Music

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• 02/20/08

  Beach House—Devotion Beach House's debut album in 2006 has been getting continuous play from us since it came out, so we were particularly excited about hearing their sophomore effort, Devotion. It does not disappoint, bringing back all the elements we love about them: super slow synthetic drums, lush organ parts, and some of the best and most distinctive female vocals in any band right now. Listening to Beach House has the disconcerting effect of listening to a Zombies 45 record at 33 RPM.
  
  Atlas Sound—Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel Atlas Sound sounds to us like what a dream pop album would sound like if it were made by a Berlin producer. Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox uses the Atlas Sound alias to craft lovely music from samples, beats, and his own voice. Listening to the record creates a trance-like effect, where you're dragged into it further and further until suddenly it's over. It sounds to us like one of the first great releases of 2008.
  
  Dead Meadow—Old Growth This great D.C. band is back and sounding as good as ever. Dead Meadow has always been a band that didn't hesitate to use a '70s sound without fully becoming a retro act. Here, they lean closer to a rural rock sound à la Neil Young rather than the power chords and stoner anthems of their past. If you're already a fan of the band you'll love it, and for the uninitiated it's a pretty good starting point.
  
  

• 02/05/08

  Thao with the Get Down Stay Down—We Brave Bee Stings and All This album is a charming little folk-pop debut from the previously unknown DC songstress Thao Nguyen. Much is added by the backing band, the Get Down Stay Down, but the endless hooks and breathy vocals from Thao really steal the show here. Once you hear a couple of these songs it's kind of hard to get them out of your head. This time that's actually a good thing.
  
  The Budos Band—The Budos Band II From the same label that brought you Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings comes the Budos Band. While the band shares similar vintage aesthetics and recording techniques with their labelmates, their music borrows from 70's African pop rather than Southern soul. In particular, the group is influenced by Nigerian Afrobeat (a la Fela Kuti) and Ethiopian jazz (in the vein of Mulatu Astaqe). Rather than being a mere facsimile of these styles, they take the music and make it their own, creating a wonderful hybrid that doesn't sound like any other group, past or present.
  
  Vampire Weekend—Vampire Weekend Much has been made of the debt that Vampire Weekend owes to 80's Paul Simon and African pop music. We said as much about their debut EP only a few months ago. Well, it turns out that there's much more to this band than that one trick. There's a 2-tone ska song with a mellotron breakdown ("A-Punk"), grandiose string arrangements ("M79"), and a Walkmen-esque rocker ("Walcott"). All said, it's probably one of the most taut and put-together debuts we've heard in years.
  
  

• 01/22/08

  Cat Power—Jukebox For an artist who used to have a reputation for insecurity, Cat Power's cover of "New York, New York" sounds pretty damn self-assured. It takes a special artist to reinterpret a song that has become pop cultural wallpaper and make it sound new again. She did this before
  with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" on the Covers Record but although Jukebox is also an all covers record, the similarities stop there. This album takes the signature country soul sound of Memphis and applies to various country tunes and folk standards. Cat Power's voice stands out amongst the smoky arrangements, sometimes sultry and sometimes twangy but always her own.
  
  The Field—Sound of Light EP In a soundtrack commissioned by a Swedish hotel, The Field follows up his '07 favorite From Here We Go Sublime with 4 long tracks. Each of the 15 minute songs is built thematically around a time of day ("Morning", "Day", "Evening", "Night") and through the Field's
  nanosecond samples, a mood is created. If you were nonplussed by the last album, this might not be the album to make a believer out of you. For the faithful, it's not exactly a step forward but it's never sounded so good walking in place.
  
  Burial—Untrue By taking dubstep drums and deep atmospheric sounds, Burial's debut sounded like the genesis of a great artist. Add to the equation the mystery behind this Burial character (all we know is that it's an artist from London) and it's hard not to be intrigued. The second album, Untrue, is better than even the first, adding disembodied, soulful voices to the mix. This touch is a surprising but welcome addition to the formula and it's a big reason why this album keeps growing on us with every listen.
  

• 01/07/08

  The Very Best of Ethiopiques—Hypnotic Grooves From the Legendary Series For about 10 years and over 20 volumes, the Ethiopiques series of CDs has done much to bring attention to the rich musical history of Ethiopia. The variety of the country's musical output is astounding—from the achingly beautiful minor key melodies of Mulatu Astaqe (featured in the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers) to the raw saxophone playing of Gétatchèw Mèkurya. It's sophisticated music caught halfway between the Middle East and Africa and wholly unlike any other sounds in the world.
  
  There Will Be Blood—Soundtrack The art of the film soundtrack seems to be have been lost. Nowadays, film music is often recycled, ripped off, or merely a soulless collection of bad pop songs cobbled together by executives. Leave it to Paul Thomas Anderson to inject some life into this dying genre by getting Radiohead guitarist to contribute a haunting soundtrack to his new film, There Will Be Blood. Often sparse and quiet, and not relying on the absurd dynamics of much film music, this soundtrack is the perfect counterpoint to the action on the screen. Coincidentally, it makes for great listening at home, too.
  
  Simian Mobile Disco—Attack Decay Sustain Release UK producers and remixers Simian Mobile Disco create deceptively simple electro songs based on simple drumbeats and infectious vocal choruses. Formed by members of the rock band Simian (best known for the video of Justice's remix of their song "We Are Your Friends") SMD has released their hotly anticipated debut after a series of high-profile remixes. Employing the playful feel of Daft Punk with the harder-edged sounds of Kraftwerk-like techno, their new album is addictive listening and guaranteed to start a dance party any time you put it on.
  

• 12/11/07

  Daft Punk—Alive 2007 Without releasing a new record and without any radio play, Daft Punk has come close to reclaiming the popularity they had in the States when they released their debut album, Homework. All it took was a giant flashing pyramid and the biggest concert spectacle to hit America since Parliament brought the Mothership. In the spectacle of their world tour, It was easy to forget how great Daft Punk's music is and how brilliantly they managed to cover their whole career without any of the songs sounding quite like their original recorded versions. This album puts the music front and center, letting you hear just how inventive this band is, even when doing something as simple as going through their back catalog.
  
  Sunset Rubdown—Random Spirit LoverA thoroughly odd album from Wolf Parade keyboardist Spencer Krug, Random Spirit Lover recalls David Bowie immediately. But whereas Sunset Rubdown borrow the grandiosity of the Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie, the music itself sounds more like the trash aesthetic of the first side of the Low album. The keyboards have a way of sounding like the racket you hear when you first enter a music store and there are a hundred different people trying out their favorite Casio. In the end, it's spazzy pop that's not afraid to be weird and we respect any musician that's just trying something new.
  
  Ghostface Killah—The Big Doe Rehab From one of the most consistent voices in hip hop, comes yet another solid effort. Staten Island's Ghostface has managed to stay relevant while the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan have fallen off (and almost New York rapper, for that matter). It's hard to say what he's doing right that sets him apart because this album sounds like it could have been released any time between 1996 and 2009. Maybe it's because he sounds like he cares and he has an uncanny ear for beats. Or maybe it's because, instead of just sampling soul records, he puts the soul in his voice and raps like every record is his last one.
  

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