Peter, Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
Solid. They have a laid-back vibe about them, despite being a standard three-piece rock group. "Young Folks" is the clear standout on the album, but the rest is pretty good too.
Brendan Benson - The Alternative To Love
Throwback! This album would have been a huge hit back in the Matthew Sweet era. It's too bad that it feels so uncool and unhip right now, because it's really good.
Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
I go back and forth on this. When I first listened to it, I flipped out. The singles ("Atlantis to Interzone," "Gravity's Rainbow", "Golden Skans") are awfully good. But they also don't have a whole lot of depth. I get a flavor-of-the-month vibe from them, like they're just this year's version of Arctic Monkeys or something. (That's far too harsh an insult, but the UK hype machine seems to be out in full force.) Definitely worth a listen either way, but I wonder how much staying power they have.
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
It's the goods. The extent to which it's good is unclear, but it certainly lives up to expectations. It's refreshing to hear the band do its thing without operating under the specter of the deaths that inspired Funeral. As classic as its predecessor? Probably not, but at least we know they're not a one-hit wonder.
Justice vs. Simian - We Are Your Friends (single)
I almost never consume music in single tracks (since I only rarely listen to the radio) but this is so catchy I can't help it. Found it here on a Top 50 Videos countdown. (YouTube link here.) This tune is friggin awesome.
jeff, a couple thoughts here:
ReplyDeletePeter, Bjorn and John- I can NEVER respect a band called PB&J. I want to slap them in the face.
"Brendan Benson - The Alternative To Love
Throwback! This album would have been a huge hit back in the Matthew Sweet era."
Hey- it's never too late. We've already seen the return of the 70's a couple years ago, and now 80's are back w/ skinny jeans and cokeheads, so can the 90's return be far off, with a return of Sweet, Satriani, and chicks wearing oh-so-revealing flannels. Shoot me now. In the head. With Cobain's shotgun.
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Have you heard the full thing yet? Is it streamable? Cause from the 3 tracks I've heard, I totally agree.
Justice vs. Simian - is this band produced by Jay and Silent Bob?
On a side note, Destroyer is growing on me. Like a goddamn fungus. Curse you Jeff!
* You'll be happy to know that PB&J apparently crashed and burned at the Bowery Ballroom a couple weeks ago. There's a post up on Brooklyn Vegan talking about it. Might have just been too unforgiving a crowd, but I doubt it.
ReplyDelete* Destroyer's Rubies is definitely a grower. In fact, if you look up "grower" in the dictionary, there's a picture of Dan Bejar, captioned "The Godfather, All-Time #1 Pimp." But pretty much everything I've heard of his (between Destroyer and the New Pornos) is impossibly dense... you really have to give it a few tries.
I posted a while back about the Destroyer Wiki a long time ago... worth a peek, if only for the novelty.