The Brooklyn-based rock band Fang Island captured an infectious sound on its self-title LP in 2010, and its follow up album, Major , demonstrates the band's signature positive vibes, this time conveyed through lyrics rather than solely with its unorthodox instrumentation. Hyped on the same energy found in kindergarten classrooms, the trio is as doe-eyed as ever, and happily so with lyrics that shout "I hope I never understand." Reveling in the unknown, Fang Island offers its buoyant tone on Major , but don't let the power piano opener of "Kindergarten" fool you. The lead-in track sets a poppy [...]
The Edinburgh-based quartet The Winter Tradition demonstrated its pop/rock sensibility on its debut album Gradients , released earlier this month. Combining the alternative rock of the early 2000s with the indie rock of the late 2000s, the album is an easy and familiar listen with moments of beautiful instrumentation. "Firelight" opens the records with "Send The Waves" opens with a sweet xylophone melody that lasts throughout the entire track and is joined by trickling guitar riffs and licks that add punch to the delicate song. The Winter Tradition's jangly guitars drive each track and add a beachy feel to [...]
The four Londoners in the post-punk band The Vaccines turned the volume up for their band's new EP, No Hope . A four track effort, the EP is a straight forward and raw effort that includes two live versions of the title track. "No Hope" is a critique of the self-centered mentality of adolescents growing up, trying to figure out who they are and not giving a damn about anything else besides themselves. If you don't recognize this phase in your life, you're still in it! The Vaccines have a hit home on a universally relevant theme, one that [...]
Don't be put off by the strange title of Steve Poltz's newest record, Noineen Noiny Noin . The 2012 album is a dyamic two-disc effort that explores human emotions with a tone that matches the quirkiness of its odd title. Poltz takes listeners on an 18-track journey that criss-crosses between genres while staying true to his indie folk/rock sound. The first track of the album introduces the chaos of the songs to come. "Spirit Hands" describes a reverse coming of age story in which Poltz loses himself after already having found himself once before. Instead of reveling [...]
Indie rock outfit Time and Space Society's 2012 album Welcome Inside My Head, is the bands first release since its 2007 debut. Once again utilizing English lyrics, the Hamburg/Berlin-based band completed an intimate album about the inner workings of the mind, one that chronicles the quick progression from happiness to sadness, confidence to self consciousness. Opening with "White Lights," the album begins with a buoyant track that acts as a nice introduction to front man Claas Hoffman's gaudy voice and Time and Space's guitar-driven rock. With a whistled opener and a barrage of drum and bass, the song [...]
The lo-fi project of multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Laura Burhenn, Mynabirds released its . The album opens with "Karma Debt," a hypnotic track that sets the tone for the politically-driven indie rock album. Set to a slow tempo, the tune snakes through a mixture of playful and sinister beats and begs for revolution, on both a small and grand scale. On the title track, she asserts "we got strength in numbers... get your black boots on" for a smoldering call to arms. Burhenn's vocal styling comes out best in "Buffalo Flower," a ballad that speaks to individuals and alludes to the [...]
Like any other sucker for rock and roll, I’m partial to reverberating guitars and cheeky tambourines. So while I’m predisposed to enjoy Strange Grey Days by Vancouver-based band Chains of Love, the album fails to highlight the driving force behind the group’s garage soul sound, vocalist Nathalia Pizarro. Channeling Mary Weiss of the Shangri Las, Pizarro owns every woeful ballad and contemptuous cry on Strange Grey Days but struggles through superfluous processions of organ and drums, making the otherwise fine instrumentation sound rather grating by the end of each track. That being said, each [...]
Joe Corrales Jr. realized the full potential of a mixed genre sound with his 2012 album and third release under the moniker Yppah, Eighty One . Having named the album after his year of birth, Corrales (who was 31 when the album dropped earlier this year) seems to be more fascinated with life, or perhaps less jaded by reality, the older he gets. Packed full of playful instrumentation and dreamy vocals, Eighty One is an invigorating celebration of being alive. The album is an exhibit of Corrales' style, and as a music listener who has grown tired of the monotonous indie electronic pop/rock [...]
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