The Antlers - Burst Apart [Frenchkiss]

8.6

Hospice for The Antlers was sort of a "break out" record. It found its way onto many 2009 top albums lists. The hard part of course is coming up with a equal or better contender to the emotionally engaging Hospice. Burst Apart has potential to be met with the same amount of acclaim as its predecessor if not maybe more.

The Antlers have a sound of a mixture between a fully fledged dream-pop band and a very atmospheric shoegaze act. They have the very melodic, lazy stream of a dream-pop band and yet they have beautiful, layered guitar and other instrument textures to classify them as shoegaze. I think I’ll call it safe and call them indie pop for now. Burst Apart is a well-crafted and nicely put mixture of those two genres.

Like Hospice, Burst Apart is difficult at first to digest, but Burst Apart won’t take as long to just simply “click”. The realization of how crafty The Antlers really are. The way they blend so many different musical elements into one and mix it up and throw it out on an already full canvas, will surely be appreciated. The depressing, finale “Putting the Dog to Sleep” sounds like some manipulated slow dance piece that is escalated into a frenzy of instrumental layers that sound just gorgeous.

“You want to climb up the stairs/I want to push you right down,” croons Peter Silberman on the intro track “I Don’t Want Love” with his definitive, subtle, and beautiful voice that transgresses the tone and mood of the dark, love hate relationship Burst Apart is centered around. This “bitter sweet” theme is seen through the beautiful, charming instrumentals The Antlers create but is contradicted through Silberman’s lyricism; a casual, distracted listen of Burst Apart sounds like a very nice, mellow album with nice melodies, but a more focused listen reveals and darker and tragic theme.

Slowcore has never been a genre I really enjoy that much, Galaxie 500 or Lisa Germano didn’t really excite me all that much and never really exhilarated me as much as The Antlers have successfully done with Burst Apart. Hospice was a good sonic adventure, but Burst Apart is much easier to replay and has really good moments with little to none mediocre moments (the bizarre instrumental “Tip Toe”). Burst Apart will surely expand the variety of listeners that will come toward The Antlers.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues [Sub Pop/Bella Union]

8.3

I don’t care what anybody says. An artist’s/band’s sophomore LP is always the most important work in the artist’s/band’s career. It shows the development of the band; whether or not they evolve their sound, grow musically, or maybe stick to the same thing that made them bad or good in the first place. It all depends. Here we have a classic cause of a much anticipated sophomore effort from a very prominent, fairly new indie band. They’re called Fleet Foxes. Their self titled debut wasn’t the most ground break thing I’ve listened to, but it had some real awe-inspiring moments, like the haunting and atmospheric choral “White Winter Hymnal” and the ear warming vocals of “Quiet Houses”.

Whether or not you loved or hated Fleet Foxes, you had to admit they were something special and fresh in the music community. With the much anticipation of their next work Helplessness Blues, comes so many doubts and worries for any Fleet Foxes fan. What could they possibly expand on next? Are they capable of making another successful, pleasing record? I’ll tell you I believed they did.

Kicking off way before the initial release of Helplessness, comes the title track, “Helplessness Blues”. It’s a wonderful rendition of a classic/soft rock from the ‘70s with more modern twangs hidden in. The Who really come in mind when listening to the title track, the beginning acoustic intro with the defining line of “I’d rather be a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something greater beyond me”, the absence of a complete Who reference is the lack of maniac drum work that Keith Moon created for The Who. It’s really a very exhilarating track and that will surely get any F-Foxes fan excited for Helplessness Blues. How did the rest of the LP shape up?

There is definitely an expansion of sound and maturity. The songs are set up more traditionally and more linear as opposed to the spacey, folk-driven power that made their debut so distinct. There aren’t really any powerful silent “barbershop” stylized vocals that infested their debut, except for the intro to “The Plains/Bitter Dancer”. Instead it a lot of solo vocal work from Robin Pecknold, which I should mention isn’t necessarily bad since Pecknold as improved his vocalization immensely from their debut. He has a acoustic play around track all to himself, “Blue Spotted Trail”, and he does an excellent job playing with just his acoustic and singing about random topics: “Why is life made only for to end?”

That nice little acoustic tune leads up into the big epic, exciting finale “Grown Ocean”. “Grown Ocean” probably combines everything that makes Fleet Foxes exciting and enjoyable to listen to. The booming drums, underlying layers of electric guitars and acoustic strums, gorgeous ethereal vocal work and all the new elements that Fleet Foxes have added into their repertoire.

Helplessness has absolutely, fresh, moving tracks like the title track and “Grown Ocean” and it has sub-par tracks that aren’t necessarily terrible tracks, just suck away the energy of the album. These tracks are “Lorelai” and “Someone You’d Admire”. This shame problem brings down their debut for me as well. Killer tracks mixed with mediocre tracks. I love the exciting, upbeat energy that Fleet Foxes brings on a lot of their highlights, but said mentioned tracks just drag the whole album experience down for me.

To me, an album that really knocks me out is one that I continuously come back to. Helplessness Blues doesn’t do that for me, it’s still very enjoyable for the first couple of times, but after that it really is a hit and miss. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll come back and listen to the title track and “Grown Ocean”, but bizarre moments like the avant-garde saxophone squawking towards the end on “The Shrine/An Argument” make me shy away from the album entirely. Essentially, Fleet Foxes have made a better album then the previous, but haven’t blown me away as an entire album. Yet…

Sample:

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake [Island/Vagrant]

8.6

On the opening lines of the dramatic epic track off PJ Harvey’s latest work Let England Shake entitled “All and Everyone”: “Death was everywhere/In the air/And in the sounds”. Those couple of few lines sums up the theme of Let England Shake; death, terror, war, and so forth. This unsettling theme sets up England as a tremendous, emotional ride that transcends anything that PJ Harvey has ever put out.

Polly Jean has always been one coming straight out of left-field in the alternative rock ballpark and that quality sets her apart so distinctively. Instead of going for another piano-driven effort like previous LP White Chalk, PJ goes into what she calls a “grand departure from anything before”. That is always a great reassurance when delving into a prominent artist’s new work like PJ. Changes include her unique change of vocal style focusing on a more “narrator” style, also the heavy use of the autoharp, which she just started playing, the autoharp creates a beautiful, progressive feeling towards the songs it is used in like the highlight track “The Words that Maketh Murder”.

With all these interesting changes in PJ’s musicianship, I couldn’t wait to delve into Let England Shake. I wasn’t disappointed with was PJ came up with. Kicking things off with a very playful, almost sinister aesthetic to the sound; immediately, it’s apparent that PJ’s vocals are something everyone will have to get used to, it’s a bit of an acquired taste. After multiple listens PJ’s distinctive voice will sink in and you’ll be thoroughly appreciative of it. Along with PJ’s unique vocals, assorted horns and orchestrations swell up and inflate the hallow space that is present when they aren’t playing.

Let England Shake is dark and haunting, but it doesn’t exactly sound like that. It sounds very hallow and earthy. The middle chunk of the album has the most daunting images surrounding them with lines like “I’ve seen soldiers fall like lumps of meat…Arms and legs were in the trees,” from the track “The Words that Maketh Murder”. Though these images are unsettling, there are realistic since she mirrors soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. The album really lightens up in sound, but not in theme. The waltzy “Hanging In the Wire” has a beautiful piano line that works on top of the dismissive, yet important rhythm sections.

With the occasional bad spot that Let England Shake hits like over-exuberant vocals on “England” are almost eye cringing, but aren’t all bad since it create a very rich alt-folk track. With those few blemishes put aside, Let England Shake is a tremendous album that deserves all the praise it is getting even how overzealous it may be.

Sample:

The Strokes - Angles [RCA/Rough Trade]

6.8

Is This It is easily one of the best albums of the past ten years. It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since that landmark record hit the shelves. The Strokes return after a long break from the musical world after the slightly unsuccessful release of third LP First Impressions of Earth. Now Angles is here with promises to “return to the basics” from bassist Nikolai Fraiture, that’s a reassuring thought, but from a first listen of Angles it isn’t entirely true.

That garage, rough-around-the-edges feel that The Strokes established on Is This It is nowhere present in Angles. So I don’t see how this could be a return to the basics; in fact, I find that Angles seems to continue on the path of First Impressions of Earth with more studio experimentation and tweaking around with different vocals effects, especially on bizarre track “You’re So Right”. The album really does sound like it comes from five different people as opposed to being put together by a unit of musicians. Instead, the band worked fractured with singer Julian Casablancas sending the rest of the band vocals completely recorded elsewhere.

This aspect of a “fractured recording process” might be the immediate downfall of the whole album. Looking at musical history, some of the most successful albums ever crafted were created in a short, focused recording session. That’s not always true; some great albums were created with long stretches of time. Who knows exactly the perfect time limit of putting out an album? Whatever The Strokes did on Angles didn’t work. Only two tracks on the album have a wonderful “Strokes” feel to it: “Under Cover of Darkness” and “Machu Picchu”, both guitar heavy, full of nice little hooks, and straight to the point instead of trying to find a purpose like tracks like “Call Me Back” or “Games”.

With touches of new wave all over the album, Angles feels very ‘80s in nature. With a cool, synth-covered track of “Games” presents one of the most “out there” Strokes songs to date. The direction of some of the tracks like “Games” isn’t good; in fact, the vibe of most of the tracks is weird and disjointed. The only “out there” track that is enjoyable is “Two Kinds of Happiness” which has some excellent guitar work with Albert Hammond, Jr. That track and the two before it (“Machu Picchu”, “Under Cover of Darkness”) save Angles from being a complete flop.

The final song, “Life Is Simple In the Moonlight”, mostly sums up the whole entire album in one. Starting with a good promise of bringing a very catchy intro but then builds up into something very unmemorable and reaches a point to where it feels greatly rushed. Unfortunately The Strokes have made a worse album then the ladder, First Impressions. The more delving I did in Angles the more it deteriorated for me and it showed how unmemorable it really is. The Strokes are great musicians that have a knack for create great guitar rock, unfortunately with overused methods of trying to “expand their sound” is unsuccessful and fails, but not to say that the entire album is a failure, there are some great tracks on the LP, but bad ones bog it completely down as unmemorable.

Sample:

Radiohead - The King of Limbs [XL/TBD]

8.1

Radiohead sure know how to get the music community in an uproar, except this time instead of pulling a "pay what you want" In Rainbows quota, they come out of nowhere with an announcement for their new LP The King of Limbs a week before its digital release. That whole week I fantasized how Limbs could be as monumental and brilliant as Kid A or as ground breaking as Ok Computer. My first listen of Limbs immediately erased these giddy excitements. Now I didn't give up just yet because like 99.9% of the people who listen to Kid A or Ok Computer for the first time didn't have the sound waves and texture sink in at first. Like the other LPs, I let this one sink in. Unfortunately only about half of it really sank in.

Starting out with the loopy "Bloom" it's immediate that Radiohead have once again approached another style to their musical abilities. This isn't surprising, accounting for that every single Radiohead album as different ranging from debut Pablo Honey to '07's In Rainbows. With the entrance of lead singer Thom Yorke's ghostly line, "Open your mouth wide." As if preparing us for the onslaught of Radiohead music to blow our minds. On first initial reactions of the sound, comparisons are easily made towards the dark, experimentation of Kid A and Amnesiac. The brewing impending doom that every songs seems to convey.

Speaking of impending doom, one songs nails that one on the head, "Codex". It has a "Pyramid Song" quality about it; with a jazzy piano line with soaring horns and cryptic lyricism from Yorke: "Jump off the end/The water's clear and innocent." Other impending lyrics come from the evaporating, acoustic "Give Up the Ghost" with lines like: "Gather up the pitiful/In your arms." Like most Radiohead albums, Limbs is dark and brooding with menace, but always hinting towards a light safety.

With the positives out of the way, now the negatives, which I hate to include in a Radiohead review. Tracks like "Feral" and "Little By Little" are weak, very weak. They sound like fillers to the whole album's theme. Yorke's vocals are some of the worst of any new effort I've heard, the way he sings, "Little by little", has an annoying quality to it. "Feral" is a loopy mess, that could develop into one of Radiohead's very prominent dance pieces like "Idioteque" or "Backdrifts", but instead it doesn't build from a fairy solid intro.

The highlight of Limbs is the beautiful "Lotus Flower", Yorke's vocals soar over a steady Phil Selway beat and Colin Greenwood bass line with other assorted noises. It's one of those Radiohead tunes where you think to yourself; Radiohead has created another powerful song that sounds like nothing else out there. Another highlight is the outro "Separator". It has probably the most accesible qualities with it; a pretty guitar line that pops in half way through the tune and through the band's power at making a monumental epic sound by uttering, "If you thinks this is over/Then you're wrong," possibly hinting towards a second part to Limbs (crosses fingers).

Limbs is probably the most "nonlinear" album that Radiohead has put out. The only song that really has any mainstream musical structure is "Lotus Flower" and even it has an odd feel to it. I can't just go out and say this is a step back from one of the world's most consistent band at the moment; in fact, I would say it's another artistic achievement that I just couldn't get into as much as maybe Kid A, In Rainbows, or Ok Computer. When I hear a pretentious Radiohead fan make the excuse to someone who doesn't like their music like "you just don't get it", that's such a stupid statement to make about a highly respectable band. It makes you look ignorant and like you actually like the music, you just like the band's image. Listen to Radiohead how it was meant to be listened to: simply listen and enjoy, or don't enjoy it, don't let Radiohead fan boys tell you any different.

Sample:

Cut Copy - Zonoscope [Modular]

8.0

Zonoscope, Australian electropop group Cut Copy's third and latest LP, is almost like a solid soundtrack of "Fit As Much '80s As You Can In An Album" album. I say "almost" because I cannot imagine an album fitting so much chaotic, irritating sound into an album. Cut Copy do an excellent job of creating great sounds that are very catchy, but once they are analyzed, they aren't anything special.

Zonoscope has the chaotic values of Animal Collective, yet not as abrasively notched up and fun loving dance-punk of LCD Soundsystem. Cut Copy sounds like they just sit down with a keyboard and fiddle around with different sounds and create something dancey. Now, I'm sure it's a lot more complex than that, but really when you delve deep into the sound of Cut Copy, their instrumentation is purely shallow. Loops and loops of keyboards, synths, electronic drum beats, and the occasional random entrance of another form of instrument.

Cut Copy is really for easy listening and dancing, and believe me, you'll be dancing to some of the tunes on Zonoscope ("Blink and You'll Miss a Revolution", "Need You Now"). Some songs are all shallow electronica though; in fact, the bouncy "Where I'm Going" has a playful Beach Boy-esque three part harmonic rendition that is very enjoyable. The guitar work on "This Is All We've Got" is fantastic until the interruption of spacey samples, but fortunately it immediately finds its way back to the dynamics of guitar and drums.

If you can't already tell, the song titles are very strong indicator of how weak the lyricism is. It's not exactly "thinking man" lyricism. Most of the songs sing of love ("Alisa", "Need You Now"), the most cliched topic in music. The vocalization isn't to hot either, lead singer Dan Whitford hides behind a lot of the walls of sound coming at you a lot like earlier 2011 stars Smith Westerns, but not as bad. Whitford echoes and seems to disappear almost like one of the instruments in the song, which can be done well, but not in this case.

All in all, Zonoscope is a fairly good album with a great moments and poor ones, but mostly great. With shallow instrumenation deep down, but most will not be bothered and will really enjoy its integrity. Zonoscope is really a great place to start if you maybe wanna get into a new and rising genre of electropop.

Sample:

James Blake - James Blake [Atlas/A&M]

8.9

Ever since James Blake's three EPs, The Bells Sketch, CMYK and Klavierwerke, from 2010, Blake has been making quite a buzz around a wide range of the musical community; from the dubstep-heads, indie kids, critics, and even casual listeners. It is always exciting to see an up-and-coming star release his debut in and a timely manner such as this to see what he/her can produce. James Blake has surely delivered.

James Blake is one of those LPs that are probably a genre by itself. Just handing someone some quality headphones and making them listen to leading single "Limit to Your Love", will explain everything. Blake attracts elements of dubstep, minimalism, jazz, R&B and so much more. This unique set of attributes creates one serene landscape of sound that is truly unmatched.

Blake's unusual elements of music making are something that needs growing, similar to experimental electronic mastermind Flying Lotus's Cosmogramma. These bizarre elements grow on you and are very rewarding. From the get-go on opener "Unluck", Blake's theme of synth use is introduced immediately and will only continue from there. The percussion is some of the most interesting; fueled by snaps, crackles, claps, pops, etc. it again separates Blake from the rest.

Blake's most personal track on his debut is by far the second track "Wilhelms Scream". It puts Blake's vocals front and center with intimacy. Singing out, "I don't know about my loving anymore/All I know is that I'm turning, turning, turning". These lines about love are havens in Blake's music that truly capture Blake's subtle yet mesmerizing music. The steady build-up on "I Never Learnt to Share" once again shows more sides to Blake's musical capabilities; the rest of the album is subtle and quieter paced, but that track's climax gushes out waves of an electronic mesh.

The true highlight of James Blake comes perfectly timed when listening to the LP straight through; following the very personal two part auto-tuned "Lindesfarne". That track is "Limit to Your Love". This Feist cover starts out with a jazzy piano intro that is accompanied by Blake's almost picture-perfect vocals. Then after this delicate intro come a long pause that you could fit a truck through and then an explosion of powerful dub bass blasts in with a steady beat of a dissonant snare click. It's one of the most beautifully crafted songs that mix so many different musical elements into one. Dubstep, jazz, minimalism, pop; it's all there.

One flaw from making James Blake a classic are some of the filler songs that follow the epic "Limit To Your Love" like "Give Me My Month" and "Why Don't Call Me", both lo-fi singer/songwriter personal pieces accompanied by piano. These tracks don't stick on you and have no definitive shape or structure like previous tracks. Other than those sub-par tracks, James Blake is a definitive stand-out in 2011.

This album might be a stepping stone to introducing people to the very misunderstood genre of dubstep, and lead them to more listens. I wouldn't go out and say this is a straight out dubstep album, because it simply isn't. It's a mixture of so many different elements that just come together to create a gush of electronic genius. I'm intensively looking forward to more that James Blake has to offer in the near future.

Sample: