AIDS Wolf - March to the Sea

This is an exciting day for me, as well as many other fans of noise rock, AIDS Wolf has just released their new album "March to the Sea" and I just got ahold of it about an hour ago. I've been awaiting a good noise rock release, as the only exceptional one I can recall recently was Lightning Bolt's latest album "Earthly Delights", which blew my face off.

The first thing I noticed was that AIDS Wolf really stepped up the production quality on this album, everything from vocals to the drums, and the distorted, jagged, cacophonic guitars. They kept things aggressive on this album too, something which hooked me into their previous album "Cities of Glass". In terms of structure, there is an underlying one and despite what amateur ears might believe, nothing is played arbitrarily, it's just very, very, very chaotic (in a good way, of course).

The improved clarity of the vocals did make them far more abrasive, which was intended and suits the album. Few people are going to listen to this for it's melodic qualities, as it has none. It's meant to be discomforting, and it really helped AIDS Wolf achieve that.

The only disappointment in this album was it's how few tracks the album featured: 7. Although this is good because the music isn't sticking around longer than it should, and there's nothing thrown ino the album strictly as filler, this seems more qualified to be an EP than an LP. Nevertheless the tracks which were included were still awesome, and the album ended with a 10 minute noise punk extravaganza "Very Friendly".

NOTE: If you aren't into noise music or noise rock you will hate this, so don't bother unless you're willing to try it if you're not familiar with the genre or the band, or if you're already a current fan of noise rock and/or AIDS Wolf.

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Girls - Broken Dreams Club EP

Hey it's me again,

I've been awaiting more music from Girls, after the release of their incredible debut album cleverly titled "Album". If you're expecting this EP to follow up on what made the album so good, then you're in for a treat, as not only does it do exactly that, but it also expands upon it with more instrumentation from different instruments not heard in "Album". It features a lot of horns, which reminded me of Beirut, synthesizers, and even female backing vocals in the track "Substance", something that we haven't seen before. However, Girls did a good job of not letting this new amalgamation of instruments allow the previous aspects of their music to take the back seat, it's still got that surf sound in there.

I feel like the horns, especially in "Thee Oh So Protective One" kind of adds a new Latin sound to the mix. But that's okay. Their sound is expanding and growing, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. This EP sort of to catch of glimpse of what to expect in the future from them, it's a 6 track prediction of what's next.

Of course, Owens kept to his mopey, heartbroken themes in the lyrics. After all, he did choose to name the EP "Broken Dreams Club", and one of the tracks is titled "Heartbreaker", and through careful listening to the lyrics it is clear to see that he's got girl troubles. You'd think putting out a highly acclaimed debut album and touring extensively would cheer him up; apparently not. He's still suffering from severe heartache.

My only issue with this album is that he became less aggressive, and his songs are beginning to slow down. What ever happened to the intensity, fun and passion that I so loved in the amazing track "Lust For Life"? That track played a significant role what made their debut album so awesome. There were no tracks that really pumped me up as that track did, I was really, really pulling for another one of those kind of songs, and they didn't deliver there. Hopefully in their next album they'l include some faster songs.

Also, I don't know why the hell Girls insists on releasing summer sounding albums so close to winter, this EP would've accumulated a lot more fame if released around May-July, that was some pretty poor timing on their part. They did the same thing with their first album if you recall, which was also released in the Autumn. But I guess at the same time, putting this album out in November gives me a taste of summer fun in a time when it seems to be long gone.

8/10

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GIRL TALK - ALL DAY

Today is a very, very special monday, as Girl Talk has just put out his newest album 'All Day' for FREE via Illegal Art. Everyone should check this album out, regardless of what your favourite artists or styles of music are, as it's a blend of pretty much everything into one fantastic party mash-up album. Girl Talk's style needs no explanation, as it has been well defined by his incredible past releases, and he is one of few people can actually make a mash-up that isn't corny or that is painful to listen to. Fun doesn't even begin to describe "All Day", and the best part about this album is that everyone can enjoy it, regardless of musical background, everyone from music nerds to people who only listen to top-40 can listen to it and have a good time. It blends everything from pop and hip-hop, to punk and heavy metal, and everything in between.

I know what I'll be partying to this winter. I really recommend this album. Plus it's free, so what do you have to lose for giving it a whirl.

9/10

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Weekend - Sports

Hey it's me,

So it seems like in the past 4 weeks or so good music releases have been few and far between, since Gold Panda's album was released I haven't seen one album come out which I actually enjoyed, consequently I've had to go back in time to find new music to listen to. Luckily I stumbled across/really enjoyed Jay Reatard's (RIP) really early Lo-Fi albums under "The Reatards" like "Teenage Hate", which was teriffic and if you like Punk music you should really check that out. But this blog is dedicated to new music, meaning music that has been released recently.

Well it's November and my Autumn 2011 playlist has been looking really, really bleak, with little new music to put into it, and a lot of recycled music from last fall. Thankfully, Weekend's new album "Sports" was really good. I really dug the heavy use of reverb on the vocals, and when I mean heavy, I mean heavy. The lyrics are barely decipherable under it, and it just sounds like a stream of lucid, swirly sound, in a good way of course. The guitars and drums are very reminiscent of Sonic Youth's albums Daydream Nation and Goo, sounding rather similar with distorted, somewhat simple guitar which is catchy but not overly melodic, and basic but effective drumming.

But that's also sort of what I disliked about this album, aside from the vocals nothing really struck me as original, however it's still a tried and true sound and I'm A-okay with that.

Finally, something good for my (our) fall playlist(s)!

My favourite tracks: End Times, Coma Summer, Monogah

7.5/10

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Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner

Hey dudes. I'm really sick today, I've been coughing and sneezing all week plus last night I woke up at around 5 AM and could not fall back asleep. So I laid in my bed for 3 1/2 more hours trying to sleep, but I couldn't. So in addition to the sniffles and a headache I was also fatigued throughout my whole body to the point where I couldn't stand for longer than 3 minutes, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I'm a little better now, but I still feel pretty crappy, so I'm gonna keep this post short so I can go relax a little.

Derwin Panda, more commonly known as "Golden Panda", is an electronic music producer from London, and though I haven't heard any of his music prior to "Lucky Shiner", judging from this I can tell you his music is composed mostly of really vintage synth effects arranged in a manner that sounds more like a modern House song; with a four-to-the-floor beat and a lot of repitition. Another thing I picked up on is that a few of the songs also have a bit of an Asian/Indian vibe to them. The tracks are catchy and danceable, yet still maintain an element of Lo-Fi in them, which I dig, as that is what's gonna probably keep it from entering a lot of cheesy clubs.

What makes this album so good to me is how there is almost nothing like it right now in the current electronic music realm, a lot of groups that use vintage sounds don't make songs that I could dance to (Neon Indian, Ariel Pink) and I'm sick of most of the good danceable electronic music, as it's getting really played out now. "Lucky Shiner" could possibly be my electronic album of this year. So give it a listen, it might be yours too.

9/10

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Salem - King Night

Hey, it's me.

I've finally gotten around to actually making new posts almost every day, how exciting! I feel like over the past few months my writing capabilities have greatly increased. Partly because I've been taking writing courses in school which resulted in me writing a lot more, but also because I've been reading and writing a lot of reviews, so the quality (in my opinion), and quantity of my posts have increased. I can now write a whole review in the time that it took me to write a brief bio for a band in one paragraph. Turns out writing more makes you better at it, who knew?

The album we have here is Salem's debut album "King Night". Salem is an electronic trio from Traverse City, Michigan. They have been garnering a lot of hype with this album because of the band's unique combination of electronic and shoegaze with dirty south rap, resulting in the creation of what could possibly be the most unusual genre of music I've seriously ever seen in my entire life: Witch House (also known as Crunk Shoegaze). In theory, this new style of music seems like it would sound like shit, but you'd be surprised at how differently you'd think it would sound prior to actually listening to songs of said genre.

I actually really enjoyed the first track on the album "King Night", which is also the title of the album, and it gave me a really good first impression on what to expect for the rest of the album: dark, gloomy, atmospheric electronic music backed by what sounds like opera singing, and if the rest of the album sounded like this I'd think they'd really have something going for them. The following tracks "Asia" and "Frost" also really impressed me, keeping to the same characteristics maintained on the first track, with Frost even having some swirly, hollow female singing that really made that particular track that much spookier.

Then it happened. I got to the fourth track "Sick", and I heard those sampled "Yeeuhs" found at the beginning of any hip hop song, only they were slowed down, and then some slowed down, deep voice started rapping over the track, and that's where the album died. The fact that they slowed it down a lot did make it sound a little better as it gave it a sort of more horrifying sound, but it still doesn't change the fact that they just had to throw some rap in there. At first I hated it like sickness, but since I listened to it over and over for the sake of reviewing, I started to like it more and more. So if you don't like it at first, you might like it after a few listens.

I think most of the tracks on this album would kill at a Halloween party, and this album should definitely be on your autumn playlist. I don't think it'll be much of a spring/summer album though, so enjoy it now!

8/10

(I had to take the download link down, the record company complained to blogspot, perhaps it's a sign you should purchase the album instead!)

Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz

I remember when I first heard that Sufjan Stevens was undergoing a "50 States Project" in which he was going to release one album for every U.S State after the releases of "Greetings From Michigan" and "Come on, Feel the Illionoise!". I got really, really excited for further albums as those two are probably still my favorites. I remember wondering which state would be next, would it be California? Or Minnesota? Or Maine? Then he released "The BQE" around this time last year, and suddenly I wasn't so excited anymore. I hated The BQE and I began to dread any further disappointing releases, at that point I didn't care which state was next. To my relief I later learned that the 50 States Project was just a joke, and many months later he released "All Delighted People" this past August, and I liked it. I began to look forward to release of "The Age of Adz", which isn't to be physicaly released until tommorow but has been released electronically to those who pre-ordered it, so naturally now it's all over the internet.

I'm going to get the obvious out of the way and just say that this is his first album with elements of electronics. There's use of drum pads and synthesizers all over the place. Of course in theory the idea of adding electronics to his trademark baroque orchestral/folk music sounds like it only go one of two ways: disastrous or incredible. Rest assured; he incorporates it in very well, as it appears enough for me to be aware of it's existence, however I can tell he still made sure not to allow it to take charge, overpower and become the primary focus of the album (minus the track "Get Real Get Right").

On the other hand, this album really suffered a lot in that it didn't have as many of those grand orchestral moments, where the power of all the instruments coming together wows you so much you feel like it should be the soundtrack to a montage of you trekking through the wilderness of North America. I found those moments were a lot more common in his previous works, this album doesn't feel as full in sound as often as before, with the obvious exception of the 25 minute masterpiece "Impossible Soul", which, despite it's long length (it's a well known fact that I'm not a fan of long songs) is my favourite song on the album. Having both it's quiet, minimal and loud, full moments, of both classical and electronic instruments (even including a vocoder), it was a great way to conclude this album.

I was really liking this album by the time I finished listening to it, especially the introduction of electronic instruments, and it reminded me that despite how bad The BQE was, Stevens has still got it.

7.5/10

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