Audioholic Media

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 03.08.11
by Joshua Krage

Some real downtempo surprises this week, from Alexi Murdoch’s whispery croon to Wye Oak’s indie shadowplay to Kurt Vile’s street-savvy alt.folk, all vying to help you sit back and contemplate the meaning of life, coffee and your next warm day. Plenty of rock flavors in the mix as well, especially from a shockingly ass-kicking R.E.M. and more:

Ancient Astronauts, Into Bass and Time – out on Eighteenth Street Records so expect some Thievery Corporation vibe.
Exene Cervenka, Excitement of Maybe – firecracker frontwoman of seminal LA punks X, Exene goes a bit the Neko Case alt.folk route, but with more tattoos and teeth.
Children of Bodom
Bruce Cockburn
Dr. John
Sara Evans
Grails, Deep Politics – Portland post-rockers relocate their instrumental sound to a Sergio Leone movie and get more lush and ambient with their heavy. Decent new direction.
Trilok Gurtu
Billy Joel – live at Shea Statium
Avril Lavigne
Lil’ Jon – best of
Lupe Fiasco, Lasers – love the cover of this album, and the neon letters are an indicator of the synth-driven stories here, all buoyed by fuzzed-out beats and a general feeling of technology giving Lupe his post-Timbaland dance floor juice. Wordplay is dominating as always, and setpiece “The Show Goes On” lifts the jam from Modest Mouse’s “Float On” to raise it up to the roof. Great hook from John Legend on album closer “Never Forget You,” soaring on a slow shuffle out into the sunset.
Mae
Memphis
Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) – best of

Alexi Murdoch, Towards the Sun – the closest modern-day emulator of the wispy, intimate Nick Drake unaccompanied bard sound, this Scottish songsmith keeps it acoustic and spontaneous on his second proper full-length release (if you discount film soundtrack smatterings). These tracks are almost all self-recorded and self-produced, most being recorded in a single night while on tour in 2009 with only a few accoutrements added later, notably from such excellent help as Beirut’s Jon Natchez and Kelly Pratt as well as Kyle Resnick out of The National. With mostly just his guitar and pitch-perfect splashes of trumpets, keys and other ambient fills for company, these songs drift easily right past our club-hardened defenses, settling right into the innermost places, deceptively comforting and artfully contemplative. This is your rainy-day album for the decade.

OST – Glee vol. 5
OST – Norwegian Wood (Jonny Greenwood)

Parts and Labor, Constant Future – if you’re looking for something unexpected and interesting, why not try some live electronics? Yes, instead of your average guitars, pianos, keyboards and whatever, these guys take their rhythm section foundation and loop up a whole slew of circuitboards, potientiometers, oscillators and other tools of signal manipulation to weave their melodies together. It’s a lot more catchy than it sounds, and frontman Dan Friel brings an indie tenor to the party for you people who need words to call it a song.

Passion

R.E.M., Collapse Into Now – I’m as surprised as anyone by this 30+-year-old band’s recent streak of vibrant, thick-footed rockers sounding as alive and hungry today as in their college-radio salad days. Michael Stipe’s voice and gifts of wordplay and delivery continue in nearly top form and as a songwriter, he remains as in-touch with the modern world and all its wanderings and woes as he ever has. And the band is just locked in, much tighter than any band three decades on has any right to be, with Peter Buck ratcheting up the crunch on the album’s heavier moments even while keeping the trebled-out indie jangle in the background. Guest spots from the likes of Peaches, Eddie Vedder and Patti Smith provide some extra flavor, but in a rare occasion they are not the main attractions, fitting in nicely to some excellent songcrafting rather than outshining their hosts. By the time the surprisingly ambient and gritty album closer “Blue” rolls out, you’ve forgotten these are guys in their fifties and you find yourself lost in the stellar, undeniably consistent tunes.

Raekwon
Gruff Rhys (of Super Furry Animals)
Ringo Deathstarr
Rival Schools
Starfucker
Throwing Gravity
Daniel Tosh (of Tosh.0)

Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring For My Halo – taking large steps beyond the dirt-encrusted lo-fi of his earlier works, Vile actually invests in deep production and reaps meaty dividends in the gray, cloud-soaked textures backdropping his folk-damaged voice and alt-americana sound. His lyrics bite subtly, not unlike another famous Kurt, but these songs are busking on the streetcorner and smoking outside the barber shop– rather than instrument-thrashing and stage-diving– and sharing worn wisdom in a quiet conversation rather than blasting from your speakers.

Wye Oak, Civilian – well-rounded indie duo out of Baltimore, MD launches a third album marking a solid progression from their hazy, mellow layering and into some crispier, sturdier rock textures. Guitarist/frontwoman Jenn Wasner’s voice evokes a less-agitated Emily Haines amongst a slew of other colors, and with Andy Stack’s drums these two manage to wring a whole lot of soundage from their two-person dynamic.

It’s good to see an established band like R.E.M., who have no need to prove themselves, going out of their way to light a fire under their competition– especially when their main competition is themselves. Beyond, this week is a decent variety; maybe no real other rock standouts but at least Alexi Murdoch will bring you to a quiet place where you can breathe. See you next week for some new Joy Formidable, J Mascis, and an album from The Pains of Being an Incredibly Long Band Name. Rock.

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