Tagged: lightermellowrock

Sound: A major departure from the raucous, arty London punk of their 2007 debut What's The Time Mr. Wolf? Wild Young Hearts is much softer and sweeter. Nearly every track has a throwback vibe—either '60s Motown, '70s disco or '80s electro pop—with a slight modern twist...

Sound: A rotating cast of mostly female vocalists delivers soulful, seductive and memorable melodies as the backdrop jumps from groovy electro pop to breezy folk to danceable indie rock to easy listening...

Sound: Over the last few years, Thrice – and their frontman Dustin Kensrue as a solo artist – have been fearlessly expanding their capabilities. Progressive, melodic aggression, reflective, atmospheric rock and folky, country-flavored folk have been major components of their releases this decade and demonstrated possibilities far beyond their punk/hardcore roots. On Beggars they effectively shift back and forth between all of these recent developments in their sound...

Note: The latest release from The Black Crowes is essentially a double album of new material (and a Stephen Stills cover) that was recorded live in the studio in front of an intimate audience. Sound ( Before the Frost… ): As usual, the Crowes' music pays a heavy debt to the past, particularly the late '60s and '70s output from artists like The Rolling Stones, Faces, and Crosby, Stills and Nash...

Sound: There are at least three types of songs on here – the light, wistful acoustic reflection, the pulsing, pleasing mid-tempo indie pop tune and the hard-stomping, rocker. Most songs incorporate some soft, subtle organ and strings that create a sweet, yearning atmosphere that's frequently peppered by Amy Cole's innocent and airy harmonies. But these gentler sounds are often balanced by Paul Banwatt's feverish percussion...

Sound: The songs often have a classic, Americana flavor—though not nearly as vintage as the stuff on 2007's Sky Blue Sky —with some more modern, aggressive touches like squalling feedback, throbbing piano, and funky bass—but it's certainly less experimental than 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or 2004's A Ghost is Born ...

Sound: A significantly mellower and simplified version of The Mars Volta. Last year's The Bedlam in Goliath found the aggressive prog rock experimentalists evolve by creating compositions that resembled long songs, instead of free-form multi-sectioned jams and sound manipulations. But Octahedron is even more streamlined—only 50 minutes of music, considerably fewer errant musical interludes, and fewer layers of instrumentation...

Sound: Regina worked with four different veteran pop/rock producers on Far and the result is the slickest album she's released to date—her piano-driven, chirpy pop songs and precious meditations lack the rough edges of the past...

Sound: A mix of psychedelic folk with hippie-friendly harmonies (think Crosby, Stills & Nash, Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane), dreamy, wall-of-sound orchestrations with warm falsetto melodies and otherworldly choirs (think Pet Sounds -era Beach Boys), trippy jazz-fusion rock (think early Pink Floyd) and progressive chamber pop (think Gentle Giant)...

Note: Ain't Too Bright is the debut album from a band formed in the wake of The Comas' (who had my #39 album of 2007 with Spells ) indefinite hiatus. Comas co-founder Andy Herod is the singer/songwriter/multi-instru mentalist/producer behind Electric Owls, and he's joined by Jason Caperton (The Comas) on guitar, Matt Gentling (Band of Horses, Archers of Loaf) on bass and Cully Symington (The Gutter Twins) on drums...

Note: This is the first album credited to Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (i.e. the group of musicians that played on Conor's 2008 self-titled album and have been touring with him for the past year). The big difference between this full-length and last year's release is that his bandmates write and sing lead vocals on nearly half the songs, a drastic difference from any of Conor's previous releases as a solo artist or as the mastermind behind Bright Eyes and Desaparecidos...

Note: This is the third album from the Victoria, British Columbia band that includes Kathryn Calder (member of The New Pornographers and niece of The New Pornographers' mastermind Carl Newman) on keyboards/vocals. Sound: Snappy, catchy indie pop with alternating male and female lead vocals and multi-part harmonies...

Sound: As usual, frontman Finn Andrews' vocals display a dynamic range—sometimes suave, other times aching, and occasionally building into a possessed frenzy. The music covers even more territory. From classic Brit pop to atmospheric, guitar/piano rock; from explosive aggression to delicate introspection...

Sound: A sparse and icy version of electro dance pop and '80s-esque, new wave rock. Synth melodies are scarce and guitar riffs are even scarcer as percussion and melodic voices propel most of the tracks. The rhythm-and-hook-heavy album incorporates a variety of claps and clinks to help create its stark but buoyant atmospheres...

Note: The Hazards of Love is a concept album—a 17-track song cycle with recurring musical and lyrical themes and a narrative thread from start to finish. Using ancient language it tells the mythical tale of a woman violated by a shape-shifting animal, her lover, a murderer and a fearsome queen. Sound: Vintage British folk, chamber-like indie pop, hard-chugging rock and sludgy heavy metal collide as one style gracefully segues into the next and recurs throughout...

Sound: The raucous, fuzzy, guitar rock and wistful, epic power ballads we've come to expect from Yeah Yeah Yeahs are here—all, of course, feature frontwoman Karen O's wails and moans. The big change this time around, though, is synthesizers. Whether they use them to make arena-sized, atmospheric rock or funky, danceable pop...

Sound: Sweet, sometimes whimsical indie pop with an electro lounge-like flavor, immaculate, rich production and an avant-garde edge. The most dependable sounds are Galia Durant's nasal, sexy vocals and the deep arsenal of warm synths and organs. They also work in bouncy strings, choppy guitars, squeaking horns...

Sound: A mix of folky reflections and rural-flavored indie rock that can be both majestic and haunting. Twinkling piano, humming strings, echoey background voices, a brooding saxophone and even an eerie old music box add vivid colors to the mix. But the most important instrument on any Neko Case release is, of course, her powerful, resonating vocals...

Note: This is the second album from Jason Isbell since the singer/songwriter/guitarist left the Drive-By Truckers. Unlike his debut LP Sirens of the Ditch , which features performances and production from members of his former band, 400 Unit includes no Truckers contributors. Sound: A mix of roots rock, alt country, laid-back blues and southern soul that bounces between mid-tempo grooves, breezy reflections and riffin' rockers...

Sound: The latest from the biggest rock band in the world flaunts touches of the experimentalism (twinkling synthesizers, electronic sounds, Eastern chord progressions) of their most avant-garde albums ( Zooropa , Pop ), but those daring moments are few and far between. The scuzzy guitar sounds they debuted on 1991's Achtung Baby actually pop up more frequently. But overall, it really just sounds like another U2 album...