album of the week: 5.5

!!!
THR!!!ER
(2013)

why you'll love it:  perfect summer album.  can be enjoyed almost anywhere
why you'll hate it:  Not as cutting-edge as previous albums 

Too cool for words.   Literally.

!!! has been making indie dance disco punk for over ten years, with varying degrees of success.  Their first two albums contain just as much groove as spitfire.  "Pardon My Freedom" and "Intensify" are two of my favorite raucous dance songs ever.  They're one of the few bands that hasn't lost a step or harbored any ill-will as they gained popularity and drifted away from an agressive lyrical style.  2007's Myth Takes is both their most commercially successful release, and the general fan favorite.  Strange Weather, Isn't it? (2010)  saw the band at a bit of a creative block, but the album was a grower.

THR!!!ER sees the band falling back on a more traditional dance club groove.  There are a lot more in studio effects on this album, and more focus on just letting a rhythm breathe and play out.  "One Girl / One Boy" may be !!!'s most cliche disco song, but becoming one of my favorites.  If anything, THR!!!ER is proving that !!! doesn't need a creative gimmick, or to do anything in a drastically different way to stand out.  Their ability to craft a cool, groovy, and memorable song is seemingly natural.

The DJ mix style of "Slyd" is a standout.  "Californiyeah" is sure to be the new live crowd pleaser.  "Except Death" is the perfect summer house party / BBQ song.  Even songs that don't have some grand hook to them, like "Get That Rhythm Right" and "Careful" are smooth and enjoyable to serve as breathers between big hits.  It doesn't really seem to matter that the only song that sounds like their previous high-engery albums if the closer, "Meet Me At The Station".    

Nine songs at 40 minutes is a great length for this album.  They could have even gotten away with only 8 songs, and this would still be 2013's best summer album, no doubt.

album of the week: 5.4

Laura Stevenson
Wheel
(2013)

why you'll love it: Incredible vocal and songwriting talent, country that isn't kitschy

why you'll hate it:  Loss of that naive relatable feeling

Maturity is a term slung around way too often when critically looking at music.  A lot of people use it as an excuse to justify change.  When a dumb young band finally stops writing sophomoric joke songs, it's heralded as maturity; but usually the songs are hammy and short-sighted.  Laura Stevenson has seemed to embody a truer definition of maturity.  The tone and confidence of her vocals have strengthened.  The songwriting on Wheel has more care for layered melody, and more complicated and evocative wordplay.

No longer referring to her backup band as "The Cans" is a good move, as Wheel feels less like "that cute quirky New Yorker girl obsessed with country" and more like a poised next generation country and blues star.  If not for her fish-out-of-water upbringing  and obscurity in a record label otherwise known for its DIY punk, Stevenson would be seen in a very different light.  She resonates with me more than Neko Case and Cat Power ever have; but since she doesn't come from the scene that turns people like her into a big deal, she's known as punk-rock's lovable outsider.

In case that ever changes, why not start listening to her now, eh?  Wheel fluctuates between delicate, powerful, fun, and emotional tones with professional ease.  As much as I loved the more cuddly and carefree approach of her first two LPs, hearing something that sounds "all grown up" feels very good as well.  Hopefully she gets the attention she deserves soon.

album of the week: 5.3

the telephones
Laugh, Cry, Sing... And Dance!!!
(2013)

why you'lll love it:  possibly the most fun album of 2013
why you'll hate it:  silly enough to embarrass you in public



Ever take on something ironically, and it eventually becomes part of your everyday life?  My friends started overzealously referring to pizza as "za", and over time, that's just what its called now.  There is no joke.  "za at 8?"  "OK"  Conversation over.

This is what the telephones has become.  What started as "I'm just going to keep these mp3s around to use at the right time, because its ridiculous." has blossomed into legit anticipation for the latest release.  And full credit goes to these guys.  I didn't just warm over to their Engrish soaked spazzy dance rock, relabeled as disco.  They constantly tuned their sound over the years, from album to album.  Sometimes crazy, sometimes wholesome, never entirely serious, and always struggling to stay fresh and fun.  I was strung along the whole way - rolled my eyes at first, later coming back to see when it will all go wrong; and now I'm fully in the congregation.

I didn't discover any kind of hidden genius about the band.  It's more of a revelation that these guys were never accidentally good. They're a talented band, utilizing the tricky art and talent of "dumb".  And I mean dumb in a good way.  Dumb like a Saints Row trailer.  Dumb like flushing a pie down the toilet.  Dumb like lampooning cheesy lo-budget 90 Japanese TV.  

There are lots of hi-energy rock songs in the first half of the album.  The Anamanaguchi like speed metal intro, "Congratulations!!!" is one of my favorites.  I also like the more synth heavy dance numbers; which are just as over the top in their own way as the punk songs.  "It's Alright To Dance" has such a stupid mid-90's rap-in-a-can bridge, only their "do anything, as long as it's fun" attitude lets them get away with it.

"DE.N.W.A" seems a bit too old to be included in the album, but damn if that isn't one of their best songs.  The only complaint I have about this album is the final track, "March For Peace".  With all the fun little tweaks they've made to their formula, the final track being this long ballad with a rising drums and crowd vocals is a bit too habitual for them.  "Four Guys From Saitama City" would have been a better closer, for its charm and inclusion of the whole band on vocals.

So yeah, I'm just outright saying it now.  the telephones is a great band! No excuses.  They do dumb right.

album of the week: 5.2

Tera Melos
X'ed Out
(2013)

why you'll love it: A little structure and motif for the math-rock formula
why you'll hate it:  odd mix of levels bound to give headaches

April Mixtape!

New songs of April from roomrunner on 8tracks Radio.

album of the week: 5.1

The Thermals
Desperate Ground
(2013)

why you'll love it: high energy punk rock anthems done right
why you'll hate it:  Terrible production, too short, little variation in tone


And now for something on the opposite side of the spectrum.  The Knife's latest release was a complicated piece of work.  So as a palette cleanser, we have a traditionally simple band doing their most straightforward album yet.  What The Thermals seemingly lack in is what also gives them their charm.  Unashamed and honest pop-punk. Only their noisy debut, More Parts Per Million (2003), was a hard to swallow.  Each release since then has become cleaner, catchier, and (in my opinion) more clever.  Their last three albums have been concept albums, and well written ones at that.

With Desperate Ground, they may have over-simplified even their own standards.  Off the bat, the most striking trait is dingy production.  If the lo-fi tone of their first two albums was what they were going for, they fucked up, because the whole album has an awfully muddy mix.  Kathy Foster usually provides some very memorable bass lines to a Thermals release, but is completely buried in the mix here.  Hutch sounds like he's singing underwater, and the drums sound paper thin.  The production isn't a deal breaker for me, as I see The Thermals as a DIY "We'll play anywhere on any PA" simple garage band; but it is excuse enough to just drop this album entirely.  It really does sound that poor.

As for the content itself; this is the most energized I've heard the Thermals since they were on Sub Pop Records in the early 2000s.  A lot of power surges through this cheap recording equipment.  The cassette tape like production masks a lot of professionalism, but not their talent to write a fun, fast, and catchy song.  The first three tracks are a good running start to this album.  Unfortunately, their simplistic nature and paper thin concept leaves them running out of gas, even with the whole affair lasting 26 minutes.

The title track itself says everything the album has to say.  "Born To Kill".  Desperate Ground is a look into the mind of a mentally unhinged solider.  Programmed from childhood, indoctrinated by his country, or in a maddening state of PTSD?  I'm not sure, but the concept is so simple and nebulous, that the following nine tracks only serve to describe the same exact character.  They only concoct more synonyms, rather than build on the character or tell a story with him.  Then again, the ambiguity, and absence of a hammy political message somehow makes the atmosphere feel natural and pure.  

It's cool that The Thermals are so committed to concept albums, but this one feels unfinished, on just about every factor.  It's a shame, because some of these songs do kick ass.  This is a Bad Boys 2 sized action movie on the budget of The Toxic Avenger.   All of it's bright points are quickly undercut by poor production, and a concept that overstays its welcome.  I'm still really excited to see them live later this month, including these songs.  It's just, as an album, this is poorly produced, light on ideas, and fairly unremarkable.  

album of the week: 4.4

The Knife
Shaking The Habitual
(2013)

why you'll love it:  progressive and stimulating art from a truly weird place
why you'll hate it:  Lots of "not music" tracks.

This is the hardest album of the year for me to review for a few reasons.  

A) it's an insanely hyped overdue release.  I didn't start listening to The Knife until after the bloom of their last album (the "AOTY OMG Saviors of music!" 2006 release, Silent Shout) had subsided.  Since 2007, I've ingested all of the sweet and tangy synths of The Knife.  All of Karin Dreijer's alluring strange accent, and all the studio magic her and her brother provide to create a musical experience that exists out of time and space.  The kind of music just too weird to be boxed in as from a certain era or culture.  The Knife is awesome, and 7 years builds up a lot of expectation.  During that time, I had also taken in Karin's solo effort, Fever Ray; and the siblings' previous band, Honey is Cool.  I am ready for the next Knife release, and ready for it to take over the world.  That kind of thinking can only set you up for disappointment…

B)  The Knife has slowly developed a political agenda over the years, which is just fine, until it gets to the point that it seems more like "radicalism as a fashion" more than a fair and logical solution to society's problems.  I've seen a lot of bands fall off my radar, because after a while, it felt like politics were just becoming a hook, or gimmick.  That, or it turns out they were a bunch of knucleheads clinging to a pointless sensational fantasy of revolution.  I don't want The Knife to become that kind of a band, so I won't be digging into lyrics all that much here.  Also I'm not privy to many of the modern hot button issues in Sweden.

C) Art.  Even more than Silent Shout, Shaking The Habitual feels like an art exhibit rather than a collection of songs.  Again, I'm cool with this to a point.  Part of what draws me to this band are just how weird the songs can get.  And the first half of this double LP is tasty-weird.  "Full of Fire" drills into your brain, and continues to twist until the very end, right when its about to get flat-out scary.  Amazing vocal effects on "Without You My Life Would Be Boring" makes that probably my favorite song on the album.

Being a double-LP gives them a lot of room; and my standard remains "30 mins of good music is all I ask from an album."  Shaking The Habitual gives you your 30 minutes, but does what it wants for the other 60, and what it does for those 60 may straight up aggravate many listeners.  We're talking about multiple 10 -20 minutes tracks that are NOTHING but synthesized echoes and whooshes.  Again, no big deal to me, I got what I paid for already; but ambient tracks this seemingly devoid of anything interesting or thought provoking could make The Knife into the next Mars Volta, if they happen to catch the wrong kind of attention.

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So, forgiving all of that, what is left?  A few really good songs, and a lot of fluff.  Even with the ambient tracks thrown out, some of that style goops itself onto songs like "A Cherry on Top" and "Raging Lung" and really drags them down.  Sad to say, this isn't the insanity revolution i was expecting from The Knife, but they certainly meet their own personal goals.  It's an original and challenging sound.  Even the songiest of songs will freak out a casual listener.  They manage to set themselves apart from who they previously were yet again.  While Shaking The Habitual seems like the next logical step for the duo, it is not simply Silent Shout: part 2.  The electronics are sharper, more grating, and searing than they've ever been.  The percussion is amazing.  The drums and other outside percussion & woodwind sounds give the album a natural "from the earth" feel, at times; which is quite a feat for a production that is (for all I know) completely synthesized.  

Listen to this album.  Maybe it's what you've always been looking for.  Maybe you'll enjoy getting lost in it, like I did with WIXIW.  Maybe you'll just pick apart the 6-8 songs on it you like, and toss the rest.  Maybe you'll scream "pretentious!" and hate it.  No matter what, The Knife doesn't make your every day kind of music, and you gotta hear it for yourself to get a real grasp of it.