Select Date
The calendar requires Javascript.
Entries
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#22) – Dent May & Mia Vigar
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly
first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be
just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained
under the radar. Click here for
other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts,
White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Dent May – The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
to be released February 3rd on Paw Tracks
Report Card: A-
Okay, there’s definitely an element of the terrible here. I mean, look at that album cover. Just look at it. Seriously.
But once you get past that, and listen to the album a dozen times or
so, bigger issues start coming up: this Dent May, this
straight-from-Mississippi scoundrel, just how serious is he? How much
irony is there to his lounge-lizardly, microphone-hanging, bad suit
wearing persona? Is all his crooning like an inebriated and
discernibly less talented Jens Lekman, all his singing about a
formidable cast of losers ranging from college town hangers-on to the
unimpeachably woman-rejected to the despondently intoxicated, just part
of a master plan to make people smile when listening to music, rather
than wallow in the effluvious well of their own bourbonized misery?
Wed Dec 3 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#21) – Midori Hirano & Skeletons
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Midori Hirano – Klo: Yuri
released October 14th on Noble Japan
Report Card: B
Midori Hirano feels like what happens when all the nerds in school get together and try to make pop music. It might not always be pretty, sometimes it’s just plain awkward, there are instances of pleasant surprise, but in the end, at least they’re giving it their best shot. And Klo: Yuri, Midori Hirano’s sophomore release, feels like the progressive culmination of all this, as its gathering of music theory books and computer savvy results in an academic and sometimes brutally modernist approach to post-classical music. And if you ignore the fact that Midori Hirano is a well-educated and worldly Berliner from Japan, picturing her as the leader of a band of clumsy Americans isn’t a huge stretch.
Wed Nov 26 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#20) - Little Joy & Danielson
It’s
Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first
glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be
just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained
under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal,
Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John,
White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Little Joy – Little Joy
released November 4th on Rough Trade
Report Card: B
So here’s a list of things I thought when I first encountered Little Joy’s eponymous debut:
1. Finally! A band has actually followed in the vein created by The Strokes’ Is This It without sounding grossly derivative! It sure has taken long enough!
2. Or even maybe, this is the album The Strokes should have come
out with the last time around, rather than merely aping their own sound
and relying on dull, lifeless verse-chorus-verse and refusing to move
beyond the year 2001!
3. Wow, sometimes that female vocalist sounds a bit like Nico—I bet you
a million bucks Andy Warhol would have just loved this album!
Wed Nov 19 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#19) – DJ/rupture & Peter and the Wolf
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s
weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether
it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has
remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal,
Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John,
White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
DJ/Rupture – Uproot
released October 7 on Agriculture
Report Card: B+
Pasting together swatches of 23 diverse, seemingly random, and
very-much-someone-else’s songs could make it seem like DJ/rupture,
known to his mother as Jace Clayton, is a plain thief or merely yet
another mashupologist who captures the familiar and repackages it in
smile-worthy fashion. But despite the fact that he’s utilizing the
source material of others, a technique prone to aping and
obnoxiousness, there’s a simple kindness to Uproot, as if Clayton’s
working to amplify the gorgeousness of the originals in a tributary
tapestry, rather than simply trying to make a buck off of stolen beats
and the electronic excitement that is the fade-out and fade-in.
Wed Nov 12 2008 · Posted in Music Videos
HOT OFF THE PRESS(#18) - Deerhunter
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s
weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether
it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has
remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina,
Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and
Grizzly Bear.
Deerhunter – Microcastle & Weird Era Cont.
officially released October 28th on Kranky
Report Cards: A & B+
It’s easy to understand renowned freak-out Bradford Cox’s recent freak
out regarding Deerhunter’s unenviable history with internet leaks.
After all, Microcastle was perhaps exhibit 1A of the potential
terribleness of leaks and their ability to diminish the significance of
an actual release date: while Microcastle finally hit the
shelves of your favorite indie record store just last week, the
intrepid web scourer probably stumbled upon the album more than five
months ago. Yeah, that’s a long time, and the result was that a
healthy dose of the excitement surrounding what would have been a
highly-anticipated third release was diluted by the spread out nature
with which listeners encountered the work. Of course, you could make a
counter-argument that the seemingly interminable delay for the album’s
actual release date (why did it take so long, after all?) lent
enough separation for those who listened to and enjoyed the album
months ago to now be reintroduced to it, with greater perspective and,
really, a much more refined ear for just how excellent the album ended
up being.
Wed Nov 5 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#17) – Alexis Taylor & Max Richter
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly
first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be
just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained
under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina,
Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and
Grizzly Bear.
Alexis Taylor – Rubbed Out
released on October 21 on Treader
Report Card: B-
Ohmygodhotchiphotchiphotchip. If that’s your immediate reaction upon
hearing that Hot Chip frontman and oft-dynamo Alexis Taylor is
releasing an under-the-radar solo album, then you’re going to have to
prepare yourself for a somewhat muted response to Rubbed Out.
Because while this little disc sure enough features the familiar vocals
of one of music’s best pairs of nerd-glasses, there’s also a reason
it’s not a widely publicized side project a la Department of Eagles or
Megapuss, and the fact it’s barely making a dent in the musical
landscape of Hot Chip’s widespread and adoring international fanbase is
not without rationale. And that rationale is as follows: of Rubbed
Out’s fifteen tracks, maybe five or six are fully realized enough to
draw in a listener, while the rest feel like the unfinished recordings
of a regularly-brilliant musician far too busy with his other projects
to give sufficient time to this one.
Wed Oct 29 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#16) – Women & Pit Er Pat
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly
first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be
just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained
under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina,
Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and
Grizzly Bear.
Women – Women
released October 7 on Jagjaguwar
Report Card: B+
Immediately bursting with ramshackling madman ambition, the inventive
promise of Women’s first two tracks—the excellent though frustratingly
brief “Cameras” and the boisterous “Lawncare”—announced Women as a
major new-band-of-attention. And despite the near impossibility of
effectively Googling the group, the delightful ugliness of their sound,
what with people “singing” the same words over top each other, and in a
slightly misaligned fashion (such as on late-album lynchpin “Shaking
Hands”) makes them almost immediately endearing, and worth the digging
it takes to find out these hooligans are from Alberta, Canada, of all
places.
Wed Oct 22 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#15) – Crystal Stilts & Times New Viking
It’s
Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first
glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be
just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained
under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Crystal Stilts – Alight of Night
Wed Oct 15 2008 · Posted in
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#14) - Deerhoof & Megapuss
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#14) - Deerhoof & Megapuss
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as TV on the Radio, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Deerhoof – Offend Maggie
released October 7 on Kill Rock Stars
Report Card: B
Despite their oft-indiscernible lyrics, the obscurity of their songs, and a distinct lack of sex appeal, Deerhoof has successfully built an adoring fan base eager for even the slightest scrap of new material. The fact that they’ve done it all with an uncompromising dedication to pushing the envelope sonically—an approach which has led them to one of the most unique and immediately recognizable (and delightful) sounds in contemporary music—makes them almost impossibly endearing. These realities make it all the more mystifying and disappointing that Offend Maggie lacks the spikes in extreme glee that their last couple albums have provided so willingly, as its overall uniformity results not in a fantastical dynamism but in a blandness the band’s fans have never experienced.
Wed Oct 8 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#13) – Juana Molina & Final Fantasy
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#13) – Juana Molina & Final Fantasy
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as TV on the Radio, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Peter Bjorn & John, Vivian Girls, White Denim, The Walkmen, Fight Bite, and Grizzly Bear.
Juana Molina – Un Día
to be released October 7 on Domino
Report Card: A-
It’s been well over a year since Panda Bear released Person Pitch, an astounding and groundbreaking album that was practically impossible to dislike, not to mention qualified enough to land near the top of the best of 2007 lists for almost every major (intellectual) music publication. With its relentless looping of vocals, instrumentation, and sonic textures, as well as its propensity for the long song, Person Pitch reshaped what was expected of an avant-pop album in the twenty-first century, and intimated that a sea of imitators would eventually rise in its wake. That said, while it would be ridiculous to cite Juana Molina’s oft-excellent Un Día as a sad-sack imitation or mere trifle, the influence of Panda Bear (and those other looping aficionados, El Guincho and Andrew Bird) is pretty apparent, and acts as a testament to the continued viability of the technique as a way to make engaging and addictive “thinking person’s” music.
Wed Oct 1 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#12) - TV on the Radio & Cold War Kids
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as of Montreal, Peter Bjorn & John, Vivian Girls, Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen, The Bug, Fight Bite, and Grizzly Bear.
TV on the Radio – Dear Science,
released September 23 on DGC/Interscope
Report Card: A
There has always been the foul stench of drama around TV on the Radio. Maybe it has something to do with their obnoxiously broad appeal, or their innately overblown sound, or maybe it has something to do with band’s position as one of the very, very few notable bands of racial diversity in indie rock, a reality that has seemed to make the frustratingly pasty music media a little comfortable and self-congratulatory in their praise. All this put together has bred a certain stink about the band, as if they weren’t actually that good at all, and their bombast and the resulting acclaim was merely a token reward from the affirmative-action minded who have been wounded by indie rock’s apparent elitism. Unfortunately, though, for the conspiracy theorists who want to diminish the band, TV on the Radio—separated from all this sorry gunk—can be pretty fucking good.
Wed Sep 24 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#11) - Peter Bjorn and John & Grouper
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as of Montreal, Vivian Girls, Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen, The Bug, Fight Bite, and Grizzly Bear.
Peter Bjorn & John – Seaside Rock
to be released on September 23 by Almost Gold Recordings
Report Card: B
Nothing like flaunting the international fame and acclaim you got with a dyed-in-the-wool pop album by making its follow-up an instrumental collection destined to be slept on by most everyone who was chanting your name last year. But at the same time, while Writer’s Block got all the teenagers in a tizzy with the dazzlingly poptastic “Young Folks”—not to mention the rest of the album, which was undoubtedly one of the last five years’ most solid and unabashed homes for catchy-as-hell sugar hooks—Seaside Rock is a testament to a band who’s willing to say a little bit of “fuck you” to the slavering masses, a testament that declares that musical integrity and continued exploration are more important to this band than a continued assault on the tender eardrums of the thoughtless youth. Either that or they’re running away, like pansies, from expectations.
Wed Sep 17 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#10) - Fight Bite & Department of Eagles
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as of Montreal, Vivian Girls, Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen, The Bug, Lackthereof, and Grizzly Bear.
Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
To be released October 7 on 4AD
Report Card: B-
It’s not hard to get excited about the potential behind Department of Eagles. After all, the band’s frontman is none other than Daniel Rossen, Grizzly Bear extraordinaire, and of late it’s seemed that anything Grizzly Bear touches turns to gold. And while the deeper-voiced Ed Droste is perhaps Grizzly Bear’s most recognizable member, Rossen is a big reason for the band’s Midas-touch, as he sings lead regularly, and got the ball rolling on the band’s assault on the most-anticipated-album lists with his stirring “While You Wait for the Others,” the first post-Yellow House track the band released. And if that wasn’t enough, Rossen’s cover of Jo Jo’s “Too Little Too Late,” a mostly terrible song in its original incarnation, kicks ass. So yeah, it’s easy to get excited about Department of Eagles, where presumably Rossen would be able to differentiate himself from his Bear brothers, not to mention giving the music world another class A release.
Fri Sep 12 2008 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#9) - Of Montreal’s “Skeletal Lamping”
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#9) – Of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s
weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether
it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has
remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as
Vivian Girls, Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen,
The Bug, The Music Tapes, Lackthereof, and Grizzly Bear.
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
To be released October 7 on Polyvinyl.
Something has happened to Kevin Barnes. Whereas he once was purely quirky—a Beatlesesque Elephant 6 personality with comic intent and limited musical scope—he now has
become the superfamous man of the hour, the widely-adored
can-do-no-wrong pinnacle of electro-dance-pop glamour and glory. The
transition has been embraced so thoroughly it’s become almost
blasphemous to make a disapproving declaration regarding the advances
of his personal musical and self-revelatory state—it is as if his
evolution has acted as a statement for the acceptance of alternate
character, and the warm fuzzy feeling everyone has gotten from it (not
to mention a collection of some of the last few years’ most satisfying,
endearing, and excellent songs and albums) has created enough goodwill,
apparently, for him to push his audience’s ability to accept to a new
level.
Wed Sep 3 2008 · Posted in Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#8) - The Bug & Kemialliset Ystävät
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#8) – The Bug & Kemialliset Ystävät
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s
weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether
it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has
remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of HOT OFF THE PRESS, featuring acts such as
Vivian Girls, Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen,
The Music Tapes, Lackthereof, and Grizzly Bear.
The Bug – London Zoo
Released on August 12 on Ninja Tune.
London Zoo is, said as straightforwardly as possible, one of the most striking and
unmistakable albums to hit the shelves so far in 2008. The
England-based brainchild of Kevin Martin borrows from the musical
heritage of Jamaica to form heavy, lumbering, blisteringly rage-filled
music that is sure to drive off as many listeners as it attracts. But
while the scowl this album wears makes much hardcore rap look like
child’s play, the album’s polarizing effects are a sign of its
ingenuity—Martin’s sensibilities regarding darkness and repetition make
it the perfect collection of anthems for sneering and cursing as you
cut off other drivers on the highway.
Wed Aug 27 2008 · Posted in Daily, Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#7) - Vivian Girls & The Music Tapes
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#7) – Vivian Girls & The Music Tapes
by Nick Courtright
It’s
Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first
glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be
just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained
under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of HOT OFF THE PRESS, featuring acts such as
Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen, Lackthereof,
and Grizzly Bear.
Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls
To be released on CD September 30 by In the Red.
The
blogosphere is an odd, isolated place, and sometimes the excitement
about an album is so thick and mad and foaming at the mouth that it’s
shocking to find out the rest of the world hardly knows what’s going
on. But this seems to be the case with Vivian Girls, a band who’s been
riding the wave of Internet love and adoration these past few months,
yet—perhaps because their limited edition vinyl debut has been sold out
since practically the minute it was released—most people haven’t yet
caught the fever. All that said, Vivian Girls’ clattering, energetic
approach to punky two minute pop-rock is befitting of the web's
fawning, and surely soon enough the Brooklyn trio (all women, no less)
will be the darlings of a wider populus…even if the album as a whole
doesn’t thrill as fabulously as the first couple singles would have you
believe.
Wed Aug 20 2008 · Posted in Daily, Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#6) - Lackthereof & Conor Oberst
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#6) – Lackthereof & Conor Oberst
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s
weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether
it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has
remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of HOT OFF THE PRESS, featuring bands such as
Bodies of Water, White Denim, The Walkmen, Au, and Grizzly Bear.
Lackthereof – Your Anchor
Released July 22 on Barsuk.
It’d
be pretty easy to compose a lengthy treatise on the rash of loop-based
musicians playing prominent roles in the scene nowadays, a group
ranging all the way from classically-trained Andrew Bird to knob-twisting Panda Bear, but instead we’ll just discuss Your Anchor and how it takes advantage of the benefits of looping, while also
encapsulating the method’s potential pitfalls. Lackthereof, notable
because they are the primary project of Menomena member Danny Seim, make music that sounds like a Menomena song lying
prone on the studio room floor, like an engine taken totally apart and
put only a little bit back together.
Wed Aug 13 2008 · Posted in Daily, Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#5) - Bodies of Water & Russian Red
This is the fifth installment of a weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Search for "HOT OFF THE PRESS" in our search engine to the right to see the previous four editions of this Wednesday column.
Bodies of Water – A Certain Feeling
Released July 22 on Secretly Canadian.
We’ve
all seen flashes of Arcade Fire’s influence in the music scene these
past few years, and it’s hard to believe it’s been almost four years
since Funeral took us all by storm. But rarely has an album
truly jumped out and demanded to follow in the bombastic footsteps of
Win Butler and Régine Chassagne’s Canadian outfit, while still being
talented and unique enough not merely to seem like parrots. But A Certain Feeling has that quality to it, as it’s flamboyant and very, very large in
sound, all the while featuring dueling male and female vocals, steady
percussion, and the occasional classic rock-esque guitar riff.
Wed Aug 6 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#4)
The Walkmen – You & Me
To be released August 19, 2008 on Gigantic.
I won’t lie and say I was just buzzing with excitement over the release
of the new Walkmen album. After all, they’ve had a solid little
career, with some pleasant peaks and even a good deal of critical
acclaim for their 2004 release Bows + Arrows. And they’re taking a generous step towards general angelhood with the pre-release method for their new album, You & Me, which they are offering for a mere five dollars online, with 100% of proceeds going to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
But despite this undeniably excellent and heartfelt deed—not to mention
the steady reputation the band has established—it’s always seemed like
something’s holding back the New York quintet musically, and,
unfortunately, You & Me isn’t about to dispel those notions.
Thu Jul 31 2008 · Posted in Daily, Reviews
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#3)
It's Wednesday, time for another issue HOT OFF THE PRESS. This is the third installment of a weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for last week’s column, which reviewed White Denim and Black Kids, and click here for the first installment, which regarded the new Beck, Fiery Furnaces, and Ponytail. Read on...
Wed Jul 23 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#2)
This is the second installment of a weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for the first installment, which regarded the new Beck, Fiery Furnaces, and Ponytail.
White Denim – Workout Holiday
Released June 23, 2008 (on their European label, Full Time Hobby).
So...forgive a guy for being skeptical. Yeah, yeah, White Denim were lauded in Rolling Stone, and influential music blog Gorilla vs. Bear touts them so regularly it’s almost embarrassing…when this much hype is
brewing in the music world about a band who hasn’t even released a full
album, the raising of eyebrows is nothing less than natural. After
all, there was Vampire Weekend, and we’ve all seen the shitstorm of
divisiveness they’ve caused, what with half the world thinking they are
the Second Coming (in cardigans, no less), and the other half of the
world thinking they're Afrobeat-appropriating snobs who should just lay
back on their yachts and shut their mouths. But let’s give White Denim
a chance. If only because they’re from Texas, and have honed their
chops on the Austin scene.
Wed Jul 16 2008 · Posted in Reviews
New weekly column: HOT OFF THE PRESS (#1)
Our blog contributors are awesome. And here's more proof:
Behold...the the first installment of a weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. And we shall call it HOT OFF THE PRESS...
Beck – Modern Guilt
Released July 8, 2008.
Looks like Beck. Sounds like Beck. Must be Beck. And so it
is, with our favorite midnight vulture’s latest release – it seems like
he’s coming out with them a bit too fast for his own good, doesn’t it?
I have to admit it seems a bit soon after his last album, the somewhat
under-inspired The Information (you hardly remembered that
happened, right?), and the thought of a new collection caused more than
a few eye-rolls. But, in the end, Beck has been a brilliant bastard
more often than not, and this album – produced by the ever-present Danger Mouse – is his calmer self, harkening back to the Sea Change days with its cool nostalgia and reverence of 60s sounds. Despite the
skepticism – fueled by his diminishing live performance as he nears
forty – sure enough, like most all Beck releases, Modern Guilt gets its claws into you, and after a tepid first few listens, it starts
to hold together quite well as a collection. Guest turns from the
likes of Cat Power’s Chan Marshall certainly help the cause.