by Goose

Destroyer- “Kaputt”

Dan Bejar has been putting out music for over fifteen years under the name Destroyer; essentially, that means he has pumping out indie music ever since a little movie entitled Braveheart was released. That is a long time. This was a faraway time where Mel Gibson had not yet gone ape-shit and “social networking” meant hanging around the water-cooler. Let’s just say Destroyer is a mature band that has experimented with all types of sounds and if it was a smooth bachelor, it would know all the moves to get you in the sack.

The band’s lucky thirteenth release, Kaputt, starts off by seducing the listener. The opener “Chinatown” gives the listener exactly what they want to hear: a nice rhythmic guitar, polished vocals, and even accents of horns. Just when you think you are being sweet-talked, your suspicions are confirmed with the following fantastic single “Blue Eyes”. A song that was taken straight out of the 1950s via a weird Sammie Kaye time machine. The accompanying female vocals on the track are magnificent. “Savage Night of The Opera” and probably the best song on the album, “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker”, are pure delights and the first half of the album takes you to a time where music uplifted spirits and was amorous.

Unfortunately, the second half of the album aside from the fantastic closer “Bay of Pigs” shows a loss of steam and lyrics like “Wasting your days/Chasing some girls/Alright/Chasing cocaine to the back-rooms of the world all night” followed by the overuse of jazz horns is to the narrowest of margins pleasing. It is as though Destroyer made two albums; the first half of Kaputt is the correct way to make a reappraising of 1950s-esque music and the second half is littered with mediocre jazz.

All in all, it is okay because as the album closes, Destroyer has delivered the hits just like any crafty veteran manages to do in the time it is given. Kaputt is a blast; the musicianship for the most part is great, lyrics are interesting albeit a few eye-rolling moments, and there are a handful of catchy singles.

12.21.10

by Goose

Review: Guards – self-titled EP

Guards EP
Guards is essentially just singer Richie Follin with contributions from Caroline Polachek (Chairlift) and Cults. The album is filled with so much sound that one might think it was a five-piece band. There are many instruments used on the album and each does a particular job to create a lo-fi pop experience.

If MGMT was married to Karen O and The Kids and had an illegitimate child with Arcade Fire, it would be Guards. This bastard child croons, chants, and makes sure it is heard on all eight tracks of Guards. Guards seemingly have all the characteristics of its parents: It has the “Oooh Oooh Oooh” backing vocals a la Arcade Fire, yowling vocals set to a magical keyboard a la MGMT, and a childlike wonder tone a la Karen O and the Kids. It has been a while since a debut EP has been so ambitious.

This is not some exasperating brat that steals from its parents’ success, in fact, Guards explores new terrain especially with vocal harmonies. “Sail It Slow” strides forward smoothly as the vocals play off one another in a vigorous fashion. The opening track “Resolution Of One” has a chorus that explodes like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. On “Crystal Truth”, there is a blissful melody that makes you wonder how no one has written it before. Each song is solid in its own distinct way and it never feels like you have been listening to the same song for too long. This is probably due to the fact that most songs do not go past the three minute point. Also, each song flies by with the help of the harmonizing refrains. Instrumentally, everything is solid especially the thunderous drums. The beat always feels firm next to such sweet-tempered vocals and each instrument highlights another fittingly.

It is impossible not to allude to other bands that Guards sounds like but that does not take away from the achievements of Guards. No doubt, Guards sounds like the illegitimate child of a few notable indie bands but who really cares? At least it is not the illegitimate child of MC Hammer and LFO. This is a wonderful debut EP for the little brat.

12.18.10

by Goose

Ghost House – “Departures”

Ghost House is a self-proclaimed soul band that hails from Vancouver and hope you take notice of their debut album, Departures, with it’s satisfying harmonization of new wave, Motown soul, funk, and some may even say nu-jazz genres. Certain songs will get stuck deep in your head for days like the tracking device in Total Recall. However, just like that same tracking device, some are excruciatingly painful as well.

When you listen to Departures, you truly want to love it because Ghost House sound like they had a blast recording the whole album. Each song is filled with blotches of piano, excellent guitar riffs, and frenetic drumbeats that would make even the most grumpy old uncle dance at a wedding. With this being said, you wish the album would surprise at some point with a different methodology besides the drums and guitar making out with each other in gross public displays of affection. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for horns to come in at certain points just to break up the piano, guitar, and drum orgy that continues for all ten songs with no recess. If it was not for the refreshing female vocals in “Origami Nightmare” each song would mesh together as a monotonous drone. At some point you begin questioning how long you have been listening to the album. Even the audio clip of a weather forecast on “The Crows Know” is a welcoming change of pace on the album. Vocally and lyrically, everything is fine. There is nothing to bleat about in that aspect but the true problem is the song dynamics or should I say lack thereof.

There are plenty of catchy songs on Departures; standout songs such as “Transmit”, “The Crows Know” and “Penultimate” litter the album with hope but do not make up for the bland others that drag it down like an anchor straight to the bottom of the indie music sea where countless other bands have drowned due to lack of experimentation. Do not get me wrong, I fully enjoyed Departures, but with each listen you get an overwhelming sense that the band has the potential to record something much better in the future. This is a formidable first step though.

12.17.10

by mcirigliano2

Album Review: The Luyas – Too Beautiful To Work

The musicians in Montreal clearly have a deep-seeded need and desire to collaborate. Bands such as Arcade Fire, The Dears, and Broken Social Scene adopt a more-is-better policy when it comes to assembling their personnel. Because of the large infrastructure in many of these groups, musicians travel between the ensembles, like musical chess pieces, as their scheduling and tastes dictate. Another group to add to this list: The Luyas. The band formed in late 2006, releasing their debut album, Faker Death, in 2007. Although the number of members changed at various points in the group’s history, they have essentially consisted of: Jesse Stein [also of Miracle Fortress], Pietro Amato and Stefan Schneider [both of Bell Orchestre, Amato also having worked as a french horn player for Arcade Fire], and Mathieu Charbonneau. Add in Sarah Neufeld [violinist for Arcade Fire] and Owen Pallett [Final Fantasy and string arranger for Arcade Fire] to the current recording roster, and you have one amazing Canadian super-group on your hands.

On their Dead Oceans debut, Too Beautiful To Work, the band excels at crafting dreamy pop textures—using layers of organ, keyboards, horns, and mallet percussion on top of the standard foundation of guitars and drums. Jesse Stein contributes significantly to The Luyas singular sound by playing the Moodswinger—an experimental 12-string zither—as well as supplying her breathy vocals, calling to mind both Nina Persson and CocoRosie’s Casady sisters.

The opening title track plunges the listener right into The Luyas’ world: a short organ riff becomes the foundation for the song’s spiky rhythms, light drums, and Stein’s voice, which churn bubbly lyrics at you so quickly, it actually takes a couple listens to even decipher what the text is. [The track is so infectious and joyous that really, multiple listens would be mandatory anyway.] Stein is incredibly adept with her voice, working hand in hand with the drum set so well that she sounds like she is replicating yet another percussion instrument to add to the mix. “Worth Mentioning” places her even more in the forefront of the group, gently cooing “Trust me now, and keep in mind there are no ungraced thoughts” over throbbing guitars and organ. Stein might as well be singing right into the listener’s ear; the effect created is so intimate and hushed.

The Luyas move into a different direction on lead single “Tiny Head,” washing their entire sound in reverb. The guitars echo, the percussion trembles, and Stein’s Moodswinger finally comes into play. It’s an altogether different sound than you’ll ever hear, and as the vocals and zither dovetail in and out of each other’s phrases, you come to realize that this bizarre instrument is used as an extension of Stein’s voice and not another piece of accompaniment—the Moodswinger even taking center stage as the track gently fades into silence.

The second half of the album alternates between these two contrasting styles: “Canary,” “Spherical Mattress,” and “Seeing Things” submerging the band in their wash of reverb, while “Cold Canada,” “What Mercy Is,” and “I Need Mirrors” display their sense of intricate rhythm and catchy hooks. “I Need Mirrors” finds the band at their most playful and inventive, creating a modified-Bossa Nova rhythm as the foundation of the song, a tropical idea of a dance to enjoy even while your city is covered in snow and ice.

Even though the album began with the greatest sense of energy, by the end of Too Beautiful To Work, the group is seen at its warmest and most intimate on the closing track, “Seeing Things.” After a brief chorale employing a set of muted French horns, an oscillating figure in the guitar begins, and Stein and guest vocalist Pallett form an incredibly moving series of harmonies—never rushing any piece of the melody as the drums and horn try to interrupt their thoughts. Stein keeps the mood tranquil throughout, never allowing the group to attain the energy produced earlier in the album. Compared to the anthemic nature of their Canadian brethren, Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene, The Luyas overwhelmingly come across as atmospheric, intimate, and endearingly quirky—welcome qualities to display in a music scene already filled with a whole lot of pomp and circumstance.

12.11.10

by tunmer

Album Review: Girls – Broken Dreams Club EP

On the True Panther Sounds record label website, a love letter written by label member Christopher Owens is published. Owens and Chet “JR” White are the two California boys who make up Girls. The letter’s subject is you and me: the fans. His confession that without us, their fantastic new EP, Broken Dreams Club wouldn’t exist is oozing with sincerity and endearment to a surprising and delightful degree, for I fear we are the ones who should be thanking them.

It starts out with “Thee Oh So Protective One,” an almost loungey, luxurious cruise ship dance tune. It has the kind of sound meant to be played on or by water, begging for a steel drum to make a cameo, but Girls know better than to ham it up that far. In all seriousness, it’s a well dichotomized song with an easy, rich and full sound with brilliant, almost majestic trumpet incorporation but then sad and unfortunate lyrics: “He’ll never know about the times that you cried in the movies, never know about the times that you cried to the music” and insecure reflections: “I wonder if he’s impressed/Should I have worn the other dress?” This first track is also a great introduction to Owen’s classic vocal style, conjuring that of Burt Bacharach.

White’s bass skills really shine through on “Heartbreaker.” The bass drives the song and adds an extra level of cool to this already radical song. It’s full of charm from the groovy, playful vocals, expert bass, innocent and earnest piano, 80s electric guitar riffs to the light, twinkly tambourine. This well polished song exhibits professional production and a band who means serious business, as far as quality is concerned.

There’s a significant country influence on the title track and on fittingly titled “Carolina,” the former with a somber blues tone actually quite in line with Bright Eyes’ I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning. The muffled, raunchy horns add a nice ragtime jazz touch. “Carolina” is much more experimental but still carries the twangy, drawling, country guitar featured on “Broken Dreams Club.” “Carolina” is a delicious pop dish with booming lines delivered a capella, an oldies “do run run run do do run run” refrain in the background and trippy electronic effects.

“Substance,” if you couldn’t guess from the title, is about drugs: “If you want to shape your brain, I know a substance…that helps you rock and roll.” Ironically enough, it seems to be an anti-drug anthem mocking drug users and their absurd habits, and based on their West Coast, partially ex-hippie cult background (Owens hails from the Children of God cult – or movement – spawned during the 60s California drug phase), are probably mocking themselves: “You can do anything yeah, you can rock and roll outta control/Who wants something real when you could have nothing/Why not just give up, who wants to try.”

This record is buoyant, a little kitschy, and varying in styles. If you’re not already one of the addressees of Owens’ letter, listen o this EP immediately and find out what you’ll soon to be gushing over.

12.09.10

by mcirigliano2

Album Review: Teen Daze – Beach Dreams EP

Whether you call it Chill-wave, Beach Rock, or Surf Music, the influence of The Beach Boys continues to play a huge role in the world of Indie Rock. Not only do present day musicians have an incredible reverence for the tight harmonies and nostalgic feel of the era when The Beach Boys ruled the charts, Brian Wilson continues to provide a point of inspiration, as evidenced in his critically lauded 2004 album, Smile. In the time of a double-dip recession, government bailouts, global terrorism, and now the WikiLeaks meltdown, who can blame musicians for wanting to encapsulate a hazy and warm day at the beach into a four-minute pop song?

Teen Daze has done just that on his latest EP, Beach Dreams. A short collection of just four songs, spanning nearly 15 minutes in length, the Vancouver artist works to transport the listener out of his chilly December environment, making us long for the warm days of Summers past. The good news is that Teen Daze excels in creating this warm, sunny world—the bad news is that they don’t do it in a consistently interesting fashion.

Opening track “Let’s Fall Asleep Together” gets the album off to an animated start, using plenty of drums and bass to get the rhythm moving at an energetic speed. Vocal harmonies float above the motor, much like a surfer already in motion as they first come into view. The lyrics are precious, as the lead singer gently sings, “The sun was set in the sky, a fragment, a piece of a memory that you used to think about me.” A sense of nostalgia is woven right into the song itself; even as these characters are lying in the sun, their thoughts are turned to the past as well.

Unfortunately, the rest of the EP doesn’t always match the magic of the propulsive opening track. “Water” essentially captures the same rhythm as “Let’s Fall Asleep Together,” but the lyrics and harmonies above don’t have the same sense of sincerity involved. The amount of reverb applied to the vocals makes the fragmentary lyrics just that much harder to understand. “Cliff Jump Love Song” tries to resuscitate the energy, making more use of bright guitars and percussion. It’s a great effect, leaving the listener hoping there is a dance floor located somewhere close on the boardwalk. The closing title track does little to keep this momentum moving for the last minutes of the EP, once again using more languid and hazy material, which comes across with a certain level of sweetness, but without energetic interest.

Teen Daze is at his best when writing up-tempo numbers and these songs certainly make for the best use of points of inspiration he culled from the 1960s California rock scene. For only his second release, this artist is moving in the right direction, and growing as a songwriter. Only future music will be able to show whether or not Teen Daze can stand alongside groups like The Drums or The Shins when it comes to recreating the beach, even in the dead of winter.