It seems like I’m going backwards in time with these reviews. The albums are getting older, but the bands are getting better. The Unicorns are a pop-synth band from Canada (where all the best pop-synth music is created) that broke up in late ‘04. After heated arguments and intense touring, the band collapsed due to rising tensions finally bursting. Later on, two of the three unicorns ended up forming a similar band called Islands, which is due to release a second album this April.
Now, this CD may be aged but just like a fine wine, it only gets better as it matures. Full of fun and fancy beats, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? is not like all the other albums spawned in Montreal. These guys perfect the beloved essence of pop music to deliver you a dose of fully-polished songs that will infect your mind with their catchy tunes and childish lyrics. The only way to keep them out is to let them in; so, open your doors and welcome in their quirky choruses and whacky verses with arms wide open.
I tend to start at the beginning of this album to only find myself at the end moments later. The CD flies down your ears smoothly, banging on your ear drums with each pleasant, passing tone. In a way, their music lacks structure but they still manage to keep it ringing through your head. With silly lyrics and an immature disposition, their album is the Toys ‘R Us of the music world. It’s a place you still dream about, even as an adult.
A big name for a big group, and I’m not talking about popularity points here. The Sound of Animals Fighting (TSOAF) is a collaboration of Rx Bandits, Circa Survive, Finch, Atreyu, Never Heard of It, The Autumns, Chiodos, Days Away, and Sunn O))) (simply pronounced sun). Whew, that was a mouthful. Anyways, their newest album (if you call May ‘06 new) is a dramatic shift from their old one. The previous and original CD was a progressive, post-hardcore mix with an opera-style layout. In Lover, the Lord has Left Us…, they decided to shake it up quite a bit with lots of electronic beats and foreign language for a completely new sound.
It’s hard to break down the album because it’s all so completely different. All of the bands come from different backgrounds and musical styles, but when combined together it creates a sound of beautiful chaos. With six different amazing vocalists (excluding the foreign singers), this CD is something to brag about. “Horses in the Sky” has a lot more energy and is definitely the more “hardcore” side of the band coming out; while “The Heretic” is the complete opposite. The rest of the album sticks in the middle of those two extremes.
Lover, the Lord has Left Us… is like a good cop/bad cop sort of scenario where they’ll kick your ass and then try to help you out. It’s a bi-polar, manic-depressive album with PMS. You never know what’s coming at you and once you figure it out, it stops being nice, and starts kicking dirt into your eyes.
Yesterday, Paramore’s lead singer Hayley Williams posted some disappointing news for some of their fans in europe. They canceled the last week of their UK/Europe tour due to “internal issues”. The band tried fighting through these problems for a few weeks, but decided that some time off would be best.
Today, she posted again to quell rumors that they were breaking up, or that she was pregnant. Now, does anyone really care? Maybe…but to me, they are just a dime a dozen in this industry. In other words, they ain’t no Blink-182.
hello everyone…
since we posted the last entry, we’ve gotten tons of phone calls and people posting things on websites saying that we are breaking up. i just want to make it clear, though, that by posting two nights ago we weren’t saying the band was over. we posted because we are going through hard times and we felt that because we have a really good support system in you guys, our fans, it would be better for us to just be honest about what’s going on - even though, it was a pretty vague explanation. man, some of the rumors that i’ve heard going around are insane! it’s weird how out of hand things can get even when you just try to tell a simple truth. (for the record, my eggo is not preggo). anyway, we just need to take time to make this band the best it can be… and we are doing that now.
thank you for all the love and the encouragement you guys have shown. and WE WILL! be seeing you guys on the 27th of March in Orlando, FL
Sometimes poppy, sometimes folky, Coconut Records is a solo project started by, drummer of Phantom Planet and actor, Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, I Heart Huckabees, and The Darjeeling Limited). He plays the majority of the instruments on one hand while juggling his acting career in the other. Quite the multi-tasker :)!
Nighttiming was an instant win for me. The entire album is composed of a little bit of everything, so it manages to keep it appealing to all audiences. Schwartzman is a “jack of all trades” kind of guy who can make anything sound good. From country songs like “Mama” to love songs like “Easy Girl.” “West Coast” screams out INSTANT HIT with lyrics that bring out your inner-apathy, but a melody that fits any mood you’re in.
Nighttiming’s tempo is always calm, its beat always smooth, and its vocals always crisp. Simply put, the album is like a swiss-army knife. It has a small amount of everything put into one compact size for your enjoyment. Not feeling well? Need something to dance to? Feel like going back home to the west coast? Coconut Records has you covered.
Just like MGMT, Vampire Weekend has recently released their first full-length self-titled album and it’s been growing on me like moss on a tree. They’re hitting it off relatively well and I’m seeing their name thrown all over the place. Hailing from New York, Vampire Weekend is a pop-rock indie band with an exposure to afrobeat inspirations.
They carry a pleasant tune that is fun for the whole family. If someone were to make a movie about being deserted on a tropical island like Hawaii, this would be the soundtrack to the film. There’s no way you could be depressed while listening to a song like “Mansard Roof”. The vocalist, Ezra Koenig, has a cheerful and sweet tone to his voice that goes hand-in-hand with the band’s hand drumming.
With a sound similar to Arctic Monkeys, except with a little extra sunshine, Vampire Weekend is a force to be reckoned with. Don’t get me wrong, the whole album isn’t a pile of happy-go-lucky hits you’d expect to hear from a Pixar animation. Tracks such as “I Stand Corrected” numb down the optimism and bring on an easier beat that share a similarity with Bloc Party.
The overall album reminds me of simpler times. Back when ten dollars made you rich and anything could keep you preoccupied for an eternity.
