Vinylworthy

It's been FAR too long since we last had a taste of the tarlike, uncartoonish-dark-circus machinations from Cosmo Sheldrake. After spending some time in the woods sampling birds on the next album and in the ocean for his last album, there was a fear that we would slowly watch the pathway between what listeners want and what Cosmo is fixated on split. It's by no means the first time that's happened; for myself, watching MGMT contentedly reap royalties on their debut while they making boring albums at their pace makes me happy for them--but I hate it. You can't make good music that you aren't invested in, though. What a relief, then, to hear the opening track Gnort or Gnortle for the new album Eye to the Ear . It's more than a little similar to Hocking , acting as a bullhorned announcement that Cosmo has returned to society. It all comes rushing back: the nontraditional loops, the weird applica...

The debut album for the Broken Bells is one that has a lot of personal connection for me. James Mercer of the Shins, Danger Mouse of everything hazy, it was going to be good for those reasons alone. Since I was in a transitional period of my life, the lyrics and the lazy/hazy acoustic-forward indie sound of needing change resonated something hard. It is one I still love for the quality of the music, and I think it sits near the top of both artist's discography. It went under the radar if you ask me.  This followup, After the Disco , might get a little more attention. It's more energetic, colorful, and hook laden. I won't insult the creators by accusing them of trying to appease the Billboard gods, but there's little doubt it's the more accessible between the two. There's a lot of great areas for their voices to pick through when it comes to the more upbeat tunes--not that either has ever shied away from uptempo. That's not to say this is happy album, though....

 At the beginning of Actor , you might, like myself, assume that Annie Clark (St. Vincent) has sold out, accepting how successful she can be making music to headline alongside Regina Spektor. That's not as much shade thrown to Spektor as I make that sound, but to fans of Marry Me , the opening moments of Actor feel like betrayal. There's a comfort of familiarity in this alignment with the Fiona Apples and the Sara Barilles's of the world; when you have piano heavy, jeans wearin', Frutigerist vocals and production, it's not unfair to assume the pop world is your goal. Take this very first track on Actor : listen to that delicacy in Vincent's lilting voice over a weathered and flute heavy loop. Does it match the repeated whispers to paint the black hole blacker? Is this going to be cheap attempts at being edgy, or a deconstruction of piano-pop? Initially, it might be hard to decide whether Vincent has too much talent to waste on this kind of rock, or if she is go...

  For a couple albums it seemed like the quiet route would ultimately define Bon Iver's (Justin Verner) career, having massive talent but forgettable albums in a weird extended sophmore slump. I'm alone in that thinking because a) people obviously love his music, and b) he's never been as quiet as his reputation suggests. That was extremely clear when 22, A Million came out, blowing the doors off the hinges with.....mostly sleepy music behind rap production. Again, I'm alone in thinking this was a letdown, especially when Deathbreast was such a damn good banger . I did get my wish this time around: Iver doubled down on the marriage of his personal brand of folk and rap, and they feel more than adjacent. He's made those rap inspirations in his own style; what normally is built to support someone speaking with intensity and intricate cadence has been rebirthed to follow Vernon's woodsy aesthetic. Even better, Justin has taken a step forward in songwriting t...

It's a debate as old as radio: the old stuff is better, right? For me, that means roughly music from 10-15 years ago, as I cut my teeth on it. It's just a tiring willful resistance to what current music is bringing to the table, characterized by what it isn't. Remember Of Monsters And Men's Little Talks ? Remember how repetitive it was, how it didn't even have four chords for the majority of the song and no harmony? Make a dance version of it and it will fit right in with a lot of music today. A point that seemingly endlessly needs to be made, replacing the old band in the equation every few years. I get the feeling OMAM has heard that complaint a fair few times in their career. Nobody wants to be the example of a bad band from X era. Not a lot of bands successfully change their approach for the better, and I think OMAM reeally want to, as evidenced by FEVER DREAM. That's good! It's also....still not great. It's a "fake it until you make it" ...