album of the week: 10.4

Deerhoof
Breakup Song
(2012)

why you'll love it:  glitchy, spazzy fun.  As approachable as this band gets

why you'll hate it:  buncha silly nonsense,  can give headaches

If you've been reading this blog, and haven't just stumbled across this entry, you've probably heard of Deerhoof by now. They're either a band madly praised or vilified for their against-the-grain indie rock style.  Abrasive, chaotic, nauseatingly cute, or artsy for art's sake.  Very little of what Deerhoof does could be considered mainstream friendly; which is why it's weird that I find this album incredibly catchy from start to finish.

Breakup Song is basically a dance party album, only a party where nobody knows how to dance. It's janky and broken, but has this inviting tone that instantly lets you know it's all for fun.  Deerhoof's abrasiveness can sometimes be mistaken as a threatening rebellious statement, or laughable lack of talent.  There are a lot of layers to this release, and a lot more studio mojo than usual.  You can tell the songs have been practiced and refined, despite how wacky they sound.  Satomi Matsuzaki continues not to hide her heavy Japanese accent while singing, but this time stays away from the notes we all know she could never hit.  She comes off here sounding really good!  For the first time ever, I've found myself highly enjoying lyrics in a Deerhoof song.  There are some great lines here, for both their catchy delivery and striking mental imagery.

Because of these two factors, haters are going to have a much tougher time tearing down this release.  That doesn't mean Deerhoof have compromised anything.  Actually, it's a return back to the bewildering irreverent the songs from The Runners Four (2005) and Milk Man (2004) seemed to have.  I remember when Friend Opportunity (2007) was released, people made a big deal about how it was Deerhoof's big break, as far as exposure goes, writing catcher songs, softening the distortion, and having MUCH larger production scope.  If anything, Breakup Song is a more successful version of Friend Opportunity.  It's catchier.  It gets its point across better.  It also sounds much more like the fuzzy and gritty Deerhoof fans love, and less like a fish out of water.

I haven't said much about the songs themselves on this release.  They're short and sweet.  The whole album spans just under a half hour.  Every song comes as quickly as it goes, but leaves just a little something to remember it by.  Again, i love the studio effects they added here.  They distract from the talents of the band's rhythm section a bit, but it's a very original sound.  The electronics sound like those boombox toys from the 90s that had over-compressed hip-hop beats piping out of a cheap speaker.  

What I love most about this album his how amazingly strong it ends.  Think about some of your favorite albums, and how many of them have those first three or four songs that just kill you.  I think of Scream Dracula Scream by Rocket From The Crypt before anything.  The way those first few songs just steamroll you over…  

A cool thing about Breakup Song is the groove it works itself into with the LAST few songs (starting with the wacky salda-dance street party, "The Trouble With Candyhands"), with each one passing the baton to the next with no real time to breathe.  "We Do Parties" is the boom to "…Candyhands"'s fuse, and "Mario's Flaming Wiskers III" is the fuzzy aftermath.  In the last few moments of the track, there is an amazing transition into the closer-ballad, "Fête d'Adieu" (another song with great lyrics and perfect vocal delivery).  The way this album ends makes you just want to push play and start it all over again.

Breakup Song isn't a mind-opening masterpiece.  Definitely not a musically substantive as their last two albums.  It's a big dumb party.  But it knows its a big dumb party; and that confidence and execution makes this one of the most enjoyable albums of the year.

album of the week: 10.3

Jens Lekman
I Know What Love Isn't
(2012)

why you'll love it:  Clever love songs, nostalgic hi-quality sound

why you'll hate it:  Too melancholy, too simple

For the past ten years, I've found myself enjoying a lot of music I had previously considered unlistenable.  The toughest shell to crack has been "love songs".  In most cases they're insultingly shallow for the subject matter.  Vague overwrought catch phrases sung by people who you could hardly relate to.  Like the concept of love itself, I think most people want to embrace these songs in order to feel like a part of something, rather than be honest with themselves and the world.

Jens Lekman has managed to thread the needle and make honest, clever, and universally relatable love songs, like a select few before him.  He's got the down to earth layman vocabulary and awkward delivery of Jonathan Richman.  He uses humor and specific events told in a way so that it can remind you of a situation of your own, just like Dr. Frank.  All that is here, in Lekman's first album in 5 years.  He prefers sleeping on his arm until it becomes numb, and fooling himself into thinking it's someone else's.  He's constantly hard on himself and never shy to harp on uncharacteristic fits of anger or stupid life decisions.  You may not have specifically messed up a relationship to the point of her wishing you had simply cheated on her instead, or been beaten up over the phrase "get lost"; but Jens has an unbelievable talent to give you that "yeah, I've been there" feeling for so many of his songs. 

As great as it is to have more fantastic lyrics, the enthusiasm of this album is quite lacking.  A healthy dose of kitsch helped make his last album, Night Falls Over Kortedala all the more charming.  Even last year's An Argument With Myself EP had a lot more humor and joy to it.  In I Know What  Love Isn't, Lekman has a much more serious and somber tone, and some cleverness or silliness seems to shine through despite that; as if he doesn't know how to honestly put things any other way.  A lot of this album is thick with 70's / 80's cheese.  Almost like smooth jazz, not too far different from Desroyer's last album.

Night Falls on Kortedala's use of 50's Americana and a theater musical songwriting style enhanced great songs, and made the less interesting songs at the very least, still fun.  On this LP, the songs where Jens doesn't bring his his lyrical A-game are quite flat.  "I Want A Pair of Cowboy Boots" and "She Just Doesn't Want To Be With You" suffer the worst.  

Just like last week's album, I'm glad Jens is back and giving us more music; but this album did not live up to the expectations I had for it.  "The End of The World is Bigger Than Love" is the only song on here I would put alongside his best material from the past.  This guy is still a rare talent, but I think the stripped down and somber approach obscures what he has been capable of at full potential.  I'd still rather have a "so-so" Jens Lekman album, than an entire Jimmy Eat World discography, though.

album of the week: 10.2

Zazen Boys
Stories
(2012)

why you'll love it:  Incredible musical talent, delivery unlike most other bands

why you'll hate it:  Doesn't meet 4 year hype, second half falls flat

*UPDATE* - The version of this album I got has a totally different order of tracks.  So when I talk about "the second half" or "the last two songs" this won't exactly match up with the version you can buy on iTunes.  In fact, the new order of tracks break things up in such a way that the whole album comes off better.

In this internet age, four years is a long time to go without releasing new material.  The time Zazen Boys has spent out of Matsuri Studio has been close to that of the band's entire 4 LP existence before then.  Seeing that every Zazen Boys album before now has had wildly different styles, the anticipation of an album brewing for four years has been unbearable.  The result - something surprisingly familiar.

To describe the basics of this band's sound would take longer than I care to type, and also may require a brief look into the progression of Mukai Shutoku's previous band, Number Girl.  So here is what is in this new album:  A high percentage of traditional Japanese music brought into modern day (mostly found on their 2004 self-titled debut).  An even higher amount of jazz fusion, making the whole thing sound like the songs were created via various free-form studio sessions (a staple of 2006's Zazen Boys III).  High production, and a touch of synth work.  Not as thickly applied as in Zazen Boys 4 (2008); instead woven into the mix.

Barely present at all is the hip-hop, and pop embracing Zazen Boys II (2004).  As a result, the songs on Zazen Boys 5 Stories feel less like songs, and more like blueprints for songs.  There isn't much of a verse-chorus / arc-climax to these songs.  Just a hook or two, and everything is built around them and repeated until they decide to cut everything off and get to the next song.  

This doesn't become much of a problem until the second half of the album.  The first twenty minutes are solid gold.  The band is in top form, musically.  There is incredible fusion between the four musicians all obviously working on the same page. They stop and start on a dime.  Everything is synchronized perfectly note for note.  Of the first five tracks, "Sandpaperざらざら" is probably my favorite.  The way Mukai scats along as the beat gets more and more intense is invigorating.  This is a very restrained album, in both fury and gimmick.  "Sandpaper" is the only song on here that gets close to cutting loose.  

After "天狗" though, predictability begins to set in.  A few slower paced tracks only more clearly reveal that these songs aren't really gonna go anywhere.  Without a wild riff, it just sounds like the band is warming up their instruments rather than playing an actual song.  I never say things like this, but the final two songs on this album sound just a bit too Japanese for my tastes.  The drums are too repetitive, and the guitars sound like they are crying out in pain.  I totally get what they are doing in these songs, but I personally found them grating.

As someone who has been following this band for quite a while, I'm disappointed that this album isn't something completely new, and that the songs don't have a whole lot of meat on their bones.  I'm betting that in a live environment they will be fleshed out and thrive.  I didn't like songs like "Asobi" and "Riff Man" all that much until I saw them performed live, and was immediately converted.  

While this album did not meet my wild expectations, it is great to hear the band again.  Their art of controlled chaos is always an interesting listen.  I have to admit, when this album started with that pulse-quickening guitar riff and a familiar delivery of "繰り返される諸行は無常", my hype was in orbit, but fell back to Earth after a half hour.  Newcomers should find something alluring about this innovative and talented band, but those who have waited four years should lower their expectations.

album of the week: 10.1

Animal Collective
Centipede Hz
(2012)

why you'll love it:  The full band returns to the sound that got them recognized.

why you'll hate it:  Mostly boring songs, despite sounding so "weird"  

If you look for music on the internet, chances are high that you've come across Animal Collective.  If not the songs themselves, jokes and hyperbole about the the cult following and impact the group has had on the indie music community.  The psychedelic "freak-folk" outfit is the go-to reference when somebody wants to make a hipster joke.  This is one of those cases where the hype and backlash are both way off.  Animal Collective is simply a band with a unique style that leads them to create songs that sometimes feel like nothing else, or sometimes crash and burn terribly.

I always feel like I have to hold my nose before jumping into an Animal Collective album.  Not just to keep out all of the incessant hype and negativity from the outside world; but to push through all the effects and noise and get to what the songs really are.  When I first started listening to this band, I thought they were were a big waste of time.  Slowly, the psychedelic veil lifted away to reveal a classic humble 60's pop core.  Once I was able to grasp the hook, all the extraneous layers felt less like sludge and more like tasty icing.

When Animal Collective announced Centipede Hz earlier this year, I found myself for the first time really anticipating one of their releases.  I've cracked their code, and this new album promised to be less Merrweather Post Pavilion (their 2009 mainstream breakout album) and more Strawberry Jam (my favorite of theirs, from 2007).  An early taste of "Today's Supernatural" sent my expectations through the roof.  That is one of the best AC songs I have ever heard.  I literally went slack jawed when I first heard it.

It's always a shame when the single is the best song on an album.

Maybe it's because I'm seeing things form the inside now, but I don't find most of Centipede Hz all that crazy, or catchy; instead  predictable and weak.  "Rosie oh" sucks all of the energy built up in the first two songs.  "Pulleys" is another shrug of a song that goes in circles.  Pretty much, the entire middle of this album is a slump, beginning with "Wide Eyed" and not waking back up until the second best song on the album, "Monkey Riches".

I feel a bit burned by the promise of a totally insane album, and instead getting tepid melodies with a whole lot of "wacky" effects thrown on top.  I'd be happier if the album went in one direction or the other, instead of wallowing in the middle.  "Applesauce" is a great example of how they do a pop song well.  I love the swirling rhythm of the chorus, and the general childish wonder the song exudes.  Some other songs worth mentioning are "Mercury Man" (with its super-fast sequenced backing beat) and, "Amanita" (which, as far as closers go… not so great.  Especially compared to songs like "Turn Into Something" and "Brother Sport").  

Honestly, there isn't much more going on here, as much as their crazy sound effects and reputation would lead you to believe.  It turns out Centipede Hz is just another Animal Collective album that I only like 6 or 7 songs off of.  After so many years of just having songs I like of theirs on my iPod, not full albums, I was forced to remember - "oh right, they have…  like -  a dozen songs on every album, and i NEVER enjoy most of them."

teaser

October begins just when I'm starting to dig into September releases here.  There were a lot.  Enough to last me the next two months.  But I probably won't do them all.  Here is a sample of what the next few weeks are going to be...

Best of September 2012 from roomrunner on 8tracks Radio.