Despite Serious Star Power, N.A.S.A Can't Quite Touch the Sun

Artist: N.A.S.A
Album: Spirit of Apollo

Comments: If fantasy sports, all-star teams, super groups, and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts have proven anything, it is that America loves the idea of collaborations. The idea of the biggest and brightest coming together to make something is always enticing, especially in the world of music.

Given this inclination for collaboration, N.A.S.A's Spirit of Apollo is a music dork's wet dream. Founded by L.A producers Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon, N.A.S.A (which stands for North America / South America) is a vessel for uniting people of different genres and cultures together under the universal idea that making music is cool. As if this hippy, free-love ideal wasn't enough on its own, Spirit of Apollo contains some of the biggest and best names in both hip hop and indie rock. Including artists like Kanye West, Karen O, Chuck D, David Byrne, RZA, Santagold, Ghostface Killah and Tom Waits (Tom Waits!), on paper this album is the best idea of all time, ever.

The album even lives up to this insanely high standard on occasion. Listening to Ol' Dirty rap from beyond the grave while Karen O sings the most adorable hook of 2009 on "Strange Enough" is both compelling and tragic. "Spacious Thoughts," which pairs Kool Keith and Tom Waits, is another genius track that can only come from two innovative artists combining forces for a 4 and a 1/2 minute march of awesome (Tom Waits really can't do any wrong, it seems). "The Mayor," which pairs Ghostface's drunken-master prose with the endless confidence and smooth delivery of the The Cool Kids, is far and away the strongest track on the album and a definete candidate for "Song of the Year."

Sadly, Spirit of Apollo can't live up this unreasonable expectation forever. The sad truth is that the majority of the tracks are little more than novelty. It's interesting on the first listen to see who is paired with whom (kind of like prom), but by the second and third spins, the album's flaws being to stand out. Too many tracks are samey and poorly produced, too many songs suffer from their ham-handedness, too many tracks collapse under the weight of their stars, and too many songs are forgettable. "Money" features a rare uninspired verse from Chuck D and a nonexistent contribution from Seu Jorge (he of The Life Aquatic fame), and "Gifted" featuring Kanye West, Santagold and Lyyke Li is an absolute mess from start to finish.

While Spirit of Apollo does yield some truly good tracks, most of the songs are only as good as long as one's fascination with the collaboration's last. Still, no album could ever match up to the collaborations in the heads of listeners all over the country and N.A.S.A's heart is definitely in the right place, so maybe the album deserves a break. While it's worth checking out, it'll never replace the fun of mixing and matching bands in your own head.

Key Tracks: The Mayor, Strange Enough, Spacious Thoughts

Buy, Steal, Skip: Steal

OK, So Maybe This Is a Picture of a Dude, but Still, Freaky.

Artist: Antony and the Johnsons
Album: The Crying Light

Comments: Music as art is sometimes cumbersome to listen to. Luckily, one of the years first truly awesome musical releases blends the line of artistic expression and beautifully crafted songs into a listening experience of a lifetime. Antony and the Johnsons latest album, The Crying Light, takes it's inspiration and amplifies the beauty into some incredibly sublime music. Antony Hegarty's muse is not another musical act, but a 102 year old Japanese Bhuto dancer, Kazuo Ohno (who graces the cover of the album.) Hegarty was so moved by the lyrical dance of this frail but incredibly passionate dancer , that the album exudes an air of gentle beauty that seems at any moment could break. The album is simple, but it dazzles from start to finish. The music floats above the air and Hagerty's voice takes front and center stage and shoots the music to the limits of the sky.

The album opens with "Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground" which starts immediately with a trembling Hegarty delivering the lyrics at such a beautiful, melancholy timber that it's almost impossible to not be moved by the song's first few seconds. The arrangements are simple and not overpowering, but add another element of beauty to an already gorgeous melody. Hegarty's voice is reminiscent of Nina Simone and Tim Buckley giving it a very ethereal feel. It adds so much to the songs. "Epilepsy is Dancing" takes a physical condition that is restrictive and makes it into a beautiful art form. Strange, yet it is a beautiful image to say that a physical ailment could actually be a wondrous piece of art. The ideas of death, physical restriction and art are definitely a theme on this album.

Running just a little over a half hour, the album seems like a sweeping epic even though it's over quickly. All the praise goes to the centerpiece of Antony Hegarty's voice. The most up-tempo and musically flowering song, "Kiss My Name", is really the only time that the music stands up to the power of the vocal performance. It's a fast waltz of sorts with very snappy drums and elegant flute and string arrangements that flutter about your ear drums. Other than that, it's all Hegarty's beautiful bravado. Luckily it's not just baseless vocal show boating. The lyrical content is poetic and poignant. During the title track, Hegarty delivers one of the most romantic lines I have ever heard in: "I was born to adore you/As a baby in the blind/I was born to represent you/To carry your head into the sun/To carve your face into the back of the sun." Something about this line screams dedication and sheer love for someone and Hegarty's delivery here shows that passion and amplifies it by 100. "One Dove" also has this element of poetic beauty that gains value with its master's voice. It trembles along as Hegarty begs for "mercy" from the tracks guiding force. It's genuine.

One thing for sure is that Antony is more important then the Johnsons here, but this is not to say that the music isn't fit for the style and mood of the album. It's subtle and quiet and somber and is the perfect balance to his voice. It's like Meg White of the White Stripes. It's not that shes a bad drummer (Come on dude, she totally is - Ed.), but the bravado and flashy eccentricity of Jack White's guitar and vocals needs something simple but a good backbone. The Crying Light is a triumphant record. It's some of the most beautifully poetic music you will ever hear and it does not get tired or old. The unique voice of Antony Hegarty is filled with utter desperation and melancholy, but instead of it being overbearing or cumbersome, it's somber and gentle and inviting. Rather than alienate the listener with something so artistic, The Crying Light invites you to share with the emotions and the grandiose-yet-simple structures of the songs is what makes this record excellent. It will make you weep at times and it will fill you with a romanticism that music rarely does.

- By Paul Tsikitas




Rating: 9 out of 10

Key Tracks: Epilepsy is Dancing, One Dove, Kiss My Name, The Crying Light

Buy, Skip, Steal: Buy

Clean this Goddamn House! (Pictures and Links Comming this Afternoon)

OK, so I am obviously really far behind on my reviews. In the interest of getting back to business, here are some really, really short reviews of albums that have come out this year, in alphabetical order as they appear on my itunes (journalism!).

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Get Guilty by AC Newman

I never listened to The Slow Wonder, but I imagine it sounds quite a bit like this. Fans of The New Pornographers, especially their last album Challengers will find a lot to like here. Newman specializes in the kind of pop music that is smart and catchy, but not always constraining itself to 4/4 time or set patterns like verse / chorus / verse, which can sometimes get a little grating. Its not hard to see Newman making this kind of good, not great album every four years for the rest of his life.

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Noble Beast by Andrew Bird

I saw Andrew Bird in concert once, and it was far and away my best experience with him. Watching him build loop layers and harmonize with himself is captivating. Sadly, that performance didn't transform into an appreciation for his album work. I get why people like his soundtrack-ready chamber pop, it's pretty and soft and nice to listen to, but too much of it runs together for me. A friend of my mine compared him to Sufjan Stevens, which is accurate if you take away Steven's prose and replaced them with a lounge voice and a killer set of whistlin' lips. More of the same from Bird, so if you were on board before, you'll be on board now.

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The Last Pale Light in the West by Ben Nichols

By all accounts, Cormack McCarthy is taking the demise of the American frontier harder than everyone, but Ben Nichols of Lucero is a close second. Inspired by one of McCarthy's novels (I'm too lazy to look up which one), Pale Light is one of the better offerings of the year. Nichols strums an acoustic guitar, sings in his lonesome raspy way, and makes an album of somewhat tragic, somewhat good country-alt-folk-punk songs. I'm a little confused as to why this is a solo EP and not a Lucero album since they sound fucking identical, but whatever, it's a good listen. Put in on when you are sad and it'll make you want to go to Montana.

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Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future by The Bird and The Bee

Boy girl electro-dance-pop. This is what happens when you listen to too much Jenny Lewis. If you like this, you just aren't trying anymore. Music for idiots.

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Liferz by Blood on the Wall

I suspect this is a pretty cool album, but really I haven't taken enough time with it. Whenever one of their songs comes up on my shuffle, I usually skip it. When I don't I am treated with some low budget indie punk that never leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but never really hits me hard enough to come back to it. I guess the jury's still out, but in the back of my mind I don't really see myself ever listening to this album more than once. Sorry, Blood on the Wall.

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Working on a Dream by Bruce Springsteen

In two songs, Springsteen obliterated all the good will he had built up with me with The Rising and Magic. Those two songs are "Outlaw Pete" and "Queen of the Supermarket," the latter being one of the worst Springsteen songs ever and the former being one of the worst rock songs ever, probably in the top 20. Turns out Springsteen is one of those songwriters who can't operate without something to push again (like the Bush administration). I see two more albums like this, followed by some long hiatus and one final old man album that Rolling Stone praises as the finest piece of music of all time, ever.

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Gutter Tactics by Dalek

The reminds me of one of my favorite albums ever, El-P's I'll Sleep When You're Dead, and as such gets much love from my ipod. Not really a rap record, seeing as the vocals are fuzzed out and pushed way back in the mix, Gutter Tactics is a producer's record all about immersion and oblivion. The opening track, featuring an exert from that crazed priest that gave Obama trouble last year, sets an urgent and Dystopian tone that is appealing as fuck to me. "We Lost Sight" is one of the only tracks not about how fucked we all are, and it's about how fucked rap is. Not a feel good record, but definitely an early highlight.

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Already Free by The Derek Trucks Band

Dave Mathews Band type horse shit. If you like Mathews, The John Butler Trio, or any other of those "chill" frat bands, this shit will appeal to you. Also, please get better taste in music.

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Tonight by Franz Ferdinand

Another early highlight, Tonight is the disco album than answers the question "What would happen if the guys from Franz Ferdinand spent the last three years fucking groupies instead of writing an album?" Thank god these guys are so good with hooky pop music. With it's drums and bass much more pronounced and obvious and their guitars scaled back for a more synthesized sound, this is about as well made a party record as you'll find this year I suspect.

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Major General by Franz Nicolay

I'm actually going to flesh this out tomorrow. In the mean time, check this dude out.

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Glasvegas by Glasvegas

More hyper-pop from the Scots. If you liked Frightened Rabbit or The Shout Out Louds, you'll probably like this. Is it wrong of me to lump all these Scottish bands together into one cloud? No, since they all make pretty pop music in varying degrees of coolness. Glasvegas is the weakest of the three, I wouldn't recommend it unless you REALLY like Scot-pop or unless you REALLY love the idea of mixing Coldplay with The Killers.

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The Mountain by The Heartless Bastards

It's hard for me to recommend this given my deep distaste for The Black Keys, especially since both these bands make blues revival rock, but fuck it, The Mountain is a pretty cool record. The lead singer has a really neat voice, the guitars sound cool, the bottom end is as heavy as it should be, and you can listen to the whole goddamn thing without changing a track and have a pretty good time of things. The Mountain is a great sitting around record.

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For(n)ever by Hoobastank

Hoobastank is still making records?!

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S/t EP by Iwrestledabearonce

You ever hear one of those hardcore bands that all play at the exact same time as loud and as sloppy as they can while someone grunts and screams along with it and you can never really tell exactly what is going on and you suspect that it's all very technical and professional musicianship but who the fuck cares because how can anyone tell in this tangled swamp of assault noise? That is what this sounds like, expect different than the rest of the bands. I mean, don't get me wrong, if that sentence above made any sense to you, you've got a pretty good idea of what to expect, but something about Iwrestledabearonce stands out to me, makes me think they might be a little better than the rest of the noisemakers. I don't know, get this if you like Dillinger Escape Plan and punching yourself in the face.

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Fantasy Black Channel by Late of the Pier
Fantasy Black Channel is definitely hipster dance music ala Does it Offend You, Yeah?, but a little more interesting. LOTP seem a lot more occupied with trying new arrangements and changing directions mid song then they actually are with making people dance. Kind of a fun listen, but nothing to get too occupied with.

Ludacris - Theater of the Mind
Mi Ami - Watersports
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - S/t

I'll flesh these out. I love me some Luda, and Mi Ami is too weird not to be discussed. As far as Pains goes, I'll get to them.

Well, that's about all I feel comfortable covering right now. Hopefully, regular broadcasts will resume by next week.

Okay, Let's All Calm Down About This New Animal Collective CD

Artist: Animal Collective
Album: Merriweather Post Pavillion

Comments: It's never as easy to review a groundbreaking band as it is to review an average band. The latter can be given context, where the former can only be judged by its own merits with no benchmarks or guidelines to follow. Because of this, I understand the recent critical clamoring recieved by Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, even if I do not agree with it.

Judged against the rest of the independent music world, MPP is a triumph. The four goofs in Animal Collective continue their streak of creating starkly original music so dynamic and dense that it defies genre. People like me struggle to wrangle them in with vague and weak labels like "expansionist" and "psychedelic," but these uninspired platitudes fail to capture the scope of what AC are creating. They are an indispencible band that must be listened to to be understood, and that alone is worth praise.

However, when judged within the scope of their past releases, when measured up to themselves, MPP is a lacking record. Countless others have referred to this as AC's "pop" album, a designation I will not dispute. There are certainly elements of pop on this record, soundscapes and movements that follow the simple patterns and hooky harmonies that are the essence of pop music. However, these moments seem to come scattered throughout a mostly uninspired swamp of repetitious noise clouds and meaningless sonic meanderings. Songs take too long to develop with too little to sustain them, turning flashes of song into bright spots in a dense cloud of sound. Where last year's Strawberry Jam was a record of forward motion, MPP is a collection of wandering, building toward nothing and taking its time to get there.

Which is not to suggest that MMP is un-listenable, just less inspired than previous outings. "My Girls" is a pleasant enough track until it folds in on its own lack of development. "Summertime Clothes" and "Daily Routine" both have admirable sections within them, but both fall apart before anything more than cursory interest can set in. The album's closing track "Brother Sport" is the only one with any backbone, and even at its best moments its little more than a reminder of a much better collection of songs, those found on Strawberry Jam.

Let me not understate the importance of Animal Collective. In a time when even indie rock, a source of eternal originality, seems to be collapsing in on itself, AC is one of the few bands putting out unmatched and non-repeatable music. However, even the great bands have to answer to their past works, and Merriweather Post Pavilion cannot match up the band's previous heights. It might be more interesting and original than 75% of 2009's potential albums, but its not even half of what it should be.




Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Key Tracks: My Girls, Brother Sport, Summertime Clothes

Buy, Steal, Skip: Steal

Parts and Labor Recieves a :(

Artist: Parts and Labor
Album: Receivers

Comments: I tried really hard to love Receivers, the latest from Parts and Labor. I read all the blogs hyping them as a band to watch in '09. I listened to the album for weeks, hoping for something to spark and grab me. I spent hours looking for angles to expand into stories. After weeks of trying, I just have to realize what's been in the back of my head this whole time: Receivers is not great, its just OK.

It's a damn shame I can't drum up more to say about it. Parts and Labor have an interesting sound. They make indie rock heavy on keyboards and synthesized sounds with as little guitar as possible. Their sound combines the ascetic of Wolf Parade with the collective mentality of Akron/Family and the European hilly feel of Big Country, one of the least appreciated bands of all time. Basically, this band makes assessable fuzzy noise rock and that shit is right in my wheelhouse.

And yet, nothing sticks. Sure, the seven minute fuzz out of "Satellites" makes for a compelling listen, and the mountain stomp of "Wedding In a Waste Land" is top notch thumpin' music reminiscent of a hipster version of The Who. Sure, the smaller scaled tracks like "Nowheres High" and "Little Ones" are charming numbers that use the band's noisy buzz to create a warm listening experience. But for some reason, it isn't enough.

Maybe the songs take too long to get to the payoff (cough, "Satellites" cough), languish too long in their own noisy self indulgence without ever making it worth it to the listener, noise for noise sake. Maybe its the sometimes jarring voice of the lead singers, almost painful on "Mount Misery." Maybe there's just too much flash and not enough substance.

I still like Parts and Labor, and I like Receivers. I'll get their next album as soon as its out. I do hope they become an "it" band in '09, and I wish them nothing but the best. But I can't pretend to love Receivers any more. Too much of it just leaves me wanting.




Rating: 6 out of 10

Key Tracks: Satellites, Wedding in a Waste Land

Buy, Steal, Skip: Steal

(Listen to Big Country, goddamnit!)

Scotts Out Coldply Coldplay

Artist: Frightened Rabbit
Album: Midnight Organ Fight

Comments: Even before the turn of the new year, I was late to the Frightened Rabbit party. I first heard them shortly after college while staying with a friend, their Scottish voices and large-minded soft rock coming from his little brother's speakers. I offhandedly asked what it was, feigned interest and forgot all about them. A few weeks later, that same friend came to me talking about their songwriting and how "just fucking cool" their music was. Because I am wretched, I ignored him, too.

It wasn't until the waning moments of 08 that I finally got on board and got Midnight Organ Fight, a decision that I regret only for my tardiness. Frightened Rabbit's second album is a combination of Coldplay and Shout Out Louds, merging stadium readiness with smart pop construction for an album rich with well written anthems melodramatic matters of the heart. This album is one Garden State away from ruining teenage love lives across the nation.

The first three tracks on the album are so good that for the first week of having the album, they are all I listen to. "I Feel Better" is the most rocking of the three but the least substantial despite its excellent delivery of rather uninspired lyrics ("I feel better / and better / and worse and then better). "The Modern Leper" and "Good Arms vs Bad Arms" are the real killers though, the kind of mix tape fodder that serves as the soundtrack to high school pining when love is still new and indestructible in its powers. The kind of songs that will be popping up in AIM profiles and Myspace pages and episodes of Grey's Anatomy and anywhere that emotion is mined for years to come. The former is a self deprecating love song that paints the portrait of a man in decay and the woman who loves him regardless and is both charming and a little embarrassing.

The real magic, however, is the titanic crush of "Good Arms vs Bad Arms," a song about what happens in the aftermath of a relationship devoid of a clean break. Brushed drums and simple background harmonies hang above a repeated guitar line for four minutes, building up to an almost tragic decrescendo. All this would be for nothing if not for the fantastic lyrics that capture the frustration, anger, and melancholy of being the one left behind, the foolish and crazy things it makes you want to do. ("I'm armed with the past/ and the will / and a brick / and I don't want you back / but I want to kill him") It's a near perfect five minutes that is so daunting that it makes the listener almost beg for the album to be over.

Of course, there are ten tracks to go from there. Most all of them are fantastic, and I could paw through songs trying to find more examples of the moving lyric writing, but half the fun of Midnight Organ Fight is finding them and given them their own meaning. It's that kind of album, a cathartic guide to modern love. I'll highlight "The Twist" and “Keep Yourself Warm” as other personal favorites, tracks that denounce the shark lifestyle and looks down at the notion of jumping from person to person for warmth and meaning, but favorites shift depending on mood.

This is by no means a perfect album. The 13 songs on the album are more or less repeats of the first three, causing the album to blend into a giant mess of dramatic soft-pop when taken in one sitting and none of the songs ever match the skull-crushing heartbreak of “Good Arms vs Bad Arms” (although”Keep Yourself Warm” comes close). However, when taken on a song-to-song basis, it's hard to recall a more well written, well performed collection of love songs than the ones found on Midnight Organ Fight. Get on board now, before Frightened Rabbit becomes a household name and Zach Braff is exploiting their magic for his self-absorbed vanity projects.



Rating: 8 out of 10

Key Tracks: Good Arms vs Bad Arms, The Modern Leper, The Twist, Keep Yourself Warm

Buy, Steal, Skip: Buy

Hair Jordan Shoots, Scores

Artist: Black Ladies
Album: Hair Jordan EP
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/blackladiesband

Comments: Of all the rock duos to grace my stereo over the last several years, none had as much punch and staying power as the heartbroken robots in Death From Above 1979. You're A Woman, I'm a Machine was not only of the best albums of 2004, but still remains the strongest duo album of all time. Now, in their awesome wake, the Black Ladies have stepped up in an attempt to fill that particular void.

Musically, the bands don't have much in common, yet the comparison is hard to avoid as both groups consist of only drums and bass. However, the tracks on the Black Ladies Hair Jordan EP are not so much about relationships and lust as they are about destroying the world. See, the Black Ladies have more in common with attack bands like Lightning Bolt and Hella, groups that are not about message or meaning, only destruction. While the EP never reaches the same chaotic heights as the other two bands, the songs are far and away more user friendly.

The EP opens with "Hair Jordan," a wordless three minute blast of sixteenth notes and punishing drums, both airtight and locked into each other. This trend of relentless sound is carried into the EPs other two tracks, "Ace of Fades" and " Skullcaps," with only the occasional change in tempo and the fuzzed out vocals that briefly show up on the last track to make a difference.

Hair Jordan is the kind of EP that is best heard and not described. I am not a good enough writer to convey the power and brutal fun of this music. At about eight minutes long, the EP never wears out its welcome, although I could see an entire album of this getting a little old without some more accompaniment besides the drum and bass fuzz. Regardless, Hair Jordan will fill a rocking duo hole in your heart and make you believe in the power of two.



Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Key Tracks: Hair Jordan, Ace of Fades

Buy, Steal, Skip: Buy

Parks Kind of Cool, Like Vanilla Ice Cream

Artist: Cale Parks
Album: Sparklace

Comments: Sparklace is the worst kind of album to review because I have no strong feelings towards it either way. It is a startlingly above average album, by no means good and definitely not band. It is the vanilla of electronic music: it will sometimes make you want to dance and sometimes you will not even notice that its on, but it will never challenge or elate you.

Tracks on the album go one of two ways, atmospheric drone and weird, Brian Eno-esque dance music. I find the sequencing of the album odd, Parks chooses to put most of the more active tracks ("Two Haunt Me" and "Some Sew, Some Find" especially) in the back half of the CD while the first few minutes are thick with more subtle and ambient fare ("Train Lady" and "Every Week Ends") The album begins and ends with electronic interludes that are not much more than audio experiments. The eight tracks in between are strangely charming and almost instantly forgettable. This is the sort of album I would only put on while I was doing something else.

Initially, I felt guilty about my assessment of Sparklace. When I saw Parks open for Ted Leo a few weeks back, he preformed admirably in the face of a largely ambivalent crowd. In the 30 seconds I spent talking to him, he seemed like a nervous, likable guy who just wanted to make low impact dance music, and I found that charming. After some brief research, however, I realize Parks doesn't need my support. Besides his solo stuff, the dude is active in Aloha and White Williams, two bands with more than enough indie love. The last thing they need is more blog buzz.

While I cannot recommend Sparklace to anyone, I also would never chastise someone for picking it up. There are some neat sounds to be found (the wind chimes on "Age of Reform" are hella peaceful) and the whole thing is largely enjoyable. It just lacks any and all staying power.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Key Tracks: Every Week Ends, Two Haunt Me, Some Sew, Some Find

Buy, Steal, Skip: Steal, I guess.

Come on, How Do You Think I Feel About This New Fall Out Boy Album?

Artist: Fall Out Boy
Album: Folie à Deux

Comments: Part of me wonders if there is any merit in reviewing a Fall Out Boy album. I am aware that most, if not all, of the people who check this blog have already made their minds up about the band and no review will change their opinions. So I suppose it is under the weak guise of journalism that I tell you all about Folie à Deux, the latest from your tween cousin's favorite hit-makers.

Some may be surprised to hear me say this, but after spinning this album a few times, its not void of merit. What sets FOB apart from other flash-in-the-pan pop acts is their apparent desire to grow and develop their music. Most pop bands put out one or two albums of samey, meaningless drivel before falling apart under their own lack of substance. Folie à Deux does find the band trying to push emo-pop in new directions, which is more than can be said for 90% of radio bands. For that, the boys deserve some praise, however small.

Of course, the goodwill this created is almost immediately betrayed by the overall shittness of the record. The band strives for change, not within songwriting or structure, but within hyper-clean production and over-the-top studio additions. Considering that FOB has lived and died on their (often overblown and occasionally mediocre) dramatic choruses, for them to add string arrangements and orchestral elements to songs already about to fall apart at their own ham-handedness is like over inflating a truck tire. Recipe for disaster (and sever tire damage).

The moments on this album that aren't over the top garbage are just downright strange. Lead single "I Don't Care" sounds like a Rhianna song without the benefit Rhianna's unexplainable Midas touch. Also puzzling is "What a Catch, Donnie" which climaxes with literally every chorus from all the band's previous hit singles dating back to their first album. While I assume there is some kind of explanation for this, all it really does is showcase how interchangeable and benign the band's work has been.

Is Folie à Deux un-listenable? Not at all. The songs are catchy and mindless and occasionally border on clever. Odds are good that if you liked the band's previous efforts, you'll like this. But this album won't change any minds, and despit good intentions does nothing to lift Fall Out Boy's punchline status in the world of "serious" (read: pretentious) music listeners.

(PS: Lil Wayne makes an appearance on this album, furthering my belief that his is the most brilliant and insane public figure in some time and that drugs will take his life within the next 10 years.)

(PSS: This video has nothing to do with this album. It just cracks me up)



Rating: 2 out of 10

Key Tracks: None

Buy, Steal, Skip: Skip

Top 40 Songs of the Year

40) M.I.A - Paper Planes
Seeing as this song was released in 07, it usually wouldn't be eligible for the "Best of" list. However, I think it would be a much bigger lapse in judgment to ignore a song that was so fucking huge for so long with such a good hook. "Paper Planes" did things for the "Cash Register" and "Gunshot" sound effects that no one has done since late 90s hip hop, and for that alone it deserves to be on the list, regardless of what year it came out in.

39) Black Kids - I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
In a year saturated with hipster dance music, the Black Kids went post-modern and scored a hit with a track so catchy and simple that it almost feels like a guilty pleasure.

38) The Wombats - My First Wedding It's a story as old as time. Kid goes to a wedding to see an old flame get married, has too much to drink, tells off the wedding party and gets run out of town. The lyrics are authentic and bitter ("She's my heartless bitch that I just can't seem to get enough of..." "She's not that beautiful...") benefitied by excellent delivery and brit-pop effiecntcy, making for the best song about unrequented love on an album overflowing with it.

37) The Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound
The title track for The Gaslight Anthem's breakout record paints a perfect picture of the band: new school jersey punks for whom which music stopped with Lifetime and Springsteen, writing songs about cars, funeral songs, the afterlife, and young kids who die on Saturday nights. Tragedies rarely come so well packaged.

36) Man Man - Poor Jackie
Honus Honus and his band of wolves get their sad on with this seven minute sailor's durge about a soul-sucker of a woman who has to hid from the athourites. Concidering how manly Rabbit Habbits is, it's nice to hear Honus howling again, practically sobbing broken man lyrics ("I don't see what everybody sees in youy sexy body / all I see is a pretty face painted on a shallow grave.)

35) Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Posess Your Heart
If there is a band less likely to make an eight-minute long bass heavy love grove than Death Cab For Cutie, I don't know about them. Nothing about this song makes sense, which makes its success all the more rewarding.

34) TV on the Radio - Crying
Track one, side one of Dear Science is textbook TVotR: spacy distant rock music with a beat you can move to and a mind to be the next Talking Heads / David Bowie. Someday, these dudes are going to stop cranking out hits.

33) Tom Gable - Anna is a Stool Pigeon
Gable didn't invent folk-punk, but few people can smash on major chords and grumble about politics better. "Anna" takes a funny turn on a love story gone wrong, painting a revolutionary falling for an FBI informant. Since this is Gable and not Colin Meloy, you can guess how the story ends.

32) Frightened Rabbit - Good Arms vs Bad Arms
Emotional dudes of the world, take notice. Frightened Rabbit are your new gods. Expect big things in 09 / 10.

31) The Cool Kids - What Up Man
The best rap song ever made using only a mic and a bell. Worth a listen just to find out what I'm talking about.

30) Sleepercar - Wednesday Nights
Jim Ward will always sound better as a member of At The Drive In, but he's not half bad as an alt-country crooner, either.

29) The Mars Volta - Goliath
As much as I hate this band, "Goliath" is one of the most brutaly mammoth rock songs of the year, and far and away the best thing TMV has done since their first album.

28) Women - Cameras
27) Wavves - Side Yr On
2008 was a pretty bad year for cheaply made low-fi punk music, what with Japanther going soft and hype bands like No Age and Times New Viking doing blow with strippes. Thank god for Women and Wavves and their crunchy, sunny basement pop. "Cameras" is the kind of song that Brian Wilson listens to while doing drugs, and "Side Yr On" is as fuzzy and rolling as the band's namesake.

26) The Streets - The Strongest Person I Know
If Mike Skinner comes in two settings ("Playful" and "Sentimental"), its the second one that drags him down more often than not. Still, with nothing more than a common piano melody accented with some woodwinds, Skinner's love letter to a nameless hero is honest, down to earth, and wonderfully, strightforwardly simple.

25) Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor

24) Less Than Jake - Abandon Ship
GNV FLA has plauged me in 2008. On the one hand, it is obvious pandering to a slighted fanbase. On the other, it's exactly what what old heads like me were hoping for. "Abandon Ship" is a track very much aware of this dicotomy and serves as a sort of apology for past transgressions. As much as I want to stay mad, it works.

23) Foals - Cassius
Bloc Party + Minus the Bear + Forward, Russia! = the best post-punk song of the year.

22) Nada Surf - I Like What You Say
These aging tigers seem to have burned off all their bitter snark, leaving nothing but sweetly sinsear pop rock songs. "I Like What You Say" is nothing more or less than that, but sometimes that's all you need.

21) Tapes n Tapes - The Dirty Dirty
Walk it Off might have been a letdown, but there is nothing disapointing about this five minute droning rumbler. Odd time signatures, grumbing guitars, church bells and hooky nonsense lyrics are enough to make TnT fans keep on belivin'.

20) The Magnetic Feilds - California Girls
Hands down, my favorite song about teenage girls of the year. If you are between the ages of 14 and 18, think The Hills is a good model for your behavior and are concidering a career in PR, please listen to this song first and take every word to heart.

19) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Midnight Man
Dig! Lazarus! Dig! has got more than its share of hits, including the catchy-as-sin title track, but none are better than Cave's story of a confused woman caught between two men. Cave is as poetic as ever, but its the twist ending that leave the Midnight Man (not to be confused with the Nightman) twisting in the wind that gives the song its punch.

18) Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Really, concidering the amount of press these dudes got this year, do I honestly think I can contribute anything? No. This song rules. Next.

17) The Old 97's - The One
Half "story-of-our-band" song, half bank robbery, "The One" is a pop-rock victory lap for this year's Phinox band, everyone's favorite cow-punks-turned-popsmiths.

16) The YMD - Drown Yr Hamster in Nail Polish
If there is a more successful combination of punk and rap I haven't heard it. Little brother delivery and old-school battle rap lyrics make this track the party-starter for your next basement get-together.

15) Drive-By Truckers - Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife
Usually, when an artist gets a family and starts to mellow out, the music suffers. Thankfully, the opposite happened to the Drive-By Trucker's Patterson Hood, who took his newfound family love and turned it into a soft love letter about those left behind after the passing of life. Sweet and soft, this track serves as a great opener to a great album.

14) MGMT - The Kids
Of all the overhyped bands of the last few years totally undeserving of the credit they've been blessed with, no one seems more transparently crappy as MGMT. Still, my naked dislike for them asife, "The Kids" is one of those rare hipster dance songs that can overcome my blind rage and make me shake my moneymaker. I love this song, but fuck you, MGMT.

13) The Mountain Goats - Heritic Pride
John Darniell's story of a man gleefully dragged from his house only to be murdered in the town square to great rejoicing and personal contentment is...well...kind of fucked up when you type it out like that. Still, it's a rocking track that will have the chorus on your brain for at least 48 hours.

12) Flogging Molly - Float
It seems like I spent a lot of this year walking around looking for jobs to no avail. That kind of nonstop rejection can catch up on a dude and there were more than a few times that I felt like packing it all in and moving back to upstate NY. "Float" became my unemployed jam, my anthem for the pursuit of honesty through any means and regardless of cost. Don't sink the boat that you built to keep afloat.

11) Gnarls Barkley - Run
It's safe to assume that this dynamic duo will never reach their "Crazy" heights again, but it won't be because of a dip in quality. "Run" is a punchy quick neo-soul song that would have gotten a lot more play in a fair an honest world.

10) Los Campisenos! - Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks

9) Future of the Left - Suddenly It's a Folk Song

8) Ra Ra Riot - St. Peter's Day Festival

7) Lil Wayne ft. Babyface - Comfortable

6) Hot Club de Paris - Hey! Housebrick

5) Titus Andronicus - No Future

4) The Hold Steady - Two Handed Handshake

3) Weezer - The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived (Variatons of a Shaker Hymn)

2) Kanye West - Love Lockdown

1) Algernon Cadwallader - Serial Killer Status

Top 25 Albums of the Year: 15 - 1

In my own personal history books, 2008 will have to go down as the year of self doubt. Between my graduation from college and my failed attempts at legitimacy, I am smack dab in the middle of the "Liberal Arts Post-College Bullshit" phase of my life. As a result, I tended to gravitate more towards dark music, the kind of things that gave a voice to my personal situation. As time goes on, odds are good I won't care much about any of these albums, as I don't plan on being depressed forever. However, for a man-boy struggling on the edge of adulthood with nothing left to cling to, these records provided me some companionship, if not comfort.

15) TV on the Radio - Dear Science (DGC / Interscope)
TVotR are like Beck in that I recognize their genius and the potential musical impact they will have on future bands, yet I can never get really excited for them. Dear Science came as close as any album to getting me worked up, and with good reason. The Brooklyn boys are picking up Bowie's torch, making smart dance music for people who like to rock. This album's pop sensibility will no doubt place it high on other lists, but here I can't put it above 15.

14) The Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound (SideOneDummy)
The first thing that comes to mind when hearing The 59 Sound is "man, how does the lead singer get his voice to sound like that?" The second thing is how much this band owes to American rock music from the past and how well they are paying homage to it. While The Senior and the Queen remains their best work, this album is an excellent assembly of Springsteenian punk anthems about being young, driving in cars, and the innocent girls who make summer nights seem to last forever.

13) Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)
There is almost too much happening on Chemistry to even comment on. Guitar tracks layered up to 18 times. Vocals pushed as far back in the mix as possible, barking from the back of the room. Clever songs about the mythology of a Christian God. This album is like a swarm of angry wasps, encompassing, furious, and strangely beautiful.

12) The Old 97's - Blame it on Gravity (New West)
It's not often that bands can recapture their old sound without obvious pandering, but the Old 97's have pulled it off. By finding an energy not usually fitting rockers their age, the one-time cow punks have produced an album lousy with country-touched pop gems and released their best album since 1998's fantastic Too Far To Care.

11) Hot Club de Paris - Live at Dead Lake (Moshi Moshi)
Brit pop for kids who like their guitars in odd tunings, their songs outside of 4-4 time, their vocal harmonies constant, and their pop observations as sharp as their bass lines. Live at Dead Lake is a consistent treat from the opening notes of "My Little Haunting" to the faithful Minutmen cover on "The Anchor" to the heartbreaking optimism of "Boy Awaits Return of the Runaway Girl."

10) Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark (New West)
Any time an album goes to 19 tracks there is bound to be some filler, and Brighter Than Creation's Dark is no exception. What is remarkable is how few of these 19 tracks feel like throw aways. Tender moments of family reflection are tossed in with character sketches about fractured people and songs about drinking on this massive American rock classic, resulting in a red-state album that crosses all boundaries and appeals to anyone within the 50 states.

9) The YMD - Excuse Me, This is The Yah Mos Def (My Pal God)
What happens when two lifetime Philly hardcore kids cross over into the world of rap? One of the most irreverent and re-playable records of the year. By utilizing Bomb Squad style drums, playground punchlines and some of the finest hardcore samples around (Cap'n Jazz and Drive Like Jehu? Wha?), The YMD have created something fun and orignal using old ideas (not to mention giving a pretty good idea what your punk rock little brother would sound like rapping).

8) The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale EP
Too often modern hip-hop is focused on "Hardness" and "realness," sapping all the original playfulness and fun from the genre. The Bake Sale EP recaptures some of that feeling, providing 10 track of laid back BBQ goodness. This it the kind of music OGs used to kick it to, the kind of cool confident swagger that rap has been missing. The Cool Kids are, hands down, the (sorry) coolest motherfuckers of they year.

7) Los Campesnion! - Hold On Now, Youngster (Wichita)
The achievements of Los Camp in 2008 cannot be overstated. Anyone can release two albums in the same year, but it takes a truly special band to put out two albums of consistently quality music. Taking cues from the twee rockers like Love is All and Architecture in Helsinki, as well as indie classics like Sonic Youth, both Hold On Now, Youngster and Doomed are thick with songs supported by sharp wit, kitchen sink arrangements, and unadulterated youthful good will. Los Camp are well on the way to being your new favorite band.

6) The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (Vagrant)
America's best rock band are beginning to grey. Stay Positive is full of top notch songs about kids in America being kids in America, but its overall theme is that of aging. In my original review of this album, I heralded this album as the beginning of the end for the Hold Steady. As long as they keep making literate and powerful bar rock along the lines of "Sequestered in Memphis" and " Lord I Am Discouraged," we won't have to worry about these old lions.

5) Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (XL)
What can be said about Vampire Weekend that hasen't already been screamed from the mouths of collegiate party girls across the country? By tapping into a world-music-meets-pop sound not touched since Paul Simon, Vampire Weekend's self titled album became one of the most popular pop records of the year, full of songs good for the beach, the doorm room, the car stereo, and anywhere in between.

4) Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III (Cash Money)
Lil Wayne is out of his goddamn mind and he is more than happy to let us in on it. So little of what Wayne says on Tha Carter III makes sense that one has to assume it is the work of a genius. In a way it is, as the connections and wordplay Weezy tosses about on this album is so playful and simple sounding that it has to be the work of a pro. Considering how much Lil Wayne used to suck, watching his rise to prominence and superstardome has been extremly fun. Almost as fun as trying to following the twisting alleyways of this album.

3) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig! Lazarus! Dig! (Mute)
DLD is a record of reckless self destruction, abuse, torture, blasphemy and fear. The Bad Seeds play like hell's personal house band, layering guitars and bass over demon keys to make noises that couldn't possibly come from a ritious man. At the eye of this storm is Cave, a wolf in a dinner jacket, preaching from a pile of broken women, slain enemies, and self destructive tendencies. These songs are the opposite of love, these songs are little wars on women, on death and on God himself. Satire is never this violent, self abuse is never this public.

2) Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances (Troubleman)
Named after Shakespeare's most violent and amateur of plays, Titus Andronicus are the embodiment of anger, impotence and loss. The Airing of Grievances is an album of punk songs that take aim at everything, literaly everything, with an intent to burn this inconsistent world to the ground. The real magic, however, is how much fun the end sounds. Part Neutral Milk Hotel, part Against Me!, part Bruce Spingsteen, part Connor Oberst, Titus Andronicus have established themselves as the last real punk band, an entity that stands in opposition to absolutely everything. Your life is over, good times are here again.

1) The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride (4AD)
After years of operating as a solo low-fi tape guru, John Darniell has finally learned how to play with others, writing his first completely successful rock album. That aside, the glory and pull of the Mountain Goats has always been in Darniell's simple and elegant writing, and that is very much the case here. Darniell sings about solders coming home with blood in their mouths, a man buying a switchblade in defense of some faceless disaster coming soon, a swamp creature looking for love, a man perched on a throne of human skulls, and (most beautifully) a man dragged from his home to be buried alive, a smile fixed on his face. While these things have little implication in real life, it's amazing how Darniells abstracts can be so easily and seamlessly attached to real life.

Heretic Pride is the first Mountain Goats album in some time that is not about Darniell's relationship with his abusive step father. It's clear listening to his record that the man is finally free of his shackles, free of his captor. We are all the better for it. The real beauty is that, within the man's simple lyrics, there is the magic to free us, as well.

top 25 Albums of the Year: 25 - 16

Welcome to LOTD's top 25 of 2008 album countdown! Tonight we unleash the first half on y'all suckers, with 15 - 1 coming on Christmas Day! Merry Christmas!

25) J.Fox – We're Happy To Be Here! (Self Released)
While not a gem from start to finish, the stream-of-conscious surf punk that J. Fox creates on We're Happy To Be Here! yields more catchy songs than one would expect from a low-fi Modest Mouse-inspired rock band. The album's duds will fade from memory while hits like “Brooklyn,” “Oysters,” and “Basement Rock” will hang around for weeks.

24) Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple (Downtown / Atlantic)
While this duo of unlikely hitmakers' second album is not as good as their first, Gnarls Barkley's sophomore release is a dark and mature album full of stormy pop songs about mental illness, isolation and various other off-kilter topics one would not expect to bump in the club. Thank god Cee-lo Green's soulful howls and Danger Mouse's inspired production sound so good together that it doesn't matter what the songs are about.


23) Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs (Atlantic / WEA)
While no means a departure for the soft-spoken emo rockers (Gibbard is still a sad sack after all), the group's focus on making rock music thick with groove-heavy bass lines and upstart guitar licks is a welcome departure from their more sterile major label work. “Long Division” and “No Sunrise” are as close to “rock” as this band has gotten in some time, while their 8 minute long single “I Will Posses Your Heart” still punches as hard as it did this past summer.

22) Algernon Cadwallader – Some Kind of Cadwallader (Be Happy / Sars)
Sure, Algernon Cadwallader sounds exactly like a combination of Cap 'n Jazz and American Football, but more bands should have gone that route. The playful guitars, intelligible vocals that act as the fourth instrument and never-say-die hooks of Some Kind of Cadwallader make this album more refreshing than some “original” bands on the scene. More on Algernon in my top 30 songs post (coming Friday).

21) Nada Surf – Lucky (Barsuk)
Sometimes, in the search for the next big avant-garde art band to blow away the tight-jeans-wearing mind of hipsters everywhere, a man needs to unwind with some simple, straightforward, well written pop rock. Lucky was that album for me. The story of a band that crested on popularity before plunging into obscurity only to rise again as indie darlings isn't to shabby an angle, either.

20) Man Man – Rabbit Habbits (Anti)
If Six Demon Bag was a breakup album, the sound of a man destroyed at the loss of his love, Rabbit Habbits is that same man hitting the town, getting drunk, and sleeping with any woman he can find. Confident, crazy, and masculine while still maintaining their air of manic desperation, Man Man's latest is as fine a victory lap as any band has put out in some time.

19) Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual (We*Are*Free)
Imagine a punk band fronted by a teenage Karen-O, more concerned with candy than boys. Imagine that same band with a sever ADD problem and the musical chops of a 70s prog band. Now put that band in a recording studio with nothing but Pixie Stix and Mountain Dew. The resulting album could not be more fun and frantic than Ice Cream Spiritual, an album that is matched only by Spiderman of the Rings in its playfulness.

18) Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (Wichita)
See the second half of the list.




17) The Wombats – The Wombats Proudly Present a Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation (14th Floor)
Considering the amount of worrying that went into this list, I'm as surprised as anyone to find the Wombats making an appearance in my year-end list. Be that as it may, one would be hard pressed to find a more concise and well-crafted collection of tongue-in-cheek brit pop that the tunes offered on this album.

16) Girl Talk – Feed The Animals (Illegal Art)
The mash-up man is back with another audio experiment that crams pop, soul, hip-hop and rock into a blender and sets it to “Puree.” High notes this time around include the Jay-Z / Radiohead collision and an especially excellent mix of Temple of the Dog and Birdman. A great album for an ADD themed party or an all night coke binge.

Check back tomorrow for 15 - 1

Live in Philly: Ted Leo, 12/15

Just want to draw everyone's attention to a review of Ted Leo's solo show at the Barbary the other night in Philly. I was at this same show and regardless of any slight disagreements I may have with the review, it serves as such an accurate retelling of the event that Joe Pelone has eliminated all need for me to cover it myself. I'll leave you with a link to his blog (always entertaining) and a video of T-Lo (also always entertaining).

Tut Tut is Stuck in a Rutt

Artist: Japanther
Album: Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt

Comments: Considering how catchy and fun Japanther's low-fi, telephone and casiotone pop punk was on last year's Skuffed Up My Huffy, Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt is as disappointing a follow-up as one could expect from the Brooklyn drum-and-bass duo.

On the bright side, all of the band's salient elements are intact. The dudes are still big on using movie and TV samples in their songs, a quirk that looks kind of odd on paper but comes off charming in practice. The songs are still stripped down affairs, using telephones for vocals, simple rhythms, fuzzy bass lines and casiotone melodies. "Bumpin' Rap Tapes" and "Bloated Corpse" are fun little pop punk numbers that would sound good even without all the artsty nonsense.

Sadly, Tut Tut is sick with too many bad ideas and restraint to make the album worth much while. The record is 11 tracks long, but four of those tracks are rambling spoken word nonsense not worth even one listen (and two of these monstrosities are over nine minutes long). Another issue is in the albums production, as one of Skuffed's big charms was its rushed and sloppy sound. It's hard to say how a band that plays in basements and sings through spiral chord telephones could have a low-fi album with sheen, but they've somehow managed to pull it off. "Slick" is not the word, but things are mixed just a little too well here, pushing forth a sound that doesn't really suit the band's reckless punk styling.

Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt provides a few catchy numbers and helps establish the band's prolific reputation. However, considering that I was once ready to call this band the new hipster Ramones, the album leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and only reminds me how much better Skuffed was. Experiments in dance ("The Windex") and outright rap ("Radical Businessman") are neat, but ultimately this album is a disappointment.

I couldn't find a video from the new album, so here's one of my favorite tracks from Skuffed Up My Huffy.



Rating: 5 out of 10

Key Tracks: Bumpin' Rap Tapes, Radical Businessman, The Dirge

Buy, Steal, Skip: Skip

Five Card Draw #5: Well, We Were Bound to Hear Bright Eyes Eventually

Five Card Draw: In which we'll have a friend of LOTD put their ipod on shuffle and write about the first five songs that play. One skip is allowed, so use it wisely. This idea is pretty much the exact same thing as something the City Paper does, so any and all credit should go to them. This week, LOTD's official scientist Tara Favazza gets down with some 8 minute ballads and some mopey music.

1) Neutral Milk Hotel - Oh Comely (In an Areoplane Over The Sea, 1998) Very sad, wicked long, and c'mon, you either liked Neutral Milk Hotel or you wished fervently that Jeff Mangum would learn to sing on key. Beautiful/horrible imagery and alliteration, but I will admit to skipping a good chunk of the 8 minutes and 18 seconds of it more often than not.

2) Stephen Page - Live With It Every Day

Though the song has the same peppy feeling you'd expect from the guys who penned "One Week", the subject matter is pretty dark. You wouldn't think accidental homicide by an 11 year old kid with a BB gun would be good subject matter for a catchy tune, but somehow they pull it off. You'll find yourself singing along with "We were almost 12 but we looked 13/He had baby blue eyes that I shot him between" and not feeling bad about it at all.

3) Bright Eyes - Haligh Haligh A Lie Haligh (Fevers and Mirrors 2000)

You just got cheated on/dumped/rejected and you want to wallow in self pity for awhile. Misery loves company, and you'll find no better than Bright Eyes, who's crying along with you. You'll lose interest in his heart-wrenching tales of woe once you've polished off that 3rd pint of Ben & Jerry's and come out from under the covers, but until then you have someone who totally gets what you're going through.

4) Moxy Früvous and Da Vinci's Notebook - Shoehorn With Teeth (appears originally on Bendy's Law 2000) Two goofy bands doing a cover of a goofy song from an even goofier band. Featuring fake British accents, a baby giggling, and what sounds like a human kazoo. Oh, and it's a cappella too, because it wasn't quite kitschy enough.

5) Skybox - Caravan Cabaret (Arcos Iris)
Honky-tonk piano, toe-tapping beat, and fun lyrics touting the benefits going out and seeing this big wide country of ours. "Well let's get on a train and out, baby/Go wherever it may/We don't need no destination/We just got to get away." Great song to rev up that road trip.

Breaking Up is Better With Love is All

Artist: Love is All
Album: A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night

Comments: Forget Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Forget the Cold War Kids. Forget Tapes n' Tapes. The only blog band that is currently pushing consistently good tunes is Love is All. The Swedish dance-popper's second album A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night picks up right where Nine Times The Same Song left off, with this album looking at the darker side of love: The break up.

There are problems with Love is All. Their quirky lady lead singer has a voice that will entice some and be a deal breaker for others, as she does have a tendency to push herself into screech mode from time to time. Like Nine Times, A Hundred Things does have a tendency to run together from song to song, especially on the back end. With no slower ballads like "Turn the Radio off," the album also suffers from no change in tempo.

That being said, few bands are making fuzzy pop as well as this. A Hundred Things is an album for girls in boys left in the lurch and bitter, a dark disco album for people who want to scorn their exes by hitting the clubs, dancing like a madman and fucking the first person they see. The album is the definition of sexy self destruction.

Perhaps Love is All's greatest strength is their ability to mix genres. Their warm fuzzy production is distinctly lo-fi, their saxophone and drum beats give them a hipster dance sound that skinny kids in bad scarves can bump to, all while maintain their pop edge. "Last Choice" and "Give it Back" especially showcase this three headed music monster, as either song would sound super fresh on the dance floor or the basement party drinking PBR.

Scathing and clever, these are songs to recover to. "Sea Sick" and "Movie Romance" are especially bitter, rejecting notions of true love and adolescent lust in favor of more realistic, albeit more tragic, views on human emotion. Which is just a really pretentious way of saying that the songs are mature at best and jaded at worst.

But who cares if the tunes are jaded? A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night is the kind of album that can be appreciated on both a visceral and intellectual level. Love is All looked the sophomore slump in the face and forced it to dance, and established themselves as one of the bands to watch in the coming years.


Rating: 8 out of 10

Key Tracks: Give it Back, Last Choice, When Giants Fall, Movie Romance

Buy, Steal, Skip: Buy