Beck – “Morning Phase”

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

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Say Goodbye” “Wave”

Since revealing that he would finally be releasing a new album, Beck has been promoting “Morning Phase” as a sequel to his 2002 album “Sea Change.” Beck’s music before that album, and most of it since, has been characterized by boundless energy, an almost unnecessary amount of instruments, samples, and verses that were often made up on the spot and never replaced. “Sea Change,” however, is a moody, acoustic work inspired by the break-up with his girlfriend of nearly a decade. “Morning Phase” is definitely a sequel – but the kind of sequel that tells a new story, not one that just rehashes what was done before.

“Morning Phase” is marked by it’s lack of instruments. “Morning,” the album’s first track (save a brief string intro), is a haunting and almost painfully-timed song, and starts with just an acoustic rhythm. It characterizes the album – it’s slower, calmer and more emotional than any of Beck’s most recent albums. But unlike “Sea Change,” which got too moody and self-indulgent (justifiably), this album has a wide range of emotions. Although the whole album sounds dry and down – it’s deceiving. There are tracks like that, certainly, but “Don’t Let It Go” and “Blackbird Chain” have a subtly popping vibe. It’s hopeful, at least. “Morning Phase” is certainly a thematic sequel to “Sea Change,” in the proper way a sequel should be.

One of the things to analyze on any Beck album is how many instruments are present, and how they’re being used. To say “Morning Phase” is a largely acoustic work does not equate to it being less interesting musically. “Say Goodbye” and “Blue Moon” are marked by unpredictable guitar strumming and rhythms, “Unforgiven” trades the guitar for a warped, piano drone, and finale “Waking Light” suddenly erupts into a full band setting, for the first time on the album. But the shining light is the album’s midpoint. “Wave” is far and away the album’s best song, and already stands up to the best songs in Beck’s discography. The song has no percussion, instead driven by a full string section, composed by Beck’s father, David Campbell. Beck’s voice flies loud and long over the strings, accompanied with almost no other music. It’s a dark song, centered around some of the album’s lighter tracks, and it’s one of the most ambitious songs Beck’s ever done.

While “Sea Change” was a relentlessly dark album, brought on by one sharp event, “Morning Phase” is a more diverse work, and seems to be inspired by years of reflection in the first album’s aftermath. It’s a rare sequel that’s better than the first. It might take a few more listens than most Beck albums to really get into, but it’ll be just as memorable as his better works. Beck fans were probably waiting for another crazy album, and we got the opposite, and it’s every bit as pleasing as hoped for. It’s been a long six years, but Beck leaves no need for an apology.

-By Andrew McNally

St. Vincent – “St. Vincent”

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

Grade: A

Key Tracks: “Birth In Reverse” “Prince Johnny”

St. Vincent’s previous album, the 2012 duet with David Byrne “Love This Giant,” got a little more of a mixed reaction than her previous three albums. But I haven’t stopped listening to the record – I know the whole album by heart. On the album, Byrne takes St. Vincent, moniker for the multi-talented Annie Clark, and brings her out of her comfort zone. Her previous albums were already wholly separate from anything else happening in alternative, but with Byrne’s introduction of horns and a bigger accompaniment, he brought her out of her timidity and almost forced her to take bigger and more fearless risks. Pictured above is Annie Clark, once slightly awkward in old Youtube clips, now purple-haired, staring down at us. “St. Vincent” is bolder and more fulfilling than any of her previous albums – and that’s not exactly a small statement.

Before I get to into the album, I should say, as I have said when necessary, that I am a huge huge St. Vincent fan. I learned “Birth in Reverse” by heart within 24 hours of it’s release. This year and last, I’ve spent Feb. 14th celebrating St. Vincentines Day, an excuse to get away from any standards usually set towards that date. And as I write this, I sit anxiously knowing I’ll be seeing her in ten days. If you’re reading this in Boston, look for me at the show, screaming, singing and just generally embarrassing myself.

So, “St. Vincent” is a step in a new direction. It’s bolder, and although it technically isn’t all that different from her other works, it has a more boundless feeling to it. Without really changing her sound, she has managed to still take herself in a new direction. That’s no more apparent than on the album’s best song, “Birth In Reverse.” The rough, almost factory-machine opening is a staunch stance against most other reserved indie singers. The song’s opening lyrics: “Oh what an ordinary day / Take out the garbage, masturbate” don’t exactly hurt that stance. St. Vincent has never been one to shy away from topics that might be taboo or a little warped, but on “St. Vincent,” she sounds more confident than she ever has. And with songs like “I Prefer Your Love,” with a chorus centered around “I prefer your love / To Jesus,” confidence is a needed trait.

As a fan of every one of St. Vincent’s albums, I have felt that the latter halves often don’t hold up to the former halves – whether because they’re a little too slow, or the mix of synth and guitar does not hold up as well. But “St. Vincent” is just solid throughout. The album’s first half is definitely better – all three of the pre-released songs are in the first five – but there are few forgettable moments. As always, she combines a heavy amount of synthesizers with her underrated guitar work. It works well across the album, but might work the best on the penultimate “Every Tear Disappears.” Only the guitar-heavy “Regret” and the midtempo closer “Severed Crossed Fingers” lag behind the rest of the tracks, not quite as original or memorable.

Although a strong singer in her own right, St. Vincent’s songs usually focus more on the music and lyrics. But there’s one song on this album, “Prince Johnny,” that’s worth mentioning for the vocals. The song builds to a long climax that’s beautifully sung, and drenched in an encompassing vocal echo that’s almost bone-chilling. It’s refreshing, in a way, to hear Clark finally devote a song more towards her vocals. Clark’s voice has never sounded even close to subpar – but a song like “Prince Johnny” has been needed for a while.

This album’s eponymous naming was kind of a happy accident, but it’s very fitting. This album is what St. Vincent does best – synthy, guitar-heavy indie-pop; equally weird and beautiful, in the best ways of both. And it’s self-titled, because it’s her best album yet. Each song is unique. Some simple, some complex, all great. I know it’s only February, but I’d wager that this will go down as one of the best alternative albums of 2014.

If you like this, try: The National’s “Trouble Will Find Me.” Maybe it came to mind because Clark herself provides back-up vocals on the album’s/band’s/2013’s best song, “Sea of Love.” But the album is related in that it’s similar to everything they have done prior, but just even better.

-By Andrew McNally

††† – “†††”

(Photo Credit: crossesmusic.com)

Grade: C+

Key Tracks: “Bitches Brew” “The Epilogue”

Fans of the band properly pronounced as “Crosses” might actually be rather disappointed in their full-length debut. The band, a side project featuring Chino Moreno from Deftones, Shaun Lopez from Far, and Chuck Doom, doesn’t actually have many new songs. The album, also called †††, is fifteen songs long, and it feels like it. There’s only one track under three minutes, and six over four minutes. But it includes every song from the band’s first two EP’s. They were working on a third EP, when they decided to turn it into a full album and include the other 10 songs. They reordered the songs so they show up as tracks from EP 1, EP 2, EP 3, EP 1, and so on, but it does not hide the fact that two-thirds of the album is not new material. And one of the five new songs, “The Epilogue,” isn’t exactly unfamiliar either, as the leadoff single that’s getting decent airplay.

With a needlessly overstuffed album, it might be easy to overlook the fact that it is still a pretty decent work. The band has a dark but simple electro-dream feel to it, and it’s obvious that Moreno and Lopez are enjoying a break from the intensity of their respective primary bands. Moreno only screams in one song, and a majority of them are more mid-tempo. While Deftones and Far might be in a hurry to make a loud, electric point, the songs presented here build gradually to smoother, electro-based climaxes. Some don’t build at all, staying put in a moody but accessible base.

So the album is very conflicting – it’s good, and fans of the hyper-specific genres that Crosses fall into will likely enjoy it. It’s got all the negative emotions you’d expect from a Deftones album, and never wallows in it. It has energy, but not too much. It’s just that the album is too long. It hovers around an hour, and it starts to get a little too repetitive around the halfway point. What should be a saving grace, the original and instrumental pseudo-interlude “†,” doesn’t show up until track 13, where feels a little more wasted. On an album with a number of pre-established songs, it would’ve been better to only take some from each EP. Still, it’s a solid debut. And there is some promise – the album’s two best songs, “The Epilogue” and “Bitches Brew” – are two of the new ones. “†††” might not win over any fans to dream-pop or dark electronica, but fans of the genres should find the album to be a quality release.

Modern Baseball – “You’re Gonna Miss It All”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Fine, Great” “Your Graduation”

Coming in at 12 tracks over only 30 minutes, Modern Baseball’s new LP might seem like a no frills, no punches blast of energy. But it really isn’t – the band takes their time on their new album. Their previous LP, “Sports,” was already one of the better albums of the whole 4th wave emo/pop-punk movement going on right now, but “You’re Gonna Miss It All” goes far beyond it. This album has a lot of depth and clarity, cementing itself directly in between emo and pop-punk, taking the best parts of both.

The album’s opener, “Fine, Great” starts acoustic. And although it builds into an electric chorus, it states the album’s tone – emotion over energy. Sure, later tracks like “Broken Cash Machine” and “Charlie Black” up the volume and energy, but only as the band sees fit. The band switches from big choruses to slower, acoustic rhythms at the drop of a hat, but does it seamlessly. The almost contradictory natures of the songs adds a complete, succinctness to the album. Where many bands in this movement have stuck to their sound (and done it well!), Modern Baseball have gone beyond themselves and expanded into foreign territories.

“Tryin’ hard / Not to look like I’m tryin’ that hard / Failing miserably at everything including that” opens the song “Two Good Things.” There’s a lot to be said about the vocals and lyrics on the album. The lyrics on the album are appropriately honest – as poetic as the Front Bottoms, and less hazy. The band seems to have the nailed the whole ‘realistic devastation’ that is common among emo bands today. And the vocals – refreshingly – are very clear, thanks to some clean production. While bands like Dads and TWIABPAIANLATD have even more devastating lyrics, they’re often lost in the more guttural vocals.

The album encompasses both pop-punk and emo at it’s finest. It’s simple but devastating, and sounds made by some average people just sitting around, encompassed by unexplainable (or totally explainable) emotions. Personally, I have been heavily into the 4th wave emo thing happening, and while I’ve been fond of Modern Baseball, I hadn’t loved them like I do Dads, the Menzingers, or Snowing. This album will definitely change that. Let “You’re Gonna Miss It All” become a forefront in the genre. The album can build you up and knock you down in exactly 30 minutes, and it’s both diverse and coherent. The album’s only real fault is that so many of the songs end so soon – there’s only one song over three minutes. And “I want more” isn’t so much a fault of the band as it is the listener. Modern Baseball have moved themselves into the forefront of a very packed genre.

If you like this, try: You Blew It!’s new record, “Keep Doing What You’re Doing,” almost as good as this one.

-By Andrew McNally

Fun Home – “Knit Into Place”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: B+

Fun Home started as a folk duo, with twin sisters Sara and Rose Savage. Although they’ve since expanded the band to include Daniel Hagendorf on drums and Benjamin Gardner on bass, and have adapted a more emo/indie sound, their folk presence is still a strong influence on their new “Knit Into Home” EP, released on Broken World Media. Four of the five songs end on lightened, often acoustic rhythms. The vocals have an unfiltered sweetness to them, not usually akin to emo groups. And even the lengths of the songs reflect an indie-folk element – the longest is 3:03.

“Stay Inside,” the opener, is a sweet and light midtempo song, with a very distant and almost apathetic attitude to it, using electric guitars but only barely. “Felt So Tired,” meanwhile, has more of a driving energy. The energy comes from a pounding snare drum during the verses that counteracts a bigger sound during the chorus. “Felt So Tired” might be the EP’s best song, with beautiful lyrics paired with a heartful energy that’s equal parts emo and folk.

“Bad Weather,” the EP’s midpoint, is the most driving track. It leans closer to emo than any other one, with a more simple, louder rhythm and some powerful lyrics. “Falling Asleep On the Floor” acts almost as an interlude – acoustic, quiet and pretty – although it is definitely a standalone song, and a strong one. It’s a great follow-up to “Bad Weather,” and one that shows the band is equally effective at quiet rhythms as they are loud blasts. The final track, “I’m Not There,” is the strongest vocally, with a very catchy vocal chorus. The song is actually the weakest musically, but it is saved by the strength of the vocals.

It’s snowing where I am right now, and it makes the perfect backdrop for “Knit Into Place.” It’s a cold weather album (one song is called “Bad Weather”). It has a warm feeling, produced by beautiful melodies and acoustic work mixed in alongside escalating, electric volumes. Fun Home aren’t exactly a “Fun” band, but the EP is consistently sweet yet drastic, and although it might take a few listens to fully appreciate, all four members are obviously talented musicians. Through the fusing music and captivating lyrics, the band manages to sound like average people, recording music not for profit or to make a statement, just to make something of their own – a big part of the current emo movement. “Knit Into Place” shows a lot of potential. The blending of folk, indie and emo works nearly every time. Let “Knit Into Place” be part of your snowed-in soundtrack.

The album is available for cassette purchase here and for streaming and downloading here.

If you like this, try: Laura Stevenson & the Cans, any album. Though the band doesn’t sound all that much like the Cans, they have all the same elements: poppy, catchy rhythms that are vastly different on every track; devastating lyrics; strong, strong vocals.

-By Andrew McNally

together PANGEA – “Badillac”

(Photo Credit: stereogum)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “Offer” “Depress”

together PANGEA’s previous full-length, “Living Dummy,” released when the band was still known simply as PANGEA, is an album I’ve listened to more times than I can count. It’s cohesive, fun, loud, silly and has low-key production – everything you want from a garage rock album. And every song is unique enough to make a perfect listen. On “Badillac,” the band – with a new name and on a new label – aim to diversify their music, while keeping a cohesiveness. “Badillac” isn’t as good as “Living Dummy,” but it still hits that goal.

The first song on “Badillac,” called “Alive,” sounds ripped out of rock radio instead of a California garage. It’s almost a mission statement – that the band is branching out and expanding their sound. The production is upped, although the vocals are still beautifully unintelligible sometimes. The songs are, at times, louder than ever before, or softer. More acoustic elements are incorporated, as is straight rock songwriting. The band explores their own sound, ending with a collection of songs that are more diverse, while still cohesive. The songs on “Badillac” don’t feel as related as they did on “Living Dummy,” but they don’t try to. The band set out to make more well-rounded songs, and they’ve done just that.

From a lyrical standpoint, “Badillac” is not as strong as “Living Dummy.” I’ll never forget the latter half of the first verse of “Make Me Feel Weeeird”: “Let’s talk about you now / What kind of guy is he? / You say he hates fags / Well I think he’d like me / Get bent / Get bent.” I’ve always loved the bluntness of the verse, but the lyrics are vaguer this time around. Simpler song titles – “Why,” “Alive,” “River,” “Offer” – symbolize this. The songs on “Badillac” are not as instantly memorable as before because of it. Not entirely, of course. “Badillac,” “Offer” and “Cat Man” still grab pretty quickly. But the album’s one major disappointment is the move towards more conventional lyrics.

Still, “Badillac” is a great release and will hopefully propel the band onto a bigger stage. It’s fun and it’s easy to revisit many times – all of their music is. together PANGEA are making their own thing out of garage rock, going beyond all limitations without losing the spirit. They’ve made a new identity and sound, while still resembling the old PANGEA. Hopefully they’ll keep the trend up – this could be their year.

-By Andrew McNally

Aram Bajakian – “there were flowers also in hell”

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Texas Cannonball” “Requiem For 5 Pointz”

It’s almost easy to assume nowadays that a solo, instrumental guitarist will specialize in tender and light ballads that, while virtuosic, are usually pretty corny and repetitive. But that’s not what Aram Bajakian is about. Bajakian had been making a name for himself lately as the touring guitarist for the late Lou Reed. “there were flowers also in hell” proves that Bajakian is more than willing to step into fuzzy and noisy areas. The album opens up to a wide range of influences and emotions, often going for a more guttural response instead of a long-winded arc. There’s a lot going on, often switching flawlessly from fun rhythms to haunting melodies.

“Texas Cannonball” (an ode to Freddie King), and “Orbisonian” directly channel rockabilly bands of the past, with a hot guitar rhythm and uptempo bass and drums, provided by Shazhad Ismaily and Jerome Jennings, respectively. Bonus track “Cat Squirrel” is a lot of fun, too, as a lengthy jam. And “The Kids Don’t Want to Sleep” isn’t exactly a bundle of joy, but it’s noisy and has a pre-grunge remembrance to it.

But the album’s friendlier tracks are not the only standouts. “Requiem For 5 Pointz” sounds like a funeral, with a haunting echo and a slight clacking of what resemble bones. The song brings out a viscerally disturbing response, through what’s ultimately a quiet and simple guitar line. Likewise, “Medicaid Lullaby” has a perturbed feel to it, with an extra poetic sense. Elsewhere on the album, there’s ballads, rock songs, and songs on all sides of the emotional spectrum.

“flowers” is an instrumental album, but Bajakian doesn’t need any lyrics to tell his stories. Every one of the thirteen songs is distinctly different from the next. In fact, the only two that are similar are the two rockabilly throwbacks, and they’re both so fun that it doesn’t matter. He blends noise, rock, and jazz and many other elements without even really trying, or at least hiding it well if he is. Bajakian is a unique presence – enough of a solo presence to be expected at blues clubs, while enough of a amp-destroyer to be seen playing with noise-rock artists. “flowers” is a interesting listen for people of any genre, fans of instrumentals or not.

The album will be available on bandcamp on February 1st.

-By Andrew McNally

Against Me! – “Transgender Dysphoria Blues”

(Photo Credit: consequenceofsound)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” “Drinking With the Jocks”

In a small number of scattered homes throughout America, there are sexist Nazi punks who have to wake up every morning and draw over their Against Me! tattoos with sharpies. There is a truly despicable branch of people known as Nazi punks, who love any political punk band and can wrongfully relate the band’s liberal politics to their own hateful ones. Nazi punks have been taken on before – notably here and here – but “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” is an indirect strike. Against Me!s first five albums were sharply political and tackled political issues more directly than almost any other band. But this is their first album since singer Tom Gabel came out as transgender and announced she would be living as Laura Jane Grace. And as one of the first successful transgender singers, and certainly the most famous one in the punk community – this becomes an incredibly important album.

Grace’s transition is addressed in the majority of the album’s songs. The two opening tracks, “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” and “True Trans Soul Rebel” are the most direct. “You want them to see you like they every other girl / They just see a faggot” she sings on the title track. The album perfectly balances the line between heart and anger; each song is a lesson, an attempt to teach shitheads that don’t understand the transgender life. It borders on a shock lesson – “I want to piss on the walls of your house / I want to cut those brass rings off your fat fucking fingers” she sings on the closer, “Black Me Out.” “Drinking With the Jocks” is a pounding track about recognizing differences, and “Unconditional Love” is a brutal, self-deprecating song about loving someone with identification issues. Tracks 5 and 6 are likely to go down as two of the best titles of the year – “Osama Bin Laden as the Crucified Christ” and “FUCKMYLIFE666.” It’s shocking, even for them, but it’s necessary.

Unfortunately, some of the songs don’t hold up simply on a musical standpoint. While all good on their own, some of them blend together a little too much. The album’s middle sags under songs that have the energy of classic Against Me!, but don’t have the unique songwriting. This might be reflective of a band that has kind of fallen apart. Since “White Crosses” in 2010, two members of the band quit. Famous punk drummer Atom Willard was brought on for percussion work, and Grace just handled bass herself (except NoFX’s Fat Mike, who shows up on two tracks). Still, Gabel’s voice was always very strong, and that hasn’t changed through the transition. Grace’s vocals are strong and have a wide range.

When “White Crosses” came out, it was preceded by an exceptionally boring single, “I Was A Teenage Anarchist.” It felt like a coda; the statement of maturity felt like the band giving up. But they’re recharged on “Transgender.” They have a renewed energy and a new MO. They’re hitting territories never hit by a punk band before. This might not go down in history like the band wants it to, simply because it doesn’t have their most memorable songs, but it should still serve as an incredibly important work and stamps an intense start to 2014. Grace is nothing less than a hero, and “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” acts as a proud, invasive, angry, heartful and necessary mess.

-By Andrew McNally

Ummagma – “Rotation / Live and Let Die”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: B+

Ummagma are a little bit of an unconventional group – a sort of dreampop/shoegaze hybrid, consisting of just Shauna McLarnon from Canada and Alexx Kretov from Ukraine. McLarnon handles the lyrics and vocals, while Kretov tackles all of the instrumentation. The duo has released a single, containing “Rotation” and “Live and Let Die.” Both songs properly showcase their crossover sound in some memorable and easily listenable dreampop.

“Rotation” is a slow-building song. It starts with a low-key drum and synth beat, that kicks up around 35 seconds in. It’s centered around a repetitive synth beat, that seeps the song into a serious dreampop feel. McLarnon’s vocals sound swooping inside of a very condensed sound. The song’s medium energy and consistently full sound lend to a shoegaze resemblance, even if the guitar is only a slight factor. “Rotation” is ultimately the cross between dreampop and shoegaze, and it does both very well.

“Live and Let Die” is a much catchier song. It opens with a drum beat that’s already louder than the previous song’s peak. The song continues with the condensed, shoegaze type sound, but it features a guitar rhythm that’s much more resembling of a garage rock band. A heavier guitar presence lends to a dreamy sound, just one that’s more alt-based instead of pop. “Live and Let Die”s moderate tempo and medium volume acts as a compromise between dreampop and post-rock, and sounds familiar even though it really isn’t.

This is a very solid single, and a nice tease at anything the band might be working on. There seems to be a little something the songs are missing, just to pump up a little energy. But both songs are intricate and unique, combining a number of influences into an aura that sounds conventional until you really listen. They’re very easy songs to enjoy, dense without being unbreakable. Ummagma are doing their own thing; combining genres and doing it well. “Rotation / Live and Let Die” brings hope for whatever the band might release in the future.

The two songs are available for download and streaming here.

-By Andrew McNally

Weepikes – “We Are Weepikes”

Grade: A

Key Tracks: “Bad Valentine” “Flatliner”

“We Are Weepikes” is probably a very fitting name for the Finnish avant-pop group’s latest release. The band, which consists of Pasi Peni on vocals and guitar, Jyrki Lehto on guitar, Tomi Nuotio on bass and Ari Reiska Lehtinen on drums, is coming off a 13-year hiatus. Originally forming in 1994, they released a couple EP’s before disbanding in 1997. The reformed in 2010 and, after releasing a couple EP’s, dropped the longer “We Are Weepikes” in February of 2013.

The album has a distinct Lou Reed feel to it.  It is guitar-heavy, and stays melodic without venturing into catchy. Unlike most avant-pop groups, Weepikes focus more on the “avant” than the “pop.” Peni’s vocals align with Reed’s slightly gritty, melodic talk-singing. That’s the most apparent on “Flatliner,” a nearly six minute track of spoken word chaos.

“We Are Weepikes” has a little bit of a lo-fi feel to it, and the whole album has a heavy energy that resembles that of a 90’s alternative band. The last part of “Bad Valentine” has a particularly heart-pounding energy to it. Plus, the album is capped off with two remixes, and because they don’t exactly fit with the more straight-forward blasts before them, they actually strengthen the album’s avant feel.

“We Are Weepikes” has a hybrid alt-pop spirit, gleefully different without being too unapproachable. The band channels 60’s pop-rock and avant-garde, and every song is unique and memorable while still fitting in with every other song. It is simply a great release, and it won’t be attractive to everyone but it should fine a healthy audience.

The album can be streamed and purchased here.

If you like this, try: Another recent bandcamp release, The Raspberry Heaven’s “Nascent Meadows.”

-By Andrew McNally