Album Reviews

The Black Ships – Dead Empires

December 15, 2015

The question of what would have happened in a world where Joy Division still exists is one of pop culture’s enduring questions. And while the Manchester foursome may have never been able to answer, Saratoga Springs’ The Black Ships may be able to, at least sonically. Awash in the same emotional bleakness and unease as Joy Division, and the same new wave pop hooks as New Order, the band finds a middle ground that immediately wins over fans of both groups. This, however, is no mere tribute band. While it’s easy to spot their influences, The Black Ships are making a definitive statement on Dead Empires. This is a act that sounds wholly unlike any other band in the upstate NY area but arrives fully confident in their technique and vision. Take for example the stellar “Sea of Cortez.” While the band’s synth/guitar combo gives a rather new wave vibe, The Black[...]

Petite League- Slugger

December 2, 2015

Baseball. Rock ‘n’ Roll. The Carrier Dome. Do those phrases resonate as “American” to you? Well, they should. And they’re three words that, more or less, resonate with the band from ‘Cuse known as Petite League. Petite League is a lo-fi garage rock band currently inhabiting Syracuse’s scene. The band’s newest release is titled Slugger. When one pays a visit to their bandcamp page, they’re greeted visually by a collage of vintage baseball trading cards which easily blend with Slugger’s album art. When you hit play on Slugger’s first track, “Ocean Honey,” you’re instantly transported into a basement in Syracuse with your cheap beer of choice in hand; accompanied by the smell of cigarettes, cheap whiskey, and the guy standing next to you. It’s garage-pop music for sure– in the same realm as early  Cloud Nothings, Ex Hex,  and Wavves. Each song brings an upbeat guitar riff– technical, yet not intimidating. Repeating melodies[...]

Prince Daddy & The Hyena – Adult Summers

December 1, 2015

Prince Daddy & The Hyena has me baffled. They’ve just put out something truly unique, an almost unclassifiable sounding new EP called Adult Summers. My attempt at classification: take equal parts Andrew W.K. and The Hotelier, and toss in a dash of The Locust. One of their songs even sounds like Atom and his Package. Either way, their music is fast, loud, and weird… In a good way. A very good way. Amidst the aggression, there’s a cavalcade (yes, a cavalcade) of really impressive and beautiful guitar work, not to mention the myriad of other creative noises peppered into the mix. At any rate, Prince Daddy & co. are pushing the limits of whatever genre they’re defying. In order to truly describe this band, you’ll probably just need to use the word “party.” If it’s not apparent by their irreverent approach to musicianship, Prince Daddy & the Hyena are a release from Broken World[...]

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – It’s A Holiday Soul Party

December 1, 2015

It’s not that holiday music stinks per se, it’s the fact that holiday music is bloody ubiquitous for a solid month; weaponized against us every time we go into a store (notably, except for The People’s Wegman’s on Amherst St). There’s also a lot of terrible holiday music out there, which doesn’t go well with the whole ubiquity thing, a shame considering most music fans have a holiday music stash of their own they annually retreat into. Beach Boys Christmas singles, “Christmas In Hollis,” Mr. Hanky’s Christmas Classics, Flaming Lips’ psychedelic Yuletide jams… we’ve all got something  that makes our ears feel warm and fuzzy in the month of December. Enter It’s A Holiday Soul Party, the latest from Daptone Records stalwarts Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a dynamite multi denominational collection of holiday classics that provides some serious emotional release while showcasing the incredible range and power of Miss Jones, and[...]

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Paper Mâché Dream Balloon

November 10, 2015

If you haven’t heard of King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, here’s a short history of the band’s existence. They formed in 2010 in Melbourne, literally as a side-project/joke band. They released the hard-hitting 12 Bar Bruise in 2012. It was mostly garage-ey psych punk revival. The next year saw two completely different, completely amazing albums released from the band. The first, Eyes Like The Sky, was a spaghetti-western themed album that really is in the realm of spoken word. Float Along- Fill Your Lungs was the second that year, which was more of a pure psych-rock album complete with time changes, lofty melodies, and of course, a 16 minute long song. 2014 saw the band drop two more albums, and in early 2015, Quarters!, a collection of four ten-minute songs that was just recently nominated for “best jazz album” of all things, as a part of the ARIA awards, was released[...]

BØRNS – Dopamine

October 21, 2015

Hey, did you like Foster The People’s Torches? …No? Well boy oh boy, do I not have the album for you. This time around, it’s from Garrett Borns. Birthed in Michigan, and better known as his stage name BØRNS, Mr. Borns has released his full first length album, Dopamine, that has somehow garnered a huge amount of anticipation, thanks to two things. firstly, illuminati recruiter Taylor Swift (she instagrammed a picture of the upcoming album giving it high praise), and secondly, his single “Electric Love,” which has received a ton of play on alt radio stations. So, here’s the reason for the Foster the People comparison. Lead singer’s last name “creatively” shoved into the band name. Oddly huge amount of fame from a catchy single, and only an EP to support, preceding an overly promoted album release. Falsetto vocals. Huge anticipation for an album that’s hailed as “different” in the[...]

Neon Indian – VEGA INTL. Night School

October 13, 2015

After what seemed like a relatively boring end of summer in terms of new releases, we’ve got a bunch of goodies coming out from indie icons. Seasoned veterans (Wavves) and 22 year future bedroom stars (Alex G) have both put out new stuff this month, but we’re going to talk about something in between: Neon Indian’s VEGA INTL. Night School. Okay, this album is just good. Neon Indian has always sounded like a classic arcade video game turned sentient and shoved into a studio. VEGA INTL. Night School follows suit in this regard, just in a more hi-fi, more dance oriented way. It’s like Tron: Legacy. Sorry, let me clear that up. Not everyone liked that movie. Actually, most people hated it. I liked it, because it sucked. It’s gonna be a cult classic in a few years just because it was so bad. That’s not even remotely close to the[...]

City and Colour – If I Should Go Before You

October 12, 2015

City and Colour strikes gold again with its fifth album titled If I Should Go Before You. The band preserves its deep and solemn lyrics accompanying its melodious sounds, but definitely has changed from previous album The Hurry and the Harm, opting for a newer mixture of southern blues, and rock. This album is the most consistent in its sound throughout as compared to the bands previous EPs. Dallas Green continues to grow as an artist, electing for a more southern, soulful, and dark entrance to the album with “Woman,” an interesting and eerie introduction, which is drawn out at over nine minutes. He displays his mesmerizing and iconic falsetto throughout the album once more, which I personally find to be one of the most captivating features of his work. It is also interesting to see this track in contrast to “The Girl” from his 2008 release Bring Me Your Love. Green is[...]

The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die – Harmlessness

October 7, 2015

I want you to say it with me! The World is a Beautiful Place and I am no Longer Afraid to Die is not just another emo revival band! The World is a Beautiful Place and I am no Longer Afraid to Die is not just another emo band!  Sure, you’re probably going to look at their name and think to yourself, “Wow, that is definitely just another emo revival band,” and before the release of Harmlessness, I may have let that slide, but no longer. If you are going to only read the first paragraph of this review, this should be your takeaway. If you are into indie music, and I mean in any manner, LISTEN TO THIS RECORD. On Harmlessness, The World is a Beautiful Place comes through with their most undeniably thought out, well put together, concise release to date. The band does not leave their past behind them though,[...]

Avicii – Stories

October 6, 2015

The scene starts out black. Forceful, bright MIDI grand piano chords play. The scene fades in. A tattered pair of old sneakers are walking down a sidewalk “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” the lyrics tell you as the MIDI instruments break into a full MIDI arrangement. The camera pedestals upward from the ankles of your tan work pants (Levis, of course) as you walk hurriedly towards your destination. From your Levi pocket, that your right hand is stuffed into, runs a white chord (your Samsung Galaxy S3 stock headphones, of course) that droops across the baggy green work polo you’re wearing. The small red logo on the shirt reads the same as your destination that lay ahead– Budwey’s. As you get closer to work on an overcast and cool fall day, you begin to dread your first task– clocking in and taking off your headphones. You remember that[...]

The Front Bottoms – Back On Top

September 25, 2015

I’m not sure if it was the choice of the Front Bottoms or their new label, Fueled By Ramen, but in an exceedingly strange move, prior to the release of their new record, Back On Top, SIX of the record’s eleven songs were made available to the public. Why they did this, I’m not too sure, but what I do know is that coming from someone who had this record as one of their most anticipated of the year, it almost totally killed all of the hype behind it.  That’s not to say that the tracks they released were bad or anything, but knowing what half of the record sounded prior to the release really was a buzz kill. The release of the first track, “West Virginia,” actually came as a pleasant surprise. The band had taken a somewhat more advanced approach to song construction, and vocalist Brian Sella’s lyrics seemed as on point[...]

Kurt Vile – b’lieve i’m goin down…

September 24, 2015

For the past year or so, Kurt Vile’s last full length, Wakin on a Pretty Daze, has been my go to road trip album. The sound was so expansive, warm, and spacious, it almost seemed perfect compliment for a long drive in the sunshine. I guess that this might partially due the fact that the majority of the record was written by Vile while on the road, and I guess to me, that really showed. While Wakin on a Pretty Daze was far from his most depressing sounding release, the idea that every track was lyrically rooted in something dark was hard to escape, as is the case with most of Vile’s releases. His newest record, b’lieve i’m goin down…, might work on a road trip, but only the part of the road trip where night falls and your friend fell asleep in the passenger seat, and you are left[...]

Ryan Adams – 1989

September 22, 2015

When Taylor Swift finally dropped 1989 last year, it’s success was hardly a surprise. The singer’s new album had felt like the final chapter in her carefully cultivated image as pop’s biggest underdog. Going back to her debut as a teenage country star who’s lyrics read with the vulnerability of a livejournal entry, she was pop music’s ultimate good-girl. But the moment Kanye stepped up on that stage, both were cast in roles in the public eye that would define them for years: Kanye the asshole and Taylor the victim. With every successive album since then, using her every girl persona her private life as the base of her lyrics, Swift increasingly drew a portrait of her life as someone constantly downtrodden, defiantly picking themselves up. In the process, her music became increasingly poppy and her songwriting grew sharper. This finally culminated in 1989, the triumphant pop album that with the[...]

Mac Miller – GO:OD AM

September 22, 2015

Finally. You log onto Spotify. You click the search bar. You frantically type in “mac.” You realize you could have probably just typed in “M” because what bigger “M” artist is there than Mac Miller? Your hand starts to shake as you click on the name, which may as well have been inscribed in #ffd700. After a quick scroll, you’re in. You try and double click on the intro track, “Doors,” but you miss the second click and have to repeat the process all over again. You miss the second attempt.“Fuck,” you utter to the empty room. You take a sip of the Miller Light classic logo aluminum bottle-can that you’ve fetched from the mini-fridge. It was originally intended for the most serene listening experience, however, now it’s become a tool to calm your nervous hands, just as it did at Alfred a couple years ago before that huge exam.[...]

Travis Scott – Rodeo

September 10, 2015

I have decided that I am going to create an award for the album that I am happiest that I didn’t overlook this year, just so I can preemptively give it to Travis Scott’s new album, Rodeo. Up until this point, I have been wildly unimpressed by the “new Atlanta” style of hip hop, as popularized by artists such as Migos, ILoveMakonnen, Young Thug, and Future, to name a few, and despite Scott hailing from Houston, the sound used on Rodeo is unmistakably similar. While there is no doubt that these artists do have massive potential on singles, their full length efforts have left too much to be desired in artistry and lyrical content. Surprisingly, this is far from the case on Rodeo.   Without even listening to the record, if you take a look at the list of producers on the record, it is stacked with production talent like[...]