June 11, 2009
No worries, nobody should (or could) have expected Dinosaur Jr.'s reunion record Beyond to be so alive -- and so good. The deservedly legendary Amherst, Mass band's post-split squabbling is well-documented (re-listen to Sebadoh III if you need your memory jogged), but shaking off the rust, tightening the bonds, and defying expectations, the group returned older, grayer, and seemingly on better terms, but with plenty of energy and chops for the second acts of their storied career. As we saw in the "Over It" video J, Lou, and Murph are clearly psyched and synching. So, do they wipe out on the second post-reunion collection, Farm? Not at all. When we heard "I Don't Want To Go There" live and caught site of that amusing green-minded album art, we had a good feeling about Farm, but it wasn't until we were able to listen to the dozen tracks that we knew for sure that Dinosaur's ninth studio album Farm is another satisfying collection.
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: Dinosaur Jr. - Farm...
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Tags: Dinosaur Jr.
latest by Oldschool Freak-Scene
May 22, 2009
When discussing a new Sunset Rubdown album it's become pretty cliché to list everything Spencer Krug's recently accomplished, but his output remains as prolific as each release is monumental, so it does remains an important piece of the story. Since the massive Random Spirit Lover showed up a couple years ago, Swan Lake released Enemy Mine and Wolf Parade brought you At Mount Zoomer. Now, a little less than a year since Zoomer surfaced and a few months post-Enemy, Sunset Rubdown's delivering their third full-band full-length Dragonslayer. When Krug came through for a Progress Report he told us about a forthcoming marimba EP (what?) as well as misgivings he had about Random Spirit Lover, explaining Dragonslayer would use less studio trickery because "I like [live] kinds of recordings because they're very honest and it's hard to pretend that you sound any different from whatever it is." He wasn't lying.
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer...
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Tags: Spencer Krug | Sunset Rubdown
latest by Blondie
April 30, 2009
When we caught up with Thurston Moore recently, he told us, "I think the Matador record shows us in an excited and newly liberated state of play." The John Fahey bedecked Matador album in question, The Eternal, the band's followup to the duskier, tauter Rather Ripped, is indeed a rollicking good time. When you stop to think about it, it's actually hard believing this is album 16, that the band's been around since 1981, and that the core's largely in (or close to, Steve) their 50s. They've had duds, yes, but since Murray Street, they seem revitalized, so the fact that The Eternal's good shouldn't be a surprise. It's more surprising the way they go about it.
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: Sonic Youth - The Eternal...
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Tags: Sonic Youth
latest by Truth
April 13, 2009
Let's start with the obvious (or at least obvious for anyone who's heard it): Bitte Orca is, on its own terms, a stunning album. Although the excitement over the record started long before, at least as far back as the first time we'd heard the bright and beautiful "Temecula Sunrise," it's fair to say that "Stillness Is The Move" put the anticipation into overdrive. If not for its ample, arty R&B charms and surprising star-turn for the cut's lead vocalist Amber Coffman, then simply for what it signaled: This was a jam welcoming listeners to the party. In the world of Dirty Projectors, this is a big deal.
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca...
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Tags: Dirty Projectors
latest by The Grain
April 8, 2009
Actor, Annie Clark's full-length followup to 2007's Marry Me, finds the multi-instrumental vocalist/songwriter forging a fuzzier, heavier realm (in a different way than, say, Marry's symphonic, Queen-y "Your Lips Are Red"). She said she "wanted to make [Actor's songs] technicolor animatronic rides," but many of these feel darker than technicolor might connote. No, St. Vincent has not suddenly gone metal ... or even rock 'n' roll. Her compositions remain knotty and classically-inflected, but some of the cutesy tendencies of the previous collection (see the bom bom boms and worm voice of "Jesus Saves, I Spend," etc.) have disappeared, making for a more intense listening experience. Plus, she's writing songs with ominous titles like "Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood" and "Black Rainbow," both of which seem somehow more specifically scary than, say, Marry's "The Apocalypse Song." We saw the grungier St. Vincent on fairy tale-with-fuzz "The Strangers" (that last minute or so is totally triumphant) and distorted, spiraling rocker "Actor Out Of Work," complete with its clever chord shifts and embellishments. She did live NoisePop versions of "The Strangers" and "Marrow," too, and we noted that they're pretty killer. How about the rest?
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: St. Vincent - Actor...
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Tags: St. Vincent
latest by moy
March 5, 2009
No secret we've been excited about this one for awhile. And as the band blogged, it's no secret that a transcode of the album is burning up torrent sites a bit earlier than anticipated. On the other hand, between live shows and television appearances, the wait for a Yellow House followup's seemed interminable, Grizzly Bear's pre-release maneuvering and gradual song reveals setting expectations impossibly high. "Two Weeks" and "While You Wait For The Others" suggested a marked turn to sun-dappled pop; every song we heard thereafter fucked with those expectations while giving them dimension. Before this week we'd heard enough to know it'd be pretty great. After a few spins of Veckatimest, we've heard enough to know this is the band's best album to date, and that people won't talk about them the same way after hearing it. Put simply: The new Grizzly Bear is a beast.
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest...
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Tags: Chris Taylor | Dan Rossen | Ed Droste | Grizzly Bear
latest by Tony L
February 24, 2009
Major questions (and complaints) about Yeah Yeah Yeahs third full-length will undoubtedly center around the prevalence of synthesizers and various electronics and seeming lack of Brian and Nick's standard drum and guitar blazes. Icy and fuzzed analog synthesizers and skittering electronic beats do appear on It's Blitz!, and considering the emphasis usually placed on Zinner's excellent tones and riffs and Chase's manic beats, it is startling at first. On repeat listens, though, Karen O's voice takes command and it becomes clearer that no matter what's going on around her, she can still make heads roll. Or, more apropos of It's Blitz!, make you dance til you're dead.
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!...
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Tags: Dave Sitek | Imaad Wasif | Kyp Malone | Tunde Adebimpe | TV On The Radio | Yeah Yeah Yeahs
latest by weez
February 19, 2009
We've been tough on No Line On The Horizon because, to be fair, "Get On Your Boots" is a bad song and the guys are performing it everywhere (and everywhere UK), so it's become the flagship representative of U2's twelfth album. But, no, it's not the entire thing -- there are ten other tracks on it; ten more chances for Bono & Co. to avenge their good name(s). Rolling Stone gave it five stars. There's no way we'll go that far, but we did approach listening to it with open minds, leaving our preconceptions and prejudices against lame lyrics (mostly) at the door. For instance, maybe releasing "Boots" was a bait and switch -- you know, offering up the worst song first so folks would be pleasantly surprised once they heard the whole shebang. Good news U2 fans: It is the album's worst song! Bad news U2 fans: There are close seconds.
Continue reading Premature Evaluation: U2 - No Line On The Horizon...
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Tags: U2
latest by SaintNolan
