Currents: Japandroids, Hot Chip, Ghost Loft

Japandroids: Celebration Rock
[Polyvinyl, 2012] 

In an interview with Japandroids on the making of their second album Celebration Rock, they said they imagined what their fans would be screaming and singing along to at their concerts in order to deliver the goods on their new songs. What a refreshing perspective! With this new LP it's clear Japandroids are having no problem being both a crowd-pleasing Rock band with a capital R and one with a powerful life-affirming message about youth and hope. The lesson I'm getting: Average Joes and Janes, whether they be in big cities or one-horse towns, can be epic individuals passionate about living life to the absolute fullest. That's how they want you to feel, and they deliver. Seriously, how can you not fucking love Japandroids?!?




Hot Chip: In Our Heads
[Domino, 2012]

Before a few weeks ago, I only knew Hot Chip through a few quirky electropop singles that entered one ear and flew out the other without much fanfare. But damn am I glad I tried this out. In Our Heads is not only a really fun album to listen to, but there's a musical and lyrical depth throughout it that other dance music doesn't even attempt. It seems to make sense that this is the band's fifth album, as it all sounds like a band that's experienced at the helm and good keeping things fresh. Maybe I've mellowed out since I first heard Hot Chip, or maybe In Our Heads is in fact their most colorful, deep, and best album yet. Whatever it is, I'm dancing now.

"Don't Deny Your Heart"

Ghost Loft: Blow EP
[unsigned, 2012] 

I have a fairly eclectic taste in music, but back when I just couldn't get enough fuzzy lo-fi like Wavves and Guided by Voices (sorry if my putting those two bands in the same sentence offends you), I don't think I could have seen myself falling head over heals for an artist like Ghost Loft. I'm sure I have the Weeknd to thank for this new direction. And that's because Ghost Loft is silky smooth, immaculately produced RnB-Pop that's dripping with cool. It's more easygoing than the Weeknd and less melodically challenging than other soulful electropop like James Blake, so in that sense I don't mind lyrics like "Baby let me love you now" and "I want to love you til I feel no pain". Nothing sounds fake when the music is this convincing.

"Seconds":

Currents: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Arcade Fire, Nite Jewel

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: Let It Sway

[Polyvinyl 2010]

Over three albums and five years, SSYLBY have commonly taken cues from the likes of the Shins in developing a composed, guitar-centric indie pop. They were most successful with the organic pop melodies of 2005's Broom, while after that letting studio polish and cruise control result in the more sterile Pershing. Let It Sway has the band as bent as ever on making agreeable melodies and being that nice mellow folk rock that floats around in the scenery until you're bored before the record's done. As on Pershing, the band does have its moments (the propulsive singing on "Back in the Saddle", the tightness of "Critical Drain"), but the rest of the album plods along on weak choruses, rehashed acoustic riffs and mutually embarrassing songwriting ("All Hail Dracula!"...really?).  It sounds like SSYLBY have become (are spearheading?) a kind of indie brand more inspired by soft/alternative rock than anything else.  And just like, say, the Goo Goo Dolls after Dizzy Up the Girl, SSLYBY have their moments of pop relevancy, but more often, the attempts at catholic melodies evaporate almost instantly.

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

[Merge/Mercury 2010]

Arcade Fire has surely represented the most glaring gap in my '00s indie music education, as I had barely heard a single song by them until I first gave The Suburbs a shot a few weeks ago (yes, I didn't start with Funeral; so it goes).  I don't know what drove my insulation from them, but with The Suburbs, my awareness begins.  After numerous listens, I have developed that vague notion that I'm hearing musical brilliance in the form of intensely detailed compositions and lyrics of obsessive conceptual significance.  But is the music actually grabbing me? No, not really.  The sweeping gestures seem to not pack the gravity and emotional familiarity to keep most of the songs from running together to the point of stressing a narrow point ad infinitum.  I didn't expect to hear it like this, but I probably enjoy some of these songs, like "Rococo" and "Modern Man", as standalone singles, rather than lumped in other melodramatic rockers.  A very notable exception here is "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)", which has a welcoming immediacy and synthy, dance-focused undertones.  I first heard this track while crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge just after dusk, looking over an industrial south Jersey shore and the monumental suspension cables.  Musically and conceptually, it had quite the effect.  As for the rest of The Suburbs, it could still prove to be a strong grower over time, but presently I'm not swept away by it.  Where are the "Wow!" moments?

 

Nite Jewel: Am I Real? EP
[Gloriette 2010]

Nite Jewel's most recent release, this 26 minute long EP, is only seven minutes shorter than her 2009 debut full-length Good Evening, so it's tempting to treat it as a proper album statement as opposed to a scattering of tracks L.A.'s Ramona Gonzalez has been working on lately (fair or not).  Whatever the intention in not just going for the LP label, Am I Real? shows artistic growth as well as stylistic continuity.  Gone is the lo-fi buzz that lay like a fine dust upon Good Evening, now replaced by a sleek sheen clarifying every floating synth and sinking bass thump.  What stays the same for Nite Jewel is a creative celebration of the electro '80s in a decidedly 2010 fashion.  Gonzalez's voice is still ethereal and lyrically obscured, the synth keyboards build dreamy, sexy grooves, and nimble beats keep the music rooted in dance, with bookends "Another Horizon" and "Am I Real?" being the best examples of this.

"Am I Real?":

  

Currents: Dr. Dog, Beach Fossils, The Radio Dept., She & Him

Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame
[ANTI- 2010]

Not much is different for Dr. Dog since 2008's Fate, as the band is still glorifying their '60s pop rock idols, but the formula works better here.  The songs distinguish themselves much better and instrumentation is a  bit more varied, producing great tracks like "Where'd All the Time Go" and "Jackie Wants a Black Eye".  Whether it's something the band has never been able to accomplish after six albums or if it's just in their DNA (I think the latter), Dr. Dog still doesn't have the teeth to make them a breakthrough group. But Shame, Shame is an easy rock pleasure, and sometimes that's really all you need.

 

Beach Fossils: Beach Fossils
[Captured Tracks 2010]

It's more lo-fi, lazy summer music in the vein of Real Estate.  Guitars jangle and interweave, beach bum vocals echo, and the tambourine rattles with glee.  Unfortunately, Beach Fossils is so sun-bleached it virtually dissipates, as there's little substantial about the melodies, lyrics, or any insight on the band itself.  The album's psychedelic fog and easy aesthetic are certainly chill to the core (and for that lo-fi summer sound I'm absolutely a sucker) but as each melody meanders by in about the same fashion as the last, the album progresses by walking in place.

The Radio Dept.: Clinging to a Scheme
[Labrador 2010] 

"Heaven's on Fire" just floors me every time.  Now with that song hitting a perfect balance of the Radio Dept.'s shoegaze haze, catchy hook-reaching and symphonic punch, where does that leave the rest of Clinging to a Scheme?  Well, while never touching the success of "Heaven's on Fire," hooks abound, and the album's thoughtful indie pop is both tonally calming and instrumentally propulsive.  When the band settles for reflective mood-setting ("A Token of Gratitude", "Memory Loss") the mix can get a bit drab, but when they dish out poppier offerings ("Heaven's on Fire", "David"), their sonic beauty is breathtaking.

She & Him: Volume 2
[Merge 2010]

Zooey Deschanel & Him.  It's hard to separate her public celebrity as a beautiful actress/indie princess from what listeners really get out of She & Him (M. Ward being "Him").  But what helps is the fact that her voice is truly exceptional and fits beautifully in the pleasant, inoffensive folk pop scheme they have crafted for two albums.  When she sings "California is a great big nation of one" on "Home," the innocence resonates, and it's that feeling that makes She & Him a rewarding group. That said, She & Him don't throw any curveballs, and while Deschanel's impressive lyrics sound like they were written eons ago, this project has a limited range.  So while She & Him is not particularly innovative, if you take it for what it is, it's easy to like.

Currents: Gorillaz, Dom, Girl Talk

Gorillaz: Plastic Beach
[Parlophone, Virgin 2010]

Finally Gorillaz has personality! That may sound odd considering Gorillaz and Demon Days were built on rap swagger and a rebellious image (cartoon band!).  But really, I found those albums had some very cool beats, but mostly lacked any permanence: repetitive song structures, aimless meandering, and vanilla pop singles.  I associated Damon Albarn's metallic vocals with hip hop-inflected pop that was heaps of style above substance.  But Plastic Beach, to my great surprise, is truly a game changer.  This album bursts the band's range wide open, and they finally sound dynamic and consequential beyond a groovy background beat.  I've never been so emotionally invested in Gorillaz, and credit for that goes to Albarn for the album's refreshing diversity of song moods, more engaged singing, and a tight and intelligent body of lyrics critiquing 21st century consumerism and ecological havoc.

Dom: Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP
[Burning Mill 2010]

A summery, shimmery set of catchy indie rock tracks from brand new band Dom from Worcester, Massachusetts.  Dom has been compared to Girls a lot (a band they themselves cite as a huge influence for them), and certainly several of the songs are melodically underlined by '60s vibes.  Dom sounds more planted in the modern, however, from the glistening synths of "Burn Bridges" to the fuzzy stomping beats in "Living in America."

Girl Talk: Night Ripper
[Illegal Art 2006]

I have a deep respect for sample-based musicians, particularly DJ Shadow and the Avalanches, for the creativity of their art and the mind-blowing skill the craft requires.  Realizing through a friend that I would be remiss to bypass mashup king Girl Talk, I gave Night Ripper a listen and I've been floored after each spin.  Sure, it's set at a blistering rave party, ADD pace, and you may wish some of the best samples would linger longer (the use of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" in "Overtime"), but this isn't meant to be a contemplative listen.  This is balls-to-the-wall, and if your ears can't keep up, fuck it and just dance.

Currents: Streetlight Manifesto, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Local Natives, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

"Currents": The latest albums I've been checking out.

Streetlight Manifesto: 99 Songs of the Revolution, Volume 1
[Victory* 2010]

The exuberance feels spur-of-the-moment, but each Streetlight release has spent a good while in the incubator under Tomas Kalnoky's TLC. He and the rest of the ska punk outfit, arguably the most exciting and unique on the scene today, love to tease fans with delayed releases and several years between LPs. So some skepticism could be in order as the band's efforts are now focused on a 99 song, 8 album project of cover songs. Yes, it could be a while until we get original tunes from Kalnoky's pen, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, it's hard to dislike the project's first installment, as the band's signature frenzy makes for innovative and fun remakes. In particular, check out their chaotic take on Radiohead's "Just", a friendlier version of Bad Religion's "Skyscraper", and damn clever retooling of Postal Service hit "Such Great Heights".

* Apparently the band is at odds with their label, so if you want to pick this up, support them directly and order through their website.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow: Ashes Grammar
[Mis Ojos Discos 2009]

Ashes Grammar is a dreamy, shoegazing soundscape.  Cathedral-choir vocals and airy song structures surface in the swirling mix in what is really a mesmerizing listen. The foundation for the album's drama is a soft-edged wall of sound that defines "atmospheric".  Dulling some of the impact, however, is a sprawling hour-long run time with tracks that feel unneeded for the work to fully affect.  It's not quite ambient, as it doesn't entirely stay in the background, but it does float by like a pleasant dream: beautiful, although you can never quite remember it all.

Local Natives: Gorilla Manor
[Infectious, Frenchkiss 2009, 2010]

I'm hesitant to call Local Natives "straight-ahead" indie rock, but that's what comes to mind when I listen to Gorilla Manor. Verse-chorus-verse structures, smooth and clean vocals, and thoughtful rock melodies that sounds like a more easygoing Minus the Bear.  The songs are nice and they have a very likable aesthetic, but too many of the melodies lack real staying power.  The best here, however, namely the percussion-focused "Wide Eyes" and the delicate "Who Knows Who Cares", are great tunes to keep coming back for.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: The Brutalist Bricks
[Matador 2010]

Certainly an improvement over 2007's dry Living with the Living, The Brutalist Bricks offers some decent indie punk from a legend in the field. I'll always admire Ted Leo for, at least, an early body of work that's as exciting and catchy as any brand of rock. The songs here on his latest are relatively tight and aesthetically familiar, but there are no runaway hits, no outright sing-alongs. At the least, it's clear that Leo goes after the hooks that do arise on Bricks with full conviction, and he has regained some punk ferocity that had recently waned. So while the punches may not always hit the mark, at least they're being thrown.