"devil's rock-n-roll law" (The Birthday - Blood And Love Circus)

The Birthday
Blood And Love Circus

why you'll love it: the best loud dumb rock and roll album of 2015

why you'll hate it: Some cheesy lyrics, nothing ambitious

I've got a new tagline for The Birthday: Best middle-eight in the business!  They've shown the knack to turn me around on a song before.  My favorite album of theirs (2010's Star Blows) opens up with frontman, Chiba Yusuke, screaming "I'VE GOT A FREE STONE, YEAH".  It's a cringey line, but after 5 minutes, you may find yourself singing along to one of the silliest choruses in rock n roll.  That's the power The Birthday wields, and it's used to great effect on their latest album, Blood And Love Circus.

Most of The Birthday's latest batch of songs aren't "saved" by an incredible guitar solo and bridge.  They're already good songs, catapulted into the upper stratosphere.  The solo and proceeding breakdown of "I Know" is pretty much my favorite rock moment of 2015.  "Twenty Four"'s moment of surf-thrash is a close second.  "Door", "Sombrerose", and "Billy Black" mutate their final verses into fist-raising powerhouses.

The only two songs that need to overcome Chiba Yusuke's now typical odd use of Western slang are "Rock Your Animal" and "Love Shot".  "Rock Your Animal"  comes off as the kind of song that may depend on your blood alcohol content.  It has a traditional addictive western garage rock riff, but lyrics that are dumb as mud.  "Love Shot" is saved by the best damn middle-eight in the business (this branding is a work in progress).  If you can hang with it for 2 minutes, you'll be rewarded with the swinging beat morphing into a whirling dervish.

With a few weird English lines expected, the only real drawback I can assign to The Birthday's 8th album is that it finds them playing it safe.  No song comes close to any of their bigger, wilder, or more melodically experimental moments in the past.  I'd probably harp on this more if this wasn't a comeback album of sorts.  Last year's Come Together is the only significant blemish in their discography.  It was mostly brutish and messy.  Their mojo is 95% back on this latest LP.  That other 5% goes to the the quick and dirty track, "Shan Shan".  It has that "needless b-side" feeling to it, as most of Come Together had.

The most experimentation heard on this album is very subtle, and probably coincidental.  It's a little bit of psychobilly influence.  There is a carnival sideshow like rhythm to "Love Shot" and "FullbodyのBlood".  Probably the best use of this influence is the guitar effects used in "Mother".  How do I explain this sound?  You've heard it before.  You know in like 70's detective tv shows/movies, when there is a car chase, and it has that "wakka-chu wakka-chu" guitar sound?  Don't look at me like that, just nod!  yeah, that! Anyway, it helps make "Mother" one of the best songs on here, contested by "I Know".  It's a shame the two early singles are the best songs on the album, but this is an addictive one.  It's got consistency and ability to deliver an unfiltered wild rock and roll in a year where there is little of that to be found.  I may just be high on The Birthday finding their groove again, but Blood And Love Circus is muscling its way into my very competitive top ten of 2015.

"acting so sedated" (!!! - As if)

!!!
As if

Why you'll love it: Non-stop dance party
Why You'll hate it: repetitive, low energy

It's easy for our generation to get way too critical.  I mean, even all this pointless writing I do ends up creating a persuasion in my brain as to what I think some music should be.  If a band strays from that description or anticipation I wrote of them, I may not be as easy to accept when they act otherwise.  It's so easy to consume music these days, and to fall into your little comfort zone, with everything you want at your disposal.  If something doesn't gel right away, it's their problem, because you're just two clicks away from what you know you like.  !!! has managed to get me to stop worrying and just enjoy what they do.

Of course I can't just stop there.  I've got some not so great things to say about their 6th album, As if. That doesn't keep me from enjoying almost all of it, though.  Even at its lowest points, As if has me silently bobbing my head.  THR!!!ER was one of my favorite albums of 2013, so I was hoping their follow up would have me up out of my chair.  Aside from being the two best songs, the early singles, "Bam City" and "Freedom! '15" have rude and spiteful lyrics that led me to believe they were getting their early days swag back.  There is a bit more snark to be found on As if (such as lying about never being to Rio or Spain in "Every Little Bit Counts".  Trolled by Nic Offer again!!), but not enough as I had hoped.  How can I be disappointed though, when the beats on "Ooo" and "Til The Money Runs Out" are so good?

!!! can still write a bad-ass disco song.  The only real problem with As If is that it feels a bit light.  The low-end pitch shifted voice is not all that interesting, and using it to book-end the album dampens initial and final impressions.  !!! plays with the dials a little bit too much on this offering.  "Slyd" sounded great on the last album, but I don't want to hear half a dozen of them.  The instrumentals are groovy, but kill the energy of its surrounding tracks.  A lot of songs on here like "Sick Ass Moon" and "Funk" feel like remix versions of unreleased superior songs.

As If fell quite short of my expectations.  Again, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it.  It may grow on me.  Strange Weather, Isn't It? sure has over the last five years.  Dismissals are easy.  Skipping to the next song is easy.  They're hard habits to break, but !!! is helping me relocate my chill.  I hoped As If was going to knock my socks off.  They're still on my feet, but propped up on the table swaying to the beat, and that's pretty damn good too.

-... . . .--. (Battles - La Di Da Di)

Battles
La Di Da Di

why you'll love it: What it would sound like if cyborgs made music

why you'll hate it: Lacks the beloved gimmicks of their previous releases

Sometimes, we don't know what we want.  When most people talk about a band like Battles, we tend to build upon that "math-rock" moniker.  We talk about their complicated layerings and precise instrumentation.  We talk about how their sound is appreciated on more levels than just a catchy beat.  Here is a casually brushed away truth about the last two Battles albums... they're pretty damn catchy.  So much that when Battles delivers an unfiltered application of what we say the band is all about, we realize how important those pop sensibilities were.

La Di Da Di sounds like what should have been Battles' debut LP.  When Battles first surfaced in the early 2000s, they released two EPs of straightforward instrumentals.  I remember how initially disgusted some fans were when their first full-length featured vocals (fed through a pitch shifter).  In their follow up, Battles lost the voice and creative mind behind those vocals, and instead recruited guest vocalists.  Those vocal contributions led to an even more pop-structured compositions.  Despite getting closer and closer to a pop band with every release, Battles fans still consider "tight musicianship" to be the band's MO.

Every Battles album has been a curveball.  On this one, the band throws away all gimmicks, and puts their reputation on the line as an intriguing math-rock trio.  Battles plays with slowly manipulated loops.  Their process, well documented, seems like a complete logistical nightmare.  As they always have, La Di Da Di proves that Battles are tight and impressive performers.  Sadly, this album comes ten years too late for their career.  The pop experimentation on Mirrored and Gloss Drop just feels more substantial than what's on La Di Da Di.  It's like something is missing from these sessions.   Especially when some of the tracks rely too heavily on the same rhythm, and don't really transform enough to sustain more than three minutes.  Others fail to build to a satisfying climax.  Only "The Yabba" and "Luu Le" seem to make a real impression, while everything else in between comes off as Battles "just messin around".

That's a tough criticism to have because, I know it's untrue if you take the time to really investigate and pick these songs apart.   It's hard to build a case against that glib remark when songs like "Tricentennial" and "Megatouch" are literally that irritating to listen to.  The second half of the album  physically gives me a headache because of the high-end soundscape they use.  A lot of tracks throughout feel incomplete.  Some like "Dot Com" and "Summer Simmer" are quite good, but would otherwise be cool down or transitionary tracks on the previous releases.

It sounds like I'm really dragging this album through the mud.  i should reiterate that the band's talented performance still shines through.  While John Stanier doesn't have as many opportunities to really shine, his drumming is still impossibly precise as ever.  La Di Da Di is much more of a band effort this time out, with no one really getting their solo stuff in.  There is still at least a good 30 minutes of good music here; but even if the album were just six really good songs, it still would have felt shallow.  There is no "Atlas" to be found here.  No "Ice Cream".  Just a bunch of "Futura"s.  "Futura" was a great song on Gloss Drop!  If you're in a certain mindset, you could argue it was the best track on Gloss Drop!  Sadly, what La Di Da Di proves more than anything is that an album of just "Futura"s isn't going to cut it for where they are right now.  That ship has sailed.

"like a pop song" (Ben Folds - So There)

Ben Folds
So There

Why you'll love it: Excellent composition, strong songwriting

why you'll hate it: Lacks impact, and diversity

Over the last decade, "Ben Folds': the personality" has become more revered to me than his actual output.  It's been a decade since the guy has put out an album that I really love from top to bottom; and almost double that since the heyday of Ben Folds Five.  Yet I still look forward to new Ben Folds material.  I still make sure to catch when he appears on TV or streams a concert; and it's not because of how good those old songs are.  He is a unique, clever, humble, and oddball personality in pop culture.

The biggest problem with Ben Folds' songwriting over the last ten years has been struggling with connecting to his audience from his position of fame and success.  Ben Folds' career has been not so unlike Rivers Cuomo.  Some nobody misfit manages to become the voice of a culture.  In doing so, he is driven away from that culture, and loses  his muse.  Where their paths diverge is that Folds retained his humility and snark.  In Way To Normal (2010) he stayed true to himself and "wrote what he knew", for better or worse.  It resulted in an honest effort, but the world Ben lives in now is just no longer relatable to that original audience.  When Ben Folds Five reunited, he tried to recapture that misfit charm, and just couldn't relate to that world anymore.

So There pretty much entirely dodges those trappings.  Ben writes about relationships, psychological shortcomings, and humiliating fits of temper that manage to bridge that class/success gap.  The closest-to-home song, "Yes Man" manages to invite the listener into his world by admitting an odd positive to that "nobody misfit" life - it keeps you in check.  It reminds you of what you need to overcome.  "Capable of Anything" is probably the best song on here, because of it's wordplay, and the very relatable subject matter of rejecting phony generic "inspirational catch phrases".

Of course, what makes "Capable of Anything" (and the rest of So There) such a joy to listen to is the orchestral ensemble, yMusic, that subtly accompanies Ben Folds.  He could have piped in the orchestra much louder, and used it as gimmick; and even if it was, it still would have sounded cool.  Instead, yMusic mildly peppers his songs.  Oddly enough, the loudest song on here is the juvenile "F10-D-A".  Ben himself admits it's a dumb joke song, and I like it.  I think it's cute and harmless, but can understand it turning off some people; especially on an album so short.  If you don't count the "Concerto For Piano And Orchestra" three moment piece with the Nashville Symphony that closes the album, you're only dealing with a half hour and only 8 songs of new Ben Folds material.

As a fan of short albums, and considering Ben Folds' past couple offerings, I'm happy that this album concluded before he started to lose focus.  So There has little impact, but the most substance and genuine charm from Ben Folds in ages.  I'd much rather listen to him age gracefully than try to write "Song For The Dumped" yet again.