Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

while last year’s grinderman project significantly influenced dig, lazarus, dig!!!, cave and co.’s ability to flesh songs out sets their new record apart from its progenitor. grinderman was an experiment in minimalism and was a wise departure for cave, given the lush and vibrant quality to 2004’s abattoir blues/lyre of orpheus. thanks to grinderman, cave became more aware of himself lyrically, and the bad seeds’ roles became more clearly defined. dig benefits from grinderman’s self-discovery and its rock and roll leanings, but also has moments of restraint, something grinderman seemed to have no interest in doing. “hold on to yourself” bears more of a resemblance to nick cave and warren ellis’ austere soundtrack work than it does grinderman, as ellis’ looped mandocaster and casey’s bass support the song and recall the smoldering deserts of the proposition. songs like “we call upon the author” rip and tear with the same raucous energy of grinderman, but are also much fuller compositions, as they are strengthened by their accompaniments. after having learned the importance of simplicity, nick cave and his bad seeds prove their relevance with a modest record that is adorned with textures, not overwrought with them.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, dig lazarus dig!!!, grinderman, nick cave & the bad seeds, warren ellis (musician)

First Impressions #2

autolux – “audience no. 2“

when i found out that autolux had recently released a new single from their upcoming album transit transit, i was pretty ecstatic. i’ve been following their career since demonstration and am quite fond of their music, despite there being so little of it. this song is not as my-bloody-valentine-inspired as their previous material has been, and sounds more akin to the work that they did with UNKLE on war stories. noise is still a prominent factor in this song, but it’s more atmospheric, underpinning the thunderous bass-line. carla azar’s drumming is still as fantastic as ever, creating rhythms that are subtle but still well-defined and unique. i think greg edwards sings this number, but it’s hard to tell. it is nice to hear the vocals higher in the mix though, they’re much more discernible on this song than they were on future perfect. hopefully this shift in sonics will make it much more difficult for journalists to give the band the horrid label of “newgaze.”

jaguar love – “bats over the pacific ocean“

it seemed that as soon as the blood brothers broke up, the two bands that rose from it’s ashes were in a competition, albeit a friendly one, to release new material. jaguar love have wasted no time in putting their material to tape or um… hard disk, as they are releasing their debut EP through matador in early june, and also have plans to release a full album in august. technically they’ve had a bit of a head-start over ex-blood brothers past lives, since they formed prior to the actual break-up of the band and have also had time to cut their chops on the road, having opened for queens of the stone age late last year.

it’s no surprise then that on “bats over the pacific ocean,” jaguar love sounds tight and comfortable. the song is well-crafted and brimming with intensity, although not quite the same brand of intensity fans of the blood brothers are used to. johnny whitney’s ever-recognizable vocals are present here, but what’s significantly different about this song is how much the rhythm section sounds like they’re from spoon, not some post-hardcore outfit. opting for an acoustic guitar and piano, jaguar love set themselves apart from their previous projects with a more mature sound while simultaneously concocting a different kind of urgency that works just as effectively.

busdriver – “ellen disingenuous“

released as a single to tide people over between albums (this track may or may not make the final cut), busdriver returns at lightspeed with “ellen disingenuous,” delivering his rhymes much faster than anything on roadkillovercoat. his beats are fast too, but even they sound as though they struggle to keep up with him. “ellen” is a whirlwind of a song, incessant until the chorus arrives, which helps to remind us that not only can busdriver rap fast, but he also writes great hooks. if you’ve heard “kill your employer,” you know what i’m talking about. smart, fresh and playful, “ellen disingenuous” is a solid single and exciting window into the album-making process.

beck – “chemtrails” (apologies for the poor quality mp3… i ripped it myself straight from beck’s website. this one at least sounds better than the myspace rip floating around)

slow and sleepy, “chemtrails” recalls the songs from the nigel godrich-produced sea change, which seems somewhat odd since the soon-to-be-released modern guilt is produced by danger mouse, whose production style bears little resemblance to godrich’s lush and dense approach. you’d think that since this is the first time that beck has worked with someone who wasn’t godrich or the dust brothers since 1996, his decision would be based on that person’s ability to bring something different to the table. perhaps this consistency should be attributed more to beck himself and not the producer. either way, beck’s voice sounds distant over the droning organs, and groovy drum and bass backbone. frankly, the drum and bass parts sound more interesting than what beck is actually singing or how he’s singing it. don’t get me wrong, this song won’t dissuade me from checking out the album, but it’s certainly not beck’s best either. why release this song as a first single/teaser? i’m sure more people are interested in hearing the supposed collaboration between mr. hansen and chan marshall than this boring psychedelia.

Filed under: First Impressions , 2008, audience no. 2, autolux, bats over the pacific ocean, beck, busdriver, chemtrails, danger mouse, ellen disingenuous, jaguar love, modern guilt, past lives, transit transit

Torche – Meanderthal

as crushing as it is catchy, torche’s meanderthal is a glorious mix of pop sensibilities and heavy, heavy metal. given that my understanding of anything both “pop” and “metal” was limited to bands like motley crue, i was certainly surprised upon hearing this album for the first time that metal could be poppy without being campy (although the dillinger escape plan did toy with the idea on last year’s fantastic ire works). ranging from slow, chugging, melvins-like riffs to faster, more queens of the stone age-inspired rock, torche are not only well-versed in different types of metal, but also demonstrate that they are entirely capable of combining these elements to make something completely new. torche’s versatility shines through here as they somehow manage to make songs primarily driven by doom or sluge metal conventions, anthemic. like being bludgeoned by a flower, meanderthal is pop-metal at its best.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, meanderthal, torche

Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

zoomer starts right where apologies left off, delivering “soldier’s grin,” a bevy of wavy synths, jagged guitars and rolling drums. “call it a ritual” follows, and signals a departure, as the song is propelled by a piano riff; something the band has never fully relied on. the rest of the album becomes less and less accessible as wolf parade attempt to shed the modest mouse comparisons by deviating from conventional song structures. at times, this experimentation undermines the immediacy of the songs, making wolf parade sound like just-another-spencer-krug-band; however, zoomer’s songs are robust and eventually trump such comparisons.

there’s a noticeable tension between krug and boeckner’s songwriting that they also seem to be aware of and even emphasize. the album’s cover, for instance, is a collaboration between two artists, apparently representative of a “battle” between them. this tension is also evident in the sequencing of the album, which alternates between the two songwriters, and finally comes to a head on vigorous and sprawling “kissing the beehive,” the only song that bears the “krug/boeckner” label. although tense, zoomer is still a cohesive record, and an excellent follow-up to one of 2005’s best.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, at mount zoomer, dan boeckner, modest mouse, spencer krug, wolf parade

Islands – Arm’s Way

on arm’s way, islands’ vast ideas have manifested themselves into a strange kind of jangle-prog that doesn’t work as well as one might hope, especially after being teased by the muscular album-opener “the arm.” although the theatricality of this album is a welcome and natural step for islands, it is a shift that happens at the expense of many of the songs, as they frequently feel drawn-out– “j’aime vous voire quitter” would be the shortest song on the album if it wasn’t strangely interrupted by what sounds to be “la bamba.” on return to the sea, islands walked a fine line between schizophrenic and tight melodies, and were successfully able to, given the clever songwriting and lush arrangements; however, even though arm’s way maintains much of the dark themes characteristic of thorburn’s music and attempts to deliver them in a much more aggressive fashion, it meanders by becoming tedious and self-indulgent, making it a challenging listen but not a rewarding one.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, arm's way, islands, nick diamonds

Portishead – Third

on third, portishead distance themselves from their previous material while still maintaining the harrowing and dark qualities to their music that defined their early work. eleven years have past since their last full-length, so a change was certainly in order. that change is immediately noticeable upon hearing third since the main difference between this album and it’s progenitors is the absence of samples. aside from the album’s introduction, which is a clip of someone speaking in portuguese, they use no samples at all. this absence has a profound effect on the atmosphere of the record, creating a bleak and minimal soundscape; one that is as unsettling as the subject matter of each song. beth gibbon’s voice, which anchors the album, has the range and power to oscillate between utter helplessness and determination. her delivery, coupled with the frenetic “we carry on,” the staccato-drum-propelled “machine gun” (reminicient of “blue monday”), and the cacophonous “threads” makes third an intense and equally subversive addition to portishead’s catalogue.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, portishead, third

Nine Inch Nails – The Slip

the slip finds NIN in a much more confident place, as the record clocks in at 43 minutes, making it quite concise compared to the hour-long year zero or the sprawling hour and forty-five minutes that is the fragile. even the recent release ghosts i-iv was a bit self indulgent, consisting of 36 tracks and running almost two hours (although to be fair, it was technically divided into 4 EPs). regardless, it’s definitely refreshing to see a lean NIN album. the record recalls the clean production and highly confessional style of with teeth, while also drawing from year zero’s method of addressing personal questions through politics, although reznor is far less reliant this time on finger-pointing and preaching. NIN are as loud and noisy as ever, as they wreak a digital havoc throughout. unfortunately, reznor’s “art rock” tendencies eventually kick in and he erroneously relies solely on his piano to convey emotion on both “lights in the sky” and “corona radiata;” however it is interesting how the two songs overlap. while not without it’s flaws, the slip is still a surprisingly intense and focused release, especially considering the amount of time it took to record this album compared to NIN’s previous, more conceptual albums.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, NIN, nine inch nails, the slip

First Impressions

nine inch nails – “discipline“

“discipline” was released just last week with another cryptic “two weeks” message on NIN.com. some of you may remember that the last time “two weeks” was posted on NIN.com, ghosts i-iv was released. could there be another album in the pipeline? already? we’ll find out on monday. if it is an album or even an EP of new material, i’d be shocked (some are saying that the cover art for “discipline” suggests at least four other songs). that would mean that it has only been a year and a half since trent’s last full length of original material (year zero) and a month since his last release period (ghosts). is this what we can expect from NIN in the future? no more 5-6 year waits for albums? now if only someone could introduce this novel method of album-making to tool…

as far as the song itself is concerned, it’s basically what one should come to expect from NIN at this point, but just a bit more poppy. there aren’t any guitars that i can hear… the instrumentation just consists of synth, piano, bass, live drums and vocals. it sounds more like the material from with teeth than it does the material from year zero, an album which trent approached with the idea that noise somehow equates novelty. the drum beat here is a little unimaginative– that hi-hat gets annoying pretty quickly. i suppose it’s better than stale drum machines though. i’m glad trent is embracing his poppiness, despite the bemoaning of all the other NINcompoops. i find he’s most honest with himself when he’s just straight-up pop, without the pretence of some high, overarching concept. his best songs have always been his most poppy, so i think he should stop trying to mask it with noise, strings, or other things that just weigh his songs down. this isn’t his best, but i’m interested in seeing where it leads.

coldplay – “violet hill“

this song gives me the impression that for their new record… whatever it’s called…coldplay have toned down the synth approach from x&y and have opted instead for more angular guitars. the guitars certainly do have a more significant presence on this song than they have had on a lot of other coldplay numbers, but like their past experimentations with synthesizers, this guitar approach seems rather tacked-on, and not a genuine or significant change, because eventually “all you’re hearing is chris and the piano.” i never thought i’d be accusing chris & co. of lacking in the earnestness dept, but here i am. despite all this, i’m intrigued by how short the song is, and the slow shuffle of the verses brought on by berryman and champion.

Filed under: First Impressions , 2008, coldplay, discipline, NIN, nine inch nails, singles, violet hill, viva la vida or death and all his friends, with teeth, x&y

No Age – Nouns

bless this noise. nouns is actually no age’s first proper album, since last year’s weirdo rippers was a compilation of songs from their earlier EPs. stylistically, not much has changed since then as they stick to their lo-fi roots, using bands like my bloody valentine and the jesus and mary chain as touchstones for their pop-meets-noise approach. weirdo rippers was surprisingly fluid for a compilation; it maintained a very disorientating, hallucinatory focus that was instantly appealing and remarkable. nouns succeeds in establishing that fluidity once more, as the droning qualities of one song bleed into the turbulent dissonance of the next. although the sequencing might be fluid, each song still stands on it’s own as they vary from loud distorted chaos (“eraser”) to layered, dreamy, delicate pieces (“things i did when i was dead”). on nouns, no age further demonstrate their deep understanding of pop sensibilities, noise and melody, making this well-crafted and beautiful album a joy to listen to.

pitchfork.tv – juan’s basement w/ no age – “the new record”

pitchfork.tv – no age – “eraser”

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, no age, nouns, the smell, weirdo rippers

Constantines – Kensington Heights

kensington heights finds the constantines in familiar territory, making music the way that they know best: crafting strong, passionate, often anthemic songs that work to blend the simple ferocity of punk rock with the raw, earthy tones of classic rock. while it is nice to hear constantines in a comfortable space, at times the band seems too relaxed and uncertain of where they’re going. this lack of confidence undermines what would otherwise be a very solid record. “hard feelings” is a merry-go-round of guitars and organ, and although it’s powerful and invigorating, it leads nowhere. sure, offering no direction or solution has the potential to suggest the disparity of a song’s subject matter, but this does not seem to be the case given that the album ends on such a positive note with “do what you can do.” the second half of the record, however, is far more focussed and features two of the most well-written, affecting songs on kensington heights, “credit river” and “new king.” their presence on the album helps to make it a more challenging and confrontational experience– one that falters occasionally, but recovers with intensity and spirit.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, Constantines, Kensington Heights