Here’s how this segment works:
I’ll listen to as many albums as possible throughout the week, break down buzz worthy choices and then stamp them with either; Unripe (intriguing), Ripening (gratifying) or Ripe (choice of the week).
Albums I listened to that I didn’t feel warranted a discussion:
- Colleen – The Weighing Of The Heart
- Dungeonesse – Dungeonesse
- Eluvium – Nightmare Ending
- Jenny Hval – Innocence Is Kinky
- Kisses – Kids In LA
- MS MR – Secondhand Rapture
- Patty Griffin – American Kid
- Pure X – Crawling Up The Stairs
- Sam Amidon – Bright Sunny South
- Small Black – Limits Of Desire
- Tera Melos – X’ed Out
- The Uncluded – Hokey Fright
- Vår – No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers
Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires Of The City
- Released : May 14th, 2013
- For Fans of: Phoenix , Smith Westerns or The Morning Benders .
- The Harvest: Unripe
Here’s the question I’ll put to you, that I’ll bring up again next week for the already complete Daft Punk review to a slightly altered result and that is; “ Are you masking its flaws because of their proven history? ”.
What made Vampire Weekend ’s slightly pretentious vibe acceptable on the two previous albums was you had to admire Ezra Koenig ’s approach to lightly dangling clever word play in between Rostam Batmanglij ’s ability to incorporate several different instruments with instantly enjoyable and distinguishable hooks. Throw in no complaints efforts from Chris Tomson on bass guitar, lively drums from Chris Baio and you had a fun band.
Band being the keyword, because as Foals did earlier this year on their third album, Modern Vampires Of The City has the band returning more along the lines of Ezra Koenig and The Vampire Weekend . That’s not to say the album is automatically of less value, because bands such as The Smiths improved over time as their lead singers took over. However this album very clearly highlights the importance of Rostam Batmanglij , who’s previously vibrant finger prints are hard to find and are replaced by Erza’s religious preaching.
Not that I have anything against religion (in fact I really enjoy reading about religion), but instead of selling his principals in an interesting or universal way, he strips down the complexity and volume of his band mates in order to streamline his messages.
Instead of the hook driven ‘ Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa ’ or energetic bursts of ‘ Run ’, you have basic, four to the floor, bass stomping tracks such as ‘ Unbelievers ’ or ’ Everlasting Arms ’, and the distracting stiff drum rolls on ‘ Hudson ’ and chipmunk vocals on ‘ Ya Hey ’ and ‘ Don’t Lie ’ – where only Rostam’s brief participation in the chorus saves it from complete mediocrity.
With that all said (don’t get me started on the Steve Buscemi promotion videos), this album doesn’t necessarily signal the downward spiral of Vampire Weekend, because when they all play as equals, they’re impressive returns on tracks such as ‘ Step ’, that’s not tied down by its connection to Souls Of Mischief ‘s ‘ Step To My Girl ’, does a brilliant balancing job of being accessible to all ages. The modern equivalent of The Beatles ‘ Twist n Shout ’ (at least in terms of energy and party starting ability) on ‘ Diane Young ’ and ‘ Hannah Hunt ’ is where Erza doesn’t thrust his beliefs at you, instead of opting to rely on a tear jerking piano and perhaps some of his highest pitched vocal notes to date.
But just as the NBA ’s recently eliminated Oklahoma Thunder discovered, you’re star play ( Kevin Durant or in this example Erza) is dependent on the appearance of their sidekick ( Russell Westbrook or in this example Rostam).
Bibio – Silver Wilkinson
- Released : May 14th, 2013
- For Fans of: Lone , Boards Of Canada or Bonobo .
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The Harvest:
Unripe
Emotional depth has gone a little missing as of late in sample heavy music and Bibio can also attend to that trend. So his decision to return with a product of winter not summer is welcomed and vital.
Some people will approach this album hoping to find upbeat, summer skipping tracks such as previous songs like ‘ All The Flowers ’ and ‘ K Is For Kelson ’ and will walk away after their first listen slightly disappointed, but once you make the adjustment that Stephen Wilkinson has created an album of far more mystery and profundity than his previous outputs (that were generally more a collection of tracks than overall themed albums), you’ll find yourself captivated from start to finish.
Unfortunately while you’ll be captivated and appreciative of his approach, most of it comes off the back of expecting each following track to finally provide something you haven’t heard before from him or if this is your first Bibio experience, you’ll be thinking “ this is nice, but nothing special ” and you’ll be bluntly right on the money.
The opening four track sequence is gentle in its nature, but almost too polite in its sincerity. When the tracks aren’t too brief, the influences take over, whether it be The Cure ’s Disintegratio n on ‘ Dye The Water Green ’ or Com Truise on ‘ Mirroring All ’.
When he’s drawing from the most obvious of influences in Boards Of Canada on ‘ Sycamore Silhouetting ’ and ‘ Raincoat ’, there’s nothing new he brings to them, aside from a late inclusion of a piano that quickly fades out.
They are moments where strong song writing prevails over lack of new territory on the 12 string standout ‘ À tout à l’heure ’, ‘ You ’ that could have been on Ambivalence Avenue but he took the time to develop it’s 1950s romantic progression and closing track ‘ You Won’t Remember…’ that leaves you questioning why he doesn’t attempt to record an entire album built around his 12 string guitar songs that are far more personal and insightful.
In the end its ‘ Business Park ‘ that recalls the bassline led ‘ Back On The Motorway ’ by Metronomy , that’s a towel thrown into the ring of someone who may have reached his limit on fresh ideas.
Wampire – Curiosity
- Released : May 13th, 2013
- For Fans of: Ariel Pink , The Strokes or Mac DeMarco .
- The Harvest: Unripe
Wampire are from Portland, known for producing interesting, introverted and detached artists such as Menomena , Elliott Smith and Chromatics , that personally I respect for being a little different and when I first heard ‘ The Hearse ’, that’s a guitar driven version of Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti ; I knew I had to give their debut album a listen.
This album isn’t as detached as the album cover or lo-fi filtered vocals would lead you to believe it could have been, instead it follows a pattern of strong interplay between the guitars and keyboard, creating short lived hooks on almost every track.
The problem is that they will often form these hooks but not the songs around them, finding themselves repeating the hooks on ‘ Outta Money ’ that’s sole dependent on a Alex Zhang Hungtai type vocal with squelching guitars. Enjoyable for the first few listens but wears off quickly. ‘ Giants ’ draws from a Julian Casablanca influence, that carries over into ‘ I Can’t See Why ’ that brings back memories of ‘ On The Other Side ’.
When melody hooks also join the party on the slow-soulful ‘ Trains ’, it suffers from containing not the most original lyrical chorus “You’re driving me insane, I was waiting for your train”, that wouldn’t be all that bad, except it’s sung in a very mundane tone and without any real emotion, like reading an SMS message.
The other issue is lack of progression throughout some songs such as ‘ Snacks ’ that has at least a nice guitar solo only to turn out as substantial in the end, much like ‘ Magic Light ’ that’s built around clunky bassline to nowhere.
What can’t be undervalued however is their ability to create hooks, they’re too brief on tracks such as ‘ Orchards ’. I wouldn’t have any issues with it being a short track, if the rest of the album contained more house burners like ‘ The Hearse ’ or ‘ Spirit Forest ’, that reminds me of Unknown Mortal Orchestra . In fact this entire album reminds of the potential showcased on UMO’s debut album that left me curious for improvements on the sophomore release.
Wild Nothing – Empty Estate EP
- Released : May 14th, 2013
- For Fans of: Beach Fossils , DIIV or Craft Spells .
- The Harvest: Ripening
If I had one knock on Wild Nothing over their brief discography, is that despite all the outstanding song writing, the nostalgia can become a little tiring after a while. Perhaps Jack Tatum , after touring the project around world recently, felt he needed a change of pace or something a little different to add to their live show.
Empty Estate was recorded during a couple weeks in January, listening to Brian Eno and David Bowie albums for inspiration and the colourful production rubs off all over this EP, confirming Jack Tatum is an established producer. At least among the indie elite on small budgets.
This EP also highlights some areas that are works in progress, including the instrumental tracks ‘ On Guyot ’ and ‘ Hachiko ’, that while aesthetically are nice, there isn’t a whole lot going on that’s new to instrumental music.
The other mistake Jack makes is writing the songs from the infectious hooks first before the melodies get buried in the background on ‘ The Body In Rainfall ’ and ‘ Ocean Repeating (Big-Eyed Girl) ’ as the chorus falls a bit flat in comparison to a previous singles such as ‘ Golden Haze ’.
But the most important thing to take away from this EP is that collectively Wild Nothing’s array of sounds continue to gel together with less effort as each new release passes by. Especially on the track ‘ Ride ’, where each instrument plays a vibrant role, but trying to pin point which one is actually leading the charge isn’t easy and that’s a sign of great chemistry. Same applies for ‘ Dancing Shell ’ with the smooth inclusion of a wacky saxophone and ‘ Data World ’, that while it finishes a little abruptly, contains a hook on the keyboard that’s so upbeat compared to any of Wild Nothing’s previous material. So much so, It’s become my new ring tone for the week.
Overall this EP has a couple flaws but EPs are generally less about overall arcs and more about displaying signs of successful growth and versatility. This EP displays both.
Way Yes – Tog Pebbles
- Released : May 7th, 2013
- For Fans of: El Guincho , The Ruby Suns or Delorean .
- The Harvest: Ripening
When I saw these lads from Columbus play last October, it was a very rhythmic and lively performance of upbeat afro-beat songs filled with an influence of Animal Collective ’s progressive loopy tracks. So I was initially very surprised by this album’s serious undertone, that’s tricky to pinpoint exactly why upon first listen. The reason it’s tricky is because the album contains all these islander percussion along with trombones, flutes, saxophones and pianos that are all played in a monotone to positive trajectory, that over shadow the lyrics at times.
Glenn Davis ’s monotone vocals appear to be in this subdued state of shock until ‘ Rhythm Of The Ants ’, where his mind starts to wonder when stating, “ I’ve been thinking about the ants because, I want ‘em to pick me up ”. Then the ball personally drops for him on ‘ Blooded Line ’, where he displays his first real notable emotion, belting “ I wish I could say that I knew ya, back before you were gone ”. Who (thanks to the powers of Twitter) I discovered is a reference to the passing of his mother Colerain.
The entire album is dedicated to the passing of his mother, aside from the slightly out of place (from a topical stand point) ‘ Money Field ’, that mirrors “ Endless Sunset ” by Delorean and replaces the synthesisers with El Guinho percussion and a saxophone.
From the heavy opener ‘ Colerain ’ that lyrically sets the tone, with “ When I sleep you are still alive ” placed over the top of a format that originally made The Ruby Suns popular to the swaying lyrics “I wanna see you laugh again, I would even pray again, just to see you get healed ” of ‘ Get Healed ’. To ‘ Piranha ’ that uses ‘ Tog Pebbles ’ as a lead in trombone interlude before singing “ You lied, when you said, you’d always be alive ”, until the positive, moving closing track ‘ Holy Drop ’, that progresses along transparently like ‘ Bro’s ’ by Panda Bear , singing “ You made life so fun, everything felt free, I just know I’ll see you again ”.
Tog Pebbles is a beautiful farewell album, that isn’t built upon the reliance of trying to provide sonically anything challenging or technically impressive, but rather its unfolding bag of genuine emotions. That inn the end thanks to its subtle approach instead of over preaching the album theme, will provide afar longer, replay longevity than say Vampire Weekend ’s new album.
Classixx – Hanging Gardens
- Released : May 14th, 2013
- For Fans of: Junior Boys , Hot Chip or Mylo .
- The Harvest: Ripe
I can’t help you sell property or stock on the financial market. However, information on 2013’s new album stock market, I can help you with and the rarest purchase on this year’s market is a worthy IDM album (not EDM, as apparently some people still don’t know the difference).
This year so far has decent albums via sub genres, such as the minimal house album House Of Woo by Maxmillion Dunbar , the textural experiment Nostalchic by Lapalux , the down tempo of Hardcourage by FaltyDL , glitch hoppy (if you’re not sick of Flume ) Laid Out by Shlohmo and Amygdala by DJ Koze. But it’s not the most danceable record, in fact they’re all more IEM, then IDM.
While Hanging Gardens isn’t entirely IDM (more like little i-DM), Los Angeles DJ duo Michael David and Tyler Blake , who after years of being labelled just a remix duo, couldn’t have timed this long awaited debut album (the track ‘ I’ll Get You’ was released all the way back in 2009) any better.
I could ramble on about acronyms and previous albums all day, but in the end, without those contexts you’re wondering will we still be spinning this album until this time next year. The short answer is yes. The slightly longer reason is because they were brave enough to tackle this album on three separate levels of difficulties, that together formed closer to an equiangular triangle then an acute triangle.
The first angle and lowest level of difficulty was building satisfyingly (aside from the uneventful ‘ Supernature ’ and unnecessarily long ‘ A Fax From The Beach ’) escalating, climatic tracks such as ‘ Hanging Gardens ’, ‘ Dominoes ’ that uses ‘ Rhythm Santa Clara ’ as a stepping ladder to launch itself, and ‘ Jozi’s Fire ’ that would make Tourist smile.
The second format that they’ve long mastered and could’ve opted to settle with for the entire album, is when they pattern the vocal hooks into loops rather than evolving melodies on ‘ Holding On ’ and ‘ I’ll Get You ’.
It’s the incorporation of guest’s vocalists in the end on angle number three that lifts Hanging Garden , putting Classixx in the upper class of current dance producers and artists to keep an eye on. While it’s not always a fluid mesh on ‘ All You’re Waiting For ’, featuring Nancy Whang of The Juan Maclean , that cops out with a spoken word chorus or the under developed ‘ Long Last ’ featuring Pat Grossi aka Active Child . It’s because those two tracks are with vocalist who’re more accustomed to writing songs on their own. When they instead team up with vocalist used to working in band dynamics, the chemistry is sublime on ‘ A Stranger Love ’ sung by Sarah Chernoff from Superhumanoids and ‘ Borderline ’ sung by melodic genius Jesse Kivel from Kisses and Princeton .
I realise this album doesn’t follow my general principals of consistency, progressively positive for the music industry or something that opens more doors than it closes, but no album this week really promoted those principals, leaving the necessity for a new danceable album from start to finish, to win out here.
WORDS BY Marcus Rimondini
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