Vampire Weekend’s first two albums definitely made big splashes in indie, and eventually pop-culture. They made the cover of Spin magazine before their first official release, and gathered a ton of buzz right from the start. While the previous two albums have a lot going for them, Modern Vampires of the City could be argued as an improvement on what Vampire Weekend has presented in the past. Apart from simply containing straightforwardly catchy and well written songs, there are other reasons that MVOTC pushes the band’s catalogue further.

For one thing, the album channels various modes. At times, it seems to pay homage to rock’s early years with the rockabilly “Diane Young.” Other times, the album pushes Vampire Weekend to a slower and more up-to-date sound, with songs like “Ya Hey” and “Hannah Hunt.” The changes in mood and genre show that Vampire Weekend can handle writing songs outside of their feel-good, beach-soundtrack, and preppy sphere. The album still channels the classic Vampire Weekend elements, such as fast-past drumbeats, and lyrics that switch back and forth between finely-combed educated poetry, and tender pleas for recognition, understanding, and love. But in addition to the predictable (though, still very much appreciated) aspects of their sound, Vampire Weekend enhances the album with its occasional use of brass instruments and an organ. The added sounds blend nicely with the guitar and bass, and they provide freshness to the album.

Another thing that the album does well is that it seamlessly blends produced sounds with those that are more organic. For example, “Unbelievers” contains a clean brass accompaniment, as well as less-clean (but equally enjoyable) echoing piano chords. Rather than creating a chaotic sound, the combination sounds great, and the song is one of the best upbeat songs to have been released this year.

The album also handles ominous themes with confidence, while maintaining consideration for the sensitivity of others. For example, the band changed “Dying Young” to “Diane Young,” and the resulting title humanizes death and the end of an exciting life. Consequently, the song still seems to present an anxiety about death and the unknown future, but it also makes any impending fate seem less harmful.

The slower songs also succeed in keeping ahold of the listener’s attention with the artful lyrics. On “Hannah Hunt,” lead singer Ezra Koenig declares, “Though we live on the US dollar, you and me, we’ve got our own sense of time.” The echoing lyrics in the second part of the song evoke a sense of desperation, compared with the clear and lulling lyrics in the first part. The desperation causes a desire for resolution, and stokes interest in the remainder of the album. Desperation continues with “Everlasting Arms,” as Koenig begs the person he loves to reciprocate his actions and feelings.

The album becomes even more interesting during “Worship You,” which reflects something of a cross between an Irish fiddle tune and a Bollywood musical number. Koenig spits out the lyrics as fast as he can to keep up with the pace of the music. Rather than seeming exasperated, it comes across as energetic and exciting, and seems like something that could accompany a comical chase scene in which the goofy protagonist and his love interest outrun the dopey cops.

The elation, however, tones down with the help of the dark choral accompaniment the build-up of “Ya Hey” and again on “Hudson.” The drums on Hudson seem to indicate a person’s walk to his death, and the choral background only serves to advance the eeriness.

After the spooky “Hudson,” they strip down to a piano, bass, and vocals for “Young Lion.” The song provides a pleasant and peaceful end to an exciting, emotional whirlwind of an album.

Rating: W-P-G-3/5

RIYL: Phoenix, Coconut Records, Girls

Key Tracks: “Unbelievers,” “Diane Young,” “Worship You”

Stream “Diane Young” below via YouTube:

Even after four Deerhunter albums, it’s hard to claim that you know exactly what their next effort is going to sound like. And on Monomania, Deerhunter’s fifth album, that rings true again. After the huge success of their last album, Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter drops the electronic aspects and returns to their roots for a raw garage rock sound, filled with squalling, thrashing guitars while still staying true to their own well developed sound. With more energy and attitude than any of their previous albums, Monomania is at once both familiar and fresh and the result is exhilarating. This is Deerhunter’s most accessible album to date, with many tracks catching your attention immediately and refusing to let go.

Monomania begins with a ruckus that almost sounds like a different band entirely, especially “Leather Jacket II”, an album highlight that combines an insanely catchy hook with raw screeching guitar noise. It isn’t until the third track, smooth and quiet relative to the album openers, that Monomania starts to sound like a Deerhunter album. “The Missing” acts as this album’s “Agoraphobia”, a track that shows the dreamier side to Deerhunter’s music, but it is quickly interupted by “Pensacola”, a Dylan-esque rock romp and one of the best tracks on the album. It’s aggressive, loud, catchy and fun to listen to, a quality that Deerhunter’s music has mostly lacked previously.

The mid-section of Monomania is a collection of mellow tunes that range from solid to great. “Dream Captain” is instantly accessible and “T.H.M.” has one of the catchiest and most satisfying break-downs that Deerhunter has ever made, especially when accented by the staccato breaths at the end. The title track begins with a screech of feedback and ends with thrashing, squalling guitars creating a wall of sound that dissolves into the sound of a motorbike starting. This leads directly into “Nitebike”, a ballad featuring only heavily reverbed vocals and an acoustic guitar, which offers a nice respite from the onslaught of guitar noise at the end of “Monomania”.

This album serves as a step in a new direction for Deerhunter, who sound like they’re having more fun making music than they ever have before. It contrasts so extremely from Halcyon Digest, that one can’t help but appreciate the diversity of sounds that Deerhunter is capable of pulling off. Monomania is energetic, brimming with attitude and a truly solid album from a band that has yet to make a bad record.

WPG-1/2

Highlights- “Leather Jacket II”, “Pensacola”, and “T.H.M.”

RIYL- Atlas Sound, Lotus Plaza, Ty Segall 

Check out our full album stream via Spotify below:

Junip’s sophomore, self-titled album is every adjective that you have come to expect from a Jose Gonzalez project: relaxing, laid-back, peaceful, quiet. While this is far from a bad thing, Junip never seems to be able to rise above these descriptors and become more than easy to listen to background music. That being said, Junip does manage to create a wonderful atmosphere with just enough highlights to make the album worthwhile.

The best part of Junip is the way that frontman Jose Gonzalez, drummer Elias Araya and synth player Tobias Winterkorn melt their sounds together to create a lush and mysterious atmosphere. Gonzalez’s nylon strings and Winterkorn’s droning synths combine so beautifully and comfortably, the music just sounds so natural, which is why Junip makes for such lovely background music. The issue is that not much lies beneath the surface. The airy melodies fail to captivate and Gonzalez’s light and whispering vocals do little but fade immediately into the background. I can’t help but think that a more energetic vocalist would help to elevate the music to more than an exercise in mood building.

There are certainly highlights to be found on Junip, however they are mostly delegated to the beginning of the album, making it feel a bit front-loaded. “Line of Fire” builds from a simple rhythm played on guitar until the listener is washed over with strings and synths. “So Clear” employs a similar strategy, with guitar and percussion working mostly as rhythm while Winterkorn adds layers of synths, building up to one of the few choruses on the album that manages to soar.

All in all, Junip is an album that is consistent to the point of tedium. The clever ideas are overused and the retreaded ideas wear thin quickly. All of the songs are easy to listen to, but never capture enough attention to escape fading into the background. Although there are no unpleasant songs here, Junip fails to measure up to the sum of its parts.

Rating: W-P-1/4

Highlights- “Line of Fire”, “So Clear”, “Your Life Your Call”

Check out Junip via Spotify below:

It’s not very often that a band can burst into the American popular consciousness with their fourth studio album, but Phoenix is an exception to this theory.  While previously popular in Europe, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the band’s fourth album, gave them almost instant success and airplay in the United States.  Hits like “Listomania” and “1901″ are still well known and helped to create what I would call one of the most well-rounded albums of 2009.

The Versailles-based band’s primary spoken language, remarkably, isn’t even English, yet the music they make is surprisingly poetic and poignant.  The success of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix propelled them to multiple enormous shows (including a perhaps premature headlining slot at Lollapalooza) and veritable super-stardom.  After a band reaches such heights, the next album is always a telling experience.  That’s where Phoenix’s Bankrupt! comes in.  Can it live up to the hype and the (probably unfair) expectations of the general public?  My answer: yes, it can.

First and foremost, Bankrupt! follows a similar pattern to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, peppering the album with almost certain hits (Radio-favorite “Entertainment”, for example) and some large instrumental sections (the first half of “Bankrupt!”).  To call everything on the album that doesn’t meet either of these criteria “filler” wouldn’t do it justice, however.  Bankrupt! flows seemingly effortlessly from track to track, mixing elements of European dance music with American/English indie rock to create a beautiful hybrid.

Like any band; Phoenix faces enormous problems coming off of such a successful album preceding Bankrupt!.  If Bankrupt! doesn’t innovate, then the band will be hailed as boring and having a lack of progression.  If Bankrupt! strays from the sound of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix which most listeners have established as the quinnessential Phoenix, however, many will say they want the old music back (just like The Strokes).  The band have, however, found a happy medium between innovation and a great sound.

Bankrupt! truly shines with its tracks that probably won’t be mega-hits.  Tracks like “Trying To Be Cool” are just a little too progressive to slip into the mainstream (at least I think…only time will tell for sure) but really fit into the feel of the album flawlessly.  A lot of times I feel as if, when a band uses electronic instruments, some type of creativity is lost.  All in all, though, synthesizers are used tastefully on Bankrupt! and don’t take away from the human element of the album, but rather they add to it.

Bankrupt! is a beautiful journey for music listeners of all genres.  And while it may not be something for hard-core fans of a single genre, for those that can appreciate all types of styles, the Frenchmen of Phoenix have put together a fantastic work of art for your ears.

Rating: W-P-G-1/4

RIYL: Rooney, Of Montreal, and The Naked and Famous

Key Tracks: “Entertainment”, “Trying To Be Cool”, and “Bourgeois”

Check out our full Spotify stream of  Bankrupt! below!

In 2006, So-Cal band Cold War Kids released their debut LP Robbers and Cowards, an album whose pop driven instrumentals created an unlikely home for lead vocal Nathan Willet’s folky, blues infused singing. This brighter, formulaic sound coupled with the driven delivery and at times disconsolate subject matter and lyrical style garnered a certain amount of acclaim, both from critics and fans.

Through the years and with subsequent releases, a departure from their original, gritty sound to a more accessible one can be heard. Favoring the vocal production and patterned instrumentation of pop-style music to the less refined sound the band began with and spurred on by the popular reception their new sound was accruing them (chart positions rose higher with every consecutive release) the band further refined and brightened their sound. This drive towards pop reached a fever pitch with the album Mine Is Yours, a mainstream success which was met with a lukewarm reception, many felt the band had completely abandoned their roots, foregoing that which made them unique for a greater fan base and a generally more available sound.

This backlash apparently struck home with the band. While not completely abandoning the more recent turns they had made in their sound, a listen to Dear Miss Lonelyhearts shows a revival of Willet’s soulful delivery and melancholy lyricism. The leading track, “Miracle Mile”, is an upbeat and forceful track with lyrics that give a nod towards the imprecise art of making decisions and the possible changes that result. While much of the music bears resemblance to their previous releases, the album’s title track carries an if not striking resemblance, then at least a palpable similarity to earlier work in both subject and style, taking the form of a stark, wistful sounding ballad which brings a feeling of melancholy to the album that was pervasive in their earlier LP’s.

As an album, however, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts appears to fall flat. Even the upbeat power of “Miracle Mile” begins to fade into grey as the backdrop of the album seems unvarying throughout its play. Musically, the album underwhelms as the produced and overly clean new sound of Cold War Kids creates a blaze effect; that is, nothing stands out due to a reliance on a single style. As a result, the album seems largely devoid of the creative spark and soul of earlier work. The album isn’t all a wash, though. The band is developing a new sound, and while they may still be searching for some balance between old and new I applaud them for recognizing the good and the bad and trying to find a noise that allows them to create and progress as a band, all while remaining relevant to a larger audience.

Rating: W-P-1/4

RIYL: Local Natives, Ra Ra Riot, and Broken Bells

Key Tracks: Miracle Mile, Jailbirds, and Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

Listen to the full album stream here:

Telekinesis seems at times to be the name of a body of work, rather than a band. In fact, it is really a nom de plume for multi-instrumentalist Michael Benjamin Lerner, who has been the mastermind of the band, and has cycled his supporting musicians in and out. But despite the seemingly constant turnover of backing musicians in Telekinesis, the music remains consistently good so far, and the third album, Dormarion, shows that the band changes have not altered the overall sound of Telekinesis.

According to Merge’s website, Lerner planned to record his third album entirely on his own, but instead decided to enlist in the help of Spoon’s drummer, Jim Eno. Listening to the album, it is astonishing to think that only two guys recorded all of the tracks, and in only half a month’s time. However, this album is not the first time that Lerner has pushed himself to produce quickly. In fact, he is only twenty six years old, and has now already released three full length albums, in addition to a number of EPs.

Yet as interesting as the background for Lerner’s recordings are—or uninteresting, depending on how much you care about the intricacies of putting an album together—the most important aspect of Dormarion is that it brings out new and vibrant songs, while living up to the greatness and likeability of the past two albums from Telekinesis. This album takes the strengths of the past albums, and magnifies them. It is a display of Lerner’s unique ability to successfully alternate between upbeat, stand-alone pop-rock songs (such as “Empathetic People” and “Dark to Light”), and deeper songs that offer musical complexities (like “Ghosts and Creatures”). Remarkably, the album does not lose momentum during the switches, and the variety never seems to be forced. It is truly an album that can have you dancing one minute, and silently pondering your feelings the next, without feeling physically or psychologically unstable.

While Dormarion continues on with the musical strengths that made the last albums great, it is also a slight point of departure from the attitudes evident in past lyrics. This album still has its moments of sadness, but the lyrics do come anywhere near the moments of bitterness present in 12 Desperate Straight Lines, which came out when Lerner was dealing with a break-up and recovering from a car accident. Instead of portraying the upsetting sides of an otherwise normal existence, Dormarion shows Lerner’s emotional growth, departure from stark cynicism, and renewed hope in love (which is most clearly evident midway through the album, during “Lean on Me”).

Rating: W-P-G

RIYL: The Dodos, Gold Motel, Ambulance Ltd

Key Tracks: “Power Lines”, “Ghosts and Creatures”, and “Symphony”

Check out “Ghosts and Creatures” below:

I was introduced to Wavves through their new album, Afraid of Heights, and was immediately won over by their fuzzed out, psychedelic sound and their instantly catchy melodies. There is a straightforwardness to Wavves’ music that is at some points extremely appealing and at others a bit of a disappointment. What Afraid of Heights has are 13 songs about weed, self-loathing and paranoia that gets by on the sheer amount of energy packed into each track. This is the kind of album that you can put on in your room and flail around to because each track is tailor made to get you pumped up. It’s a fun album, even if it’s nothing that you haven’t heard before.

Afraid of Heights starts off with a definite bang. The first four tracks, especially “Demon to Lean On” and “Lunge Forward”, explode with energy making them the catchiest and most exciting tracks on the album. Unfortunately, Wavves can’t quite keep the energy up through the entire album, which leads to a bit of drag in the middle. This would be more of a problem if most of the tracks in the middle weren’t so short, but, due to the brevity, one hardly notices that the middle tracks aren’t quite as much fun as the rest of the album. That is, until “Everything Is My Fault”. This is the track where things begin to wear on you. It’s slow, sluggish and a bore to sit through, even at just over two and a half minutes. Luckily, Wavves brings it all back with “That’s On Me” and “Gimme a Knife”, both of which bring back the strong, catchy melodies and energy that made the beginning of the album such a joy.

Wavves is at their best when they keep things simple, letting their strong ear for melody combine with their infectious energy with explosive results. If they can find a way to sustain their energy over a whole album, things would work out much better or them. But with Afraid of Heights, one must settle for a handful of great songs, with a big helping of filler. It’s still a fun album and definitely worth a listen.

W-P-1/2

Highlights- “Demon To Lean On”, “Lunge Forward”, “Gimme a Knife”

RIYL- Weezer, Japandroids, Cloud Nothings

Listen to “Lunge Forward” below:

In 2001, who would’ve thought Julian Casablancas, with his sunken I’m-too-drunk-for-this-show eyes, torn up blue jeans, and cigarette-tinged vocals would become obsessed with creating futuristic music? Their first album, the groundbreaking Is This It, channeled the New York punk scene from the 70s and was recorded completely live. The energy spewed from each of the tracks, so much so that Julian’s vocals are filled with static because his microphone was clipping. But even in the midst of the gritty recordings, Julian’s penchant for melody still made its way through. The hype surrounding the five grew to the point they were gracing cover-after-cover of some of the biggest music magazines. The band made history, changed music. Blah, blah, blah. You know the story, let’s avoid the clichés.

So flash forward. Now the opposite is happening. Instead of reverting to the past for influences by musicians like Lou Reed, The Strokes are adding in more electronic sounds and seem to be pushing into the future. The last album, Angles, the first album after the bands hibernation, was the first sign of that. It seemed like the band returned to form with the first single “Under Cover of Darkness,” but the rest of the album was a largely seen as a disappointment to the fans. Fans hoping for the return of “The old Strokes” are not going to get it. Comedown Machine takes a step further from the blueprint that made the Fab Five once seem like genius architects of garage rock.

But even as an aficionado for in-your-face songs like “NY City Cops,” I don’t necessarily fault the Strokes for changing. If a band is limited to only what made them popular, they start to become a parody of themselves. Some bands are afraid to move beyond the caricatures of themselves created in the media and the niche they have found in the market. But The Strokes break through everything that has been written about them.

Comedown Machine has some strong songs. And the first single “All The time,” which is the token garage rocker like “Under Cover” was, is not as good as the other tracks. The guitars bounce around with echo effects and Fab’s drums sound more like a drum machine at parts. “Call it Fate, Call it Karma” shows a side of The Strokes I’ve never heard. The clean-toned guitar is sweetly plucked and Casablancas sings in a falsetto that is reminiscent in of Amy Winehouse’s voice. In this song his falsetto works beautifully, but on some tracks, Julian is pushing too hard. I don’t think the Strokes have to worry about sticking to a certain style because the band is talented enough to get by at whatever they do. The question mark for them is whether they still like each other enough to put the collaboration needed toward songwriting and whether they can stand to go on tour for months together.

The album is worth a listen. A few of the tracks should be added to your playlist. Does that mean I still won’t go back and listen to when Casablancas was rolling around on stage and climbing into the crowd at their famous 2 Dollar Bill show? Probably not. But they gave us two albums of bare-bones songs, and now they deserve a chance to move on.

Rating: W-P-1/2

Key Tracks: “Call it Fate, Call it Karma,” “50/50,” “’80s Comedown Machine”

RIYL: The Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Check out the official video for “All The Time” below:

Since his days in The Smiths, Johnny Marr has been known on stage for his squeaky clean guitar sound. With his flawless mixture of broken chords high up on the neck, combined with his fluid picking hand, Marr used to make guitarists like Noel Gallagher drool. Gallagher even said that there’s not a guitarist like him because “no one can play what he plays.”

So it’s only expected that the guitar on Marr’s debut solo album would be anything but salivating. In his album Messenger, the riffs are fast paced and are big enough to get a full stadium of people jumping. The first slow song doesn’t come until the eighth track “Say Demesne,” which inches forward with a somber “How Soon is Now?”-like guitar that has a haunting keyboard line screeching over that. Marr’s guitar skills don’t seem to have diminished at all and he still shows the ability to put together compelling songs.

The part I’m concerned with is the vocals. Marr’s voice is never out of tune and he doesn’t have an annoying voice, but he lacks the power that some of his guitar riffs need. When I hear the vocals I picture Marr being content and lackadaisical as he croons into his recording microphone. The closing song, “World Starts Attack,” goes from pulsing and angry chord progressions to soft, echoing vocals—when other singers might think that this would be a song worth blowing out their vocal chords with. But maybe the hypnotic effect of his vocals was what he wanted.

The singing is my only critique of Marr’s debut. His voice is still better than a lot of singers, and he never sang in his bands. The album sounds like what Marr might have made in the 80s. For a lot of older musicians, they can’t deal with the pressure of creating material that compares to their younger days. For Marr, he still can, he just may need someone like Morrissey.

Rating: WPG

Key Tracks: “Lockdown,” “Upstarts,” “The Right Thing Right”

RIYL: The Smiths, Modest Mouse, The The

Check out “Upstarts” below:

My first time listening to Holy Fire was also my first time listening to Foals. I put the album on, but didn’t have time to hear it all the way through. I had to pause it about halfway through somewhere around the fifth song “Everytime.” At that point, I was really quite interested in what I was hearing and couldn’t wait to finish it. Unfortunately, after a great first half the band disrupts the atmosphere and ends up disappointing in the end.

Foals’ third album, Holy Fire, start with a “Prelude” that builds and intrigues and eventually leads into one of the better songs on the album, “Inhaler.” The lyrics are nothing special—much like the entire album—but something about the grunginess in the guitar hook makes it memorable. The next song, “My Number,” is my favorite and keeps the streak strong. The sound remains similar but the melody and lyrics hark back to early 80’s pop/rock and its pretty great. The next two songs are decent but don’t have the same luster as the second or third track. The sixth track, “Late Night,” is where the album shifts from fun experimental rock to moody, downer music that is too airy and doesn’t contain the lyrics to justify the change. “Milk and Black Spiders” is the only song on the second half worth a listen due to a catchy chorus, but it’s nothing too special.

It’s too bad that Foals wasn’t more consistent with the concept of this album, or with the quality of the music in Holy Fire. But we can all thank them that they packed the front end of the album with the good stuff so we don’t have to constantly skip songs to hear what we want to hear.

Rating: W-P

RIYL: Arctic Monkeys, The Raconteurs

Key Tracks: “My Number,” “Inhaler,” “Everytime”

Check out “Inhaler” below: