The National- as I wrote recently, twice, I'm totally addicted to their stuff. Lead singer Matt Berniger's baritone is super super sexy, and the quality of his lyrics is excellent, too- touching in both deep and simple ways. Their songs, I think, are an interesting blend of intimate, personal moments, and deeper references to socio-cultural angst (touched on in the Pitchfork review [link].) Their newer album, Boxer, is my favorite so far. Though I like all the tracks, my favorites are Slow Show, Brainy, and Fake Empire. Boxer Pitchfork review here.
Alligator, their previous album, is good too, and although it feels as though the first 60% is stronger, I really like the first track, Secret Meeting, and All the Wine:
I'm put together beautifully
big wet bottle in my fist, big wet rose in my teeth
I'm a perfect piece of ass
like every Californian
so tall I take over the street, with highbeams shining on my back
a wingspan unbelievable
I'm a festival, I'm a parade
and all the wine is all for me
and all the wine is all for me
and all the wine is all for me
I'm a birthday candle in a circle of black girls
God is on my side
cause I'm the child bride
I'm so sorry but the motorcade will have to go around me this time
cause God is on my side
and I'm the child bride
and all the wine is all for me
and all the wine is all for me
and all the wine is all for me
I carry the dollhouse, safe on my shoulders
through the black city, night lights are on in the corners
and everyone's sleeping upstairs
all safe and sound
all safe and sound, I won't the let psychos around
all safe and sound, I won't let the psychos around
I'm in a state, I'm in a state
nothing can touch us my love
I'm in a state, I'm in a state
nothing can touch us my love
The Kills- in their newest Midnight Boom: catchy beats, scratchy guitars, and edgy, sexy vocals; a spunky girl band that may make you tap out a drumbeat on your mousepad. Enjoy the youthful sexiness, and don't look for the meaning of life in the lyrics. Pitchfork:
Stylish, sexy, and simple, the nouveau-garage clatter of the Kills has magnificently sat on a line between base and brilliant. They've traded in a bluesy, overdriven sleaze that's served many a duo well in recent years, blurring the edges between their tandem vocals, staccato guitars, and vintage drum machines.Am I the only sour cherry on your fruit stand?
The Fitness- combine angsty, sexy, sometimewhat whiny vocals with atari-esque electro sounds, synth-ey beats and infuse it with energy and you get the fun, very danceable sound of Seattle's dance-punk outfit The Fitness. I enjoyed their newest album, "Call Me For Together," very much and quite regularly while training on the cardio machines.
Architecture in Helsinki- Architecture in Helsinki's sound- airy, youthful vocals on top of light, and peppered with peppy electronica and horns, makes me think of futuristic children's TV. The Australian band's eight-person Sophisticated, musical, teletubby-esque, happy, innocent, gender-neutral, scandinavian-esque PBS (It is 5, off their In Case We Die album, is made for Sesame Street... Count von Count, anyone? Waaaahn eendie heepster, twoooo eendie heepsterz... AH HA HA HA HA!!!). I digress. Their character flits about between sounds, styles, and emotions for our distracted, ADD child-selves and is deliciously fun. My musings likely make little sense, but this does not change the fact that AiH's music is good stuff. Check it out (whether you have or haven't heard 'em on the Sprint commercial)
Death Cab for Cutie- I've been a Death Cab fan since mid-college (2002ish, let's say). They've put out a lot of good stuff. A local band, they've gotten big in the past year or so, but the celebrity hasn't apparently spoiled them. Their new album, Narrow Stairs, is different- more melancholy (the 8-minute haunting-but-beautiful I Will Possess Your Heart is, after all, about a stalker), I'd say, but really great as well. My favorite off the album is Grapevine Fires-
When the wind picked up
the fire spread
and the grapevine seemed left for dead.
And the northern sky looked like the end of days,
the end of days.
A wake up call to a rented room
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom.
To warn us it's only a matter of time.
Before we all burn
before we all burn
before we all burn
before we all burn.
We bought some wine and some paper cups
near your daughter's school when we picked her up
and drove to a cemetery on a hill,
on a hill.
And we watched the plumes paint the sky gray
as she laughed and danced through the field of graves,
there i knew it would be alright
that everything would be alright,
would be alright
would be alright
would be alright.
And the news reports on the radio
said it was getting worse
as the ocean air fanned the flames.
But i couldn't think of anywhere i would have rather been
to watch it all burn away,
to burn away.
The firemen worked in double shifts,
with prayers for rain on their lips,
and they knew it was only a matter of time.
Cut Copy- the Australian group's electro-pop is hard not to enjoy. It's fun and catchy and melds pop and rock with the electronic to make the music palatable to a wide audience and not just those of us who appreciate Frenchey-technoey sounds. A good summer album. Pitchfork review here
The Notwist- I find that the Notwist are hard to sum up. A little minimalist, with clear, calm vocals, layered over an indie-electro sound, the melancholy sound that the Notwist produce is unique. With a complex sound, it seems that even when the beats and sounds are peppier, the Notwist maintain a certain level of melancholy, somehow- between the unique, calmly restrained tone of Markus Acher's vocals, the persistent, sometimes stark beats, or the complexly woven, grainy electronic tracks. Somehow, even when the beat feels poppy, I always find the Notwist's sound beautiful in a sad way. Their new album, "The Devil, You + Me" is pretty introspective and melancholy, a decent follow-up to their epic 2002 album "Neon Golden."
Ratatat- catchy instrumental electronica. Will likely make you want to do some tiny dancing in your seat (if you aren't forced to go a step further and get out of the seat). Good rhythm... always makes me think of things being produced in factories. I haven't gotten quite as into their recent album, LP3, as I am into their previous two (haven't really played it as much as I could, however, keep getting distracted by The National), but their stuff is way good. I listened to the first album, endlessly on busses over Italy, so now when I hear it I envision passing through endless rows of grape vines. Could be way worse things to come to mind.
Styrofoam- Though a little more electronic, Styrofoam is a little Postal Service-esque in my mind (they do have ties to eachother, I hear). More indie-electronica for those of us who can't soak up enough, but the peppy bleeps and bits and synth-y vocals have a catchy appeal.
Hot Chip- Similar to Cut Copy, Hot Chip has a catchy, danceable electronic sound, though a little less pop and vocal melody, and a more little variation of the influences for their sound. Hints of hip hop, and more simple vocal-heavy ballads as well.
Portishead- So a funny thing happened a few months ago. I was wasting time at Ladro when one of the barista's mixes pulled up an old Portishead track. I've been, over the past six months or so, going through a music-regeneration phase- trying to re-acquire music I've been into in past epochs of my life but have no longer. Part of this may be attributed to the demise of computers loaded with Napster/Limewire-laden tracks, and part to album-keepers leaving my life without bestowing me with digital copies of the tunes I became accustomed to hearing with them. The demise of Portishead in my life can be attributed to the former; I listened to a lot of Portishead and Morcheeba late at night in my first apartment on my laptop in the early years of design school until the unfortunate cord-tripping incident sent my poor Compaq Presario flying across the studio, never to emit more than an error screen again. Alas, Portishead went by the wayside until a year or so ago when I thought hey, I should get their album again... and then, of course, my poor memory needed another concrete reminder a few months later in the cafe- and when I crossed the block to Easy Street, brought the album to the cashier, low and behold they mentioned that a new album is coming out. What? Ten years since they've put out an album and when I finally get to the cash register there's another coming out right away? Crazy.
Sadly, I am not as into the new Portishead album as I wanted to be. Third just doesn't catch me the way Dummy or Portishead did. I like downtempo music quite a bit, but something about the new album doesn't have a hook for me... though this new album is chill, the tracks don't feel as sexy or intriguing as Sour Times, Glory Box, or Roads. Maybe it's because it has a more minimalist character, or is a little more muted and melancholy; though I like those qualities in many artists, it's not what I'd order from Portishead. I'm not saying it's bad, I like The Rip quite a bit. I dunno; I was thinking that the ten years would yield something epic, and it's not hitting me as epic (though some claim otherwise, I recognize this). Maybe in 2018.
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