To give you all something to look forward to, I’m going to have a full review of the Arcade Fire’s latest album Neon Bible posted by the weekend. While I don’t want to spoil too much, I will say that I’ve definitely found my early candidate for album of the year. Since I’ve been absent for far too long though, it’s only appropriate I give a recap of the month with a bunch of reviews for you to enjoy:
K-Os
Atlantis- Hyms for Disco
83
K-Os has always been, almost to a fault, a wildly eclectic hip-hop artist. Fusing elements of rock, funk, world music and many other genres, his kaleidoscopic approach always managed to somehow make sense despite (or perhaps because of) their sprawling sonic landscapes. On Atlantis K-Os returns for more of the same, attempting to provide an engaging and uplifting experience for all listeners. For the most part, this attempt is successful, kicking it off with the banger “Eletrik Heat- The Seekwill,” and having songs like the single “Sunday Morning” and the outstanding “Valhalla.” What weighs the album down, however is that, to put it bluntly, K-Os simply tries to do too much, like the awkward rock meets rap song “Equalizer,” or the meandering acoustic tune “Highway 7,” or the wanna-be soul of “The Rain.” Fortunately, there are more than enough great moments on this album to make it more than worthwhile, but when you look at what this album could have been if not for the missteps, it’s a tad frustrating.
Sondre Lerche
Phantom Punch
95
Sondre Lerche has done it again. After throwing just about everyone for a loop with the jazz lounge release The Duper Sessions, Phantom Punch offers an equally jarring, yet thoroughly more enjoyable experience. Densely layered and a thousand times louder than everything Lerche had released prior to this album, the album somehow sitll manages to maintain the same pop appeal despite the complete 180 in approach. Lerche also has not lost his signature sound either, as even on the loudest of songs such as “Phantom Punch” you can still find the old Sondre hiding underneath. His older sound is more prominent however in songs like “Tragic Mirror” and “After All.” Beyond that, the influence of touring with Elvis Costello is readily apparent right off the bat with his nonstop rockers like the title track, “Face the Blood,” and “If Not Now, Then When.” Highlights a plenty here, but the three absolute stand out tracks are “John, Let Me Go,” “Say It All,” and the quirky “She’s Fantastic.” If you can get over the fact that Lerche has departed from the largely acoustic lounger sound that dominated his first two albums, then you’re in for a real treat.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
92
2007’s first supergroup The Good, The Bad & The Queen is composed of Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Tony Allen (Africa 70/Fela Kuti) and Simon Tong (The Verve). Add Danger Mouse (one half Dangerdoom and Gnarls Barkley and producer of the Gorillaz album Demon Days) to the production credits and you’re left with quite a load of talent there. However, these guys aren’t playing the feel good music that you may be used to. Instead, these blokes have created an insanely introspective, hopelessly beautiful album that is best suited for listening at 3am when you’re alone in your bedroom. If you stripped away the weirdness of Radiohead, as difficult as that is to do, you would pretty much arrive at the dreary place in which this album resides. Highlights include the single “Herculean,” “Northern Whale,” “Behind the Sun,” and the closing title track. Perhaps what is most impressive about this album is how well each of the people involved fit into the creative concept of the album. The Good, The Bad & The Queen is the logical advancement after Demon Days for the duo of Damon Albarn and Danger Mouse as they’ve created an even deeper, and more meaningful politically charged album.
The Shins
Wincing the Night Away
90
Four years after their last release, Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins are back at it again. This time around the band is expanding upon their sensible indie rock template that made them popular and creating what is the most dynamic album of their relatively short career. Songs such as “Sea Legs,” “Australia,” and “Nothing at All” are exemplary of this progression, as they add just enough variety to the album to make it appear that it isn’t a totally safe album. The single “Phantom Limb” could have easily been a b-side off of Chutes Too Narrow as could “Spilt Needles” (the alternative version is much better too). Despite this, the overall album is incredibly solid, and if it ain’t broke, then why fix it? It certainly won’t attract any new fans but Wincing the Night Away proves that The Shins are, if nothing else, extremely consistent. It also doesn’t hurt that Wincing the Night Away finds the Shins at their best at doing what they do.
Of Montreal
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
96
After making, for the most part, incredibly happy danceable songs for most of their career, to call Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? an anomaly would be a massive understatement. Frontman Kevin Barnes recorded the majority of this album on his own, and it shows, as the focus is almost solely on him for the first time– and the subject matter almost exclusively autobiographical, dealing largely with the demons that Barnes has been dealing with. Because of this, the sound is impressively manic, and more often than not, the instruments are seemingly at odds with each other. For its infinite weirdness and inaccessibility though, this is an outstanding album to say the least. “Gronlandic Edit” is superb, as is the deranged funk of “Faberge Falls for Shuggie.” You certainly have to give this album several listens to let it all sink in, there’s far too much going on otherwise, but once it does– you realize that this is not only Of Montreal’s most successfully avant garde album, but also their deepest album.
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