Review: Manners by Passion Pit

Passion Pit
Manners
Frenchkiss
Release Date: May 19, 2009

Although technically released in 2007, the debut of MGMT left their indelible mark on 2008 with three unbelievably strong singles, one released right after the other as their fan base grew at alarmingly exponential rates. Now in 2009, Cambridge, Mass. outfit Passion Pit is shaping up to be the year’s MGMT...in so many words.

What draws the immediate MGMT comparisons is the irresistibly catchy electro-pop nature of their sound. However, Passion Pit turns it all up to eleven, oozing unbridled exuberance on a majority of the tracks. The album cuts right to the chase with one track after the other that simply demand the listener’s attention. No beating around the proverbial, nonsexual bush here: Passion Pit involve a sense of immediacy in their tracks and toss in a hook or beat that will be unforgettable for days. This oversimplified evaluation cannot quite apply to the entire album, but it more or less holds water. Notice the “entire album” portion of the previous sentence. Unlike MGMT, every goddamn song is stellar. There are no holes, no deadweight, no valleys on Manners. The album can be played on repeat ad nauseum without the trigger-finger reflex of changing any particular track.

The eleven tracks of their debut pour on the charm in a variety of ways, but in the end, it is their unabashed ability to stick in one’s mind in whatever way possible. Ten seconds into the album, “Make Light” develops one of those trademark, upbeat synth segments that, when it fades for the verse, makes the wait for the chorus interminable. “Little Secrets” has a nice retro feel, featuring a chorus of children happily chiming in “Higher and higher and higher!” The MGMT sound is definitely prevalent here, as is a little “D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice, and the concoction is forever catchy. Single “The Reeling” is so textbook hooky, it makes sense that it was chosen as the single. Not everything evokes immediate attention, however: “Swimming in the Flood” begins with a soothing string section before the modest synth back beat enters, creating a truly memorable slow-burning electro-pop gem. It is not over-the-top ecstatic, but it shouldn’t be, as it throws some variety into the mix while still maintaining the fundamentals of the album. The tinge of melancholy on “Eyes as Candles” also slows things down a bit, swelling at every turn of the chorus with the intermittent orchestra sounds and opening hook playing over each other. The true cyclic nature of the album comes to fruition towards the end, as “Sleepyhead” turns up the excitement and energy once again as a slightly twisted, mostly delightful lullaby.

Without question, the album has the feel of all-or-nothing: If Passion Pit’s core sound (catchy electro-pop with high-pitched vocals) is your cup of tea, then you’ll likely enjoy every single song on the album. If not, you will hate it. Simple as that. However, Passion Pit make it awfully difficult not to oblige and join the fun that they are cooking. Everyone talks about Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear (and now Dirty Projectors!) among the inane and premature album of the year babble. Wherever they may end up, Passion Pit have created a truly memorable, utterly addicting, and repeatedly replayable debut that demands discussion among the year’s big hitters.

Ed. Note: I cannot even begin to count how many times I typed “Passion Put” in this article….

Rating:

1/2

How-To: Make Your Own Ringtones!

It is the 21st century dillemma: You have the best, most elitist and hipster music taste this side of Pitchfork, yet your cell phone best represents this with a MIDI version of "Hot Cross Buns." How are you supposed to obnoxiously let everyone know that you, yes you, do not listen to mainstream garbage, but instead have found a niche in sub-subgenres that have barely been conceived?

Well, rest easy, because the definitive answer is finally here.

After months of rigorous testing in the Cassette Musique labs, I have concocted a simple, stepwise process to make absolutely free, absolutely hip, absolutely obnoxious ringtones for your cell phone. There is probably some catches to this, but the method has worked for me, so at the very least it is worth a shot.

For one, I am on Verizon Wireless and have a Samsung Glyde phone. I haven't tested this on any other service providers, and have only tried this one other time on my old Motorola phone and it did work. Also, you are going to need to be able to receive a picture message with an attachment (that's crucial.) Ready? Let's go:

1. Peruse your iTunes (or other inferior music library program) and find a song that you're sure is to impress virtually everyone who hears that someone is calling you. This is probably the hardest part.

2. Once you find the song, you need to select no more than a THIRTY SECOND section of the song to use as the ringtone. If it was hard enough to find the right song, it may be hard to find a section that makes a fantastic ringtone. Alas, once you know the section you want to use, right-click the song, select Get Info, and go to the Options tab. You'll see a Start Time and Stop Time section. Enter in, to the best of your ability, the times where the section you want to use appear. It may be 0:33 to 0:49, so enter that. Trial-and-error works well here, so listen to the newly-edited file to see if it was truncated correctly.



3. Once you have your song of choice shortened to ringtone length, you need to convert the file into a low-quality MP3. (I see you bashing your head against your keyboard...relax, it isn't that bad.) To do this, first go to the Edit tab at the top of iTunes and select Preferences. Under the General tab, select Import Settings. You're going to want to import using the MP3 Encoder, and select Custom for Setting. A small pop-up window will come up. I've found that in order to shrink the file size effectively while maintaining some audio fidelity, a Stereo Bit Rate of 96 kbps works well, but also set Channels to Mono. (Sample rate was Auto and the two checkboxes were checked for me, too.) Once this is done, hit OK and get back to the song file. Right-click the song in question, and select Create MP3 Version. It will make a second copy of the song, one which is of your selected length and quality. Perfect!

4. "How in God's name do I get this one-of-a-kind ringtone to my uber-stylish phone?" Go to your favorite e-mail client and compose a new message. Send the message to your cell phone by typing in your 10-digit cell phone number (area code + 7 digits, like 2125550123) followed by @vzwpix.com. Then, attach your newly made MP3 file. It should be relatively small, like about 100 KB, give or take. Once it is attached, send it and wait anxiously.

5. Once your new picture message arrives to your phone, open it. The song should play upon opening it, so you can hear how AWESOME it sounds. Then, for my phone at least, select Options and Save As Ringtone. Perfect! All done. Try to find some similar option if that isn't there. Some phones might be Negative Nancys and not allow this. That would suck. At least you tried. Be creative and experimental if you have to (that's basically what I did), and you'll get it eventually (unless, of course, your service provider or your phone simply doesn't allow it, in which case write an angry letter expressing your discontent on how the legal ringtone store doesn't have "Gun In The Sun" by Wavves available.)

I made this post for a few friends who wanted to also make "Hustlin'" by Rick Ross their ringtone, but if this benefits anyone else, bitchin'. Coming up next: How to fix your leaky faucet in four easy steps! (Cue Home Depot commercial.)

Review: Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
Warp Records
Release Date: May 26, 2009

Grizzly Bear didn’t stand a chance. Neither did 2009, really. As soon as the calendar changed, the world was exposed to an album of literally epic proportions, Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Immediately, the album’s legitimate greatness was widely publicized, invoking “Album of the Year” whispers as early as the first few weeks of January. Since its release, especially in the indie stratosphere, MPP set the bar quite high, and all subsequent albums would struggle to achieve its unexpected success. Except for one.

Almost as immediately as MPP took over the world, there were skeptics quick to say that one album may very well be as good as or better than it. This, of course, was an album that had not been released yet. In fact, it would be four months or so until its proper release. These are the expectations that Veckatimest has had to face upon its release.

The debate will continue for the duration of the year: Merriweather or Veckatimest for Album of the Year? Again, it is preposterous to start deciding such things, but these are obviously two excellent albums that have received universal acclaim, popularity and even sales. However, they are two different albums when it comes down to it, engaging the listener in different ways.

Veckatimest opens up rather relaxed and without any sense of immediacy, almost invoking a chill coffeehouse environment. A minute or so into “Southern Point,” this transient pretense is debunked with an already-climactic change of pace, before settling down and quickly picking up again. The track’s cyclic nature is sufficiently satisfying to kick start the album before segueing into the irresistibly bubbly “Two Weeks.” If the opener did not get your attention, you would have to be deaf to not appreciate such polished pop presence from the otherwise introspective band. Speaking of which, shades of Yellow House come through immediately on “All We Ask,” unforgivably shifting gears into typically soft-spoken melody. “Fine For Now” peaks and valleys in grandeur on scales apropos for Grizzly Bear, meandering from delightfully lush and fulfilling peaks to intermittent finger-snapping lulls and Droste’s melodic pipes (“If we’re all faltering, how’d I help with that?”)

In fact, the first five tracks are superb in their own respective manners. The album continues strong, although not on such a high as the opening tracks. The lowly chug of “Ready, Able” is spotted with transient flourishes until it coalesces into a beautiful hybrid of harmonic lyrics and meticulous melody. “Hold Still” is very minimalistic, featuring simple vocals and a repetitious, cacophonous guitar plucking every now and then. It is admittedly the good-but-not-excellent section of the album, all leading up to the impressive finish, starting with “While You Wait For The Others”. It is the fantastic and formulaic pop gem situated near the latter half of the album, perfectly placed to catch the listener’s attention after a few mildly entertaining tracks and subsequently emphasizes the multidimensionality of the track. For one, the often cryptic lyrics that appear in most of the other songs do not apply here, as the song actually spins something slightly cohesive and applicable. This, combined with the band’s typical low-key, addictive pop style and actual song order, make it a refreshing listen every time.

Veckatimest is substantial enough to write about on its own, but the comparisons to MPP are almost too hard to ignore. Two points in particular: Both albums start off with a string of excellent tracks, come back down to earth, and finish up strong. Additionally, the uber-hyped songs released before both albums’ releases are likely the individual highlights of each album. Of course, the aforementioned album of the year debates will also ensue between the two records, but evaluate Veckatimest on its own merits: A complete, focused and thoroughly engrossing blend of chamber pop and indie folk from beginning to end, and yes, one of the year’s finest.

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"


Rating:
1/2

Selling Out Alert!

Indie fans are relentless to keep their exclusive, premiere, never-before-heard CD-Rs of obscure-as-fuck bands under wraps in order to maintain a shred of pointless, intangible "indie cred." In other words, it is mindless. Once a blogs-only indie band becomes popular (for an indie band), fans immediately repudiate the band's entire body of work, past, present and future, for reasons unbeknownst to myself.

The most recent example of this is Grizzly Bear. Their fantastic new album, Veckatimest, recently sold over 33,000 copies in its first week, landing it at a lofty #8 position on the Billboard 200 chart. 33,000 may not seem like a lot, but when translated to a time when albums actually sold (circa 1999), that number would be more like seventy-two million (give or take). Regardless, it is an impressive feat for a talented indie band, and there is no reason to discount them for succeeding and for actually selling records in an era of unbridled piracy. Hell, I'm happy that they're making some money. They deserve it. (Don't believe me? Full-blown Veckatimest review is a-coming. Pinky swear.)

SPEAKING OF SELLING OUT, I was just typing in random words into Google one lazy late-night, and eventually, I came across A WEBSITE THAT MENTIONS CASSETTE MUSIQUE™. Indeed, hell is clocking in at a balmy one-below on the Centigrade scale right now. As unbelievably ridiculous as it may seem, this really does exist, albeit in a very strange, unexplained sense. Hilariously enough, it was posted on April Fool's Day. However, all PR is good PR, considering the website hauls in an astounding single-digit traffic rate per month. Some (read: no one) may say that this may be the crucial first step towards full-blown selling out. I say, Keep the cryptic mentioning-in-passing PR coming!

In summation, this post serves absolutely no purpose other than to take up space. Actual content pending.

Review: Relapse by Eminem

Eminem
Relapse
Aftermath
Release Date: May 15, 2009

It is the same, tired response: Respected artist releases something new after some time, old school fans resent said artist for not being a carbon copy of the artist’s most popular record. Indeed, when that landmark album is released, the artist undoubtedly must either accept the increased pressure to stay ahead of the curve or rest on its laurels with the same tried-and-true formula, with flawed attempts at progression.

Eminem released The Marshall Mathers LP to critical success, public scorn and overwhelming fan support. Indeed, it was his landmark album, establishing the bar for the great hip-hop album unbearably high with unforeseen flow and wordplay, lyrical substance and raw emotion. Since then, he has released three albums over the span of nine years, to varied success. The Eminem Show was an admirable follow-up to The Marshall Mathers LP, but falling a bit short of its greatness. Encore was a questionable attempt by Marshall to take a bow and sail off into the sunset, as it featured little of what made previous Eminem records so great, including the gradual introduction of terrible accents and goofy, unfitting subject matter. After a hiatus and self-proclaimed relapse after trying to be clean, Em provides us with Relapse.

Of course, The Marshall Mathers LP it ain’t. Nor is it a Slim Shady LP or Eminem Show. Fortunately, Relapse improves over Encore, and Em provides some solid evidence of why he is still relevant and how he got to where he is now, with glimmers of influence from all of his past work.

“My Mom”, the beat of which is jacked straight from Dre’s “What’s the Difference”, features a grating chorus but he manages to spit hot fire for a considerable portion of the song. “Insane” elicits some legitimate laughs with Marshall’s traditional over-the-top fictitiousness detailing some grimace-worthy sexual interactions between him and his stepfather, all the while set to a chilling backbeat that actual gels with Em’s flow. “Medicine Ball” also manages some early Slim Shady LP-type rhymes and random celebrity slander, especially exacerbated by a concluding verse by Em-doing-Christopher Reeves, an arbitrary jab at the late Superman just for some soulless shock value. It is not shocking in an increasingly desensitized world, but rather almost groan-worthy, like when someone makes a painfully unfunny joke and no one laughs.

Eminem proves effective when he just raps from the heart and discusses subject matter that actually means something to him (“The Way I Am”, the classic “Stan”, “97’ Bonnie & Clyde”). As the title of the album suggests, Em has struggled with his substance abuse, and he goes into detail on “Déjà Vu”. As borderline corny as it begins and may seem in the chorus or at the end, “Beautiful” still holds water on Marshall’s sharp rhymes showing brutal honesty, with a feel reminiscent to “If I Had”. “Underground” features yet another pseudohorror beat, with Eminem at the top of his game, maneuvering the song with relative ease, featuring intensity not seen since his earlier days, and no stupid gimmicks to detract from it.

Sure, the singles suck and are requisite inclusions to placate casual fans. “We Made You” features dated celebrity namedrops, the irritable accent, and a female-sung chorus, an unusual inclusion on any Eminem song, the potential of which was not quite tapped. Some of the things Eminem conjures up may garner some credibility from confused youngsters, but aging fans can call his bluff and realize that it is worthy of a facepalm. In a way, though, it is almost refreshing to see the constant attempt to push the envelope, albeit forced at times, as it invokes a sense of revitalization and revisiting of his older records.

Holistically assessed, Relapse is slightly more hit than miss, and the simple return of Eminem in an increasingly Auto-Tuned world provides some spin factor to make it a respectable effort. The goofy, curious persona witnessed on some Encore songs (“Ass Like That”, anyone?) still rears its head five years later. However, the young, unabashed, intelligent mind from his first two records also sees some playing time, and it is an encouraging sign for fans for the inevitable, eventual follow-up.

Eminem - 3 A.M.




Rating:

Quick Reviews: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever Ray, Wavves

A Quick Three, While We’ve Been Away

Wavves – Wavvves – If one word unnecessarily had to be used to describe Nathan Williams’ second album in less than five months, it could be “polarizing.” On one hand, the album stretches the subgenre of low fidelity to liberal lows, making it almost painful to endure at times. On the other hand, there is an introspective, melodic quality to Wavvves, which is present upon closer inspection. Somehow, one guy makes nearly no-fi noise rock catchy, listenable and interesting. “So Bored” and “No Hope Kids” are the best examples of this. Perhaps a tad overrated, but definitely worthy of a few listens. 2.5/5

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! – The exclamatory third album by the NYC trio delves into a more electronic stratosphere this time around, and while fans of their earlier work may scoff, Blitz is still a well put together, cohesive and complete album. More subdued and synth-oriented, Karen O becomes the focus of some songs more than before. The first two songs, “Zero” and “Heads Will Roll”, ease fans into the album with their infectiousness. As the album rolls on, slow-burners like “Skeletons” and “Hysteric” stand out as effective synth-pop gems. Standout “Runaway” succeeds on its piano-emphasized backing and slow, dramatic progression. Closer “Little Shadow” does exactly what any good concluding track should, as it churns on into the sunset until fade. Blitz shows that the YYYs are still good and that they do not have to rely on old tricks to get the job done. 4/5

Fever Ray – Fever Ray – Exactly one-half of Swedish electronic duo The Knife (who earned prestigious Pitchfork Album of the Year honors in 2006 with Silent Shout), Karin Dreijer Andersson’s side project boasts impressive, detached electronic music. At times claustrophobic, at other times ever-expansive, the array of sonic aptitude is varying. Definitely a headphones record, this is one of those albums where it is easy in which to get lost. The album opens with single “If I Had a Heart” and its low, slow quasi-swagger, as Andersson’s distorted voice induces chills in the hardest-hearted listener. The sparse “Dry and Dusty” invokes loneliness and despair, and “Triangle Walks” has an almost tribal feel to it, making it ironic that the very sounds are computer-generated. Overall, Fever Ray’s debut is a refined, enigmatic electronic album that demands repeated listens. 3.5/5

In the near future: Write-ups for Bromst, Veckatimest, Relapse and 21st Century Breakdown. Seriously.

News: The Dead Weather

By now, I'm sure most of you have heard about Jack White's eightieth side-project. In case you haven't, now you do. This new supergroup has come to be known as "The Dead Weather" and will consist of Alison Mosshart from The Kills on vocals, Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age on guitar, Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs on bass, and White taking his place behind the drums. If this sounds like your own personal indie-rock heaven, then check out this business and solidify those thoughts. Definitely promising; This is surely the bastard child of the Stripes and Kills. Anyway, here's the deal - the group has released some tour dates, album art, and a due date. Expect their debut Horehound to drop on July 14th thanks to Third Man Records. As for the tour, it kicks off in Louisville, Kentucky on June 11th. MORE TOUR DATES.

Review: Sandwich by Psychostick

Psychostick
Sandwich
Rock Ridge Music
Release Date: May 5th, 2009

Psychostick is certainly in a league of their own. They play music that borders on hardcore, with impressive instrumentation and breakdowns galore. In other words, nothing terribly distinguishable. Then, there are the lyrics that cast them into a completely different realm of music. Call it humorcore.

The indie scene was blessed with the release of Incredibad earlier this year, providing talented, legit songs that were also side-splitting. Sandwich, for better or worse, is in a similar vein, creating seriously funny tunes that are also, well, good. They play an in-your-face style of metal/hardcore, but the vocals are clean and comprehensible, which is obviously important since they are important to the whole schtick. To fans familiar with the brand of music, it should not come off as abrasive at all, although it has its share of intense moments. Even if it seems too “hard” on the surface, it is actually worth the listen to derive the humor from the songs. After all, they are not serious at all and the contrast between quasi-hardcore and the silly, mundane lyrics (as on Incredibad) make the album that much funnier.

A candidate for most random album title and concept of all time, Sandwich has plenty of food-themed songs to whet your appetite (groan.) The almost-title track, “This Is Not A Song, It’s A Sandwich” is a prime example of the complete ridiculousness of the lyrics in a Psychostick song/sandwich. In essence, one could derive the idea behind any of the songs from their title, and in this case it is literally a defense of how the track-in-question is not a song, but is rather a type of delicatessen delight, and how it could not possibly be a host of other things (“It couldn’t be a chick, ‘cause it doesn’t want to marry.” Amen, brother.) Does it make any sense? It defies all logic, but the intense defense is unavoidably funny. Anyone who has stepped foot into a grocery store can relate to “Grocery Escape Plan,” a simple tale of stream-of-consciousness thoughts that occur while grocery shopping, punctuated at nearly every syllable. Actually, a good deal of the songs are relatable. Take “Don’t Eat My Food” for instance, which is a brutal look at the infuriating occurrence of having a coveted item of food eaten by someone else. “Caffeine” sounds exactly like a song that would be on a caffeine rush and consequently crashing from it. Aside from the universality of food, there are other topics touched upon, as the redundancy and frustrations of minimum wage jobs (aptly titled “Minimum Rage”), bombardment by spam (“You’ve Got Mail Enhancement”), and subtly getting back at a slightly frustrating roommate (“Passive Vengeance”) all deliver the laughs while maintaining a decent level of musicianship. “#1 Radio $ingle” is an all-too-perfect satire of commercial radio, literally spelling out the recipe for success in the song while purposely sounding extremely bland enough to be tolerable by nearly anyone.

It is audibly possible to tell that Psychostick clearly do not give a shit and are clearly not serious, and you almost get the feeling that any small idea that they get becomes the concept for a song (“Orange” almost takes the ridiculousness a bit too far, but it is still passable because of its delivery.) However, the band is quite talented, and makes the album a multidimensional one, with actual musical ability combining with actual humor. The immediate impact of the album is impossible to avoid, lending it to be repeatedly listened to while still being effectively funny. In sum, the self-created hype surrounding Sandwich is pretty much deserved and spot-on, as the album is exactly what to expect: Legitimately hard music and harder hitting laughs. You could do a lot worse than to sit through the hoagie-in-disguise that is Sandwich.

Psychostick - BEER! (from We Couldn't Think of a Title)

Rating:

1/2

News on Upcoming Set Your Goals LP

So, big news ... for me anyway. Three years after the California six-piece's first full length, Mutiny!, Set Your Goals has completed their follow-up LP and plan on releasing it on July 21. So what if I found out like a month after the band officially released this information, I've been waiting for this shit to drop since I first got into SYG! According to vocalist Matt Wilson, " ... this record is 10x the record Mutiny! was in every way and we think you'll all agree." That's a pretty hefty promise considering how fucking good Mutiny! was but I really can't say I doubt it for a second. Wilson went on to tell fans that this yet-to-be-named album will be "faster, less goofy, more complex musically and lyrically." The album will be released with the help of Epitaph Records (screw you, Eulogy). Right now, you can catch the guys as they tour with New Found Glory, Bayside, and Shai Hulud ... still hoping to make the Boston show on April 30th.

New Nine Inch Nails!

Just like that, Trent comes out of nowhere and drops a new album on the world, just like he did with the decent, free The Slip last year. After interminable delays between albums, Trent has been cranking them out as of late! Year Zero, its respective remix album, four Ghosts albums, The Slip, and now Strobe Light. Produced by the one and only Timbaland (nice move, Trent!), it features such eclectic guest spots by the likes of Jay-Z, Chris Martin, Sheryl Crow, Maynard James Keenan and Justin Timberlake! The last two join Trent on the long overdue sequel to "Closer" aptly titled "Even Closer." The first single is apparently "Everybody's Doing It," the forceful foursome to be recokned with for 2009, including the aforementioned Martin and Hov along with freakin' Bono!

Do yourself a favor and snag this album now, while it's still available. All you need is a valid e-mail address. Thanks Trent for making the day so special for fans and music lovers alike.

Fuckin' cleverly crafted BSoD....