Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
[download] Nothing To Hide

By all accounts, all twelve songs on Yo La Tengo’s Popular Songs can easily become popular one way or another (commercials, soundtracks, blog hype). Many songs by YLT remind me of wedding songs. You can just imagine the band on stage at one lucky couple’s special day and they break out in tunes like “All Your Secrets,” in which Georgia sings to his significant other, persuading her to tell him all her secrets slowly so she won’t have to repeat herself. Yo La Tengo have a romantic quirk to them and this makes them quite more interesting than they already are. YLT also make you want to stick your head out the car window to have your hair blow in the wind and cause that oh so carefree feeling. The catchiness of “Nothing To Hide” may induce that feeling. All in all, Popular Songs is a great experience and total fun. A

The Dodos - Time To Die
[download] Two Medicines

When I heard 2008’s Visiter, I thought how it would be perfect for those moments when you’re lying on the grass at the park or your front lawn, the trips to the beach, and the sunsets. Simply put, the songs that made Visiter were equivalent to summer. Now we have Time to Die to listen to this summer, and although Visiter is the stronger album, Time to Die isn’t all that different. That’s not a bad thing. The Dodos have managed to keep their folky, indie rock style, but they’re not a low-fi band on this album. Meric Long’s voice is always a pleasure listening to and Logan Kroeber’s drumming is top-notch. The addition of a new member makes The Dodos seem like a fuller band who have managed to be able to offer new gems like “Two Medicines,” “Fables,” and “Longform.” While some may call The Dodos’ new effort indie mediocrity, I think of it as a deeper look into what their musicianship is capable of bringing. A-

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
[download] Pretty Visitors

I was excited to hear Humbug since it’s been few years that the Arctic Monkeys have released a new album. However, I have to admit I’m not in love –or like –with the new album. More like baffled. I can see some experimentation and growth from the band members, especially Alex Turner, whose voice is deeper and more haunting. The songs seem to be constant throughout most of Humbug and I think that’s what’s most disappointing. With their debut, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not, one wouldn’t expect a criticizing song like “Still Take You Home” followed by a somewhat low-fi song, “Riot Van.” With such consistency in Humbug, it can get a little boring. It’s a mature sound by all accounts, but there are many instances when it gets a little slow. I hoped for something edgy and frenetic when I heard, say, “Cornerstone,” but instead I heard “Dance Little Liar,” which isn’t a song one would really dance to at all. The production and execution of the album is something to admire. In fact, I would say that Humbug does demand respect and Arctic Monkeys will surely be able to gain new fans with songs like “Pretty Visitors” and “Crying Lightning.” I’m not saying Humbug is a bad album –it’s just quite different than what I imagined their new album would be like. It’s still worth a heavy rotation. B

2008 has been a pretty good year. Music-wise, its had good moments as well, like honorably mentionable of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping and the over-hyped Oracular Spectacular brought forth by MGMT. I'd even add Cajun Dance Party's The Colourful Life. My picks for the year's best albums:



When “Mercury” surfaced as Bloc Party’s newest single during the summer and received mixed reviews, I was excited to hear that they announced a new album. I’m not adding Intimacy because of my bias concerning my fangirlyness for this band. I’ll admit that this isn’t Bloc Party’s best, but it works really well. I still think that this album is exceptional, with some really great songs like “Halo” and “Trojan Horse.” For me, Intimacy shows me what Bloc Party is capable of, and how their willing to change their sound here and there. And I have to add that “Ion Square” is a perfectly captured moment in pop dipped in some electro-rock sound.

This is fun, and it’s poppy, and it’s dance-worthy, and it’s pretty good, too. Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colors is crafted well and a lot of its material is catchy. The band sounds a lot more confident than their debut, Bright Like Neon Love, but that’s understandable, this record is solid.

I think The Last Shadow Puppets were my favorite rising band in 2008. The Hollywood-esque, 60’s retro sounds that Miles Kane and Alex Turner bring forth is impressive. You don’t need to be a fan of either Arctic Monkeys or The Rascals to be obliged to listen to this. This is what you’d call ambitious.

Microcastles sounds like summer. Deerhunter deserves all praise necessary to offer for this effort. The album is a pleasing winner. I absolutely love “Never Stops.”

Sounding like The Strokes some times and other times, not, Little Joy has ventured on something great. This debut is bold and it’s consistent. The vocals are swell, the melodies are perfect, and the album as a whole is awesome.

I have no idea what’s being sung about when I listen to Sigur Ros, but I still thought this album was remarkable. In some parts, the record is fun and summery, and in others, the songs slow down a bit, but you’re still able to embrace what’s coming at you.

Alex and Miles: you’ve kind of disappointed me today when I gave your full-length a listen. “In The Heat of the Morning,” on the Age of Understatement EP was more than just awesome, so I kind of expected material just as comparable as that on the debut. The Last Shadow Puppets haven’t delivered a terrible album –no, it’s quite good and it’d make a good companion to clean the house to if you’re willing to get distracted once in a while, but the EP was pretty strong, so if you expect The Age of Understatement to be like its EP-namesake, then be prepared to be slightly let down.

“Standing Next To Me” was an excellent song, which came right after the known tune, “The Age of Understatement.” Another song I fairly enjoyed was “Black Plant.” One can probably separate the similarities and differences from Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets, and since I still have yet to listen to The Rascals (which I’m going to, definitely), I can’t exactly say anything about Kanes’ band.

“In My Room” reminds me of James Bond. It has somewhat of a dramatic beginning and sort of stays that way throughout the rest of the song. The first few seconds of “Meeting Place” reminded me of the first few seconds to “I Still Remember” by Bloc Party. It’s definitely a nice track on the album, a subtle melody that isn’t made tacky because of the heavy accents that the singers have.

One of Arctic Monkeys’ gems would have to be “Despair In The Departure Lounge,” which shies away from guitar riffs, and goes for more of a subdued sound, and I would have to say that quite a few of the songs found on this album have the same elements as that one song did. The Last Shadow Puppets have certainly tried, and their effort is obvious here, so after a while, you really can’t complain about why their LP doesn’t sound completely like their EP. However, this is one of those albums that aren’t exactly perfect, but it’s the endeavor that is the charm and key to your pleasure. B+/A-

As some of us may know, The Last Shadow Puppets have released their EP, The Age of the Understatement yesterday, and it will probably lead me to a few things: I won’t get enough of Alex Turner’s voice, I might want to check out some material by the Rascals simply because of Miles Kane, and/or this EP will be on heavy rotation for a while. All three possibilities will probably come out to be true, especially the last, because The Last Shadow Puppets have shown potential and substance on this well-crafted EP.

“Wondrous Place” is such a good song –at least, I think so. “In The Heat of the Morning” is definitely catchy and can well be a reminder to Alex Turner fans of Arctic Monkeys. I can’t really make any comparisons to the Rascals, mainly because I have yet to be acquainted with them yet. But if you’ve never listened to an Arctic Monkeys song or anything by the Rascals, I can guarantee you that you’ll want to seek out these bands simply because of how well this EP presents the musicianship of Miles Kane and Alex Turner. A

I was reviewing my thoughts I had given Arctic Monkey's Favorite Worst Nightmare on my first listen, and decided to listen to their music to see if I still had the same thoughts as I did then. And I have to say, I was wrong back then when I gave Arctic Monkey's sophomore album a B-. It definitely isn't.

Somehow, AM makes me think of Bloc Party. I love Bloc Party. And so this album actually isn't doing so bad for my taste, surprisingly. A-

Recommended and liked by an acquaintance of mine, Favorite Worst Nightmare, the new album released by Arctic Monkeys, the British rock band that has already found much success through crazed fans, first seemed like a good album that’d be enjoyable and classic. Though I’m not the biggest fan of Arctic Monkeys (or even a listener, as a matter of fact), I downloaded the album, through a recommendation. The band’s music isn’t exactly the kind of music that meets my interests, but most people listen to music that sounds good. And Arctic Monkeys can give you songs that meet that standard.

Teddy Picker, the album’s second track, is filled with various, catchy guitar riffs sure to be liked by fans. Alex Turner, the group’s vocalist and lead man, has a voice which has potential and can be used well. His singing is more outshined in tunes like D is for Dangerous and If You Were There, Beware. But the winning track of the record is most likely Florescent Adolescent. This song doesn’t sound too similar like anything else on the album, because you’ll find that a lot of Arctic Monkeys material end up sounding like everything else on the CD, so this tune is sort of like a change.  

The album has yet to grow on me, as well as the band itself, but I must say: it wasn’t such a waste of time. Favorite Worst Nightmare has a lot of range between different tunes and doesn’t fail to be a good album. You can tell that Arctic Monkeys are soon on their way to success and have a lot admirers lusting after their music. Music that just needs to grow on me, however. B-