, long live the digital download. It seems that there's a new variation on the theme with each band that joins the 'give it away' club. In the case of The Dandy Warhols, they didn't give it away to just anyone. Sharing its name with a song from an earlier self-released album, ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols... was offered to members of the band's online fan club just over three months before its physical release date. The unorthodox release isn't the only thing that makes this album different from the Dandys' past efforts. Earth provides a look into the eclectic mind of leader Courtney Taylor-Taylor, with noisy disco ("Welcome To The Third World"), bubblegum pop ("Valerie Yum") and classic Dandys psychedelia ("Mission Control," "Wasp In The Lotus") being some of the album's more accessible turns. The real oddities are songs like "Mis Amigos," a Spanish-inflected ode to the band's favorite vices, and the head-scratchingly fun "The Legend Of The Last Of The Outlaw Truckers AKA The Ballad Of Sheriff Shorty," which is over the top, even for the Dandys. All is not so baffling on Earth, with lead track "The World The People Together (Come On)" bringing in some Go! Team-style chants and the very lovely "Love Song" bringing some highbrow guitarists (namely Mark Knopfler and Mike Campbell) into the dense mix. Though I'm not sure anyone (fan club member or otherwise) is ready for the 14-minute closer "Musee D'Nougat," it does offer some delectable background on the fluffy confection. ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols... won't be bringing in the scores of new fans like Thirteen Tales Of Urban Bohemia did, but it is a treat for the band's established (and very patient) fanbase.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of August 11, 2008

The Faint - Fasciinatiion (blank.wav)

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In listening to the spectrum of sounds coming from today's so-called "blog house" genre, it somehow comes as no surprise that both Daft Punk and The Faint started releasing albums about a decade ago. The edgy Eurodisco shuffle of first track "Get Seduced" from The Faint's new self-released album Fasciinatiion fulfills the promise referenced in the second track, "When I saw the future/The geeks were right," clearly showing where acts like Justice and Does It Offend You, Yeah? get their chops. "Fulcrum and Lever" has enough midtempo clicks and clangs that it should be inducing that familiar sway on goth club dancefloors; meanwhile, other songs ("Fish in a Womb," "Machine in the Ghost") veer back towards the playfully edgy indie-rock that first got the Omaha band in the game. "Psycho" even hints at a playfully twisted take on alt-country. Much in the same way that Nine Inch Nails returned from a creative hiatus with the hard-rock leanings of With Teeth, The Faint offer us a schizophrenic, bile-filled, yet constantly entertaining ten-song set. See the Faint this Sunday at The Trocadero in Philadelphia.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of August 4, 2008

Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst (Merge)

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For a while now, there has been a trend of giving band-like names to one-member musical projects. Perhaps it is to blur the line between the frontman and the band itself, or to simply challenge the traditional notions of what makes up a band, but "groups" like Nine Inch Nails and Iron & Wine continue to baffle audiences expecting to see more than just one performer. One of these groups that has evolved from being a one-man project into a full-fledged band is Conor Oberst's Bright Eyes. To be fair, the Bright Eyes sound has just as much to do with producer/multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis and keyboardist Nate Walcott as it does with Oberst. It could be due to the absence of Mogis and Walcott that Oberst's new album under his own name (literally; the disc is also self-titled) lacks the lush fullness of last year's Bright Eyes release, Cassadaga. My first exposure to Bright Eyes was back in 2005 with the release of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. That album, along with 2002's Lifted... were mostly low-key affairs that hinted at more grown-up sounds a few years later. Cassadaga was such a leap forward in musical maturity that Oberst sounds like he's back-pedaling a bit on this new album. Conor Oberst stars with "Cape Canaveral," a strummy acoustic number that features some tape noises low in the mix as if to remind the listener that Oberst is more than just a kid with a lucky streak of successful albums. The biblical references in "Lenders In The Temple" and "Moab" and the flourishes of Spanish in "Eagle On A Pole" show off Oberst's literacy in a more subtle manner. It's almost expected of Oberst to title the best and most upbeat song on an album "I Don't Wanna Die (In The Hospital)." That tune is one of too few rave-ups that could have made Conor Oberst (the album) as impressive as some of Conor Oberst's (the singer) past work. I'm hoping that Oberst will keep his ear to the ground and return to the bigger sound of Cassadaga soon. You can catch Oberst with his new backing group, The Mystic Valley Band, at the Trocadero on August 11th.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of July 28, 2008

CSS - Donkey (Sub Pop)

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After winning over scores of fans with their self-titled international debut in 2006, Brazil's CSS may have also grown tired of only making electronic music. While not totally abandoning the electroclash scene to which they are so closely associated, CSS mix up their arrangements on their new album, Donkey. Fear not, though, as Lovefoxxx's trademark vocals and drummer/musical director Adriano Cintra's songwriting are as strong as ever. After hearing lead single "Rat Is Dead (Rage)", you might be led to think that CSS have sold their turntables and bought guitars, but the Tom Tom Club-invoking keyboard stabs on "Let's Reggae All Night" show that the band hasn't burned all of their bridges. Still, guitars are plentiful throughout the disc, and bang out riffs that often rock ("How I Became Paranoid") and sometimes can't be distinguished from the keyboards (opener "Jager Yoga"). CSS still wear their influences on their brightly-colored sleeves, with "Left Behind" referencing Devo's jagged synths and the darker "Believe Achieve" not only echoing Depeche Mode, but contemporaries like Ladytron. Donkey is very much a picture of a band in transition. I salute CSS for not opting to make their debut all over again, but I anxiously await their next album to see what becomes of the changes in direction.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of July 21, 2008

Black Kids - Partie Traumatic (Columbia)

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We once praised Damon Albarn's project-of-the-moment The Good, The Bad, and the Queen and their use of a particular point in musical history to inform their debut release: "Ghost Town" by The Specials. Now Jacksonville's Black Kids make their own stellar submission to the Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery Dept. Partie Traumatic cleans up all four tracks from their demo EP Wizard of Ahhhs and adds six new songs, a document of dance-rock desperately wanting to be majestic pop. This suggests the group's subconscious foundation: the happiest moments of The Cure. Reggie Youngblood's affected-Brit lilt recalls Robert Smith's upper registers; his playful guitar cascades shine a light in the dark as well. When tracks like the smash "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance with You" and "Hurricane Jane" merge those elements with joyfully cheesy synths and a crack rhythm section, they easily channel the "Why Can't I Be You?"s and "Just Like Heaven"s of the world. The staying power of "Boyfriend" threatens to label Partie Traumatic as a one-trick pony, but thankfully the doo-wop ending of "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)" and the true indie-dance stomp of "I Wanna Be Your Limousine" hint that Black Kids have more under their control than just the summer of 2008. See for yourself when they play the hot! hot! hot! First Unitarian Church on September 29th.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of July 21, 2008

Dr. Dog - Fate (Park The Van)

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The lyrics of "The Breeze", the opening number of Dr. Dog's new album, Fate, could be read as very telling about the philosophy of the band. "Are you movin' much too fast?" and "Do you feel like your stuck in time?" are questions the quintet are likely to field when they are out promoting this album, released just over a year after the acclaimed We All Belong. The latter question has an easy answer; Dr. Dog have an uncanny knack for sifting classic pop songcraft through a lo-fi indie screen. Being "stuck in time" is the only reason I can think of why a ragtime piano breakdown ("The Old Days") and a multi-part "A Day In The Life"-esque suite ("My Friend") fit together on the same album. Even with its scattered upbeat moments, Fate doesn't wear its hooks on its sleeve as overtly as We All Belong, relying more on bluesy, heartfelt songs like "Army Of Ancients" and the stellar "From". As far as "moving much too fast", I don't feel like the boys of Dr. Dog see things that way. Since We All Belong, they have not only recorded this new disc, but released a compendium of old demos, presumably with more on the horizon. "The Breeze" might not be so autobiographical after all, more of a self-deprecating nod and wink, not unlike The Beatles' "Glass Onion". The Fab Four challenged the boundaries of pop music without fear, and Dr. Dog uphold that legacy, albeit with lots more "whoa-oh-oh"-ing.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of July 14, 2008

Albert Hammond, Jr. - ¿Cómo Te Llama? (RCA)

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Considering that I'm not exactly a big fan of his band, The Strokes, I can't even begin to imagine how many times I've listened to guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr.'s debut solo album, Yours To Keep. Between the classic pop melodies and charming lyrics (plus toy pianos!), the songs from Yours To Keep are so ingrained in my head that I'm having a tough time becoming as attached to Hammond's new album, the poorly-conjugated ¿Cómo Te Llama?. Overall, I like ¿Cómo Te Llama?, but I'm not sure if I would consider it as solid as Yours To Keep. It certainly has Hammond branching out further than he ever could on a Strokes record. The processed beats on "Lisa" and "Rocket", and the bullhorn-filtered vocals featured on most of the tracks might be a little gimmicky, but Hammond's musicianship (not to mention his production of the record) tie any loose ends together with a fairly strong knot. The centerpiece of ¿Cómo Te Llama? is the lilting seven-minute instrumental, "Spooky Couch", which features Hammond's buddy and frequent collaborator Sean Lennon on plinking (non-toy) piano. It's probably my own fault for just not having enough room in my mind for 13 more Albert Hammond, Jr. songs, but I have a feeling that ¿Cómo Te Llama? will sink in eventually. Maybe by that point, I can remember enough from my three years of Spanish to figure out what Hammond was trying to say with the album's title.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of July 7, 2008

Beck - Modern Guilt (Interscope)

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One of our favorite artists around these parts, Beck Hansen has proven over his diverse career that he is capable of just about any genre he puts his mind to. The eclectic musician has attempted a pattern over the years of a higher-profile, funkier, "fun" release, followed by a more stripped-down album. Since 2006 brought us the electronic-tinged, hip-hop influenced album The Information, it's time for the Beck-pendulum to swing the other way once again. Modern Guilt is back to dark, singer-songwriter territory for the first time since 2001's sparse break-up album, Sea Change. It's also the first Beck album since Sea Change to stay the course with a cohesive sound for an entire album. Modern Guilt is also a collaboration with producer Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley fame, and the two artists' sonic sensibilities match up well.

Beck has said the plan going into the record was to create a short album with a feel reminiscent of the 60s British invasion. Modern Guilt is certainly his quickest album yet (ten songs in 33 minutes) and on songs such as "Gamma Ray" and the title track, you can hear the rhythmic influence of post-Beatles radio rock. "Walls" is the most Gnarls-esque track, with its moody, eerie string sample that could have come straight out of The Odd Couple. "Youthless" and "Soul Of A Man" are built around fat, plucky bass lines and "Replica" rides skittering electronic beats.

Lyrically, Beck is back on the bluesy, apocalyptic trip he was taking on a good bit of 2005's Guero. "Walls," "Gamma Ray" and "Chemtrails" stare down dread and bleakness in an indirect-yet-articulate way that is distinctly Beck. The moody vibe suits the lower-key side of Mr. Hansen and since the record clocks in so briskly, the prevailing sadness doesn't overstay its welcome. Modern Guilt is an understated, but worthy addition to the always-expanding world of Beck.

Review by Joey O.

Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (Beggars Banquet/XL)

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Like other visionary musicians, Sigur Ros are currently embracing fast turnaround and democratic distribution of their craft: their sixth LP Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust came together in the first half of 2008. There, however, is where conventions new and old end. Sigur Ros have long been defined by heaving atmospheres and Jon Thor (Jonsi) Birgisson's use of "Hopelandic," his vocals for unwritten lyrics filtering jazz scat singing through an eerie indie-rock whine. An acquired taste, but acquired it has been to a point where 1999's Agaetis Byrjun stands as a post-rock landmark. Acoustic performances on last year's Hvarf/Heim hinted at what has fully bloomed here: much clearer arrangements and instrumentation. Strings, horns, choirs and especially Orri Pall Dyrason's drums add legitimate punctuation to compositions like "Gobbledigook" (fitting in nicely alongside warped, upbeat folk by the likes of Yeasayer and MGMT), "Sud I Eyrum," and the second half of the epic "Festival."

Absent the creaking weight of their typical ambience, Sigur Ros manage to make music that can pass for actual songs and singles. In particular, Jonsi no longer sounds wispy and morose; whether whispering the band's first English lyrics ("All Alright") or delivering Icelandic stomps both muted ("Godan Daginn") and mirthful ("Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur"), he makes you consider what Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley might have sounded like had they flipped off the reaper. In Med Sud we find Sigur Ros bravely making an "accessible" album. Longtime fans might see that as one big shark-jumping concession, but consider the choice the rest of us now have: getting the sturm und drang of Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails for free, or paying a couple of bucks for unmitigated joy.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of June 30, 2008

Ladytron - Velocifero
(Nettwerk)

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It always perplexed me as to how bands decide when their albums are released. Do they wait until they think their record will be the best thing on the market? Do they try to hit the shelves in the busy shopping months? Do they get them out as fast as humanly possible (or, in the case of Trent Reznor, faster)? I also find that albums from certain bands work best in certain seasons. For example, despite its January release, Vampire Weekend's debut is a very summer-ready album. This atmospheric anachronism occurs yet again in the case of Velocifero, the new album from icy electropoppers Ladytron. Where bands like CSS and New Young Pony Club make more bouncy electronic tunes, Ladytron opt for the route traveled by classic darker synth acts like Pet Shop Boys and New Order. From the songs sung in Bulgarian ("Kletva" and opener "Black Cat") to the dense vocal layering on standouts "Runaway" and "They Gave You A Heart, They Gave You A Name", Ladytron deliver one eerie and compelling piece after another. Velocifero might not exactly live up to its literal translation as "bringer of speed", but this is likely another twist in the Ladytron chain. If you got this record expecting the feel-good hit of the summer, you're out of luck - for now. Hold onto Velocifero until the long chilly nights of October; only then will the album, "Ghosts" and all, come out of its glacial cocoon.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of June 23, 2008

The Wombats - A Guide To Love, Loss, and Desperation
(Roadrunner)

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Here at Y-Rock, we've tried to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to Brit-Pop imports. Exhibit A: The Fratellis, who you heard on our airwaves long before they got the iPod deal and ended up in every 'wacky' movie trailer. And now we have The Wombats, whose hit "Let's Dance To Joy Division" first received airplay from us at the beginning of 2008. Their album A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation is finally available this week Stateside after coming out in the U.K. last year. The youthful Liverpool trio met at Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts in 2003 and oddly enough, released their first album in Japan only a few years later. A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation featured the hit U.K. singles "Kill The Director," "Moving To New York," the brilliantly catchy, "Let's Dance To Joy Division," and of course, "Backfire At The Disco," the current single we're spinning on Y-Rock. Much like Art Brut's "Direct Hit," it's a tale of awkwardness at a dance club. The Wombats certainly don't reinvent the post-Arctic Monkeys-wheel on A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation but hit the sweet spot on the aforementioned tracks: perfect 3 minute, Brit-Pop, full of cheeky humor and great hooks and set to a beat you can dance to.

Review by Joey O.

Week of June 16, 2008

Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
(Capitol)

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Coldplay's 2005 album X&Y helped push the Brit band into the stratosphere as one of the Biggest Bands In The World, able to fill the largest venues around the globe. However, the album received mixed reviews and too many synthesized keyboards bogged down much of the second half of the record. So for the extra-wordy Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends¸ Coldplay stripped back the layers and pushed for more wide open spaces in their new material.

Coldplay certainly do try a number of new tricks on Viva La Vida, perhaps their most ambitious record yet, but again find some mixed results. Some of the songs, co-produced by the legendary Brian Eno and Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire), were partly recorded live in Spain to shake things up a bit. After an instrumental opener (that is reprised with lyrics as the hidden closer), "Cemeteries Of London" kicks in, with Chris Martin evoking olde timey 19th century Gothic England and Johnny Buckland's excellent guitar work paying tribute to The Edge's early work with U2.

The guys really stretch out in the middle of the record. "42" is a multi-part epic, moving from a sparse keyboard song to piling on strings and a funky rhythm, then making a turn into classic, wide-open anthemic Coldplay. They also decided to give fans 'more bang for their buck' by fitting two songs onto the same track twice on the record. "Lovers In Japan"/"Reign of Love" & "Yes!"/"Chinese Sleep Chant." In both instances, the first song on the track is the superior tune, with the second a pleasant little bonus.

By stripping back the epic keyboards, bringing in strings on "Yes!" and the hit "Viva La Vida," and adding other cool little sonic touches, Coldplay certainly do their best to shake things up musically. However, by trying to be more 'progressive,' they occasionally lose sight of the big catchy hooks that have been their bread and butter in the past. And this record might bring even more U2 comparisons than X&Y, partly because of Buckland's guitar atmospherics and Eno's production. The singles "Viva La Vida" (for my money, the best song on the album and best example of the band's experimentation paying off) and "Violet Hill" also show some of Martin's strongest lyrics on the record, with references to war and revolution, also echoed in the cover art. Thematically, the album deals with the Big Concepts of Life and Death (well it is right there in the title). Viva La Vida... will certainly be one of the biggest albums of the year and an important step in the continued growth of one of the few superstar Rock bands under the age of 40 that we have today.

Review by Joey O.

Week of June 9, 2008

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
(ATO)

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The first couple of things you notice when you put on My Morning Jacket's 5th album, Evil Urges: how clear the vocals are compared to everything they've done up to now, how you've never really noticed Jim James' lyrics before, and how many Prince CDs these white boys from Kentucky must listen to in the van. For years they've been lauded as one of the most dynamic, soulful, and captivating live bands making music today - an evolution that's been documented locally across many Philadelphia stages, from the Khyber to the Troc to the TLA to the Factory to the Tower Theatre, and soon to headlining Festival Pier (September 5). Few bands in rock's history have shown the so much skill at driving a song over the top with subtle dynamic changes and perfectly constructed musical arrangements. While all of their studio records have contained a clutch of great riffs and ensemble playing, each tended to ultimately wash over the listener like a cool mountain stream, leaving smooth gems of the rocks below, but little to grab hold of. You found yourself able to hum with but never really sing along with the band.

For all the gorgeous grooves and the amalgam of aesthetics cobbled together from the raw elements of the best Classic, Indie, Southern, Blues, Punk, Prog, and Folk Rock, there was always something indirect about the Jacket's records. Awash in swaths of reverb, Jim James' vocals have been comparable to Michael Stipe's in early R.E.M.; cool, mysterious, fleeting. Not anymore. Like the hair that covered most of his face at live shows until a couple years ago, with less reverb we're able to see more of Jim James on this album, and the confidence in his writing and singing enables us to look at My Morning Jacket in a new light. On first listen it almost feels like a different band - the reverb was that prevalent in the past. By pushing his vocals and the band's playing in new stylistic directions as well, from Curtis Mayfield/Prince falsettos to guttural yelps, from faux industrial/hiphop ("Highly Suspicious") to blue eyed soul ("Thank You Too," "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream") this could be the record that helps My Morning Jacket reach a new, wider audience - the album where the words, music, vocals, and playing all connect at a higher level. One place it all comes together is "I'm Amazed," where James runs through a list of things captivating him - from sublime beauty to our political/ cultural cul-de-sac ("I'm amazed in the quiet ocean / I'm amazed at your wrong devotion / I'm amazed at what the people saying / I'm amazed by a divided nation"), and the band delivers a performance worthy of The Who, U2, or Radiohead. Like those bands, My Morning Jacket has built a following based on their live prowess, and as each band did on their breakthrough records Tommy, War, and OK Computer, several albums into their career My Morning Jacket has delivered an album with Evil Urges that puts them on a similar position to be one of the best bands - live and now on record - of their time and all-time.

Review by Jim McGuinn

Week of June 9, 2008

The Fratellis - Here We Stand
(Interscope)

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There's no shame in only having one album to your credit. Plenty of respectable bands throughout history, for one reason or another, released a lone studio recording in their entire careers. Jeff Buckley, The La's, even the Sex Pistols fall into the "One-Album Wonder" category, and their music is very much beloved. If you would have asked me last year, following the U.S. release of their debut, Costello Music, I would have been quick to say that The Fratellis would likely join those ranks. To my pleasant surprise, though, the Glaswegian trio is back with a new record, Here We Stand, which might just be better than their impeccably strong debut. The most obvious change to the Fratellis' sound is the addition of keyboards on just about every track. This gives the more adventurous tunes a very solid base for Jon Fratelli's brogue to spout out the (real) lyrics (Costello Music's gibberish sing-alongs are few and far between here). While none of the tracks are quite "Flathead" or "Chelsea Dagger", there is a much wider spectrum of styles covered, from riffy psychobilly on "Tell Me A Lie" to tears-in-my-beer country with "Babydoll". Though "Acid Jazz Singer" isn't really acid jazz, the long instrumental passages (closer "Milk And Money") and storytelling songs ("A Heady Tale") make Here We Stand an impressive sophomore release from a band who probably didn't ever have to record again. Now that they've proved to be more than just a goofy Brit-Pop band, maybe album three will feature some real acid jazz.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of June 2, 2008

Weezer - Weezer ("The Red Album")
(Geffen)

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No band has cultivated a more rabid and opinionated fan base over the past decade than Weezer. We last heard from the Weez on the uneven, Rick Rubin-assisted Make Believe. While it featured perhaps their biggest crossover hit in "Beverly Hills," there were also some of Rivers' dodgiest lyrics and a reliance on too many soggy ballads. After a few years away, the band has slightly reinvented themselves on their third self-titled record (aka "The Red Album") as more of a democracy. For better or worse, Rivers has been labeled a bit of a dictator, and on the Red Album, the other three members get to step up to the plate for their turn in the spotlight.

The first half is Cuomo-centric, and while some of his lyrics have taken a turn for the goofy, the songs are musically as catchy as ever. The most obvious examples are opener "Troublemaker" and the hit single "Pork And Beans" (which is about...writing a hit single). "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" might be the most insane thing the band has ever attempted. It's a multi-part "Bohemian Rhapsody"-style six minute epic, jumping from rapping to a choir to a spoken word breakdown, all with Weezer's trademark hooky guitar riffs throughout. "Heartsongs" finds Rivers sweetly reminiscing about Pop songs he grew up on; from Eddie Rabbit to the Boss to Jacko...up to Nirvana's Nevermind changing his life and the formation of Weezer. For much of the first half of the Red Album, Rivers is being autobiographical, but instead of his usual topic of girls, he's writing about his childhood and music.

The second half of the Red Album is where the rest of the band takes turns on the mic. Guitarist Brian Bell wrote and sings "Thought I Knew," a nice little strummy power-pop song. Bassist Scott Shriner sings/raps the verses on the menacing "Cold Dark World," with drummer Pat Wilson (who has frontman experience with his excellent side project The Special Goodness a few years back) sings the midtempo "Automatic." However, with all the different singers, the second half of the record feels maddeningly inconsistent. While it may be good for inter-band harmony, it doesn't really lend to a cohesive feel on the album. Overall, Weezer's Red Album is an interesting, if flawed, experiment in stretching a veteran band's creative boundaries.

Review by Joey O.

The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
(Columbia)

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For a while, I felt like I was the only person in the world who did not attend the South By Southwest festival earlier this year. Almost every music blog, media outlet and even many of my coworkers professed their love for the bands they discovered over the course of the event. Since then, many of those groups, like Black Kids, Los Campesinos! and The Ting Tings have gone on to sign with various labels based on the strong reception of their live performances. The Ting Tings' debut, We Started Nothing, is a quirky mix of dance-pop, girl group harmonies and electronica which are sure to further their newfound popularity. The album kicks off with what might become their signature song, "Great DJ". The tune (which was a double-A side single with the stomp-clap "That's Not My Name") is pure, bright pop with just as much fizz as the aforementioned groups whom the duo played alongside in March. A number of the other songs on the record have been making waves, such as the jittery "Fruit Machine" and "Shut Up And Let Me Go", the latest song to grace an iPod commercial. There are times towards the end of the album where the pace is slowed down a bit, showing that the duo is more than just a dance band. Songs like "Be The One" (a near dead ringer for The Clash's "Lost In The Supermarket") and "Impacilla Carpisung", where singer Katie White does her best M.I.A. impression. We Started Nothing might not completely do The Ting Tings' live show justice, but it is nonetheless a fun listen that offers a taste of what to expect from them in a concert setting. Speaking of which, you can catch The Ting Tings as part of the Popped! Festival on June 21st at Drexel University.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of May 26, 2008

We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
(Astralwerks)

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Back during our days as Y100Rocks.com at good ole Bunker 3.0, We Are Scientists appeared on the scene with their debut album, With Love & Squalor. The New York band quickly became a favorite among our staff thanks to hooky, spiky tracks like "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" and "The Great Escape." They also recorded a memorable "Bunker Sessions" appearance that included the Great Calculator Watch Race of 2006 (trust me). Last fall, drummer Michael Tapper left the band a duo, but founding members Keith Murray (guitar/lead vocals) and bassist Chris Cain carried on and crafted Brain Thrust Mastery. Perhaps the most shocking change in the band? That Cain shaved off his awesome mustache! The new album is less hyper-active and danceable, perhaps because the band no longer has a full-time drummer. But it's sonically richer, with more New Wave-sounding production and echoed or double-tracked vocals from Murray, whose recognizable voice reminds you at times that this is still We Are Scientists. It feels a little like the band was taking sonic pointers from The Killers' evolution to Sam's Town. The excellent lead single is "After Hours," which appears in a new Sony video camera ad currently airing all over television. "Let's See It" and "Chick Lit" are among the other highlights. While the band has certainly matured musically, their great sense of humor is still intact. (Exhibit A: the video for "After Hours," which co-stars Katrina Bowden aka Cerie from 30 Rock) And their Web site, wearescientists.com, is still incredibly absurd. You can enjoy their antics in person when W.A.S. visit Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia on July 29.

Review by Joey O.

Week of May 19, 2008

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of The Understatement
(Domino)

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O, to be one of the more successful young British bands in recent years. Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys made the music industry's collective head explode with their debut release in 2006. While last year's follow-up might not have been as wildly popular, it was still an incredible success compared to sales of many other artists' records. It would seem impossible, between touring and recording with the Arctic Monkeys, that leader Alex Turner would have time to tie his shoes, let alone record a side project that rivals the proper band at its best. Under the name The Last Shadow Puppets, Turner and fellow nu-Brit-Popper Miles Kane (of The Rascals, who helped out on a few tracks on Favorite Worst Nightmare) have created a scratchy string-filled opus that pays homage to the epic pop records of 60's AM radio. The musical voice of The Age Of The Understatement is quite recognizable as belonging to Turner, but the songs aren't just "Brianstorm" with violins. The songs range from fuzzy rave-ups ("Black Plant") to spooky reverb-drenched ballads ("The Chamber", "I Don't Like You Anymore") and the driving, frenetic songs that Turner is known for ("Only The Truth" and the title track). The album might have one trick (specifically called "col legno" or "with the wood", when a stringed instrument is played with the backside of a bow), but what a trick it is. My only request would have been to release this album under the Arctic Monkeys' name, if only to freak out their fans. Turner is clearly not afraid to let out a few musical oddities, so why not increase the music's impact by more closely associating this wonderfully bizarre album with such a popular band? From what I've heard, that's worked quite well for very popular British groups in the past.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of May 12, 2008

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
(Atlantic)

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Death Cab For Cutie really want to be experimental. If it really was the thought and effort that counted, Narrow Stairs would get a perfect score and this review would be over. However, their success, the expectations from their fanbase and their reputation all have held the quartet back. Death Cab want to be experimental, but they can't. Similarly, I really want to dislike them and their new album, but I can't. With all of the lyrical and musical whiny melodrama that made Death Cab so popular, there are many things on Narrow Stairs that I can't help but like. The album starts off with "Bixby Canyon Bridge", which begins as a spacey, minimalist ballad before heavy fuzz-guitars bang out a riff that makes me think this record is going to be Death Cab's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Unfortunately, Ben Gibbard's calm and mellow voice gives the music a far different tone than anything Jeff Tweedy's tortured howl ever sang.

Take, for example, lead single "I Will Possess Your Heart". After a four-and-a-half minute meandering instrumental introduction (which doesn't even have the courtesy to repeat "Fujiya, Miyagi" over and over), the longingly morose lyrics kick in. If the lines, "You reject my advances and desperate pleas/I won't let you let me down so easily" were sung by Tweedy, they would come off as the words of a broken-hearted romantic who just can't get a date (I mean, this is the man who can get away with "I dreamed about killing you again last night/And it felt alright to me"); but coming from Gibbard, "I Will Possess Your Heart" sounds more like this generation's "Every Breath You Take". Not every song is so creepy, though; the mildly-rocking "Cath..." and "Long Division", as well as the jingle bell-laden "You Can Do Better Than Me" do a fine job of masquerading the stalker sentiments under playful melodies. They might not be able to fully evolve past the emotional-pop style of their previous albums, but Narrow Stairs is an expansion in the right direction for Death Cab. Not that they really need to, given their popularity, but it's good to see a band stepping outside its comfort zone every once in a while, even if they are baby steps.

Review by Eric Schuman

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
(The Null Corporation)

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It has been a long time since musicians of cultural significance spent a short time releasing impactful works. It's been mentioned before here, and is repeated now with no less amazement, that The Beatles somehow brought to market Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper in a little over 18 months, a production cycle pretty much lost on today's music industry. We'd never suggest that Trent Reznor travels in the same mythical circles as John, Paul, George or even Ringo, but Nine Inch Nails are taking on long-forgotten risk and providing substantial sonic reward. Enabled by technology, enthralled by new business models, and encouraged by fans, on May 5, 2008 Reznor announced the immediate release of The Slip, the third NIN LP in the last year, an unheard-of pace from an artist once content with seven-year cushions between studio albums. The Slip sees Reznor stepping back from the first two albums in this triad yet embracing elements of both: The enveloping anger of the epic "Corona Radiata" recalls the soundscapes collected on Ghosts I-IV, while particular graphics (the Art is Resistance logo, a photo of Trent being grabbed from behind) and song titles like "Lights in the Sky" reference the politicized sci-fi of Year Zero, although it's unclear if The Slip is the sequel to that story.

What is very clear is that this album is meant to be accessible, and not just as an MP3 download or remixable data. "999,999" opens the album soft and foreboding like Broken, "Demon Seed" closes it fast and danceable like Pretty Hate Machine, and the 37 minutes in between deliver confident rock and aggro electroclash like With Teeth, the 2005 album that started this Reznor renaissance. That last quality sometimes results in tracks like "Discipline" coming off as "Survivalism II," but we also hear Reznor's voice pop up and returning guitarist Robin Finck's crunchy goodness drop out at opportune moments, and the detuned tracks in "Echoplex" somehow fit together like Sonic Youth. Year Zero saw Nine Inch Nails committed to art as rebel yell, a meaningful bit of magical realism that addressed issues as Pink Floyd's The Wall once did. Ghosts I-IV was the outfit's grand musical departure-cum-experiment. The Slip, however, is a halo of a different color: Trent Reznor making music for himself and for the curious, and sounding like he's not just happy to be doing it but actually having fun as well.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of May 5, 2008

Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Momofuku
(Lost Highway)

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In the past year, I've seen Elvis Costello twice; once with a full orchestra, and once with his latest backing band, The Imposters (which features two thirds of his original group, The Attractions). Needless to say, the show with The Imposters was much better. As big a fan of his immense catalogue as I am, I must concede that Costello's career is notoriously inconsistent. From classic new wave and pop records to questionable forays into classical music and blue-eyed soul, few genres have yet to undergo Costello's touch. With his latest album, Momofuku (ostensibly named for Momofuku Ando, creator of instant ramen noodles), Costello continues his recent garage-roots rock phase. His last album with The Imposters, 2004's The Delivery Man, was an uneven mishmash of blues, folk and shouting. For those who, like me, didn't think that The Delivery Man, well, delivered, Momofuku combines all that is good about Costello's scatterbrained musical direction. With some songs that sound like outtakes from early albums like Armed Forces ("American Gangster Time") to the more brash songs that echo 1986's Blood & Chocolate ("Turpentine" and "Stella Hurt"), Momofuku, like Costello himself, is all over the place. Joining the King on many songs is Jenny Lewis, who "oohs" and "ahhs" her way through the jazzy "Harry Worth" and "Drum And Bone". I'm still undecided if Momofuku ranks up with Imperial Bedroom or This Year's Model, but it's without a doubt the album that many of Elvis' fans have been waiting for.

Review by Eric Schuman

Portishead - Third
(Island)

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With their absence from music dragging past the decade mark, the concept of a new album from Portishead - they of the "Nobody loves me" electronic-noir anthem "Sour Times" - seemed increasingly remote. Then... Look, a Beth Gibbons side project! Hey, a Geoff Barrow DJ set! Wow, they played acoustic in England! Yikes, a song on a tribute album! And now, the trio feel comfortable enough in their collective skin to make you squirm in yours on Third, their first studio LP since 1997. The most notable change longtime listeners will hear is the band foregoing hip-hop cratedigging in favor of channeling other styles, new paths to the same destination: the spy-movie atmosphere championed on Dummy, Portishead, and 1998's live orchestral maneuver PNYC. If the industrial drum pads of first single "Machine Gun" represent a successful break with tradition, the rest of the album is downright magical - driving Krautrock in "Silence," "The Rip" and "We Carry On," psych-folk in "Deep Water" and "Small," funk and free jazz in "Magic Doors." With Gibbons' voice more tortured and desperate than ever, and Adrian Utley's guitar often sounding angry, this is as much an experimental album as it is a grand electronic one. Portishead's entry into the music industry alongside Tricky and Massive Attack helped establish the trip-hop genre, yet their gradual disappearance pretty much undermined it. Third, by default and in sum, transcends it.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of April 28, 2008

Santogold - Santogold
(Downtown)

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It would be easy to peg Santogold as America's answer to M.I.A. based solely on a shared tour itinerary, similar fashionista leanings, and the skittering dancehall electronics of the first single from the Santogold debut, "Creator." Easy, and not entirely correct. Rather, songwriter/producer Johnny Romeo and Philly native Santi White (former lead singer of the band Stiffed) end up doing for ska-revival rock what Gnarls Barkley do for soul. Santogold manage to playfully twist a variety of pop formulae to their own entertaining ends, as on "I'm a Lady" where White imagines what it might be like to have Gwen Stefani fronting Rilo Kiley. "L.E.S. Artistes" seems lifted straight from the Tegan and Sara catalog, while elsewhere White manages to use feel-good reggae to thinly veil aggression in a 311 stylee ("We think you're a joke/Shove your hope where it don't shine"). Maybe that last influence is what keeps the M.I.A. comparisons coming, but other songs like "You'll Find a Way" and "Say Aha" clearly indicate Santogold can embrace the structures of rock beyond a Clash sample or Pixies lyric.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

The Kooks - Konk
(Astralwerks)

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Back in 2006, America was introduced to U.K. sensations The Kooks with their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out. The Brit band had already become stars back home, with catchy, likable tracks such as "She Moves In Her Own Way," "Naïve" and "Eddie's Gun." The youthful band is back with Konk, their sophomore effort, filled with even more sturdy, enjoyable Brit-Pop and plenty of strummy love songs. For starters, there's the undeniable lead single "Always Where I Need To Be." The jangly "Mr. Maker" is one of the best songs on the record. Konk never really rocks out too much, outside of "Do You Wanna," perhaps the "heaviest" song here and perhaps not a nod to Franz Ferdinand. "Sway" and "Shine On" are also among the other highlights here. The band's classic Brit Pop songwriting draws comparisons to the legendary Kinks and that isn't a coincidence (or even a koincidence?). The majority of Konk was recorded in Ray Davies' studio in north London, which is called Konk Studios. "I just started thinking how cool the studio is," says guitarist Hugh Harris. "And how much of a part of our sound it is." The Kooks will be heading to North America for about a month's worth of dates, including their first ever Philadelphia appearance (which is already sold out) at the Fillmore at the TLA on June 5.

Review by Joey O.

Week of April 21, 2008

Man Man - Rabbit Habits
(Anti)

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Many things can happen when a band signs to a label. While most choose to remember instances where a label has manipulated a band's distinctive sound into something more mainstream (see The Decemberists' The Crane Wife on Capitol), many couplings of band and label have yielded phenomenal results (like The Replacements' four albums with Sire). Philadelphia's Man Man, who previously recorded for Brooklyn's Ace Fu Records, recently signed to Anti-, home to Bob Mould, Nick Cave and Tom Waits. Yes, the group's latest, Rabbit Habits, is definitely their most accessible to date. But by no means is a tamer Man Man a tame Man Man. Unlike their previous two albums, which featured circus-esque lyrics over Eastern European-influenced musical stomping, Rabbit Habits is driven by a buzzy electric piano and playful marimba (or both on "Top Drawer" and the Oingo Boingo-inflected "The Ballad Of Butter Beans"). Of course, leader Honus Honus' trademark gruff yowl is the focal point of most of the tunes, but the impressively high level of musicianship really steals the show. Songs like the folksy "Whalebones" and the title trackmight not be quite freakout-y enough for hardcore "Fan Fans", but there are certainly enough moments that cater to both longtime and new listeners. Man Man may have toned their act down a bit, but I'm not worried that they're going to be normal anytime soon.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of April 14, 2008

Phantom Planet - Raise The Dead
(Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic)

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Phantom Planet have been many things to many people over the years: "That band that Jason Schwartzman was in" (he was their drummer until leaving almost five years ago to concentrate on acting); "the band that did The OC theme song;" or to us here at Y-Rock, "a great band who were good friends of Y100." They have evolved from the sunny Power-Pop of 2002's The Guest to the angular, Strokes-meets-Radiohead vibe of their self-titled 2004 album. But where has the band been for the past four years? Touring and recording new material, with a label switch over to Fueled By Ramen. At long last, their fourth album Raise The Dead is here. During their extensive studio time, frontman Alex Greenwald decided to focus in on a theme of cults for Raise The Dead. Which is why the opening title track is an anthemic call to arms...except the band is calling you to join a mysterious, ominous cult. The catchy "Leader" invites you to "put you in our uniform/everyone will be reborn," and they've actually created a uniform and logo to go with the fictional cult.

Lead single "Do The Panic" is familiar to longtime fans, as the song has been kicking around the Phantom Planet catalog for a while, with a live version on the bonus disc from The Guest. Another highlight is "Dropped," which combines a sunnier guitar riff and beat straight out of The Guest with Greenwald's distorted, Julian Casablancas-style vocals. Actually, Greenwald could pull back on his slurred and distorted vocals a bit and sing with some more clarity again. But with Raise The Dead, Phantom Planet have continued to evolve and grow from album to album and have shown they are definitely far more than some band who did the theme to a cancelled Fox teen drama.

Review by Joey O.

The Breeders - Mountain Battles
(4AD)

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If all you remember of The Breeders is Kim Deal's slinky bassline in "Cannonball" and the bubbly harmonies in "Divine Hammer"...well, you're missing some kinda vital stuff. Vital, noisy and weird. Sure, those songs are two of the best in the 90s rock canon, and Last Splash from whence they came is equally solid. But the hits are hardly representative of the true eccentrics that the Deal sisters are. There's an oddball acoustic folk bounce and befuddling wordplay ("I'll drink your soup of magpies from a pottery bowl") on their debut album, Pod; some of its out-there moments carried over Splash ("No Aloha") while a dense stoner fog permeated every pore of their last album, 2001's Title TK. Before you rush out to their show at the Fillmore at the TLA on June 8, keyed up to scream "Want you! Cuckoo! Cannonball!" at the top of your lungs, we recommend a refresher course on what exactly you're in store for. Fortunately, Mountain Battles is just the ticket, as it pulls from all sides of the Deals.

The cranky gears and piercing voices on "Bang On" echo the instrumental oddities of Pod, as does the Deals' decision to, apropos of nothing, include two songs sung in foreign languages ("German Studies," and the Italian rocker "Regalame Esta Noche"). There's a lethargic segment of the album ("Night of Joy," "We're Gonna Rise") that reflects the hazy pace of TK, except these songs are actually listenable, enjoyable and quite pretty. The best moments, however, are when Kim and Kelly wear their rock faces. "Is This Love" is a capstone of guitar interplay and speedy drumming; the dirty, "Wave of Mutilation"-esque bassline of "Walk It Off" booms out of the speakers and recalls Kim's tenure with The Pixies. As a whole, Mountain Battles has The Breeders cutting a cross-section of their careers, revisiting its myriad sounds in top form. Just as they holler on the propulsive opening track "Overglazed"..."I can feel it."

Review by John Vettese

Week of April 7, 2008

The Black Keys - Attack & Release
(Nonesuch)

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There was a time round about the 1960's when a record's producer was just as integral to a group's sound as the musicians themselves. Characters like Phil Spector, Joe Meek and Don Kirshner shaped their often anonymous bands to produce pop music gold. Over the years, though, as more and more musicians dabbled in production, the producer-as-icon image faded. If there's one person in music today who is bringing attention back to the producer's seat, it's Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton. Danger Mouse's most recent endeavor is the latest from gritty blues duo The Black Keys, Attack & Release. As fans of The Black Keys are well aware, the boys from Akron are masters at making raw, sludgy rock and roll. However, with four albums behind them, the time had evidently come to broaden their sonic spectrum. Danger Mouse spun his magic on the record's tracks, infusing the moody psychedelia that permeated his production of The Good, The Bad & The Queen last year. The ghostly atmospherics seem an unlikely match with The Black Keys' raucous rock, but the combination is surprisingly enjoyable.

Attack & Release is the Keys' first record recorded in an actual studio, which adds scores to their already infectious material. Woozy organs and other assorted synthesizers are plentiful on tracks like "Strange Times" and "Lies". At the center of the record is "Remember When", which stretches over two distinct parts: a hazy ballad and a Gun Club-esque rave-up. My personal favorite is the album's closer, "Things Ain't Like They Used To Be", where guitarist Dan Auerbach trades lines with 18-year-old bluegrass songstress Jessica Lea Mayfield in some kind of Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra track from another planet. As much as I have liked the Keys' past efforts, it's clear to me (as it is likely clear to them) that expanding their sound beyond the guitar/drums dynamic is a huge leap forward. It's also very admirable for Danger Mouse to step outside his usual retro-hip hop boundaries. The record producer's time in the spotlight may have since past, but records like Attack & Release (and Mark Ronson's Version, for that matter) show the kind of outstanding results a strong pairing of band and producer can, well, produce.

Review by Eric Schuman

Moby - Last Night
(Nonesuch)

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There was a time when the once and future Richard Melville Hall wasn't guaranteeing wealth from his art by licensing his music for movies and commercials, when he wasn't proving he couldn't perform pop-rock to save his life. Well, this just in: We have a confirmed sighting of Evil Ninja Moby. Last Night will shock those who thought Moby's electronica career stopped and started with Play. It also hints at a return to form for oldheads who have longed for the second coming of "Go." And yet, Moby still manages to cast a net of influences the width and breadth of his New York home/scene: He adds old-school rappers to first single "Alice" and "I Love to Move in Here," and industrial noise to the Ambient-era sounds of "Degenerates" and the hind quarter of this album. Breathy French divas and sampled spiritual ones respectively occupy "Hyenas" and "Live for Tomorrow," midtempo numbers that blow away similar Moby output from earlier this decade because, frankly, he's not doing the singing. Meanwhile, "Disco Lies" is pure disco-house with live vocals, and euphoric techno tracks like "Everyday It's 1989" and "The Stars" are fabricated in the same manner as Moby's sampledelic high points from waaaaay back in the day. It's no guarantee that the next "Ah-Ah" or "Next is the E" is hiding here on Last Night, but in Moby's case maybe redemption has to come in small doses.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of March 31, 2008

R.E.M. - Accelerate
(Warner Brothers)

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You've probably heard by now that Accelerate is R.E.M.'s "comeback" album, after their last {insert however many recent albums the reviewer didn't like}. Well I liked all of R.E.M.'s post-Bill Berry albums. They all have flaws, and the much-maligned Around The Sun is far from perfect but also far from a (high speed) train wreck. But this is about Accelerate, about the here and the now, which is also what Michael Stipe says the album is thematically about. Musically, the record is stripped down, almost their most punk rock work at times, with fast-paced, lightning-quick songs adding up to just 34 minutes. For some reference points in their massive back catalog, think of the rock songs from Life's Rich Pageant or much of New Adventures In Hi-Fi. Peter Buck brings out the some of his best guitar riffs in ages, with the feedback turned up while Mike Mills is back in full force. His bass parts are vibrant and memorable on the opening one-two punch of "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" and "Man-Sized Wreath." And his backing vocals, which had been disappointingly replaced by overdubbed-Stipe on recent records, are all over Accelerate.

But what's on Stipe's mind nowadays? Politics (of course) and the fast paced ways of the world in 2008. Opener "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" takes Bill O'Reilly-esque pundits to task ("Don't turn your talking points on me/History will set me free") and the brief-but-ominous "Houston" is told from the point of view of a Hurricane Katrina survivor evacuated in Texas. "Mr. Richards" rips into hypocritical politicians, but its title just makes me think of Michael Richards. And the title track documents the breakneck pace of society in the 21st Century. The album does fly by, though it sags a little around the political ballad "Until The Day Is Done" (which could have fit on ATS) and "Mr. Richards" suffers a little by comparison to the rest of the songs. But the album closes with a bang with the hyperactive rocker "Horse To Water" and the apocalyptical party tune "I'm Gonna DJ." And I almost didn't even mention the excellent lead single "Supernatural Superserious" or the surreal, "Glass Onion"-style, self-referencing "Sing For The Submarine." Accelerate is not so much a "return to form" as a new form altogether, echoing elements of their past, but this is R.E.M. in 2008, accelerating towards the future.

Review by Joey O.

The Raconteurs - Consolers of The Lonely
(Warner Bros/XL/Third Man)

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Two years ago, Jack White didn't put the White Stripes brand on hold so much as he decided to expand his own, enlisting indie songwriter Brendan Benson and the rhythm section from garage rockers The Greenhornes to form The Raconteurs. The classic-rock and funk influences on their debut Broken Boy Soldiers made results alternately hymnal (when sung by Benson) and devilish (when sung by White). Their second album Consolers of the Lonely continues White's track record of associating himself with nothing but good music (up to and including his dalliances with Loretta Lynn and Electric Six) but there's something sinister at work here, and it's no longer just heard in the arrangements or seen in the backwoods decor and fashions of which White is so enamored lately. This is now good music more obviously derived from other good music - and more often than not, thats the music of The White Stripes.

The country majesty of The Raconteurs' "The Switch and the Spur" recalls The White Stripes' cover of "Conquest" from 2007's Icky Thump; "Five on the Five" and "Top Yourself" could have been destined for Thump and De Stijl respectively. First single "Salute Your Solution" even finds Benson contorting his voice to actually sound more like White. Elsewhere, "Old Enough" is pure Southern-fried rock taking cues from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kansas, The Allman Brothers. Even stranger, this album ends as Soldiers did with a Robert Plant-like blues workout, although instead of the full-on Led Zeppelin crunch of "Blue Veins," "Carolina Drama" invokes Plant's softer, fiddle-filled, singer-songwriter side. It's not like Benson, White, and the rest of the crew don't shine here - see "These Stones Will Shout" for one power-pop tour de force - but although Mr. White hasn't yet had a bad musical idea one wonders if he's running out of good ones.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of March 24, 2008

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
(Atlantic)

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Side projects and collaborations rarely last. Often, the abundance of high-profile egos will drive the group apart shortly after their inception. Other times, the key members will get so busy with their primary groups that those efforts get prioritized. With all of the other work that they have been doing in the two years since the wildly popular St. Elsewhere, Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse made enough time to return as Gnarls Barkley for the release of The Odd Couple. While lead single "Run" is without a doubt the "Crazy" of the new album, the retro-soul vibe that carries through each of the thirteen songs makes each one instantly enjoyable. Beginning with "Charity Case", complete with a hook reminiscent of "Walk The Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was), the record has a distinctively less polished production than St. Elsewhere, which is not necessarily a bad thing. "Who's Gonna Save My Soul", a psychedelic gospel ballad, is one of a few slower songs on the album, starkly contrasting the breakneck pace of the more upbeat numbers. As their photoshoots and music videos have shown, the boys have a very strong sense of humor, most evident in "Whatever", a 'poor poor pitiful me' lament to having no friends. Gnarls Barkley seems to be Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse's equivalent to XTC's The Dukes Of The Stratosphear in that they have much more freedom to have fun and experiment outside the boundaries of their main bodies of work. A second Gnarls Barkley album altogether was a wonderful surprise, and the fact that it is a darn good record will hopefully inspire other collaborators to record again. I sure hope that Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins are reading this...

Review by Eric Schuman

Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward
(Ecstatic Peace/Universal)

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No band conveys youthful exuberance better than Be Your Own Pet. A few years back, their first singles and EPs caught the ear of Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, who signed them to his Ecstatic Peace label. Their new album Get Awkward is pure, hyperactive, punky fun; and finds their musical chops slightly maturing, if not their lyrical worldview. Exhibit A: Get Awkward kicks off with the line "I just want to run around! I just want to party down!" on the bad girl anthem "Super Soaker." Twenty-year-old singer Jemina Pearl sings of teenage love ("Twisted Nerve"), zombies ("Zombie Graveyard Party!") and food fights ("Food Fight," of course). But she also laments growing up on "Super Soaker" and is caught in a love triangle of sorts in "Heart Throb." You've heard "The Kelly Affair" on Y-Rock on XPN, which is a blast of surf rock beats and lyrics inspired by the debauchery of Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls. Musically, the band often invokes the young punks of the 80s, such as the Descendents, on songs like "Bummer Time" and "Food Fight." I finally got to catch Be Your Own Pet live at SXSW earlier this month and the band certainly lives up to their whirling dervish reputation. Imagine a tiny blonde girl possessed by the spirit of the Iggy Pop and you have Jemina Pearl onstage, with the three guys in the band doing more than enough to keep up with her energy level (even if that means the music gets a little sloppy). Be Your Own Pet is the candy bar of garage punk and if you're in the mood, Get Awkward certainly is a delicious sugar rush.

Review by Joey O.

Week of March 17, 2008

The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
(Sub Pop)

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It's rather telling that the line "We're gonna have some fun, son" is sung near the end of Saturnalia, the Gutter Twins' debut-at-long-last. It suggests that the music leading to that pyrrhic declaration in "Front Street" was introduction, statement of intent, planning for what comes next after a filmic scenario like being cornered in a back-alley shootout. Greg Dulli (first of The Afghan Whigs, now of The Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (first of Screaming Trees, then of work with Isobel Campbell, Queens of the Stone Age, and Soulsavers) surround themselves with players who help deliver the measured tension they cultivated through this decade. When the Twins harmonize on songs such as "All Misery/Flowers" Lanegan's baritone is a thing of fearsome beauty, lyrics like "The way I burn/is a son of a bitch" stumbling and flailing like an innocent man on the run. "God's Children" and first single "Idle Hands" lay guitar work from the 90s over the wail of harmonium and string sections, while "Each to Each" is a complex climax with drum programming and elements of chamber pop. Saturnalia is soaked in the sweat and murky tones of Black Crowes bar rock, Wilco's alt-country, and the New American Gothic pushed by the likes of Murder by Death. There's not a true standout track on here, but the album's atmosphere demands to be put on repeat.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of March 10, 2008

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
(The Null Corporation)

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Trent Reznor's recent sobriety and the flagging music industry seem to have turned him and Nine Inch Nails into one pretty music machine. Since 2005 we've seen two traditional albums, a remix album, Saul Williams' Niggy Tardust project, and now the real shock of the new: Ghosts I-IV, which ups Radiohead's free-agent ante on so many levels. NIN first use technology to reach listeners both casual and devoted - download this stuff via NIN.com, Amazon, or torrent; hear it in high-end audio formats; pay for various pretty packages to look at and hold. Then, remarkably, NIN manage to deliver where it matters most. Where In Rainbows sounded like a good Radiohead album, Ghosts I-IV is either nothing you'd ever expected or everything you'd ever wanted from Nine Inch Nails. Reznor's well-worn vocal range and one-note rage are wholly absent, so the 36 instrumentals here both "sound like NIN" and are open to further exploration. The cumulative effect is much like listening to master craftsmen at work with new and purposefully mucked-up tools, Reznor ably assisted by the likes of producer Atticus Ross, prog-rock guitar veteran Adrian Belew, and Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione.

Into Ghosts I-IV they insert neo-classical nods to Claude Debussy, John Cage, and Thomas Newman, and hints of beats favored by everyone from Kraftwerk to Boards of Canada to Brian Eno (alone and when he worked with Davids Byrne and Bowie). There's a spooked country feel to "18 Ghosts II" and "5 Ghosts I," Sonic Youth re- and de-tuning in "31 Ghosts IV," and homages elsewhere to Aphex Twin ("6 Ghosts I"), Prince ("32 Ghosts IV"), and Coil. These two loosely organized hours of music are never boring and infinitely malleable. Consumers could use this as a linear journey, as random-shuffle background noise for workspaces, as the soundtrack for the images in the album's artwork, or even as the soundtrack to a student film or three via a Creative Commons license. Does all of this make Ghosts I-IV a masterpiece? That's still to be borne out, although selling out of $750,000 worth of ultra-mega-super-special editions of the album in one day suggests a struck nerve within a rather rabid fanbase. One thing's for sure: Trent Reznor doesn't know how to do anything small, and if the results are this good then more power to him... and to us.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of March 3, 2008

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
(Matador)

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Separate the frontman of a band from his group and the results can often be unpredictable. It's an age-old phenomenon, with the likes of Sting, Peter Gabriel and Lou Reed frequently eschewing the styles of their former bands for more experimental sounds. Of course, Stephen Malkmus has been at the solo artist game for quite some time, releasing the first album with his new band, The Jicks, a mere two years after Pavement's dissolution in 1999. With that record, Malkmus took on a new persona: that of the indie-rock jam master. True, the following albums, 2003's Pig Lib and 2005's Face The Truth, aren't completely rooted in guitar pyrotechnics, but the finger-on-fret acrobatics add scores to Malkmus' classic surreal songwriting. Whether you're in it for the Jonathan Richman-esque lyrics or the most epic solos this side of Sky Blue Sky, you've got a friend in Real Emotional Trash. On past ventures, Malkmus and his Jicks have spiked in a lengthy song or two per record, but Real Emotional Trash boasts a scant 3 songs that run under 4 minutes (and that's out of the album's 10 tunes). The centerpiece, without a doubt is the sprawling 10-minute title track, whose dynamics (and duration) follow in the vein of Pig Lib's "1% Of One". Kooky characters abound, such as "Wicked Wanda", "Hopscotch Willie" and "Elmo Delmo". If you're looking for the "Cut Your Hair" of this album, it would probably be lead single "Gardenia", which serves as a few minutes of classic pop craft that shows that Malkmus doesn't have to fill his tunes with guitar heroism, he chooses to. Pavement were infamous for occasionally being too eclectic for even their most devoted fans. Now, a more grown-up Malkmus has not only established himself as a capable solo entertainer, but the augmentation of an incredibly tight band (featuring Sleater-Kinney's Janet Weiss) has only made a great performer even better. Then again, it may only be a matter of time until we get Wowee Zowee 2: Polka Parade.

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of February 25, 2008

The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
(Vice)

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While not as profusely sweaty as its title would lead you to believe, The Raveonettes' latest outing, Lust Lust Lust, has a number of unquestionably sexy moments huddling beneath the Danish duo's trademark blanket of white noise. Opening number "Aly, Walk With Me" grooves with a trip-hop beat and dirty bassline as Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo entreat the title character in icy harmonies to follow them everywhere: in the summer, through Portland and in New York City. Toward the end of the set, "With My Eyes Closed" rocks a skittish dance beat that sounds like it's coming from a hype party that's happening two rooms away. In between, Wagner and Foo pull no punches; delivering your standard, straightforward Raveonettes fare, but doing it in top form. The duo's established fondness for the deconstructed 60s pop of early Jesus and Mary Chain is embellished upon in the noisy bliss of "You Want the Candy" and "Dead Sound," while the excellent "Hallucinations" is reminiscent of New Order with its progressive build and treble note crescendo. "Blitzed" does the rockabilly thing and "Sad Transmission" is a 60s girl group rave-up. Maybe the title doesn't refer to the sultry lust we hear in "Aly" after all, but rather a lust for spastic musical sounds and styles.

Review by John Vettese

Week of February 18, 2008

Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious
(ATO)

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Years after the demise of Soul Coughing, former frontman Mike Doughty has found a happy medium between the band's one-of-a-kind sound and his acoustic singer-songwriter leanings. Haughty Melodic, his first album for Dave Matthews' ATO Records fleshed out songs he'd been playing on the road solo for years will a fuller sound and the production skills of Dan Wilson. Now with his own backing band, Doughty's new album Golden Delicious gets looser and funkier than he's been in years. Opening "Fort Hood" swipes a chorus from Hair as Doughty expresses his conflicted thoughts on the war, along with sympathy for the troops who should be enjoying their youth and "blast Young Jeezy...in a parking lot." "I Just Want The Girl In The Blue Dress To Keep On Dancing" and "Put It Down" put a live, full-band funkiness behind Doughty's signature vocals. Lead single "27 Jennifers" is a re-done standout from his self-released 2003 EP Rockity Roll, and while some of the verses have been trimmed, the charm of the original still remains. Lyrically, Doughty also splits the difference between his earlier, free-associative style (i.e. "More Bacon Than The Pan Can Handle," which is Soul Coughing-esque in its construction around a sample of the titular phrase) and more straightforward narratives. Later in the record, things mellow out slightly with the menacing and sparse "I Got The Drop On You" and the gorgeous closer, "Navigating By The Stars At Night." While it may be a little scattered and less cohesive than some of his previous albums, Golden Delicious finds Doughty merging both parts of his musical career and finding a new angle on his recognizable sound.

Review by Joey O.

Week of February 11, 2008

Bob Mould - District Line
(Anti)

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Full of so many references to his past professional incarnations that you half expect to hear pro wrestling entrance music pumping through your stereo - he did write WCW storylines, after all - outside of any greatest-hits comp District Line is a fine introduction to punk rock's favorite gay uncle, Bob Mould. "Who Needs to Dream?" and "The Silence Between Us" recall the electro-acoustic power pop of his trio Sugar, source of his greatest commercial success. "Return to Dust" meanwhile most openly cops to Mould's earliest and most influential work leading Husker Du. The crunchy singer-songwriter goodness he first embraced on 1989's Workbook plays best in "Again and Again," and the loops of "Shelter Me" deftly continue his flirtation with electronica. In structure and especially at times in Mould's vocal delivery we find parallels to his contemporaries in R.E.M. and their New Adventures in Hi-Fi album. With a significant assist from Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, however, District Line draws its loose and accepting yet rugged and knowledgeable musicianship from roads behind instead of the road ahead.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of February 4, 2008

Nada Surf - Lucky
(Barsuk)

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Nada Surf has had one of the more interesting routes through the music business over the past decade. Of course, they scored a big MTV and radio hit in the mid-90s with "Popular," which unfortunately damned them to the dreaded One Hit Wonder tag. Their follow-up album The Proximity Effect gained a cult following, which grew with 2002's Let Go and paved the way for 2005's The Weight Is A gift, co-produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie. With the release of Lucky, Nada Surf is at point in their career where they are part of the indie rock 'establishment.' At this point, you know what to expect from the trio: lush, melodic rock with plenty of heart. Lucky kicks off with the lovely "See These Bones," where singer/guitarist Matthew Caws gets a vocal assist from Death Cab's Ben Gibbard and Mr. Seattle himself, Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger. Lead single "Whose Authority" has a bit more muscle behind it, as well as a political undercurrent. On tracks like "Beautiful Beat," "I Like What You Say" and "Ice On The Wing," Nada Surf further stake out their turf of slightly inoffensive but very well-crafted, listenable, mellower indie rock. Where other bands might drift off into the ether (or the emo), Nada Surf have a bit more musical depth and strength to their sound. See Nada Surf at the Trocadero on April 13, and stay tuned for their radio takeover of Y-Rock On XPN next Wednesday night at 9pm.

Review by Joey O.

Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
(DFA/Astralwerks)

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I'm not sure where he finds these people, but James Murphy has got some awesome friends. Instant party-makers Shocking Pinks and The Juan MacLean as well as experimental minimalists Prinzhorn Dance School are just a few of the artists who call DFA Records home. And as we saw with last year's Sound Of Silver, Murphy can create a lot of fun all by himself. With Made In The Dark, Hot Chip's third album (and second for DFA), the world of bouncy yet occasionally somber electronica has its record for 2008. While they may have attracted scores of fans with 2006's The Warning, the quintet turns to the style of their more soulful debut for many of the tracks on the new album. The slow tunes act as much-needed counterparts to the upbeat dance tunes. After the punch of the first four tracks, even the most skilled dancer could use the break that is "We're Looking For A Lot Of Love". Of course, those who are looking for a lot of jittery and joyous beats will find "Shake A Fist" (with its Todd Rundgren sample), "Bendable Poseable" and the improbably-titled "Don't Dance" to be as boogie-inducing as "Over & Over" and "(And I Was A) Boy From School". Hot Chip play the Starlight Ballroom on April 10th, a perfect opportunity to see the robot-rockers in action. It makes me wonder, though, if you can somehow play 'Sounds of the Studio' at a concert...

Review by Eric Schuman

Week of January 28, 2008

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
(XL Recordings)

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Sometime around 1979, Talking Heads added a heavy dash of worldbeat to their already unique brand of art-school punk. Working with Brian Eno, they created dense, layered tracks that were instant parties. Therein lies the difference between the iconoclastic new wave act and Vampire Weekend. Throughout their self-titled debut, Vampire Weekend channel the sound of late Talking Heads and the production of early Talking Heads. That is not to say that the whole record is copped from David Byrne and company. Refreshingly sparse in its arrangements, the album brings one catchy guitar riff and yelping chorus after another. Songs like "A-Punk" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" show off Ezra Koenig's distinctly reverb-less guitar. This, in particular, lends to the easygoing, intimate nature of friends hanging out in a studio that makes for a downright fun listen. Other standouts include the shout-along "One (Blake's Got A New Face)" and their twee-meets-afropop debut single "Mansard Roof". The group is playing a sold-out show at the First Unitarian Church on February 7th, and no doubt majority of the audience (myself included) will be documenting the experience in their blogs later that night.

Review by Eric Schuman

Chris Walla - Field Manual
(Barsuk)

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"Second fiddle" Chris Walla is not. As the multi-instrumentalist foundation of Death Cab for Cutie he is at worst a full section or two of that indie-rock orchestra; as producer for recent highly-regarded albums by Nada Surf and Tegan and Sara he's pretty much the freakin' conductor. Field Manual is Walla's first chance in about nine years to play and record on his own. Listeners will discover hints of Ted Leo-esque chugging ("The Score"), rollicking arrangements that inform everyone from Nada Surf to Ben Folds ("Geometry & Co."), and the breezy vocals Walla has developed as Ben Gibbard's harmonic foil ("St. Modesto") - in sum, the results are happily right in the Death Cab fandom's wheelhouse. Field Manual does take an interesting turn away from the oeuvre on songs like "A Bird is a Song" and "Archer v. Light," the latter an open letter from a librarian to a senator that posits, "Yeah, we are kind/Do you remember that?" We may never know if Walla's lyrics were socially aware before or after the boneheaded confiscation of his hard drives at the U.S.-Canada border late in 2007, but on their face they are more politically pointed and less personal than much of the DCfC catalog. Now you have the facts; vote yes on Chris Walla.

Review by Adam Blyweiss

Week of January 21, 2008

Jack Peñate - Matinee
(XL Recordings)

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The bouncing tempos and spry guitar riffs on Jack Peñate's debut record feel like something out of a stylish London party; everything is frenetic and bright, and here's enough of a balance between the rough-and-tumble and the well-coiffed for it all to seem purely hip. Like his Yank doppelganger Ted Leo, Peñate's songwriting recalls the gruff pop/rock of mod forbearers like Paul Weller and Elvis Costello. The simple intro to the lovelorn "Torn on the Platform," strums quietly and hums a sweet melody, slightly recalling Costello's "Alison"...until the swinging Strokes-y doubletime riff gives way to a sprightly, suave reggae verse. "Second, Minute or Hour" skips the initial crooning and gets right down to business with a studied, speedy rock riff, crossing octaves and hammering out a stylish romantic plea. Unlike Mr. Pharmacist, Peñate's songwriting leans more toward the quixotic and personal sentiments ("My Yvonne") than outright political diatribes. But his pop chops are so strong, we can't fault him if he wants to keep the party uptempo.

Review by John Vettese

Week of January 7, 2008

Kate Nash - Made of Bricks
(Geffen/Fiction)

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It'd be too easy to call Made of Bricks this year's Alright, Still. Sure, both records were hits in the UK long before they dropped here in the US. And yes, Kate Nash sings about ex-boyfriends in a cheeky English accent, comes from the same London scene, is skewered by the same gossip bloggers and is even friends with Lily Allen. But despite the chorus of comparisons she's earned, that's pretty much where the similarities end. While Allen's feisty persona made her feel like punk's take on a pop singer, Nash is more of a songwriter at heart. You've heard "Foundations" on Y-Rock: it's twinkling piano and lighthearted guitar strums build and swell in a way that can come only from a musician, not a producer. "Pumpkin Soup" and "Skeleton Song" both lean a bit dancey, but are still built heavily around Nash's pianos and voice. The album is rich and eclectic, with moments recalling Regina Spektor, Tori Amos and other ivory-tickling badass ladies of rock - there are at least two song titles we can't mention to you here, or on the air. With this variety of influence at her fingertips, linking Nash only to her LDN counterpart is just shortsighted.

Review by John Vettese