Album Reviews – Page 81 – The Light Appears

Deerhunter – Monomania (2013)

Posted on August 13, 2013July 20, 2014 by Michael

Way back in the early to mid-90s, American indie rock was dominated by bands that prided themselves on the lo-fi esthetic. Albums by Pavement, Archers of Loaf, Guided By Voices, and Sebadoh were filled with fuzzed up alt rock that buzzed with reckless abandon but still contained perfect pop nuggets next to all the noise. Bradford Cox is locked into this sound with Deerhunter’s fifth album, Monomania.

The distorted vocals of “Neon Junkyard” and the abrasive “Leather Jacket II” open up the album in the true spirit of ’94. But then this gives way to guitarist Lockett Pundt’s glorious “The Missing” with its chiming guitars and expert “auxiliary hi-hat” work from drummer Moses Archuleta. “Dream Captain” sees Cox asking the “dream captain to take me on your ship” as he’s a “poor boy from a poor family, there’s nobody left to take care of me”. Monomania really hits its stride midway through with the hand clappy “T.H.M”, the introspective “Sleepwalking” and the tough yet vulnerable “Back to the Middle”.

Bradford Cox and Deerhunter never seem to take the easy road. They could have delivered an album filled with tracks such as “Memory Boy” and “Helicopter” from previous effort Halcyon Digest which just may have seen them have a post MPP Animal Collective type year. Instead, they make a left turn and deliver a scruffy batch of songs that can make for a rough first listen but quickly show their heart when put on repeat.

8/10

Review also found at UMFM.com

Album Reviews

Camera Obscura – Desire Lines (2013)

Posted on August 13, 2013July 20, 2014 by Michael

In the 17 years since their inception, Glasgow’s Camera Obscura has released some of the most perfectly crafted pop songs that the indie world has been lucky enough to hear. “Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken”, “Let’s Get Out Of This Country”, and “French Navy” are but a few examples. Four years after the release of My Maudlin Career comes Desire Lines which was recorded in Portland and features Neko Case back-up vocals on several tracks.

Camera Obscura continues to be a vehicle for the songs of lead vocalist Tracyanne Campbell. While seemingly guarded in interviews, Campbell’s ups/downs, fears and insecurities are always on full display within the songs of the band. “On a cold morning of you arriving, I was struggling for survival” and “you treat me like a queen but like a queen I don’t know if I’ll be slain” are themes many of us can relate to, but may not be able to say quite so eloquently.

Both “Troublemaker” and the fabulously named “Fifth In Line To The Throne” feature terrific guitar solos while Tracyanne tries to figure out a failing long-term relationship and just where she stands with her king respectively. “New Year’s Resolution” lists “writing something of value” as a goal while Corey Lander’s keyboard melody and Lee Thomson’s drumming add much colour to the country-tinged “Break It To You Gently”.

The overarching sadness of many of their tracks is what typically gets the most notice but there is also much humour to be found. The knowing “Every Weekday” line of “We’re going to make a record then sail around the world, we might not storm the charts completely but we’ll do our very best” is the band at its most charming. Elsewhere, 30+ year old listeners who no longer can make it out of the house every weekend will cast a smile to the apologizing sentiment of “I Missed Your Party”.

Desire Lines is the fifth album release for Camera Obscura and just might be their best. Campbell’s conversational lyrics are as poetic as ever and the band really shine throughout. Classic sounding without being retro and mature beyond their years, Camera Obscura are quickly becoming a Scottish National Treasure.

8.5/10

Review also found at UMFM.com

Album Reviews

Young Galaxy – Ultramarine (2013)

Posted on August 13, 2013July 20, 2014 by Michael

As expected, the new release from Montreal’s Young Galaxy was recently long listed for the 2013 Polaris Prize. Like their album released in 2011, Ultramarine was produced by Swede Dan Lissvik. This time around instead of working over Skype, the band decamped to Lissvik’s studio in Gothenburg to work more closely with the talented producer.

Ultramarine starts out strong with the driving pop of “Pretty Boy” which is given extra warmth by Catherine McCandles who handles vocals on all ten tracks. This is followed by the early 80s Caribbean lite electronica of “Fall Into You” and percussion heavy “Fever”. Beyond the opener, none of the tracks on Ultramarine reach the heights of last year’s excellent single “Youth Is Wasted On The Young” however; there is a lightness of touch that blows through the album making for a fine listen throughout.

7/10

Review also found at UMFM.com

Album Reviews

Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City (2013)

Posted on July 7, 2013July 20, 2014 by Michael

A few weeks ago I went shopping for business casual shoes. You know, ones that you can wear to work on casual Fridays with jeans? After checking out numerous stores at the mall I soon discovered that those shoes don’t exist anymore, they’ve all been replaced by boat shoes. Even if my anger at this is misguided, I pin most of the blame squarely on Vampire Weekend. The Paul Simon Graceland indebted band burst out of New York in early 2008 with their self-titled debut and while song titles such as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” made them an easy target of cynical music critics, it was hard to ignore the hooks that drew in many fans. VW deftly sidestepped the sophomore jinx with the even better Contra featuring the undeniable single “Giving Up the Gun”.

A little over five years after their debut, Vampire Weekend is back with Modern Vampires of the City. Leaving behind some of the more worldly aspects of their sound, VW instead goes for a bit more atmosphere on tracks such as “Ya Hey” and “Hudson”. Thankfully they retained their pop smarts which are expertly shown in the string of songs “Unbelievers”, “Step”, and contender for track of the year “Diane Young”. This may be best run of songs on any indie rock album released in recent memory. Somewhere music critic Jim DeRogatis is cringing at the thought but in Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend has released one of the best albums of the year.

8.5/10

Review also found at UMFM.com

Album Reviews

The National – Trouble Will Find Me (2013)

Posted on July 7, 2013July 20, 2014 by Michael

Just before the release of the latest offering from The National, Stereogum.com printed a post listing the band’s top ten songs up to that point. Such is the devotion of the band’s followers that the list generated nearly 200 responses with fans listing virtually every song the band has released since 2005’s Alligator for consideration. That album was the start of the band’s climb into mainstream consciousness that has continued to rise with each successive release and reached critical mass with 2010’s acclaimed High Violet. Three years later the band has returned with their sixth release, Trouble Will Find Me.

The National decamped to Rhinebeck, New York in 2012 to begin sessions on the album that would prove to be a lot less fractious than the ones that famously plagued High Violet. One of the band’s fortes is the ability to create sing along anthems out of songs that contain the most dour of lyrics. First single “Demons” is a perfect example of this skill. “Every day I start out so great then the great light dims” and “when I walk into a room I do not light it up… fuck” are hardly thoughts that one wants to be heard whispering never mind shouting, however, as the music swells beneath Matt Berninger’s deep baritone it is hard not to get swept away on this new ship of woes.

While the lush production of brother’s Aaron and Bryce Dressner battle with Berninger’s lyrics for attention, one of the secret weapons of The National is the inventive drumming of Bryan Devendorf who provides a kick to both “This is the Last Time” and especially on mid album highlight “Graceless”. Devendorf manages to shine and add texture while Bessinger tells listeners “God loves everybody, don’t remind me”. “Slipped” and “I Need My Girl” follow but while both are good tracks in their own right (especially the former), they somehow feel like a letdown after the build-up in “Graceless”.

Piano driven, “Pink Rabbits” is reminiscent of Boxer’s “Slow Show” in that they are both quietly two of the best the band has ever written. “You didn’t see me, I was falling apart, I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park… I was a television version of a person with a broken heart”. Trust me when I say, if you need a song to have on in the background while you toss out old letters and photographs of those not in your life anymore, this is the one.

Trouble Will Find Me is somewhat hampered by sequencing but still shows off virtually all of the band’s many strengths. Berninger’s lyrics are always downcast but contain enough humour to never be depressing and the musicianship of the Dessner and Devendorf brothers continue to outpace most of their peers. Somehow Trouble Will Find Me sounds elegantly more mature than past releases which for a band like The National is saying something.

9/10

Review also found at UMFM.com