buffaBLOG - The Buffalo music blog: indie-pop

Showing posts with label indie-pop. Show all posts

Album review, glam rock, indie-pop, kevin barnes, lousy with sylvianbriar, of montreal, psychedelic, ryan, ryan wolf — 2 comments

Album Review: of Montreal - Lousy with Sylvianbriar

of Montreal has worn its artiness on its frilly sleeves for decades, remaining the consummate glam rock band of this generation. To call their twelfth album "conventional" would perhaps be an abuse of the word given frontman Kevin Barnes' neurotic obsessions and brittle vocals. If ever an of Montreal record were to receive the "conventional" label though, Lousy with Sylvianbriar would bear the unfortunate tag.

Although the work is a subdued and diluted effort for Barnes and his cohorts, Lousy with Sylvianbriar floats as a lyrically sound vessel. Its black humor gleams as sharply as the band's most daring material. Sexual puns, literary allusions, and psychological self-critique permeate the record, dodging writing tropes and stale sentiments.

The lyrical tour-de-force of "Belle Glade Missionaries" rambles on in a punchy stream of eclectic images and one-liners ("There are no victims, only participants;" "You post naked .gifs of your epileptic fits;" "I have a feeling you want to be the female Henry Miller;" etc). Later on, Barnes constructs his "Colossus" with one of the more darkly compelling opening lines in songwriting history, an account of a pregnant mother's suicide. The song, however, as with the record itself, is better appreciated for its twisted segments than for its gross effect.

The majority of the album's tracks are too slow and unmemorable for a band with such proven pop songwriting capabilities. of Montreal still flaunt their knack for the hook now and then: "Triumph of Disintegration" is funky and fun, and "She Ain't Speakin' Now" balances its lackluster verses with a lively chorus. Overall though, the band's lyrics brutally trump their music in creativity and irreverent weirdness.

Lousy with Sylvianbriar is too structurally tame for of Montreal. The hyperactive unevenness of an album like Skeletal Lamping has been replaced by a strict adherence to traditional definitions of "recordhood." Barnes, disappointingly, sounds creatively weakened, as though finally succumbing to critics of his band's extravagances. The tragedy is that these extravagances, all the ragged quirks and loud arty gestures, are what make of Montreal so arresting, endearing, and wickedly outrageous. Lousy with Sylvianbriar is a competent creature, featuring some fine poetry, but it bores more than it should.

Grade: B-

Album review, days are gone, Haim, indie-pop, pop, ryan, ryan wolf — 0 comments

Album Review: HAIM - Days Are Gone

Though Wikipedia might classify the Haim Sisters as indie rock/pop performers, the L.A. trio seem pleased to keep their sound as far away from any expectations that labeling comes with. Although their synth-pop backing and eighties rock influences are slightly off-beat from the mainstream, HAIM very nearly come across as straight sugared-up pop. Though this is hardly a bad thing, it does seem to suggest how blurred the line between indie and mainstream has become, especially given HAIM's major label associations.

Slippery genre-pinning aside, HAIM do manage to revive the classic all-girl rock group in the tradition of the Go-Gos and the Bangles. Although the band's lyrics are simple and repetitive to the point of being trite, this caveat rarely has stopped acts from becoming popular (or even acclaimed for that matter). The sisters have noticeable talent and are certainly an act to watch for (particular on clothing commercials and CW television programs).

Days Are Gone is a debut with enough variation and sonic layering to make up for its flaws. "My Song 5" finds the band reaching experimental heights, and the solidity of HAIM's songwriting elsewhere is always at least passable, at times reaching greatness (as on "Let Me Go"). HAIM are a confident act that should have a definite audience, even if they can't quite shake off their syrupy side.

Grade: B-

Album review, electronic, holy ghost, indie-pop, ryan, ryan wolf — 0 comments

Album Review: Holy Ghost - Dynamics

As divisive as electro-pop may be for some, Holy Ghost's Dynamics just might convert a few stubborn skeptics. The record is as enjoyable and exhilarating as anything its genre can hope to accomplish. While not as artfully expansive, subtly revolutionary, or chart-busting as Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, Dynamics is more consistently and immediately fun than even that towering monolith (though, alas, there is nothing on the level of "Get Lucky"'s catchiness).

The New York City duo open up the record with the crackling creativity of "Okay" and "Dumb Disco Ideas," tighten their control on the Pheonix-tinged "Changing of the Guard," and bring Peter, Bjorn, and John-esque pop precision to "Dance A Little Closer." Most impressively, this is accomplished within the record's first third. What follows from there is none the weaker.

Clearly indebted to the eighties, Holy Ghost still sound very much of the moment. There are songs on Dynamics that could easily find mass radio-play if the band gained a bit more recognition. In a world where M83, Capital Cities, and Passion Pit score substantial hits, there certainly is a place for Holy Ghost's brand of synth-pop. It only remains to be seen if they can reach the audience they deserve.

Grade: B+

indie-pop, ryan, ryan wolf, scotland, slow summits, the pastels — 0 comments

Album Review: The Pastels - Slow Summits

Admired by Kurt Cobain and touted by Sonic Youth, The Pastels ironically always exhibited a more a tender, mousy spirit in spite of the punky undercurrent that propelled them. The Glasgow musicians may or may not have predated Belle & Sebastian in bringing a twee gentleness to Scottish rock n' roll, but their first album since 1997's Illumination finds them comfortably dwelling in the twee camp. Slow Summits is a purposefully slower, less engaging but still endearing offering from a band that has long maintained a dedicated cult following.

With flat vocals flopped over casual pop orchestra grooves, Slow Summits takes listeners into territory Nico once explored. But while Nico was emphatically annoyed by the flutes that edged into her music, The Pastels embrace the charms of the instrument. There is a blissful innocence to Slow Summits that some may find cloying. Others, however, will be enchanted by the child-like glory on display even if its tameness disappoints those accustomed to slightly more vivacious Pastels records.

Throughout the record there is a balanced interplay between the voices of Stephen McRobbie and Katrina Mitchell. Working more smoothly together than as individuals, the pair come together wonderfully for the alt-country twang of "Wrong Light" and the love-strut of "Check My Heart." On the titular track, the more familiar rock presence that established The Pastels makes a winding appearance in elongated, mostly instrumental, form. The breeziness of "Come To The Dance" then promptly ends the album on a giddy note.

Although The Pastels lack the pull and significance they once did, Slow Summits nonetheless proves that even after a sixteen year delay the band is still capable of making artistically viable music. The color and warmth applied to their return record gives the act's moniker new meaning and vitality. Though The Pastels may never expand far beyond the niche audience they have found themselves adored by, they have retained a purity Slow Summits happily demonstrates in temperate hues and soft impressions.

Grade: B

Album review, electronic, electronica, indie-pop, ryan, ryan wolf, young galaxy — 0 comments

Album Review: Young Galaxy - Ultramarine

Young Galaxy sound neither youthful nor galactic, but the five-piece Vancouver dream-pop act do offer an enjoyable Beach House-gone-electronica brand of Canadian indie. On Ultramarine, the band's fourth LP, Catherine McCandless and friends seem confident, determined, and very much at home with the strengths and limits of their stylistic ethos.

Though parts of Ultramarine are fairly mid-tempo, the sensual shuffle of "Fever" and the 80s dance anthem enchantment of "What We Want" securely place the album in the indie-pop category. Even when the overdone retro groove of "Out the Gate Backwards" nearly undercuts McCandless's compelling vocals, the band still remains addictive and intriguing. Ultramarine may lack the variation and sweetness of a Stars album or the genuine innovation found in the work of Grimes or Björk, but it does have drive, zest, and joy that other similarly situated, more decidedly arty, acts often downplay.

Ultramarine begins with the steady, pounding assurance of "Pretty Boy" and ends with the borderline cheesiness of "Sleepwalk With Me." Although the record's arc is imperfect and its lyrics over-simple, the songs themselves are frequently delightful. Ultramarine is a solid release with enough likable tunes to forgive its flaws.

Grade: B

Album review, indie-pop, jim james, my morning jacket, psychedelic, ryan — 0 comments

Album Review: Jim James - Regions of Light and Sound of God

Jim James has named his first real solo album Regions of Light and Sound of God, modeled his hair/beardcut after the classic Jesus Christ look, and proceeded to sing cryptic lyrics about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Promised Land, and the folly of man. The ploy may be strange, but is hardly ironic, in any modern or conventional sense. If anything, James seems to fearlessly seek what he calls “elevated feeling” with a religious rigor too often dismissed by secular artists.

Inspired by A God’s Man, a 1920s novel illustrated with woodcuts, the My Morning Jacket frontman whittles intertwining themes of faith, doubt, and a longing for more from an arresting post-soul piece of tripped out art. Performing every instrument to immersive effect, James is master of his one man ship. By inwardly diving to perfect his blissful vision for each song, a long respected musician has perhaps made his most enchanting and fulfilled work to date.

With a piano backing reminiscent of a Spoon tune or at least Beck’s “Where It’s At,” the record’s opening song “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” is a groovy and enigmatic launching point for an album that would make Wayne Coyne envious. Tracks slide seamlessly into one another in a cosmic cornucopia of pop songsmithing, a remix of seventies singer-songwriter styles. Each component feels aware and enlightened. There is a vaguely Hawaiian edge to the truly wonderful acoustic-driven shuffle of “A New Life,” bobbing to a Roy Orbinson croon, even if its linings are more gray than silver (“I think I’m really being sincere…” sings James with tentative optimism). Yet optimism and pessimism are not either/ors on Regions of Light and Sound of God. All is stirred together and interconnected; the half empty/half full glass is shattered, shards floating in space.

James, who once covered George Harrison as Yim Yames, follows his hero’s path of spiritual yearning and divine fascination. Wrestling with angels and devils alone, James is a lonesome folk wanderer, thoughtfully preoccupied with the unbearable lightness of being. Stretching his musical palette across the universe, into some wild, many-hued, psychedelic textures, James has made a record immediately more personal than much of his work with My Morning Jacket yet equally as wide-eyed and unrestrained. Jesus would approve.

Grade: A-

(Third A- in a Row? Who knew 2013 would be off to such a solid start?)

Album review, hummingbird, indie-pop, Local Natives, ryan, the national — 3 comments

Album Review: Local Natives - Hummingbird

Hummingbird is an earnest, likable album. As a future artifact it may well stand as an Exhibit A example of what indie pop sounded like circa 2005-2015. Though Local Natives inhabit the same atmospheric corner as many parallel acts, there is a smoothness and ease to their music that seems more measured and subtle than most bands of their ilk. On Hummingbird, the Los Angeles based group both hazily define a scene and create an inviting record that excels on the strength of its own beautiful merits.

Expanding their musical territory, Local Natives follow the popular Gorilla Manor with an even stronger album. Sounds swirl and sway pleasantly on a sonically varied but consistently produced piece. Aaron Dessner (of The National) is a delicate and detailed producer. After his mesmerizing work on Sharon Van Etten’s Tramp, Dressner forges a full aural environment on Hummingbird in which every bend of music blends naturally into a unified whole.

The album’s central single, “Breakers,” with its surging uplift, feels like an instant hit, even as it chronicles confusion and dread. “I’m trying to strike a match that’s soaking wet,” sings co-vocalist Taylor Rice as Matt Frazier’s drums hammer on with a conviction that conquers all despair. For a lyrically melancholy, self-questioning record (“Am I loving enough? Am I giving enough?” asks Kelcey Ayer on “Columbia”), the constant rush of Fleet Foxes-like harmonies and percussive fury is harrowing and devastatingly sincere.

Above all though, Hummingbird is longingly gorgeous. It coos and soothes, calls across deserts of desperation, ponders and dreams. On the record’s final track, “Bowery,” though the lyrics insist Local Natives “can’t tell if the ceiling’s rising or if the floor is falling down,” the music’s waterfall plunge makes existential terror seem like spiritual transcendence. Fluttering madly through a wilderness of possibility, Hummingbird soars.

Grade: A-

ben gibbard, Coachella, death cab for cutie, dntel, electronic, indie-pop, jimmy tamborello, postal service, ryan, the postal service, tour — 0 comments

The Return of The Postal Service?

A mysterious new update earlier this morning to the Postal Service website had fans and music bloggers speculating as to whether a long overdue reunion of the band was finally to become a reality.

According to Billboard.com, a yet unannounced tour that includes a Coachella appearance and a deluxe re-release of The Postal Service's acclaimed (and only) 2003 album Give Up have been confirmed. New music from the adored electronic pop group, however, seems unlikely based on previous comments from frontman Ben Gibbard.

Last year, Gibbard released a folksy, mostly acoustic, solo record, Former Lives, a follow-up to his work on Death Cab for Cutie's Codes and Keys. Jimmy Tamborello, the second half of The Postal Service, continues to release indietronic music as Dntel.

Album review, electronic, folk, indians, indie-pop, ryan, somewhere else — 0 comments

Album Review: Indians - Somewhere Else

Søren Løkke Juul is a fortunate fellow indeed. The Danish musician’s new act, Indians, debuts on the 4AD record label, current home to Bon Iver, Iron & Wine, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Deerhunter, Grimes, and the National (among many others). Arising alongside such maddeningly good company, Indians, as a one man project, seems born for greatness. And Somewhere Else, as an introductory record, is more than a stellar start.

On Somewhere Else, the warbling richness of Juul’s falsetto tramples over lush musical foliage, shimmering layers of keyboards and guitars. Use of synthesizers is plentiful yet never makes the album feel overly electronic or coldly artificial. An organic ache to the record, competing with its celestial scope, humanly involves the listener while lifting the soul into space on a rocket ship full of sci-fi sounds.

A serenade in a planetarium of a record, Somewhere Else lies beneath familiar indie constellations yet somehow gives them new perspective, quietly accepting its place among the stars. From the shrill Devendra Banhart folk weirdness of “I Am Haunted” to the alien murmurs of “Melt,” Indians combine mad scientist experimentation with a hymn-like spirit, placing a ghost in its silvery machine and letting the phantom voice speak. The closing track, source of the album’s title, begins with an empty hallway longing that two minutes in builds into a Band of Horses meets Wolf Parade meets MGMT anthem, a stirring and cinematic climax that neither needs nor offers a denouement.

Although Somewhere Else owes stylistic fragments to bands like Grizzly Bear and the Antlers, the singular and personal tone of the album belongs to Juul alone. This disarmingly lovely record, soaked in reverb and sadness, requires patience but rewards with its expressive depth. Juul more than earns his place at 4AD, presenting superb low-key indie-pop that sends waves of emotion through the night skies of the wireless age.

Grade: A-