The shins, "wincing the night away": they've just recycled their past two albums, only this album doesn't have the coherence of their first album, and lacks the really catchy, great songs of their second. this album also doesn't sound as nostalgic as their last two. but its the shins, they have a good sound, so I like it.
Menomena, "Friend and Foe": overall its pretty good, although there's some sporadically lame stuff on this album. in fact, if you listen to this album, just skip track 1 altogether. some of it reminds me of 90 day men (esp track 7).
Of montreal "hissing fauna, are you the destroyer" - probably good although I can't say I remember; I started playing it, and then all of a sudden it was 52 minutes later and I realized I had just been daydreaming about disneyland which is exactly what happens to me when I listen to Apples in Stereo - and I don't even like disneyland. too much of that "power pop" sound for me.
Clap your hands "some loud thunder": very average. maybe kind of irritating to listen to, which leads me to believe that their first album may not have been very good (I was obviously taken in by the novelty of their sound. they got me).
Deerhunter "cryptograms": wall of sound. track 2, 5 = stereolab, except not catchy. lots of pointless noise. boring. stupid repetitive shit.
Beirut "lon gisland EP": amazing. go buy it.
Hammock "raising your voice...trying to stop an echo": not very memorable. very mellow - I might have fallen asleep while listening to this album. good in the way that taking a bubble bath is. but without bubbles.
Husky Rescue "ghost is not real": Broadcast w/ folk flare. carefully composed. underrated, this album is actually pretty good. though, at times a little bit too "delicate" - two minutes into the album, there's a moment where you think it might turn into something. voice sounds like the singer from blonde redhead, but not as angry
The long blondes "someone to drive you home": stop trying to be the organ. ok, but since you are trying, you're doing a pretty decent job.
don't bother with: fennesz, sally shapiro, or the silent years
4 comments:
Make me a mix!!! :) I'm still undecided on the Shins' new album. I think, so far, that I only like it for how it reminds me of their previous albums. Sigh.
Ok April I did some thinking and naturally some adjustments need to be made to your "january album reviews." Wincing the Night Away is brilliant and without the outstanding singles which both Oh inverted World and Chutes too Narrow have. This album instead relies on heavy duty in-studio polishing, but unlike some other records, the studio work is amazing and clarifies each songs tone without detracting from what James Mercer achieves harmonically. As for our man Kevin Barnes and his band Of Montreal, it's remains incredible to me that he can sit alone in his room and record all these songs without outside help. It seems that the layering of tracks is so intricate, where then does he find the time to read all the material he references in his songs (I mean really George Betaille's Story of the Eye)? So right, it makes you wonder "why bother to include all these crazy ideas in your lyrics?" There's an answer, as the ideas quadruple over the course of a song without losing their cleverness or inventive spirit, you're suddenly involved in a Kevin Barnes conversation. He's good and his angst is engaging. It surprises me you thought this album was wrapped up in disneyland pop. He's angry on alot of tracks. I mean you don't name a song "The Past is A Grotesque Animal" and have it run for 11+ minutes if you want happiness and glamour. Don't get me wrong he does do his bizarre electro-funk thing, but that comes off to me more like David Bowie doing Fame. Badass grit with the glory. Anyway, check your email I'm going to send you an acoustic version of Eagle-Shaped Ear. Let me know what you think.
ps. Keep writing this blog! It's good....
greg: thanks for your input. I completely open to arguments that of montreal is good...I just haven't been able get into the sound. regarding the shins - I'll keep listening. maybe the way I described the album came across as more negative than I had intended: I really like the album, I just don't think it is as good as their last two (which I thought were pretty fantastic).
ok deal. Keep writing...
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