Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record (Arts & Crafts)

Supergroups usually don't work out. They are short lasted and bring exciting music one minute and drama follows within a couple of minutes, as a Time Magazine article stated that supergroups are "fueled by dueling egos". Broken Social Scene is a supergroup, but a pretty good one. They've produced four studio albums, five film scores including The Invisible, so I guess you could say that Broken Social Scene is one of the more successfully long lasting supergroups. They're also a huge one, they have all walks of life in indie music from baroque to dream pop and beyond. There are over twenty members to Broken Social Scene and their latest LP Forgiveness Rock Record showcases their diverse indie sound that changes from song to song.

Some of the very notable guest appearances that appear on Forgiveness Rock Record are Feist, Emily Hanes from Metric, Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg from Pavement and Sebastian Grainger from Death From Above 1979. Those collaborations show that Broken Social Scene is a major interstate for indie artist and music. The diversity of each song is very unique and artistic to an album. From the country chaos of "Water In Hell" to the beautiful lo-fi ballad of "Me and My Hand" and even showing some sitar work on "Ungrateful Little Father".

It's kind of like a compilation album with so many different solo artists performing, it's a fun listen through. Some songs to lack the fun indie sound though, "Chase Scene" has a very bizarre feel to it and doesn't deliver as effectively as the rest of the diversity on the album, but despite the negative it still does build up into a very exciting finish.

There really isn't much else to say about the album other than it is a fresh breath of indie to your ears. Artistic approaches are everywhere on the album, but basically it sounds like a indie kids getting together in a studio basement and have a blast. The chatter at the end of "Water In Hell" proves it. Suupergroups are mostly made of very known members of bands, but Broken Social Scene is different; their from unknown indie acts and other solo artist that haven't really made it to far in the indie universe, but still have fun making wonderful indie with a giant group of music makers.

Overall: 8.0/10.0 GREAT

Track Listing:

1. World Sick - 8.5
2. Chase Scene - 6.5
3. Texico B*****s - 7.0
4. Forced To Love - 8.0
5. All To All - 8.0
6. Art House Director - 8.0 *
7. Highway Slippery Jam - 7.0
8. Ungrateful Little Father - 7.5
9. Meet Me In the Basement - 8.0
10. Sentiment X's - 8.5 *
11. Sweetest Kill - 8.5 *
12. Romance To the Grave - 9.0 *
13. Water In Hell - 8.0
14. Me and My Hand - 9.5 *

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Sweetest Kill (Live)"

Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? (Hanson)

There are many layers to the Emeralds' music. On top the most distinct appearance of muisc are the video game noises and '80s synthesizers that sounds straight out of Blade Runner, but underneath all the futuristic noises is a faint very ambient acoustic lines that are very soothing to try and find underneath all the calm chaos above it. Does It Look Like I'm Here?, Emeralds' LP following up 2009's What Happened is a lot more clear and textures in comparison and a step up.

Emeralds are from Clevland, Ohio and have been releasing tons of albums from Hanson Recordings, over thirty to be exact, but most have been on Cassette Tapes, CD-4 and other obscure recording techniques. On their latest album Does It Look Like I'm Here? has their clearest and most textured sound to date with lots of Krautrock influence. The album opens with the very playful "Candy Shoppe" that sounds just like the title, progressive keyboards and ambient synths and obscure acoustic guitar riffs underneath all of it. A very unique sound indeed.

The whole album features this formula and is a very enjoyable experience, especially for progressive electronic fans. Emeralds reminds me a lot of Kraftwerk on this LP, everything sounds like it is from the future and is like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey backwards. It's really relaxing just to lay back and enjoy imagining your floating through space while listening to this album.

The strongest part of the album is the second half which explores more of the underneath layer of acoustic rather than the upper synths. "Goes By" is a very dreamy ambient field of endless space, "Now You See Me" reminds me of going off into the unknown and knowing everything is going to be all right and "Shade" is like an giant computer emitting nonsense at you, but you don't care.

If you're not to big of a fan of heavy synths that can reach some pretty extreme pitches, stay away from Emeralds, but if you're feeling pretty adventurous in wanting to explore the confidentiality of progressive Krautrock influenced music that sounds straight out of the mid '80s go ahead.

Overall: 8.1/10.0 GREAT

Track Listing:

1. Candy Shoppe - 8.0
2. The Cycle of Abuse - 8.5 *
3. Double Helix - 8.0
4. Science Center - 7.5
5. Genetic - 8.0
6. Goes By - 9.0 *
7. Does It Look Like I'm Here? - 7.5
8. Summerdata - 8.0
9. Shade - 8.0
10. It Doesn't Arrive - 8.5
11. Now You See Me - 8.5 *
12. Access Granted - 8.5 *

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Candy Shoppe"

The Chemical Brothers - Further (Freestyle Dust/Parlophone)

The Chemical Brothers are British electronic duo that were a major pioneers for the big beat electronic dance genre that became a popular choice in the 1990s. Reaching the peak of their popularity on their second LP Dig Your Own Hole, The Chemical Brothers continue to fill the studios with trippy big beat dance hits that are played at every single rave and parties around the world. Now on their seventh studio album Further, The Chemical Brothers bring back the same trippy big beat sound that has surrounded them for a decade.

Further kicks off with the a very glitched guitar on "Snow" and carries over to the very exciting progressive single "Escape Velocity" that can probably define the whole entire electronic big beat in one epic 11 minute set. Vintage synths and repetitious drum beats fill the landscape on "Escape Veolocity" and continue to build and build until peaking off into a fuzzy ending leading into the very soulful song "Another World". One thing that is very noticable on Further that The Chems didn't include a guest vocalist, which is the first time they've done on an album.

"Another World" sounds a lot like psych rockers like Neon Indian and Washed Out, but it still delivers a very crafty sound. The heavy hitter "Dissolve" begins with a very vivid guitar intro and blast into a heavy distorted guitar riff that blast its way into a break that again builds into a very dramatic distortion and ends with an African beat on the drums floods into the next song "Horse Power". From the chessy horse effects to the annoying robot voice continuing to say "horse power", it's probably the lamest effort on Further. It reminds me of The Prodigy's major heavy hitters on The Fat of the Land.

The next song is a very dreamy and progressive rave. "Swoon" does impress with a perfect set up for a very atmospheric light show that will be something to look for in The Chemical Brother's very electrifying live sets. "Swoon" is followed by the very distorted and psychedelic "K+D+B" which has a very high-pitched finish that will annoy your pets. The most experimental of the songs on Further is "Wonders of the Deep" which presents a very progressive dreamy landscape of noise and texture that is a highlight for The Chem's seventh LP.

Further is just another basic Chemical Brother's LP. It follows The Chemical Brother's formula to perfection; put psychedelic landscapes behind big beat drums and leave the audience squinting their eyes at the heavy distortion of the whole album. If you're looking for some good psych dance music, go ahead and try out Further, it won't disappoint if you're looking to party.

Overall: 6.8/10 FAIR

Track Listing:

1. Snow - 7.0
2. Escape Velocity - 7.5 *
3. Another World - 7.5 *
4. Dissolve - 7.0
5. Horse Power - 5.0
6. Swoon - 8.0 *
7. K+D+B - 6.0
8. Wonders of the Deep - 7.0

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Swoon"

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (4AD)

Describing Ariel Pink's music is near impossible. It's so diverse and changes to frequently. I guess the overall universal genre you could describe Ariel Pink's style is experimental. Ariel Pink hails from Los Angeles and has been creating avant-garde music since the '80s, but only fairly recently has begun to release all of his obscure lo-fi tracks out into the world on major music labels. In November of 2009 Ariel Pink signed with label 4AD and began making studio quality music rather than his famous lo-fi craziness he is known for. Now Before Today is the first album Ariel Pink has released under Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti.

Before Today has absolutely no theme. Every single song seems to sway into a different direction every time. Every single song is a different genre. Before Today is more like a compilation LP rather than a studio. Besides just being a different genre every time, it all sounds really old. It sounds like obscure 1970s and 1980s songs that nobody cared about. The title of this album could be called Obscure Songs of the '70s and '80s. But I guess that Before Today does fit.

Cheesy synthesizers are the number used instrument on Before Today. Every song has at least one form of one. "L'estat (Acc. To the Widow's Maid)" has a very dramatic symphonic one, "Fright Night (Nevermore)" has a damp '80s love theme one and "Reminiscences" has a Frank Zappa noodling feel to it. It's a hit and miss method. It works on the highlight track "Round and Round", but really falls on "Can't Hear My Eyes".

In fact "Round and Round" sounds like a Michael Jackson tribute song. From the never changing simplistic drum line similar to most Jackson songs. "Round and Round" really puts a smile on your face because it really reminds of your first listen to "Billie Jean" and "Beat It". Though that nostalgia may seem a bit annoying, I think it really works well on Before Today.

Besides just cheesy nostalgia all over the place on Before Today, it does offer some diversity; "Butt-House Blondies" has a very heavy grunge '90s feel. "Menopause Man" has a '80s post-punk feel to it and "Revolution's a Lie" has a fast paced late '70s UK punk influence.

Overall, Before Today is a fun and very nostalgic album with a lot of hooks. This album really notes the time that Ariel Pink really steps out of his shell of underground obscurity. He now is coming into the big and bad indie universe that is so loved all throughout the web. All of the tracks you will listen to will sound like you've all ready heard it before. You'll go, "wait, is this a cover?", but none of the songs are. I guess that's why he called it Before Today.

Overall: 7.5/10

Track Listing:

1. Hot Body Rub - 7.5
2. Bright Lit Blue Skies - 8.5 *
3. L'estat (Acc. To the Widow's Maid) - 8.5 *
4. Fright Night (Nevermore) - 7.5
5. Round and Round - 9.0 *
6. Beverly Kills - 6.5
7. Butt-House Blondies - 7.0
8. Little Wig - 8.5
9. Can't Hear My Eyes - 5.5
10. Reminiscences - 7.0
11. Menopause Man - 8.0
12. Revolution's a Lie - 7.5

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Bright Lit Blue Skies"

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (Parlophone/Virgin)

Gorillaz's third album Plastic Beach is more like a compilation album rather than a studio album. There are only four tracks on this album that don't have some kind of collaboration on it. Plastic Beach isn't like Gorillaz's previous works, Demon Days and Gorillaz. In fact, this sounds like a very quirky compilation album featuring underground and big names. It's an interesting approach to the animated four we all are familiar with.

As I mentioned, Plastic Beach features a lot of collaborating artists. From the underground hip-hop artist Mos Def to the very well known legend Lou Reed, there are many bizarre combinations. Like Mick Jones and Paul Simon on the title track "Plastic Beach". As for the songs go, they're are all very quirky and Gorillaz-like. From the bass pumping "Stylo" to the cool down "Empire Ants", it's cheesy and a fun listen, like to good old Gorillaz usually are. But some of the instrumentation is just pure annoying, like on the electropop thriller "Glitter Freezes" the synth reaches pitches not suitable to the human ear.

Besides being interesting party music, Plastic Beach doesn't really much else to offer. Besides the ocassional artistic approach to psychedelia ("Cloud of Unknowing") and a swingy feel ("To Binge"), it's all basic boring pop that really wears off after a couple of listens. "Stylo" is a heart pounder, but really loses its lust after three to four listens.

Critics all over the web and newspapers are giving this album a relatively positive reviews. I can't see what they see in it. The Gorillaz trying using some orchestrations from the get go ("Orchestra Intro"), and just don't make it work. "White Flag" has the Lebanese National Orchestra For Oriental Arabic Music playing behind the rapping of Kano and Bashy, a very unsuitable mix in my honest opinion.

I've never really been much of a fan of Gorillaz, besides from the occasional fun single like "Feel Good Inc." and "Clint Eastwood". Gorillaz sound like a bunch of middle aged musicians trying to get back in their heyday with mediocre electro-pop from a bunch of weirdly animated characters with bizarre facial expressions.

Overall: 5.9/10

Track Listing:

1. Orchestral Intro Ft. sinfonia ViVA - 6.0
2. Welcome To the World of the Plastic Beach Ft. Snoop Dogg & Hyptonic Brass Ensemble - 6.5
3. White Flag Ft. Kano, Bashy & Lebanese National Orchestra For Oriental Arabic Music - 4.5
4. Rhinestone Eyes - 6.0
5. Stylo Ft. Bobby Womack & Mos Def - 7.0 *
6. Superfast Jellyfish Ft. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul - 6.0
7. Empire Ants Ft. Little Dragon - 7.5 *
8. Glitter Freezes Ft. Mark E. Smith - 3.0
9. Some Kind of Nature Ft. Lou Reed -6.5
10. On Melancholy Hill - 6.5
11. Broken - 6.5
12. Sweepstakes Ft. Mos Def & Hyptonic Brass Ensemble - 5.5
13. Plastic Beach Ft. Mick Jones & Paul Simon - 7.5 *
14. To Binge Ft. Little Dragon - 5.0
15. Cloud of Unknowing Ft. Bobby Womack & sinfonia ViVA - 6.5 *
16. Pirate Jet - 5.0

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Stylo Ft. Bobby Womack & Mos Def"

The National - High Violet (4AD)

"All our lonely kicks are harder to find/We'll play nuns versus priests until somebody cries," croons The National's lead vocalist Matt Berninger on "Little Faith" on The National's fifth studio LP, High Violet. Following 2007's surprise hit Boxer which received critical acclaim so High Violet has high expectations. The National continue the very driving guitar riffs and monotone-like vocals of Berninger and delivers a more deep and atmospheric album as compared to Boxer.

The National really sound depressed in High Violet. They're lyrics talk of normality in the human nature. Most of their song themes are just.. well just about normal people. "Bloodbuzz Ohio" is about financial troubles, "Conversation 16" is just about how a normal family life routine can create a man into a zombie ("I was afraid, I'd eat your brain") and "Sorrow" can take an emotion and put into a very lucid character.

Besides just the very deep song meanings that High Violet has to offer, the instrumentation is simple yet effective. The guitar distortion creates a very heavy drift feel over the horns and orchestras that appear throughout the album. The most concise song on this LP is by far "England", it bubbles up insides you and just explodes at the climax creating a very pleasurable listen. But, going to the downside of the sound is that Berninger's vocals can really get really drowsy. "Little Faith" is a fabulous song, but I always feel unsatisfied towards the climax of the song because Berninger's monotone-like vocals don't seem to rise in pitch towards a more impacting sound. But, luckily on most of the tracks, Berninger's vocals are backed by other band member's vocals to create beautiful harmonies.

High Violet is a very rewarding listen that is very accessible to any casual listener. From pop to hip-hop, The National has a musical "family" persona with their music. As compared to their '07 hit, Boxer, I think that High Violet rises above it in all aspects, creating a more atmospheric and original sound that is a highlight for the 2010 musical season.

Overall: 8.8/10


Track Listing:

1. Terrible Love - 8.5 *
2. Sorrow - 8.5
3. Anybody's Ghost - 9.0 *
4. Little Faith - 9.0
5. Afraid of Everybody - 9.0
6. Bloodbuzz Ohio - 9.0
7. Lemonworld - 9.0
8. Runaway - 8.0
9. Conversation 16 - 9.0 *
10. England - 9.5 *
11. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks - 9.0 *

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Bloodbuzz Ohio"

The Morning Benders - Big Echo (Rough Trade)

The Morning Benders are a indie pop band from Berkeley, California and have a knack for creating catchy, cavernous songs that have heavy influence from Grizzly Bear. The Bender's first album, Talking Through a Tin Can, features very heavy guitar riffs that set the layers quite nicely for the songs creating a more lo-fi hazy feel. Now their second LP Big Echo brings out more electric fuzzy hazes throughout the album. The first two very attractive tracks "Excuses" and "Promises" might just sum up the whole album right then and there creating a very promising album.

The charm that The Morning Benders bring out immediately in "Excuses" can hook anybody to this album's interior and to get them even more excited is "Promises" a very guitar riff heavy song that progresses into a very exciting melody. But then they slow it down on "Wet Cement" creating a more swing feel to the tom-tom hits with very hazy guitars fluttering around the edge that creating a very pretty ballad.

The next track "Cold War (Nice Clean Fight)" is a short and quick quirky that has jangly guitars and very flowing vocals; "Spit it back now/Into the out/We want a nice clean fight/No blood, nobody/Where the end is near/Let's just be frank/Just let it sit, be still/We'll meet in the middle come on." The next song brings out the highlight of the whole LP, the very lazy "Pleasure Sighs" continues to build throughout the song and creates a beautiful climax of perfect harmony.

The rest of the album just brings out the lazy dreaminess of "Pleasure Sighs" and expands onto more echoes ("Hand Me Downs"), rough ("All Day Day Long") and shoegazy ("Sleeping In"). It's a very fun listen and very relaxing if you're looking for a very lazy album with a bit of some excitement.

They're like a more atmospheric and clearer Grizzly Bear, a lot less baroque too. It's a lot more unique then their debut Talking Through a Tin Can. The album art work is probably the best of the year I've seen, a beautiful oil painted picture of a grim sea side, which is exactly what The Bender's sound is like; very drift-laden and relaxing with a taste of a coming storm.

Overall: 8.5/10

Track Listing:

1. Excuses - 8.5
2. Promises - 9.0 *
3. Wet Cement - 8.5
4. Cold War (Nice Clean Fight) - 9.0 *
5. Pleasure Sighs - 9.0 *
6. Hand Me Downs - 8.0
7. Mason Jars - 8.5 *
8. All Day Day Light - 8.5
9. Stitches - 8.0
10. Sleeping In - 8.5

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Promises"

Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts (Sub Pop)

I sure have a thing for fast paced lo-fi music. From the pioneers of indie, Pavement, to the pop masters, Guided By Voices, it's all so addictive to me. The London indie punk rockers of Male Bonding push to limits of fast indie punk and get the job done on their debut Nothing Hurts in half an hour making for a very traditional lo-fi LP.

Nothing Hurts is full of hooks and foggy transitions ("Franklin"). The LP seems to flow together in a mass of noisy pop sound that is meant to be played in its entirety. Before you know it, from one heavy guitar riffs to the next, the record is done leaving more excitement. You sometimes will not even realize that the song has changed. Most songs clock in around two minutes, reminding many of the classic punk album Pink Flag by Wire and the lo-fi masterpiece of Bee Thousand by Guided By Voices.

But, besides from being short, fast and heavy, Nothing Hurts brings in a very atmospheric song, "Franklin". It sounds a bit like the classic The Smiths and other big '80s brit indie. Lead singer John Arthur Webb sings of many loses and the inevitable truths; ("All this won't last forever"). Another very surprising break from the noisy pop is "Worse To Come" a very acoustic feel that sounds like it was recorded live.

Indeed, a lot of the songs sound like somebody just put a 4-track on the ground and they happen to just play right through the album in the recording studio. I absolutely love that sound; the raw integrity and grit that bands put together and show that human mistake is natural. Although I do love studio trickery and perfect quality of bands like Pink Floyd and Radiohead seem to always do (did). But, the lo-fi recording quality that bands do just always puts a smile on my face. It reminds me that maybe I could actually do some of that.

Male Bonding may not be for everybody but they're full of hooks and fun rock anthems that will leave you saying, "hmm that sounded pretty darn good". If you enjoy Wire, Pavement, Guided By Voices, Minutemen, and other punk-pop lo-fi masters, you'll love these London noise-poppers.

Overall: 8.1/10

Track Listing:

1. Year's Not Long - 8.5 *
2. All Things This Way - 7.5
3. Your Contact - 8.0
4. Weird Feeling - 7.5
5. Franklin - 9.0 *
6. Crooked Scene - 8.0
7. T.U.F.F. - 8.0
8. Nothing Remains - 8.5
9. Nothing Use To Hurt - 8.5 *
10. Pirate Key - 8.0
11. Paradise Vendors - 8.0
12. Pumpkin - 8.5
13. Worse To Come - 8.5 *

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Year's Not Long (Live)"

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker (Modular)

The 1960s are definitely my favorite era of music; progression of avant-garde jazz, pure psychedelia and so many innovative artist emerged and created so many culture phenomenons. The four piece Austrian band Tame Impala's debut Innerspeaker explores everything that is psychedelic rock. But indeed psychedelic rock is a very broad genre. You could say that nearly all rock in the '60s was some kind of form of psychedelia. I think the most accurate comparison that you could make with a '60s artist to Tame Impala is along the sound of The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, etc.

Though psychedelic rock is probably my favorite genre of music and is just candy to my ears, Tame Impala recycles the same sounds over and over creating very dragging elements. The first three tracks are very catchy and have excellent hooks. "It's Not Meant To Be" is a fantastic intro that introduces the dreamy psych that the band recycles throughout the whole album. "Desire Be Desire Go" offers a very heavy motown guitar riff that carries throughout the entirety of the track. "Alter Ego" is a very progressive psych thriller that is probably the highlight of the album with very distorted guitar solos and driving drums.

Tame Impala's lead singer Kevin Paker has a very close vocal similarity with John Lennon. Which can make it seem like you're listening to the psychedelic sessions of Yoko Ono and John Lennon. "Solitude In Bliss" has a very happy Stone Roses feel. "Runaway, Houses, City, Clouds" has a very epic synthesizer solo that seems to float on top of the trippy guitar chords that create a very tense eerie feel that can sum up the whole album in one.

Though Tame Impala debut is a very fun and nostalgic album that draws heavy influence from my favorite age of music, Innerspeaker lacks at crucial points. You think it's going to pick up and get even more exciting then before, but it disappoints. The music they bring isn't anything but more like a recap of the acid trips hippies had in their vans at Woodstock, but then again psychedelia is pretty recycled and there is really nothing more you can do with psychedelic rock music. Innerspeaker is still a pretty good listen if you're in the mode for nostalgia.

Overall: 7.0/10

Track Listing:

1. It's Not Meant To Be - 8.5 *
2. Desire Be Desire Go - 7.5 *
3. Alter Ego - 8.5 *
4. Lucidity - 7.5
5. Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind? - 5.5
6. Solitude Is Bliss - 7.0
7. Jeremy's Storm - 6.0
8. Expectations - 6.0
9. Bold Arrow of Love - 6.5
10. Runaway, Houses, City, Clouds - 8.0 *
11. I Don't Really Mind - 6.5

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Solitude Is Bliss"

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor (XL)

The USS Monitor was the first ever ironclad warship for the U.S. Navy back in 1862 and was involved in the the first ever naval battle between two ironclad ships, The Battle of Hampton Roads. The Union's USS Monitor battled the Confederate's USS Virginia in the Civil War. Now The Monitor is the sophomore LP by the indie punk band which is a concept album based off of the Civil War and pays homage to The Battle of Hampton Roads with a 14 minute epic called "The Battle of Hampton Roads". Indeed the band uses speeches from Abraham Lincoln and other iconic Civil War figures at the beginning ends of some of the songs. A strange concept right? Well, Titus Andronicus nails it.

The opening song "A More Perfect Union" starts off with a recital of a Lincoln speech and after that speech the songs burst into a blast of noise and epic guitar distortions. Every single songs string together through heavy distortions and screaming vocals that can just get anybody pumped. All the songs are long epic distorted messes that just reek lo-fi brilliance. It's a bit hard to get used to, but I've listened to it about 15 times and it has yet to get old.

Besides just the hard core punk lo-fi sound that just breaks your ears with the first listen, there are calming breaks ("A Pot In Which To Piss") where the band shows some really impressive shoegazy influences. Also featuring a very bluesy piano part that just has you smiling. "Four Score and Seven" has very experimental horn parts that mix in well with the layers of the themes of the album and create a very good part. "Theme From 'Cheers'"

One distinct instrumentation that lays it down is the drumming. Fast drums rolls that remind one of the very elaborate drumming of the Civil War battle drummers. Every song feature some form of the very exciting snare rolls. The pounding drum beats along with the heavy distorted rhythmic guitar parts create a great hardcore-like shoegaze feel. A very unique style indeed. It's like Neutral Milk Hotel and Pulp combined.

One track that really features all the distinct parts and really is just a fun listen, is "To Old Friends and New" feature a stellar piano part, crazy horns and very epic vocals. It's all a treat. It's hard music to get into, but it is very rewarding. So far my favorite albums of 2010 have all been very hard to listen to at first, but if I wouldn't have given it a chance I wouldn't have fully immersed myself in it. The Monitor is such a drop-kick feel of an album with lots of comedic references hidden within the very articulate lyrics.

Overall: 8.6/10

Track Listing:

1. A More Perfect Union - 9.5 *
2. Titus Andronicus Forever - 7.5
3. No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future - 8.5
4. Richard II - 9.0 *
5. A Pot In Which To Piss - 9.0 *
6. Four Score and Seven - 8.5
7. Theme From "Cheers" - 8.0
8. To Old Friends and New - 9.5 *
9. ...And Ever - 7.5
10. The Battle of Hampton Road - 9.0

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"A More Perfect Union"

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (Warp)

Man do you have to have a certain taste to enjoy the experimentation of Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison). He is a pure mixer. Taking the most obscure, forgotten and mediocre records and mixes them into a brilliant mass of electronic sounds. When he talked to Pitchfork writers over the summer of 2009 he said, "I'm finally getting to the point where I can make the kind of records... that I wanted to make when I was younger, things that I dreamed about making." He is indeed right. His sound on his first two LPs was a bit immature and he was really trying to get his sound. But now on his third album, Cosmogramma, his sound has become his own.

As I mentioned, the one man machine of Steven Ellison or Flying Lotus is an experimental hip-hop sampler. The music he puts together is exciting, hard to listen to and just plain bizzare. But, truly if you get through all the noise of obscurity you will begin to see the true nature of his influence and see the different elements he truly puts into his music, like "Table Tennis(Ft. Laura Darlington)" actually has sounds of ping pongs and the enchanting singing of Darlington. He incorporate jazz influences ("Arkestry"), orchestrations ("Do the Astral Plane") and other very notable genres. It truly doesn't take long to soak in the influence, maybe two to three listens.

Cosmogramma is kind of set up in sort of different suites. The first three tracks sample extremely fast and heavy bass that bounces all over the place ("Clock Catcher", "Pickled", "Nose Art"). Then following the very fast suite, he goe sinto a very spacey and ambient feel ("Intro/A Cosmic Drama", "Zodiac S**t", "Computer Face/Pure Being", "...And the World Laughed With You Ft. Thom York"). And after that he goes into my very favorite part of the album with the avant-garde jazz influence ("Arkestry", Mmmhmmm ft. Thundercat", "Do the Astral Plain", and if you didn't know Steven Ellison's great grandmother is Alice Coltrane the very crafty avant-garde jazz player and wife of the jazzy saxophone goliath John Coltrane. The last songs of the album remaining mixes all these elements together and give the perfect perspective Flying Lotus sound; glitched video game noises, jazz and hip-hop.

There isn't really a distinct track on Cosmogramma all the songs seem to drip together like wax flowing down a candle and connecting with another candle's wax. It so smooth and the tracks play off of each other. The album features some very notable artist including Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke and Laura Darlington who is a singer on the obscure psychedelic band The Long Lost.

Cosmogramma is probably my favorite album of the year as of June, but there are still seven more good months of music. If you're wanting a real easy listen, stay away from this album. It's very experimental, but so very good and very rewarding. Give it time if you do decide to take a dive into experimental hip-hop sampling. I hated Flying Lotus at first, but once I gave him more of a chance, it was highly rewarding.

Overall: 8.7/10

Track Listing:

1. Clock Catcher - 8.5
2. Pickled - 9.0
3. Nose Art - 9.0
4. Intro/A Cosmic Drama - 9.0 *
5. Zodiac S**t - 9.0 *
6. Computer Face/Pure Being - 8.5
7. ...And the World Laughed At You (Ft. Thom Yorke) - 8.5
8. Arkestry - 9.5 *
9. Mmmhmm (Ft. Thundercat) - 9.0 *
10. Do the Astral Plane - 9.5 *
11. Satelllliiiiteee - 7.5
12. German Haircut - 8.5
13. Recoiled - 9.0 *
14. Dance of the Pseudo Nympth - 8.5
15. Dips/Auntie's Harp - 8.5
16. Table Tennis (Ft. Laura Darlington) - 9.0
17. Galaxy In Janaki - 8.5

* - Notable Track

Sample:

"Arkestry"

The Radio Dept. - Clinging To a Scheme (Labrador)

When you think back to definite '80s heavy shoegaze, you think of My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Cocteau Twins, etc. Those artist have such a last impact on indie more than you can imagine. From one listen of Clinging To a Scheme from Swedish shoegaze indie pop band, you can just hear the heavy influence from all those shoegaze giants.

Though most shoegaze is worn out, The Radio Dept.'s third album Clinging To a Scheme revive it with adding more layers of orchestration and cheesy synths with very dramatic beautiful vocal harmonization. "A Token of Gratitude" is just beautiful with layers of endless distortion with such a hazy vocal streaming within the layers of sound, and yet it doesn't get old.

Besides just exploring the shoegaze, The Radio Dept. also goes into more dreamy feels and lazy layers of sound. "Memory Loss" has a very distorted harmonica solo at the end that is accompanied by the very articulate bass. Surprisingly, all the songs on this LP have cheesy synthesizers that would annoy me instantly, but they all blending into that beautiful layer.

"Heaven's On Fire" is probably the greatest track from the album with a very catchy synth part and very exceptional lyrics. "When youth culture becomes monopolized by big business, what are the youth to do?" are the first words from a sample of an interview from someone. It sets the very tenacious sound up that will have anyone playing over and over.

In conclusion, The Radio Dept. does a fantastic job on this album with layering horns in with the keyboards and guitar with drums. It has some really great studio trickery that really catches your attention and will have you listening again and again.

Overall: 8.0

Track Listing:

1. Domestic Scene - 8.0
2. Heaven's On Fire - 9.5 *
3. This Time Around - 6.5
4. Never Follow Suit - 8.5 *
5. A Token of Gratitude - 8.5 *
6. The Video Dept. - 8.0
7. Memory Loss - 8.5 *
8. David - 8.0
9. Four Months In the Shade - 6.5
10. You Stopped Making Sense - 8.5 *

* - Notable Tracks

Sample:

"Heaven's On Fire"

Vampire Weekend - Contra (XL)

Vampire Weekend is probably one the most popular indie artist that people (mainstream) have heard of. On their self title debut, Vampire Weekend's sound is fast, quirky and most importantly addicting. "A-Punk" and "Oxford Comma" are so simple and just makes you stop and listen. Now the pure indie boys are back with their second LP Contra.

One of the of the the most distinct features of Contra that comes to mind from my first listen is that how Vampire Weekend is evolving into a more complex style. Instead of the simple banging of drums and fast strums of guitar here and there. These boys are adding all sorts of obscure instruments that are usually not used in the indie genre.

"Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten," sings Ezra Koenig on the opener "Horchata" of the LP with such relish. Indeed the "feeling" of fast paced indie hits you immediately. The very diverse styles that Vampire Weekend delivers is a bit intense. You have calypso ("Horchata"), reggae ("Diplomat's Son) and psychedelic ("I Think Ur a Contra").

These indie rockers have stepped out of the collegiate sound of simplistic indie and developed their very wild and experimental styles. Yes I say styles because honestly, from the first listen you have no idea what's going to come next. Though its very diverse and quirky, some of the songs just don't work. "California English" is a mess of fast lyrics and autotune which doesn't work well with Vampire Weekend. Ezra Koenig has an excellent high original voice as it is, they didn't need to add annoying affects to his voice on a very mediocre track.

Contra is a pretty fun listen, but don't be expecting the very collegiate sound from their debut. If you're one who enjoys a more evolved and complex sound of indie pop with lots of interesting studio trickery, check it out.

Overall: 7.1

Track Listing:

1. Horchata - 8.0
2. White Sky - 7.5
3. Holiday - 8.0
4. California English - 4.5
5. Taxi Cab - 7.0
6. Run - 6.5
7. Cousins - 8.5 *
8. Giving Up the Gun - 9.0 *
9. Diplomat's Son - 6.5
10. I Think Ur a Contra - 8.5 *

* - Notable track.

Sample:

"Giving Up the Gun"