album of the week: 11.1

Laura Stevenson And The Cans

Sit Resist

(2011)

why you'll love it: Very lovable and relatable songwriting

why you'll hate it: a bit one dimensional

The rest of the year looks pretty dead for new releases. The last thing to come out that caught my ear was a Jens Lekman EP in September (forthcoming), and the only thing I see on the horizon is a Mighty Mighty Bosstones album in December (which probably won't be that good). So the rest of this month, I think I'll be doing some great stuff that I passed over in the first six months of '11.

Most impressive of my findings has been the sophomore release by Laura Stevenson And The Cans, Sit Resist. So much, that I feel guilty for ignoring this talented artist right under my nose over the past few years. Laura is from my general vicinity, Central New Jersey, and I've seen her aligned with bands I really enjoy, like Fake Problems, Screaming Females, and Bomb The Music Industry! Yet, this had always been an act reduced to the "maybe check out someday" pile.

Sit Resist is such an enjoyable album. It's folk music, kinda like Elliot Smith or Laura Veirs, but more playful. There is a very rich sound, with a lot of instruments. Laura has a versatile delivery that can switch from humble and fragile to bombastic in a heartbeat. "Master of Art" proves this point well. It's already one of my favorite songs of the year. With such a strong voice, and deep background band; Laura is free to make any kind of song she wants. These songs are quaint when they want to be, fun when they want to be; reflective, catchy, sweet… Everything they tried here was successful.

The gripes are minor. Some of the songs feel a bit incomplete. Not to the point where they feel like filler, but with more depth, could have been as good as some of the best songs on here. Also, there is nothing that will turn heads. If you never got into the whole "catchy modern take on folk music" sound before, this won't win you over. I'm singing the praises of this album over execution alone. But that execution… man. I'm totally smitten by this album. Give it a shot.

MAOR PODCASTS!

If you're like me and enjoy podcasts more than television, here are two podcasta about TV shows

The Twin Peaks Podcast - A podcast where two megafans and two Twin Peaks newbies recap an episode of the cult series every week.

Losing The Sheen - A couple who has never watched Two And A Half Men before, decide to watch the series starting with this post-Sheen era. This is a recollection of the unfunny horrors they witness.

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.