Category: Album Reviews

Posted in Album Reviews

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito (2013)

Posted on by Michael

61U3D+Z-LzL__AA160_After forming in 2000; Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs shot out of the gate in 2001 with their self-titled EP. Just under two years later they delivered their signature track “Maps”, which to this day still forms lumps in the throats of the skinny jeans contingent whenever it is played. While “Maps” continues to be their most enduring song, the band has continued to evolve. The art punk of their early years gave way to the addition of electronic flourishes on 2009’s It’s Blitz. YYYs are back with their fourth album, Mosquito, once again produced by Nick Launay and TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek.

Within the first few tracks of Mosquito, it is clear that the more polished sound of It’s Blitz is not the road the band has taken. The soul baring first single “Sacrilege” starts the album off and comes complete with gospel chorus. This is followed by the minimal, early Cure sounding “Subway” that features Karen O looking for her lover in a subway station with the sound of a train travelling over tracks providing the beat. The title track is a return to the band’s more raucous early days followed by the dub reggae of “Under the Earth”.

While the first one-third of Mosquito is all over the map stylistically, the album comes to a close with its most consistent set of songs. The quiet “Always” gives way to one of the band’s most powerful moments in “Despair”. Over a clattering drumbeat, Karen pours her heart out. “There’s nothing to fear inside, through the darkness and the light, some sun has gotta rise”. “Wedding Song” could be “Maps pt 2” with Karen finally finding the love she had been looking for all these years. “In flames I sleep soundly with angels around me, I lay at your feet you’re the breath that I breathe”.

As always with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, nothing is ever easy. At times Mosquito sounds like a collection of b-sides and rarities rather than a cohesive album. So while not all of Mosquito works and can be very disjointed at times, Yeah Yeah Yeahs as a band continue to experiment and grow with each release. After 13 years they remain absolutely essential listening and at some point are going to release one hell of a singles collection.

8/10

Review also found at UMFM.com

Posted in Album Reviews

Simon & Garfunkel – Sounds of Silence (1966)

Posted on by Michael

61a7llV+ldL__AA160_“Hello darkness my old friend” is one of the classic lines in folk rock history and it’s the way the sophomore Simon & Garfunkel album, Sounds of Silence, opens. Released in 1966, just over a year after their debut and after Simon spent time in London playing the folk circuit as a solo artist, Sounds of Silence holds up quite well 45+ years after it was initially released.

There are several spots on the album that provide touchstones for recording artists that came much later. Billy Bragg appropriated the opening lines to the catchy “Leaves That Are Green” for his track “A New England” (“I was 21 years old when I wrote this song, I’m 22 now but won’t be for long”), “We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin’” has a lot in common with Belle & Sebastian’s “Legal Man” and character sketches such as “Richard Cory“ are reminiscent of mid 90s period blur. Besides the title track, two other classic Simon & Garfunkel songs appear on Sounds of Silence. The wistful “Kathy’s Song” and the utterly defiant “I am a Rock”. Music and book collectors everywhere can rejoice in the “I have my books, and my poetry to protect me” line after a particularly hard break-up.

Sounds of Silence as an album is often overshadowed by what came down the pipeline in the great Bookends and Bridge Over Trouble Water. While a listener would be well served by starting with those albums, eventually you’ll want to discover Sounds of Silence. A strong yet understated album from one folk rock’s best, this is truly where the legend began.

8/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Rachel Zeffira – The Deserters (2013)

Posted on by Michael

51TbPzyQ9NL__AA160_In just the past few years, London based Canadian Rachel Zeffira, has lived quite an extraordinary life. She has been barred from entering the UK (then managed to get back in), formed a band with Faris Badwan from The Horrors (Cat’s Eyes) with whom she sang at the Vatican in 2011, and eventually released an EP and full length album. Following the success of Cat’s Eyes, Zeffira then turned her attention to her solo career by covering My Bloody Valentine’s “To Here Knows When” and working on the songs that would become her debut album.

Self-produced, Zeffira’s classical training shows throughout The Deserters’ 10 songs. The piano led title track creates a timeless, otherworldly feel that is easy to get lost in. Another piano track, “Front Door” feature a solo vocal performance that sounds like it was pulled from the latest MTC production. Marking the halfway point is the cinematic “Break the Spell”. With its sweeping vocals and string section, Zeffira makes a fine effort to be this generation’s Loreena McKennitt.

From here, The Deserters then falls into a softer batch of songs for the second half, including the aforementioned MBV cover and the gothic tinged “Goodbye Divine” with its haunted church organ melody. Towards the end, The Deserters starts to get a bit same-y in both ideas and orchestration. However, there are more than enough flashes of brilliance on her debut to make the listener want to hear more from future Rachel Zeffira projects.

7/10

Review also be found at UMFM.com

Posted in Album Reviews

Yo La Tengo – Fade (2013)

Posted on by Michael

61koGLUGJLL__AA160_In the past few years, several celebrated college rock bands have decided to go their separate ways. Thurston and Kim broke up, Meg White’s anxiety got to be too much to continue with The White Stripes, and R.E.M finally called it a day 15 years after Bill Berry left the band to concentrate on farming. Operating in the shadows of those more famous bands, Hoboken NJ’s Yo La Tengo have continued to put out critically acclaimed albums once every few years. Fade, released in January of this year, is the latest from the husband and wife team of Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley along with long time bassist James McNew.

Fade starts off with the rollicking “Ohm”. The fuzzy seven minute rocker is quite possibly the strongest opening to any album released so far in 2013. This arrives before the quieter but no less catchy “Is That Enough” featuring terrific string interludes throughout. It’s not until track seven that Hubley takes the lead vocal for the hushed “Cornelia and Jane”. As lovely as that is, it’s just a prelude to the second track to feature her vocals, “Before We Run” which not only closes out Fade but is also one of the best songs YLT has ever recorded. The deadpan vocal delivery keeps the swelling orchestra at bay before it finally takes over for the final few minutes.

It’s not often one can be just as excited by a band’s release that comes almost exactly 20 years after their first great masterstroke, Painful released in 1993. Fade features all the hallmarks of that landmark release – the calm vocals, hazy guitar lines, introspective lyrics but this time around it is with a wiser, more confident outlook and delivery. With Fade, Yo La Tengo have just pushed themselves into the discussion of greatest indie rock bands of all time.

8/10

Review also found at UMFM.com