"when I was six" (Bully - Feels Like)

Bully
Feels Like

why you'll love it: simple, effective, punk/grunge

why you'll hate it: nothing new

If 90's grunge and power-pop is the music this generation will make when they feel "retro", then I think we've discovered millennials' greatest gift to pop culture.

I'm done.  That's all you need.  This review is over.

That's how well Bully emulates that 90's rock sound.  The fuzz, the emotion (and apathy), the pop sensibilities. Heck, they even have the music video style down.  The only thing this album is lacking is Matt Pinfield introducing it.  Alicia Bognanno's voice has great range, and as the introducing song proves, she's not afraid to take it to dangerous places.  From yelling, to song-speaking, to crooning.

Maybe the 90's never really went away thanks to bands like Dinosaur Jr., Built To Spill, and Giant Drag.  Although, Bully has that moment in time trapped better than any of those bands.  They really do sound like something out of that MTV's Buzz Bin compilation CD (if you're in your 30s, you know you had this as a kid, admit it!).  This is also a negative mark, because Feels Like is just as disposable as those "Buzz Bin" singles from the 90s.  They clearly don't have the kind of creative interest (on this album) to make something a bit more meaningful, and put them in the same ballpark as those legends of 90s alt-rock.

Thankfully, the album moves fast (under 30 mins), and leaves behind a few good highlights.  I'm always happy listening to this album, but never impressed.  But hey, they're a young band, with plenty of time to experiment.  For now, a short and sweet statement of "this is where we come from" is just fine.  You can worry about where they're going another day.

"Thank You Disco!!!" (the telephones - Bye Bye Hello)

the telephones
Bye Bye Hello

why you'll love it: an effective bittersweet farewell

why you'll hate it:  disco dorks 'til the very end

Well, here we are.  It's the end of the road for the telephones (probably?).  With the exception of their 2008 debut, I've been chronicling every album of their  journey on this blog.  It's just plain crazy to think from the first review I posted here (of their 2009 sophomore effort, Dance Hall Monsters) that I would be getting sentimental over this incredibly silly band.  The progression of reviews have went from "this is fun, but there is no way this can last" to "well, ok, they tweaked just enough to continue to be fun, but the bubble is bursting" to "god dammit, ok fine, this band rocks!"

A lot of that has to do with the brand the telephones have built.  Their consistency of traditional "disco" songs had become established for quite a while.  I say "disco" in quotes, because half the time these songs are just manic punk rock belters that scream "disco" in the chorus.  Yes, it's stupid, but they did it enough times where it became charming.  It's even been disappointing when they don't deliver a "disco" song (as in the creatively bankrupt 2014 LP, SUPER HIGH TENSION!!!).

Even their music videos have helped establish their own culture.  Yes, music videos have continued to be relevant thanks to the telephones. Themes and references have carried through from video to video, just as they have in a couple songs, like the self-refferental "D.E.N.W.A."  All of these ideas culminate in their latest music video for "Something Good".  It's a big dreamy mess of nearly a decade's worth of memorable imagery.  As frivolous as everything seemed in the telephones' stupid disco songs and music videos, it's all heartwarming nostalgia now.

The meta of Bye Bye Hello goes a long way; so much that it even managed to enhance what has been the band's weakness: ballads.  They've been getting a little bit better at it in the past two albums, but the heartfelt stuff on Bye Bye Hello is now my favorite material.  You can feel the presence and importance of "Amber Romance" opening up the album more than any obligatory ballad they have drummed up to close out albums in the past.

Songs like "Amber Romance", "Something Good", "Thank You Disco!!!", and "Love is All" define this album.  So much, that other tracks that don't have a "thank you, goodbye" theme to them feel out of place.  It's a shame, because, they're fine songs!  "Pretty Pretty Pretty" is a sweet little instrumental.  "Let's Talk About Music" has that kind of "I can't tell of this is stupid, unconventionally clever, or accidentally brilliant" chram that Akria Ishige brings with his stunted English lyrics.  "Relationships" and "Jesus" have the kind of fire that SUPER HIGH TENSION!!! tried to create last year.  But all of those songs feel redundant and obstructive in the face of a wonderful little love letter the telephones have crafted for their fans.

Judging this album as if it stood on its own, I think there are only a few duds.  "When The Zombies Come" goes nowhere" and the closer, "Evergreen" just doesn't have the same impact the rest of the ballads have.  The rest of the album is fun, and there might be something newcomers get out of it.  The bass lines are the dopest!  I am amazed how innovative of a bassist, Ryohei Nagashima has become over the years.  There is a sort of epicness in Nobuaki Okamoto's synthesizers this time out.  "Last Night", "Jesus" and "My Hero" have these echoing Castlevanina like grand organ thing going.  It's a cool little tweak in their sound, specific to only this album.  Make no mistake though, this album is meant for fans, and the sentiment will certainly be lost on first-timers.

It's always great when a band has the oppurtinity to say goodbye on their own terms.  I never thought the telephones would become a perfect example of that.  I'm gonna miss these guys.  Five years ago, they were nothing more than dumb fun to me, with no thought of that ever changing.  Now that it's all said and done, they proved me wrong by staying (mostly) consistent through the years, and giving their insanity meaning.

So long, and thanks for the disco!

"I Will Return" (Ratatat - Magnifique)

Ratatat
Magnifique

why you'll love it: more groovy instrumentals
why you'll hate it: more of the same

I don't think I've ever explained here why I love instrumental music so much.  Like in the way a book lets you imagine what a character's voice or certain features are, instrumentals have more freedom to be about different things.  They can suit the moment you create, rather than a very specific topic or mood.  Also, the way lyrics are sung or how callously hammered the message can be sometimes ruins an otherwise great song.  Instrumentals dodge that bullet.

Ratatat has been making instrumentals for over ten years now, while barely ever straying from their formula.  Whatever novelty of chilled out computer beats met with endless guitar solos has worn thin by Magnifique.  The dusting of a dignified classical affectation, and the weird tape deck scrobbing transitions don't do enough to make this album sound like anything more than a handful of new tunes by Ratatat.  The classical intro and outro tracks are cool!  I wish more was done with them!  The "transmissions" that pop up in between tracks are cool too!  I wish more was done with them as well!  Ratatat still has that strut; that ability to make whatever they do sound cool, no matter how aggressive or laid back they get.  If it weren't for my love of instrumentals though, I don't know how much staying power Magnifique would have...

Anything on this release can easily slot into Ratatat's now five album catalogue, but it's not without highlights.  "Cream on Chrome" is one of the suavest songs they've ever done.  Forget Tom Hardy or Idris Elba, can we somehow get this song to be the next James Bond?  It has a tender and confident low end, and transitions perfectly into an aggressive chorus.  It sneaks in through the window, and charges back out through the wall.  The falsely labeled track, "Abrasive", has a pleasant beat that just goes up and up and up.  It's like the song is cheering you on as you climb a mountain, ramping up the positivity with every plateau you hit.  I also find the music video charming, and want a gif of every single animation in it.  It's a fine second single.  Here's to hoping "Nightclub Amnesia" is a third.  Getting uncharacteristically video-gamey, Ratatat pitch shifts a driving club beat, with some of the grittiest guitar work on the album.  It's the longest and loudest song on the album.  I also love how it ends with a zen-like reverberating ding, at its highest point of climax.

The rest of Magnifique's songs just sort of orbit around those three.  None of them are bad.  Some lack flair, but none are short on swagger.  Some fat could have been trimmed, but I don't think anyone's impression of the album would have changed.  Ratatat is coasting.  That would seem like a very bad thing if they didn't look so good doing it.

Summer mixtapes

Here are 16 songs of the summer that I enjoyed.

(Part 1)

(Part 2)

"Trapped in the moment" - (Everything Everything - Get To Heaven)

Everything Everything
Get To Heaven

why you'll love it: Catchy and charismatic pop

why you'll hate it: Underachieves its potential

I have a whole lot of nice things to say about this album.  All-in-all, Everything Everything is probably the most exciting new (to me) discovery of 2015.  It feels like a lifetime ago that the gonzo-pop unit, Architecture in Helsinki went from the second coming of Talking Heads to a band I'd like to forget exists all together.  Does it Offend You Yeah? had a fearless approach to all of my favorite pop and rock guilty pleasures before they fell off the face of the planet.  Foals has some of the most appetizing production and knack for post-punk riffs I've ever heard, but usually are too high minded to have fun with them.

Everything Everything has all the talent and creativeness to be any of those things.  They are my new obsession.  A little bit of art, pop, rock, and that subtle British darkness & cynicism.  Now all I need for is that mess of ingredients to be parsed out into a perfect recipe.  With Get To Heaven, they're almost there...

Everything Everything walks the line between impossibly catchy pop, weird experimental vocals, and impressive musical performance.  Usually that is a good thing, but they never properly explore where they cast their nets.  I feel overcome by their versatility.  There are some people who play an open world video game like Fallout or Grand Theft Auto, and become burdened by the freedom.  There is so much to do, that some people become racked with indecision, and just give up.  That is what Get To Heaven feels like to me.  I don't know what band I want Everything Everything to be, but it feels like a waste of something great to try and be something in between all of them.

Get To Heaven starts S-T-R-O-N-G.  Even that album cover has a colorful and exciting flair to it.  "To The Blade" blasts off like a time bomb.  Everything Everything practically trolls the listener into playing it loud, introducing a low volume performance with a ridiculously high production sheen.  Even when knowing the song is going to explode, I'm compelled to crank up that intro.  "To The Blade" shows off Everything Everything's potential to be your new favorite manic rock band.  The disco sing-along "Distant Past", and the stomp & clap choir number "Regret" instead say "no no no, we are your new favorite twee-pop weirdo band."  "Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread" and "Get To Heaven" bring the radio friendly pop.   A lot of songs on the second half explore honest and impressive musical endeavors.  Everything Everything can do anything anything.  It's pretty cool, but none of it feels like their full creative or musical potential is reached.

Now that the big gripe is off my chest, let's just look at Get To Heaven for what it is.  It's a damn fun party album.  The first 20 minutes of it are near flawless (maybe the chorus to "Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread" is a bit hokey).  The halfway point of "The Wheel (is Turning Now)" really kills the momentum of this album, though.  I'm not sure why they would bring all the action to a halt (in both the album, and a pretty cool song) with an outro like this.  It almost sounds like the track is skipping for 2.5 minutes.  "Fortune 500" and "Blast Doors" are ok songs, but aren't impressive enough to get things back on track.  "Zero Pharaoh" and "Warm Healer" are amazing Gorillaz and Foals impersonations, respectively.  I don't mean that in an insulting way, either.  "Zero Pharaoh" especially, is one of my album highlights.  But again, both of these songs are slow, and just can't recapture the thrill of the first half of this album.  "No Reptiles" is probably the only skippable song on here, thanks to the lyrics.  The metaphors just don't work for me, and "I'm going to kill a stranger / So don't you be a stranger." is the most cringeworthy line on the whole album.

Jonathan Higgs's marathon of falsetto will probably be the most remembered takeaway from first time listeners.  He does tend to rely on it far too much.  It may be a turn off to some, and its effect wears off as the album progresses.  There are few moments where Higgs sings in a different key, and sometimes even in a reggae/hip-hop cadence (to much success, as hard as that is to believe).  If Higgs pinballed his range more often, there would really be something there.

And so we come back to the "if only..." thoughts.  Get To Heaven is a fun pop album, that tries a lot of things, and is individually successful at each of them.  With a some focus though, wow... I can't help but think they would have really made something quite special.