Röyksopp: The Inevitable End

    Always a good surprise to find a new album from a great artist. Norwegian electronica duo Röyksopp consisting of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland is one of my favorite electro artsists. Previous albums like Melody A.M. (2001), The Understanding (2005) and Junior (2010) were fantastic, namely Junior. To me, Senior (2010) was a letdown, but I can see that it was mostly unreleased material from Junior. Confirmation that The Inevitable End (released on the Dog Triumph label) will be Röyksopp's final full length album is disappointing, especially when I think they are at the top of their game and the time has never been so right for the world to accept electro.
    Some big names of course are dotted throughout the album, like Robyn (who has done a number of other songs in collaboration with Röyksopp on previous albums), Susanne Sundfør and Jamie Irrepressible (a.k.a. Jamie McDermott). Check out more about each artist by clicking the link in their name.
    Overall, this album has great energy, while understated, that is brooding and dark. There are lots of lyrical references that allude to something that went wrong or mistakes that were made, regrets and failures--not that I pay attention to lyrics much. One word of caution: the song "Rong" contains explicit lyric content, repeating "what the f*** is [r]ong with you?" over and over, nothing else, literally. Musically it's a cool number but you won't lose the whole effect of the record if you skip it for reasons of conscience.
    Some of the album highlights for me are:
(1) "Monument (T.I.E. version)" - the first track starts off right, lots of energy and great gritty electronic noises that Röyksopp does so well, as well as the vocals by Robyn.
(5) "Save Me" - the vocals lines are great, especially where it just fades off on a high note.
There are others but these are probably my favorites. There are about five extra songs that never made the album but are on a "disc two" in some formats, I'm not sure entirely. Some of the songs may be from the collaborative EP Röyksopp did with Robyn titled Do It Again (2014 also). See here.
   Check out the song "Monument" (a preview from Röyksopp's Soundcloud) over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks'. Enjoy!

The Vliets...God's Drug (EP)

     Every once in a while I find a new band in a really random way. This time it was on Soundcloud checking out a new single, "Competition" for The Dodo's recently announced upcoming (Jan. 27, 2015) album, Individ. After listening to that, I clicked "recommendations" and found a list of random tracks by Polyvinyl, Subpop Records, et al., I was intruiged by a band name Dubious Rothchild and checked  out two of their songs, "Pale Solar Stream" and "God's Drug". Both remind me of  Radiohead Amnesiac era or Thom Yorke vibe. They are from their second EP, God's Drug (EP, September 2012.
     Come to find out, Dubious Rothchild is actually The Vliets. Assuming it was their former band name I don't know where Dubious Rothchild comes from, but The Vliets is a nod to advant-garde singer-songwriter artist, Don Van Vliet (a.k.a. Captain Beefheart). The Vliets is a trio made up of Ty Bohrnstedt, Daniel Gonzalez and Max Anderson. The former two were previously nationally ranked junior tennis players. The Vliets consider their sound to be art synth-pop mixed with 1960's psychedelic rock. There is also some minimalist electronic experimentation going on in there too. They have a previous EP called The Vliets (EP) that came out in July of 2011.
     Check out their SoundCloud page here. Bandcamp website is also a good place to stream both EP's for free, here. I've linked the song "Pale Solar Stream" over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks'. Enjoy!

Binge Post...The Greener Grass Band, Rubblebucket, Phish

I'll avoid saying it's been a while...

Three bands that perhaps belong aside one another, all introduced to me by my brother, Aaron, who is part of The Greener Grass Band actually. No bias here.

(no album cover sorry)

The Greener Grass Band is led by singer-songwriter Justin Gurnsey and their first EP, The Greener Grass Band, was just released September 12th, 2014 at the Firehouse Saloon in Rochester, NY. Fun concert!

Their album is six tracks, and is a mix of funk, jam band, reggae, jazz, neo-psychedelic rock. The French horn is an awesome addition to the mix, but overall I find the mixing to heavily favor the voice and make everything else sound a little distant. Much better live, even though the multiple horns over top of each other is bomb. If you're in the Rochester area go listen live or get their EP. Their website is here.

Rubblebucket is a band I've been following a bit for a while now, since they were The Rubblebucket Orchestra, and I've heard them live once too at Water Street Music Hall. Their previous albums/EP's have been a little more on the electro pop/new wavey side but I still love their funky, afrobeat, psychedelic pop sound that remains. The brass seems to take more of a back role lately as well, being blended into the mixing more to the point of losing to the synths. Such as goes the music industry when a band starts to make it big or become more popular. I don't necessarily miss their first Rubblebucket album as much as I do maybe the Omega La La (2011) era. Rubblebucket as a whole though is just fun to listen to and even better to see in concert. New York Times "Press Play" website has this entire album streaming here (scroll down until you reach it).

Phish is a band my brother loves and I have just never gotten into because they are too jam bandy for me (and represent a drug scene that I do not care for). Anyway, their latest album, Fuego, is fairly accessible and does showcase some individuality and a jazz influence I can get behind. I've listened to it more than a couple times and have enjoyed it. Phish to me is not as complex as everyone makes them out to be, has a strong piano rock groove and is full of "cute" little idiosyncrasies, lots of jamming and lead guitar solos. That being said, I'm not trying to downplay this album. If you enjoy a classic psychedelic rock album throwback, look no further. If you fall into the other generalized category (like me) than give this an open minded listen. There are a couple tracks on their SoundCloud, here. Otherwise find a copy yourself, there used to be a stream in NPR: First Listen, but the album has released and it has been taken down.

Enjoy!

Just in...Kishi Bashi: Lighght

   

    Two posts back to back (don't miss the previous one, Coldplay's Ghost Stories) Virginia native, Kishi Bashi, has been a member of many groups as a troubadour of sorts. He has performed violin, on which he was classically trained, with Sondre Lerche, Regina Spektor and of Montreal. Now, he's on his own for a sophomore release following up 151a (2012) with Lighght. The album just came out on Indiana based independent label, Joyful Noise Recordings, the 13th of May, and has quite lived up to my expectations. The title is taken from Aram Saroyen's minimalist one-word poem. I assume the one word is "Lighght". Kishi Bashi says he took the name because "The poem's blatant assault on literary convention and classical form was attractive to me."

    This release is clearly Kishi Bashi. Tons of layers, lots of violin and multiple vocals piled on top of each other in effective harmonies. I think his stuff works best in the studio, not so much live. I think Andrew Bird has him topped in that regard. Kishi Bashi has a more psychedelic folk tendency anyway, dipping into classic 70s rock with synthesizer and electronic touches. He also delves into the far east as you will hear on "Bittersweet Gensis for Him AND Her" and "Once Upon a Lucid Dream (in Afrikaans)", as well as more rustic folk with ukelele as on "Q&A".

    I will likely be listening to this album for a long time to come. Check out the entirety of Lighght on his Bandcamp site, here. Or just preview a bit with "Hahaha Pt. 2" over by the 'Monthly Sample Tracks' as I think it is one of the better overall representations of this album even though it may seem fragmented. Enjoy!

Upcoming: Coldplay: Ghost Stories

    I guess I'm just a sucker for Coldplay, because I have not stopped listening to Ghost Stories since it was put up on iTunes for pre-listening. Coming out on Parlophone Records in just a few days, May 19th, 2014, Coldplay now has six studio albums under their belt. This is about the time where we might expect them to disappear into history until twenty years from now when they go on a huge reunion tour or something. Who knows, we'll have to wait and see. The artwork is by Czech etching artist, Mila Fürstová, who did the cover you see above and much more for packaging and singles. There is going to be an exhibit in London of the work she did for Ghost Stories actually. She has been highly recognized at the Royal College of Art and is the youngest academic member of the Royal West of England Academy. An interesting note, Coldplay is going to perform an hour long concert on NBC on May 18th, which to my knowledge is not usually given a special time slot. Maybe if it was part of something else, like a late night show or Super Bowl.
    Apparently the album's theme has a lot to do with singer Chris Martin's now failed relationship with Gwenyth Paltrow, but a lot of the other members of the group contributed their own musical ideas to the album too. This is a marked difference to previous albums, where Chris Martin would ultimately produce the melodic material and everything would be built around it. Two reviews about Ghost Stories that I like are (1) from Billboard Magazine, by Jason Lipshutz, who describes the album as "an evocative concoction of sullen phrases, sparse arrangements and powerful themes"; and (2) Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly, who says the album "feels like a prequel to something better." Could be. I do kind of get a Prospekt's March kind of vibe from some of the songs on Ghost Stories, even though they are full length and not iotas.
    OK, the music: my favorite tracks are right in the middle to late part of the album. "True Love", "Midnight" (with its Jon Hopkins homage to an unreleased track called "Amphora" and parts of "The Fourth State II"), "Oceans", "A Sky Full of Stars" (which will undoubtedly become the most well loved on the album in popular circles with its clear EDM or Electronic Dance Music leanings) and the hauntingly lovely "O". All said, Ghost Stories leans toward the ambient side with some rhythmic hip hop nuances at times. Examples of this would be "Magic" and "True Love". The Deluxe version of Ghost Stories includes three more tracks, "All Your Friends", "Ghost Stories" and "O (Reprise)".
    Over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks', check out the song "A Sky Full of Stars" embedded from MMMusic over on SoundCloud. I assume they have something to do with the release of Ghost Stories here in the US. Also stream the entire album on iTunes, here. Enjoy!

Bend Sinister: Animals

    This is Bend Sinister's third full album, released March 11th, 2014 under the File Under Music record label, which I do not know a lot about. I believe this is their first to be put out by File Under Music, but they seem to be based in Vancouver, BC. I love the sound Bend Sinister is putting together, true to themselves and really upbeat most of the time. But, they also slow down a song really well and create dramatic and sweeping music too. The have a flare for the dramatic, one could say, though not necessarily in the same sense that fun. does. Maybe more in the sense of Muse, which is what their first song sounds like a lot, or Jukebox the Ghost. 

    Anyway, I love the first song on the album, "Best of You", and the second is also quite good, "Fancy Pants." "Seventeen" is rocking as well. I heard the first two, evidently the singles, on my go to radio station these days; WITR, 89.7 "The Pulse of Music". For something different, the second to last two tracks, "You Remind Me" and "Through the Week" are a little different speed. The first is slightly poppy and the second is a definite slow song. Thank you RIT! The whole album is feel good and electric, with classic rock sensibilities--guitar and electric piano organ style, even some grand piano thrown in there.

     Check out the song, "Best of You" over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks' for your listening enjoyment, or better yet hear the entire album on Bandcamp, courtesy of File Under Music, here. Enjoy!

Upcoming...Tokyo Police Club: Forcefield

    Just found this today, and couldn't wait to put it up. Seems like I've found more free time this week alone than I have in the past 2 months. I love the simple, straight forward indie post-punk of Tokyo Police Club. Though I definitely think this leans toward the pop end, as Pitchfork's review also highlighted, see here. This is their third full release, Forcefield, which drops March 25th, 2014. Gotta thank BIRP!'s March 2014 Indie Playlist for making my aware of this album.
    Ok, a lot has been said about how Tokyo Police Club has been trying to avoid all the trends (or micro trends as Pitchfork called it--even though I think the trends are more here to stay then everyone gives them credit unfortunately). And they claimed along with the title of this album that they were trying to create Forcefield in some sort of bubble. One problem with that theory is they switched producers to Doug Beohm, who has done work for Miley Cyrus and Fall Out Boy. I hate producers. If you're trying to make a pop album because you want to be a confused indie rock band with a dance pop sound then you've made the right move. But, I think all the effects used take away from what made Tokyo Police Club great: guitars. Their sound has also evolved into a more alternative guitar distortion. I think in reality, Tokyo Police Club has followed a lot of trends without knowing it. One song that comes close is "Tunnel Vision", which is ironically poorly named when you look at it in this light. The synth, glam and dreamy pop style is a definitely switch and about the only thing that remains from Champ (2010) and Elephant Shell (2008) is the vocals, though even then there is a sort of blend added to singer David Monk's voice. Either, their previous semi album, Ten Songs, Ten Years, Ten Days (2011) where they covered a bunch of pop songs, like "Since You've Been Gone" and "Party in the U.S.A."got to their head or it was intentional. Thankfully, one trend they barely happened to avoid is New Wave. I will give them that.
    I never cared that Tokyo Police Club couldn't write a song over four minutes long and just want the music world to return to normal. There used to be a time when there were so many unique bands who were just putting out their first or second album and showed such great promise of remaining true to themselves. But, their most recent album drowned in the lack of variety going around these days. Namely, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, The Freelance Whales and now Tokyo Police Club.
    Well, make up your own mind, listen to the entire album streaming on the NY Times website, here. I've linked their most adventurous song to date under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks', coming in at 8:32 in three "parts"; "Argentina (Parts I, II, III)". Enjoy!

Binge Post...Andrew Bird, Young the Giant, Walk the Moon

    Been a while. Gonna give props to a couple albums at once because I don't have time to write up several posts separately lately. First, Andrew Bird, if you don't know him check out his TED talk here. Love his music! The release is an EP titled, I Want to See Pulaski at Night (Nov. 12, 2013). You might be able to hear it on his website still, here. The main idea of the seven track album is the song, "Pulaski at Night", which gave breath to the other music on the album. Some tracks are epilogues or simply instrumental musical ideas. All quite pleasing to listen to, as if one was enjoying a warm summer evening out on the porch with the sound of crickets. Overly atmospheric description? I do not think so. Check out "Pulaski at Night", my favorite song, over under 'Monthly Sample Tracks' with it's soaring counter melody in the strings. Tags-Indie Folk, Indie Rock

    The next album I've been sampling a lot is by Young the Giant, namely their first and self-titled album, Young the Giant (2010). But, they do also have a new album that came out, Mind Over Matter, in January of this year. Once I listen to that more, perhaps you'll see it up here too. Young the Giant strikes me as your average indie rock band, but found a uniquely smooth ambient leaning style bordering on feel good island music with a good portion of this album that appeals to me. I enjoy the singers voice too and find their simple hooks and melodies memorable. That and the sweet album artwork! Check out the peppy song "Your Side". Tags-Indie Rock

    Lastly, a post-punk, dance rock band for you: Walk the Moon, with their also self-titled album, Walk the Moon (2012). I find their music somewhat brash and constantly driving, but it reminds me a bit of Two Door Cinema Club...maybe throw in Everything Everything and the voice of the singer from Clock Opera? You get the picture if you know those groups. I cannot even say this is one album that will stick in my playlist long, but I'm throwing it out at you for you to decide. It might be too New Wave for me. Listen to "Tightrope". Tags-Post-punk, dance-punk, new wave, indie pop

Year in Review: Top Albums/Songs of 2013

    Better late than never. Not the greatest year in terms of music, imo. A lot of disappointing releases, namely Phoenix and Vampire Weekend . Those two, despite whatever innovation or statement their albums were going to make, they are not making my top 10 at all.

So, without much further ado, the Top 10 Albums:
honorable mention:
AHJ (EP) - Albert Hammond, Jr.

10) Orange Morning - NEOV
9) Give In - ON AN ON
8) Candela - Mice Parade
7) Songs for Imaginative People - Darwin Deez
6) Carrier - The Dodos
5) Amok - Atoms for Peace
4) Comedown Machine - The Strokes
3) Junip - Junip
2) Trouble Will Find Me - The National

and the top spot goes to....
1) Random Access Memories - Daft Punk

Gotta love the historical twist they gave this album, going back to the roots of disco/funk/house in a way, capturing people's memories and creating their own along the way.

Top 20 Songs:
honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
"The River Has A Tide" - Mice Parade
"Ghosts" - ON AN ON
"Demons" - The National
"Spotlight" - Leagues
"Line of Fire" - Junip
"Walking Lightly" - Junip
"Baton" - Junip
"Head First" - Junip
"Relief" - The Dodos
"Stranger" - The Dodos
"Trojans" - Atlas Genius
"Cooker Ship" - Albert Hammond, Jr.
"Amok" - Atoms for Peace
"Unless" - Atoms for Peace
"Dropped" - Atoms for Peace
"800 (Human)" - Darwin Deez
"Morning Fire" - NEOV
"80's Comedown Machine" - The Strokes
"Partners in Crime" - The Strokes
"Happy Ending" - The Strokes
"Beyond" - Daft Punk
"Instant Crush" - Daft Punk

20) "I Need My Girl" - The National
19) "Look See Dream Me" - Mice Parade
18) "Confidence" - The Dodos
17) "So Clear" - Junip
16) "All the Time" - The Strokes
15) "Unless" - Atoms for Peace
14) "Get Lucky" - Daft Punk
13) "Contact" - Daft Punk
12) "Pink Rabbits" - The National
11) "Tap Out" -The Strokes
10) "Before Your Very Eyes" - Atoms for Peace
9) "Default" - Atoms for Peace
8) "Doin' It Right" - Daft Punk
7) "Free (The Editorial Me)" - Darwin Deez
6) "Lose Yourself to Dance" - Daft Punk
5) "One Way Trigger" - The Strokes
4) "Humiliation" - The National
3) "The Chill House" - Mice Parade
2) "Giorgio by Moroder" - Daft Punk

and the top honors goes to...
1) "Fireproof" - The National

This song is just so beautiful, short and sweet! I don't even know logically if it is my favorite, but I just enjoy it so much every time I listen to it and it keeps popping up in my mind as the strongest contender.

Enjoy 2014! I will continue my trend of throwing posts up once or twice a month.