Album Reviews

Mystic Braves – Desert Island

April 30, 2014

Mystic Braves is one of those groups that tend to ramble on. Since their last, self titled album, they haven’t quite figured out how to stray from their original sound, which is a western-influenced, rawhide feel. For starters, I’m not asking that a group create dramatically new content with each work, but when I can’t tell the difference between song A and song B, there’s a cog missing in the clock. On Desert Island, guitar licks are swinging in the wind like a pair of balls too big for their boxers. Indeed, this is good music to listen to if you’re driving or trying to get through the day at work. It’s casual surf rock, almost like they didn’t know what to play when they started, so they decided to rehash the same motif heard in groups like Tame Impala and Ariel’s Pink Haunted Graffiti. On “I Want You Back,” they[...]

tUnE-yArDs – Nikki Nack

April 29, 2014

If ARTPOP was a small trip into Lady Gaga’s creative mind that tried to combine art and pop culture into one musical form, then tUnE-yArDs’ new album, Nikki Nack, is a full on exploration of pop culture sweetly crafted into an unorthodox collection of rhythms and beats. The omni-present creative force behind tUnE-yArDs, Merrill Garbus, who also doubles as lead vocalist and a multi-instrumentalist, decided to switch the production team behind her third album, making it one of her most sonically pleasing to date. What has always stood out in Garbus’ music is her almost childlike appearance in accompanying music videos. One of her trippiest to date, in which she tackles the issues of undrinkable water in a very Saturday morning cartoon kind of fashion to mask the harsh topics at hand, is for “Water Fountain.” Garbus flaunts her signature quirky personality through multiple eccentric poses and places her restless stamp of importance on[...]

Gucci Mane and Young Thug – Young Thugga Mane La Flare

April 25, 2014

With the release of Young Thugga Mane La Flare, two of the biggest trap stars in the game in Young Thug and Gucci Mane take on a project full of banging club tracks. Young Thug is the up and coming Atlanta artist that has been making waves with hit club singles like “Danny Glover” and “Stoner,” who has received the co-sign from the Trap God himself. Gucci, renowned for his consistency on his free projects, comes through with another solid effort on this tape, exchanging verses and choruses with Thugga throughout. Young Thug’s distinctly unique flow his on display throughout the project, as expected. On the mixtape’s second track “Bricks,” his squeaky sing-songy autotune effort on the chorus contributes to one of the more memorable and catchy songs on the whole tape. He is the shining star on this thing, as his charisma and true originality are impossible to ignore. Simply[...]

Chad VanGaalen – Shrink Dust

April 24, 2014

As a newcomer to the land of Chad VanGaalen, Shrink Dust is quite the brazen introduction to the Albertan singer-songwriter’s musical ethos. Known for his imaginative lyrics, full of sci-fi world-building, offbeat preoccupations, and demented wordplay, VanGaalen is on his fifth full-length oddity with the Flemish Eye record label. A compelling cross between OK Computer-era Radiohead and the delicate indie-folk of Daniel Johnston, VanGaalen’s approach feels both richly realized and disarmingly sincere. His latest work is awkwardly arresting from its starting lyric: “Cut off both my hands and threw them in the sand / Watched them swim away from me like a pair of bloody crabs.” The starting track is a mild ditty, however, compared to the howling desperation of its follow-up, the drum-driven “Where Are You?”.  After a bit more experimental dabbling, the album quickly backs away from immediate Radiohead comparisons, blending the countrified with the psychedelic (VanGaalen claims The Flying[...]

Medeski, Martin, & Wood + Nels Cline – Woodstock Sessions Vol. 2

April 23, 2014

Medeski, Martin, & Wood sure like their fair share of jazz guitarists. Recently, they teamed up with Nels Cline, who if you weren’t aware of, is the guitarist for one of the U.S.’ most famous bands, Wilco. On this collaboration, Woodstock Sessions Vol. 2, the group channels a free-flowing, experimental canyon of sound. Take “Doors of Deception,” the opening track. It begins with a series of atonal noises and misaligned percussion that seems to backtrack in on itself. A clear influence here is avant-garde artists John Zorn and John Coltrane. On songs such as “Mezcal” and “Los Blank,” the members flow back into a more tangible composition. “Mezcal” opens with gritty guitar crunches and a smooth, spidery pat-down of percussion. Even though the sound moves into a chaotic tumble and epiphany section, it mimics the effects of what really great tequila can do to a man or woman (see: “Tequila[...]

Neon Trees – Pop Psychology

April 22, 2014

It was just four short years ago that Utah-bred quartet Neon Trees scored its first hit on the mainstream pop charts with “Animal,” and only two years since the group followed that smash with the irresistibly catchy “Everybody Talks.” The new wave pop group consisting of Chris Allen, Elaine Bradley, Branden Campbell, and Tyler Glenn, who are all decidedly of the Mormon faith, have thrown out some of their religion’s strict ordinances against drinking and sex when creating their latest album Pop Psychology. Lead singer Tyler Glenn’s recent revelation that he is gay, should also go against some of his religious teachings, but promises for an evermore-personal collection of songs lyrically. Pop Psychology‘s first single, the very charming “Sleeping With A Friend,” maintains the group’s sonic presence of peppy pop tracks with a slight retro feel. Even the lyrics serve as the definition of the perfect “friends with benefits” type[...]

Pharoahe Monch – PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

April 18, 2014

Pharoahe Monch’s PTSD provides a nice contrast from the usual super lyrical rap album. Monch has mostly been known for his lyrical dexterity and his technical rap skill, and as expected, that is all on display with this theme album. There is great variety in his flows throughout, and on a variety of songs Monch busts out tongue-twisting internal rhyme schemes similar to something MF DOOM would use. Continuing on themes Monch developed in his previous LP W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), this album paints the picture of an artist who has battled with the music industry, and the aftermath of doing so. He talks of drug addiction, mental health, and even goes as far as to draw parallels between the Trayvon Martin incident and his plight in the music scene. Intermittently between tracks a computerized voice will talk to Monch, guiding us through the steps in his therapy. Each song provides a conceptualized[...]

Woods – With Light and with Love

April 17, 2014

With Light and with Love, as its creators must have intended, is light and lovely. Yet for an album offering semi-straightforward psychedelia that seems tamer than Tame Impala, there is a fair amount of sonic playfulness. Joy jumps from each note. Woods, a folk rock quartet based in Brooklyn, are an amiable act, cozy and accessible even as they break into glorious five minute jam sessions by track three. The sixties pop revivalism they engage in throughout their eighth record is consistently pleasant. Band founder Jeremy Earl’s high vocals are cheery and effervescent, tiptoeing over his companions’ guitars with gleeful abandon. Though With Light and with Love may close with an eerie collapse into decaying sounds, overall Woods feel like happiness on record. Even with ambiguous lyrical nods to uncertainty, death (which “brings us close”), and time’s passage, Woods never descend into dread. Their work is sweet and summery, with musical nods to[...]

Japanther – Instant Money Magic

April 16, 2014

“Do it–don’t try it” could be Japanther’s motto. The duo, consisting of Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, have proven they can keep creating fresh, innovative material again and again. Their approach is just as avant-garde as it is rooted in plain old experimentation. Since forming in 2001 at art-haven Pratt Institute (the place reeks of hard work), they’ve performed at the Whitney Biennial in 2006 and always included an artful touch to their live shows, whether it be inviting a multimedia artist to collaborate with them or putting on a performance art piece. For a group that’s been around the block once or twice, it’s impressive to see their latest release, Instant Money Magic, can be just as brazen as their “coming-out-of-the-closet” albums such as Master Of Pigeons or Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30. The same elements are there–churning, pumping guitar rhythms and stomping drums–but the content has stripped down. It’s disheveled in a good[...]

Ratking – So It Goes

April 9, 2014

Let’s be honest–New York City is still a main hub of culture when it comes to the arts, but it’s changing rapidly. A constant topic of discussion is gentrification, basically, in more simple terms, the ‘neighborhood is changing.’ Defining a ‘New York’ artist sound is nearly impossible, especially in contemporary hip-hop. One can recall an older, east-coast sound, like Wu-Tang or Public Enemy, with  more aggressive, higher beats. Ratking, a NYC-based trio including Wiki, Hak, and their Bushwick-born producer Sporting Life, creates a new New York palette on their latest release So It Goes. Even though the main thread of the album is based upon New York City life, it seems to be more focused on the challenges and shifts between youth and adulthood, seen in the opening song titled “*” that goes on about “Graduated what’s next, well everybody’s askin’/ college, well what do you have planned?” over a[...]

Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Enter the Slasher House

April 8, 2014

After more than a decade together as one of the most prolific and unorthodox psychedelic-pop indie bands, Animal Collective’s founding member Avey Tare has decided to break away and form an alternative trio side-project called Slasher Flicks. Unlike many of the less than stellar attempts to start a band anew, Tare’s new musical experimentation is strikingly catchy and stylistically cohesive. It all starts off on “Little Fang,” a sleek psych-funk jam that compels listeners to “remember that your gifts are your game” all on top of rhythmic keyboard strokes and airy vocals. Thankfully, Enter the Slasher House downplays Avey Tare’s tendency to blow instrumental arrangements out of proportion with extraneous layers of sound as was the case on the last Animal Collective album. Stripping the songs down helped this trio, which includes former Dirty Projector member Angel Deradoorian, especially on the trippy “Strange Colores,” a track that finds the perfect balance of[...]

Cloud Nothings – Here and Nowhere Else

April 3, 2014

Cloud Nothings‘ face-crunching fourth album is a fearless, assertive follow-up to 2012’s Attack on Memory. Oscillating between a chaotic rush of existential howls and throaty but tuneful melodies, Here and Nowhere Else pounds its presence out through furious snare slams and clamorous cymbal crashes. For better or worse, Cloud Nothings are as foggy and nihilistic as their namesake implies. “You’re born / you’re gone,” cries frontman Dylan Baldi repeatedly on “No Thoughts,” succinctly whittling the human condition down to its coming and going. As in the songs of similarly-minded peers Titus Andronicus, however, the absurdity and cruelty of existence makes for some pretty addictive punk rock.  Here and Nowhere Else largely consists of blurry, anti-pop assaults of pop song length. Baldi is a dynamic vocalist, sliding from screams to Strokes-style singing with relentless charisma. Even as he complains that “life gets boring, it fades away,” he seems impassioned enough to annihilate the ennui he fears. On[...]

Thievery Corporation – Saudade

April 2, 2014

Rob Garza and Eric Hilton are busy guys. Since forming Thievery Corporation in the late ’90’s, they’ve produced eleven studio albums, with the release of Saudade as their twelfth. Normally when one thinks of Thievery Corporation, they are associated with the acid-jazz movement and over-dubbed relaxing reggae. For the duo, things are shifting with this new release. What drew them together is the Brazilian-born genres of music that can be seen here in purely classical form on Saudade. After straying and exploring several elements of the electronic world, as Garza says, ‘it’s us coming full circle from electronic music back to something organic.’  The Portugese word ‘saudade’ means “a longing or something or someone that is lost, a contented melancholy, or, simply, the presence of an absence.” This is an appropriate titling for the group and the musical shift they are exploring. Sometimes, in order to get rid of that feeling of loneliness,[...]

Mac DeMarco – Salad Days

April 1, 2014

NOTE: This review was written immediately after returning from a Mac DeMarco concert in Cleveland, in which he and his touring bassist licked me in the face (I gave Mac a Valentine and asked for a kiss in return. He obliged me.) and then I talked to him and essentially stared at him as he smoked outside the venue. So what I’m trying to get at is that this may not be the most objective review. But does objectivity have any place in rock criticism anyway? Mac DeMarco has had a busy year. The Montreal-born, Brooklyn-inhabiting indie rock prankster (who has described his sound as “jizz jazz,” a mix of surf rock textures, jangle pop guitar tones, and soft-spoken crooning) found himself an indie sensation after releasing debut album 2, working with Tyler, the Creator, and developing a beloved live act, known to feature spontaneous nudity and bizarre, profane covers of[...]

S Carey – Range of Light

April 1, 2014

S. Carey – better known as Sean Carey, the drummer for Bon Iver – knows how to stay on the top of his solo game. After surprisingly captivating us with single after single of ethereal beauty from his debut effort All We Grow, the soft voiced drummer has returned in 2014 with the transcendent Range of Light. The instrumentalist turned solo singer-songwriter has only continued to perfect his craft with each new song release, supplying us with even sleeker orchestral compilations and fresh environmentally inspired jams. And, yes – he’s done it again. Building across a sparse, spacey experimental apparatus, album opener “Glass/Film” provides the record’s whole ambience within its confines, which is to say, it shows a certain intentional complexity in its orchestration that Carey always strives to add. This follows straight into “Creaking,” another track piggybacking on Carey’s attention to detail, especially in the way it creates a complex soundscape revolving around water droplets,[...]