Neil Young makes a fine return to form on Le Noise with a collection of stripped down guitar heavy songs. Many feature Young playing almost unaccompanied on his electric, reciting his poetry over it. His lyrics are as soulful as usual and a comeback from the dip in quality on his last album, Fork in the Road, which featured environmentally conscious but mostly boring lyricism. Le Noise reminds one that even in old age, Neil is never afraid to experiment. Any fan of him will be pleased. The only downside is that he uses a strange echo effect on his vocals for a lot of the songs and it takes some getting used to. Once you grasp it though, it can be used effectively. He doesn't really need it though as his voice is just as beautiful now as ever. (A)
Kayo Dot - Coyote (2010)
A big step up from the old school prog rock of Blue Lambency Downward, Coyote sees Kayo Dot return to the experimental, long movements of previous albums. It doesn't feature the metal guitars anymore, but focuses on more classical instrumentation. The broad epics that the band have always been known for are here in fine form. The album is just as dense as previous works and takes a step backwards from the accessibility of Blue Lambency Downward. Still, it's a rewarding listen if you can penetrate it. (B)
She & Him - Volume Two (2010)
M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel return for their second album of country influenced folk and pop music. It features more of a 70's sound to it, reminding one of the music of Dolly Parton and classic Phil Spector girl groups. It's squeaky clean and inoffensive, but great to sit back and listen to while relaxing in a coffee shop. While one might long for the darker edge of M. Ward's solo music, this is essentially Deschanel's show and she makes the most of it, using her voice to propel the songs. One can't help but be engrossed in it despite it's shortcomings of depth. (B)
Crime in Stereo - I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone (2010)
A messy collection of artsy hardcore, I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone sees Crime in Stereo seemingly trying to be Brand New while still maintaining their edge. They want to do pensive, deep, reflective ballads, such as one would find on Brand New's The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, while still being a hardcore band. It becomes very unfocused and they don't seem to really know what they're doing. Songs will go from sparse instrumentation and softly sung lyrics to abrasive heaviness seemingly at random and without much thought into the arrangement. It's too jarring to be enjoyable for the most part and there's nothing much to get into either way. When this band started out, they played classic hardcore punk and it worked reasonably well for them. When they started to try to be deep is where they lost the plot. I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone is ultimately a lot like a confused teenager, trying to be mature but not knowing quite how to and instead just being pretentious. (D)
City and Colour - Live at the Verge (2010)
A single release from Dallas Green's solo project, City and Colour's Live at the Verge features two songs. The first song is a cover of Green's main band Alexisonfire's song "Boiled Frogs" from their album Crisis. The cover is a nice acoustic version of the song, revealing the layers of depth in the song that one might not notice in the catchy hardcore of the original. It also brings the very well written lyrics to forefront. Green's singing voice is beautiful as ever and it shines through much more in this setting than on the original song, especially with him singing all the verses instead of just the chorus and one verse. It's a good alternative to the original for fans of acoustic music. The B-side is a short song called "Forgive Me" from his last album Bring Me Your Love. It's a nice little song, but there's not much to it at less than two minutes. (B)
City and Colour/Tegan and Sara - Split (2010)
On the City and Colour side of this split, Dallas Green turns in a live version of his song "Sleeping Sickness" from his album Bring Me Your Love. Gordon Downie from the Tragically Hip reprises his guest vocals from the original version. It's a good performance, but it's marred by the horrible live quality. On the Tegan and Sara side, we get a nice acoustic song featuring Dallas performing with the girls. It's a treat for fans of either group. Overall, a welcomed gift from the two bands to those attending their tour together. (B)
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Mantra Hiroshima (2010)
A crazy new album from the minds of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of the Mars Volta and Zach Hill of Hella, Mantra Hiroshima is significantly weaker than their previous collaboration on the El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez release Cryptomnesia. While that album was ridiculous, coke-fueled, and abrasive as hell, there were hooks to latch onto and something keeping it from crossing the line into disaster. Mantra Hiroshima crosses the line, becoming just a whacked out car crash of an album. There's little to really enjoy, it's impossible to get into, and there are only a few good ideas executed that would be better used in different contexts. For instance, "Hope" features a nice distorted Rhodes that reminds one of 60's and 70's Miles Davis while "El Hacer" features some nice guitar work. But these are sketches of ideas. The album feels like a demo. The band is jamming and trying to find a sound, but instead of picking out the parts to use and making real songs, they just put out the initial jams. It's an undesirable listen and one of Omar's worst releases. (D)
Tim Kasher - The Game of Monogamy (2010)
Somewhere along the way, Tim Kasher and his band Cursive seem to have forgotten how to rock. They were always a very introspective band, but maybe being on Saddle Creek Records and hanging out with Conor Oberst all the time just brought them somewhere other than their initial post-hardcore sound. Little of that remained on their last album, Mama, I'm Swollen, and now with Tim Kasher's solo release there's none of it to be found. The Game of Monogamy is a collection of overblown pop songs and acoustic experiments. It's a nice listen, but the lyrics have become played out. Kasher's lyrics about divorce and relationships have been ongoing since Cursive's fantastic Domestica album, but that was ten years ago and it's gotten old. Meanwhile, the music itself is nothing special and Kasher proves himself not really fit to be a pop frontman. He wants to be John Lennon here, but he's not. (C)
0 comments:
Post a Comment