The Hold Steady Stay Positive

Fuzzy Bits:

Release Date: July 15

Last Album: Boys and Girls in America (2006)

Sounds Like: An extension of their already successful formula, Stay Positive is yet another great album from The Hold Steady.

Overall Rating: 96

 

While there was a feeling that everyone would be in for something different with this album, no one figured those differences would include harpsichord (”One for the Cutters”), arrangements that stray from the tried and true anthem rock formula (”Both Crosses”), using vocoders (”Joke About Jamaica”) or horns for that matter (”Sequestered in Memphis). While the themes aren’t anything new, they’re a bit darker than anything heard before, and aren’t always being covered up by the largely upbeat arrangements as was the case on Boys and Girls in America. Instead, songs like “One for the Cutters,” “Lord I’m Discouraged,” “Both Crosses,” and “Joke About Jamaica” all bring the themes of desperation, loneliness and lost sense of self to the forefront. That’s not to say the songs are Elliott Smith, exactly, but for a band that’s largely balls to the walls rock, it’s a welcome change of pace. The opening two tracks (”Constructive Summer” and “Sequestered in Memphis”) are perhaps some of the best rockers the band has come up with, and the title track serves as a great reminder for what the real theme is for the album, mainly, despite all the downers and bad times, “you’ve gotta stay positive.” Oversimplification, yes, but that’s what lies at the heart of this album. That being said, the wonderfully intricate lyrics are the most consistent they’ve ever been and contain more double-meanings and pop-culture references than most artists can ascertain in the span of their careers. While there aren’t too many obvious singles as there were on Boys and Girls in America, the two opening tracks, “Stay Positive” and “Slapped Actress” are the most accessible of the bunch. To boot, the three bonus tracks are also extraordinary, and give the listeners just enough of The Hold Steady to analyze and sing/drink along to for the next couple years.

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New Free Song from Coldplay, “Death Will Never Conquer”

Because everyone loves free music, how about this new dandy of a b-side from none other than Coldplay? No? Well, this isn’t a run of the mill b-side mind you, it’s actually sung by Coldplay drummer Will Champion– who isn’t too shabby of a vocalist. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Randy Newman (no, not this Randy Newman), but with a surprising hymnal quality.

To download the song for free, just visit the following website:
http://coldplay.com/song.php

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Of Montreal Skeletal Lamping album art

Hmm… this seems oddly familiar– album art featuring naked people frolicking. This time around, the Kevin Barnes driven project goes the lo-art route with the nudity, as it looks to be made by an overzealous six year old boy with prematurely raging hormones. That being said, Skeletal Lamping, which is set for release on October 7, will probably be yet another masterpiece in the long list of accolades for Of Montreal. Of course, there’s a tour to support all this, and the dates are listed below:

08/08 - Myslowice, Poland @ OFF Festival
08/09 - London, England @ Field Day Festival
08/10 - Leicester, England @ Summer Sundae Weekender
10/07 - Durham, NC @ Carolina Theatre
10/08 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
10/10 - New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
10/15 - Paris, France @ Elysee Montmarte
10/16 - London, England @ Koko
10/17 - Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz
10/18 - Rome, Italy @ Circolo Degli Artisi
10/19 - Berlin, Germany @ Lido
10/20 - Stockholm Sweden @ Debaser Medis
10/21 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Amager Bio
10/24 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/25 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
10/26 - Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
10/27 - Chicago, IL @ The Riviera
10/28 - Toronto, Ontario @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
10/30 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
10/31 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
11/01 - Richmond, VA @ The National
11/08 - Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
11/11 - New Orleans, LA @ Howlin Wolf
11/12 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse Liv
11/13 - Austin, TX @ 507 E. 6th Street
11/14 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
11/15 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
11/16 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
11/17 - Murray, UT @ Murray Super Theatre
11/19 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox So Do
11/20 - Portland, OR @ Roseland
11/21 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency Center Grand Ballroom
11/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ TBA

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She & Him release video for “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here”

Prepare to get creeped out kids, as Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward have released a video that’s certainly going to go against the sweet impressions you’ve initially had when hearing their single, “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here.” Not sure what it all means, but it makes for an interesting three minutes, regardless.

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Rachael Yamagata Loose Ends EP

Fuzzy Bits:

Release Date: May 22

Last Album: Happenstance (2004)

Sounds Like: A welcome preview of her upcoming work

Overall Rating: 93

I’m not usually one to review EPs as nowadays, it’s more often than not a throw away release– something that contains a single and maybe a couple of b-sides to keep rabid fans happy. However, with next to nothing coming out of Yamagata’s camp in the last four years, Loose Ends is a more than welcome addition. Truth be told, it’s the perfect teaser for what should be (if this release is any indication) an astounding album. The opening “Answer the Door” is a very intimate and vulnerable piece, something that’s quickly become trademark for Yamagata. The production this time around  is terrific, as it finds the perfect balance between the sound of her first EP and the slicker Happenstance. It certainly plays to her strengths vocally as seen on the aforementioned opener as well as on the gorgeous, string-laced “Parade.” The final track, “The Other Side” appears to be the most likely to end up on the album should any of these see the light of day in terms of a proper release. A fully orchestrated piece that was previously featured on the hit Showtime show The L Word, it’s a wonderful piece that is familiar yet still ranks as one of her finer songs. With Yamagata now signed to Warner Brother Records and her long-awaited follow up due in October, one hopes that she’s able to break through this time around. She clearly has all the talent in the world, both as a singer and a songwriter, now she just needs the means to showcase it properly.

 

Loose Ends can be downloaded via Rachael Yamagata’s official website: http://www.rachaelyamagata.com/store/

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Beck Modern Guilt

Fuzzy Bits:

Release Date: July 8

Last Album: The Information (2006)

Sounds Like: A very good, albeit very brief release from Beck.

Overall Rating: 86

The pairing of Beck and Danger Mouse on an album may feel something like a dream team for indie music fans everywhere– two immensely innovative talents that often walk the fine line of eccentricity and insanity with their music. Modern Guilt may not be the result everyone was hoping for, but it’s thematically and musically a close cousin to The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Equally dark and similarly brooding, Modern Guilt is only buoyed by Beck’s own cautious optimism. Perhaps what sets this album apart from Becks other famous “dark” album, Sea Change, is that many of the songs on Modern Guilt appear disjointed and more like a collection than a cohesive album. The impact of this is that it doesn’t allow the listener to become immersed in the cold, stark world that Danger Mouse and Beck created (much like what Radiohead had mastered with Kid A and Amnesiac), instead we’re merely observers. To add insult to injury, standing at only 10-tracks long, the album is over before you know it. That being said, individually, many of the songs on Modern Guilt are exceptional, particularly the first four tracks on the album. While it falls shy of being great, Modern Guilt is a hell of a lot better than most of the stuff that Beck has put out in the last five years, and it’s a refreshing sonic departure for both Beck and Danger Mouse.

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Albert Hammond Jr.’s ¿Cómo Te Llama? steaming on Myspace

If you’re like me and have found yourself continuously listening to Yours to Keep waiting for new material to leak out, wait no more. The Strokes guitarist is cementing a name for himself with his sophomore album ¿Cómo Te Llama? which will be released on July 8. Why wait until that long however when you can listen to the whole thing now via his Myspace page. From the sounds of it, it appears that Hammond Jr. avoids the sophomore slump and creates a somewhat darker-sounding album than what he put out on his debut album. While nothing appears to be as inherently infectious as many of the songs on Yours to Keep the songwriting seems to be much improved. All that said, see for yourself on Mr. Hammond, Jr.’s myspace and feel free to give your thoughts.

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Sigur Rós Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Fuzzy Bits:

Release Date: June 24

Last Album: Hvarf-Heim (2007)

Sounds Like: A triumphant album that perhaps might be Sigur Rós at their most accessible.

Overall Rating: 89

After the release of the highly rhythmic single, “Gobbledigook,” expectations raised as it appeared that Sigur Rós were heading in a new direction with their latest release. While that’s not entirely true, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is still a very enjoyable listen. The lead single and “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” make for a very convincing pair of openers and the album never lets up for much of the album. If anything, this album is just as triumphant as anything they’ve released previously, but is that much more accessible because it doesn’t feel nearly as other-worldly as before. Even the immensely gorgeous “Festival” feels tangible, despite sharing similar themes to other Sigur Rós pieces. If there’s one problem with Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, it’s that it begins to lose steam in the middle of the album before regaining form by the end with the wonderful closer “All Alright.” That being said, this album offers more than enough to please Sigur Rós fans, and also gives those same fans an album to share with their friends so they can understand what all the fuss with Sigur Rós is about.

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New songs from Beck’s Modern Guilt streaming on iLike

The hype just keeps on growing for Beck’s new album Modern Guilt, which, if you haven’t heard yet, is being produced by Danger Mouse. If the awesome album art and nifty single “Chemtrails” aren’t enough to keep you satisfied until the July 8 released date though, you should head over to iLike immediately. There you’ll find two new songs, titled  “Orphans” and “Gamma Ray,” both of which further back what is certainly a new direction for Beck (finally!). The feel of “Gamma Ray” doesn’t sound too far off from something you might’ve heard with Gnarls Barkley (go figure, right?) while “Orphans” boasts an incredibly intricate production and surprisingly organic quality to the music which perfectly melds the 60’s pop/folk/rock/psychedelic tone the album seems to be aiming for.

Click here to check out the songs. If you are too lazy to click links, have a listen to “Chemtrails,” in case you haven’t heard it enough:

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The Cool Kids The Bake Sale

Fuzzy Bits:

Release Date: June 10

Last Album: Totally Flossed Out (2007)

Sounds Like: Much like what you’d find at a typical bake sale. Nothing is particularly innovative, but it is strangely addicting.

Overall Rating: 83

With hip-hop finally becoming cool again for the indie kids, it’s acts like The Cool Kids that are among the forefront of bloggers favorites. Their most recent “EP” (which is hardly that seeing as its 10 tracks long) The Bake Sale, does no wrong, with its minimalist production and the duos laid back, old school delivery. While The Bake Sale never blows you away, it certainly brings to mind a number of throwback acts from hip-hops golden era while remaining smartly relevant and hip to current times.

“One Two” and “Mikey Rocks” in particular are very engaging tracks, while “88″ is more obvious about its 80’s hip-hop roots. “What It Is” is another stand out, particularly from a production standpoint as its one of the few vibrantly produced tracks on the album, alternating between the simplistic to a percussion-filled jazzy beat.

Every song is incredibly solid and gives great hope to what this Chicago-based duo can bring in the future. What is possibly most refreshing about the Cool Kids is that, as their name implies, they are simply cool. They never seem to be too high or too low (or too hard or too soft for that matter), and everything about them seems to be natural, never pressed. As it stands, The Bake Sale may not be the huge splash, but it’s certainly noteworthy and will be blasting out of many a car stereo this summer.

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