album of the week: 10.5

The Nighty Nite

Dimples

(2011)

why you'll love it: The Paper Chase returns

why you'll hate it: still a one-trick pony sound that some may find corny

I've been saving this one for a few months just for today. The Nighty Nite is the reanimated corpse of the now-defunct Kill Rock Stars horror rock band, The Paper Chase. Frontman of both bands, John Congleton admits "I only know how to write one kind of song", so this Is basically more of The Paper Chase.

Just like The Paper Chase, simplifying the kind of songs John Congleton writes into a snappy phrase like "horror rock" does not do justice. The songs aren't as hackneyed as one might assume. There is a very cool dirty distorted Drive Like Jehu style of rock. The production is sharp and layered. Congleton's style isn't trick or treating, zombies, and plastic bats. It's Jonestown, and The Overlook Hotel.

Being only a 4-song EP, there isn't a whole lot of depth to this. I'd even bet money that John had written these songs with The Paper Chase. This is just a statement of "not dead yet!" The individual songs are good, except for the closer, "Meaningless", which just comes off to me as too catchy and simple. Congleton's songs play out better when discordant and building up to a sledgehammer smash, just like "In My Hospital Gown". "Dimes in Their Dimples" is a thunderous opening, with some great supportive instruments going on. "This Silly Bag" feels more like an extended interlude, but with the best line on the EP - "Do you think about my body? Cause I don't think about your soul."

If you're sick of "The Monster Mash" passing as applicable Halloween music, check this out tonight. Also, listen to The Paper Chase, because the lack of attention they got is more tragic than any of their songs.

happy halloween (part 1)

album of the week: 10.4

Cymbals Eat Guitars

Lenses Alien

(2011)

why you'll love it: big sound, lots of guitar

why you'll hate it: annoying vocals, no where near as eclectic as the last album

I'm trying to figure out how to frame the second album by Cymbals Eat Guitars. It's not exactly a disappointment, because I wasn't so awestruck by their debut, Why There Are Mountains (2009). The band has certainly lost something along the way to this release, and that seems to be a subtle unpredictability. I think what kept me coming back to Why There Are Mountains was how contradictory it was track to track. I little bit of shredding here, some ballads there, and brief fits of surf rock and experimentation in between. It was constantly deifying what kind of label I tried to pin on them. Lenses Alien is much more streamlined, and focused on their less interesting habits.

The first thing I realized about this album was how different the vocals feel. They're not only more prominent, but delivered with a constant emo whine. The delivery is quite annoying as well. Joe D'Agostino sings as if almost every line is more important than the last. His swells have absolutely no rhythm or point. None of the lyrics pop out as anything that grabbed me, so I just found it even more annoying that they were being forced out there as if they were poetic genius. I had to check and see if they got a new singer, because I was not getting this vibe off their last album at all.

Musically, there is some decent indie rock fiddling going on here, but much less variation. The first song has a few epic moments, and there is an impressive melody littered here and there through the rest of the album. The vocals and other emo tropes constantly get in the way of whatever good thing they start to get going. Also, these are only moments, which don't really justify the entire song. The only song I can say I enjoy start to finish is "Keep Me Waiting" which is an unapologetic Sonic Youth rip off.

This is honest indie rock. No catch phrases or gimmicks. There is definitely something here for someone to get into. It's got a lot of spirit, but I just can't get into the execution of it one bit. I'm not sure how fans of the previous album have welcomed this release. Maybe I was seeing something in their debut that was never really there, or something nobody else really cared about. Regardless, whatever that was isn't here anymore.

posting a Ricky Gervais Show compilation just because.

album of the week: 10.3

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Mirror Traffic

(2011)

why you'll love it - Old-school Malkmus songwriting, relaxed but also wacky

why you'll hate it - Does not live up to the artists' reputation, or represent The Jicks all that well

If expectations are the bar, Mirror Traffic is tragically disappointing album. One of this generation's more irreverently brilliant songwriters (Stephen Malkmus) teaming up with pretty much the most eclectic and unpredictable musician ever (Beck) on production. Smells like a landmark indie release is cooking. Instead we're left with just a good album. Thanks a lot, jerks!

The Malkmus we get for this, the 5th Jicks album, is quite retro. It's the quirkiest he's been since his time with Pavement. There are a lot of good lines in this album that turn cliches up on their heads, hurl needless double-negatives, or give the most blunt anecdote possible. All in the name of good fun, of course. His delivery, along with this album's jovial tone, sounds more like They Might Be Giants than any pretentious stereotypes that tend to follow a band like this.

You never know what Beck is going to show up, even on his own albums. The last Jicks release, Real Emotional Trash (2008) had some very long songs, with epic guitar solos. Face The Truth (2005) had a fair amount of studio effects and synthesizers. The Jicks have done some things that are in Beck's wheelhouse of weirdness. Surprisingly, the songs in Mirror Traffic, are much simpler than what The Jicks have been known for, so there isn't a whole lot for Beck to work with. Moments of very bold acoustics are when I tend to feel his presence the most. The acoustics in "Stick Figures in Love" really pop like some songs in his breakthrough album, Odelay (1996). "No One is" feels like a cut from Sea Change (2002).

Once I got past the annoyance that this album wasn't the odd-splosion that I hoped it would be, I enjoyed what it does have to offer. Just some fun little songs. The single "Senator" isn't the best example of the album overall. Most of the songs are a bit slower than that one, but still just as lyrically silly. I was reminded more of Pavement's Wowee-Zowee (1995) than any previous Jicks album. Some filler, only a couple cult hit songs, but mostly normal mid-tempo indie pop songs with a subversive twist in the lyrics and melodies.

not dead yet

check out this announcement on Sterogum about the upcoming "extended hiatus" of Parts & Labor.

It comes with a free unreleased song, which is better than anything featured on their latest, and probably last album, Constant Future.

album of the week: 10.2

Säkert!

På Engelska

(2011)

why you'll love it: Some of 2010's sweetest pop songs, now in English!

why you'll hate it: they're just remakes / they're just love songs

Contrary to what this blog usually implies, not all great pop music in Sweden is on Labrador Records. The cheerfully heartbroken Annika Norlin, is probably the best songwriter around those parts not to be swept up by the label. Her 2005 debut, under the moniker Hello Saferide, was the perfect mix of relatable social anxiety, and humorously exaggerated social insanity. 2008's follow up LP took too much of depressing turn for my liking, but I was keen on her newly formed Swedish speaking project, Säkert!

Säkert! is a bit more serious and ambitious instrumentally (with only a few incredibly catchy pop songs). Her melancholy side fits better here than Hello Saferide. If you prefer the Swedish language to save you from even more modern short stories (pun intended), you might want to dial back a year and check out 2010's Facit instead. Facit slipped under my radar last year, and is retroactively one of my favorites of 2010. This is sort of a make-up review for missing it, as På Engelska is mostly an English translation of that album (+ a few from the Säkert! debut and a couple that seem new).

In any language, Annika has a knack to craft together a real enjoyable song, but for the few of you that must know what the singer is saying at all times, this is something to finally get into this band with. She claims that the lyrics are not re-written, but rather a direct translation, resulting in some enjoyably awkward grammatical hitches. I haven't picked any of those up. The lyrics made perfect sense to me. Sometimes they are a bit too hopelessly romantic for my taste, but I always enjoy her unique perspective, and the band always finds the right tone to match.

Nothing earth-shattering here. If love songs make you gag, then this won't change your mind. Fans of Annika Norlin probably won't get any more of an appreciation for her than they already had, and will probably prefer the songs as they originally were. This album is basically an English welcome mat for Säkert!

"thanks, nerds!"

I've sung the praises of the Penny Arcade/PVP Dungeons & Dragons podcast before. No more excuses. You either get it or you don't.

This year's one (recorded about 5 or 6 weeks ago) can be watched and/or heard here.

album of the week: 10.1

Bomb The Music Industry!

Vacation

(2011)

why you'll love it: smart lyrics, fun tunes, surprising amount of effort for its genre

why you'll hate it: out of tune everyman voice, old school fans will riot w/out the ska

I gotta admit, last week's Big D album really bummed me out. It left me thinking "Have I become too stuck up; too dismissive of music from my formative years?" My answer to that is: Bomb The Music Industry!'s Vacation is my favorite album of 2011!

BTMI! crawled out of the NOFX style skate-punk sludge that even as a teenager struck me as nothing more than a guilty pleasure. It's knuckle-headed, childish, beer swilling party rock; but in this case, with a secret weapon - cynicism. Jeff Rosenstock writes brilliant jaded criticisms of himself, the current state of music, and the hypocritical punk rock scene.

Last year, Jeff's often depressing lyrics weighed down a bit too much on the juxtaposing ska-punk soundtrack. Vacation feels like a defiant rebuttal to that last EP, not only in lyrics ("Sorrow won't answer problems") but the overall tone of the album - a surf rock beach party. Without retreat from soul-crushing depression, this time they're quick to retort with a balanced lyric, or presenting the whole song with a wink as if to say "oh the-fuck-well, that's life". Problems are identified and labeled in clever ways that both address reality, and twist a positive angle.

Aside from writing better songs than ever, there are some new and innovative things BTMI! is doing. Zero ska. None. It's for the most part enjoyably cheesy Beach Boys style melodies strewn through the Fat Wreck pop-punk filter. My favorite song on here is probably "Hurricane Waves", which starts off like a retro beach party song, and slowly devolves into rousing and depressing drinking ballad.

Also, there is a lot more actual singing on this album. No ranting at 100MPH. Scrambles (2009) had a lot of great sounding rants, where if you were able to catch a line or two, were usually funny and clever. Here, all that cleverness is laid out in the open, and proves the lyrics were never just hiding behind a gimmick. The intro, "Campaign For A Better Weekend" is a soft and simple story about a good day ruined. It's the perfect example of how I find Jeff's lyrics to be so relatable. I've never crashed my bike in a busy city intersection, but am on the same wavelength in the way he comments on the details. Summing up the whole ordeal with "guess I shouldn't have worn shorts" is a simple way to evoke everything you need to know about the kind of character you are dealing with this entire album.

I've got to complement how great the production and track listing is as well. There are little musical interludes between a few songs. There is a proper intro, a grand three part finale, songs that reference one another… This is an ALBUM. I find it very hard to tear one song from the next, because they all gel so well. "Savers" is the only track on this album I'm not crazy about, and would never think of cutting it because it segues so well into the next track.

On top of having a unique sound, great lyrics, appropriate production, and a strong presentation, this album is hells of fun! Every song is catchy, despite how glum things may get. I love the little "woo loololl whaololoo" sing along with the guitar solo bits they do in a couple songs. The album is thematically about being a mess, but it's meant to have a good time to, and succeeds. It's October, and I'm still blasting this in my car after work; so it has passed the "oh, it's just a summer album" test.

And finally, I've got to reiterate that BTMI! is a free-to-enjoy internet band. Just go to their website and download all their albums for free (or show your appreciation, and buy one). So yeah… this messy little punk band put out what's probably my favorite album of year. What of it?!

happy fall!

My allergies are killing me, and I've got the hockey itch. It must be fall!

Here is a mix of songs from the past two months to accompany your transformation from t-shirt rock to hoodie rock.