It’s summer so basically that means that I am committed to two things: Keeping up with the Kardashians and digging for choonz. Just kidding about that first thing. Music being an obsession of mine, in the summer time I often find myself spending hours scouring the internet for new bands/artists/one-hit wonders. I stumbled across this song yesterday. By now, Canadian natives Arcade Fire ought to be a trusted household name. Despite post-Grammy-victory haters, they continue to do what they do best: make awesome music. They recently released two new singles as a sort of extension to The Suburbs and they’re both pretty good. I’ve linked Culture War below. Check it out.
Music Video-Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
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Summer 2009, Sheffield quartet Arctic Monkeys released their third album, Humbug. Edgy, despondent and surrealistically philosophical it was largely ill received as it took a sharp turn from the poppy, streetwise and mostly observational Brit rock sound they’d established with their first two albums. Two years later it is evident that they made it out of their existential funk, stronger and catchier than ever with the recent release of their fourth LP, Suck It and See.
A sparkling culmination of the sounds they’ve developed over the years, this is could quite possibly be their magnum opus. The album flawlessly combines the cheeky pop and drop-heavy beats of their first two albums with the instrumental and vocal maturity of Humbug. The lyrics, though equally abstract as those of Humbug, manage to be more relatable and thus more enjoyable. Frontman Alex Turner seems to have emerged from the philosophical haze that inspired lyrics such as “My propeller won’t spin and I can’t get it started on my own” and is willing now to bestow his newfound wisdom.
Their maturity is evident in each track. The album beings with the mystically romantic “She’s Thunderstorms” and rolls over to the hook of the album, “Black Treacle.” Songs like “Brick By Brick,” “Library Pictures,” and “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” are reminiscent of Humbug meanwhile integrating the head banging drops of Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare. The standouts of the album are “Black Treacle,” “Piledriver Waltz” and the album’s perfectly suited closer “That’s Where You’re Wrong.”
Perhaps the best representation of the album as a whole is its namesake track, a leisurely and smooth jam with some of Turner’s best lyrics yet: “I poured my aching heart into a pop song/I couldn’t get the hang of poetry/that’s not a skirt girl, that’s a sawn-off shotgun/and I can only hope you’ve got it aimed at me.”
Arctic Monkeys have grown up and moved on from the youthful conundrums and nightlife that inspired the albums the world fell in love with years ago. But they haven’t forgotten where they came from. They’re older, wiser and they’ve found their niche. Even if you were disappointed by Humbug, give this a listen or two. It’s not nearly as much of an acquired taste as the last and it just might provide redemption.
Tracklist
1. She’s Thunderstorms
2. Black Treacle
3. Brick By Brick
4. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
5. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
6. Library Pictures
7. All My Own Stunts
8. Reckless Serenade
9. Piledriver Waltz
10. Love is a Laserquest
11. Suck It and See
12. That’s Where You’re Wrong
Music Video-Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
If there’s one thing that Canada’s got right it’s indie music. Probably to make up for musical terrorists of early 2000 like Nickelback and Simple Plan. And Justin Bei—forget it. Near the top of my essentials list (forget the fact they’re Canadian) are Tokyo Police Club and Born Ruffians; both bands released (awesome) albums last year. As much as I obsessed over those albums for some reason I never heard their colab. To be honest, I never imagined I’d hear the two together. It just sounded too good to be true. A few weeks ago when I was revisiting Champ I stumbled across this song. I wish I’d known about it earlier. It’ll make up for the fact that I just reminded you of Nickelback.
Denmark’s Jannis Noya Makrigiannis is the brainchild behind Choir of Young Believers–an experimental blend of orchestral reverb and indie-pop. His album, This Is For the Whites in Your Eyes, is a cathedral of sound, with choral echoes bouncing off high ceilings. Yet he manages to create this sound without seeming preachy or grandiloquent. There’s something humbly supernatural about it. Other-worldly, though appealing in a Fleet-Foxes-on-vicodin kind of way. The entire album is like a holy confession and generally blurs together. It does however shine when it strays from its norm in songs like “Action/Reaction” and “She walks.” Essentially, the songs worth knowing are linked below. Peace be with you.
Denmark’s Jannis Noya Makrigiannis is the brainchild behind Choir of Young Believers–an experimental blend of orchestral reverb and indie-pop. His album, This Is For the Whites in Your Eyes, is a cathedral of sound, with choral echoes bouncing off high ceilings. Yet he manages to create this sound without seeming preachy or grandiloquent. There’s something humbly supernatural about it. Other-worldly, though appealing in a Fleet-Foxes-on-vicodin kind of way. The entire album is like a holy confession and generally blurs together. It does however shine when it strays from its norm in songs like “Action/Reaction” and “She walks.” Essentially, the songs worth knowing are linked below. Peace be with you.
Standing alone, James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse are two names that are difficult to argue with in the music world. With two distinct sounds of their own it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that together they are an absolute powerhouse. Only a year after the release of their self-titled debut as Broken Bells, the duo has recently released an EP. Meyrin Fields is a futuristic landscape, a mechanical and dark aberration from the 1960s-infused indie pop we’re used to hearing from both artists separately. The EP shares the gloom and new-wave feel of the LP, though with less of a post-apocalyptic feel. Rather, it’s brimming with a sort of artificial intelligence. It’s the musical manifestation of a world run by shimmering robots, unnatural and dominant with the kinda vibes reminiscent of something Spoon would deliver if they lived a thousand years in the future. Science fiction as it is, it still maintains a classic rock quality that puts it in the same class as The Black Keys and Wolf Parade.
Standing alone, James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse are two names that are difficult to argue with in the music world. With two distinct sounds of their own it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that together they are an absolute powerhouse. Only a year after the release of their self-titled debut as Broken Bells, the duo has recently released an EP. Meyrin Fields is a futuristic landscape, a mechanical and dark aberration from the 1960s-infused indie pop we’re used to hearing from both artists separately. The EP shares the gloom and new-wave feel of the LP, though with less of a post-apocalyptic feel. Rather, it’s brimming with a sort of artificial intelligence. It’s the musical manifestation of a world run by shimmering robots, unnatural and dominant with the kinda vibes reminiscent of something Spoon would deliver if they lived a thousand years in the future. Science fiction as it is, it still maintains a classic rock quality that puts it in the same class as The Black Keys and Wolf Parade.
There’s something refreshing about Philadelphia five-piece Free Energy, like a cool sip of Classic Coca-Cola on a hot summer day. Their take on rock ‘n’ roll is something of a youthful mural in which they’re simply taking their favorite colors from different genres and decades and smearing them together to create something light-hearted and energetic. Their debut “Stuck On Nothing” is the sort of sunny album you want as a backdrop to a road trip or a Fourth of July get-together. Sometimes funky but always fun, it’s the kind of optimistic music you’ll want to jam to all summer. Enjoy.
There’s something refreshing about Philadelphia five-piece Free Energy, like a cool sip of Classic Coca-Cola on a hot summer day. Their take on rock ‘n’ roll is something of a youthful mural in which they’re simply taking their favorite colors from different genres and decades and smearing them together to create something light-hearted and energetic. Their debut “Stuck On Nothing” is the sort of sunny album you want as a backdrop to a road trip or a Fourth of July get-together. Sometimes funky but always fun, it’s the kind of optimistic music you’ll want to jam to all summer. Enjoy.
Debut album of one-man-show Pandit, Eternity Spin is the musical documentary of a dream. It opens with heavy-lidded acoustic track “Pack Your Bags,” a song that feels like a solitary train ride to “nowhere, really.” There’s something soothingly melancholy about it; tortured yet compliant. The album’s pinnacle, Kodiak, is a gentle confession that could lull you to sleep. The rest of the album tumbles into an eery world of dream pop. Psychedelic beats with hushed vocals, each track sleepily blurs together like a sequence of dreams and what you’re left with is a feeling rather than something you can adequately describe.
Tracklist
1. Pack Your Bags
2. Artichoke
3. Skivvies
4. Kathryn, My Love
5. The Midi Orchestration
6. Scotch
7. We Reach Out (feat. Star Slinger)
8. August
9. Kodiak
10. European Dance Theme (feat. Foxes In Fiction)
FULL POST
Debut album of one-man-show Pandit, Eternity Spin is the musical documentary of a dream. It opens with heavy-lidded acoustic track “Pack Your Bags,” a song that feels like a solitary train ride to “nowhere, really.” There’s something soothingly melancholy about it; tortured yet compliant. The album’s pinnacle, Kodiak, is a gentle confession that could lull you to sleep. The rest of the album tumbles into an eery world of dream pop. Psychedelic beats with hushed vocals, each track sleepily blurs together like a sequence of dreams and what you’re left with is a feeling rather than something you can adequately describe.
Tracklist
1. Pack Your Bags
2. Artichoke
3. Skivvies
4. Kathryn, My Love
5. The Midi Orchestration
6. Scotch
7. We Reach Out (feat. Star Slinger)
8. August
9. Kodiak
10. European Dance Theme (feat. Foxes In Fiction)
