_Beach House ‘Teen Dream’ Album Review

Beach House -

Teen Dream

85/100

Released January 25th via Subpop

Beach House’s third album and Sub Pop debut, Teen Dream, was recorded in a converted church called Dreamland. The results are nothing shy of divine. The music is so magnificent, you could mistaken it all for a dream. But it’s the real deal, and it’s one of the first gems of the new year.

The band has not abandoned their trademark dream pop sound of electronic drums, clean and twangy guitar lines, and ethereal vocals from Victoria Legrand. Using this as a foundation, Beach House turned the notch up, delivering slightly more uptempo songs compared to their previous albums.

The opener “Zebra,” sets the theme from the get-go with a little drive and backbone to their float-provoking atmosphere. The band sounds more refined than ever before.

“Walk in the Park” lockdowns a tight grove with the beginning pace set by thumping electronic drums, before diving into a sweeping swell of organs, while later on in the same track, the listener tastes some mellowed down surf riffs as guitarist Alex Scally strums in a rapid fashion.

As the album progresses, each piece prevails at being audio art in the most perfect sense. On the pleasantly cheery track “Used to Be,” Legrand exercises her piano chops a polished pop performance, and the electronic drum track on “Love of Mine” sounds like a long lost 80s beat, while the first sounds of “Better Times” resembles an early Super Nintendo videogame, it actually serves as a sensually sleek ballad that centerpieces itself as clear standout in my mind. (more…)

_Justin Vernon – A Song For a Lover of Long Ago

Bon Iver put out one of the best indie folk albums of the last decade with 2008′s For Emma, Forever Ago, but what did frontman Justin Vernon do in his days before he was singing about “Skinny Love?”

Well, Vernon released an EP titled Hazleton with a track called “Song For a Lover of Long Ago.” The song doesn’t deviate too far away from Bon Iver’s sound. It spans just over eight minutes, so it requires a little patience, but Vernon is as intimate and heartfelt as ever on this recording.

Justin Vernon – “A Song For a Love of Long Ago”

_Harlem – Friendly Ghost

Chris Barth tackles “Lo-Fi” in a little article called “Three Trends in Modern Music and Why They Suck” in the brand new Vinyl and Vodka Magazine. Barth claims that if you can’t convey the emotional tones of a song without mudding the sound, then it is not merit-worthy art. This is where Mr. Barth and I differ. If used effectively, and not like a gimmick, “Lo-Fi” can be a means of expressing a certain tone or mood of a song. Many of Velvet Underground’s gems would never be the same if they were recorded in pristine quality. With that being said, a certain Austin, Texas trio has a new examples of this.

Harlem’s fresh offering from their upcoming album Hippies, is an energetic lo-fi surf rock that emulates their critically acclaimed live shows. The jittery guitars and slick bassline provides a backbone that would appeal to hipsters, hippies, and mainstream folk alike.

Hippies is out 4/6 via Matador Records

Harlem – “Friendly Ghost”

_Spoon – Written in Reverse

If this is what songs sound like when Spoon writes them backwards, then I highly suggest all other bands to partake in this practice. We sampled Spoon’s upcoming album, Transference, through “Mysery Zone,” and now with the official first single “Written in Reverse.” The song exemplifies an even tighter sound than the band’s previous album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. The album is already shaping up to be an early contender for the Best of 2010 lists.

Transference will be released on January 19.

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_Beach House – Norway

Now I have never been to Norway, but if the country was is dreamy as the song of the same name from Beach House, then I’m there come spring break. This track is a preview for the duo’s third album, Teen Dream, which is also the first album on the band’s new label, Sub Pop.

“Norway” encompasses all the trademark characteristics found in a typical Beach House song: heavenly vocals from Victoria Legrand, electronic drums, and little guitar riffs from Alex Scally. The difference between this sound and the band’s previous album, Devotion, is they kick up the BPM a little bit. Adding more of a pop drive, as opposed to the floating atmosphere many of their previous songs had. This change could propel the band in making Teen Dream the Veckatimest of 2010.

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_Album Review: Rain Machine Self-Titled

Rain Machine -

Rain Machine

Rating:

[Released September 22nd via Anti-]

With TV on the Radio going on hiatus for what will surely feel like an eternity, just where do you go to feed your hunger for TVotR music? Your answer: Kyp Malone.

Malone goes by the moniker Rain Machine. The music is not like the quilt like blend of various genres TVotR fans are used to. Instead, Malone aims at minimalistic indie blues, using sparse instrumentation consisting of his guitar and a hodgepodge of percussion instruments.

The unofficial First Aid anthem, “Give Blood,” starts off with heavy bells before a guitar riff as fuzzy as Malone’s beard cuts into the mix to spike up the album’s most energetic track.

After the punchy opener, the album begins to drift into a mellower state of conscious. There’s a certain intimacy and vulnerability in Malone’s husky howl and falsetto croon all over the album.

A handful of tracks span past the four minute mark, including the ballad “Smiling Black Faces.” The track is a slowburn song, building up as it goes until unleashing full force in the last minute. His lyrics are the true vehicle that serve this song, as it is sung in a storytelling fashion with some political charge added in. (more…)

_Vampire Weekend – Cousins

The new cut “Cousins” from Vampire Weekend’s upcoming album Contra is a frantic frenzy of jaunt. It’s a short burst of energy, coming in at two and a half minutes, with those California influences Ezra Koenig has cited in the abundance of interviews. Dick Dale would be proud if he heard those ripping surf rock guitar lines.

Contra is out on 1/12.

Vampire Weekend – “Cousins”

_Spoon – Mystery Zone

It’s been two years since the release of the fantastic album “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” by Spoon. Early 2010, we will have the follow-up, “Transference.” “Mystery Zone” is one of the leaks from the album.

Britt Daniel’s crisp vocals cut through clean guitars. Those familiar with older singles “The Underdog” and “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” will find that the band swapped the horn instruments for a more spacey approach that is right up the Twilight Zone alley. (more…)