Category Archives for Indie

Veenstra – “People & The Woods”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “I’m Sorry, I’m Lost” “The Hollow Realm”

“People & The Woods” is the third album in a trilogy – you can find my review of the second album, “Six Months of Death,” here – and it largely feels like the ending to a progressing narrative. It does what any finale to a trilogy should do, it kicks it up a notch. The album, much like the two previous, is wickedly lo-fi. It was all written and recorded by Francois Veenstra, and it often has the tone of an ambitious solo project. The trilogy isn’t exactly a happy one, as this album deals with finding yourself suddenly alone. While maybe not as existential of a topic as before, it’s one that’s just as striking.

This album has more of a band feel to it, although it is still a solo act. There are full band instruments on more of the tracks than before. For a finale, Veenstra wanted to go for a more cohesive feel. The album has a great balance because of it, with shorter, more ambient pieces intersecting some more traditional tracks. And the heaviness of the album’s story gets transferred through the varying volumes. Each sound, be it guitars, vocals, bass, drums, all are elements of the story. They’re never working against each other, instead complementing each other and working to fill a story. He continues to show an ability to switch up an album before any certain idea gets too old, providing for a very satisfying listen. It’s interesting that the album has just as much of a dreamy feel, despite the added instruments. Even with the increase, the album feels more sparing, more distant than before, and it helps it to feel just as lonely as the character.

The only real criticism I can muster is a slight dissatisfaction with the final track, “Mirror Lake.” Veenstra’s longer songs have often been some of the bigger opuses of the albums, but the song is instrumental and softer. On a purely sonic level, I was a little disappointed in a more subdued track to end the trilogy. But even then, I understand it on a level dealing with the album’s dark themes. Having a lighter, more ambient finale is a little haunting when you take the tone into account. Otherwise, I think it’s another solid experimental, lo-fi album. It won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s very good for those that it will. It’s a great finale, full of existential dream-pop and lo-fi rock that’ll likely stick in your mind for a while.

The album is available here.

-By Andrew McNally

Los Campesinos! – “No Blues”

(Photo Credit: Pitchfork)

Grade: C+

Key tracks: “Cemetery Gaits” “Avocado, Baby”

Do you remember being happy? Do you remember what it feels like? On “No Blues,” the Welsh (not Spanish) indie sextet Los Campesinos! seem to have remnants of happiness. The band that once sang about Spiderman and the seductive nature of envelopes in fast, poppy songs with a double-dose of cheer and enthusiasm, ended up getting very sad very quickly. I’ll put on their 2010 album “Romance is Boring” when I feel like listening to the saddest thing in my entire music collection. And while that album is perfect, their 2011 follow-up “Hello Sadness” just wallowed in it’s own misery, permanently midtempo and self-indulgent to a too abrasive point. “No Blues” seems to be a turn-around of sorts – there’s glimpses of joy, even if they feel nostalgic. There’s still no cheery twee-pop, but there’s a diversity and a more then-and-now, complete sound that was sorely lacking on “Hello Sadness.”

The first few tracks aren’t really remarkable. They’re still wandering around in a medium tempo and hazy confusion. LC! are at their best when they’re on a mission – which always results in either intense, slow songs or quick and bouncy ones. These early meddling ones, like most of “Hello Sadness,” don’t seem to know what purpose to serve. “For Flotsam,” “What Death Leaves Behind” and the misplaced acoustic track “A Portrait of the Trequartista as a Young Man” don’t exactly start the album off on the right footing. But the repetitive and engaging synth riff on “Cemetery Gaits” is hauntingly nostalgic – like a musical equivalent of looking through old photo albums. This track, more than any other on “No Blues,” portrays the album’s theme of longing nostalgia.

Not every following track lives up, but many do – “As Lucerne / The Low” displays the same sentiment. “The Time Before the Last Time” acts as a quiet and begrudging acceptance of the present, before the rousing (if not overlong) finale of “Selling Rope (Swan Dive to Estuary).” “Avocado, Baby” even borders on fun, something we haven’t gotten from the band since the morbidly entertaining “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” album.

The beauty of LC!’s albums is how there’s always a few stand-out tracks that can be repeated endlessly. “You! Me! Dancing!” didn’t get old before Budweiser commercials, and it still hasn’t. “Miserabilia,” “Straight In at 101,” even “By Your Hand” from “Hello Sadness” are ones that will never get old to me. This album will probably take a few more listens to get into, but I can really only see “Cemetery Gaits” and “Avocado, Baby” being songs to listen to frequently. The album still meddles, and even when it’s being thematic, it isn’t as catchy any other LC! album before it. The metaphors and honest lyrics are all still there, as is Gareth Campesinos!’s reliant vocals. It just all feels a little too introspective; a little too personal. It’s certainly an improvement over “Hello Sadness,” thematically and musically, and the tonal shifts back towards lighter times is very welcome. This is by no means a mediocre album. And with a few more (definite) listens, the grade might get bumped up. It’s just some of the magic over the first three very, very different albums seems to have gone away, and they’re only semi-trying to get it back.

-By Andrew McNally

Sleigh Bells – “Bitter Rivals”

(Photo Credit: http://www.stereogum.com)

Grade: C+

Key Tracks: “Bitter Rivals,” “Minnie”

What’s a band to do when they can’t shock listeners anymore? They do the opposite – they give us what we don’t expect. This is what Sleigh Bells have struggling with since the release of their perfect 2010 debut, “Treats.” “Treats” has proved itself as the loudest and most abrasive alternative album of the century, mixing hip-hop beats and pop vocals over the crunching,  amp-destroying guitar. But the band’s follow-up, 2012′s “Reign of Terror” attempted to even volume with songwriting, resulting in an abysmally boring album that failed at both. “Bitter Rivals” isn’t great, but the band expands their sound in a promising way.

The title track starts the album. Alexis Krauss’s exuberant “Hi!” gets followed by snapping and an acoustic 12 bar blues rhythm, which feels intentionally deceiving to new listeners. When the lyrics – “It was the best of times / It was the worst of times / I had to kill the new sheriff in town” finally kick in, they bring that debut album intensity with them. It’s very reminiscent of “Treats” – ear-shatteringly loud but so catchy that it’ll get in your head permanently. The song does feel a little more influenced, though, and that picks up as the album goes on. Follow-up tracks “Sugarcane,” “Minnie” and “Sing Like a Wire” are loud but varied, as the band has finally figured the keys to writing actual tracks that exist beyond volume.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stay as bombastic, as the songs get less memorable. Their embracing of other instruments and continued use of acoustic is great, but once the balance of songwriting and volume starts to tip in the favor of the former, the album loses steam. Some, like “Tiger Kit,” manage to work just based on principle, but others like “You Don’t Get Me Twice” are largely unoriginal. Also, Sleigh Bells aren’t known for long works – all three albums have a total 31 songs – but this album’s 29 minute length just doesn’t feel like enough.

It is definitely a step forward. The band welcomes everything that it’s debut seems to have turned away, because they know they need to stay fresh. “To Hell With You” is even kind of a slow song, and while it isn’t great, it’s a lot different. The songs have depth and less predictability than before. “Treats” is still far and away their best album, but “Bitter Rivals” is certainly an improvement over their sophomore album, and represents steps in the right direction.

-By Andrew McNally

Cage the Elephant – “Melophobia”

(Photo Credit: IGN)

Grade: B

Key Tracks: “Come A Little Closer,” “It’s Just Forever”

Cage the Elephant’s previous album, 2011’s “Thank You Happy Birthday,” was a nearly-perfect throwback to the early 90’s grunge bands like Mudhoney, Pixies and the Meat Puppets. “Melophobia” kicks it back even further, embracing that sound with healthy doses of 60’s harmonies and 70’s rhythms.

On the whole, the songs on “Melophobia” are not quite as fast or rowdy as those on the predecessor, but previous great ballads like “Rubber Ball” and “Back Against the Wall” have shown us that the band can handle pretty much whatever they feel like trying to do. They do have moments of speed and distortion, the best being “It’s Just Forever,” a song that has a great guest spot from Alison Mosshart and sounds more like a Libertines-style garage song than anything else. “Teeth” also starts off as a late-album surprise with this speed, until it turns into music behind spoken word (something many bands try, usually unsuccessfully – it isn’t great here). This is a different Cage the Elephant, sonically, but not fundamentally. They’re still embracing decades worth of influence on each song.

Opening track “Spiderhead” has a backing keyboard beat that gives it a funky rhythm – like Fitz and the Tantrums waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Second track and leadoff single “Come a Little Closer” is a ballad in the same way 2011’s “Right Before My Eyes” is; it’s a pretty song, one that acknowledges the roughness behind it. Cage the Elephant has a way of making radio-friendly songs out of wild rhythms and rough vocals, and they continue that on “Melophobia.” The 60’s odes hit a peak on “Telescope,” whose chorus is lifted from a famous John Lennon quote (also, happy birthday John. Well timed, guys).

This album isn’t as inherently memorable as the two previous, because the songs feel a little more conventional on this album. On the whole, it doesn’t quite stand up to the band’s first two. But it is still a very enjoyable album. The band’s blending of typical structures and off-the-rails energy sounds even more perfected now, and they’re using 90’s angst on top of funkier rhythms and harmonies that sound straight from the 60’s. Although it’ll take a number of listens to learn, it further cements Cage the Elephant as one of alternative’s most unique and underrated bands.

If you like this, try: My all-time favorite album – Foxygen’s 2013 album “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic,” a self-referential indie duo ripped straight from Lou Reed.

-By Andrew McNally

Fuzz – “Fuzz”

(Photo Credit: Pitchfork)

Grade: B

Key Tracks: “What’s In My Head?” “One”

There’s been a few bands called Fuzz already, but no one deserves to inherit the name more than Ty Segall. Segall has already made a name for himself as the most prominent man in garage rock, never fearing to turn the volume and the distortion past the max. And with this debut of yet another side project, he’s matched his output from 2012. This, his solo “Sleeper” and an album with Mikal Cronin called “Reverse Shark Attack” are his 2013 contributions. His work isn’t consistently great, but it’s usually pretty reliable. “Fuzz” isn’t as good as Ty Segall Band’s relentless 2012 album “Slaughterhouse,” but that’s easily in my top 10 favorite albums.

Here’s the thing though – this isn’t a Ty Segall project. This is a band, one that wants to be seen as one. Ty Segall’s name shows up nowhere on the cover or in the band name. He doesn’t even play guitar – he’s on drums (and still on vocals). Fuzz is easily the most comprehensive-feeling project he’s done. Even “Slaughterhouse” showed how much Segall was in control. This is where “Fuzz” excels the most. It feels like a proper band. A very loud one.

The album starts with a feedback drone on “Earthen Gate” before starting the song on a crawling pace. The pace doesn’t last, but it helps to separate this from Segall’s other heavy works. “Fuzz” has the intensity, volume and distortion of “Slaughterhouse,” but purposely leaves out the speed. The tempos are largely pretty fast, but the songs take time to develop instead of blowing through at brutal, rapid paces. And there’s some experimentation, too. The album’s midpoint has two of the three longest songs – “Hazemaze” stops periodically and resets itself, and “Loose Sutures” has a lengthy period of near silence before Segall gets a drum solo. The closer, “One,” (the longest track) sets a blisteringly fast pace behind a punk beat and lets the band mess around on an instrumental finale.

The album has a feel of very early metal, back when it was kids in garages playing fast and loud while avoiding the simplicity of punk. “Fuzz” has a powerful, thrash element to it, thanks mainly to Charles Moothart’s pillars of guitar. Some simple riffs and solos turn a garage rock album into a classic rock-resembling one. But the album does feel a little repetitive at points. The volume you’d expect from a Segall project is there – “Preacher” is among the most assaulting songs he’s been involved with. But occasionally it rests just on the volume factor, which is nothing close to shocking for fans. And having the album’s longest track have such a long period of near-silence is pretty disappointing, as listeners might expect a soloing adventure. Luckily, it ends before it starts to get too gimmicky, and it ends on such a strong and fun track. We may never hear from Fuzz again, or they could release another album by March. But their debut is more than decent, with the loud and crunchy guitars we love, some great drum work, Segall’s strong voice (and a great vocal sub from Moothart), and that nostalgia factor. It’s not the best album Segall’s had his name on, but it does stand as one of the better ones.

If you like this, try: I’ll get out of Ty Segall because there’s so many garage-punk bands I love right now: Metz, Parquet Courts, Thee Oh Sees, FIDLAR, Pangea and the unforgettable Jay Reatard all have A++ albums to check out.

Lorde – “Pure Heroine”

(Photo Credit: http://www.ddotomen.com)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Royals,” “A World Alone”

Taylor Swift is twenty-three years old. Lorde, an up-and-coming singer from New Zealand, is seven years younger than her. But Lorde’s sound is already established and much more mature than Swift’s is. And she’s ousted Jake Bugg as 2013′s best new sixteen year old artist (sorry Jake). Lorde’s various singles and her “Love Club EP” have all been released within the last year, and have been strong enough to give her the meteoric rise to fame she’s enjoyed over the past two months. Her full-length, “Pure Heroine,” delivers on the minimalist pop her early singles have promised.

Fans of her hit “Royals” notice a medium tempo and a very relaxed attitude, and it’s consistent through the album. Opener “Tennis Court,” one of the three previously established songs on the album (the others being “Royals” and “Team”) sets the tone, with Lorde singing about arguments and iPhones over a synth drone. “400 Lux” sets a little more of a melodic tone – more rhythmic and a little faster, before transitioning into the minimalistic and extremely catchy big hit “Royals.” “Ribs” is a dreamier song, with both Lorde and the backing beat building up to a reverb climax that sounds like more of a finale. The next few tracks succumb to the minimalist idea too much and, although certainly not bad, aren’t as catchy or memorable. “White Teeth Teens” brings the tempo back up before leading into the great finale “A World Alone.”

Joel Little produced the album and is listed as a co-writer on six of the album’s ten songs, but Lorde still contributes enough of her own self to be a surprise for a sixteen year old. Her voice is impeccable, sometimes melodically beautiful, sometimes just a little gritty. And her lyrics are very poetic and mature, especially given what our other teen stars have given us lately. Lorde has been very influenced by royalty, and her mature look at the world is refreshingly original (and probably honest, “Royals” was written in 30 minutes). Musically, she took influence from Lana Del Ray, and that’s a little too apparent at times. But for the most part, pop, R&B, even doo-wop gets mixed together and watered down into some great minimal art pop. It’s tough to say whether Lorde will become huge, or if her music will eventually disconnect from audiences, but for now she’s given us a pretty solid and memorable debut.

-By Andrew McNally

Yuck – “Glow and Behold”

(Photo Credit: Pitchfork)

Grade: D

Key Tracks: “Middle Sea,” “Rebirth”

I have to praise Yuck for sticking around and even releasing a follow-up to their fuzz-drenched 2011 debut. Daniel Blumberg, the frontman for the band, left earlier this year. So the remaining members promoted Max Bloom to lead vocals, but the magic of their debut just isn’t here. They sound more conventional, and for a throwback band, that isn’t at all a good thing.

2011 was a good year for 90’s throwbacks – Cage The Elephant’s “Thank You Happy Birthday” channeled the Pixies and the Meat Puppets, and Yuck’s debut channeled Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement. Their debut was so drenched in feedback and reverb that it resembled shoegaze, even though the songs were too rhythmic and catchy. “Get Away” has always and will always be in my personal top 20. “Glow and Behold” turns down the reverb and fuzz. It doesn’t completely do away with it, but the focus here is much more on the songs themselves. What we get is some largely unremarkable indie-rock with a touch of distortion. The opening track, “Sunrise in Maple Shade” is a lighter instrumental track that sounds like a calm before a storm – but the storm never really comes. Only “Middle Sea,” at the album’s midpoint, can match volume with distortion properly.

Blumberg was a great frontman, because he brought a certain magic to the band. The songs seem uninspired now. Titles like “Out of Time” and “Somewhere” just sound so much more dull than 2011’s “Suicide Policeman” and “Holing Out.” And Bloom’s vocals don’t seem to fit the band’s sound. This is unfortunate, because of the circumstances (and I think promoting within shows a real sense of unity and confidence amongst members), but Blumberg’s nasally snare sounded far better in 90’s jams than Bloom’s lower, clearer vocals do. They’re channeling some more unremarkable 90’s bands now. The intentions are there, but “Glow and Behold” is both musically and vocally a disappointment to their legendary debut.

-By Andrew McNally

Kira Velella – “Daughter”

(Photo credit: bandcamp.com)

Grade: A-

Singer-songwriter Kira Velella’s debut EP finds her among the likes of Eleanor Friedburger, Laura Marling, and Waxahatchee, all relatively interchangeable but impeccable musicians. Velella’s soothing acoustic guitar matches her sweet, high voice in a mix that easily could’ve been bland but is pretty and catchy enough to be a very pleasing listen.

“Lover, Move” starts after a couple seconds of silence with a quiet and rhythmic guitar line. The EP’s longest song, it is just Velella, singing and playing guitar. It’s a pretty folk song – they all are. “Come Down” and “Blood Moon” are the same (although “Come Down” has a very effective moment towards the end when Velella dubs over herself vocally). “Act Your Age” and “Barn Swallow” have subtle electric guitar behind Velella, breaking up the solely acoustic sound. And the finale, “Found Her, Found Her” benefits from hand clapping and Velella’s washboard playing, which sounds as percussive as it does rhythmic.

Velella’s voice is vulnerable and beautiful. The soprano pitch of her singing complements the clean sound of her guitar. Velella wisely went for a polished production, instead of a lo-fi, fuzzy sound. It is as nostalgic for 70’s folk as it is current indie-folk, and it’s refreshing, as many indie-folk singer-songwriters have been branching a little too far out lately. It’s simple while being complex, catchy, and it all works, so it succeeds as a folk album. It’s a promising debut, and Velella’s music could fit right in alongside her established contemporaries.

The album is available here.

If you like this, try: Waxahatchee. Her all-acoustic debut, “American Weekend,” is more related to Velella, but her sophomore album, “Cerulean Salt,” is better overall.

-By Andrew McNally

Why? – “Golden Tickets”

(Photo Credit: thelineofbestfit.com)

Grade: D

This is a really frustrating one, because any review should be based solely on the music. The concept behind this EP is brilliant and unique, but the actual execution is mediocre. The concept behind this album is that the indie-folk-rap group “stalked” their superfans online to learn information about them, and write songs about them. It’s a little creepy, but the odes are nice. Each fan gets the “golden ticket” of having a song based off them, and the band in turn sold each song online individually, proceeds going to various disaster reliefs. It was all for a good cause, and Why?’s big fans get songs written about them. In most of the seven tracks, frontman Yoni Wolf takes on the personae of the fans.

Beyond the concept, though, everything feels largely phoned in. There’s no indication that there is a concept behind the album, I only came across it when looking up information on the EP. What it sounds like instead is Wolf adopting random identities for the sake of poetry – something he has done on previous Why? songs. The first three tracks all have either “Me name is” or “I am” as introductory lines. He barely raps, often doing a more melodic talking that sounds pretty disinterested. And musically, the band has traditionally written interesting pieces of music – often filled with tempo changes and genre melding. But on “Golden Tickets,” they largely just create simple structures and stand by them, doing nothing to complement Wolf.

“Dropjaw” is the worst offender, and was based off the best concept. A fan sent the band a video of him mouthing a wordless monologue, and Wolf wrote lyrics to what he imagined him saying. Again, it’s a great concept – but Wolf’s rhythmless, medioce Jamaican accent that he adopts is off-putting. The final song, “Peta Godfrey,” is the album’s only real good point. Wolf sings at points, actually sounding interested, and the band has crafted what feels like a good old Why? song.

As a very big fan of Why?, this felt like a weird misstep. It’s great that they’re doing something like this for their fans, but the execution felt very flawed. I’ve enjoyed everything they’ve done up to now, so a little misstep is fine, but “Golden Tickets” is really a missed opportunity. For someone looking on getting into the band, this is not the best place to start.

-By Andrew McNally

Grouplove – “Spreading Rumors”

(Photo Credit: grouplovemusic.com)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Ways To Go,” “Shark Attack”

When Grouplove’s first three hits – “Colours,” “Itchin’ on a Photograph” and “Tongue Tied” – emerged two years ago, they were getting fairly graded as another folksy indie band, one that added enough outside elements to be separated from bands like Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, but didn’t add enough to be overly interesting. I, for one, expected their sophomore album to be focused on diversifying a couple of potential singles that are cemented amongst some average folk tunes. This was generally what their debut, “Never Trust A Happy Song,” was. But this album is radically different, embracing as many influences as possible. The band shifts away from folk, adding synths and volume. For the most part, it all blends well.

Christian Zucconi, the primary singer for the band, has always seemed to have a little grit or edge to his voice, that other indie-folk singers try not to have. It’s what made their early hits sound unique (plus “Tongue Tied”‘s rapping), and it’s one of the driving forces behind this album’s welcome diversity. His voice is strong, and the very unique sound of it never really gets tiring. Fellow singer Hannah Hooper gets some more moments, too. “Didn’t Have to Go” gives her a whole electro-ballad to shine as Christian takes a backseat.

Musically, the album is far more diverse than expected, and it rarely wallows in its ideas. The band wasn’t experimenting for the sake of it, these are carefully planned songs. The opener, “I’m With You,” is a mid-tempo song that’s got enough to stand on its own, but is really there to reinforce the loud and electric follow-up, “Borderlines and Aliens.” This is the song where the band really shows it’s change from their first album, with a fast and heavy song. Lead single “Ways to Go” features a prominent synth rhythm, which sounds unexpected at first until the next track, “Shark Attack,” goes into full EDM mode. Luckily, the band keeps up the diversity instead of letting the album’s first half carry the second.

There are some weak spots, some less than memorable songs and one track made uncomfortable by some awkward profanity. But overall, “Spreading Rumours” is a delight, and a fulfilling listen. It’s better than their debut, though it’s tough to compare the two. Grouplove seems even more like an anomaly in the indie-folk world, gleefully going to places other bands have vowed never to go to. That is, if we can still refer to Grouplove as “indie-folk.” It’ll be interesting to see where the band goes next, but for now, we can enjoy “Spreading Rumours.”

If you like this, try: The Bravery. The band was overshadowed by the meteoric rise of the Killers and unfairly forgotten. Through three albums, they drastically changed their sound and approach, like Grouplove does here.

-By Andrew McNally