Berlin/Junk Room (Singles) - Dead Sons

Rating 8/10

For the past few months I have been following a very promising new band out of Sheffield which features former Milburn guitarist, Tom Rowley, on guitar and lead vocals. Dead Sons, as the name suggests, are dark in nature, combing elements of psychedelic rock with heavy riffs and driving rhythms. Their newest release is a double A side digital single which can be downloaded for free on their website http://www.deadsons.tv/ .

            “Berlin” reveals Dead Sons’ softer side while still maintaining a spooky kind of aura. Acoustic guitars and a chorus that features a violin, a tambourine, and a particular kind of vocal delivery that seems to suggest a reach for an old English folk kind of sound. There are several times in this song where Rowley seems to be pushing his vocal abilities to the limit, with risk of shattering on words like “calling” and “morning”, but the vocals do not break, and instead provide an aesthetic appeal to the chorus. While “Berlin” is mostly quiet and subdued, it seems as though the band could not sit still for long and so, when they are all done being soft and delicate, they burst into a instrumental disarray that last nearly a third of the overall song length.

“Junk Room” starts with organ inflected carny music which gives quite an eerie impression, until it explodes into a relentless sound that carries the rest of the song. Chugging bass, shrilling organs, and forceful spoken word shape the verses, which ease into a more calmed chorus that builds and builds until forcing you back into the chaos once again. With “Junk Room” Dead Sons are showcasing the opposite side of “Berlin” and proving that heavy music doesn’t have to be about guttural screams or how fast you can play in drop C.

            While this release only features two tracks, it is a clear indication that Dead Sons have a clear idea of what they wish to sound like, and have a knack for producing that sound with great success. Hopefully a full length release is not too far away.

Yours Truly - Sublime with Rome

Rating  7/10

For the last two years Sublime with Rome has been nothing more than a glorified cover band, and now they are finally releasing some original material that seeks to prove new front man Rome Ramirez’s capabilities as a songwriter. Of course bands have replaced lead singers before, but let’s be honest here and admit that Bradley Nowell was Sublime. This isn’t to demean Eric Wilson or Bud Gaugh, or to say that they didn’t have a contributing role in Sublime, but the truth is Sublime died with Nowell and Yours Truly proves it.

Yours Truly begins with the closest thing you will find to classic Sublime on this album, and just so happens to be the lead single “Panic”. The mimicry of this track is actually quite impressive with the classic ska punk horns blaring atop of fast paced guitar upstrokes. Here, and on track “My World”, the rushed style ramblings in the vain of songs like “Same in the End” is where you can really hear the Nowell influence and a haunting resemblance from Ramirez. While Rome struggles to maintain similar vocal stylings with classic Sublime, he is completely on par with capturing the musical vibes throughout by incorporating the expected reggae rock feel while also constructing songs like “Paper Cuts” that builds off a 90’s punk theme that you could swear you heard on Tony Hawk Pro Skater over 12 years ago.

Almost exactly at the halfway point is where the quality of the songs begins to decline. This is where we start to see a departure from the imitation of Nowell and begin to see what Rome Ramirez has to offer in his own voice. Unfortunately, it’s this moment where this album ceases to sound like a Sublime record and much more like Pepper or Slightly Stoopid. Taking on a much more pop oriented feel, tracks “Same Old Situation”, “Take it or Leave it”, and “You Better Listen” might as well be the same song and feature Ramirez crooning lyrically, over troubles with his lady and love in a very standard kind of way. These songs ultimately lack the authentic streetwise insight and relatable storytelling that made Nowell so captivating.

Of course what young musician wouldn’t want to front one of their most influential bands? If these songs were to stand alone as a completely new artist they would be a collection of upbeat fun summer beach songs. Unfortunately, when you build your career on the back of another man’s work everything is comparative. So, do I think these songs will hold the same weight 15 years down the road like “Santeria” or “What I Got”? Absolutely not.

Album Highlights: Panic, Mudera, My World, Paper Cuts

Album Low Points: Take it or Leave it, Spun

Skying - The Horrors

Rating 8/10

Sometimes it’s beneficial for a band to reinvent themselves, and sometimes it’s best to just perfect a developed style; luckily with Skying, The Horrors have done both. These gothed out English hipsters have all but abandoned the gritty punk guitar riffs of their debut, Strange House, and have honed in on the spaced out shoegazing aspects of their previous release, Primary Colors. Skying finds The Horrors combining the elements of retro post punk and gothic rock with contemporary indie stylings, as if The Cure made sweet sweet love to Arcade Fire.

The theme for Skying seems to be layers upon layers of effects. Everything in it is dripping with the thickest effects from reverb, delay, tremolo, phaser, 80’s style synth, and even a point in which a shaker, yes a shaker, is effected. These thick layers often make it seem as though the vocals are dipping and diving in and out of the darkest digital sea. But Faris Badwan’s voice isn’t flailing about, but rather provides steady, soothing strokes in which to navigate the noise. While Skying plants its roots in mellowed out shoegazing, it also hits you with pleasant little pockets of energy as you make your way through. After an extended instrumental intro, fourth track in “Endless Blue” suddenly bursts into a barrage of horn arrangements that make you question whether or not you’ve fallen into a ska album.

            Another appealing facet of Skying is its successful use of dichotomies. In almost every track there is always this sense of tension between different instruments, tones, and arrangements that showcases a harsh but engaging blend of influences. This can be heard most obviously in track “Monica Gems”, where thin crunchy indie guitars are blended with the reverb heavy retro vocal stylings to form the comparison of The Cure and Arcade Fire which I mentioned previously.

Coming in at just under an hour, this ten track album does have a tendency to drag its ass. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that the first three tracks seem to blend endlessly into one another in kind of lazy approach that takes its time in immersing you into the full potential of the album. Also, the longest track on the album, “Moving Further Away”, relies heavily of a similar slow-moving progression that finds itself in needless repetition. However, the pacing is more often than not trumped by the overall quality of the songs themselves; both individually and collectively.  

            Skying is certainly the album that solidifies the attention that The Horrors have received over the years, and certainly proves their worth in this generation of musicians. Not only is Skying an accumulation of The Horrors past works but also an evolution into new territories that shows great growth and maturity from these promising young musicians.

Album Highlights: Endless Blue, Still Life, Oceans Burning

Album Low Points: I Can See Through You

Black Up - Shabazz Palaces

Rating 9/10

Shabazz Palaces is an entity that drapes itself in mystery in order to avoid things like back stories and preconceived notions. However, details like this have a tendency to add to the musical experience so since the information is available, I will present it in the briefest of forms. Ishmael Butler aka Butterfly of Digable Planets is Shabazz Palaces out of the unexpected Seattle. He has inconspicuously released two previous EPs under this name and now a debut LP, Black Up.

The first thing you will notice is this is not your typical hip hop album. Instead, Black Up is unique and experimental hip hop that imitates a nightmarishly dream like state with beats made of the moans of haunted children, moody jazz based in smoky cafes, and sci-fi vocoder vocals and manipulations. One of the wonderful things about this album is that it’s consistently inconsistent while still maintaining a unified whole. Opening track “Press and Curl” shows just how inconsistent these tracks can be by altering beats, tempos, and vocal styles several times throughout the track. After that, the following nine songs follow suit but in their own unique and individual ways. The overall vocal and lyrical approach tends to avoid arrogance and aggression and focuses on a much more relaxed atmosphere and touches on ideas of self awareness, sexuality, and conventional truths.

Black Up is a rare occasion in which I feel as though the album as a whole, is much greater then the individual tracks that make it up. This is because the stream of conscience approach to writing doesn’t follow the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus and so individually, tracks can come off choppy and jagged, but as a whole they make much more sense.

The biggest beef I have with this album is the production, but I’m conflicted, because I know it plays a significant role in the overall feel as well, which I like. The problem is I can never effectively listen to it in my car without having to adjust the bass every couple of tracks in order for it not to be a completely muddy mess. However, this isn’t an issue at all when listening through headphones, so maybe it was simply designed to be a more personal one-on-one experience.

            An abstract album of this nature is often difficult to conceive, let alone execute so successfully. Undoubtedly, it is unique and a welcome breath of fresh air in this time of recycled lines and cookie cutter beats that find their way atop the charts and blasting through our radio waves.

Album Highlights: Free Press and Curl, Are You Can You Were You (Felt), Endeavors for Never

Album Low Points:

I Love You, Dude - Digitalism

Rating 4/10

Europeans love to dance. Thus we have bands like Daft Punk, Justice, Air, and of course Digitalism. Digitalism is a German electro house duo that has never really stood apart from the genre, but has made somewhat of a name for themselves with a decent debut, a generous amount of rhythmic remixes, and now a new sophomore album.

I Love You, Dude is short, totaling ten tracks alternating between instrumentals and tracks with vocals; both featuring their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. Most of the vocal tracks give the impression that they could have been the pop hits they were intended to be if they hadn’t been delivered by the dull restrained voice of lead vocalist Jens Moelle. Such is the case with the track “Forest Gump” which was co-written by Strokes front man Julian Casablancas; but despite Casablancas’ insight, the vocal delivery sabotages the entire track with their complete lack of any kind of captivation.  The exception to this rule is the track “2 Hearts” which just so happens to be the album’s lead single and the only vocal track to hit its mark as far as a passable hook.

            The instrumental tracks seem to play more to the band’s strengths but with more of a pop sensibility and less of the aggression that we saw in the debut Idealism. Tracks like “Blitz” and “Miami Showdown” deliver the entrancing danceability that will at least give this album some play time in the discotheques.  The overall issue with the instrumentals is their overall repetitive nature and lack of development. Opening track “Stratosphere”, while only clocking in at an even three minutes, seems to go on forever in a static kind of flow without any kind of pull or climax.

Ultimately, this album is just too monotonous, which is surprising considering Digitalism took an extensive four years between albums. With that in mind, I Love You, Dude gives off the impression of an album that was simply over thought during the writing process; struggling to incorporate more variance while still holding onto the core genre.

Album Highlights: 2 Hearts, Blitz, Miami Showdown

Album Low Points: Stratosphere, Circles, Forrest Gump

Every Teardrop is a Waterfall EP – Coldplay

Rating 8/10

Okay, so this is labeled as an EP but its nothing more than a glorified single, featuring only three songs, so I think its best to do this on a track by track basis:

“Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” features thick fuzz like keys that are wrapped in a piercing fast paced lead guitar and finely juxtaposed to an acoustic rhythm. Chris Martin’s vocals provide a steady yet driving motion throughout the song with the expected emotionally engaging lyrics. As the first single off an upcoming album this track makes a great first impression into the direction of the next LP. The worst part about this song is its title.   8

“Major Minus” is more rhythmically based with the hook lying in an acoustic rhythm guitar with the vocals following its progression. The percussion incorporates what sounds like rim hits that give the track a nice texture. While the track is infectious it gives the impression of a b-side and seems like the results of lingering ideas and experimentations from the bands previous album Viva la Vida.                     7

“Moving to Mars” finds Coldplay in a classic territory as slow, delicately moving keys remind you of the Parachute days. This track weighs heavy on the heart strings if for nothing more than the seemingly nostalgic impression that it gives. Sweetly sung vocals in a dream like state make for a wonderful end to this little EP.           9

If Not Now, When? – Incubus

Rating 6/10

Over the past few years I’ve gotten the sense that Incubus has become one of those bands that still makes new music only to have it compared to their climactically good old days. After all, at the turn of the century Incubus had created a trifecta of albums that even today seem unparalleled and inspired. Now with a new album entitled If Not Now, When?, Incubus has completed a new trilogy that has been severely underwhelming in comparison.

Listening to this new album is like grabbing at wet sand; just when you think you’ve got a hold on a groove or a melody it slips wistfully away. While it is immediately apparent that If Not Now, When? is a slower paced album, I do not feel as though it is the source of its shortcomings.  After all, many of Incubus’s most successful moments have been slower laid back songs like “Stellar”, “Wish You Were Here”, “Here in My Room”, and “Oil and Water”. In fact, the songwriting approach is actually the most appealing aspect of this album and it is in the vocals where I lose interest. Front man Brandon Boyd comes off, not as a poor singer, but as an uninspired songwriter.

Three of the best tracks on this album are given upfront; a slow building climactic opener that features unique instrumentation such as timpani, a pop oriented radio single, and a slow moving ballad that will give “Wish You Were Here” a run for its money with the ladies. It’s on the fourth track “Theives” were the album begins to take a dive. Surprisingly, the track starts off with an engaging oriental inspired lick only to be butchered by Boyd’s cringe worthy lyrics “When will I get mine or must I be a God fearing white American”. Such is the case with a majority of the album. While the rest of the tracks don’t suffer as much as “Thieves” they often come off as intangible and static; moving slowly without any captivating moments.

It is doubtful that this new album will bring Incubus any new attention that they didn’t already have. Luckily, I recognized a while ago that Incubus is a band that has already paid their dues and will most likely never write albums the same way again. With this I find myself content in a few phenomenal tracks and simply dismiss the rest.

Album Highlights: If Not Now, When? , Promises, Promises, Friends and Lovers, Adolescents

Album Low Points: Thieves, Switchblade