The Big Easy
There’s nothing better than fitting album names like The Morning Benders’ latest release, Big Echo. The album is 10 tracks of indie pop that the Facebook generation has come to love: 25% spacey ambiance, 20% softly strum guitars, 30% Beach Boys-esque vocals, 15% Ringo’s thumpy and stumbly drumming, and 10% fitted denim. Of course, it’s not to say that Big Echo isn’t original, but just enough that it might take a listen or two to distinguish it from the recent flock of post-punk and folk fiends. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews The Morning Benders
Smaack, Craackle, Pop n’ Lock
It’s refreshing, to say the least, to hear a talented dance group that isn’t A. French, B. a duo, or C. restrained to house beats. The production trio Kraak & Smaak, hailing from the Netherlands, come hard and groovy with their 2008 release, Plastic People. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews Kraak & Smaak
Yes, We Do Realize
Who can forget the lush, soaring melodies of “Do You Realize??” and the past decade of listeners that fell in love with it (or every commercial and teen movie that featured it)? Modern pop legends or not, The Flaming Lips manage to reinvent their idea of an experimental record while remaining fresh and tasteful. Embryonic is an extensive 18-track album, which is just enough to handle what is going on in its contents. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in High Fidelity, Reviews Embryonic, The Flaming Lips
The Science of Sweet
It’s hard to find the right words to describe singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg’s latest release without letting some slip by about her father, music legend Serge Gainsbourg. Much like the music of her father, Charlotte’s IRM is very reminiscent of his often varied, but distinctly French-pop stylings. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in High Fidelity, Reviews Beck, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Walk Like a Man, Sing Like a Legend
No one wants to admit their first taste of indie outfit The Walkmen was during the 2nd season of “The O.C.,” while wishing Adam Brody, in all his awkward, shaggy-haired glory, would escort you to The Bait Shop for a daiquiri and a hand-holding session. Actually, maybe that’s not such a horrendous confession. Who knows? What fans do know is that The Walkmen, especially singer Hamilton Leithauser, have changed a great deal. But was it for the best? You & Me proved to be a departure from their garage-meets-post-punk Bows + Arrows. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews
Sleepy-eyed Splendor
Art rock bands aside—far, far aside—Mercury Rev’s seventh full-length release stands on its own two feet without having to rely on Jonathan Donahue’s (of Flaming Lips fame) other musical excursions. Snowflake Midnight brings to the table a collection of reverberated soundscapes, electro-pop sensibility, and something much discarded these past few years: dream pop. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews
Last Call For London
Possessing that distinctly English sound, Klang, The Rakes’ final album before their recent demise, shuffles out the seemingly usual twangy guitar on 10 upbeat pop tracks. Much like Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand, The Rakes take on three-minute post-punk shines like a pretty penny tossed in a sea of overspent dimes. Klang indulges in its own unabashed aggression. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews
Antlers, Tentacles, Drumsticks, and More
Long Beach, Calif., houses the Queen Mary where a rotting antique organ resides, echoing the haunting footsteps of fallen sailors, European stowaways, and boozing aristocrats. Within the city itself is another organ howling ridiculously through 13 tracks of unapologetic indie rock. Crystal Antlers’ Tentacles feeds off its own momentum. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews Crystal Antlers
And They Shouted “Yes Yes Yes!”
It’s been quite a while since Yeah Yeah Yeahs pointed the way with their hit single “Maps” allowing other spunky females to front post-punk and indie groups with unabashed aggression. Karen O and the gang drop an enticing blend of disco-chic and dream pop on the laps of kids in dire need of a summer album. It’s Blitz! maintains their New York-bred sound while delivering a fresh batch of solid pop tracks. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Intriguing. The Band
“I don’t believe,” admits vocalist John Gourley at the end of Portugal. The Man’s fourth full-length release The Satanic Satanist, which packs more spiked punch than the creators’ probably think. The band’s experimental history culminates into one solid pop album dipped in soulful excursions, bluesy happenings, and funky choruses. Read more…
By Terence Calacsan Posted in Reviews Portugal. The Man
