album review: toro y moi. anything in return. 21 january 2013. carpark records
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Back in the days of analogue radios I had a job that meant I often had to drive through Tottenham. In those days I would be happily driving along with XFM blasting out Blur or some such when suddenly a pirate radio station would take over the airwaves and I would be treated to a minute or two of drum’n'bass or garage. This would invariably include an MC spluttering his name over the track. I know what you’re thinking. What has this lovely little anecdote of my lost years selling photocopiers got to do with the wonder that is Toro y Moi‘s third album? It has everything to do with track two, ‘Say That’. Although not by any means a garage track, it does feature a female vocal that could come straight from an MJ Cole record (ie, be Elizabeth Troy – it’s not), and an MC throwing out random vocals like he’s on Eruption FM’s in 2004. Anything In Return is an album that stirs memories. Admittedly, the memory I get from ‘Say That’ is from a low-point in my life, but for you it could be times spent with friends trying to follow the signal of your favourite station.

Opener ‘Harm In Charge’ gently eases you into the album. Essentially a love song about two lovers moving away together for a new start, it gets ever more urgent as the seconds pass away to mirror the planned elope that is getting closer and closer. The electronic element, which has always been present in Bundick’s work, is far more pronounced that ever before, and the indicators are there that this is quite detached from both Causers Of This and Underneath The Pine.

‘So Many Details’, the lead single, is a beautifully produced piece of work. The soulful melody and Bundick’s vocals make this a ready made pop song, but with its feet planted firmly in the credible pile. ‘Cola’, the brilliant ‘Grown Up Calls’ and ‘How’s It Wrong’ do the same job and further cements the feeling that this could be a very, very good pop album.

It’s more than a pop album though. ‘Rose Quartz’ takes a full 1 minute 54 seconds of build up to hit a proper vocal. You don’t get that in pop these days, where everybody wants instant gratification. When the vocal does hit though, oh my god it’s worth it. He’s channeling every eighties movie starring Judge Reinhold you have ever seen into it. Then on ‘Touch’ Bundick comes across as somebody afraid to be heard. His voice is disjointed and timid. It’s simple in a total juxtaposition to the complex beat behind. ‘Never Matter’ is the other massively eighties influenced track. This time R&B is the reference point. The sort of R&B that Bobby Brown used to make, but with added “yelps”.

For me the standout tracks are ‘Studies’, which starts with what sound like ethnic strings accompanied by high pitched vocals before darting in and out of a number of different sounds, and ‘Cake’. The latter is the track that he’ll be closing gigs with while we all sing along. Confident and instantly heading nod inducing, it’s another example of a pop song, but a pop song with so much more once again. I’m going to invent a new genre and call it pop-plus (perhaps stylised pop+). This is pop+.

The only track I haven’t yet mentioned is ‘High Living’. Here we have reverbs throughout and that vocal again. As much as I loved his previous efforts, their lo-fi nature hid what is an excellent singing voice. It is this album, with the more polished production, that shows off Toro y Moi as much more than just a chillwave innovator. This is either a new Chaz Bundick or one that has just been hidden in the past. Either way, he’s nailed it.

9

album review: band of horses. mirage rock. 17 september 2012. columbia records
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It seems like Band of Horses have been around forever. I suppose in today’s world of daily buzz bands and the next big thing being yesterday’s news before they’ve released a proper LP, six years is a long time. To me though, 2006 still doesn’t seem that long ago. It was then that the band released Everything All the Time, an album that Pitchfork et al loved, but the public hardly even noticed. Their rise has been steady. Second album, Cease to Begin, was just as well received by critics and the more country sound brought slight success in the States. It was with 2010′s Grammy nominated Infinite Arms that the band perhaps made it. However you wish to interpret “made it”.

For Mirage Rock head honcho Ben Bridwell has dispatched with long-term, and indie rock darling, producer Phil Ek and replaced him with the legendary Glyn Johns. Anybody who has heard Ryan Adams’ Ashes & Fire, on which Johns took his impressive rock background and produced the ultimate country album for non-country fans, will be able to hear why. Bridwell have given solid hints throughout the back catalogue that his love of country influences the more traditional indie rock that comes out of his native corner of North West America. With a growing acceptance of country music as being more than Garth Brooks and the Dixie Chicks, he must have realised now was the right time to (cliche alert) don his spurs and brush off his stetson.

The album opens with the strongest track on the album and lead single, ‘Knock Knock’. Catchy, complex and complete, it’s a track that is radio friendly and instantly toe tapping. I might be reading a little too much into what are, essentially, quite basic lyrics, but “better things come to those who wait” and “knocking on the door […] everything I want, everything I need” could perhaps be taken that Bridwell knows this is the album that will take them to the next level. With ‘How To Live’ the country vibe gets put into full swing. The excellent ‘Slow Cruel Hands’ has him going back to a natural voice compared to the Southern twang on the previous track. This is still where the album excels. It’s midway between the two genres that are fighting against one another throughout.

‘A Little Biblical’ is surely a future single. If not I have no doubt that you’ll be hearing it an awful lot if you own a television. Along with ‘Knock Knock’ this is going to help Band of Horses garner royalties from adverts nor seen since The Black Keys’ El Camino last year and Moby’s Play prior to that. In fact, that probably helps to explain the commercial appeal of this album. It features music that you’re used to hearing, but done very well. What it lacks compared to previous efforts is the interesting lyrics. A prime example would be ‘Shut-In Tourist’. Another catchy and very listenable track, but one that repeats line after line. It is more worried about the music than the lyrics. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily in my opinion. The exception is ‘Dumpster World’, positioned ideally to follow ‘Shut-It Tourist’. As well as featuring a thumping chorus (hello again advertising execs), the song is an indictment of love in today’s world, and people’s differing opinions about what hitting rock bottom is. Ironically, this ticks the boxes of traditional themes for country songs, but is probably the least country sounding song on the album.

As this the case with Mirage Rock, the track that follows goes exactly against the previous. ‘Electric Music’ features guitars, lyrics about road trips and wouldn’t sound out of place at a roadside bar that has line dancing each night. ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Undone’ slows things down but follows a similar path, before ‘Feud’ sees the album take on a more pop sound. I like the song, but it feels so out of place this late on the record. That thought is compounded by the way the album heads back to where we were on the preceding tracks with ‘Long Vows’.

The closer, ‘Heartbreak on the 101′, is one that is like nothing else we’ve heard over the past 40 minutes. The name couldn’t be more country if it was made via a country music song name generator, but the sound is, at times, very Dylan. It seems fitting though to end up on a track that confuses us. The album is confused as a whole. It can’t seem to make its mind up about what it wants to be. That by no means diminishes the quality of the music throughout. It may not be their most coherent work, but, bizarrely given the uncertainly about that it wants to be, it is their most accessible. This will get them a lot of new fans, and I hope it won’t alienate the old ones.

7

This review originally appeared on the 405.

album review: frank ocean. channel orange. 10 july 2012. mercury records
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Anybody who has clocked my new ‘best of 2012 so far’ thing over on the right will already know this is going to be a positive review. Actually, anybody who has even a passing interest in music will know this is going to be a positive review because over the past week or so Channel Orange has been on the receiving end of pretty much endless critical acclaim. Quite rightly too. Forget all the controversy over the timing of the release being brought forward, boycotts from some record stores and everything else surrounding Frank Ocean at the moment. This is a fucking great album.

It is the quality of the songs that make a record, and this is made from those of the highest quality. There is variation and skill throughout. ‘Thinkin Bout You’ showcases his vocal range, ‘Sierra Leone’ his lyrical mastery and ‘Super Rich Kids’ his humour. It can be easy to get bored listening to so much of today’s generic r&B, but Ocean doesn’t give us a chance to let our mind wander once. You can find yourself listening to every single lyric or having it soundtrack your day as you go about your business.

It seems I’m getting excited and giving high ratings to an awful lot of albums this year, but when they’re of this quality can you blame me? I love this album.

9.5

album review: death grips. the money store. 21 april 2012. columbia
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I’m still not sure how this #hiphopjuly thing is going to translate onto the blog, but why not start things off with an album review? Okay, so it came out a couple of months ago but I only got round to listening to it all the way through yesterday. Death Grips aren’t totally new to me by any means. I’m a fan of last year’s mixtape Exmilitary and have properly rinsed the video to ‘Double Helix’ from this album on youtube.

The Money Store is the band’s first album proper. 13-tracks deep and with a follow already slated for release later this year, I believe the word ‘prolific’ is suitable. Fortunately the quantity is not at the expense of quality. ‘Double Helix’ is one of the tracks of the year so far. It’s the perfect example of vocalist Stefan Burnett’s shout and the evil that seems to run through the record. Beats are distorted. Words intelligible. You basically have no idea what the fuck is happening. And it’s brilliant for it. By the time you reach superb closer ‘Hacker’ you’re exhausted and feel in desperate need of a bath.

9

album review: vacationer. gone. 25 june 2012. downtown records
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Vacationer‘s debut album Gone is a joy throughout. It’s tricky to pin down the exact sound with it evolving as the record progresses. There is a period four or five songs in with touches of Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend on ‘Dreamlike’ and ‘No Rules’, but you wouldn’t have guessed that was coming just one track earlier, where ‘Trip’ starts like a seventies American sitcom theme tune and then turns all dreamy trip hop pop. That is the strongest period of the album, although that’s not to take away from plenty more good stuff as vocalist Kenny Vasoli takes us far away from out boring day jobs and plants us firmly in our very own happy places.

7.5

album review: friends. manifest! 4 june 2012. lucky number music
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Is it a good thing or a bad thing to start an album with your strongest tracks? ‘Friends Crush’ is brilliant and I could listen to it all day. Equally, ‘Sorry’ is catchy as hell and you are captivated by the album from the off. When the quality drop though I start to drift away and am already thinking of what album to put on next. In fact, only two other songs, ‘Ideas on Ghosts’ and the Peaches-esque ‘I’m His Girl’, really grab me and make me want to continue listening.

I don’t dislike the rest of the album by any means. In fact I really like the album. It’s fun and, for want of a better word, funky. In a time when you can’t move for new music coming at you from every direction, Friends have managed to come up with something a bit different. The only criticism is that the record just never quite lives up to its early wonder. I’ve listened to this album a lot now though. Maybe I wouldn’t have done if I didn’t know how fantastic the start is.

8

album review: the beach boys. that’s why god made the radio. 4 june 2012. capitol records
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“Spreading the love and sunshine to a whole new generation” so The Beach Boys sing on their first album to feature new material since 1992, made to celebrate 50 years in the business. I don’t know if I’m meant to be the new generation or I’m too old, but they spread that to me years ago. I spent summer drives home from school listening to The Very Best of The Beach Boys (insert Alan Partridge “I think I would have to say ‘The Best of the Beatles’ reference here). Pet Sounds was my album of choice when preparing for a night out while at University. ‘God Only Knows’ was the song we played to Josh in the womb. The Beach Boys soundtracked my youth and maybe the release of this album will help them to soundtrack those driving their first car down the A12 now.

Nobody writes about summer, cars and music as well as Brian Wilson, and nobody puts those words into perfect harmonies as well as The Beach Boys. The evidence of them still possessing those skills are evident throughout That’s Why God Made The Radio. Also evident are references to their past. Not least on the excellent ‘Spring Vacation’, which features lyrics including “Good Vibration(s)” and “Get Around”. The album that this is closest in sound to though is Sunflower, perhaps lesser well known than some of their other output but certainly one of their best.

Whatever the expectations and fears about this album were, it can be counted as nothing short of a success.

7.5

album review: edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros. here. 28 may 2012. rough trade records
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I loved Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros‘ debut album Up From Below. Ask me to name, or even hum, two songs from it though. I don’t think I can. Why? ‘Home‘, that’s why. One of my favourite tracks of all time and whenever I stick on that album I can’t help but skip to track six and stick it on repeat. The rest of the album doesn’t get a look in.

Here doesn’t have a stand out track like that and it is a better and more complete album for it. The opening four tracks all offer something different and this makes you want to listen to them all. ‘Man On Fire’ gently pulls you through the track with its ensemble backing vocals. ‘That’s What’s Up’ is more fun and, dare I say, could even be a follow up to ‘Home’. ‘I Don’t Wanna’ couldn’t be more old time South if it came with a free jar of moonshine. ‘Mayla’ then slows things up and is quite simply beautiful. It doesn’t stop there either, as the album continues with variations on the album’s theme throughout. Then come close ‘All Wash Out’. Fuck me, it’s brilliant.

9

album review: niki & the dove. instinct. 14 may 2012. mercury records
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It would be easy to throw comparisons at Niki & The Dove to help describe this album. There’s some Lykke Li in there, a bit of Soko and a lot of Tegan & Sara. Instinct is more than that though. It is a metaphor-tastic furious pure pop album. We know all about some of the tracks already and ‘DJ, Ease My Mind’, ‘The Drummer’ et al certainly find happy bed fellows here. ‘Somebody’ is the perfect pop song and ‘Last Night’ is still nothing short of bloody brilliant. Elsewhere, ‘The Gentle Roar”s heavy drums pulsate through a hypnotic 3:44 and include a fantastic whispered chorus that just hangs about in your head for an hour after you’ve put the record down. Anybody worried whether the album would live up to the hype can sleep easy.

8

album review: best coast. the only place. 14 may 2012. wichita recordings
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You can tell we have summer approaching can’t you? Every record I listen to at the moment has that feeling it needs to be played while you’re eating a bbq and trying to remember the rules to quick cricket on the beach. Nobody is better at bringing those feelings to the fore than Best Coast. Whether singing about how California is ‘The Only Place’ because it’s “got the ocean, got the babes, got the sun, got the waves” or how summer nights keep you awake and make your mind wander as on ‘Do You Still Love Me Like You Used To’, Bethany’s voice glides along like, well, a summer’s day. This may not have quite the impact as debut Crazy For You or their buddy Wavves’ King of the Beach did two years ago, but don’t be surprised if this is the first album you grab this summer when everybody decides they didn’t want to play quick cricket in the first place anyway.

Oh and by the way, ‘Up All Night’ is a fucking hell of a closer.

7.5

As a special treat, here is the band performing ‘The Only Place’ on Letterman last week.