Belle & Sebastian Write About.... Well, You Know...

Doe-eyed lovers and quiet indie kids, rejoice! Belle & Sebastian have returned after four years with their followup to the incredible The Life Pursuit album with their seventh studio album, Belle & Sebastian Write About Love, which is probably the weakest album title they've thus far released (consider this is the same band that released If You're Feeling Sinister and Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (okay, I really just wanted to write all that out. Long album titles amuse me.)).

Luckily, unstellar title notwithstanding, the lads have turned out another largely superb album that will rest comfortably next to Dear Catastrophe Waitress and The Life Pursuit (I'll fit 'em all in, you watch) as a cohesive statement of the band's musicianship and the stunning lyrical skills of Stuart Murdoch.

The album opens inauspiciously, with the track "I Didn't See It Coming," a piano driven piece sung largely by Sarah Martin to better effect than any of the songs she (or Isobell Campbell or whomever) has fronted for the band in many many years. The melody is stolen straight from your favorite memories and will surely lodge itself there for a long time. "I Want the World to Stop" is classic B&S, an upbeat pop tempo, a grooving bassline, and lyrics communicating the gray dullness of winter and depression and the longing to escape (think "The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner" meets "Sleep the Clock Around") sung in Murdoch's beautiful tenor with an urgency that grips your heart.

Ultimately, the album's greatest triumphs are its' greatest failings as well. Beside the fact that this album is virtually indistinguishable from other albums in Belle & Sebastian's oeuvre, there's no forward progress as musicians. This could be their third album or their fifth album just as easily as their seventh. And of course, the songs written by Stevie Jackson (I'm thinking specifically of "I'm Not Living in the Real World," a song which I may never play again after finishing this review) and the other members of the band never quite measure up to the urgency, the emotion, the pure heart-wrenching pureness of Murdoch's honesty.

Of course, having more of the same isn't really a concern for fans of the band, because while they haven't moved forward per se, they haven't stagnated either. The music is still bright, emotive, fresh, and relevant, and twee fans all over the world should accept Belle & Sebastian Write About Love with triumphant fanfare for a band who knows exactly what they're good at doing and is going to make wonderful indie pop for many years to come.

8.1/10

"...Just Because Some Watery Tart Threw a Sword at You!"

It occurs to me that, as I'm the only one here (do you hear an echo?) I could ostensibly review anything I choose. Given the name of the site, I'll try to keep it music-centric, but in the future there may turn out to be ramblings, rants, essays, whathaveyou about Batman, Doctor Who, James Joyce, and The Royal Tennenbaums.

Of course all this is academic as I haven't even reviewed an album yet in my glorious return. But that changes today!

Unless I take a nap.

Sensory Overload

It has been a day for consuming media. After much Fringe, video games, Always Sunny, Jacob's Room, and on and on, I turned to music I'd been neglecting, as well as some forthcoming albums.

What a year for music it has been.

Today I got through Sea of Cowards, the latest effort from The Dead Weather, the latest in Jack White's seemingly endless list of side projects, the new album from indie-pop darlings Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Let it Sway, and the new Wavves album, in addition to hearing the new records by Ben Folds, Belle & Sebastian, of Montreal, and Badly Drawn Boy. As I write this, I am hurtling toward the end of MGMT's incredible sophomore psych-pop album Congratulations.

I have also quite recently consumed a large quantity of food and smoked a bunch, so this blog post is an attempt to beat sleep. Incoherency may take over. You have been warned.

It also occurs to me that the list currently kept at the right is so dated as to be laughable. Not that you care because, let's be honest, you're either one of two people or you're imaginary. But I shall be replacing it with albums that I might actually review in the future.

And other upkeep things which have all slipped my mind.

Uh...

As Little Work as I Could Possibly Muster

Being as I'm too lazy to put together a real post just now, here is a short list of some of the artists what will surely turn out to be contenders for any sort of "best-of" list I may put together in a relatively short matter of time.

The Arcade Fire
The Black Keys
Minus the Bear
Vampire Weekend
The National
Band of Horses
!!!
Interpol
Of Montreal
Shit Robot
Scissor Sisters
LCD Soundsystem
Murder by Death
Stars
MGMT
The Dead Weather

Less Like a Phoenix, More Like a Zombie...

Gonna give this another try. My esteemed colleague the faderist has started his own project (link to the right) and the two of us basically left this site to die (it's been a rough couple of years).

However, since writing is a thing that keeps me grounded, focused, and sharp, I'm going to (for about the 92nd time) try to update my blogs more often than never, starting today. Forthcoming will be a short roundup of some of the more stellar albums of the year, including The National, LCD Soundsystem, The Books, and more, in an attempt to not be drowned in albums at the end of the year.

Anticipate it!

Summer Blockbuster Edition! (pt 2)

WE'RE BACK!  I'm sure you've all already seen the first installment of our chronicle of summer music releases.  If not, scroll down.  If yes, here is part two!

Less Than Jake - GNV FLA

After courting the mainstream over the past few studio releases, and catching considerable criticism for it, Less Than Jake's eight studio album comes full circle--not only musically, getting back to the irresistibly catchy horns that first broke them onto the ska-punk scene, but also lyrically, with an eloquent tribute to the unabbreviated album title and college town that so firmly holds the band's roots, Gainesville, Florida.

GNV FLA is without a doubt a trip through reminiscence  for members of Less Than Jake.  The only complaint one could have is that there is no subtlety whatsoever.  Tracks one and two, titled respectively: "The City of Gainesville" and "The State of Florida" are just an example.  The tracks act as one, setting up the theme and if nothing else, the mindset needed to fully appreciate the rest of the album.  The tracks start off with the slow bounce of ska-tar and horns and the sweet, sweet vocals of Roger, effectively a prologue to the story being told.  After track two, it becomes (at least musically) very traditional as per Less Than Jake.  It's no Pezcore, but it's certainly Borders & Boundaries-esque.  

The last thing I want to point out, particularly to Less Than Jake who felt a bit let down by their previous album In With The Out Crowd, GNV FLA  is significantly less....'pristine' than IWTOC was, making for a more raw, more traditional ska-punk listening experience.  Sounds like they either fired the sound guy from album priori, or just whipped him into shape, because the newest effort is not wrapped in that fresh plastic sheen that leaves much to be desired.

GNV FLA is nothing short of an amazing Less Than Jake record.  Back-to-roots musicality and lyricism cause deep satisfaction, despite some nay-sayers and their claims of bluntness.

8.0/10

 Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

What is there to say about mash-up mix-master Girl Talk?  Formerly a Biomedical Engineering student, sample-based DJ Gregg Gillis released his fourth full length album, demonstrating yet another exercise in 'spot the sample'.  Or as Uncrate put it, "Feed The Animals is like a musical scavenger hunt, mashing Faith No More with Busta Rhymes..."

There's really not much to analyze about an album like this.  Although none of the actual music is original, the sample mashups are masterfully executed, and it's so fuckin' catchy it's almost hard not to dance to it!  If I would've know that they teach you that kind of stuff in Biomed Engineering school, perhaps I would be studying something completely different...

7.5/10

Spiritualized - Songs in A&E

I'll be honest right off the bat.  I'm a newcomer to the Spiritualized-style minimalist orchestral rock.  You want more honesty?  Okay fine.  It's good.  It's really fucking good.  It reminds me of a combination of old Wilco and new Wilco.  Almost as if Jeff Tweedy wanted to make the music he's making now, but didn't have access to all of the cool artists and tools he works with.  

The song is broken up into sections by wistful instrumental interludes labelled "Harmony" 1-6.  They provide a superb tie between the songs on the album.  The record takes a while to get off the ground (probably purposefully), with tracks like "Sweet Talk" almost stereotypical in folk-rock and "Death Take Your Fiddle" dragging its toes on the ground almost the whole way through.  But by the time "Soul on Fire" (my personal favorite) comes tweeting through your speakers, Spiritualized has hit full swing, executing not-so-minimal minimalist rock at its very, very finest.  As the "Harmony" tracks occur more frequently toward the end, the record comes to a close with a very lofty, sentimental feel.  Like ending a long night on psychedelics listening to post-rock as it starts to get light outside.  Fittingly, the album ends on a track called "Goodnight Goodnight" featuring the lyrics "Goodnight, goodnight, you're coming down...".

Like I said, I'm new to Spiritualized and they're astoundingly beautiful execution of this style of music, but it's so good......and I will most certainly seek out more.

8.5/10

Summer Blockbuster Edition! (pt 1)

Seriously, holy fucking fuck. After far far far too long with no access to music, I am returned from the ashes as a phoenix triumphant. That is, I got a new iPod.

As the summer is passing us by with so many excellent/important releases unreviewed, we're going to try and remedy some of that right now. I've got the first three of many albums to come below.



Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

After 2005's X&Y, I grew somewhat disenchanted with Coldplay. Their first two albums were undeniably strong (if perhaps a little too U2 influenced), but their third fell flat, in part due to overproduction, but mostly because they simply weren't writing engaging songs. A step towards mediocrity.

Put simply, I underestimated them.

Viva la Vida is a masterwork, showing the band stretching beyond themselves to new (and exciting) territory. No longer content to be the dreamy-eyed boy with the falsetto, Chris Martin turns over a new leaf on this album, putting out lyrics that point to social ills (he told Rolling Stone in an interview that the lines in "Violet Hill" about "a carnival of idiots on show" and "the fox became God" are references to Fox News) and loneliness leading to sexual indiscretion (the show-stopping "Yes). Throughout the album, Martin struggles with the thought of death and ghosts, from "Cemeteries of London" ("Where the witches are and they say/There are ghost towns in the ocean") through to the last song "Death and All His Friends," where he states he doesn't want to follow Death and affirms that "We lie awake and we dream of making our escape."

All this would be meaningless without the rest of the band, of course, and indeed, the music on this album is as soaring and free as Martin's words (due in no small part to the skilled production of Brian Eno). Take the instrumental opening, "Life in Technicolor". A slow building melody that crescendos into a perfect opening track, telling you exactly what to expect. Or standout track "Violet Hill," which begins with background noise and piano, only to explode into (gasp!!) distorted guitars, swirling and storming behind Martin.

This album establishes that Coldplay is able to expand beyond the syrupy lyrics and bland soundscapes, and that they're fucking good at it.

8.0/10



The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace

When The Offspring's eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, roared onto my speakers with "Half-Truism," I immediately caught myself thinking "Wow, this song sounds like it belongs on Smash." Two songs later, in "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" I noted an uncanny similarity between the vocal melody and that of a Panic at the Disco track ("Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"). That dichotomy perfectly demonstrates what the album is about: sometimes it's loud, fast, and balls out punk (rock), sometimes it's polished and shiny pop (rock), and the good news is that The Offspring are masters of both.

Actually, the best news is that the band has decided to shy away from the hokier songs of their more recent releases, like "Hit That," "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)," "Spare Me the Details," and "Original Prankster." Indeed, the closest they come to kitsch is "Stuff Is Messed Up," the standard lament over the current state of affairs featuring a "We Didn't Start the Fire"-esque rattling off of Dexter Holland's woes of the moment (Including, but not limited to: "Therapy, I won't tell/Rehab and LOL/Worldwide calamity/TV Reality/Euthanize, supersize/Death squads and boob jobs/VIP infamy/Gratify instantly"), or perhaps the reggae reminiscent guitar and beat of "Let's Hear It For Rock Bottom".

Really most of the album is old hat to anyone who's listened to The Offspring, the best moments are the songs where they branch out from their tried-and-true formula. Songs like "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" and "Fix You" are surprisingly tender. I would go so far as to say that the former is among their greatest songs, a deeply touching story about childhood abuse or rape, Holland eventually pleading "Don't waste your whole life trying/to get back what was taken away."

The best thing I can say about this album is that it is unmistakably, inimitably, thoroughly The Offspring. If they manage to remain this relevant and engaging, then the next eight albums will be equally as good.

7.0/10



Weezer - Weezer

Oh, Rivers Cuomo. What happened to you?

Weezer's new album, their third self-titled album, starts off with "Troublemaker" a gritty, Pinkerton-era piece of grunge-pop that catches the attention easily enough, but by halfway through you realize seems awfully familiar. Then... then comes "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)," a song so unabashedly terrible, I have to wonder why their producer didn't walk up to the band and hit Rivers Cuomo on the nose with a newspaper. It's an interesting idea, the song switches through ten different genres throughout, centering on one lyrical theme, but it's so poorly executed that it's nigh-unlistenable.

This album marks the first time since the first self-titled that other members of the band have contributed to the songwriting process, making this Weezer as something different than "The Rivers Cuomo Band," but none of it is to any worthwhile effect. Brian Bell's contribution, "Thought I Knew," sounds like a Fastball B-side (Hah! Fastball. What a bizarre reference.), while drummer Patrick Wilson's track, "Automatic" tries so hard to be poignant and just ends up falling flat.

It's not all bad news. Barn-burner "Everybody Get Dangerous" has a chorus so raucous, you'll want to start kicking over chairs and burning shit to the ground and features Cuomo's rambling lyrical style ("When I was younger/I used to go and tip cows for fun, yeah/Actually I didn't do that/'Cause I didn't want the cow to be sad"). And the ballad "Heart Songs" is a beautiful tribute to the songs that Cuomo grew up with.

In the end, it's not that it's a bad album. It's just that I've come to expect better of Weezer.

5.5/10