Daughters – Daughters
Posted by gang sines | Filed under Uncategorized
The mediocrity of your favorite band (and they are quite mediocre) is admirable; you’re a modest man (or perhaps woman) and the modesty will take you far in life. But now is not the time for modesty. Now is the time to listen to Daughters. Do I mean the album or the band? I mean both, simultaneously, a process facilitated by the recent release of a self titled album amidst the disintegration of the outfit and subsequent reforming lacking guitars or bass (no doubt they will still rock harder than “Wolf Parade”, the previous artist touted as quality on this world wide web log).
The album itself, released on Hydra Head, is quite the experience. You will find yourself contorted by the music in ways you never thought possible. If you are from Chapel Hill you might even tap your foot instead of just standing in the back of whatever room you’re in bobbing your head and sipping a Pabst Blue Ribbon with lingering irony. It is, viewed alone, a good album. But I feel I must qualify this statement. Despite the quality of this album, it left me longing for something. This is not the Daughters I am looking for. “Hell Songs”, deposited-still warm-into our “retro” discmen in 2006, did things with music I hadn’t heard before and haven’t heard since, tragically not even on “Daughters”. But as far as heavy metal albums go, this one is excellent. Vocalist “Alexis Marshall” continues dousing each song in the nigh-satanic swagger from “Hell Songs”, continuing his trend of not falling into the grindcore classic of screaming, and while the guitar/bass work is much more reminiscent of death metal, it stands well when not viewed in the shadow of its predecessor. Rest easy, friends; you can enjoy this album and still have liked Daughters before they sold out.
Though this album was the cause of the tragic schism of the band, due to Mitchell’s disdain for the broader appeal of the album, do not be discouraged. You will find plenty of moments to love even if the sudden shift was not anticipated. My first listen through was quite enjoyable once the shock of realizing that the band had veered towards more mainstream sounds wore off. So I recommend you purchase it if you are inclined towards this sort of music; if you like it, explore the band’s back catalog and find new things that make this $13.99 plus shipping and handling well worth it. If you’ve heard their old material, give it a chance and pretend the band’s name was something like “Pig Rot” or “Corpse Conga Line” or “Withered Wight Weiner” before you dismiss it for deviating too far from what you know and love.
Also I have literally no idea what the lyrics are but it says in the little booklet if you really care that much.
Long live guraey metal.
Tags: awesome, grindcore, metal
Wolf Parade – Expo 86
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under album review
So I’m bad at being consistent at this, but I’ve heard a lot of great stuff lately, so I’m going to try and get it all up here.
Most recently, Wolf Parade’s Expo 86. This is their third album, and one of the few bands I know who have put out music with such consistent quality. Expo 86 is awesome, that perfect mix of mellow and awesome that never fails to satisfy.
They start with Cloud Shadow on the Mountain, which starts a little awkwardly, but picks up steam and sets a really good tone for the rest of the album.
What Did My Lover Say? (track 3) might be one of my favourite tracks. The guitar work is amazing, and everything else comes together really well. Really listening to the lyrics on this one, which I don’t really do, and they don’t make any sense. There’s a series of general observations, and the general overtones of failed relationships. Hopefully no one’s heart was broken.
For those who wish it was still the 80′s, might I recommend Ghost Pressure? Synth music like crazy, and so much more.
I could gush on and on about this album, and if you want me to, feel free to call me up and ask me just how much I like Wolf Parade.
As usual, you can buy it on amazon
Tags: canada, expo 86, indie, indie rock, rock, spencer krug, sub pop, wolf parade
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under album review
I realize it’s been a while, but whatevs. The gorillaz busted out a new album, and it might possibly be their best. It’s called Plastic Beach, and it’s hella sweet. Some backstory, I first heard about it when I saw the music video for Stylo (spoiler: wtf Bruce Willis?).
Overall the whole album is pretty great, but it starts to lose steam as it gets near the end. On the other hand, its a 16 track album, so I can’t really blame them. Of all their new songs, Superfast Jellyfish might be my favourite. Now I’ve linked you to a video that claims to be “official” but I have my deep dark reservations. It doesn’t actually have the gorillaz in it? and the video from the gorillaz user is just a still shot. So count me dubious.
I would definitely recommend checking this out
Tags: gorillaz, plastic beach, rock
Once again! With feeling!
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under album review
Going to refrain from posting a best of 2009 (or 2000s) because I haven’t been paying attention for even a fraction of that. I will however try to start keeping up with this again.
This week I’ve been with a couple new releases that make me pretty happy.
Firstly, Ok Go’s 3rd album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. I appreciate the spelling of colour, I do not appreciate how long the title is. Listening to it right now and it’s pretty good. So far I haven’t felt anything grip me like off of their first two albums, but I haven’t been paying a whole lot of attention, and lala.com wont let me replay songs unless I pay for them. What kind of scam is that?
Ok, I take it back. They go out with a bang. Track 13, In the Glass is pretty sweet. Good time for me to start paying attention again.
Also of note this week… Vampire Weekend’s Contra.
But we’ve known what that cover looks like for a while now. And all of this albums seems to have bled into existence over the past year, so I’m hardly counting it as a new release.
Nonetheless, a good album. Because of the hype surrounding it, there’s lots of places you can go read about it, pitchfork, twitter, whatever strikes your fancy.
Anyways, 2 albums in 1 post! Don’t get used to it folks. If my track record is to be believed, don’t even bother getting used to my posting. It is sporadic and unreliable.
You can buy them on amazon, Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky
Tags: 2010, album, blog, colour, contra, indie, of the blue colour of the sky, ok go, pitchfork, rock, twitter, vampire weekend
Dj Tiësto & Sneaky Sound System – I Will Be Here
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under music video
Ugh, I’ve been lazy lately. Here’s a bitchin music video from Dutch DJ Tiësto and Australian dance music group Sneaky Sound System. It’s set in Tokyo, and I’m pretty sure that this dude is a robot.
Found it on the blog Pink Tentacle, which is a really sweet compilation of Japan related art and awesome.
Tags: austalia, dance, dj tiësto, dutch, japan, music video, pink tentacle, robot, sneaky sound system, tokyo
Boris – H.M.A. – Heavy Metal Addict
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under music video
Having a hard time coming up with anything decent this week. So… cop-out, music video time! This is a music video by Boris, and I’m pretty sure the band feature in the video is not Boris. But they do set guitars on fire.
Right now I’m listening to Elliott Brood (so many double letters!) and really enjoying them. Mountain Meadows
Tags: boris, canada, elliott brood, fire, heavy metal, indie, japan, mountain meadows, thrash band
Built to Spill – There is No Enemy
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under album review
This week, Built to Spill. I don’t want to talk about the Flaming Lips and Embryonic. In fact, I haven’t even heard it yet. I’ll definitely make time to do so at some point, I hear it’s good, but right now I’m really enjoying last weeks There is No Enemy.
Starts out with Aisle 13. And that’s a good place to start an album. Seeing as I can’t identify instruments by sound, I’m going to make up names for them. The Quentin Tarantino (bass maybe?) in the background was really solid. Really enjoyed the reverb, and overall think it added a lot to the song.
Hindsight asks the question “What about Canada?” twice, so they get props in my book.
There’s a really long bout of slower, melodic songs at this point. Personally, I’m a much bigger fan of a bit faster a pace, so while generally lovely, nothing really reaches out and grabs me here. Life’s a Dream is great, and Oh Yeah reminds me of a good Pink Floyd song. Really long and powerful, it builds and falls really well and drags you along for the ride.
Pat picks back up where I like my music. That’s a tempo that rocks, and at 2 minutes 40 seconds, it clocks in exactly where a rock song should.
Despite my apprehension about songs that I can’t mosh to, Things Fall Apart might be my favorite song on the album. The flow in the lines
It doesn’t matter if you’re good or smart
God damn it, things fall apart
really blows me away. Rhyming two sentences that sound like something someone would actually say is always really impressive. And the solo in the middle was musical genius.
I would highly recommend this album, and I’m going to refresh myself on the rest of their discography because of it.
Tags: built to spill, canada, indie, rock, there is no enemy
I Was Totally Destroying It – Green Means Go
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under free
More free single(s)!
I Was Totally Destroying It is from Chapel Hill NC and totally awesome. You can download the mp3 from The Daily Tar Heel if it catches your fancy. My high school friend Joe Mazzitelli is center back if you follow the link, and I have no fucking clue what he’s staring at.
Tags: chapel hill, free, green means go, i was totally destroying it, rock
Vampire Weekend – Horchata
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under free
Vampire Weekend has made available Horchata off their upcoming album Contra. You can listen to it here or off their site:
It’s not the best thing I’ve ever heard, but it’s certainly not bad, and who doesn’t love free stuff?
Tags: contra, embed, free, horchata, vampire weekend
Memory Tapes – Seek Magic
Posted by erik.wiffin | Filed under album review
This is Memory Tapes, Seek Magic, and really something special. It’s kindof an instrumental / ambient / trance thing. It’s the kind of thing that I would want my life to be soundtracked to. (Shut up spellcheck, soundtracked is totally a word)
I heard about this album from a pitchfork review, which you are encouraged to read, because Ian Cohen says it much better than I when he says things like “seems like every other day, an evocatively named band would come about and contribute to this glo-fi/dreambeat/chillwave thing that was perfect for those unbearably humid August nights rife with possibility” and “Initially, Seek Magic‘s power derives from an intensely personalized ability to unlock hidden chambers in our memory banks.” as well as a number of powerful summery metaphors that make me wish I had been hanging out with him this past summer, because I think he a much more musical one than I did.
The pitchfork review has a lala.com widget where you can stream the album, or you can buy it on amazon
Tags: ambient, instrumental, memory tapes, pitchfork, seek magic, summer, trance
