Here are a few music-related websites that I thought I would share with our rabid, dedicated fan base in a new segment I like to call "Traipsing the 'Net." You’re welcome.
Check this shit out. Or, you know, you could listen to the same seven songs on repeat for the next six months. Because that’s epitomizes keeping things fresh.
You’re welcome.
To help satiate the masses, here are three fantastic records that I have been abusing (i.e., overplaying, I would never hurt these records) this summer so far.
Treats
Release Date: May 11, 2010
Mom + Pop/N.E.E.T.
Prepare for utter auditory numbing, in the best possible way. Sleigh Bells have crafted a superb debut album, centering around the core tenants that make popular music just that: It’s loud and it’s catchy-as-fuck. However, what separates Sleigh Bells from Top 40 schlock is oft-lacking originality. Quite frankly, this is a very fresh-sounding album.
In the crudest sense, Treats plays like eleven “Hollaback Girl” or “Mickey” cheerleader jams: Most songs feature the requisite stomp-and-handclaps, but the drums and bass are explosive and the guitars are simply paralyzing. The female vocals of Alexis Krauss are nothing extraordinary, as she intersperses yelling into her normal detached delivery, but the effect works wonderfully with the music.
In essence, Treats does not beg much description. It is mostly straightforward, and probably possesses one of the lowest barriers to entry for an album. The listener is immediately pummeled with the machinegun intro of “Tell ‘Em”, and it rarely lets up afterward. “Infinity Guitars” lives up to expectations, ending with some seriously hard axework, courtesy of Derek Miller of Poison the Well. “A/B Machines” is reminiscent of a noisy, lo-fi “Rockefeller Skank”, pounding its one line into the listeners head amidst the bountiful jangling guitars and handclaps. “Rill Rill” is the one break from the noise, as it slows things down a bit to create a fantastic, laidback summertime jam.
As unlikely as it may seem, at least in writing, Treats in its entirety is the perfect summer album. That is, it is the perfect volume-up, windows-down album, the album that should provoke involuntary headbanging and endless air guitar, wherever it’s heard. Simply put, Treats is one of the most refreshing and downright fun albums (and debuts) of the year, hands down. 4.5/5.
Cosmogramma
Release Date: May 3, 2010
Warp Records
Steven Ellison may have made his own genre of music with Cosmogramma. It effortlessly blends electronic, jazz, hip-hop and all sorts of sound effects to create its signature sound. Songs freely flow from one to another, creating a true album that almost defies having standout individual tracks.
However, there are a few distinguishable moments. “…And The World Laughs With You” sounds like an outtake from The Eraser, featuring a (welcoming!) Thom Yorke sample that is subtle as Ellison does his musical magic around it. “Do The Astral Plane” comes closest to a bonafide single, both in length and structure, as the strings, clicking, synth blips and elements of jazz congeal into a whimsical, workable piece. Fulfilling its title to the best of one’s imagination, “Dance of the Pseudo Nymph” implies a fanciful forest dance of mystical creatures around a fire (…or something.) Similarly, “Table Tennis” utilizes a surprisingly effective ping-pong backing as Laura Darlington’s dreamy vocals work in front of it.
Isolating an individual track from Cosmogramma actually weakens it, extracting it from its overall context of the album, which almost paradoxically seems to lack strict cohesion. However, it is the free flow, the spillover effect of songs, and the myriad of sounds at play at any given time that truly encapsulates the listener. It would be difficult to find a more interesting and intriguing work than Cosmogramma this year, a truly experimental effort that demands repeated listens. 4/5
Crystal Castles
Release Date: April 23, 2010
Fiction Records
No sophomore jinx at play here. Proving that they can transcend the hype and controversy surrounding their solid debut effort, Crystal Castles have improved upon their initial sound in almost every conceivable fashion. Shying away from the gimmicky, glitchy side and instead focusing more on a more emotive, atmospheric sound that proves that they are no one-trick ponies.
As with any great album, Crystal Castles never gets stale at any point, staying inventive the whole time (except for perhaps its screamingly creative title). One of the clear-cut standouts is “Celestica”, which is a brilliant display of maturity for the band, exhibiting Alice’s dreamy vocals behind a borderline atmospheric, new-wave backbone. “Baptism” manages to work in the 8-bit card, blipping away in the forefront until the buildup of the pre-chorus and chorus, which comes off almost industrial even though it is entirely electronic. They even manage to make a Sigur Rรณs sample into “Year of Silence” quite nicely, as it gels with the whole spacey, dancy vibe the song emits. The string of successive, successful songs rolls on with “Empathy” and “Suffocation”, the latter of which is reminiscent of emotive M83 electronica, flatly showcasing yet again the growth at play all throughout the album.
In fact, the album almost never stops churning out the gems, making one’s favorite song prone to change frequently with increased listens. Most of the songs are dense, often times menacing and, quite simply, intoxicating. They may not feature the striking immediacy of a majority of their debut’s tracks, but the songs are more rewarding and engaging this time around. The second Crystal Castles is an impressive sophomore effort in every respect of the word, remaining constantly infectious while showing marked signs of improvement, as well. Who would have thought something like this would have derived from Canada?! 4.5/5
As I Lay Dying
James Murphy makes it look so easy. The DFA Records co-founder has released two proper LPs and a handful of singles under his LCD Soundsystem musical project, and they have all essentially been winners. As time has gone on, Murphy has refined LCD’s sound, integrating elements of dance, punk, electronic and new-wave into his songs, coupled with thought-provoking lyrics that almost seem like they are too good for this highly infectious music. On This Is Happening, LCD’s third, and allegedly last, LP in five years, Murphy knocks it out of the park, combining all of the elements he loves to use into one unavoidably engrossing album.
The indie scene is littered with a plethora of experimental bands that receive critical acclaim. While LCD Soundsystem could loosely be called “experimental” with its disregard for genre singularity, This Is Happening lacks the barrier to entry that other experimental albums do: This is one album that anyone could jump into and enjoy.
There are certainly parallels to LCD’s stellar second LP, Sound of Silver. “Get Innocuous!” was the slow-building, new-wave/electronic jam of Sound of Silver; this time around, it’s “One Touch,” another eight minute session that almost demands the listener to dance. “All My Friends” and “Someone Great” were two of the best songs on Sound of Silver, let alone of the past decade (seriously). “All I Want” and “I Can Change” both do an exemplary job of providing two more back-to-back classics. The former harkens back to David Bowie’s “Heroes”, with the repetitious guitar droning and sporadic synth squeaks in the background as Murphy genuinely sings…about love. Over clichรฉd topic? Sure. However, there is a very real sense of sincerity and heartfelt emotion in the song, with amazingly good lyrics to further the conviction. When Murphy belts out “Take me home!” at the end of the song, it would take a truly cold heart to not be moved. “I Can Change” is a bit more upbeat sounding initially, with the bouncy electronic beat propelling the song. Again, the words standout, as Murphy convinces that special someone to “Never change / This is why I fell in love”, and also that he can change “if it helps you fall in love.” Murphy knows he is getting older, and this maturity is paying major dividends for his fans with another set of great, timeless classics.
However, just because he is getting older, does not mean he has forgotten to have fun. In addition to “One Touch”, “Drunk Girls” showcases Murphy’s sense of humor, contrasting the difference between drunk girls and drunk boys. Stop playing “Shots” at your party, and start playing this catchy dance-punk song instead. It is a good song, but to further emphasize the strength of the album, it may also be the weakest of the nine songs. “Pow Pow” is probably the best example of Murphy’s sarcastic lyrics and delivery on display, all backed by a sprawling, borderline disco sounding electronic sound.
Every track could have a mini-dissertation written about it, but the essential conclusion is this: LCD Soundsystem have made their best, and possibly last, album of their short existence. Also, with their incredible track record, that conclusion holds even more significance. Do not let the hyperbole surprise you: This is an impressive, cohesive, all-around meticulously crafted record that will endure the years, and it would be foolish not to give it a spin for free at lcdsoundsystem.com/thisishappening.
Rating: 4.5/5
MGMT
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few years, you have undoubtedly stumbled across the electro-pop perfection of MGMT’s three monster singles from 2007’s Oracular Spectacular. Simply one of these singles would have thrust the Brooklyn duo to some level of stardom, but three consecutive smashes pushed them into an unidentifiable realm of untouchable hipster-dom. Needless to say, the pressure was on to exceed expectations on the follow-up to their major-label debut. Instead of succumbing to the temptation of making another serviceable, marketable single รก la “Kids” or “Time To Pretend”, the band decided to do the complete opposite: Make an album that shuns the popular conception of their sound and an album completely devoid of an individual standout track.
The months leading up to the release of Congratulations suggested that, perhaps, MGMT had lost it. The released track list included a twelve-minute-long song and titles such as “Brian Eno” and “Lady Dada’s Nightmare”, and the bizarrely vivid artwork of an approximately two-and-a-half headed creature surfing raised eyebrows (or elicited chuckles). There was a borderline sense of “Maybe they’re messing with us.” Despite throwing its listeners an auditory changeup, Congratulations is an interesting listen from beginning to end.
In general, the album seethes undeniable psychedelic rock vibes, as if this was a newly discovered record from the ‘60s. Those familiar only with the band’s major singles may not even realize this is MGMT at all, but it is somewhat reminiscent of the second half of Oracular Spectacular. Opener “It’s Working” is a nice feeler for the rest of the album, providing a bouncy bass, harmonious harpsichord and organic fluctuation of mood with the vocals to create a slightly trippy, psychedelic classic rock gem in 2010. The duo also channel eccentric Georgia quintet Of Montreal on “Flash Delirium”, which also serves as the closest thing to a single on the album, and easily the most fun individual track. It is a sprawling, schizophrenic song that has plenty of different influences, all culminating in the rapid, raucous spiral of a finish.
The aforementioned twelve-minute epic “Siberian Breaks” is a hit-or-miss attempt to, more or less, jam in as many influences as possible. While it is admirable and fun to see where it goes next, it is a bit too sprawling for its own good and sometimes wanders a bit too far from cohesion. However, the sheer length and endurance of the song still make it undeniably epic.
