Hiatus

Hey, readers! I'm currently enrolled in a bunch of summer classes and I have a bunch of other stuff to do so I'm going to be putting this blog into hiatus-land. I will still be on my "add an album a day" plan, so if all of my album submitters want to keep giving me stuff I'd love that. Maybe I'll do weekly summaries or something, and I do plan to start this back up when I get more time, but thanks everyone for your contributions and I hope you'll come back when I'm ready to get this going again.

June 26, 2010: Gatsbys American Dream

Artist: Gatsbys American Dream
Album: Volcano
Year: 2005

Gatsbys American Dream is a band that is remarkably tough to define. Alternative, progressive rock, indie rock, post-hardcore, experimental, indie pop - pick what you want. This album, however, is just fantastic. "Theatre" is an incredible opener, and the album never relents after. Highlights include the romp "A Mind Of Metal And Wheels", the Lord of the Flies homage "Fable", the stellar "Shhhhhh! I'm Listening To Reason" and the catchy "The Giant's Drink". Highly, highly recommended, as this is a remarkably creative album that is incredibly catchy.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6TBSe9s4QE

June 25, 2010: BLK JKS

Artist: BLK JKS
Album: Zol! [EP]
Year: 2010

More great groundbreaking stuff from BLK JKS. This is actually the first EP we've done so far, so that's pretty groundbreaking as well. Opener "Iietys" is pretty straightforward for a prog-rock act, but driven by strong percussion and always lively, and, hell, pretty danceable. "Bogobe" is distant and drenched in reverb, while title track "Zol!" is triumphant and celebratory in tone and is a real highlight. It's very... soccer, not surprising consider the band's roots and home in conjunction with the World Cup in Africa. "Paradise" is the most natural song on the album for the act, displaying the heroics they are known for. A good teaser, and hopefully they'll get another full-length out for us soon enough.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8PPBYO6qVc

June 24, 2010: Sam Phillips

Artist: Sam Phillips
Album: Cruel Inventions
Year: 1991

Man, this album is all over the place. Opener "Lying" sounds like a straightforward alt-rock tune until a flurry of strings kick in half-way through into an off-beat guitar solo, then a chamberlain takes over while the rest of the instruments slowly return behind Phillips' syrupy alto. Then, just as unexpectedly, "Go Down" emerges, a dark folk-pop tune with yes, off-beat acoustic guitars, other stringed instruments, and yes, more chamberlain. The only thing constant throughout Cruel Inventions is Phillips' sweet croon, but it's constant enough to keep the album from losing focus. Some more highlights are the bare "Tripping Over Gravity" and "Private Storm", and the excellent closer "Where The Colors Don't Go".

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Koh-wPyQvA

June 23, 2010: Alien Ant Farm

Artist: Alien Ant Farm
Album: TruANT
Year: 2003

While not as good as major label debut ANThology, Alien Ant Farm's sophomore release is no slump. Opener "A 1000 Days" pulls the trigger with the immediacy that made their debut so entrancing, and you can bet that it's catchy. However, TruANT is more hit-or-miss than it's predecessor. "Glow" is another highlight, a bit less heavy and a dash more ethnic, and "These Days" could have been a highlight on their debut and certainly is here. More highlights include the jittery "Sarah Wynn", "Tia Lupe", which sounds like an extension of "Glow" featuring, of course, Mariachi trumpets in the chorus. "Rubber Mallet" seems like another song that could fit on the debut, while closer "Hope" is sincere and poignant and caps off a great album. Highly recommended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNcRS58X8_Q

June 22, 2010: Aerosmith

Artist: Aerosmith
Album: Get A Grip
Year: 1993

Dude, this is a classic. I mean, come on. "Crazy", "Cryin'", "Amazing", "Livin' On The Edge". Do I have to say more? It's a classic.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfNmyxV2Ncw

June 21, 2010: Maps And Atlases

Artist: Maps And Atlases
Album: Perch Patchwork
Year: 2010

I was completely unprepared for this album. I have always liked the Chicago math-rock band, following them from their first two EPs on Sargent House, but with this release the band has veered straight into indie-pop territory. As intro "Will" dies down into the clanging "The Charm", vocalist Dave Davison strikes the first lyrics of the album, delivered honestly and with a smile: "I don't think there is a sound that I hate more / then the sound of your voice". The incredible percussion section that drives the band clangs on until suddenly you're being assaulted completely by rhythm as Davison repeats and cries for your attention. "Solid Ground" is an immediate highlight, and while this album loses some of the math that made me love the band, the wonderful percussion, musicianship, and almost mathily-laid harmonies sold me on this release. "Isreali Caves" is downright pretty, "Banished Be Cavalier" is complex and intricate but somehow simple in gorgeousness; "Carry The Wet Wood" is probably the most like their earlier work and is wonderful. In fact, the back end of the album is deliciously intricate in this style, though the musicianship is more for the sake of harmony then for it's own sake now. Which, in my book, is an improvement. Just check out the deliriously fun "Pigeon", a fun sing-along pop track that somehow works in the 100mph finger-tapped guitars that this band is loved for. The album closes with the gorgeous title track, eventually ending in thick intricate vocal waves. Don't pass this one up.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFMMstpu8dw

June 20, 2010: Radiohead

Artist: Radiohead
Album: Hail To The Thief
Year: 2003

Hail To The Thief might not be the most critically acclaimed Radiohead album, but after some time it's emerged as my favorite. Sorry, OK Computer, but Yorke's incessant neuroticism and end of the world divinations reach a climax on this album. The album starts with mounting feedback and then a dark guitar line bouncing around electronic blips and drum clicks as Yorke wails about how "two and two always makes a five", ripping a page right out of Orwell's 1984. Radiohead continues this mesmerizing, gazy brooding throughout the first four tracks before launching into the rocker "Go To Sleep". "I Will" might just be as sober as "Exit Music (For A Film)" on OK. "We Suck Young Blood" might be the darkest song in Radiohead's catalog, while "A Punchup At A Wedding" has an absolutely funky bassline that drives the song. Classic Radiohead; highlights are the spectacular "There There" and the piercing "Scatterbrain". A great album that works wonders a study album for me, with Yorke pulling at your subconscious and the music rhythmic and entrancing. Highly recommended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs1DX32t38c

June 19, 2010: 1997

Artist: 1997
Album: Notes From Underground
Year: 2009

I had always liked 1997 for their quirky pop, and though their sophomore release On The Run never stuck to me like their debut, junior release Notes From Underground easily surpasses anything else they'd done. The songwriting isn't as cute as it used to be, but where it's lost it's charm in sugar it has gained charm in depth, sharper songwriting and consistency. Even their debut ... A Better View Of The Rising Moon only had three or four truly memorable songs, while Notes From Underground is both musically diverse and completely solid from start to finish. The earnest opener "#1" opens the album eerily before breaking into a very good but not particularly surprising 1997 track, but it's the next track where things get crazy. "Hold Yr Breath" is almost an alt-country tune, maybe alt-country superimposed on other versatile songwriting structures all composed into one (the way the song breaks down near the halfway mark is brilliant, almost going straight into 70's pop near the end, then being pulled into that old Victory sound and just clearing away to the finish). Stand-outs continue from here on in, with the dynamic "Sympathy For The Living", the brilliantly building "Falling Down" in which vocal lines are piled onto each other slowly until the song explodes and takes you with it, the wonderfully executed "Wolf + Sheep" the Bright Eyes-esque "A Fruitless Year", the poppy "A Fearless Heart"... It just never relents. "Candle" is a swan song for any band on the road; "Pagan Melodies" switches perfectly between scathing and pretty; however, closing track "#3" brings the album to a close with a wonderful solo track by new co-lead singer Arthi Meera. A shame this band broke up recently, but at least they left us one real gem before they went.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btsLn0O2VqU

June 18, 2010: MGMT

Artist: MGMT
Album: Congratulations
Year: 2010

Considering how much debut Oracular Spectacular was a criticism of pop culture as well as what entails "mainstream success", the band suffered the ultimate irony as they burst onto radio and broke through effortlessly with a certain, quirky platform of experimental and gazy pop. In many ways, Congratulations is meta-humor at it's finest; the album title acknowledges this irony, and what it contains is a backlash of MGMT submerging even deeper into their influences. Opener "It's Working" is fine surf-pop laden with hooks, "Song For Dan Treacy" haunts away with layered synths and a rollicking beat. "Flash Delirium" is half-frenzy and half-pop gem; perhaps the best summary of this album. Whereas on Oracular, different songs exhibited different influences, Flash Delirium pushes them all together, satisfying fans of MGMT's former work without pushing their limits - while polarizing casual fans of their singles. Congratulations indeed.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koXkdpcI7W0&feature=fvst

June 17, 2010: The Sundays

Artist: The Sundays
Album: Static And Silence
Year: 1997

The Sundays make some very enjoyable pop music. Soft, focused, and gentle, Harriet Wheeler and her Brits craft easy to listen to, pleasant and smooth tunes that'll either get stuck in your head or pass the time. You'll probably recognize opener "Summertime", and if you don't you will after you listen to it. The highlights are pretty obvious to recognize: the soft "Homeward", the gentle yet something-under-the-surface feeling of "Folk Song", the smooth "I Can't Wait". The album does not get weak near the end as many pop albums do; both "Your Eyes" and "So Much" are great tracks that keep the album feeling full and vibrant. If you like pop music, this album's for you.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwuGRSD5Ngk

June 16, 2010: The Academy Is...

Artist: The Academy Is...
Album: Almost Here
Year: 2005

Out of that whole mess of pop-punk, second wave "emo" bands (or whatever they're called), The Academy Is... might have been the most pop-minded. Will Beckett and company craft something that mixes the intensity of dynamism of that flurry in the new millennium with the 90's alternative that made it possible in the first place. Opener "Attention" comes about as a pop song, but quickly rollicks into the smooth alternative pop-punk that the band is famous for. There is something very smooth about the band in general, which contrasts very well with the frenetic pace of their B verses and choruses; see "Slow Down" for a great example of this, how the first verses are silky and quickly grow coarse as Beckett takes over the song with his immediate tone and controlled but anxious delivery. "Season" takes jaunty verses and then blasts into a well-written, tongue-in-cheek singalong chorus of "so show me something we haven't heard yet". The album's pace is deliberate and never sticks around too long, punching you with hooky choruses and frantic confessions over and over. "Black Mamba" is another highlight, falling more on the punk-pop side, but throwing in acoustic guitars played fast for good measure. The pacing of the album makes every song a highlight, really, as these ten tracks are very deliberately chosen to offer something different to the table. "Skeptics And True Believers" grows in immediacy from front-to-back, "Classifieds" is another tongue-in-cheek song about the industry that is silky smooth, "Checkmarks" takes "Black Mamba" to a harder edge where Will shows more of his dynamic delivery. "Down And Out" is a slow, change-of-pace nearing the end track, but Beckett doesn't exchange speed for sap and the delivery remains immediate and intense and remarkably clever. Closer "Almost Home" ends the album in summary, frantic and rushed and bare but missing the smoothness, showing Beckett at the end of his patience until a coda near the finish ends the album much like how it began: clever, smooth, immediate, and pop-minded. An incredibly solid album and a clinic in how to write great pop-punk. I'd personally nominate Beckett one of the best frontmen of this genre; he has a talent for pulling you right in with his smooth and dynamic vocals. Highly recommended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zLkB2U_hwI

June 15, 2010: "Weird Al" Yankovic

Artist: "Weird Al" Yankovic
Album: Running With Scissors
Year: 1999

Kimberly brings the heat. True fact: he was my first concert back when I was ten or something, and that is something I will never regret. Man knows how to entertain. "The Saga Begins", "Jerry Springer", "Germs", classic "Your Horoscope For Today", "It's All About The Pentiums"... come, relive what should have been your childhood.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIPay8ryydk

June 14, 2010: Blitzen Trapper

Artist: Blitzen Trapper
Album: Destroyer Of The Void
Year: 2010

Destroyer Of The Void is Ziggy Stardust re-imagined by the current indie-pop scene. Before this album, Blitzen Trapper had their Byrdsy roots but took more from The Band than from Bowie; Destroyer is decidedly more glossy and glamorous, sugared in soundscape and mired in fuzz. The album's title track opener starts this off with a six-minute romp that's halfway "Space Oddity" and halfway that infamous four-song sequence near the end of Abbey Road. "Laughing Lover" shows off their contemporary edge, sounding something like a theatre group covering The Shins; "Below The Hurricane" could have been written by Neil Young. The influences are all over the album, and the sound that results is comfortable, familiar but inventive, and has a habit of sticking to you ear. The composition and songwriting is top-notch, managing to be technical without being self-indulgent and dynamic without being predictable. Some more highlights are the Dylan-esque "The Man Who Would Speak True", the clever "Dragon's Song" and the sincere "The Tree". Highly recommended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiaivHA02Zc

June 13, 2010: Staind

Artist: Staind
Album: Dysfunction
Year: 1999

Alternative metal bands have a tendency to write a really good major label debut and then go on a downward trend, and Staind is no exception to this. Good news is that Dysfunction is worth what would happen to the band in their later career; it's painful, angsty, heavy, all without compromise. Opener "Suffocate" starts strong and the album never relents until the hidden track "Excess Baggage". Key tracks: "Just Go", "Home", Mudshovel", "Spleen".

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb7X5stZU6w

June 12, 2010: Iron And Wine

Artist: Iron And Wine
Album: Our Endless Numbered Days
Year: 2004

Without a doubt in my personal top five albums of all time with Have One On Me, Illinois, Sunsets And Carcrashes, Our Endless Numbered Days is the ultimate indie-folk album and an absolutely necessity to any music collection. Sam Beam's broad and gentle finger picking under his perfectly harmonious voice (and beautifully combined by his haunting and hushed sister who sings on a handful of tracks) is a soothing marvel and leads the way in what some would call "chill" music. The album is a modern day Mona Lisa, a testament to beauty in music. Beam experiments all around the album as well, such as the folksy "Teeth In The Grass" and the dark "Free Until They Cut Me Down"; however, while these tracks are incredibly solid and add great changes of pace, the highlights of the album are Sam writing wonderfully sincere and gorgeous ballads: the thematic "Naked As We Came", the sincere "Love And Some Verses" (which openers with one of my favorite lines in a song ever: "Love is a dress that you made long / To hide your knees"), the minimal "Radio War", the comforting "Each Coming Night", the drifting and poignant "Fever Dream". However, Beam saves the best for last with a song I could only describe as perfect: "Passing Afternoon". This is, without a doubt, my favorite song of all time. No question. If I could only hear one song for the rest of my life, this would be it. Highly, highly recommended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGPzyGIaw0E

June 11, 2010: Dan Black

Artist: Dan Black
Album: UN
Year: 2009

I don't think it's a big surprise if I say that UK folks know how to write good pop music. Dan Black's UN is a decent starting place for this, and the album goes for broke when it comes to bombast. Opener "Symphonies" was built for radio play and works as such, but the rest of the album is where his influences shine. "U + Me =" is a drone track that features the fun instrumental flurries of the current British indie-pop scene mixed in with some Kyle Andrews-esque fun. In fact, this album made me think of Andrews a lot, but Black is versatile enough to balance his influences: the experimental funk of "Alone", the tongue-in-cheek sincerity of "Cocoon". "Yours" could have been penned by Dan Keyes; the album is a swirl of influences that differentiate enough to make an original and enjoyable product. You might hear some Vampire Weekend ("U + Me =") or some The Cure at one moment, and suddenly the electronic chirps are directly Radiohead in nature and Black pushes a funky croon that draws you in ("Wonder", "Alone"). More highlights: "Life Slash Dreams", and excellent closer "Let Go".

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYxly14v5do&feature=related

June 10, 2010: Patty Griffin

Artist: Patty Griffin
Album: Impossible Dream
Year: 2004

I'm not going to pretend I came from a music scene I didn't: it was Bright Eyes' stellar I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning that got me into Emmylou Harris, and Harris that got me into this contemporary folk scene or alt-country scene or whatever you guys call it. I wasn't all that aware of Griffin until my dad gave me this album to listen to, but Harris is the first thing that popped into my mind and the album became immediately familiar and accessible. It doesn't hurt that she does some background vocals on the album, either. Speaking of familiarities, Dixie Chicks hit "Top Of The World" appears on this album, as Griffin wrote the song originally and gave it to them. The album itself, however, easily stands on it's own: Griffin is earnest and her ability to write songs is unarguable: from the opener "Love Throw A Line" to the ballad "Kite Song", the album doesn't have a boring moment. Other highlights include the soulful "Standing" and the rounds tune "Rowing Song" which is driven by a well-paced brass section. Highly recommended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeO63Trs5wk

June 9, 2010: Tokyo Police Club

Artist: Tokyo Police Club
Album: Elephant Shell
Year: 2008

Take your 90's math-rock bands (think Counterfeit), your 80's art-pop bands (think middle-era The Cure) and then The Strokes and a dash of Gang Of Four and put them in a melting pot and you've got Tokyo Police Club. The Strokes is the most immediate: Elephant Shell's songs are immediate, obtuse and remarkably catchy. The influences never dominate the album: despite the math-rock and post-punk tendencies, Tokyo Police Club put forth something immediately accessible on it's own merits while Dave Monks gives his personal insights, sometimes directly relatable and at other times absurd. One thing Tokyo Police Club do much better than their contemporaries is that they know not to overstay their welcome; only one song goes over three minutes, but within the two and half-minute package is a full song with all that it needs and nothing extraneous added on. Opener "Centennial" start's the album's pace, and it never relents. Highlights are "In A Cave", The Photo Atlas-esque "Graves", "Juno", and key track "Tessellate", whose lyrics are too inventive to ignore, and the sing-along "The Harrowing Adventures Of...". The whole album is strong and never drags on. "Your English Is Good" is my personal favorite, or maybe the mathy closer "The Baskervilles".

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93sf6H-POzs

June 8, 2010: No Doubt

Artist: No Doubt
Album: Tragic Kingdom
Year: 1995

A long, long time ago in a music scene far, far away: Gwen Stefani was a wonderful musician, singing with her ska/punk band No Doubt in the early nineties. While tragic is a better word to describe what would happen to her career after this this than the album itself, Tragic Kingdom has such an irresistible appeal maybe due to it's creativity, Stefani's wonderful frontwoman delivery, and that every song is teeming with quality. Opener "Spiderwebs" is an absolute classic, "Excuse Me Mr." keeps the energy going, it keeps going on: "Different People", "Sunday Morning", the title track... Not to mention that feminist anthem "Just A Girl" and that heartsinker "Don't Speak". Just a solid album with frantic energy, a frenetic pace, and delivered with authority by Stefani. Stuck somewhere between punk and ska with circus breakouts and prog explosions ("The Climb"), how could anyone not like this album?

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZktNItwexo

June 7, 2010: Say Hi

Artist: Say Hi
Album: Oohs And Aahs
Year: 2010

Despite Eric Elbogen's great band name (originally "Say Hi To Your Mom"), I wasn't all too impressed with this album. Opener "Elouise" takes a little too much time to get of the ground, though it's good in full stride. Unfortunately, the album doesn't pick up and remains somewhat bland until the stellar single "One, Two ... One" which might be more interesting than the rest of the album combined. The album's second half is actually much stronger than the first: "Audrey" is a highlight, as well as "The Stars Blink Just For Us". Can't really recommend this in good faith, but do check out the great single.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry6dBOsiwAQ

June 6, 2010: The Apathy Eulogy

Artist: The Apathy Eulogy
Album: Resolved To Dream
Year: 2009

Resolved To Dream is a gauntlet thrown down. On their sophomore LP, indie-pop act The Apathy Eulogy drifts away from the sap that has clogged their genre and adventures outside of it. Opener "Hold The Ones You Love Close" is rhythmic, with little electronic blips, but it's the vocals that make this album so convincing. Even more so, this album is as fun as it is genuine, and nothing seems to share the staleness you'd expect form an acoustic/indie/pop act. The album is remarkably creative and melodic, highlights being the jagged "I'd Rather Kiss A Tarantula", the sing-along "Summer's Eyes", "Dove Serpent", "Play Nice" and wonderful closer "Looking In The Wrong Place". An incredibly solid and honest album. Highly recommended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.myspace.com/theapathyeulogy
["Summer's Eyes"]

June 5, 2010: Joanna Newsom

Artist: Joanna Newsom
Album: Have One On Me
Year: 2010

Yeah, time to write about the harp chick. While I know I have a tendency to spew hyperbole, it is only with completely genuineness that I would call "Have One On Me" my favorite album(s) of all time, which is equally ridiculous due to the fact that I've only owned it for around four months. Regardless, I've played the hell out of it's 2+ hour length, each time stunned by some new lyrical stinger or connection I hadn't noticed the first time; the album has the depth of an ocean, a depth shared by Newsom's talent as a vocalist and harpist. Whereas her voice was sometimes unlistenable (in my opinion) on some of her previous work, she has changed her vocal stylings since her The Milk Eyed Mender era and this is her most accessible piece, which is a wonder to say considering it's a triple album with an average song length of seven minutes or so. I've been working on how to do this review and do justice to this unbelievably incomparable masterpiece, but I don't think it's possible without writing a book. Opener "Easy" is a masterpiece about a one-sided relationship, "Have One Of Me" is a sprawling epic about Lola Montez, "'81" is a clever and exceptionally pretty escapist ballad, "Good Intentions Paving Co." is a piano romp... Highlights just continue. "No Provenance", "Baby Birch", "Jackrabbits", "Go Long", "In Calfornia", "Does Not Suffice", "Soft As Chalk", "Esme" and the incredible "Kingfisher". There is not a moment of filler in these two-and-some hours, it is both achingly beautiful and mesmerizingly poignant. Highly, highly reccomended.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_47_CHdzHI

June 4, 2010: BLK JKS

Artist: BLK JKS
Album: After Robots
Year: 2009

My first reaction to opening track "Molalatladi" was as follows: "Holy crap, this is awesome!". South Africa's version of The Mars Volta, BLK JKS create epic soundscapes of progressive, experimental rock. The blaring horns on the opening track call to mind the middle-to-later periods of the Volta themselves (one of my favorite bands for sure), but the band itself has more in like with a lost-in-the-jungle King Crimson than anyone else, with epic guitar solos and crescendos jumping into shifting polyrhythms and dark, unsettling vocals. "Banna Ba Modimo" is a armageddon in a song, "Standby" is a straight-up Moody Blues ballad, while "Skeletons" dives into a brilliant pool of dub and never resurfaces. The instrumental breaks on this album are absolutely wonderful and the songwriting is as refreshing as it is unpredictable. The album is at times completely incoherent and at others startlingly lucid. The album is full of highlights, including all aforementioned, the jumpy "Lakeside", the translucent and morphing "Taxidermy"... There's really nothing I don't like about this band. It's unfocused and raw, but shows a great band with incredible talent showing us what they can do. An absolutely wonderful debut and starting point. Progressive rockers, unite!

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNM9_N3VhlE

Wonderful pick, Brian.

June 3, 2010: Carole King

Artist: Carole King
Album: Tapestry
Year: 1971

One of the major players in the pop rock movement of the sixties and seventies, Carole King was a songwriter ready to start playing her own material rather than letting others. She is not a particularly strong vocalist, but this a collection of songs that could be considered standards nowadays. You've probably heard the majority of songs on this album, and King proves to be a masterful songwriter. Not a bad choice if you're into those songs your parents played on the radio when you were a kid, blues piano or well-written pop rock by one of the masters herself. Highlights are "I Feel The Earth Move", "So Far Away", "It's Too Late" and my personal favorite "Tapestry".

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JYkQo1Qxt0

June 2, 2010: Fun.

Artist: Fun.
Album: Aim And Ignite
Year: 2009

Stylized as fun., Nate Ruess' new band leads right were the Format left off. Opener "Be Calm" would have fit fine on Dog Problems, but in general the entirety of the album remains just as theatrical whereas The Format had more rock tendencies. The result is a strong album that doesn't quite live up to Dog Problems but also isn't at all a disappointment. "Benson Hedges" and "All The Pretty Girls" are both jubilant romps, "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)" is a fun patchwork of pop genius, and the album ends strong with the touching "The Gambler" and the rollicking finale of "Take Your Time (Coming Home)". The closer is as hopefully a ditty as Ruess has ever written with some great lines, one of my favorite being "Love is a beautiful thing when you somebody / and I love somebody", perhaps Ruess making a tribute to the biting lines he's written over the years. If you like clever pop, give this a chance.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dY4oE8Rap0

For the record, if you have Interventions and Lullabies but never got around to Dog Problems, this album will not make any sense to you in terms of progression. Dog Problems is an absolute masterpiece, go get it immediately.

June 1, 2010: Ludo

Artist: Ludo
Album: You're Awful, I Love You
Year: 2008

At their worst, Ludo are an above average pop-punk band. At their best, Ludo are awkwardly hilarious, incredibly clever pioneers that are guaranteed to to brighten your day with a front man guaranteed to give you nightmares. The highlights of the album are incendiary, compelling and obvious: lead single "Love Me Dead", "Drunken Lament", "Lake Pontchartrain", "Go-Getter Greg". There are more good tracks littering the album, including "Topeka" and "The Horror Of Our Love"; however, the band is inconsistent, and some tracks in the album meander off into forgettable territory. The highlights easily make up for this, and for that I highly recommend giving it a spin.

Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XH3oMNKApI