DJ Mehdi is one of the lesser known up and comers from the Ed Banger record label, hailing from Paris France, but that by no means means that his beats don’t hit as hard or aren’t as slamming. From the humble big beat of “Busy Being Born” to the track “Pony Rockin’ ” which sounds like the high pitched voice from the P-Funk on the mic at a Herbie Hancock show, the album offers up some smashing beats. The best and most addictive track and contender for track of the summer, “I am Somebody” is a 3 minute blast of synth funk provided courtesy of Chromeo. When the song ends the first time, the chorus will be etched into your mind and you will yearn for the replay button. If you need more synth funk, “Hot-O-Momo” featuring the vocals of Xanax, has not only the quick synth hits but also the mumbling inter-chorus vocals that are reminiscent of Prince.
While the beats are well produced, the only tracks that really stand out are the singles with vocals. The other tracks start to get repetitive and arduous as you get closer to being at the end. The explosive singles almost make up for the lack of substance in the other tracks, but don’t let the flashy, repetitive beats deter you from enjoying one of the best dance tracks I’ve heard this summer and remember you are somebody.
It doesn’t surprise me that the Cure chose instrumentalists 65 Days of Static to support them on their upcoming tour. Everything about 65 Days of static has the atmosphere and emotion that would go perfectly next to any Cure track. From beautiful fluttering melodies to rumbling bass lines, to spastic guitar solos, to glitchy breakdowns, their wild mood swings have an undeniable momentum. Their selection also makes me curious as to what the new Cure songs will sound like since Robert Smith has an uncanny ability to find new ways of communicating through music and filtering them into a distinct ‘Cure’ style.
Anyway, 65 Days of Static sound like mainstream rock radio torn down, and then rebuilt by a master craftsman. All of the drama, the pathos and the stage theatrics of the wannabe post-post-post-grunge nu-rockers is there, except there is more depth, more feeling and more raw talent. If they ever did add vocals it would destroy that delicate balance that draws in your casual radio listener as well as pique the interest of those listeners with a more sophisticated palette. All the difference in the world is made by a hint of subtlety. It’s not often that you find something that indulges the rudimentary taste of the top 40, while at the same time provides the depth of a critical gem. Their new album, “The Destruction of Small Ideas” offers up more of the peerless cerebral rock that is garnering them even more attention.
VHS or Beta posted 2 new tracks off of their upcoming “Bring on the Comets” album. I have to say they sound quite a bit different. While the songs are still dance-able, it seems like the songs are built around the vocals this time around rather than having the vocals injected into dance numbers. While we’re on the topic of the vocals, they have improved a great deal but they still don’t manage to make their own imprint. Most listeners are sure to have Duran Duran/Depeche Mode Deja Vu upon contact. Another things that stands out to me right away is the lack of the catchy lead riffs that made VHS or Beta’s “Night on Fire” so addictive, this is most probably due to the lack of founding Guitarist Zeke Buck who left to form “People Noise” with the former drummer of Boom Bip. They are set to release their excellent debut LP “Ordinary Ghosts” later this month.
Obvious first single “Burn it all Down”, still rings with the flange tinged builds and bass thumps that VHS fans are used to, while “Can’t Believe a Single Word” employs vocal grooves and spare piano to get it’s point across. It’s still too early to make a call on the entire album but the songs here are solid to say the least. The bass lines and the man machine drumming are still there, but they’re lacking something, an energy, an effect, or more likely a guitar player. VHS or Beta Myspace
The Cobra Dukes are yet another NME favored synth rock band hailing from London, England. There’s something raw and authentic about their sound. Think Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself”, in the way that there’s a rough element that seems to be struggling against the pop structure of the songs. It makes for a more convincing delivery of the lyrics. Just like how The Cure’s love songs resonate so much more than top 40 radio songs because The Cure had put out so much melancholic music beforehand so if they put out a love song it had so much more feeling than the vapid ballads on the radio because you could actually feel that something had changed.
Enough about feelings though, when it comes down to it, The Cobra Dukes serve up some great New Wave fun. Once the Cut-Copy like intro of “Leave the Light On” passes the synth surges in and manic retro bliss ensues. Speaking of retro bliss, you won’t come any closer to fantasizing about a mid-80′s prom than by listening to “Time is Coming” with your eyes closed. If you’re feeling like a third helping, the Knight Life remix of “Leave the Light On” should do the trick as well as leave your ears smoking and your feet sore.
The Flavor of Interpol’s latest release “Our Love to Admire” is definitely something new with familiar touches. As a band progresses they like to keep certain sounds and experiment with others so it would make sense that “Our Love to Admire” would sound like a hybrid of Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics. The trademark spare atmospheric guitar jabs are still here, but something is different about them, they have a more natural organic sound to them, and a soft keyboard line accents them often. Perhaps a more organic sound was their goal on this outing as the album art featured animals in their natural states rather than their signature red white and black text. There is something that feels more fleshed out about these songs, whether it’s the piano and wind instrument accompaniment on some tracks (No doubt the influence of aspiring composer Carlos D.), the fact that Paul Bank’s vocals have never sounded smoother, or the fact that Interpol have managed to evoke a warmer more human, not necessarily happier but maybe more optimistic, sound while still sounding like themselves.
I used to get confused when people said that Interpol were heavily influenced by the Cure because I never heard anything that linked the two musically. Now I know they share a bond over their early cold atmospheric tunes, but on “Our Love to Admire” I can hear Paul Banks using little sighs or trailing off in a very Robert Smith-like way. This is one of the elements that at times lends an oddly romantic touch to Interpol’s music. The lyrics in “The Scale” (2) feature a verse; “Pick a rose to hide my face”, and the imagery of that combined with the song makes me think of a Baroque love affair. Interpol have always been mysterious, but this album is the first time that they’ve also seemed mysterious as well as overtly romantic.
Other obvious highlights of the album are the lead single “The Heinrich Maneuver” (4) which will have you singing “My god!” along with the song after a few listens. My vote for follow up single would have to be the following track, “Mammoth” (5) that features the most vocal variety that Paul Banks has ever featured on one track before. To complete the one two three punch is the critical quieter calmer single follow up song “Pace is the Trick” (6) that has breaks and quieter parts that make the rock out parts that much more intense. I could favor other songs as time goes on since the more I listen to the other tracks the more they grow on me. Such is the fate of Interpol songs to grow into your consciousness to the point of when you’re walking through the park with someone you’ll turn to them and start reciting non chorus lyrics with a Paul Banks rhythm. Overall, Interpol have released a pleasing expansion of their sound that, with a few listens, will grow into a new favorite, if not your favorite so far.
With the inventiveness and lyrical agility of Yo La Tengo and the flawless guitar freak outs of Dinosaur Jr. comes “Sleeping Beauty” by the Special Pillow. The latest offering from Dan Cuddy and company features bouncy pop numbers that are at once fun, beautiful, and totally self aware.
The variety this band offers up on each song is incredible. Some ride on a wave of Belle & Sebastian like pastoral pop, while others shoot forth with sheer guitar rocketry. This band feels like one of those coffee shop, outdoor summer festival bands that actually got good, and I mean really good. There’s something uniquely folk about them even while they use fuzzed out guitars to flesh out their catchy tunes. From the guitar toasting of “Your Dead City” to the country tinged instrumental “Fairport Airport” to the flawless alt pop of “My Poor Skull”, “Sleeping Beauty” is a gem of a find and a flawless album.
In the past, the Polyphonic Spree has been content to let people wander free into and out of their soft psychedelic world with songs that are largely ambient noise until they ignite with the poppiest power pop imaginable. I remember when I first listened to the Polyphonic Spree I found a couple great songs that I skipped all the other tracks to savor over and over again because of a stunning guitar riff or an amazing piano arpeggio.
This time around it seems that the Spree are on a mission and their new black uniforms describe their conditioning as much as their tight new songs do. Each song possesses a potent personality that makes the album as a whole a pleasure to listen to. All the familiar flourishes of their sound are present, from flamboyant brass sections, to huge happy choral hooks everything is amped up to the effect that there is never a dull moment. There are even some new tricks to be found, from subtle electro beats to an all out smashing Bowie-esque ballad. One thing that hasn’t changed however and that is the presence of Tim Delaughter who as always is leading the charge for victory through joy. With a commander this confident and a band of 20 plus people that sounds this good, I don’t think sadness stands a chance. Polyphonic Spree Myspace
Milan Records released a special project on June 5 entitled “Art Don’t Sleep Presents From L.A. with Love”. Spearheaded by producer/promoter Andrew Lojero, who worked with 16 different musicians from Los Angeles.
The cool thing about this particular project though is that an artist drew his or her interpretation of each song. This is where I get to do a bit of comic book geek crossover because underground comic book artist Jim Mahfood contributed one of the artworks, and I think it would look pretty sweet on a t-shirt.
Anyway, here is an 18-minute mega-mix that features many of the diverse tracks on the album mixed together by their DJ, Kutmeh, in a spacey psychedelic manner. The music ranges from hip hop to jazz all cut together to make for one extended chill out mix.
The Bravery have returned with a sophomore album, “The Sun and The Moon” that is both more sincere and more fun than their debut. It seems like they were able to find the balance between their debut album hit sound and their progression as a band that the Killers were not able to do.
The sound of the album is still distinctly that of The Bravery, but it sounds significantly less synthetic. Normally, I would say that any loss of synth would be a disaster especially for a band that has built their popularity on their use of that instrument, but in each of the songs the void left by pulsating keyboards is filled in with swooping strings, piano, or something else that works just as well. The guitar work of Michael Zakarin in particular has really stepped up. The overall sound of the Bravery is more full, and moves back and forth in between bouncy dance numbers and mid-tempo power pop that reveals a startling substance to their songwriting that many didn’t want to believe was there.
From carefree whistles to trademark keyboard riffs and not one but two beautiful acoustic ballads their progression is palpable. When The Bravery first appeared, they explained that the reason behind their name was that people their age were afraid to do something with their lives and they needed the courage to step out and do it. Well, The Bravery have once again led by example.
Josh Small is an alt. country musician from Falls Church, Virginia. He looks like a lot of musicians I’ve met, short, flannel clad and beard adorned. To me, he seems like the face of all gas station employees with musical aspirations. His music seemed to be an open and shut case but upon further listening it seemed to have two faces, on one hand he’s all banjo pluckin’ and “Oh Lord” crooning but on the other hand when he stops trying so hard to win over the 60 year olds, his music has a 70′s rock kind of bounce and textured authenticity that is sure to win over both casual listeners and indie hipsters alike. He has a kind of homegrown inventiveness that reminds me of a hybrid of Andrew Bird and Wilco. It’s sprawling and quirky at the same time. He may look like someone we know and sound like something we’ve heard before, but he’s also devoted to his music enough to make it sound fresh.
DJ Mehdi is one of the lesser known up and comers from the Ed Banger record label, hailing from Paris France, but that by no means means that his beats don’t hit as hard or aren’t as slamming. From the humble big beat of “Busy Being Born” to the track “Pony Rockin’ ” which sounds like the high pitched voice from the P-Funk on the mic at a Herbie Hancock show, the album offers up some smashing beats. The best and most addictive track and contender for track of the summer, “I am Somebody” is a 3 minute blast of synth funk provided courtesy of Chromeo. When the song ends the first time, the chorus will be etched into your mind and you will yearn for the replay button. If you need more synth funk, “Hot-O-Momo” featuring the vocals of Xanax, has not only the quick synth hits but also the mumbling inter-chorus vocals that are reminiscent of Prince.
