Category Archives for Rock

Neko Case – “The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You”

(Photo Credit: thelineofbestfit.com)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Night Still Comes,” “Man”

The full title of singer-songwriter Neko Case’s sixth solo album is “The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You” and it fits the album perfectly. The album sends across mixed emotions, signs of inner conflicting demons. “The Worse Things Get” is displayed by poetic questionings of everything, even her own identity. “The Harder I Fight” comes through in blue collar folk songs with strong, subtle grit. “The More I Love You” is declared through hauntingly beautiful odes to lovers. The mixing of emotions does not signify a lack of a theme; in fact, it is the theme. The album’s three interchanging segments all feel temporary and imperfect, as if she’s holding herself together as long as she can, until some emotion takes her over. The lyrical result isn’t a mixed album, but full parts of a human. And Case dominates the album as the sole voice, only occasionally calling on help from other musicians.

The music is reflective of the lyrical conundrums. The album’s second track “Night Still Comes” is a beautiful and building indie-folk song, one that gets followed by the speedy and electric-driven “Man.” “Man” also serves as the album’s most poetic and frightfully questioning song. Indie-folk bands usually have albums that stretch out into varying tempos and accompanying instruments, but Case goes further than most. “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” is an a capella, profanity-laden song. “Where Did I Leave That Fire” has an almost industrial and metrical feel to it, and the final three tracks are surprisingly upbeat, fun songs. The album is truly diverse musically. It’s only two faults are just a few too many saggy, subdued moments around the album’s middle, and the less-than-rewarding short lengths of most of the songs. But those are not nearly enough to tarnish the album.

The beauty of this album is the faintest subtext of grit and anger that plays under some beautiful music. There are a lot of conflicting pieces to this album, all of which come together and form an indecisive existence; a look inside a troubled person. At times fun, at times engaging, at times frustrating, it is what most singer-songwriters set out to do. It may have a few too many ideas, it isn’t completely memorable, and it may end a little too soon, but it is a beautifully wrapped folk album.

If you like this, try: Laura Marling’s “Once I Was An Eagle.” Entirely acoustic-based, but another varied album from a great singer-songwriter.

-By Andrew McNally

Arc & Stones – “Arc & Stones”

(Photo Credit: Arc & Stones Bandcamp)

Grade: B-

The debut EP from New York based band Arc & Stones doesn’t accomplish anything revolutionary, nor is it an extraordinary album. But each of the five tracks has just enough diversity, and just enough energy, to get stuck in your head. There is a catchy element to their music, and they use a combination of genres to flesh out what would otherwise be boring, rock songs. The band meshes rock, folk and soulful sounds to make five honest songs that sound kind of generic but have depth to them.

Opening track “Silence” spins the 90’s Black Crowes-inspired sound on its head by subtly building up sound and getting a little heavier than it seems. “Say Goodbye” greatly resembles some of the more radio-friendly 90’s rock bands like Collective Soul, building up from an acoustic rhythm to a big, fuzzy guitar ending. “Let Me Down” follows a piano and acoustic rhythm similar to the one that starts off “Say Goodbye,” largely staying in it before a bigger, group chorus at the end. “She’s Mine” is a louder track, bolstered by a bluesy guitar rhythm that adds some needed speed to the EP. Final track “Rise” is also centered an electric guitar rhythm, a catchier one. Every track is reminiscent of the folksy mid-90’s radio rock.

The band is consisted of Ben Cramer on lead guitar, Dan Pellarin on vocals and rhythm guitar, Joey Doino on drums and Eddy Bays on bass. Musically, they center more on a collective and friendly sound, and the unfortunate downside is that there isn’t much to speak of originality wise. The band does blend genres successfully, adding some emotion and soul to their more subdued moments, and it is more fine-tuned than most other bands of this nature. Pellarin’s lyrics, as evidenced by the song titles, aren’t anything that we haven’t heard already, but his voice is strong. Pellarin’s voice is soothing and honest, and he really adds the soul to the album, a needed diversity.

“Arc & Stones” isn’t overly memorable, but it is a promising debut release. The band might find their niche and gain a following. There are enough elements of rock, blues, folk and soul to keep the songs in your head for at least a little while afterwards. Part honest displays, part 90’s throwback, “Arc & Stones” might be the beginnings of a really good band.

If you like this, try: “Pyyramids” by Pyyramids (2013). Another decent debut from a band that shows a lot of potential.

-By Andrew McNally

Nine Inch Nails – “Hesitation Marks”

(Photo Credit: Consequence of Sound)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Copy of A,” “Came Back Haunted”

The most immediate thing about “Hesitation Marks” is that Trent Reznor went through some changes in his time off from Nine Inch Nails. There’s no way of knowing what, but forming a band with his wife and winning, of all things, an Academy Award both seem to have livened him up, just a little. “Hesitation Marks” is distinctly a Nine Inch Nails record – lengthy, synth-based tracks with many layers of sound. But there is something gone, and it’s the gloom-and-doom feel. I hesitate to say it’s ‘missing’ because Reznor never really sounds like he’s trying to recapture it. Instead of lyrics about fear of religion and death and mutilation, there’s more inward songs about betrayal and personal responsibility. There may be keyboards and synthesizers abound, but the songs are more structured and sound more accessible than previous Nine Inch Nails records. Reznor did something no one saw coming. He made a rock album.

This isn’t a bad thing, either, because it works for the most part. The album starts off with a 52 second intro, before kicking off with two of the faster songs, “Copy of A” and “Came Back Haunted.” A majority of the songs hover in the 5-6 minute range and follow typical rock song structures. The songs generally get slower as the album goes on, before ending with a 1:29 instrumental outro. Reznor concocted a typical rock album, just one that lacks in guitar.

“Hesitation Marks” lacks the heaviness that is present on nearly all of his past albums. “The Downward Spiral” was one of the best albums of the 90’s because of it’s wicked and menacing layers of volume. “Ruiner” actually sounded like an empire collapsing, and “March of the Pigs” was a better punk song than most punk bands are capable of writing. The layers are present on “Hesitation Marks,” but the outward anger is gone, both lyrically and musically. Instead, we get a more early-80’s sound, like Reznor opening the door a bit for Depeche Mode. While it’s disappointing on paper, Reznor still pulls it off remarkably. The album drags at points, and it’s less memorable than most NIN records, but it is still its own great thing. This is a different side of Reznor, still angry but at different targets, and flirting with commercialism. And at 61 minutes long, there’s a lot of it to take in.

-By Andrew McNally

White Lies – “Big TV”

(Photo Credit: The Vinyl Scout)

Grade: B-

Key Tracks: “Big TV,” “There Goes Our Love Again”

There’s something inherently interesting about White Lies. On paper, they’re doing nothing original, but their albums are entrancing. There are plenty of bands today doing 80’s throwbacks – the Killers, Muse and Editors jump to mind. But White Lies can add enough depth to their songs to make them their own, and not just rehashed ballads that wouldn’t please Ian Curtis at all. Their third album sees little in the way of ambition, similar to 2010’s “Ritual.” And with an overabundance of ballads, it shouldn’t be an enjoyable record at all. But leave it to White Lies to be able to entice the listener to keep the album on for unexplainable reasons.

The beauty of White Lies’ simplicity is how they don’t simply rebrand 80’s alt-ballads. Every song on this album is synth-driven, to the point where it acts as a running narrative. But they also take the counter-counter-culture 80’s gloom, a la Depeche Mode and non-hair metal bands. The album exists as a blending of two 80’s sounds, many years too late. Still more, they often add guitar crunch and painfully reflecting lyrics to kick it into today’s world. For music that sounds easy and repetitive, there are always a few things going on.

“Death” is easily the most ambitious song from the band. Sadly, it is the first track on their first album. With each album, they’ve relied more and more on this formula. While it still proves successful, the band is starting to drag. There are too many slow songs here. They’re broken up nicely by a few up-tempo songs, and two short instrumental interludes, a first for the band. But the album can’t help but feel a little bloated. While still entirely listenable, it begs the question of how long the band will be able to keep this going without getting too boring. Or too spacey. The album sounds more spacey, like Muse at their peak, before they too got too bloated and boring.

Still, the album is an intriguing listen, because White Lies are one of the few bands today that can pull off an album like “Big TV” and get away with it. It’s inexplicably enjoyable, though very faulted. The ballads come too early and too often, and many are forgettable on their own. As an album, though, each song works, and it results in a nice, somewhat easy listen.

If you like this, try: “Given to the Wild” by the Maccabees (2012), another album of largely down-tempo songs that’s still totally enjoyable.

-By Andrew McNally

John Mayer – “Paradise Valley”

(Photo Credit: Rolling Stone)

Grade: C+

Key Tracks: “Dear Marie,” “Call Me the Breeze”

It’s important to note that John Mayer underwent throat surgery last year, which sidelined him from the public eye and lessened the landing of his 2012 album, “Born and Raised.” “Paradise Valley” might suffer a small blow, too, although an extensive tour he’s currently on will help advertise. It’s important to note that because it explains the album’s subdued nature. After recovering from throat surgery, Mayer surely wanted to lay low and take things easy on the next album. There’s no reason to blame him for that. And there are some very quaint and pretty songs on the album, with an unusual eclecticism. But the little energy there is used up by the halfway point. It actually audibly drains out during the sixth track, slightly past the halfway point, and never comes back.

As with some of Mayer’s previous works (and in response to his recovery), the music is the primary focus of the album. It is still resembling of a pop album, but with sections of full instrumentation, often harmonica or guitar. Mayer is, admittedly, a phenomenal guitarist, and many songs feature his rambling, passionate solos. His guitar work proves that a good guitar solo doesn’t have to have any urgency or rapidity to it, as long as the emotion is there. The other good point musically is the slight eclectic nature. There are just enough blues and country elements thrown in to save the album from being too boring.

But it does get pretty boring. While it is often gorgeous, many of the songs are also forgettable. It’s a thin line, and the album falls on the wrong side of it a few too many times. No idea sticks around longer than it needs to, but the ones on the album’s latter half are often boring from the start. A cover of JJ Cale’s “Call Me the Breeze” (often wrongfully attributed to Lynyrd Skynyrd) bolsters the varying elements, and serves as a nice, unplanned tribute to the recently fallen blues hero.

Vocally, Mayer’s voice still sounds good when he wants it to. Again, it isn’t the focus, but adds a nice accompaniment to the music. It is still pop, after all. What may the album’s worst quality is two wasted guest spots. Mayer is alone on nine of the eleven tracks, so his two guest spots already feel a little out of place. The first, a song called “Who You Love” (the aforementioned, energy-draining sixth track) delegates Katy Perry to some harmonious background vocals, most of which could have just been recorded by a session singer. The second spot, “Wildfire,” features Frank Ocean on a song that’s only 1:26 long. Ocean mostly does that somehow-beautiful pitch-singing he does, resulting in what’s basically just an interlude. It’s almost as if Mayer and Ocean recorded the song out of necessity, to sign their names on a continued partnership. Ocean is one of the most talented and interesting people in music today, so the point of the song is largely lost.

Save the guest spots, there is nothing inherently wrong about the album. It eventually succumbs to it’s own dullness and it’s largely unremarkable, when Mayer isn’t strumming away. It often sounds pristine, and it’s a nice listen for someone looking for a smooth and low-key listen. Otherwise, it drags on too long with it’s overly subdued sound. A little energy wouldn’t have hurt.

-By Andrew McNally

Bloc Party – “The Nextwave Sessions EP”

(Photo Credit: Pitchfork)

Grade: C

Best Track: “Ratchet”

Coming off a hiatus with a huge tour and their highly-underrated 2012 album, “Four,” Bloc Party are set to take another hiatus. Something isn’t working inside the band, and while it’s frustrating to fans, it’s better to have them take breaks than try to fight through it and end in disaster. No sooner did they announce a hiatus than they also announced a new EP, “The Nextwave Sessions EP.” It serves either as a parting gift for a band that isn’t sure when they’ll be back, or a sign of the times to come, given it’s title. Either way, though, it doesn’t really serve any purpose and really just exists as five tracks that sound like they’ve been cut from previous albums.

Opening track “Ratchet” has been released as a single for the band, and it’s really a good song. A constant, tremolo guitar rhythm serves as a very danceable beat behind lyrics about getting, well, ratchet. It is a little different than tracks from their previous album. It’s a catchy track that can get stuck in your head after only a few listens. Second track “Obscene” follows up nicely, as a much softer and slower song, but maintaining a kind of catchy, tremolo rhythm. “French Exit” is kind of a throwaway loud song, and it definitely could’ve been a lost song from “Four,” and album that had it’s fair share of heaviness. The last two tracks, “Montreal” and “Children of the Future” are forgettable slow ones. Three of the five songs on this EP are slower. If this is a final piece for the band, it shouldn’t be how they’re remembered, given their famously crazy live performances.

Bloc Party actively promoted this EP, releasing one of the singles and getting it reviewed in different reviews. They haven’t intended this to be a little, “for fans only” release. But it just doesn’t feel like it has any reason to exist. All of these tracks could have just been on earlier albums, or better left unrecorded. “Ratchet” is great and “Obscene” is good enough, but they can’t save the fact that this EP’s mere existence is confusing. It’s a good listen for core fans. The rest of us just have to wait for the next reunion.

-By Andrew McNally

The Polyphonic Spree – “Yes, It’s True”

(Photo Credit: Glide Magazine)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Popular By Design,” “Blurry Up the Lines”

“Yes, It’s True” is the fourth album from the vocal-heavy choral-pop-rock band, a genre that is a lot more conventional and a lot less gospel-influenced than it sounds. The Polyphonic Spree currently sits at twenty members, although the album does at times resemble a normal-sized group. The album is heavy on engrossing music and light on inspiring lyrics, but is frequently worthwhile. Former Tripping Daisy frontman Tim DeLaughter is in total control on this album, perhaps even too much. The collective playing behind him is under his spell, following him through his mixed influences.

The album always falls closer to pop than any other genre. Each track plays out like a typical single from one of DeLaughter’s inspirations, from the Beach Boys to Bright Eyes. “Single” is the important word there, though, because every song on the album is “single” standard. In fact, the album’s lead-off single, “You Don’t Know Me,” is not among the album’s better songs. The music on the album is often standard, fun vocal pop. It is a market that has been tapped many times before, but as long as the product is catchy and retains a little depth, it can be done again and again. There are a few tracks were DeLaughter does a back-and-forth in the chorus, exchanging solo lines with group lines from the musicians. It’s all very fun and inspired. The final track, “Battlefield,” ends with an extended synth fade-out that is meant to sound ominous, but almost comes off as anticipation for wanting to record another album.

Lyrically, the album doesn’t hold up nearly as well. Track titles like “Carefully Try” and “Let Them Be” don’t prepare to offer much lyrically. There is nothing more than basic pop poetry here, which can get repetitive. They even sound less inspired alongside the music. It’s rarely an issue, because the album has enough good spirit to make up for this. Also, pop albums nowadays do not seem to be expected to be poetic masterpieces, so it’s expected in a warped way.

Twenty-piece choral-pop groups are hard to come by, but The Polyphonic Spree are doing something right. They may be a collective – their ‘former members’ page on Wikipedia includes forty-five people, one of them being Annie Clark from St. Vincent – but they are having fun in the studio. And when it comes down to it, that is the key to a successful pop group. Things might not work, but if the listener believes enough in the band, they can look past it. And it is very easy to surpass the faults on “Yes, It’s True” and just enjoy the ride.

If you like this, try: “Here” (2012), the second album by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes. The best of their three, and one that includes a surprising variation of influences into a collective effort.

-By Andrew McNally

Whirr – “Around”

(Photo Credit: Brooklyn Vegan)

Grade: B-

Whirr’s new album is only four tracks long, and falls awkwardly in between an EP and an LP. At 28 minutes or so, it’s roughly the length of some punk albums, but shorter than many of their other albums. This is, unintentionally, symbolic of the album’s awkward placement in between genres, blurring together metal, noise rock and shoegaze into that pumps up the volume but often hangs around longer than it needs to.

The four tracks on “Around” range from 5:53 to 8:47, much longer than the average songs on Whirr’s previous albums. The band is trying out more of a shoegaze sound, possibly inspired by the crazy work being done by crossover geniuses Deafheaven. Shoegaze is an incredibly tough genre of music to pull off, because it requires patience on both the band and the listener. A band has to maintain a sound, even a note, for a long time at maximum volume, without it becoming monotonous. There’s a reason there aren’t many famous shoegaze acts. Whirr don’t exactly pull it off. The songs stretch on too long, ideas too thought-up. The volume is there, and the gloomy, bleak guitars from their previous albums support the ideas. But there isn’t quite enough to keep in interesting.

The third track, “Keep,” is the album’s best, because of a volume change roughly 3:30 into the song. A subdued and constant sound is suddenly dropped out, and guitars kick back in much louder than before. It is this long, drawn out sound with the occasional hiccups that makes acts like Deafheaven and Godspeed You! Black Emperor the inspirational acts they are. The song transitions into the title track, in one long song that would’ve been too daunting and too long to release as one actual track. “Around,” just like the first two tracks, overstays it’s volume, staying quieter for its seven minutes.

I have to commend the band for attempting to blend genres like this. They do a pretty decent job, considering all of the conflicting elements. The songs just stick around too long. The volume, the guitars and the ideas are all there and great, but there’s actually just a little too much of it. If Whirr were to keep exploring this idea, though, I’d keep listening.

-If you like this try: Deafheaven’s “Sunbather.” I’ve already linked to my review a few times before.

-By Andrew McNally

Locrian – “Return to Annihilation”

(Photo Credit: The Sleeping Shaman)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Eternal Return,” “A Visitation From the Wrath of Heaven”

“The ends justify the means” is not a phrase commonly associated with music, but it defines what Locrian sets out to do. The noise rock trio’s largely stellar new album is seven songs long, many of which build up furiously into large and loud ending moments. The final track, “Obsolete Elegies,” builds up for twelve minutes before unleashing a slow but heavy outro for the album. Locrian are a tough and complex band, one that most listeners are going to write off pretty quickly.

With a title like “Return to Annihilation” and song titles like “A Visitation From the Wrath of Heaven” and “Exiting the Hall of Vapor and Light,” Locrian comes off like a metal band. Instead, they are an overdrawn noise rock group sitting on the better side of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Their songs are in no hurry to reach their conclusion, in a fifty minute, seven-track album. Their music is more intense, and often more complex than Godspeed. Locrian’s songs start off on bleak notes, often accentuated by droning guitar and dismal keyboards. The album’s cover certainly helps, one of the bleakest covers in years. I unfortunately did not listen to the album with headphones, but I can imagine that it creates a surrounding experience. The droning of some of their songs grow into their abrasive conclusions, that sometimes feature some screamed lyrics, but not always.

Yet some songs have a certain urgency to them. The album isn’t entirely drones. Opener “Eternal Return” jumps right out of the gate with volume and screaming, ending noisily in only two and a half minutes. The second track, “A Visitation…” is one that builds up, but has more of a defined purpose and less of a bleak nature than the tracks that follow. The fact that many of the songs have a similar structure but vary in tone is beneficial, as the album never gets too bleak or too repetitive, but is instead a dense, heavy, and pleasurably frustrating listen. There is a complexity to “Return to Annihilation” that will never dissipate no matter how many listeners. The album might not hit some of the more disturbing elements it aims for, but it is still a deeply confronting album that works at each of its volumes. Locrian plays for a very limited niche of people looking for challenging and well-conceived noise-rock, but they do it very, very well.

If you like this, try: “METZ” by METZ (2012). Their song structures are much more traditional, and they’re much more upfront with their aural assaults, but it’s an incredible piece of noise rock. The album really makes the listener sweat.

-By Andrew McNally

Gogol Bordello – “Pura Vida Conspiracy”

(Photo Credit: Rolling Stone)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Dig Deep Enough,” “Malandrino”

Let me start by admitting something: Gogol Bordello has been one of my favorite bands since “Super Taranta!” came out in 2007. Eugene Hutz and his gang could release an album of nails on a chalkboard and I’d find something great to say about it. Okay. That’s out. Let’s start –

Do gypsies ever slow down? Do they settle, even for a period of time that’s barely remarkable? This is the main existential crisis at the heart of “Pura Vida Conspiracy,” the sixth album from the world’s only famous gypsy-punk band. They have been on tour since they formed in the late ’90’s, recording and performing all around the world, and taking their inspirations from as many places. Singer/guitarist Eugene Hutz is Ukrainian, and the rest of the band hails from all over Europe, bringing folk, flamenco and salsa into standard punk music. Where did they form? Manhattan. 2010’s “Trans-Continental Hustle” was recorded after Hutz lived in Brazil. “Pura Vida Conspiracy” was recorded in El Paso, Texas. Hutz sings about people in all cultures and in all walks of life, always convincing the listener he has experienced each one firsthand.

But this is the band’s first introspective record. Think back to previous albums. 2005’s “Immigrant Punk” dealt with world travelers. 2007’s “American Wedding” was an open letter on how boring American cultures can be compared to European ones. 2010’s whole album “Trans-Continental Hustle” tackled the inherent contradictions in the idea of immigration. But here, Hutz sings about himself. On a track called “The Other Side of the Rainbow,” he proclaims that the other side of a rainbow is black and white. Gogol Bordello are world travelers and surprisingly famous, given their totally radio unfriendly acoustic-electric-flamenco-salsa-dance-political-hyperspeed-punk. What Hutz has found, however, is an unexpected hollowness in being well-known. Maybe it is because his previous political motives haven’t made waves, or maybe it’s because Hutz is disgusted by fame. But this album features more slower tracks than previous efforts. Slow Gogol Bordello sounds bad on paper, but the collective can still pull it off.

There is still ferocious drumming and acoustic guitar. Hutz’s voice is still ridiculously Eastern European. The album blasts out of the gate with three speedy and diversely inspired songs. Track two, “Dig Deep Enough,” is my personal favorite, and features a reliance on flamenco inspiration, pretty new to the band. The introspection starts soon after, leading to the first Gogol Bordello album that actually makes the listener think instead of blinding agreeing with political ambitions. Lyrically, it might just be the strongest album yet. Musically, it isn’t. Something about their formula of ten stringed instruments playing over brutal drums never gets old, and the album could use a little more oomph. It doesn’t fit with the lyrics, yes, but the album does get just a little too down at points. Still, Hutz’s existential lyrics are frighteningly easily to relate to, and poetic, and carry any bogged down moments. “Pura Vida Conspiracy” isn’t so much disappointing as it is different. We probably should’ve seen this album coming, we all knew Hutz wouldn’t be comfortable with fame. Politics were swapped out for personal. It’s new, even for them, but as long as Hutz and his (currently) seven-piece backing band can keep delivering a whole beautiful mess of ideas, we should be on board.

If you like this, try: Okay I thought about this for a while and there aren’t any bands I can think of that sound remotely like Gogol Bordello, so how about Dropkick Murphys’ “The Meanest of Times” (2007). A punk band that began to get introspective, and there’s accordion. As close a connection as I can make.

-By Andrew McNally