Archive | April, 2011

Day 41: Sky Larkin – The Golden Spike

10 Apr

Molten

If there’s one thing that I’m a sucker for, it’s happy music.  Life can be hard enough, and sometimes a deep, heart-wrenching record is the exact opposite of what I need.  Happy albums, though, you can play those whenever you want.  Already in a good mood? They’ll just add to that.  In a bad mood?  They can help there too.  That’s why I really find myself attaching to “happy” bands, groups like Los Campesinos!, fun., Fang Island, and The Hold Steady.  It’s never a bad time to listen to their music.

So I’m always looking for new cheerful bands, mainly because I tend to burn them out really quickly.  Over-listening is quite a problem for me.  Fortunately, Sky Larkin’s The Golden Spike should last me a while.

So what exactly makes this record so happy?  I’d say that the biggest component is the singing by front woman Katie Harkin.  While she doesn’t always come off as extremely happy herself, the delivery of her lyrics consistently does.  Her vocals blend really well with the cheerful, punchy guitar riffs that can be found throughout the record.  Overall, it’s relatively simple music that doesn’t try to present itself as more than that.  The trio never gets too intricate or technical with their instruments, and they don’t need to.  If anything, that would take away from the method that they’ve uncovered.

Standout tracks Molten and Beeline show exactly why Sky Larkin’s brand of happy music is so successful.  Both tracks are easy to listen to, and pretty entertaining.  The album as a whole keeps that trend alive, and without a song over four minutes, never wears for too long.


Day 40: Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health

9 Apr

Strictly Game

The influence that certain indie music websites have over the scene as a whole is rather unfortunate.  In the case of Harlem Shakes, a negative review of their debut album by indie-powerhouse Pitchfork a couple of years ago led to the demise of this young group.  They had a ton of potential, which can be seen throughout Technicolor Health.

 

I guess I really like Harlem Shakes because they don’t sound like everyone else.  Yeah, they’re classified as indie rock, but they really do have a unique sound on Technicolor Health. They utilize group vocals throughout the record, something that I’m always a sucker for, bringing them in very effectively.  I noticed the percussion throughout the album, as well.  The band goes beyond the standard drum kit, something that other bands have been stuck on lately.  Everything from maracas to cowbells can be heard keeping the beat on Technicolor Health, which does add a little flavor and personality to the record.

 

Yeah, the album can wear at times.  Natural Man is a particularly boring song that goes on for a bit too long.  Even that track has its moments, though.  Its previously slow pace picks up for the chorus, making it a little interesting.  My point is that even on the weaker tracks of Technicolor Health, Harlem Shakes still keep me interested.

 

It’s really unfortunate that a single website has so much power over the indie rock scene.  With Pitchfork’s poor review of Technicolor Health, Harlem Shakes essentially had no other option but to call it quits.  The Pitchfork seal of approval was the only way that they were going to get enough listeners to make the band sustainable, as many listeners to this type of music follow Pitchfork blindly.  Ultimatly, it’s not Pitchfork’s fault.  It’s ours.  We need to learn to think for ourselves, and listen to what sounds good to us, as opposed to what got an 8.7 on Pitchfork.  Music is subjective.



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Day 39: Defiance, Ohio – The Great Depression

8 Apr

Calling Old Friends

For the first few minutes of The Great Depression, Defiance, Ohio sounded a lot like fellow folk-punk band Andrew Jackson Jihad–a lot like.  Acoustic guitars and preachy lyrics abounded, and I was scared that I was about to subject myself to a half hour of Andrew Jackson Jihad rip-offs.

Fortunately, Defiance changed things up just a bit.  It became clear that they focus on the musical aspects of their songs a bit more than AJJ, who tend to rely mainly on lyrics.  For instance, before the traditional folk-punk-I-am-better-than-you lyrics kick in on This Feels Better, there’s a fairly interesting intro and hook to the song.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the lyrics that come out of all of these folk-punk bands that this blog has gotten me into, Defiance, Ohio included.  Sure, they can be really preachy, but the singers don’t act like they’re perfect.  On The Great Depression opener Petty Problems, the singer (I think his name is Ryan) sings, “there are many kinds of problems, not all of them are like yours, or mine, but I forget that all the time.”  This shows that he is aware that he’s not perfect either.  Unfortunately, he comes off as condescending a lot of the time.

Still, I’m not gonna lie, I really like this record.  It’s nice hearing some female vocals in this band, as the other folk-punk that I’ve been exposed to so far sounds a lot like a musical sausage fest.  While there’s nothing wrong with music with a high testosterone level, it’s always nice to have your ears graced by someone of the opposite gender every now and again.

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Day 38: Deerhunter – Cryptograms

7 Apr

Spring Hall Convert

What can I say?   If I see a cool album cover, I’m going to check the album out.  Look at that cover.  Look at it!  Dougie can’t begin to describe it.  So pretty much all that I knew about Deerhunter going into this is that they are capable of putting kick-ass covers together.

If I had known just a little more about Deerhunter, I could have saved myself about half an hour.  Cryptograms is the beyond boring, and my only guess as to why it got the praise it did is that people were afraid to admit that it’s boring.  Or maybe everyone’s just a whole lot smarter than I am, and more capable of comprehending repetitive, boring, long, obnoxious songs.  Well, if being stupid means I can’t do that, I’m okay with it.

I see this happen all the time, though.  A new record will come out, and a few key people will hype it.  Sure enough, anyone else who listens to it wants to fit in, so they just talk about how great it is, and assume that it went over their heads.  Because Swole Ear has about 2 readers, myself included, I don’t care about looking stupid.  This album is beyond me.  It remains the only Swole Ear album that I’ve turned off early because I couldn’t take it anymore.  This is pretension defined, and I just can’t deal with it.

If we’re talking about album covers, though, Cryptograms can’t be beat.  Yeah, I think looking at it almost sent me into a seizure, but still.

Day 37: Cloud Nothings – Turning On

6 Apr

Whaddya Wanna Know

Honestly, I shouldn’t like Cloud Nothings.  They have that way-too-much distortion sound, which I’ve already stated I’m not a fan of, along with the standard rock set up (vocals, guitars, bass, drums).  They bring nothing all that new or original to the table, borrowing their sound from the indie rock gene pool.  There’s just something about this group, though.  I can’t seem to stop listening to them.

It doesn’t hurt that Turning On is consistently catchy. Even through the slightly pretentious lo-fi static and haze, eight solid pop-rock songs can be heard.  Usually, I’m not a fan of bands that intentionally mask their work behind low-quality recordings, but in this case, it works in the favor of Cloud Nothings.  The record would definitely lose its thrown-together feeling–one of its best features–if high quality recording equipment had been used.

At only eight songs, and under half an hour in length, this band doesn’t give you a chance to get sick of their fuzzy sound–a very smart move on their part–even though it was probably done unintentionally.  They probably didn’t have any more songs when putting Turning On together, so they settled on the fairly short length.  It doesn’t matter what the reasons are that this record entered its final state, though, all that matters is that as a record, its short length works to its advantage.

Jangly guitars and washed out vocals abound, as all eight tracks blend together well.  While the entire album is fairly catchy, Whaddya Wanna Know sticks out as a great example of why Cloud Nothings’ spin on indie rock is so good.  A simple beat joins together with a repetitive cry of the title of the song, which is guaranteed to stick in your head for quite a while.  Cloud Nothings have it figured out; make catchy music, and people will listen.


Day 36: The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St.

5 Apr

Rip This Joint

When it comes to classic rock, you can’t get much more iconic than The Rolling Stones.  Sure, I’m fairly familiar with their music, but I had never actually sat down and listened to a full album of theirs before this.  That’s why my dad picked their 1972 record, Exile on Main St., for me this Dad-Rock Tuesday.

Right from the beginning of the record, I could tell that I was going to be enjoying myself for a large portion of the next hour and six minutes.  Exile kicks off on a very exciting note, with energetic jaunts Rocks Off and Rip This Joint.  Fast tempos and horns abound, and even though The Stones calm down a bit from there on, slow tracks like Sweet Virginia have that same energy and enthusiasm, which makes pretty much everything fun to listen to.

The one downfall of Exile on Main St. is its length.  At over an hour long, it tends to wear and becomes fairly repetitive, especially around the middle.  It’s not that I can think of any particularly awful songs, but everything started to blend together after a while.  It also seems just a tad self-indulgent to put out an album with eighteen songs.  Exile on Main St. was the 10th studio album released by The Stones, so I guess they had earned a little leeway by then.  To a first time listener, though, the record’s length is kind of obnoxious.

Ultimately, I can look past the length and song count on this album.  The Stones put together something really solid, and it’s clear that they actually earned their status as one of the greatest rock bands of all time.


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Day 35: Daft Punk – Discovery

4 Apr

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

I kept a running tally while listening to Daft Punk’s Discovery. I kept track of every song that I knew or that sounded familiar.  Ultimately, I had heard 7 out of the 14 songs on the album before.  Whether sampled, cut, or mashed up, I had listened to just about half of the tracks on the album before I actually listened to the album.  This shows just how influential and important Daft Punk have been over the past decade; someone with a very limited knowledge of the duo was already familiar with a bunch of their stuff.

As for the actual music…I’ll give it one thing, it’s catchy as hell.  I’m going to have a bunch of the songs on Discovery stuck in my head for days.  Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, which received a renewed interest a few years back after Kanye sampled it, is one of the most addicting songs that I know.  With a fast tempo and great beat it’s impossible not to love from the beginning.  10-minute album closer, inaccurately, but hilariously titled Too Long, goes through about one million different sections before it’s through, but remains insanely catchy throughout.

The album as a whole can drag at points, with a few too many boring songs for it to be worthy of another full listen.  That doesn’t mean that I can’t pick and choose a few tracks every now and then.  I mean, there’s no way that I could skip One More Time if it ever came on shuffle.

I have a theory about bands like Daft Punk.  I think that they only come out with albums so they have something to go on tour behind.  Daft Punk is famous for its ridiculous live shows, not so much for its albums.  Given the opportunity, I would definitely see “The Punk,” as a Facebook friend affectionately named them, live.

Day 34: Beach Fossils – Beach Fossils

3 Apr

Youth

It’s not a good sign when I start playing Words With Friends during the middle of an album.  It’s an even worse sign when I’m so bored that I obsessively check my phone to see if I have any moves to make in Words With Friends during the middle of an album.

Beach Fossil’s self-titled debut can be described in one word: boring.  Imagine Surfer Blood’s really slow songs.  Now make those about a minute too long, then gather eleven of them, put them together in an album, and make the cover a picture of peeling paint.  This is surfer/stoner-rock for octogenarians, who can’t handle a fast tempo, or any diversion from a boring formula for that matter.

Honestly, not one song stands out as particularly bad, because they are all pretty much the same. Jangly, reverb-heavy guitars blend with the unemotional vocals in a way that almost put me to sleep.  Not in a trance, but actually to sleep.

It’s not like I can’t get into mellow music, but I need a little variety every now and then.  Beach Fossils doesn’t come close to offering me that.  I guess if you’re into slow songs that are reminiscent of a really long car ride, Beach Fossils is the perfect album for you.  You’ll get about half an hour of boring, exceptionally similar indie rock songs, and it’ll feel like days have passed by the time you’re done.

I owe a big “thank you” to Words With Friends.  I couldn’t have made it through this album without you.


Day 33: Miniature Tigers – Tell it to the Volcano

2 Apr

Cannibal Queen

What is it with all these adjective-animal bands that keep popping up?  I’ve already listened to Freelance Whales, and I have Frightened Rabbit coming down the pipeline.  Let’s see a little more creativity there, indie rock bands.  Creativity, I know that’s asking a lot from you, as you all seem content with borrowing each other’s sound and not bringing anything new to the genre, but maybe it’s worth a shot.

Anyway, as you might be able to tell, Miniature Tigers don’t quite do it for me.  Luckily, their 2008 debut Tell it to the Volcano is under half an hour, so I didn’t have to endure it for too long.

My big thing with music is individuality.  What makes a band different?  What’s that element that I haven’t heard before?  While listening to Miniature Tigers, my answer was “absolutely nothing.”  They have the tired indie rock set up: guitars, bass, keyboard and vocals, all delivered normally and unenthusiastically.  Singer Charlie Brand comes off as a bored Ben Gibbard, which, believe me, is just as obnoxious as you would think.  They also do that thing that every indie rock band has been doing, trying to incorporate some background harmonious vocals.  Ever since that freaking Grizzly Bear album, every band and their grandma has to give those oh-so-pretty/artsy vocals a shot.

So if you’re looking for something that’s been done a million times before, but delivered even less convincingly than usual, then by all means, check out Miniature Tigers.  This record could put an ADHD kid who’s all jacked up on Mountain Dew to sleep.


Day 32: Yuck – Yuck

1 Apr

Operation

I like it when a band tells you everything you need to know about them right off the bat.  “Yuck” fits this band’s aesthetic pretty damn well.  Look at that album cover.  Yuck.  Turns out, it’s not an inaccurate way to describe the music that they make either.  I’m not saying they make bad songs, but rather that their music has a dirty aura to it.  The distorted guitars throughout make the album sound like it’s coated in a layer of grease, and the vocals sound as though they just came out of a swamp.  Everything comes together in a grimy, dirty, but beautiful record.

The band does shed that force field of nastiness every now and then, though, most notably on tracks Shook Down and Suicide Policeman.  The guitars take on a much cleaner sound, which serves as a nice contrast to the heavy distortion found in the rest of the album.  However, the band is at its best on the fast, feedback-heavy songs.  While it’s hard to pick a favorite on this album, Operation stands out as one of the record’s best.  It almost sounds like a The Pains of Being Pure at Heart song, only a lot, lot angrier.  Even through its’ quick tempo and heavy distortion, the song remains catchy as hell.

Yuck is a great album by a great new band.  They take that coated-in-dirt sound that’s been gaining popularity over the past couple of years, and turn it into something all their own. I’m glad that I’m getting into Yuck at the beginning of its history, as I expect plenty more awesome stuff from the band.


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