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.

The album’s most energetic moment can be found in the last minute and a half of “10 Mile Stereo” when the drums propel into full throttle and the soaring ambiance is set to stun. Folks who argue Beach House’s music makes them fall asleep should listen to this. I dare them to catch Zs here. After this climax, the dust settles for Teen Dream‘s most intimate song: “Real Love,” a ballad that consists mostly of piano and a hair-standing vocal performance from Legrand.

There are small occurrences where their “trademark” sound begins to blur with all the other songs, making it difficult to decipher the differences. However after repeated listening, these intricacies are can be easily noticed can. Otherwise, Beach House has gone Merriweather Post Pavilion on us, giving us a nearly flawless album (on a good day, I’d say it is perfect) in the first month of 2010. Album of the year? Odds are looking good.

‘Teen Dream’ is out via Sub Pop on Jan. 26

Lady Gaga -

The Fame Monster

[Released November 23rd via Interscope]

Lady Gaga’s sophomore effort reads like a true project. The Fame Monster delves even deeper in theme both sonically and conceptually than its predecessor, and the translation is even brassier and bossier pop deftness. Lyrically, the new tracks may lack in catchiness where The Fame did not, but after several spins this is sure to catch on at another level.

It’s a sound that is so unmistakably “Gaga,” and at that, a sound that has come to full fruition with a more conscious recognition of who, as an artist, she really is. Where, in the past, she needed to rely on sunglasses, spectacle, and superficial content in her lyrics to stake a claim, this new approach seems a much more liberating expression of what it really is that she’s trying to do. Her constant push to raise the bar is evident and triumphantly executed.

It’s not a bad thing that the album is such an obviously influenced piece of work (for those who are keyed in well enough to catch the references). While other pop production rides the wave of cyclic change, this album guides it. Her influences are unabashed and a futuristic restyling of what would otherwise be considered retro, and some of the instrumentation, themes and chords are hard to mistake. There’s classic 90’s dance (the birth of electro pop), Ace of Base, written all over “Alejandro,” a track that received early buzz when it leaked on the internet along with “Dance in the Dark.”

From the sampling of very similar (if not exact) ocean waves breaking over a steady kick beat to the upper octave synth tune resounding throughout, it’s a mix of “All That She Wants,” “Don’t Turn Around,” and “The Sign” combined, but nevertheless, a clear nod in awareness to the roots of her music. “Speechless,” although one of the most outstanding tracks lyrically on the album, cannot be credited by Gaga for composition. That credit belongs to David Bowie (an inspiration that Gaga has never been shy about) and his 1972 single, “All The Young Dudes.”

…But this is what Gaga is all about; taking the left-of-center and bringing it mainstream. If she can continue to do so with as much original, heartfelt, and progressive edge, then why should we hate it? If from nothing else, it may be discomfort from the thought of being force-fed with such dramatic charm that spawns the Lady’s critics. For the majority…she wants our love and we will continue to provide it as we dance in the dark and are rendered speechless by her monster music. You can almost see the performances taking shape as you listen through the album – the theatrics, the visuals to it all that are sure to ensue as she gets ready to embark on a world tour – and still, she will keep us on the edge of our seats as she continues to peak the excitement by throwing us those imaginative curveballs.

Buy: Amazon

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.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Kyp Malone is one of the most talented musicians out there today. He has an uncanny ability to assemble a beautiful portrait of music through his intricate, fluid guitar playing, poetic lyrics, and his emotionally charged vocals. However, the long tracktimes start to bore the listener at certain points.

“Love Won’t Save You” drags on far too long and becomes too self-indulgent. With soley vocals and guitar, Malone’s lyrics are the centerpiece, unfortunately the listener will lose interest in this song that feels like it has no real direction. Instead it floats around for nearly eight minutes.

Continuing with TVotR’s quilt comparison, this album is but a piece of the fabric that makes up TVotR. Only this fabric could use a little patchwork in some spots.

Buy: Insound | Amazon | iTunes

The xx -

XX

Rating:

Out August 17th, released by Young Turks

xx, with their debut LP, XX, have managed to simultaneously embody the elusive vagabond spirit of the young, repressed and creatively conscious art culture, and still introduce something so fresh and inviting, and otherwise, void from a currently indistinguishable music scene. It is an aura so strenuously attempted at by electronic experimentation and rule-breaking acoustics. Yet with the most subtle production and musically simplistic arrangements, The xx has found the perfect formula in beautifully resonating minimalism.

Living up to their blog-raved covers, the band has put together a beautifully crafted album, completely purposeful and artistic in its compilation. Each track reads with the kind of haunting, unsuspecting melodies that creep their way into your head in such a way that when you hum them, you aren’t sure you’ve got it right. This is a thread that rings through the bare, chilling qualities of two voices from the band of four 20-year-olds, Oliver Sim, Romy Madley Croft, Baria Qureshi and Jamie Smith. Their lyrics are pulled off with a blase reduction to mere conversation, but the dialogue is intriguing.

In songs like, “Basic Space,” amidst the perfect application of reverb, their voices have such a beautiful quality that they resonate just enough so that they never actually lift off of the instrumentation, but rather become an instrument themselves.

From the start of the album, an intro sets the tone of repeating motifs and chords with plucking guitar hooks, popping snares and a tribal brigade of sampled electronic and acoustic drums. The songs are mostly about lost love and the tribulations that trial an impassioned youth. “Shelter,” one track that makes the most sense as a “single” of sorts, begs a question typical of sexual frustration in an emotionally introverted pairing, “Can I make it better … with the lights turned on?”

However, there’s heart to everything that’s sung about. Even in the more pop-oriented tracks which ride with a little more zest, there is contemplative thought to the words which turn poetry into rhythmic plays. “Islands” consists of a fairly simpleminded hook, but its verses are riddled with a little more fodder. The lines, “See what I’ve done/That bridge is on fire/Going back to where I’ve been/I’m froze by desire/No need to leave,” provide an entirely implicit metaphor attesting to the emotional isolation identified by the song’s title.

With thematically consistent instrumentation throughout, XX, is broken by musing interludes like, “Fantasy,” an affected reprise of the music from “Shelter.” Featuring vocals from Oliver (as opposed to “Shelter,” which features the band’s female counterpart, Romy), the interlude contrasts “Shelter” in such a way that it causes you to dig deeper into these connections within the album once they are noticed, as you wonder exactly what this response is saying.
From what’s evident in their recorded music to what’s been spoken about their live set, it’s undeniable the considerable waves that are being forged in the wake of their gentle rippling of the tide. With primal soft rock that calls upon basic R&B composition, and distorted electric guitars that make for the most beautifully ethereal sounds, what they’ve created is a beat that matches the pulse of a creative undercurrent in music today.

Although they channel the individuality of an alternative indie band, the obvious appreciation for the most thunderous bass (which rolls like butter under a synthetic soundscape) is a small and subtle homage to an audio culture that thrives just left of the mainstream. This is synthesized rock and it is at the core of a crossover revolution in the music world that is fusing electronic practices with the most important skill of all: good old fashioned songwriting.
Tracklisting:

1. Intro
2. VCR
3. Crystalised
4. Islands
5. Heart Skipped a Beat
6. Fantasy
7. Shelter
8. Basic Space
9. Infinity
10. Night Time
11. Stars

Buy: iTunes | Amazon

Dragonette -

Fixin To Thrill

[Out 9/29 in Canada, 10/3 in Australia, 10/27 in US]
Released by Mercury Records (Canada), Universal (Australia), I Surrender (US)

Dragonette, a Canadian electronic pop group, is back with their second album, Fixin to Thrill. “Fixin to Thrill,” “Gone Too Far” and “Pick up the Phone,” are all stand out singles from the album, which have grown in popularity over the course of this year. Fixin to Thrill is not a ground-breaking album or a beacon of undeniable greatness, but it is pleasure for the ears and an upbeat poppy record for the collection.

Lead singer and songwriter, Martina Sorbara, said “We were just king of making up shit as we went along and we still are doing that.”

No longer guitar heavy, the album stands out as much more polished than their first. Fixin to Thrill is perfectly produced and carries digitally pleasing blends throughout. It has catchy riffs in almost every track and pop hooks that make it up lifting.

It opens with a bang, well, the hit single “Fixin to Thrill,” then continues into another possible chart breaker, “Gone Too Far.” “Gone Too Far” carries the electronic pop energy from “Fixin’ to Thrill” but adds a little something extra that sets the tone for the rest of the album, think electronic-pop meets a country hoedown with great vocals. The album takes a few dips from its livelihood mid way through.

In these lethargic moments, you hear the lead singer’s frustration with her lying significant other and need to escape from it all (tracks #3, #5). The last third of the record (with the exception of track 11) gets a bit repetitive and the modernized 80’s vibe gets a little old. But it finishes with “Don’t be Funny,” a personal favorite track that brings you into a musically perfect moment as you get lost in Sorbara’s angelic and charming voice.

All in all, it’s a warm electronic record with driving, energetic choruses that carry the entirety of the album. You get lost in the good synths, which stimulate a care and reason free euphoria – perfect for a Sunday lounge.

Tracklisting:
1. Fixin To Thrill
2. Gone Too Far
3. Liar
4. Stupid Grin
5. Easy
6. Pick Up The Phone
7. We Rule The World
8. Big Sunglasses
9. Okay Dolore
10. Come On Be Good
11. Youre A Disaster
12. Dont Be Funny

Buy: iTunes | CD Baby

Freelance

Whales -

Weathervanes

[Released 9/1, 2009]
Record Label: None/ Indepedent

Formed in late 2008, Freelance Whales, a band from Queens, is leaping onto the music scene with an undeniable presence. A few months ago they released their debut album, Weathervanes, and since then its been gaining rapid popularity because they are a group that just can’t be ignored.

Freelance Whales brings us back to “old school” indy, if there is such a thing. They definitely don’t fit into the 2009 breakout band trend of electronic pop, which we see so often. The group has a theme that could be categorized as similar to Postal Service or Sufjan Stevens. Its what emo-electronic would sound like on a nice day in an open prairie field.

Standout tracks include “Generator ^ First Floor,” “Starring,” and “The Great Estates”. “Generator ^ First Floor,” is the influential start to the album. A long instrumental introduction, filled with the guitar, banjo, harmonium, glockenspiel, and synthesizers, sets the tone for the orchestrated heavy album. There is something very powerful and moving about the first song that lures you into the rest of the album.

Continuing the buildup as you progress deeper into the album is “Starring.” This track has a sentimental melody with a poppy chorus that sets you free. The best part of this song and an aspect that makes the album stand out as great is the use of the banjo. Rounding out the epic album is the song “The Great Estates.” It carries a memorable melody that touches your emotions after a few listens, much like the entire album.

These guys are the real deal. Not a band to watch, a band to get into right now!  They are about to blow up, they’re just thatttt good.

Tracklisting:
1. Generator ^ First Floor
2. Hannah
3. Locations
4. Channels
5. Starring
6. Kilojoules
7. Broken Horse
8. Danse Flat
8. Ghosting
9. We Could Be Friends
10. Vessels
11. Generator ^ Second Floor
12. The Great Estates

- Melina Bast