Zero 7. I remember them. Over the past five years, they’ve edged their way into various pop culture spots, perhaps most significantly the Garden State soundtrack, as well as television shows like Sex and the City and Six Feet Under. Their downtempo sound has always seemed intermittently appealing, but a little lacking, relying more on cheery optimism than substance. After mulling over their new record, I am quite satisfied with my initial gestalt.

The album starts off with Futures, an oh-so-exhilarating track that makes you want to off yourself. Only not in a good way.
Continue reading →

The instant track 1 begins (or at least 4 chords in), Silversun Pickups are in trouble. They’re walking on this beam high up in the air, right? All four of them. On one side of the line – let’s call it the left side – is mediocrity. A huge-ass pasture of it. Upon landing in this pasture, bands are forced to sit in the coarse dry grass, poked by prickers, as huge projection screens show sweetly edited films of their particular names and album titles dissolving completely into the rotated letters running downwards on cd racks in the homes of their target demographic. On the other side of this beam, though, on the right side, is the elevated side: let’s call it the field of coolness. You don’t fall as far as you do on the pasture side. Over in the field you get to chill out on the freshly imported sod and watch proudly as your album rises to the top rows of CD racks all over (in the same bedrooms of your intended audience).
Continue reading →

I bet a lot of people are jealous of The Walkmen. They cracked some code a few years back and somehow can make the late 70’s sound like the early 60’s with a revisionist approach to recording, and any attempt to pigeonhole them with their better dressed New York contemporaries has proven fruitless. And on top of this they somehow have broken commercially. It’s not too often that a band can sit back and feel relatively little backlash while collecting checks from “The O.C.” If I were them, I wouldn’t want to move a muscle, lest I start losing this perfect balance of fame and musical integrity.

Of course, since I’m not them I’m going to criticize the fuck out of their new record.
Continue reading →

So you’re at home and you’ve just polished off a delicious box of Lucky Charms. After spending a minute to reflect on the satisfaction that those frosted oats and colored marshmallows give you, do you immediately strap on your shoes and rush to your local grocer to pick up the generic version? You know, the one that’s on the lowest shelf and comes in a plastic bag and it’s called Magical Shapes or some bullshit? Wait, you do? Well, then I think I know a band you might like.
Continue reading →

Aha! Though Google and even Mr. Jeeves were of no assistance, I just figured out what the hell the title to the new Starlight Mints album, Drowaton, means. And I think I’ll leave you with the option of figuring it out yourself (it’s much more gratifying that way, right?). But I will mention that all you need to figure it out is contained within the word. Aside from decoding the title, I have yet to decide whether I like this album. I mean, I can tell you that it’s good. It’s a little too easy to make the Flaming Lips comparison – they’re both from Oklahoma (I know, I forgot about the Midwest too…), the production is top notch, and it’s wacky. But the emotional pull I feel towards say a Soft Bulletin – I just don’t get it from Drowaton. Not that this band deserves to be compared to the Lips all day long. But I’m just saying.
Continue reading →

All-ages shows kick ass. All-ages shows that start promptly at 5:00pm kick normal all-ages shows asses on an exponential level. Just kidding. My friend Ranch Hands and I were prepared for this inane start time so we left work early and walked to the concert venue they call El Corizon. (Because that’s what it’s called.) El Corizon is the kind of bar/club that will foolishly separate the booze and the stage with a solid wall when there are gonna be chillen around. So obviously we did shots at every bar on the way over there.
Continue reading →

For all the times you were too sad to cry and too tired to feel hurt anymore, the new Trespassers William release, Having tucks you in for that much needed nap. The melancholy crooning of lead singer Anna-Lynne Williams sweetly echoes from the distance, and then pulls you in for a closer listen. This record swells with emotional discomfort, but at the same time is also light, lean, and gracefully epic. Having reeks of taste.
Continue reading →