Holy shit on a compact disc, Merge Records just keep getting better and better! Twenty years going, and they're still putting out kick-ass gems like Arcade Fire, M. Ward, Rosebuds, and now Telekinesis. Indie-pop rock doesn't get much better than this! They have a slight mod influence, which would explain the cover art, and a bit of acoustic guitar, even where there's an electric guitar track. Plus, they're good with song titles: "Coast of Carolina", "Awkward Kisser" and "Imaginary Friend". Only downside with this debut is their sound and songwriting can't sustain a full-length. About halfway though, things start to get boring, though they do pick up near the end of the album, with songs like "All of a Sudden" and "I Saw Lightning". And I have to give them props for starting and ending the album with acoustic songs. Goddamn, can't wait to see these cats live -- would make a nice double bill with Chicago's The Office.
Rating: 4 outta 5 stars
The last of my Metric-related releases, Broken Social Scene are a collective of Canadian musicians, which includes Metric's lead singer, Emily Haines. It's a great idea (friends getting together to make music for the fun of it); unfortunately, a great idea doesn't equal an awesome album. The problem is that the type of songs are all over the place -- too disparate. There's indie-fuzz rock, folky stuff, and a few electronic numbers. Out of 21 tracks, only three are keepers: the indie-rock "Swimmers", the quirky "Tremoloa Debut", and the acoustic "All My Friends". Oh, Canada, why must you break my music-loving heart so?
Rating: 1 outta 5 stars
These two guys are out Norway, heavily influenced by Devo. What I like about their album Datarock Datarock is how eclectic it is. Their main shtick is New Wave-ish retro tunes (as evident by such songs as "Computer Love"), but they also do dance ditties like "Sex You Up", R&B like "I Will Always Remember", and indie rock like this song.
"Bulldozer"
These guys are interesting. They're marketed as an indie-rock act, but the lead "singer" is a hip-hop artist, so he's rapping most of the time. His lyrics, I think, are quite original, but his voice reminds me of They Might Be Giants and -- at times -- Too Much Joy's Tim Quirk. I chose to post "The Hollows" because of the imagery some of the lyrics paint.
"The Hollows"
I downloaded this album over a year ago and still can't get enough of it. Basically indie-pop, but they do enough genre-bending to keep me coming back for more. Gotta check out their other stuff.
"Bethlehem"
Since last week I posted old music, this week I'm going to focus on active artists.
Titus Andronicus are out of New Jersey. Their debut CD is pretty solid. Love their infatuation with distortion.
Nice to see something worthwhile come out of a crappy Shakespeare play.
"Titus Andronicus"
