The Flaming Lips Embryonic

Claustrophobic, Dark, Intricate. The Flaming Lips let go of the reins and let the music do the talking– unleashing a largely inexplicable but wondrous album.

Release Date: October 13, 2009
Record Label: Warner Brothers
Rating: 100

To attempt to describe all that happens over the 73 minutes of listening to Embryonic would be futile. However, if it had to be summarized, it would have to be described as something of a clusterfuck– it’s as though the band became possessed by the devil while tripping on acid, and the devil had been spending all of its time listening to krautrock before seizing their souls. The droning opener “Convinced of the Hex” is exhibit A, with its unsettling grove that continues to grow stranger as the song progresses before bleeding into the equally hypnotic “The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine.” Much of the first disc operates in the same matter, a constantly evolving opus of wonderment that is both dark and mysterious yet occasionally surrenders itself to an almost subconscious beauty.

Contrasting the animalistic id-like presence of the first disc, disc two emphasizes the aforementioned beauty, while still maintaining an air of mystery. Airy, and slightly more playful with songs such as “I Can Be a Frog” (which features Karen O providing vocal effects). While it’s certainly not even remotely radio friendly, the second disc is like a safehaven compared to the first– a more familiar sound for Flaming Lips fans, but still maintaining the same organic elements from the last disc.

Embryonic is a highly appropriate name for this album. After basking in the crowd-pleasing glow of The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and At War With the Mystics, The Flaming Lips have crawled deep within their inner recesses to a musical place that hasn’t been visited it seems since much earlier in their career to create something so viscerally appealing that it’s almost incomprehensible. A widescreen epic, exploring the world through seemingly infantile or simply strung out eyes, The Flaming Lips put on a sprawling display of talent. All things considered, Embryonic must be considered for album of the year.

The Flaming Lips - “Convinced of the Hex”

Monsters of Folk Monsters of Folk

Despite the immense talents of all involved, Monsters of Folk never really get anywhere.

Release Date: September 22, 2009
Record Label: Shangri-La Music
Rating: 77

It’s easy to be cynical of supergroups– more often than not they’re expendable, self-indulgent and self-aware, releasing only half-baked material before they fade away and are forgotten about. Then every so often, there’s something that comes about like a spark– a sudden glow of hope that this could in fact be something special that’s being witnessed. Anyone with even a waft of knowledge about the long-discussed Monsters of Folk project likely was approaching the album with expectations that fell in line with the latter way of thinking– and out of those people, it’s likely that more than half of them are going to be disappointed.

Monsters of Folk is Jim James (or Yim Yames) of My Morning Jacket fame, M. Ward (of She & Him fame as of late), Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes), and producer extraordinaire Mike Mogis. They gave hope by releasing a couple of very slick tunes in “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)” and “Say Please,” and then followed up with an album that is, at the very best, underwhelming.

It would be easier if this were a flat out bad album, but it’s not– instead, it’s a jangly collection of songs that would be better suited as a record label sampler than a supposed supergroup. Even better, the song titles really could’ve been- “Conor Oberst song #1,” “M. Ward song #4,” “Jim James being weird song #14″ and so forth. There isn’t any true interplay between the artists, and for such a creative core of guys, it seems that there should be enough experimentation to last for longer than just the opening track. Also, with the album clocking in at nearly an hour, these faults quickly lessen the listening experience.

They do have their moments, as both the aforementioned “Dear God” and “Slow Down Jo” display what this band is capable of, and perhaps they’ll get there next time around. For now, however, you can only dream about what would’ve been and try to enjoy Monsters of Folk for what it is, a slightly above average side project.

Monsters of Folk - “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)”

Kid Cudi Man on the Moon: The End of Day

An ambitiously clumsy beautiful mess.

Release Date: September 15, 2009
Record Label: Motown
Rating: 85

Riding high after a hit mixtape and several impressive guest spots and performances (including Lollapalooza this year), it’s interesting to hear Cudi’s Man on the Moon concept fully fleshed out. It’s really quite a sprawling mess, complete with a hokey narrative from Common, but yet so incredibly ambitious– especially for a debut, that it’s frustrating, tiresome and impressive all at once. Yet, these seemingly contradictory statements really are the make up of Kid Cudi as an artist, he’s everything and nothing all at once– more often than not he seems caught between singing and rapping, and he never fits any particular mold of what we tend to define as a hip-hop artist. Through and through, both he and the album are an anomaly in every sense.

While Man on the Moon is a concept album of sorts, the execution is so vague that it’s more of an obstacle than a buoy in terms of appreciating the material. The accessible tracks such as “Day ‘N Nite” and “Make Her Say” are buried to the back end of the album, with it instead opening with the incredibly sleepy “In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem),” which walks on the verge of being a bad George Clinton trip before “Soundtrack 2 My Life” and “Simple As…” mercifully give the album some sort of a pulse. The latter is really one of the few songs where Cudi’s skills as a rapper are higlighted. While he occasionally falls into the habit of using clichéd rhymes, his quick-witted flow helps him from falling too far into such traps.

If you have the patience to make it through, Man on the Moon is a highly rewarding album, as the easiest listens come on the second half of the album. Besides the aforementioned singles, “Cudi Zone,” “Alive” and “Pursuit of Happiness” are all highlights and even best the material on the Kid Named Cudi mixtape.

Clearly, Kid Cudi was out to make a statement with an album, and that’s a very good sign. After getting so much attention for what he had already accomplished, he easily could have phoned in the debut and thought nothing of it. Instead he churns out a highly innovative, yet ungainly, album that will likely solidify his place into both the mainstream and critics hearts.

Kid Cudi - “Pursuit of Happiness”

Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson Break Up

Breezy? Yes, definitely. Memorable? Meh, not so much.

Release Date: September 15, 2009
Record Label: Rhino
Rating: 71

Despite just coming out this year, the Break Up project started way back in 2006, before Scarlett Johansson embarrassed herself by covering Tom Waits songs and around the time where there was still hope for Yorn following through on the promise he showed on Musicforthemorningafter. The first glimpse of this collaboration came in the form of a leaked mp3 of “Shampoo” which was originally attributed to Yorn alone. Now, three years later, we’re presented with the Serge Gainsbourg/Bridgette Bardot inspired revival Break Up, an effort that actually likens itself more to the Jennifer Anniston/Vince Vaughn film than anything that Gainsbourg/Bardot ever produced. It has it’s moments, and truthfully it seems like a really good platform for a Yorn album, but it never culminates into anything worthwhile. Instead, it’s like wallpaper treatment that’s been forced into place by Yorn and Johansson, lathering as much adhesive as possible to try to make the whole thing stick.

“Relator” is a great start, as are the Yorn-driven  ”Wear and Tear” and “Shampoo,” but unfortunately for them, somewhere along the way, everything falls apart. While I suppose that’s what happens in a break up, they certainly could’ve made it one worth remembering. Instead we’re left wondering what the hell kept them together to begin with. It’s too bad, really, because if you ever hear some of the demo sessions, or take a listen to the mentioned highlights, you’ll see that there was quite a bit of potential, but in the wake of She & Him (not to mention trying to liken yourself to Gainsbourg and Bardot), it was likely doomed from inception.

Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - “Relator”

BLK JKS After Robots

A very good album that comes just short of being something great.

Release Date: September 8, 2009
Record Label: Secretly Canadian
Rating: 85

This Johannesburg formed rock group sprung onto the consciousness of many with their Mystery EP re-released earlier this year. Unfortunately for them, being a highly-experimental black rock group, the TV on the Radio comparisons were inevitable, and while there may in fact be some truth to that statement, the shoes are simply too large to fill at this point for this band. Even so,  After Robots does not disappoint by any means.

Some of their songs, such as “Banna Ba Modimo” or “Kwa Nqingetje,” fringe on being overwrought, but even in those moments, the sincere yet lofty ambitions of the band prevent it from being off-putting, but rather falls short of becoming the masterpiece sound they were likely aiming for. The opening “Molalatladi” is the result of BLK JKS at their absolute highest, and it’s quite a densely-layered beautiful mess of African-influenced rhythms and song structures channelled through a familiar-yet-other-worldly rock music. “Lakeside,” which was originally from the Mystery EP, is another standout and fits much better within the framework of After Robots than it did on the EP.

As referenced earlier, the only disappointing aspect of the album is that there’s a definitely high ceiling that BLK JKS reach, but they never quite break through. If they weren’t so damned inventive it’s not something that would even be noticeable, but they are just about there and never get the extra oomph necessary to push the album over the top. That being said, BLK JKS is a band to watch out for, they truly have something original brewing.

BLK JKS - “Molalatladi”

Lollapalooza 2009 Recap

The last act makes a film. Wow them in the end, and you got a hit. You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end, and you’ve got a hit.

-Robert McKee from the film Adaptation

The above quote can all but sum up what was Lollapalooza 2009. A festival whose lineup was already in question prior to the Beastie Boys having to drop out due to health reasons, Perry had to make sure that all stops were pulled out in order for Lollapalooza to work, and he did just that and then some.

The huge crowd after the final day of Lolla anxiously awaits being able to cross.

Jane’s Addiction ended Lollapalooza with a bang.

The crowd passes the Palmer House after Day 3 of Lollapalooza

Perry Farrell brought everyone out onto the stage, including family and friends to celebrate another successful year.

Cage the Elephant frontman Matt Shultz turned out to be one of the better (and wilder) showmen of the weekend.

Playing to one of the more raucous audiences, Passion Pit delivered an energetic set.

Perry toasts the crowd after his show of thanks.

Very, very good from start to finish The Raveonettes definitely brought their A game and even previewed some of their new album.

“We’ve had some massive nights,  we’ve had some crushing lows”

First and foremost, a giant kudos to Perry’s, which was easily the most consistently entertaining spot at Lollapalooza. A-Trak was a personal highlight with Kid Cudi not too far behind, but I know there were a few other acts that really got the crowd going as well. Unfortunately it wasn’t completely immune from the mundane, as Animal Collective put on a pulse-stopping snoozefest of a DJ set, and Hercules and Love Affair didn’t do much better. The one improvement that they must make next year is actually making it more open, so that people have an easier time of getting in and out– some parts of the day were just brutal to get over there.

This also turned out to be the year for headliners, with Yeah Yeah Yeahs surprising the heck out of me with a top 5 set. Likewise, Jane’s Addiction was also in top form, even getting the helping hand of Joe Perry to perform “Jane Says” as a closer.

Food, Glorious Food

First and foremost, the Lobster Corn Dogs (and everything else at Graham Elliot) were absolutely delicious. The turkey burgers and sweet potato chips from BJ’s Market were also a good bet. Unfortunately, the selection appeared to be a bit more limited this year than it was last year (you can only have so many variations of chicken tenders, etc.), but it was nice that some places were actually selling fruit this year.

This Bud’s for You

While I understand that Budweiser is a big sponsor for Lollapalooza, I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that there’s only one place to find any other kind of beer, and even then you’re stuck with the Stellas and Becks of the world. To add insult to injury, you have to pony up six bucks for a Bud Light or a Bud Light Lime. Granted, on a weekend where the average temp hovers around 90 degrees one would think that alcohol would be secondary– but one look at the continuously half-baked crowd (both in sun and alcohol/drug exposure), would say otherwise. That being said, why don’t they try to bring in some microbrews next year– at least have some Goose Island beers on hand a la Pitchfork.

99 Problems

Here’s a short list of problems that they need to fix before next years Lollapalooza:

1. They have to fix the layout of the stages– the north end of the festival was more often than not a giant clusterf***, and the crowds at the Citi stage always appeared to be on the brink of insanity thanks to such little space.
2. MORE HIP-HOP PLEASE!
3. Please go back to cloth wristbands.
4. While it was nice they gave out free water for a time, running out of water on the hottest day of the festival is pretty much inexcusable.
5. They need to have more misting stations and places for folks to get tap water if they brought their own bottles. Waiting in line for an hour to fill up your scuzzy water bottle with some equally questionable tap is just not worth it when it’s 90-something degrees.
6. Figure out a way to get the sound on the Bud Light and Citi stages to work consistently. While TV on the Radio and Arctic Monkeys had to deal with spotty sound, I could suddenly hear every little giggle and quirk (and there were quite a few) of Karen O. during the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performance.
7. Please offer more inexpensive food options.
8. More portable toilets, maybe?

Top 10 Performances

1. TV on the Radio
2. Jane’s Addiction
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. Atmosphere
5. Cage the Elephant
6. A-Trak
7. Kid CuDi
8. The Raveonettes
9. Fleet Foxes
10. Passion Pit

Top Disappointments

1. Animal Collective
2. Arctic Monkeys
3. Kings of Leon
4. Gomez
5. Hercules and Love Affair

The WTF Moment of the Weekend

So if you haven’t heard by now, there was a bit of a mishap on Sunday evening– one that will probably stay in most people’s minds when they look back on Lolla 2009. Lou Reed was, well, Lou Reed, and decided that he wanted to hear himself play for an extra thirty minutes or so, thus delaying the Band of Horses performance. Not to be shortchanged, Band of Horses decided to keep on playing over time, despite the fact that Jane’s Addiction, fronted by none other than Perry Farrell (who runs the freaking show), was supposed to play at 8:30. Jane’s Addiction waited for about ten to fifteen minutes before playing anyway, causing what has to be considered one of the oddest pairings of sound to take place in Grant Park, and in retaliation Band of Horses decided that they would attempt to “blow that shit out” and keep playing anyway. Well, fellas, sorry that Lou Reed had a senior moment, but you don’t try to upstage the guy that brought you to the festival in the first place. Nevermind the fact that any real Band of Horses fan surely got their fix between you guys playing at the Kids stage and having a House of Blues aftershow– welcome to the Lollapalooza banned list.

Final Verdict

With Lollapalooza getting bigger every year, it’s beginning to show some signs of growing pains. Perhaps the biggest offender in general was the lack of any real rock-n-roll prowess. Oh sure, there were lots of quaint bands, lots of solid bands, but very few blew me away. That being said, I hope that next year packs a bit more excitement, if not bigger names, and please Perry, let’s have more quality hip-hop next year, yeah?

Pitchfork Festival Recap

What turned out to be one of the better Chicago festivals attended, Pitchfork 2009 puts a lot of pressure on the upcoming Lollapalooza festival, as the little festival that could has slowly crept up on its counterpart in terms of not only attracting quality bands, but also in the overall atmosphere. With nearly 55,000 fans entering Union Park during the course of the three-day festival, this little brother packs quite the punch.

Of course, there were things to nitpick over, whether it be the bleeding audio (which Lollapalooza still hasn’t even figured out in the much larger Grant Park setting), bathroom/beer lines, etc., but for all intents and purposes, Pitchfork was perfectly imperfect– a fantastic weekend of music.

Highlights

The Flaming Lips put on an expectedly exquisite show.

Of course the highlights begin with the heavy hitters of The Flaming Lips, Built to Spill and The National, all of which lived up to the hype and then some. The Lips played some new material and also a rare b-side just for fans, but otherwise most bands stuck to the Write the Night list based on what the fans voted.

Pharoahe Monch was incredibly solid, bringin the soulful flair that's sorely missing from most hip-hop.

Other highlights include Pharoahe Monch, who really energized the crowd, as well as Yo La Tengo and Blitzen Trapper.  Also, the music and art vendors deserve a lot of props as well, as there was a ton of worthwhile shopping options (particularly for vinyl lovers).

Lowlights
There weren’t many, but one of the notable ones was of course DOOM (aka MF Doom, aka Viktor Vaughn, aka King Geedorah, and more), who looked to be more interested in hitting up the food vendors afterwards than actually performing. He’s never been known as a terrific live act to be sure, but at points it would have been equally interesting to simply have his music piped into the festival speakers. Tortoise was equally uninspiring as they looked to be going through the motions, seemingly forgetting that they are in fact playing in front of an audience.

As far as the festival itself was concerned, bathroom lines were a problem to the point that Pitchfork organizers had to call in an emergency shipment of portable johns. Another point of contention for many was the food selection at the festival– apparently the higher ups overestimated the number of people interested in vegetarian/vegan options, because there were definitely a large number of people bemoaning the lack of “normal” food options.

A Great Event

Yes, that is indeed the line for the Green Line post-Pitchfork.

Of course those are minor quibbles, and in the grand scheme of things, they really don’t amount to much. The fact is that Pitchfork put together one hell of a festival this year and are poised to overtake Lollapalooza in quality in the next year– if you don’t think they have already.

Pitchfork may attract a smaller crowd, but it's enough to shut down Ashland Ave.

Discovery LP

When you think of a pairing between members of Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, this is hardly the end result one would expect. For the most part, that turns out to be a good thing, as this is a truly ambitious album.

Release Date: July 6, 2009 
Record Label:XL
Rating: 83

In case you aren’t familiar with Discovery yet, let me introduce you to Rostam Batmanglij and Wes Miles, of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot fame, respectively. Together, they have produced what is, in a lot of ways, a pseudo-successor to The Postal Service’s Give Up released back in 2003.

That’s not to say that the sound between the two side projects are the same, as they are, for the most part, different. However, in this day and age of excessive auto-tuner, Daft Punk-isms, and a general return (for better or worse) to 80’s style production, Discovery has something that takes these traits and pushes it into the foray of indie-pop in a way that hasn’t wholly been done just yet. Likewise, in 2003, The Postal Service’s sound was something of an amalgam of atmospheric electronic sounds that had made its way to even mainstream music, and the pop sensibility that Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard brought to the table.

If you listen closely (or strain for that matter), you can hear elements of both Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend underneath all the fuzz and digitized vocals, and it does feature both a Ra Ra Riot song (“Can You Discover?”) and a guest spot from Vampire Weekend lead vocalist Ezra Koenig (“Carby”) in case you forget what you’re listening to.

The net result of the album is for the most part, very good. In fact, the first half of the album is just about brilliant, especially “Osaka Loop Line” and “Orange Shirt.” The one real unfortunate song on here is a simply god-awful cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” a song that only benefits from surreal timing that may stroke enough nostalgia that people forget about a waste of a cover.

That being said, even when the album falters, you admire the band for trying– there’s a genuine sense of honesty and effort that is represented on every track. This isn’t the efforts of a half-baked idea with equally lazy execution, but rather something that could very well be pointed to years from now as a highly influential album.

Discovery - “Osaka Loop Line”

Alan Wilkis Pink and Purple

Barring a surprise release from the likes of Jamie Lidell, you can rest assure that you won’t find a funkier album than Pink and Purple.

Release Date: June 16, 2009 
Record Label:Wilcassettes
Rating: 87

For better or worse, EPs don’t often get the full review treatment around here. However, there’s a definite reason why Wilkis’ Pink and Purple is a notable exception– it is, through and through, a funky throwback that ultimately leaves a lasting impression despite being a mere 26 minutes.

The opening “Snuggle Up to Nail Down” is such a wonderfully executed pastiche of funk and soul artists of the 70’s and 80’s, that you’ll find yourself in an immediate groove that never lets up.

The centerpiece of the album is “Gotta Get You Back,” which is pure saccharine but never broaches the level of being trite. Instead it highlights Wilkis’ strength as a songwriter to not only compose a highly likable pop song, but to also underscore it with enough light-funk sensibility that it doesn’t diffuse the overall feel of the album. The title track, which immediately follows, serves as a nice contrast with its darker production but is just as enjoyable and danceable as anything else on the album.

Wilkis accomplishes so much on Pink and Purple that it’s hard to believe it is an EP. While his strengths lie in the more concise songs on the album, there’s no filler whatsoever. It’ll be interesting to see how Wilkis builds on this release, but if the next full length release is anything like this, expect there to be a lot of surrounding fanfare.

Alan Wilkis - “Gotta Get You Back”

Wilco Wilco (The Album)

While the album title may be decidedly tongue-in-cheek, Wilco’s latest release establishes the identity of the band post-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/A Ghost is Born.

Release Date: June 30, 2009 
Record Label: Nonesuch 
Rating: 85

Did the admittedly straightforward Sky Blue Sky strike you as a little too dull? Were you one of the many who coined the album as being nothing more than “dad rock”? Well, Chicago’s finest rock band presents you with an album that may not make you forget Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or even A Ghost is Born, but it’ll take you back to the Summerteeth days, and that’s not too shabby at all.

The opening eponymous song is something like a mint, resetting the senses and erasing any possible comparison between this album and the last. It’s quirky, fun and despite its relative brevity contains enough musical nuances to be more than just a radio-friendly song. Enter “Deeper Down,” which initially feels familiar until the first pause in what is a purposely fragmented song, the first of many interesting touches as both “One Wing” and “Bull Black Nova” are two of the most dynamic songs that Wilco has released in a long, long time.

The former features some beautiful guitar work by Nels Cline and equally poignant lyrics from Jeff Tweedy– who is incredibly strong across the board on this album. The chugging “Bull Black Nova” almost comes off like a long-winded jam that Spoon would have performed, with its emphasis on percussion to dictate the other instruments as it swells into a superbly hypnotic piece.

Perhaps one of the more anticipated tracks from the album is the duet between Tweedy and Leslie Feist on “You and I.” It’s a nice enough song to be sure, but sandwiched between “Bull Black Nova” and lead single “You Never Know,” it feels a little tame.

What prevents Wilco (The Album) from being something truly great is that it is, for the most part, a top-heavy album. With the lone exception of “Everlasting Everything,” much of the latter part of the album is simply good– never quite exceeding expectations or providing any surprises, something that used to be practically unheard of from a Wilco album. 

Even so, it’s obvious that Wilco (The Album) is the band’s attempt to perhaps more solidly announce the arrival of a different Wilco. These aren’t the guys that made Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, or even A Ghost is Born. Whether you like it or not, that band is dead, and what’s here now is a more mature, even-keeled band. What hasn’t changed is that Tweedy can still write a tune, and his bandmates still play the hell out of their respective instruments.

Wilco - “Wilco (The Song)”