Category: Album Reviews

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

Posted in Album Reviews

My Bloody Valentine – m b v (2013)

Posted on by Michael

41cUQhYwoXL__AA160_On Saturday February 2, 2013 the indie rock world was sent into hysteria as My Bloody Valentine suddenly announced that their follow-up to the classic Loveless was finally going to be released… that night! Twitter was abuzz with the news that sent thousands of fans to the band’s website only to see it crash with the amount of traffic coming to download their first offering in 22 years. After overcoming the website’s deficiencies, fans then discovered that a download of the 9 song album would cost $16 and a physical CD shipped to your door in Canada would be a staggering $27+. If people wanted it, they were certainly going to pay for the self-released album.

m b v starts off on the slower, murkier side of MBV’s trademark sound – a wall of woozy/disorientating guitar noise with buried vocals. Much like running through sand, the first three tracks (including first single “Only Tomorrow”) trudge along without much light shining through the first 18 minutes. “Is This and Yes” then breaks the mould. Perhaps Kevin Shields’ time spent in Primal Scream influenced this as the organ melody sounds like it could have come off of that band’s classic Screamadelica album.

From here, m b v really starts to shine. “New You” is an almost conventional indie pop song featuring Belinda Butcher’s finest vocals on the album. Several minutes later, listeners are bludgeoned with the thundering drums of instrumental “Nothing Is”. In between is the best track on m b v, “In Another Way”. With a lightness of touch missing from the first few tracks, the dense wall of guitars are back but the vocals are pulled a bit more into the foreground. Halfway through, an uplifting bagpipe-like melody is played off and on for the final four minutes which feels like they could go on forever and never get old.

The night that m b v was released will be remembered as one of the biggest musical announcements, and certainly the most welcome surprise of 2013. Much like what Portishead did in 2008 with Third, My Bloody Valentine added a very worthy addition to their discography. m b v is what it is, a good (sometimes great) album by a legendary band released 20+ years after their heyday. That in itself is reason to celebrate.

7/10

Review also found at UMFM.com