Foals – Total Life Forever : B+
Total Life Forever is without a doubt, Foals‘ most mature and thought-out record since their previous effort, Antidotes. The swarming mosquito guitars and charismatic vocals remain, but a new found vulnerability has evolved. Tracks like After Glow and Spanish Sahara burst open with 6 minute long emotional progress and bare bones passion. What emerged as an evil Bloc Party has evolved into a serious and articulate band that have crafted a carefully layered and romantic record.
(click album art to purchase record)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[mp3] Foals – Spanish Sahara from Total Life Forever (2010)
Judgement Day – Peacocks / Pink Monsters : A+
The beast known as Judgement Day has been around for quite a while actually. They have provided strings for bands like dredg, Mates of States, and most recently, Slash. In the Bay Area however, they are know for their bludgeoning live shows that showcases the very talent these young men have been gifted with. Unfortunately they have not yet been able to capture that brutality and creative expression on a record, until now. Peacocks / Pink Monsters is probably the best instrumental rock album of the year and it’s going to take an act of God to top the sheer magnitude of this album. Opening with the relentlessly heavy Cobra Strike and not slowing down, the album gets the listener pinned down with it’s dark use of atmospherics thanks to the use of strings from the Patzner brothers (Anton – violin, Lewis – Cello). The drums borderline explode on this record, especially on my favorite track, Peacocks / Pink Monsters, where it sounds barbarous and almost medieval. In fact I’ve listened to the song for weeks now and it still gives me shivers. Towards the end, the emotional and much more experimental Judgement Day is reveled with songs like The Constant and the 9+ minute long Genosha. This criminally underrated band has captured that magic they exude on stage and are now ready to share it with you. Be grateful.
(click album art to purchase record)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[mp3] Judgement Day – Peacocks / Pink Monsters from Peacocks / Pink Monsters (2010)
Cate Le Bon – Me Oh My : B-
There’s a point when listening to a record where you find out what it’s theme will be. Me Oh My’s theme brims with love songs for strong, nomadic hearts. Often, what starts as a folk ditty ends as a sonorous whirlwind, and the trip is almost spiritual. Cate Le Bon’s vocal prowess is the only constant, the calm inside the storm. Me Oh My opens with the stirring title track and Flaming Lips-ish Me Oh My, a fun tune that almost misses the record’s message. It charges momentum fast, classic rock-esqe components, and use of environmental imagery bring to mind indie pop movie soundtracks. The album’s defining characteristic is how each arrangement seems to lull the listener and then abruptly shifts gears, this makes for a sometime frustrating listening experience. Overall, Me Oh My is good, especially if you like everything St. Vincent has done. It’s a little less convincing, but it’s fun.
(click album art to purchase record)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[mp3] Cate Le Bon – Hollow Trees House Hounds from Me Oh My (2008)