Bat for Lashes – Fur And Gold: “Horse and I” begins the album with a solemn harpsichord and medieval-sounding drums; the woman singer could very well have a husband going off to war from the sound of it. The bass is loud in “Trophy,” playing minor thirds under a male-female duet and dissonant guitars – a sweet track. Something that sounds like a mandolin opens “Tahiti,” with piano joining shortly thereafter – the track won’t remind one of Tahiti at all, though. I don’t care for the depressing ballad “Sad Eyes.” “The Wizard” is a cool bass- and guitar-backed piece that comes off as a hip-hop song, but with much more interesting vocals.
“Priscilla” is a nice piece of pop that makes use of hand-clapping along with piano to form a strong beat over which the singer’s voice soars along with backup harmonies – and the harpsichord makes its return right at the end. The haunting “Seal Jubilee” starts off as nearly an a cappella duet and then builds, adding guitar, piano, and other instruments at various times. Pretty cool track. The bass has a real attitude on “Sarah.” “I Saw a Light” is a bit too drawn-out and quiet; I didn’t really get it.
This album reminded me a lot of Bring Me The Workhorse by My Brightest Diamond. 3.5/5.
Buffalo Tom – Three Easy Pieces: The solid country rock of “Bad Phone Call” kicks off the album. The title track has solid instrumentals, but the vocals sound annoying. It isn’t until “Renovating” that another decent track comes along, and it’s not all that great, having so-so lyrics.
I wasn’t really impressed by this album: country rock with a little The Hold Steady flavor in there, but there was nothing special about the lyrics or the instrumentation. 2.5/5.
The Editors – An End Has A Start: The singer sounds a bit like Interpol’s vocalist. The opening track has guitars like those of The Twilight Sad. The title track is very exciting, featuring wailing guitars over a rhythm guitar and bass. “The Weight of the World” has just ok lyrics, largely negating a nice instrumental break. An Interpol-like track is “Bones,” not only with the singer, but also with the instrumentation. “When Anger Shows” suffers from a lot of singing on the beat, four times per measure – not an interesting choice of lyrics; this is too bad, because the drums kick in from a nice instrumental beat.
Juiced guitars drive “The Racing Rats,” but here is another track that just does not sweep me away. The best song I’ve heard thus far is “Escape the Nest,” with exciting guitars and a not-too-predictable singing pattern.
The frequent boring, first-person lyrics made this album dull. 2.5/5.
Favourite Sons – Down Beside Your Beauty: Whoa, album opener “When You’re Away from Me” uses “favorite son” in its lyrics at one point. Its guitar line is pretty nice; a good start to the LP. The title track has a different beat with hand-clapping than the first two songs, and “The Tall Grass” has a great beat with some nice bass work underneath. A punk song is “Rise Up,” having drums play every beat four a couple measures followed by the bass for a couple of measures.
“ ‘Round Here” drives with a bass-lead attack supplemented by a solid drum beat and grungy guitars, sounding like the theme to a Western. Another decent ditty is “Hang on, Girl,” made distinctive with humming in unison with the guitars (making it sound like The Spinto Band a little). For an anthemic number, “The Things That We Do to Each Other” fits the bill.
Nice moments can be found here. 3.5/5.
Gogol Bordello – Multi Kontra Culti: The first song is truly great, “When the Trickster Starts a-Pokin’ (Bordello Kind of Guy)”; it starts with an accordion and then adds saxes before the vocals come in with guitars – gypsy punk rock at its finest (think of a Ukranian Franz Ferdinand). Some Latin flavor is thrown into the mix for “Occurrence on the Border.” A sax brings in “Haltura” along with guitar and bass. “Future Kings” is rather distinctive with an unusual guitar line backed by accordion and sax. Accordion and bari sax trade off for eight measures.
A slower number accentuating beats two and four is “Through the Roof ‘n’ Underground.” A really cool acoustic track is “Hats Off to Kolpakoff,” with some really nice guitar work and a pace that accelerates into the end.
This is a pretty cool LP from one of the most distinctive bands out there. 4.5/5.
Okkervil River – The Stage Names: The piano- and guitar-led attack of “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” starts off the album on the right note. The riff in “Unless It’s Kicks” is really crisp, and synths come in for the bridge along with a different drum beat. “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene” makes use of tambourines and horns at various points, along with handclapping, to create a sunny aura. Slide guitar in “A Girl in Port” lends a country flavor to the ballad. “You Can’t Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man” witnesses the use of a cello along with handclapping and horns to accentuate a country rock flavor.
“Title Track” is interesting, as it lapses between a cappella singing and a cool guitar/drums/strings suite. The final number, “John Allyn Smith Sails,” ends with a partial cover of The Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B,” a humorous conclusion to an introspective album.
I felt like the band could have put a little more into it, but overall, the quality was very good. 4/5.
“Priscilla” is a nice piece of pop that makes use of hand-clapping along with piano to form a strong beat over which the singer’s voice soars along with backup harmonies – and the harpsichord makes its return right at the end. The haunting “Seal Jubilee” starts off as nearly an a cappella duet and then builds, adding guitar, piano, and other instruments at various times. Pretty cool track. The bass has a real attitude on “Sarah.” “I Saw a Light” is a bit too drawn-out and quiet; I didn’t really get it.
This album reminded me a lot of Bring Me The Workhorse by My Brightest Diamond. 3.5/5.
Buffalo Tom – Three Easy Pieces: The solid country rock of “Bad Phone Call” kicks off the album. The title track has solid instrumentals, but the vocals sound annoying. It isn’t until “Renovating” that another decent track comes along, and it’s not all that great, having so-so lyrics.
I wasn’t really impressed by this album: country rock with a little The Hold Steady flavor in there, but there was nothing special about the lyrics or the instrumentation. 2.5/5.
The Editors – An End Has A Start: The singer sounds a bit like Interpol’s vocalist. The opening track has guitars like those of The Twilight Sad. The title track is very exciting, featuring wailing guitars over a rhythm guitar and bass. “The Weight of the World” has just ok lyrics, largely negating a nice instrumental break. An Interpol-like track is “Bones,” not only with the singer, but also with the instrumentation. “When Anger Shows” suffers from a lot of singing on the beat, four times per measure – not an interesting choice of lyrics; this is too bad, because the drums kick in from a nice instrumental beat.
Juiced guitars drive “The Racing Rats,” but here is another track that just does not sweep me away. The best song I’ve heard thus far is “Escape the Nest,” with exciting guitars and a not-too-predictable singing pattern.
The frequent boring, first-person lyrics made this album dull. 2.5/5.
Favourite Sons – Down Beside Your Beauty: Whoa, album opener “When You’re Away from Me” uses “favorite son” in its lyrics at one point. Its guitar line is pretty nice; a good start to the LP. The title track has a different beat with hand-clapping than the first two songs, and “The Tall Grass” has a great beat with some nice bass work underneath. A punk song is “Rise Up,” having drums play every beat four a couple measures followed by the bass for a couple of measures.
“ ‘Round Here” drives with a bass-lead attack supplemented by a solid drum beat and grungy guitars, sounding like the theme to a Western. Another decent ditty is “Hang on, Girl,” made distinctive with humming in unison with the guitars (making it sound like The Spinto Band a little). For an anthemic number, “The Things That We Do to Each Other” fits the bill.
Nice moments can be found here. 3.5/5.
Gogol Bordello – Multi Kontra Culti: The first song is truly great, “When the Trickster Starts a-Pokin’ (Bordello Kind of Guy)”; it starts with an accordion and then adds saxes before the vocals come in with guitars – gypsy punk rock at its finest (think of a Ukranian Franz Ferdinand). Some Latin flavor is thrown into the mix for “Occurrence on the Border.” A sax brings in “Haltura” along with guitar and bass. “Future Kings” is rather distinctive with an unusual guitar line backed by accordion and sax. Accordion and bari sax trade off for eight measures.
A slower number accentuating beats two and four is “Through the Roof ‘n’ Underground.” A really cool acoustic track is “Hats Off to Kolpakoff,” with some really nice guitar work and a pace that accelerates into the end.
This is a pretty cool LP from one of the most distinctive bands out there. 4.5/5.
Okkervil River – The Stage Names: The piano- and guitar-led attack of “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” starts off the album on the right note. The riff in “Unless It’s Kicks” is really crisp, and synths come in for the bridge along with a different drum beat. “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene” makes use of tambourines and horns at various points, along with handclapping, to create a sunny aura. Slide guitar in “A Girl in Port” lends a country flavor to the ballad. “You Can’t Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man” witnesses the use of a cello along with handclapping and horns to accentuate a country rock flavor.
“Title Track” is interesting, as it lapses between a cappella singing and a cool guitar/drums/strings suite. The final number, “John Allyn Smith Sails,” ends with a partial cover of The Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B,” a humorous conclusion to an introspective album.
I felt like the band could have put a little more into it, but overall, the quality was very good. 4/5.
