Review: Beirut - The Rip Tide

I've always been a fan of ornate instrumentation.  When used right, brass and other unconventional rock instruments fit right in with your guitar and synths.  Great examples of this interesting combination include Neutral Milk Hotel's impeccable In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, or The Beach Boys' masterful Pet Sounds, or a pretty decent chunk of The Beatles' post-Revolver catalog.  Beirut really doesn't deserve to be compared to these musical behemoths, but mastermind Zach Condon and his friends have been bringing that brassy sound back amid the current wash of electronic-driven music.

The idea for Beirut, a 11-piece folk group from mostly New York, came from Santa Fe resident Zach Condon after a trip to Europe, where he discovered Balkan folk music.  Much of that sound can be found in the music of Beirut, which is eclectic in its use of both electronics and traditional instruments such as the trumpet and accordion.  The Rip Tide is Beirut's third record, and while I am no expert on their previous work, it seems if you liked that you will very much enjoy this as well.  But you don't have to be a Beirut fan to get into these tunes.

The Rip Tide is a very accessible album, something that might come off as a bit of a shock given its influences and instrumentation.  The band works very well together, with Condon's pleasant tenor leading everyone along.  Synths give way seamlessly to a horn ensemble on standout track "Santa Fe", an homage to Condon's hometown.  "Santa Fe" is a very breezy track, much like the rest of the record.  These are light, upbeat tracks, and the majority of them are very easy to like.  The breeziness of the album makes it feel even shorter than it's already brief 33-minute timespan suggests.  Closer "Port of Call" is another highlight, with its syncopated acoustic guitar and bells providing a great background to Condon's vocal.

The Rip Tide feels like a recall to the Decemberists' album from earlier this year in many ways.  Both albums are folky, feature frontmen from interesting western locales, and manage to be quite pleasant but not earth-shattering, or even just really good.  Most of these tracks are worth a listen, especially the two mentioned, but the album as a whole is just good, not great.  Beirut fans will love it, and you might love it too, but I doubt I'll be coming back to it too often.  3.6/5.

Review: Washed Out - Within and Without

Was he'd out?  That doesn't even make sense.  I mean, grammatically, that's just...what?  Oh, Washed Out.  Why is it formatted like...never mind.  Bedroom producer Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out, is one of the most well-known artists in the fairly recent chillwave scene.  Chillwave is a style defined by dreamy, repetitive synth loops and filtered vocals, sort of like synthpop on Vicodin.  Within and Without is Greene's first full-length, coming on the heels of last year's critically acclaimed EP Life of Leisure.  The cover of the record is very appropriate; these songs are great for relaxing in bed, or doing other things that involve beds.


Most of the songs on Within and Without are pretty simple, but that isn't a mark against them.  These tracks ebb and flow gracefully, repeating gorgeous synth line after gorgeous, reverberant synth line.  For the most part, the vocals just act as another instrument, filtered so much that it's nearly impossible to tell what Greene is saying.  These songs don't need stories, they simply excel at being meditative and just generally pleasant.

The record is pretty much a perfect length, and that length is not too long, because even the most beautiful synths get boring when every song is pretty much structured the same.  In fact, nearly every song incorporates the same instrumentation, with the exception of the last one (which dumps the synth for *gasp* plain ol' piano).  It's also pretty frontloaded, with the first four tracks probably being the standouts.  But boy, are they standouts.  "Amor Fati" and "Eyes Be Closed" are soaring, uplifting tracks that burst with color and joy.  Closer "A Dedication" features a very pretty piano line and is a perfect note to end on.  Unfortunately, some of the tracks in the middle can be a little laborious, especially the lengthy and slow "You and I."  But the even longer "Soft" proves that if the music is good enough, it doesn't matter how long the song goes on.

Within and Without is a pretty good record all things told.  While I don't think it will age well as a focusing listening album, it is wonderful, chilled-out background music, and I'm sure the first few tracks will be mainstays on my listenin rotation for a while yet.  3.9/5.

Top Albums of 1st Half 2011

Hey folks!  I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything here, but that's about to end.  Know why?  Cause it's SUMMER!!  That's right, my friends, summer is upon us, and that means the year is about halfway done.  And that means it's time for a half-year in review list!  The following are the 20 albums I have enjoyed the most this winter and spring, and they all deserve your attention!  So check these out, yo.  I've also included a choice track from each album.

20. Destroyer - Kaputt (Kaputt)
19. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life (A Little Death)
18. Low - C'mon (Try To Sleep)
17. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing (Tornado '87)
16. The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck (Birth of Serpents)
15. Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere (Opus 43)
14. The Decemberists - The King is Dead (Calamity Song)
13. Cut Copy - Zonoscope (Take Me Over)
12. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver (Calgary)
11. Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Last Known Surroundings)
10. Heinali - 67 Breaths (Into The Sea Part II)
9. The Strokes - Angles (Under Cover of Darkness)
8. Grouper - A I A: Alien Observer/A I A: Dream Loss (Moon Is Sharp/Alien Observer)
7. Bill Callahan - Apocalypse (Universal Applicant)
6. Battles - Gloss Drop (Futura)
5. This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket (Communal Blood)
4. Wild Beasts - Smother (Albatross)
3. James Blake - James Blake (Limit To Your Love)
2. Radiohead - The King of Limbs (Separator)
1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Bedouin Dress)

So there you have it!  Can Fleet Foxes' folk-rock masterpiece Helplessness Blues hang on to become the best album of the year?  We'll find out once December rolls around! (But please Mother Nature, stay right here for a while, don't rush yourself.)

Review: Wild Beasts - Smother

Unique UK indie poppers Wild Beasts have experienced an odd wave of success since releasing their critically acclaimed debut Limbo, Panto in 2008.  The band's tried-and-true formula of mournful yet bouncy tunes, fronted by the operatic countertenor of vocalist Hayden Thorpe, has skyrocketed the band to being one of today's most universally critically acclaimed groups.  While the band's lyrical content is rather samey (sex sex sex sex sex sex sex), Thorpe has always done an astounding job of looking at the subject from a rather large number of angles and personas.  Smother continues the band's natural progression, with most of these songs taking on a much more somber mood than their earlier tracks.

These ten tracks don't really see the band exploring much new territory, but expanding on what they're good at already.  For instance, Standout "Reach a Bit Further" feels like an updated version of "All The King's Men" from their previous album Two Dancers, with its triplet-heavy melodies and groovy tom-snare beat.  "Reach a Bit Further" is pretty much the only standard upbeat song on the whole record; even though others ("Loop the Loop," "Bed of Nails") are quick-tappers, they are musically subdued and thus feel like ballads anyway.  Not that this is a bad thing, every song on this record is achingly gorgeous, especially when given multiple listens.

I'm no expert on Wild Beasts' music, but the main difference I've noticed between this album and their others is the increased focus on electronics.  This is most clearly heard on "Bed of Nails" and especially on "Burning," which is awash in ambient, almost drone-like manipulated guitar strumming and background noise.  There's nothing transcendently masterful about this record, but it is a collection of beautiful tracks that can be challenging, but greatly rewarding if given the chance.  4.4/5.

Couple other recent big releases that I won't have time to do full reviews of:

Tyler, the Creator - Goblin - "Yonkers" is incredible, sadly the rest of the album just doesn't match up.  Like Tyler says, it's made for him, not me.  3/5.

Okkervil River - I Am Very Far - Much more groove-based than their previous work, sadly it bores me a bit, maybe I just need to listen more.  3.2/5.

Review: Battles - Gloss Drop

After frontman Tyondai Braxton left NYC math-rock band Battles to focus on his solo work, I wasn't really sure what would happen to the band's dynamic. After all, Braxton seemed to be the primary songwriting force in the group, and his goofy manipulated vocals added charm and character to the outrageous tracks on their excellent debut, Mirrored. The three remaining members soldiered on, and in June they'll officially drop their second record, and first without Braxton, Gloss Drop. Luckily, Braxton's departure didn't make this group any less fun to listen to.

Gloss Drop features many of the same elements that made Mirrored so great, lots of fast songs with complex instrumentation and polyrhythms. Since none of the members are particularly strong vocalists, a few of the songs feature guest vocalists in place of the departed Braxton. The strongest of these performances, and the one that adds the most to the song, is Matias Aguayo's work on first single "Ice Cream." His silly, gibbering singing adds a sense of playfulness to the track as it bounces along, it's actually almost like a ska revival kinda feel.

Most of the songs are purely instrumental, and out of these come the strongest tracks. "Futura" is the standout, a six-minute buildup of stacking guitar and synth lines over an constantly varied drumbeat that repeatedly climaxes in a frenzied burst of synths and then resets to do it all again. "Wall Streeet" is the most fun song here, a ridiculously fast and bubbly track with a climax that sounds vaguely eastern European (this is kinda hard to explain, listen to it and maybe you'll hear what I mean).

The record, like so many recently, is frontloaded with all the best songs, and it slows down a little at the end. Closer "Sundome" is a pretty big yawn when juxtaposed with the upbeatness of the rest of the album. Still, Gloss Drop is a triumph for Battles' new lineup, and I for one hope that they continue to record fun, happy music like this. 3.9/5.

(Sorry I could only find the one link, since this album isn't due to be released for another month or so, there aren't any up yet.)

Review: Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for all the nice things I've heard about the blog. This iteration seems to be going much better than the previous one and I've been very happy to read and hear everyone's comments. Thanks and keep readin'!

Above you can see the album cover for Fleet Foxes' new record, Helplessness Blues, to be released everywhere on May 3. No, it doesn't make sense to me either, but that's pretty much par for the course for this Seattle band. The group burst onto the indie scene in 2008 with their eponymous debut album and catchy but lyrically ambiguous single "White Winter Hymnal." The album was met with considerable acclaim (though I struggled to understand the extent of the praise), and the music world has waited with bated breath for the folk group to release a follow-up. Three years later, it finally happened, and I am pleased to say that it is a considerable triumph.

Frontman Robin Pecknold stated that after the arduous process of striving for perfect recordings on the first album, he wanted to attempt the opposite; doing most of the recordings only once and accepting small errors in the performances. Interestingly enough, there is almost no trace of errors in the final product, just a beautiful, carefree record that effortlessly showcases Pecknold's incredible songwriting. The band plays off each other beautifully, particularly on standouts "Bedouin Dress" and "The Plains/Bitter Dancer." The trademark vocal harmonies are again excellent, as Pecknold and the rest of his band (most of them contribute backup vocals) manage to improve their austere, old-timey vocal sound to make it fit even better with the music. While I found a few of the songs on the first record pretty boring, nearly every song on Helplessness Blues draws the listener in.

Really the only misstep here is an ill-fated attempt to add an avant-garde jazz section into the two part track "The Shrine/An Argument," a move that just comes off as ugly and a little pretentious. Otherwise, this is a beautiful indie folk record and one that everyone should have in their collection. 4.7/5.

Other excellent tracks:

Helplessness Blues

Lorelai

Grown Ocean

Review Times Two! Panic at the Disco and The Decemberists

Been a slow week in terms of music I actually want to review, so I took some requests! This week, I'll take a look at the third album from pop stars Panic at the Disco and the new (chart-topping?!) folky Decemberists record.

To be honest, I had forgotten Panic at the Disco were still around. After their slightly annoying yet popular debut A Fever You Can't Sweat Out and the massive sonic turnaround of their second album Pretty. Odd., the band lost two of its members, leaving only do-it-all frontman Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith. The band cited musical differences as the reason for the split. I actually enjoyed Pretty. Odd., so it seems that it was the brainchild of the two departed bandmates, because Vices and Virtues marks a return to the modern pop sound of AFYCSO. Unfortunately, this is not a good thing.

The saving grace that first album had was that it was at least interesting. Annoying as it was, the band had a unique edge to their sound. Vices and Virtues takes the sounds from their debut and removes the edge, taking the annoying and making it simply dull and uninspired. The 'band' just kinda slags its way through the ten tracks; it's music for the sake of no one. I say 'band' because Urie plays everything but drums, which makes me think that losing those two members is really going to do this band in. With no band members for Urie to play off of and vice versa, the music dips into a state of stagnation. The most interesting/worst part is the last song, which features an epic choral outro. Interesting because it's at least trying to be creative, worst because it's like putting a Lord of the Rings war scene at the end of The Social Network; it's inappropriate and makes absolutely no sense. (Disclaimer: No, I did not mean to compare this record to The Social Network, it's just a simile.) 1.5/5.

Ah, this is better. After recording four pretty standard (but good!) indie folk-rock albums and a slightly ill-advised rock opera, The Decemberists returned to form in January with the country-laden The King Is Dead. This is almost certainly the most country record I've ever listened to and liked...maybe it's the lack of lyrics about tractors and booze, or the fact that frontman Colin Meloy is from Montana and not Alabama (accent-wise, I don't have anything against people from Alabama!). Anyway, take an otherwise good folky country record, replace the obnoxious Southern vocals and lyrics with some actual substance, and there you have it.

This review has turned into me just dissing on country music, hasn't it. This is a good record though! I've played through "Calamity Song" countless times, and the guitar work on "This Is Why We Fight" is impeccable. There are also some very pretty ballads throughout, with "January Hymn" and "June Hymn" highlighting these. Meloy's penchant for verbose lyrics isn't changed in the slightest by the slight musical shift. Honestly, there really isn't a bad song on here, but besides "Calamity Song" there aren't many great ones either. That sounds degrading, but on't let that turn you away, an album with no bad songs is still a very good piece of music. 3.6/5.