Music

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• 09/17/07

  Animal Collective—Strawberry Jam Animal Collective has always been a band that enjoys either breathless enthusiasm or near-violent disdain. If you haven't liked AC in the past, we're not sure that this is the album that will convert you, even if it is their most pop-based recording yet. If you're a fan, run out and buy this one because at least four of the songs will blow your mind. Our favorite track "For Reverend Green" may not sound like the '70s Memphis soul legend, but we challenge you to listen to it without spontaneously growing an Al Green-sized smile.
  
  Ricardo Villalobos—Fabric 36 Given superstar DJ Ricardo Villalobos's reluctance to release any official music other than what you might here at his marathon DJ sets, his mix for the famed Fabric series comes remarkably close to a conventional album. Every one of these intensely minimal tracks is produced by Villalobos and mixed together so seamlessly that it's often difficult to hear where one track ends and another begins. With little deviation from his trademark 128 bpm, you would expect to get bored pretty fast. But once again Villalobos proves that subtle variation can be more engaging than huge dynamic shifts.
  
  Magik Markers—Boss The duo of Elisa Ambrogio (guitar/vocals) and Pete Nolan (drums/piano) returns with a much more tightly wound album than we are used to from this normally improvisation-inclined group. If you've noticed that the sound comes very close to Sonic Youth you are particularly astute—Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo produced this album and even guests on a few tracks. We're mesmerized by the sexed-up vocals and how they manage to sound so rocking and yet so menacing at the same time. We haven't been scared by an album like this in a while. We kind of like it.
  

• 09/04/07

  Vampire Weekend—Vampire Weekend EP The preppy, pleasant group Vampire Weekend have just released a three-song debut EP with earnest and studied interpretations of West African guitar pop. The results most closely resemble a stripped-down version of Paul Simon's Graceland, which either brings back fond memories or makes you recall the hellish, backseat of your parents Volvo road trips of your '80s youth. Whatever your association, we can assure you that as far as cultural appropriations go, this one comes off more as charming and catchy than exploitative. Plus, the songcraft is there and the band locks in like they've been playing this music for years.
  
  Kanye West—Graduation For a platinum selling hip hop artist, Kanye West sure seems to care about his hipster cred. His new record both samples and sounds like "Discovery"-era Daft Punk, it features cover artwork by Takashi Murakami, and features Lil Wayne, a rapper that is enjoying heaps of critical acclaim from hip hop mags and indie rock websites alike. With every record he steps further away from the soul samples and witty rhymes to try out ever more ambitious musical terrain. And, as much as we hate to boost Mr. West's already massive ego, his albums are always interesting and at least partially successful. Though there may be a few skippable tracks including the execrable "Drunk and Hot Girls," there's enough vintage synths and boastful rhymes to satisfy both the skinny jeans and the baggy pants.
  
  Dirty Projectors—Rise Above Perhaps you've heard about this one—Brooklyn band Dirty Projectors decide to rewrite the seminal L.A. hardcore album Damaged by Black Flag entirely from memory. The end result, of course, sounds absolutely nothing like Black Flag and instead focuses on beautiful string and vocal arrangements rather than fist-pumping punk rock anthems. It's weird, it's sublime, it's wonderful, and we can't stop listening to it. There's an intimate and lo-fi feel to this album that we love, and in concept this seems like one of those projects that was never meant to see the light of day. We're certainly glad it did.
  

• 08/22/07

  M.I.A.—Kala Sri Lanka-born M.I.A. seemed to be the kind of artist that would come out with one great and singular debut album and then fade away into obscurity when she first appeared three years ago. Lo and behold, she's returned with an album that's not nearly as immediate as her debut but in the end, it's a much more rewarding listen. Recorded in locations across the globe over the past year or so, the album relies on ethnic samples, catchy chants, and skittish drums to bring the music of the third world to the dancefloor. We're still trying to wrap our heads around this one but we're at least 99% sure it's brilliant.
  
  Various Artists—After Dark A compilation of vinyl-only and unreleased tracks from the label Italians Do It Better (from the people who brought you the label Troubleman Unlimited), After Dark is a great batch of dark and synth'tastic disco cuts. Inspired mainly by the sounds of late '70s/early '80s Italian disco tracks (known among the faithful as Italo Disco), the record is a no-nonsense tribute to minor key melodies and mechanized drums. While many albums that are so rooted in tribute to a bygone era often border on parody the tracks on this album are catchy, earnest, and somehow totally modern.
  
  The Besnard Lakes—The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark HorseMontreal husband-and-wife duo The Besnard Lakes clearly enjoy The Beach Boys a great deal. And given the painfully beautiful melodies on their debut album, it's obvious they've learned very well from their teachers. What we love so much about this album is how it can sound so stripped down and full at the same time. Also, huge rock guitars always seem to appear at just the right moment, providing a nice counterpoint to the string and vocal arrangements.
  

• 08/07/07

  St. Vincent—Marry Me Multi-instrumentalist and singer Annie Clark, who records as St. Vincent and has collaborated in the past with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens, has crafted a huge-sounding debut album that is breathtaking in its ambition. Full of big drums, innovative guitar work, and disjointed horn and string arrangements, her songs are tiny tongue-in-cheek masterpieces. It's hard to explain in words, but there were many times when we were listening to the album that we thought we were accidentally listening to three different records at once. We were particularly taken with the occasional choral touches that give the record an almost sacred feel.
  
  Telepathe—Farewell Forest Brooklyn drums-and-electronics duo Telepathe have crafted a singular debut EP, combining haunting melodies, Bjork-style warbling, and the off-kilter drum patterns that bring to mind—depending on your frame of reference—either late '90s Timbaland or contemporary Gang Gang Dance. Though just four songs long, the album shows a band fully formed and willing to experiment. We hear they are already working on a full-length album, but if you simply can't get enough, check out their 12" record release with remixes by !!!'s Tyler Pope and Soft Pink Truth.
  
  Kemialliset Ystävät—Kemialliset Ystävät The latest self-titled release from Jan Anderzén's pseudonym may be only one of the close to 30 records he's created since 1995, but we are of the opinion that it is his best. Kemialliset Ystävät—which is Finnish for "Chemical Friends"—have been the backbone of Finland's Fonal Records for some time now, as that label gains exposure for superlative and unique psychedelic folk records. What makes this record and others on Fonal so special is that they embrace folk melody but with very few of the cliches of the genre, choosing instead to use electronics, tape manipulation, and odd instrumentation to make adventurous and obscure music that sounds like it's from another planet (or at least Finland, for God's sake).
  

• 07/25/07

  Dizzee Rascal—Maths + English When Americans first caught wind of Grime (or Dubstep or whatever it's currently being called), a uniquely British amalgamation of hip hop, ragga, and dance music, Dizzee Rascal was propped up as the poster child for this movement. It's obvious why Dizzee Rascal has been more successful in the U.S. than other Grime music producers: His sound comes closest to pure hip hop. This certainly isn't a bad thing, it's even refreshing to hear his take on '80s boom bap when so much of hip hop radio is focused on 808 drum machines and hand claps. But even though his heavily-accented East London patois sounds great over the dense soundscapes that recall alternately Public Enemy or Run DMC depending on the track, the highlight of the album for us is the guest appearance of Houston rappers UGK who add a little Texas swagger to the mix.
  
  Against Me!—New Wave It's regrettable that Against Me! weren't around when we were in high school because they undoubtedly would have been our favorite band. Combining anthemic, fist-pumping punk rock anthems with a drunken singer-songwriter aesthetic, Against Me! have released three prior studio albums and a live record on independent labels before jumping ship for a major on this latest effort. Nevermind the political implications of self-proclaimed anarchist band in bed with major corporations, the band has smoothed some of their roughest edges and have come out of it still sounding like a band of importance. It turns out if you restrain the screaming and the loud guitars, you still have great, sing-along style songs that'll make you feel like a teenager again.
  
  Turzi—A When you go to the Myspace band page of the Parisian outfit Turzi, you'll come across an impressive list of influences that reads like a who's who of mid-'70s European experimental rock bands. It's no surprise that they are avid record collectors and troll flea markets for vintage instruments, but it is surprising that their sound, so rooted in another era, manages to still seem so relevant in 2007. Fuelled by Kronenberg and a lot of hash, they create hazy, hypnotic, and hyperactive rock songs that do away completely with the verse-chorus-verse blueprint. Instead, they head off into unexpected and exciting places, sounding by turns either sterile and spacy or positively unhinged.
  

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