Brand Spankin'

Telekinesis! refuses to be tied down. It starts out slow with “Rust,” which is layered and lovely. It is a wistful snapshot; of his heart, Michael Benjamin Lerner (who is Telekinesis) sings, “It pumps something that I could not call blood/ and why’d it have to stop when you said love?” But by the time the second track, “Coast of Carolina,” really gets going, you’re somehow fully prepared for the unapologetically exciting, foot-tapping, larger-than-life sound it throws at you. At times reminiscent of early Rogue Wave (think “Publish My Love” off of Descended Like Vultures, in particular), this album is both lively and heartfelt, carefree and melancholy. Its tracks manage to be catchy without being completely mindless.

In the two days I’ve had The Lytics EP, I’ve listened to it over a dozen times, and with each additional listen, it seems to keep getting better and better.

A good album should listen like a good wine should taste – each sip revealing new details and layers that were seemingly invisible the previous sip.  Initial impressions and feelings should be built on and increased in complexity.  On the first spin, The Lytics EP was an easy listen.  Fun and toe-tapping, the focus was on seeing how consistent the rest of the EP was with “Big City Soundgirl” (which I had heard a while ago on The Lytics' MySpace page).  “Big City Soundgirl” is a great introduction to The Lytics' material because it brings you in gently and creates curiosity with a hook that is catchy but light --  instead of a heavy bassline -- to turn your ears and move your body.

Warped Tour '07 was something of a bittersweet event for me.  I was able to watch some of my favorite bands and people perform  (k-os, Meg & Dia, Pepper, Coheed and Cambria, Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion), many of whom I was seeing for the first time.  The thing that made the experience a bit disappointing was the feeling that compared to years prior, the lineup really wasn't as solid or diverse.  There were more screamo bands this year than the last twelve years combined, and the whiny, girl-jean wearing pop-punkers were out in full force.  Now this may just be a sign of the times, and maybe I'm getting too old to follow the latest trends, but based on the reactions of some of the bands interviewed on the Vans Warped Tour '07: 2007 Tour Compilation DVD, I wasn't alone in my out-of-place confusion (both Bad Religion and Killswitch Engage were bluntly honest when giving their opinions of some of the “talent” on the tour).

Whoa. Where did this come from? Wasn’t Santogold (Santi White) supposed to be a carbon copy of M.I.A.? Listening through her new self-titled release instead I’m picking up elements of No Doubt, Tegan and Sara, Rilo Kiley, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and yes, M.I.A. as well. After being written off as an M.I.A. clone for months based on a couple tracks, Santi finally gets a chance to strut her stuff, and strut she does. 

Santogold is far and away more diverse than anything M.I.A. has done. Santi is able to go from the danceable and M.I.A.-esque, addictive “Creative” (one of my favorite songs so far this year) to “You’ll Find A Way”, echoing early No Doubt (read: good No Doubt). The most impressive part out of all of this is she is talented at every type of music she tries. Of course any album as genre-spanning and ambitious as this is going to have a few weak spots. As versatile an album as it is, it is hard for it to feel coherent, it feels more like a mixtape than a planned out album. However, that isn’t to discredit the quality of the music, it just doesn’t flow very well at times. If you can get past that though, you’ll find 12 tracks running the gamut of indie music, and doing all of it superbly. Maybe Santogold should take on a Sufjan Stevens-esque project, but instead of doing states, she could do genres? What do you say Santi? You can thank me in your liner notes.

What’s the big deal?

Kim and Kelley. The Deal sisters are back for the first time in seven years, with a new rhythm section and a sober outlook. The disc is drastically different from anything they’ve done before. Mellow and sparse, it’s a far cry from the manic pop we’re used to from the sometimes-Pixies bassist.

Who’s behind it?

Super-producer Steve Albini. He’s worked with Kim before in numerous capacities. He’s also worked with the man that wanted to be Frank Black, Kurt Cobain (among many, many others).

What’s the big deal?

Cave released Grinderman’s self-titled debut last year to great reviews, and this record is its poppy little brother. But this little brother is just as big a pervert, don’t worry. Cave has a way of disguising his sick and realistic sense of humour as catchy pop ditties on this one, catching you off guard and then sucking you in for classic Bad Seeds tunes.

It’s been too long.

Four years after the release of Around the Sun (a slow paced record the band almost disowns) the trio from Athens have put out a record not of this time. Fans and critics alike had been wondering if REM had a best before date that expired at the end of the century; but I am here to tell you that this is their most important offering since 1996’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi. That disc had its share of rockers, but it was their previous disc, 1994’s Monster that is their definitive and classic sounding rock record.

The romantically linked duo that is Wye Oak – Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack – take what some may call shoegaze and push it in a vast swath of directions. If Children constantly flirts with folk, without being able to commit. It ranges from the jangly, distorted, feedback-laden single, “Warning”, to the laid back, sleepy-eyed, “Archaic Smile”. Surprisingly, both Jenn and Andy lend their voices to the album without anything lost when trading off songs. For a twosome, the Baltimore couple makes a considerable amount of noise on the album.

What’s the big deal?

It’s surprising, but this is only the fourth official full length from the band and the man that share the name Danko Jones. In the past decade they’ve released consistent, in your face records and toured endlessly around the world (they’re huge in Europe). This disc shows some diversity though; on tracks such as “Take Me Home” Danko (the man) sings instead of his usual “talk/sing/growl” combination. He actually can sing as well. Guests on the record include John Garcia (Kyuss) and Pete Stahl (Goatsnake) on the standout track “Forest of the Trees”.

Who’s behind it?

A favorite producer of Jones’, Nick Raskulinecz has worked on albums by Rush, Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver. He’s even a Grammy winner.

What’s the big deal?

Recorded very independently and simply, the disc strips down pop and rock standards from the last thirty years to the acoustic standards they’ve become. Karaoke this is not though, Doyle is an incredibly gifted vocalist, and getting her away from the abysmal pop trio Shaye is a good thing. Covering the Foo Fighters, Tragically Hip and most importantly Joy Division on a heartbreaking coulda-been-cheesy-but-escapes-that rendition of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” keeps this disc out of Canadian Idol style cover territory.

Who’s behind it?

Doyle and friend/producer/musician/songwriter Danny Michel worked casually over two years selecting the perfect assortment of favorites for the intimately recorded disc (it started one red wine filled afternoon, quite innocently recording a cover of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love”).