Sunday, January 31, 2010

COLD WAR KIDS - Behave Yourself


Savvy Slacker Sounds readers may recall that in 2008, I reviewed the latest album by the Cold War Kids, Loyalty To Loyalty. If you don't remember, I will sum up the review: I did not like that release from these four boys from Fullerton, California.

Fast forward a little over a year; I find myself with a copy of the Cold War Kids' latest EP, Behave Yourself. I decide to give it a shot because it's just a tad over 14 minutes in length; I might as well throw it on while I do some chores. I don't know if my taste has changed since that last album review, or if they have just gotten a lot better, but I find this to be a decent release. Many of the same points I raised on that last review appear again on this one but in a different context; they are strengths instead of weaknesses.

The sound on here is one of soulful, indie rock. It seems like Nathan Willett has gotten comfortable with the sound of his own singing voice and is no longer trying to ape Thom Yorke (he still sounds like the dude from Ghostland Observatory, but not in an annoying way). He injects emotion into his words and when he sings, "Lord, have mercy on me!" in "Sermons," it sounds like he means it. While listening to this EP, I feel like the CWK have turned into a less-Southern, more soul-influenced version of the Kings of Leon. Surely that will be to their benefit as the Kings are currently on top of the music world, and the songs on this EP are better than the songs on the Kings' last release, Only By The Night.

It's good to give bands second chances; they just might surprise you with how much they've grown into their sound.

www.myspace.com/coldwarkids
www.coldwarkids.com

Saturday, January 30, 2010

NOVELS


NOVELS is a project conceived by several Canadian dudes who range in popularity in the indie music scene. Personally, I only recognized the names Graham Wright and Luke LaLonde. The other three guys are Will Currie, Dean Marino, and Jay Sadlowski. In January 2009, these lads and some other musically-inclined people got together in Toronto and recorded an EP in one recording session. The end result, which is now available, is NOVELS.

Consisting of five songs, NOVELS clocks in at under 12 minutes.

-The first song, "This Wouldn't Be The Last Time," is two minutes of bouncy, jangly pop music. Very catchy, this opening song is probably my favorite of the bunch.

-The next track, "Mr. Foster's Teenage Daughter," reminds me of 50's pop and is a song you might hear for a slow-dance at a prom. Great piano intro and I love the harmonies ("ooh-wah-ooh") on this song.

-"Big Run" is the third track and I'm certain this is sung by Luke LaLonde of Born Ruffians. I'd recommend this track for people who loved Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's first album.

-"Record in Hand" is much slower, tempo-wise, than the previous tracks. Laid-back lounge indie-pop.

-The EP closes with "No Hard Feelings," which is sung by Tokyo Police Club's keyboardist, Graham Wright (I've just discovered that Graham has some solo music out which I hope to review on here in a future post). This last song is similar to the other four songs: jangly pop that goes by so quickly that even the track's runtime of 1 minute, 44 seconds, seems exaggerated.

My overall impression of these five songs is that it is a cohesive set of indie pop which everyone should listen to at least once. The good news is that NOVELS is available as a free download from the guys who made it. They are interested in having people burn copies of the music and give them away to other people so that their music may be heard. They also had a small number of limited-edition NOVELS notebooks with cd's included made up which they will give away for free. It's a great way to promote not just the music on NOVELS, but also their respective bands, and I wish them well in doing so. Now go download the EP and give it a listen.

www.okaynovels.com

Friday, January 29, 2010

SURFER BLOOD - Astro Coast


The debut from the West Palm Beach, Florida band. I got this album to review a few weeks ago but was delayed by other projects so I haven't been able to listen until now. In those short few weeks, it seems to me that the band has been labeled as the next big thing and have gotten a lot more popular.

I finally found the time to listen to Astro Coast and I hear a blend of garage pop/psychedelia/shoegaze/rock. I understand that "Swim" is the album's single and that isn't shocking; it's catchy and has a simple chorus that you'll be able to sing along to before the end of the song. I can see the big appeal to this album: it combines the pop sensibilities of a band like Vampire Weekend with the fuzz of The Jesus and Mary Chain. While so many bands are choosing to go one way (indie pop) or the other (shoegaze/experimental), Surfer Blood choose to straddle the line.

Final impression: I think some of the songs are great (album opener "Floating Vibes" and the aforementioned "Swim" make for a fine 1-2 punch) but by the end of the album the songs all seem to blend into one. I wish there was a bit more variety, is what I'm alluding to. Even so, decent.

www.myspace.com/surferblood
www.surferblood.blogspot.com

Saturday, January 16, 2010

PANTS YELL - Received Pronunciation



Pants Yell! are from Cambridge, near Boston, and they formed in 2003. In the past they had a girl drummer but it seems the trio is now comprised of all dudes. If I understand correctly, Received Pronunciation is their fourth full-length and their first release for Slumberland Records. I saw this band perform in Rochester in 2006 and while I was most impressed with their bass player's good looks, I also recall them having a very poppy, "twee" sound. That sound is present on this album so I must remember their gig well enough. The nine-song album clocks in at just over 26 minutes but nonetheless is packed chock full of upbeat indie pop. The last song on this album, "To Take", is probably my favorite as it has a very nice instrumental ending. The vocalist is kind of wimpy but I suppose that is to be expected with this type of music. If you like wussy pop music you'd probably like this, it's good.

www.myspace.com/pantsyellmusic

Sunday, January 10, 2010

SPOON - Transference



Let me preface this post by saying that I love Spoon. They are the band that I hear whenever I think of my freshman year of college. I fell in love with them that year and I was constantly listening to them. During my junior year of college I got to see them play in Austin, their hometown, at SXSW 2008. The crowd was huge, perhaps because it was a free show, but also no doubt because more and more people were discovering just how good Spoon is. And damn they are good.

Transference is the seventh studio full-length from Spoon. Spoon have been hailed as the kings of minimal rock 'n' roll, and this album has them maintaining that stance. The music isn't minimal like lo-fi music is often said to be; it is minimal because they don't heap on layers of unnecessary sounds. This results in more stripped down songs than you might normally hear from a 'rock band', but that doesn't mean it's not rock and roll. I don't see any of the songs on here being a breakout hit like "The Underdog" off of their last album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, was, but the 11 songs on here are still satisfying and show a band who is known for its consistency continue that trend. While I'm pleased with this release, after only a few listens, it doesn't knock things out of the park for me just yet.

www.myspace.com/spoon
www.spoontheband.com

Saturday, January 9, 2010

VAMPIRE WEEKEND - Contra



I'm sure there's already a million blog posts out there about this album, so I may as well throw in my two cents. I have somehow managed to avoid all reviews regarding this album, perhaps by unintentionally avoiding all music sites lately, so my opinion remains untarnished.

Contra is the sophomore album from everyone's favorite Ivy-League indie popsters, Vampire Weekend. It is very sonically similar to their self-titled debut album, though this release has them experimenting with new effects and faster tempos. The album shows a slightly more mature sound but it is not as instantly hummable as their first. I think that with time, however, it will be appreciated more than their first. It's pretty great. Overall I like this album and it will be a good way to keep warm during this cold winter we are having - it is sweet, summery pop music, with just enough complexity to make sure you're not bored but aren't overwhelmed either.

www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
www.vampireweekend.com