Beck – Modern Guilt

what is modern guilt? what makes it modern? where does it come from? is it the pressure to do something meaningful? is it the guilt an artist feels when they realize that their contemporaries are making “political” statements and they haven’t made theirs yet? beck doesn’t really do much to answer these questions on modern guilt, but he does have a few hints. much of the album centres on themes of fear (“chemtrails”), defying convention (“walls”), and a lack of belonging (“orphans,” “modern guilt”), but just as he’s decrying the stranglehold that conventions have on modern society, he’s intentionally throwing-back to the 60s, and therefore contradicting himself in the process. while the first few tracks are a good bunch– although inconsistent– it isn’t until the title track that you actually realize that you’re hearing a collaboration between danger mouse and beck. “modern guilt” kicks and bumps along, but does so in a similar vein to another danger mouse collab– the black keys’ “strange times.”  this similarity raises another question: is beck really addressing what’s “modern”? given the highway 61 revisited reference of the album cover, the retro psych/garage-rock atmosphere throughout, and his choosing to work with someone whose body of work consists of mixing old and new styles, beck’s second attempt at being taken seriously (no matter how earnest he might be) seems muddled and confused when he makes an album as contradictory as this one.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, beck, danger mouse, highway 61 revisited, modern guilt

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

The Black Keys – Attack & Release

at the risk of angering much of their fan base, the black keys’ newest release deviates significantly from the band’s self-imposed reliance on drums, guitar and vocals as they attempt to expand their sound. here producer danger mouse provides a bevy of ideas and instruments that help the keys trump the notion that they are one trick pony. their previous albums have been very insular affairs, with both members doing all of the writing, performing, recording and producing themselves; however, as solid as a foundation that is, 2006’s magic potion was a sign that perhaps they needed a change. the songs of attack and release build on that trusted foundation and attempt to augment it with other textures, making danger mouse’s presence noticeable but still subtle. a flute acting as a counterpoint to auerbach’s guitar is what keeps “same old thing” from being exactly what its title suggests. there are moments though, where their approach seems superficial, as though the keys haven’t committed themselves to change and instead opt for large doses of reverb to hide it. while attack and release isn’t everything that it promises, it delivers something new and unexpected from the band and demonstrates their willingness to experiment, perhaps a sign of what’s to come from these blues-fanatics.

Filed under: Album Review , 2008, attack & release, danger mouse, the black keys