| 1-Minute CD Review: The Fratellis |
[Jun. 30th, 2008|12:05 pm] |
Let's face it, topping the previous album, Costello Music, was going to be tough. It was effortless, fun and wonderfully catchy. The new Fratellis' effort, Here We Stand is a good, fun listen, but it's a little less varied, a little more contrived. Still, a solid effort perfect for summer parties or rocking out in the kitchen.
Check out: Mistress Mabel (again, resorting to YouTube. Hype Machine isn't being very helpful today!) |
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| 1-Minute CD Review: Death Cab for Cutie |
[Jun. 30th, 2008|11:58 am] |
Oh, Death Cab, how much joy you bring me, and your new album, Narrow Stairs, does not disappoint.
Narrow Stairs is a bit darker than the light pop sound of the previous album, Plans, but I feel like it's better produced and more cohesive than the one before than, Transatlanticism. Once again, I don't find any one track reaches some of the peaks of Transatlanticism, but I appreciate Death Cabs attempts at bringing a (slightly) different sound to the record.
Check out: I Will Possess Your Heart, which is the single, although not my favourite, but that's all Hype Machine has today.
Well, actually, you could watch one of my favourite tracks, Grapevine Fires on YouTube instead. |
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| 1-Minute CD Review: White Rabbit |
[May. 27th, 2008|08:34 am] |
White Rabbits have had the difficult job of being the CD I chose to place on the same disc as Vampire Weekend, a very, very tough act to follow. I think the CD, Fort Nightly, has some strong tracks, but it also has some tracks that easily go unnoticed. It's an intense, rock sound not appropriate for chilling out by the fire but works nicely for doing the dishes in the kitchen.
Check out: The Plot. I love singing the "whoa oh oh ooo oh ooo oh" part. |
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| 1-Minute CD Review: Dr. Dog |
[May. 27th, 2008|08:29 am] |
Dr. Dog is the best band you've never heard of. I first heard them on Y-Rock a few months ago and then began my pursuit of their latest effort, We All Belong. But I couldn't find it anywhere! Not on eBay, not on mininova, not in the local indie CD store. What was up? It turns out that the band is independent. But fortunately thanks to eBay's search alert feature, I did eventually find a copy. It's great! Each track is very solid, and the sound is sort of like Super Furry Animals meets the late Beatles. It's quirky and a bit messy, just how I like my indie pop.
Check out: Ain't It Strange. Not my favourite track (although a very good track), but the only one I could find on The Hype Machine! |
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| Muxtape black hole |
[Apr. 22nd, 2008|11:31 am] |
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) sinnick created a Muxtape, which was nice, so I made one, too. I thought that was end of the muxtape fun, but when Y-Rock started having connection problems today, I thought, "where can I get some good music to listen to now?". So I went back to Muxtape and sure enough on their home page is a collage of muxtapes. I picked one at random, and luckily it's right up my alley. Coincidence? Probably not. This type of site is a music lover's idea and will not doubt attract music lovers, which seem to often like the good stuff. We'll see though. Once I'm done with this muxtape, I'm diving back in! I foresee many hours of listening fun coming my way today! |
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| fame_throwa does Muxtape |
[Apr. 8th, 2008|02:35 pm] |
I was just trying out Muxtape so I thought I'd share the MP3s I threw up there. I don't have many at work right now. Sadly, fame_throwa was taken so I had to go with my alter-ego, hip_mango (no special meaning).
If you do check out the mix, pay close attention to the lyrics on the Lekman song. They are hilarious. I didn't notice until after several listens, me being more about the music than the lyrics, but man, too funny. |
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| 1-Minute CD Review: Tegan & Sara |
[Mar. 15th, 2008|01:18 pm] |
I like Tegan & Sara. I want to see these young Canadian girls succeed. But by this point in their career, I was hoping for a little more maturity and growth. Not to say they haven't grown and matured; there is lots of evidence on The Con, especially the title track. But they still remind me of a couple of college girls earnestly dealing with their emotions at some open mic night on campus.
It's still a good album though with lots of great hooks.
Check out: The Con |
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| 1-Minute CD Review: Vampire Weekend |
[Mar. 15th, 2008|01:13 pm] |
Geez, it's been a while since I did a review. Guess there hasn't been a tonne of new stuff out there worth reviewing.
Vampire Weekend seemed to come out of nowhere. Sometime in January they suddenly became the band, and I've heard it was accredited to the Internet getting the word out, much like the hype that happened around Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
The Vampire Weekend CD is darn cute and awfully quirky. It's light and summery and having (finally) picked up the first Bedouin Soundclash album, I find it somewhat similar. No, it's not reggae based but it's very melodic and friendly. I love it, and my only complaint is that it's too short (a mere 26 minutes) and contains unnecessary swear words.
Check out: Walcott (note: clearly contains "f**k" in it) |
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| Into the top 30 now... |
[Jan. 2nd, 2008|02:12 pm] |
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We're into the top 30 now on the countdown, and I can tell this is going to be very distracting. Usually I'm working and a great song will come on, and I'll feel the need to turn it up and rock out for a minute or two, but now every song is great! Well, until they no doubt have to play some of the crappier "hits" of the year... or maybe not! Ooo, the suspense! |
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| Y-Rock's Top 88 of 2007 on today |
[Jan. 2nd, 2008|11:55 am] |
To hear the best 88 songs of this year, tune into Y-Rock today starting at 10am. You can follow along the countdown on the program schedule.
I'll post the complete list in a few days when Y-Rock posts it, including my usual "yay"s and "nay"s. |
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| 1-Minute CD Review: Radiohead |
[Dec. 18th, 2007|02:31 pm] |
I had pretty much given up on Radiohead. Although they themselves hadn't jumped the shark, the critics seemed to have turned a blind eye to the fact that the stuff they were producing was, well, kind of boring. Sure, it was unique, but it didn't hold my attention.
Their previous album was meant to be a step back toward mainstream, but to me it seemed like they were trying too hard to capture their old sound. It sounded forced. And boring.
But with the new album, In Rainbows, it seems they have found a happy place between unique and mainstream while all the while remaining interesting. Really interesting. The new album is so good it looks like it will be tough competition for the top spot on my Top Albums of 2007 list.
Welcome back, Radiohead. I missed you.
Check out 15 Step, but if you like that track, you should really check out the entire album. |
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| 1-Minute CD Review: The Go! Team |
[Dec. 17th, 2007|11:35 am] |
I think I like The Go! Team's latest effort, Proof of Youth. It's kinda weird, but strangely entertaining. I couldn't begin to guess who among you would like this CD and who wouldn't. I was trying this morning to describe the style. It's like it was recorded at a street party in 1973 complete with samples and cheerleading chants. I think AMG describes it better:
The Go! Team is a six-piece group from Brighton, England, whose sound is a stunning blend of indie rock guitars, police show themes, hip-hop beats, and schoolyard chants built on samples and then augmented by live instrumentation.
At the very least, it would be a fun disc to play at your New Year's Eve party.
Check out Grip Like a Vice |
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| 1-minute CD Review: Earlimart |
[Dec. 5th, 2007|01:03 pm] |
I had high hopes for Earliamart's Mentor Tormentor album. The first single, Answers & Questions, is really gorgeous. The rest of the album is pretty, but it didn't keep me interested enough to make it through the whole thing, even after 3 attempts.
That's not to say it's not good. I just find that I need a lot of hooks to keep my interest, especially when I have so much else to listen to. It's a pleasant album that will satisfy fans of mellow, pretty stuff. felkor, I think you should check this out. They're kind of like Starflyer, although not quite as good.
Check out: Answers & Questions |
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| 1-minute CD Review: Jimmy Eat World |
[Nov. 9th, 2007|02:05 pm] |
Jimmy Eat World is LittleSis' favourite band. Nay, her obsession. I must say they are darn good at creating catchy melodies. I really loved their last two albums, particularly Futures.
The new album is... okay. I didn't like it the first time around. It's far more "top 40" than the previous 2 albums. One track (#6) I still can't listen to, but the rest are growing on me. Still, it'll never be as good as Futures or Bleed American.
Check out Big Casino. |
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| 1-minute CD Review: Joel Plaskett |
[Oct. 24th, 2007|10:11 am] |
Joel Plaskett is no one special. His voice is mediocre at best; his songs are pretty simple. But they're darn catchy and fun. I think turtle_head hit the nail on the head when she said his live concerts must be so fun because clearly all of his songs were meant to sing along to. Ironically I've been trying to see Plaskett in concert for about the past 2 years with no luck. He comes to town often, but I'm always busy. He's playing Ottawa 3 times in the next month, and I can't make a single show!
His latest CD, Ashtray Rock isn't much of a departure from earlier works. It's pop rock about girls and beer. I swear this guy has never moved on past high school. Wait, that's not completely true. I would say that this CD has more of a mature sound than his other CDs. Not that he's grown up to be boring; it's just a bit more polished. Overall, another enjoyable CD that's great for road trips and singing along.
Check out Nothing More to Say. |
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| 1-minute CD Review: Rilo Kiley |
[Oct. 23rd, 2007|01:47 pm] |
I want to be Jenny Lewis. For quite some time, when people would ask me if I could be anyone famous, I would reply "Gwen Stefani". But now that Gwen is so popular, I would have the anonymity that she used to have. So now I typically say "Jenny Lewis", front woman of Rilo Kiley.
The last Rilo Kiley album got heavy rotation in my car two years ago. It was well timed and very good. I sometimes feel that the industry is extra hard on female songwriters although I haven't put my finger on why yet.
Anyway, the new album (Under the Black Light) comes after Jenny's solo project, and I must say I'm a bit disappointed. It just doesn't have the heartbreak and soul of previous Rilo Kiley albums. It kinda sounds like just some pop album that's cute and quaint but easily forgotten. The second single, Silver Lining, is easily the strongest track and nothing else comes close.
Check out Silver Lining |
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| Dirty Sexy Money |
[Oct. 10th, 2007|09:07 am] |
So far, Dirty Sexy Money is my favourite show of the TV season. Think Royal Tenenbaums on the small screen.
Didn't make it through one episode of Private Practice. Sad since the cast is so fantastic. Attempted to watch the premiere of Grey's Anatomy. Still not sure what the fuss is all about. I'm dropping that one, too.
Prison Break has been delivering nicely, and I've been somewhat entertained by Heroes.
I still need to check out Life, and I haven't started watching Dexter's second season just yet, but I'm sure it'll be fabulous. |
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| 1-minute CD Reviews: The Kooks and Fujiya & Miyagi |
[Sep. 18th, 2007|03:18 pm] |
The Kooks, "Inside In, Inside Out":
Although the singles are fairly enjoyable, the rest of the album is pretty mediocre. I'll probably pull the singles onto a mixed CD. I was surprised how generically rocky the other tracks are; pretty different from the singles, which makes me wonder if a second album in the right direction might be an improvement over this one.
Check out Naive.
Fujiya & Miyagi, "Transparent Things":
F&M think they're much cooler than they actually are, and what they try to create as something unique comes across as very boring initially and then borders on pretentious.
Check out Ankle Injuries |
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| 1-minute CD Review: Camera Obscura |
[Sep. 8th, 2007|05:40 pm] |
Camera Obscura's "Let's Get Out of this Country" couldn't be more pleasant. It's light, dreamy and gorgeous while still being poppy and simple. Think Belle & Sebastian at their lightest and brightest (and with a female vocalist). AMG calls the record "enchanting", also fitting.
Check out "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken". |
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