Day 189: WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain

5 Sep

We Bros

Usually, I’m one to look past terrible vocals.  Under most circumstances, the great spacy guitar riffs and synths of Wu Lyf’s Go Tell Fire to the Mountain alone would be enough to get me interested in this record.  This time, I’m just not sure if I can do it.

If you’ve heard this much-hyped band’s front man before, then you know what I’m talking about.  Singer and organ player Ellery James Roberts has a voice that makes Tom Waits sound smooth and dreamy.

Hold up…Tom Waits…we’ve been in this situation before.  The last time I dissed an album because of its vocals was Waits’ Small Change.  I guess I’m a little shallower than I thought.  We’ve seen, on two different occasions now, vocal quality affect my opinion of a record.  At this point, I believe it’s necessary to point out that Los Campesinos!, the band with some of the worst vocals on earth, is my favorite band.

The problem with these vocals is that they’re so unnerving.  Many times on Go Tell Fire a somewhat relaxing echoy guitar will start up, give you a sense of serenity and security, only to be interrupted by Roberts and his all-of-my-meals-consist-of-rocks voice.

Honestly, and I’m a little disappointed with myself, I can’t say that I enjoyed this record.  Unfortunately, there are just some cases where I can’t move past the vocals. It’s a shame too, because the non-vox aspects of this record are actually really good.  Oh well, there’s so much music in this world, it’s not worth the time to force yourself to like something.

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Day 188: EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

4 Sep

California

I love listening to a record that I know nothing about.  Doing this makes sure that my opinion is unaffected by what’s already been said about the record.  Yeah, I like to think that I’m above being manipulated by critics, but it really is unavoidable sometimes.  That hasn’t happened in this case, though.

Earlier today, on one of my music forums, someone posted this album’s cover and name.  Looking for something to listen to, I jumped without even glancing at the record’s description, or even the artist’s name.  So now I know, for sure, that my love of EMA and her really weird fuzz-pop is all-natural.

Honestly, I don’t think any amount of critical hate on this record could have kept me from enjoying it.  When I write about how I want something out of the ordinary in my music, I’m talking about stuff like this.

First of all, EMA can really sing.  She’s got a beautiful voice, and isn’t afraid to show it off through layers and layers and layers.  It’s what is going on all around her voice that makes this record so interesting, though.  Other than the occasional decipherable guitar strum or piano chord, it’s really hard to tell exactly what EMA is using to make her music.  All I know is that  it involves a lot of feedback and danceable beats.

I’ve done a little research now, and it appears that this record has received a lot of recognition, all of which is completely warranted.  It’s inventive, but perhaps more importantly, catchy.

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FIRST HALF BOTTOM 5

4 Sep

Now this was a challenge.  If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you know why.  When I pan a record, I pan a record.  Picking just 5 from the countless number of negative reviews that I’ve dished out in the first half was hard enough—I then made myself listen to select songs from these albums again, just to get my blood at its optimal boiling temperature.  I’m bored; I’m angry.  Let’s do this.

5. The Drums – The Drums

I pointed out in my original review of this record that The Drums aren’t necessarily bad, but rather extremely trite and boring.  I’d like to retract that statement.  Yes, this band is still egregiously uninteresting, but I just listened to Down by the Water again.  It’s awful!  They just try to please too many people with their music, and what we end up with is a record that sounds like it was made by an evil indie rock cabal.  “Poor, deformed The Drums” indeed.

4. John Hiatt – Riding With the King

If you click on the record cover to the right, you can see it in it’s full, 300×300 pixel glory. Just look at that.  I don’t even have to write anything else here.  But I will.  John Hiatt, maybe if you decided what you wanted to be, we’d have some good music on our hands.  Yeah, the odds are slim, but that would at least make for a better record than Riding With The King.  Instead of butchering just one genre of music, Hiatt assaults 20 or so with his obnoxious voice and aura of mediocrity.

3. They Might Be Giants – Join Us

Speaking of bad album artwork…you know what, TMBG, I don’t think I will be joining you any time soon.  I imagine that if I hopped in your pink monster truck, your terrible, try-hard music would send us careening off of a cliff and into a bottomless pit.  The world would be a better place without you, though, and that’s actually a sacrifice that I would seriously consider making.  This record is really only so disappointing because of what this band was once capable of.  Now, like a dad on a longboard, they’ve lost everything that once made them cool, are trying desperately to get it back, and only failing spectacularly. The best part is, TMBG will release another one of these within two years, just because they can. 

2. Hoodie Allen – Pep Rally

You know what, I’m not going to type too much here.  If you’re new here, or have just forgotten, go ahead and click that link up yonder.  My thoughts on Hoodie and his music remain unchanged, and I think I sum it up as well as I possibly can in that post.  Hoodie, we’ve got out differences music-wise, and I still can’t stand the crowd that listens to your stuff.  I’ma leave it at that.

1. King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King

Wow.  I just read through my post about this album for the first time since uploading.  That right there is some anger.  Can you blame me, though?  I think that’s a reasonable reaction to sitting through 43 minutes of flute solos, uninventive, repetitive lyrics, and an overall cloud of pretentiousness.  The most annoying thing is that everyone on earth seems to love this record.  See, this is where some commenters’ arguments about me fall flat.  If I don’t like an album, no matter how great, influential, or inventive it’s supposed to be, you’re going to hear about it.  Hey, King Crimson, I didn’t catch you the first few times.  Did you talk to the wind?  If so, did it hear you?

FIRST HALF TOP 5

3 Sep

Wow, posts look really weird without a 300×300 pixel album cover leading off.

Well, we’re halfway there. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know if I was going to make it past the first week when I began this project, and here we are, 186 albums later.  I need to commemorate reaching the halfway point in some way—I would have had this out earlier in the week, but school just started and I’ve been a little busy.  So, without further ado, here are the Top 5 records of Swole’s first half—look out for the Bottom 5 tomorrow.

5. tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l

I really thought that I’d never have to type out this ridiculously stylized band name again.  Oh well, Merrill Garbus’ ridiculously catchy glitch-indie makes it all worth it.  Honestly, this spot is more symbolic of the tUnE-yArDs project as a whole—both w h o k i l l and BiRd-BrAiNs are fantastic albums.  w h o k i l l earns the spot because of  Gangsta, though.  The record’s second single gets a listen from me almost daily, and it hasn’t lost any of its zest or infectiousness yet.  When I burn a copy of a CD for my car after only hearing its first half, you know it’s good.

4. Girl Talk – All Day

No, an album does not have to be great driving music in order to make this list, despite what records 4 and 5 may want you to believe.  All Day really is one of the most replayable records of all time.  From the intense/hilarious opening pairing of War Pigs and Ludacris’ Move Bitch, to the fitting and beautiful close with Imagine by Lennon, All Day never seems to lose its charm. This record shows why Girl Talk is, and will always be, the king of the mash-up.

3. Andrew Jackson Jihad – People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World

This record works surprisingly well as driving music too, believe it or not.  You’ve got to be in the right mood, though.  I’ve found that the unexplainable hybrid of stress and fury only felt when stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for extended periods suits People best.  AJJ’s talent of blending depressing, dark, but somehow optimistic lyrics still amazes me.  I’m very thankful that I don’t view the world the way lyricist Sean Bonnette does, but I’m also thankful that he’s decided to write about the way he sees things.

Yeah, I guess I am that shallow—this right here is the definition of driving music.  Foxy’s often-hilarious lyrics and insanely catchy neo-Queen riffs have been stuck in my head since I first pressed play on this record.  It’s one of those albums that I could listen to on repeat for days on end.  Currently, it resides at the top of my Desert Island Music list.

 

1. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong

There are a few factors that led to Pains earning the top spot here:

  1. The sick white vinyl edition of this album that I got for preordering.
  2. The conversation that I had with Kip—the lead singer—before a show of theirs in April—I make awkwardness an art.
  3. The fact that this album really is amazing.

I still haven’t gotten over the one-two-three punch that Belong opens with—three amazing new-wavey synth-pop songs on a level that Pains’ imitators can only dream of one day reaching.  Heart in your Heartbreak is one of the catchiest songs in existence, with some of the most depressing lyrics that I’ve ever heard.  How this band doesn’t get radio play is beyond me.

Most importantly, Belong works as a whole—perhaps more so than any record that I’ve listened to so far.  Every track flows beautifully into the next, and the slower songs both serve to accentuate the record’s earth-shattering highs, and stand alone as amazing as well.  If I hear a record better than this before the end of Swole Ear, I’ll be very surprised.  Plus, it’s great to drive to.

Day 187: Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell

3 Sep

In A Cave

When it comes to putting songs in an aesthetically pleasing order, I’m your man.  That’s why I recently jumped at the opportunity to provide music for a road trip that I wasn’t even going on.  They probably just wanted me to lend them a few records and burnt CDs, but—as you may already know—when I do something, I do it big.  This trait currently has me in the midst of a project that has me listening to a record every day for an entire year.  It’s called Swole Ear.  Maybe you’ve heard of it.

Anyway, I went big and did them one better—I created a 50-song, 3-hour, glorious, beautiful, immaculate masterpiece of a mixtape.  This thing is epic, and that’s not a term that I throw around lightly.  From Arcade Fire to Yeasayer, this monster covers everything under the hipster garbage sun.  After the road trip, my listeners were truly grateful that I bestowed my work upon them, but they did have a few questions and comments for me.  One of the least interesting of these inquiries pertained to a band called Tokyo Police Club.  “Who are they?”  I was asked.  “They sound just like The Clash.”

Wut.

That statement has followed me for weeks now, as I’ve tried and tried to figure out how anyone can hear The Clash in Tokyo Police Club.  I’ve got nothing.

I figured I’d give Elephant Shell—the band’s other LP—a listen, just to see if maybe I could hear some Clash in ‘em.

I mean, you could say that every rock band shares something with The Clash.  Tokyo Police Club employs guitar, bass, drums and vocals in their music, and their songs follow a verse-chorus-verse structure for the most part.  Sure, the two groups have their similarities, but comparisons like this lie on a slippery slope.  Soon enough, we’ll be mentioning Jack White and Insane Clown Posse in the same sentence.

What I did find after listening to this record was just an affirmation of what I already knew—Tokyo Police Club is an awesome band.  Yeah, they’re indie, but they’ve got a sound original and warm enough to make them worth listening to.  This record is highly recommended for fans of rock music, but maybe I should suggest it to everyone who wears pants—the members of Tokyo Police Club wear pants when they’re performing.

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Day 186: St. Vincent – Actor

2 Sep

Actor Out of Work

St. Vincent is Annie Clark’s project; there’s no doubt about that.  You get that impression before you even press play on Actor, just by looking at that cover.  Wow.  It’s almost a little scary, if not a bit self-indulgent.

As obnoxious as that cover may be, it is a great indicator of the record that it’s advertising.  Every track revolves around Clark’s voice, which is worthy of being a centerpiece.  She has a unique sound—it’s calming and comforting, but capable of expressing anger and frustration. Most importantly, it sounds pretty cool.

The first thing that comes to mind after listening to Actor for a few minutes is Sufjan Stevens.  Clark’s baroque-pop strings and sensitive-rock guitar riffs scream Illinois, while the beats and darker synths often shout The Age of Adz.  The soft and soothing voice that hovers above every song is the icing on this analogy cake — this is what Sufjan would sound like if he were a she.  Please, no smart-alecky comments from his haters about the possibility of that already being true.

A little research (read as: looking up the St. Vincent article on Wikipedia) revealed that Clark did in fact tour with Sufjan as a member of his band.  Psychic I am.

Don’t doubt Actor for a minute, it is fully capable of holding it’s own as a record.  Clark’s vocals really are great, and it’s amazing that she can pack in as much emotion as she does without much change in tone.  Look out for Ms. Clark, this stuff really is capable of making some noise on the charts.

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Day 185: The White Stripes – Live in Mississippi

1 Sep

Death Letter

Ever heard of The Vault?  It’s possibly Jack White’s most effective way of convincing his fans to part with their hard-earned cash.  For twenty dollars a month, you get an exclusive package from The Vault every third  month.  The average package includes a single, a 12”, and a shirt or some other little collectible.  They’ve got a website too, that they always say they’ll update with cool stuff, but you know how that goes.

Anyway, I’d say that The Vault has been worth it, just because of the huge number of White Stripes rarities that we’ve accumulated as members.  The latest package includes a recording of the final White Stripes concert, something that every obsessive fan needs.

July 31, 2007 sounds like it was an awesome night to be at the Snowden Grove Park Amphitheater in Southaven, Mississippi—it also sounds like just another night for Jack and Meg.  If you’ve ever heard or seen a White Stripes performance before, you know just how much those two put into every single song.  You can hear that same energy and enthusiasm all over this record.  It’s not like they knew that this would be their final show either—Meg’s anxiety attack or something forced them to cancel the rest of their tour (which was going to roll through Chicago.  I am still bitter).

Their only live appearance after this concert was in February 2009, where they played a few songs on Conan O’Brien’s final episode of Late Night. Meg was on rhythm guitar or something, and wasn’t looking very good.  What I mean by that is she looked sickly—stop making assumptions.

Anyway, in summation, this is more live White Stripes music—yeah, it sounds like pretty much every other live recording of theirs that I’ve heard, but guess what, they’ve all sounded awesome.  And yes, it’s also cool to know that y’all most likely will never get to hear it in its entire double-album glory.

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Day 184: The Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme

31 Aug

Heaven’s On Fire

You’ve got to love Swedish indie pop.  Seriously, between jj and The Radio Dept., I’m set for life.  Well, my fuzzy, synthy, warm and happy music supply will never run short, at least.

Yeah, I’ll admit, if you’re looking for substance, stay away from this record.  The Radio Dept. never digs below sea level in terms of lyrics, and their sound can only be described as catchy.  This is sure starting to sound like a great record, right?

Believe it or not, Clinging to a Scheme manages to hold its own.  If you’re looking for something that’s just pleasant to listen to, this is an album for you.  Personally, I love music like this.  Simplicity can be an amazing thing sometimes.  Not every record in your collection has to be a complicated and complex post rock faux-intelligent-pseudo-masterpiece.

That’s not to say that I could survive on music exclusively of this nature, though.  I’m fairly certain that if I listened to the insanely infectious Heaven’s on Fire or The Video Dept. on repeat for a day, my brain would quite literally turn to mush.  What I’m saying here, as I so desperately try to stretch this post out to 250 words, is that there’s got to be a mix of intensity in your library.  This is a great piece for the lower end of the spectrum.

I’m sure that I’m being hypocritical in this post—there’s definitely been at least one album that I’ve trashed for being to simple while in a brooding mood or something.  Haters gon hate.

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Day 183: Funkadelic – One Nation Under A Groove

30 Aug

One Nation Under A Groove

It was only a matter of time.  This week’s Dad-Rock Tuesday will discuss Funkadelic’s One Nation Under A Groove. 

 My father went to high school on the south side of Chicago during the late 70s and early 80s.  Therefore, he listened to funk.  A lot of it, from what I’ve heard.  As a 21st century white teenager from a Chicago suburb, I do not listen to funk.  At all.

It’s not that I haven’t tried, though.  This is not the first time that my father has attempted to get me into this genre.  Parliament’s Motor Booty Affair has had many spins (it’s on vinyl, I’m allowed to use that terminology) in the Swole household.  I just don’t get this stuff.

To this day, I still have trouble with describing funk.  Remember that Beach Fossils post I wrote a while back?  No?  Well then you should click that link, brah.  While Beach Fossils’ “music” hardly resembles funk, I do have the same problems with both that record and this Funkadelic one.  And for some reason, all that I could think of was Beach Fossils when One Nation was playing.  They’re both boring, extremely repetitive, and most tracks go on for two minutes too long.

This music is dated; that’s what it comes down to.  Had I been around when One Nation came out, who knows what I’d think of it.  I’ve been conditioned to like a faster, shorter and much less repetitive sound.  Whether that’s a bad thing or not, I’ll leave up to you.

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Day 182: Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lenses Alien

29 Aug

Definite Darkness

They’re back!  Thank god!

You’ve gotta understand, Cymbals Eat Guitars is my band.  I got their debut record way back in early 2010 after reading about it somewhere, and immediately fell in love.  Then, the very next week, Los Campesinos! (my favorite band) announced that Cymbals would be supporting on their North American tour.  I’ve seen Cymbals two more times since then, never in a headlining slot, unfortunately.  They had a midday slot at Lolla 2010, and then opened for The Thermals later that year.

Finally, when they get big enough to go on a headlining tour of their own, the Chicago show is 21+.  Oh well, thus is life.

Anyway, if you liked their last record, you’ll like this one too.  Similarly, if you didn’t like their last record (you soulless bastard), you won’t like this one either.  Lenses is ten more tracks of that trademark Oberst-on-acid indie rock.  There’s a tad more production value this time around, probably because the pigs sold out and signed to a label.  The lyrics are still profound and perhaps a little too deep for me, and most of the fuzz that made that debut so charming has been retained.

Like it’s predecessor, though, Lenses does fall flat at points.  For some reason, they decided to open the record with the track where this is most evident.  It’s the first single, too.  I don’t understand band management sometimes.

Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name) is 8 minutes and 31 seconds long, fairly boring, and not representative of Cymbals at all.  Why they didn’t lead with Definite Darkness—a, dare I say it, beautiful track that hits on every Cymbals strong suit—is beyond me.  It’s got rhythm changes, that irresistible keyboard organ at the forefront, and a whole lot of soul.  It’s what this band is all about, and better showcases how excellent and innovative Cymbals Eat Guitars is.

On an unrelated note, the halfway point of this project is tomorrow…or today, depending on how well you remember your significant digits.  Look out for something special this weekend.

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