Los Campesinos! - "Sick Scenes"

Los Campesinos! since 2008 have been churning out noisy, energetic indie pop.  From their debut album, "Hold On Now, Youngster", I had such high hopes for these guys.  This album was just so likable, sounding like some bizarre mash up of Jay Reatard, Early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The New Pornographers, Fucked Up, and you're favorite British Alternative rock band (Pick one, they all work in this case).  The result was 43 exciting, upbeat, quirky, packed with attitude and unbelievably entertaining minutes.  On their followup album, "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed", Los Campesinos! continued on their cheery, noisy indie pop path.  But while this album was a whole lot shorter, tracks like the slower "Miserabilia", and more instrumentally vast tracks like "Between an Erupting Earth and an Exploding Sky" showed Los Campesinos! trying some new thigns as well.  Overall, "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" wasn't as shocking and explosive as the bands debut, but it was still pretty damn awesome.  By the time 2009's "Romance Is Boring" came along, Los Campesinos! sure had the same characteristics deep down, but were certainly going in a slightly different direction.  Their songs were getting more lengthy and certainly more structured, which was exciting in it's own right, there was also a much more theatrical feel to everything.  Still though, up until this point I was impressed by basically everything Los Campesinos! were throwing at us.  With 2012's "Hello Sadness", the band were practically a straight up indie pop act.  The tracks on here were nowhere near as urgent and quirky, but still well crafted and absolutely catchy.  However, it was clear that Los Campesinos! were very much so going in a different direction.  When it came to 2013's "No Blues", I wasn't really that moved by it as much.  Los Campesinos! at this point were going for much bigger, epic songs which is totally fine.  Some of them seriously came off wonderfully, but most of them took way too long to get going.  As far as these new singles from the band though, they've been pretty damn mediocre, am I the only one whose getting a major Pop Punk/Emo vibe to this?  I did however absolutely LOVE the "5 Flucloxacillin" though, so there may just be a little hope for this album yet, let's dive in.

This album starts off with “Renato Dall’Ara (2008)” which has these weird effects to start us off. I’m used to Los Campesinos! kinda just starting up their albums strong, but here we have these weird affects muffling up their sound heavily and slowly lifting.  When things clear up though it’s business as usual for Los Campesinos! for the most part, and they certainly don’t sound too bad.  Los Campesinos! still have their pop oriented style in tact and it’s very jolly, but man is it just me or is their energy seriously lacking? It’s certainly not as invigorating or as eye popping, thankfully it’s catchy enough to keep your interest.  But almost immediately we’re noticing a bunch about Los Campesinos!.  For one, they aren’t nearly as quirky as they used to sound, and overall this is just much more straight up indie rock sounding.  It’s still far from bad, and the the group vocals come off nicely and all.  I just honestly wish this was a little more explosive.  “Sad Suppers” is up next, and in all honesty this is certainly a big leap in the right direction. Here, at the very least Los Campesinos! has the energy going for them, not to mention some of the smaller details that make up the Los Campesinos! sound are coming back slowly.  The riff is catchy, there’s just enough attitude, and the vocals are pretty much where they should be at this point in their career.  To put it simply, “Sad Suppers” at the very least SOUNDS like the band.  They still sound a little off as far as their energy goes, but like I said this is a big improvement.  Also, here Los Campesinos! sound much more mature, an end up coming up with one of their catchiest and most solid hooks on the entire album.  “Sad Suppers” is also one of the simpler tracks here, but to be honest at this point in their career it’s what I want to hear from them.  Up next is the first track I’ve heard from this album, “I Broke Up In Amarante”.  For starters, it certainly has the spunk and the energy I've been looking for.  The performance here though, man is it just the exact opposite.  In some bizarre twist, I feel like I’ve come across some new Pop Punk album, and not a good one either.  Thankfully, the chorus certainly adds a ton, mostly because they’re gang-like vocals are always done so well.  Overall though, “I Broke Up In Amarante” barely even sounds like Los Campesinos!, not even instrumentally.  I love these instrumentally energetic performances from Los Campesinos! a whole lot, but this one seriously doesn’t click one bit.  I feel like Los Campesinos! are trying to sound all rough around the edges and heavier but that’s just not who they are.  Sadly, “A Slow, Slow Death” is even worse.  Instrumentally, this is certainly more along the lines of what I like to hear from them, but now they’ve slowed it down way too much.  If you haven’t figured it out yet, this album is seriously all over the place.  More than anything, this album has made me miss the frantic, noisy performances from early Los Campesinos! albums more.  Again, this track is just OK, but I still feel like I’m listening to an entirely different band.  Los Campesinos! used to be just so much fun to listen to, packed with quirky instrumentals to fit the band’s quirky personality.  I understand that the band is getting up their in age and they matured a bit, but there certainly can be other ways of doing that, because this is painful.  There are nice moments on “A Slow, Slow Death”, I certainly dig the chorus (mostly because it’s actually lively and not so damn depressing), the horns are nice as well.  But holy hell, do Los Campesinos! really need to get their act together quick.

No, Los Campesinos! really don’t pick it up just yet, because “The Fall Of Home” sounds like a mixture of Weezer and American Football.  Sure, I dig both of those acts, but I’m not here to listen to any of them, I want to listen to Los Campesinos!.  At this point I barely know what the band is even doing anymore, this is the polar opposite of what I was expecting.  Earlier I mentioned how Pop Punk some of this sounded, now this just sounds straight up Emo.  Not even the sweet bells that pop up that have LITERALLY become synonymous with the Los Campesinos! sound can save this one.  I think there are some nice harmonies that pop up here and there, and I certainly dig the strings, but man this isn’t what I showed up for.  Their early recordings were so exciting and groundbreaking, this is just straight up depressing.  And once again, this track was a damn single!  I don’t get it.  Then, I hear songs like “5 Flucloxacillin” and my heart just drops.  After all of these “Just alright” tracks, Los Campesinos! deliver a track that’s so good that it’s probably going to be one of my favorite rock singles of the year.  Everything just clicks on “5 Flucloxacillin”, and it’s easily one of the best tracks the band has done in years, and in every way this touches my soul.  The backing vocals almost have a heartland feel to them, and they’re near perfect.  And while no, this isn’t upbeat or super exciting, this is probably the most sincere sounding track on here, hell it’s even a little quirky from time to time.  In a lot of ways, this is the perfect Los Campesinos! song.  Then we have the chorus, which may be the most joyous on here, which almost sounds like some old school Arcade Fire.  It’s a fantastic track in every way.  Thankfully, Los Campesinos! do indeed keep things a little less dreary with “Here’s to the Fourth Time!”.  Los Campesinos! continue to at least sound like themselves, but is it just me or does it sound like they’re seriously ripping off Passion Pit here.  “Here’s to the Fourth Time!” isn’t the worst thing going on on this album, my only real issue is it’s a little too cheery to an almost suffocating degree.  This is still much better then their earlier attempts at Emo or whatever the hell that was.  The vocals here at least stick with you, and I seriously like a ton of the instrumentals.  Moving on!   “For Whom the Belly Tolls” may just be the second best track here, seriously why is it so hard at this point for Los Campesinos! to just take this sound and stick with it.  This track is upbeat, has a little attitude to it, it’s confident and most of all it’s catchy.  And while it may not be as hectic and upbeat as I remember, this is still a fantastic sound for the band.  Can they stick with it though?  

“Got Stendhal’s” starts off the last little leg of our journey.  The intro here is actually pretty stunning to be honest.  I honestly wasn’t expecting such a pleasant intro, it really ends up working for Los Campesinos!.  Of the slower tracks here, this is certainly one of the better ones.  The instrumental here is constantly building, the icy synths floating through the background are stunning, and despite the tone of this song the vocals are strangely bouncy. All around the track is put together absolutely wonderfully, hell this doesn’t even sound like it belongs on this album, maybe on one of their last few.  I’m still kinda getting that Passion Pit vibe, but it’s certainly not enough to bring this one down.  Plus, those group vocals in the last minute are absolutely stunning.  Sadly up next Los Campesino’s completely drop the ball and end up offering up one of their most bland tracks yet.  “A Litany/Heart Swells” starts off just as stunning as the last track, but quickly becomes incredibly boring.  Sure, this track has the atmosphere down and even a little emotion.  But everything else within literally does nothing for me to the point where I barely remember anything about this track.  The drums are kinda epic in parts, but everything else is just a blur.  Thankfully, Los Campesinos!  do end off the album on a slightly better note.  “Hung Empty” may be the most upbeat track on here, it almost has a synth-pop feel to it.  It still beats me on why the hell they went for so many slower tracks earlier.  While “Hung Empty” is far from perfect, at the very least it’s fun to listen to.  At it’s core this track really shows Los Campesinos! going back to their more pop oriented sound, which certainly isn’t a bad thing.  Not to mention, “Hung Empty” ends up having one of the catchiest choruses on the entire album.  Why couldn’t the rest of this album be as carefree and fun? 

Rating 7.1/10

Give A Listen To: "Sad Suppers", "5 Flucloxacillin", "For Whom The Belly Tolls", "Got Stendhal’s"

Overall Thoughts:  I wouldn't go as far as to say this is a bad album, I just expect so much more out of Los Campesinos!  at this point.  There are some fantastic tracks here, but there are just as many that come off really awkward (example: all these weird genre shifts).  In the future though I think Los Campesinos! could still certainly cone out with a real knockout.

King Woman - Created In The Image Of Suffering

I first heard about King Woman a few years ago, with their "Degrida/Sick Bed" EP.  This EP, had a solid start for King Woman, as they started showing their now signature style of slow, ethereal, doom metal.  It was a good start, my only real issue was that I didn't think King Woman pushed this concept hard enough.  The atmosphere was on POINT, but the instrumentals could have been heavier.  On King Woman's "Dove/Fond Affections" EP however, they really started winning me over.  The tracks here were much more stretched out and well performed, bringing in elements of drone and doom metal up against these vocals that sounded out of the playbook of Beach House.  Obviously however, we haven't heard King Woman on a full length album yet, so let's chat about their big full length debut.

This album starts off with "Citios".  You know it's funny, for a minute long atmospheric instrumental this actually set the mood wonderfully and swiftly.  Kristina's vocals are haunting, yet soothing and mysterious in a really weird turn of events.  There isn't a ton going on here, bu tit's certainly a good way to set the dreary tone of everything.  "Utopia" though which follows quickly shows King Woman getting right to the point.  Their sound here is just so hulking and sluggish, but strangely full of life.  Vocalist Kristina Esfandiari's vocals have come such a long way since the group's early recordings.  This is literally what I've wanted to hear King Woman do for years.  Their music is still putting Kristina front and center as the star, but every other gigantic instrumental here is practically swallowing her whole.  However, she sounds at home among this looming atmosphere. This is all certainly heavy, but it's not heavy enough to be too challenging or require numerous listens.  Kristina's vocals add in a strong beauty to this as well.  It's also very ethereal in a way and moody, any fans of Marissa Nadler's "Strangers" or anything Chelsea Wolfe has done recently are going to go nute over this.  As dreamy and as heavy as this is though, there's still tons of emotion.  Kristina's vocals trail off a bit towards the end, but overall this is brilliant.  Now overall most of this album keeps the same sort of feel and does it justice, the only real true hiccup here is on "Deny".  Sadly this is a sloppy track overall, with Kristina's vocals sounding completely out of the loop and the instrumentals coming off a bit too sluggish.   Even the atmosphere doesn't really even seem like it knows what's going on.  There are certainly solid moments however, for instance I love the way Kristina's vocals turn into a damn near howl for the chorus.  This just reminds me too much of their early, more forgettable EP's.  And what's most disappointing is, all of the elements are certainly here. The instrumentals are massive and powerful, and Kristina actually sounds fantastic.  But nothing is clicking at all, and while Kristina sounds wonderful this honestly sounds like it was written for a different track completely.  Thankfully though King Woman quickly come back with "Shame".  The intro here instantly sounds much heavier and certainly less majestic for the moment.  Kristina's vocals however do add a certain mysticism to everything here.  Now, there are certain albums and styles of music that just take you away and put you in a near trance, this is actually taking me there man.  There's some small elements of drone metal in there and I can't help but just sit there and be amazed.  "Shame" overall is just so thick and muddy, and when those massive drums and come in and usher in this absolutely gigantic chorus I literally get goosebumps every time.  The pounding drums are epic, the guitars are muddy and powerful, King Woman are quickly becoming a HUGE name in doom metal.

“Hierophant” kicks off the second half of the album.  This one, not so shockingly starts off with another slow, mysterious intro.  I remember worrying so much about the atmosphere’s of early King Woman albums.  But man has it seriously shaped up wonderfully over the years.  Kristina’s performance here is just so breathy and ethereal, if you’re into ruthless power metal this is probably not going to be something your into.  However, if you’re into slower paced, more stunning metal, this is very much so above average.  Kristina’s vocals on this one are absolutely dripping in effects, and more times than not I wish I could make out a few more lyrics here and there.  But to be honest, tracks like these aren’t even about the lyrics.  No, tracks like this are about this methodical pace, with atmosphere’s so dense and impenetrable.  I love the strings that pop in behind King Woman bring back that very majestic feel, deep down I can sense a little folk-metal influence.  The tracks on this album are far from instantaneously gratifying, but if you have the patience to sit through and let yourself get completely engulfed by this atmosphere, man is it ever worth it.  “Hierophant” is also a fantastic example of how King Woman can handle these longer tracks without really getting stale, as about halfway through there are a ton more acoustic elements added.  “Worn” is up next, and just from this intro alone I have chills.  As far as Kristina’s performance goes, this may just be my favorite performance of hers here.  The instrumentals here are no slouches either, as King Woman incorporate elements of desert rock and other sub-genres of metal.  King Woman on their early EP’s were a doom metal band trying desperately to find a direction.  On this album, they find this direction and march on with a wonderful sound and purpose.  The atmosphere here is so fantastically done that each time one of those massive guitar chords pop in I never really expect it.  Hell, even when things pick up and become borderline chaotic it transitions very nicely with Kristina acting as some dark ringleader.  Up next is "Manna", and literally just listening to Kristina's opening vocals is enough to give me chills.  For this style of metal, Kristina's vocals couldn't be more on point.  Once again, I can't stress enough this isn't you by the books metal.  Hell, there are even some Psychedelic elements in this one with those very far out guitar licks.  "Manna" as it continues remains so hazy and hard to place.  It's hard to place in a good way however, in a very dense way, one that may take you a few listens to seriously take it all in.  The pacing however is the real key here, it's done so masterfully that the first chance these choruses get to explode they catch you off guard in these wonderful moments of pure metal ecstasy.  "Hem" is our finale for this album, and not to shockingly King Woman aren't speeding things up at all.  This one is just as slow paced and patient sounding as other tracks.  But God, does it ever set this depressing, hulking, heavy atmosphere.  Kristina sounds like shes damn near chanting here, it makes things certainly more uneasy but man does it ever work.  These last few tracks have been so hazy, I feel like I'm lost in the woods with multiple paths that probably lead even deeper.  As the track leads on however and the guitars come crashing in, instantly this is some of the most straightforward metal of the entire album.  And that's about it, I wish this album was maybe a little bit longer but overall it's fantastic.

(Couldn't find any sound clips for this one ladies and gentlemen, sorry!)

Rating: 8.3/10

Give A Listen To: "Utopia", "Shame", "Worn", "Manna"

Overall Thoughts:  Overall, I don't have a lot of bad things to say about this album.  I wanted King Woman to focus more on metal aspects, which they certainly did, all while keeping Kristina the focus as well as making great atmospheres.  There were a hiccup or two in the first two tracks but overall this is a very smooth, well paced metal album that I don't think anyone was expecting to be THIS good.  

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, outside of having one of the most fantastic band names ever, in these last few years have become one of the worlds most impressive Psychedelic Rock bands.  With their 2012 debut "12 Bar Bruise", King Gizzard quickly aligned themselves with their contemporaries, showing off the fuzzy distortion sounds similar to Thee Oh Sees, the wild energy of the great Ty Segall, but also having this occasional sense of humor similar to that of Black Lips.  "12 Bar Bruise" wasn't perfect, and there were some really bizarre unnecessary moments like "Sam Cherry's Last Shot".  But most of it was well written, catchy Psychedelic Garage Rock.  With their next full length album, King Gizzard went all out.  They released a gigantic double album filled with jams often reaching anywhere from 5-17 minutes.  I appreciated just how ambitious this all was, but overall I wasn't exactly crazy for it.  Sure, there were some fantastic tracks, but overall I felt like they weren't seriously being themselves, and were trying to capitalize way too much on what else was going on in Garage Rock at the time.  However, on "I'm In You're Mind, Fuzz", King Gizzard became Psych Rock stars very quickly.  In a really odd way, King Gizzard got in their heads the idea to start doing more gimmicky albums, which usually is a HUGE No-No for me, unless of course it works out well. "I'm In You're Mind, Fuzz" was the first more gimmick based album they produced, with the first half of the album based all tying together with the same bass riff and drum pattern so you could basically mix and match the order of the tracks yourself to make your own playlist out of them.  Even the later tracks on the album that fell out of this gimmick like "Am I In Heaven?" just showed King Gizzard showing so much promise, so much raw energy that I can't help but to totally freak out every time I hear the album.  The bands 2015 album "Quarters" was a little bizarre, with it only consisting of four tracks all ten minutes and ten seconds long.  For the most part, this was a solid album, with King Gizzard showing off a little more swagger and pacing it out nicely over much longer tracks.  On "Paper Mache Dream Balloon", King Gizzard felt the urge to go acoustic, all acoustic in face.  Shockingly, this turned out absolutely incredible for the Psych Rock band.  There was a very Classic Rock feel, and even though the entire band was playing with acoustic instruments the energy here was fantastic.  On "Nonagon Infinity" however, King Gizzard were back in heavy Psych mode, creating their heaviest, most twisted album yet.  It was a huge return to form, and showed that as far as they'd gone from their original form they were certainly still amazing at what they do.  When it comes to these new singles from King Gizzard, I feel like I've been blown away by all three released so far.  So here we go, one year after "Nonagon Infinity", lets chat about this new King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard album.

(Easily one of my all time favorite King Gizzard tracks)

This album starts off with “Rattlesnake”, and call me crazy but I just love all of the whirring sound effects at the intro.  When it comes to garage rock and psychedelic rock, I love them both mostly when they’re completely over the top almost to goofy levels (Take for example Ty Segall’s “Emotional Mugger” and Thee Oh Sees “The Masters Bedroom…”).  After the sound effect laden intro, “Rattlesnake” picks up rather quickly.  King Gizzard seem to be their usual selves for the most part, with the only real huge change being in the production.  Their production over the last few years has made them more and more chaotic and loud by the minute, but the production here is a nose dive into the Low-Fi direction.  Interestingly enough though, outside of the production King Gizzard sound just as fierce.   I love the pulsating vibes to everything, and the way King Gizzard come off as so confident as the track rolls on and on.  Overall this actually reminds me quite a bit of some of their stuff on the “Im In Your Mind Fuzz” album, but even simpler, especially lyrically.  As far as lyrics go, they’re certainly taking it easy here, but King Gizzard aren’t really about that to begin with.  Plus, it seriously works with the whole hypnotic vibe here wonderfully.  On their last album, King Gizzard really weren’t going with their usual “Jam” element, but trust me it’s back in a big way here.  That being said, this could have been a little bit shorter, maybe by a minute or so.  I still think “Rattlesnake” has a TON to like about it though.  The whole freakish vibe to everything is just so much fun.  So yea, overall no this certainly isn’t as chaotic as I’m used to for King Gizzard, but, it’s still VERY enjoyable.  As the album goes on, King Gizzard certainly don’t ease up on the weird.  As soon as “Melting” gets going, I feel like I’ve just wandered in to the funkiest and most bizarre Occult ritual ever.  The drum performance’s here are absolutely brilliant, and I love the constantly creeping upward vocal performances that seem to be just as unpredictable as the instrumental.  “Melting” continues to show a very different side of King Gizzard, but the grooves here are absolutely ridiculous.  Lyrically, once again I wish this was a little more dense and interesting, like their last few albums.  The instrumentals though certainly keep this one interesting.  The mystical atmosphere makes this probably the most Psychedelic thing I’ve heard from these guys in years.  I wouldn’t say this is mind blowing, but it’s still more interesting than what passes for Psych Rock most of the time these days.  The “Jam” aspect also continues to be back in a big way, and their certainly experimenting and bringing in improvisational stuff, which is fantastic.  “Open Water” is the easily one of the heaviest tracks here by far.  The intro on this one is absolutely intense between these ridiculous drums and that bizarre harp floating through the background.  All of a sudden “Open Water” picks up even further into a very doom-oriented atmosphere.  The vocals totally add to this atmosphere as well, with another completely over-the-top nearly animated sounding performance.  While the production is still not as flashy and much less loud, instrumentally this is all just as dense, kind’ve like how it worked out on their “Paper Machè Dream Balloon” album.  As “Open Water” continues on, it becomes more and more twisted constantly, making for one of the most paranoid and frantic sounding King Gizzard tracks I’ve heard in ages.  

Overall this album has a HUGE mystical feel, but to be honest King Gizzard are no strangers to that and it's pulled off wonderfully.  Up next is "Sleep Drifter", and this track here I would actually have expected more on their "Paper Mache Dream Balloon" album.  It's a little softer and much more focused on the Psych aspects but to be honest they pull it off majestically and confidently.  Overall this album is going to certainly alienate some King Gizzard fans, this isn't nearly as intense or extensive as their last album.  Strangely enough, as bizarre as this all get this album remains strangely warm and inviting.  "Sleep Drifter" is overall fantastic, with a hypnotic riff and one of the more chilled out vocal performances here.  I'm still not really into the whole microtonal tuning gimmick of the album, but I don't even think that's necessary in this case, solid music is solid music.  Overall I like a ton of the material on this album, but there are a few weak spots we gotta talk about quick.  First up in "Billabong Valley".  The vocals here that start everything off are easily the most puzzling thing about this album.  Vocalist Stu Mackenzie here is dripping in so many sound effects that it barely sounds like him.  I wouldn't say that's necessarily a bad thing, it certainly adds to the twisted sound of everything going on here, and it actually really sticks with you.  While the freakish atmosphere is obviously present, and the smooth piano chords and sweet guitar licks add plenty, overall this track doesn't completely click.  I don't think this is a bad track, it actually gives a huge "bad trip" vibe to everything, it just feels a little incomplete.  "Anoxia" on the other hand, is just plain bad.  This one literally takes everything that King Gizzard just build up and throws it away for some much funkier material.  While some funky material to break things up sounds inviting, "Anoxia" floats by and literally does nothing for me at all.  Instrumentally, vocally, lyrically, this track just comes off half assed, and THAT sucks.   It doesn't even really feel like it belongs on this album.  The only thing that slightly helps out is that funky bass riff, but even that get's a little stale.  Overall this track doesn't fit at all.  

Thankfully, King Gizzard end off the album pretty smoothly.  "Doom City" you can tell from it's title and the instrumentals that follow that King Gizzard are going for much more of a doom oriented atmosphere.  This is MUCH more in line with the King Gizzard style.  Like some of the previous, more underwhelming tracks this track has a ton of funk in it.  But here this comes off so much more effective since it incorporates more of the rest of the album's sounds.  The confidence that King Gizzard showed earlier in the album is back with a bang, and Stu Mackenzie's vocal performance is right back to being completely off the wall.  The pacing on this one is where King Gizzard really shine with those fantastic upbeat verses and the much slower twisted breakdowns.  Overall this may be King Gizzard in their comfort zone and it's certainly on the simpler side, but man does it work nicely for them.  So remember earlier when I stated that this is probably the most twisted thing King Gizzard has done in years?  That goes doubly for "Nuclear Fusion".  The vocal effects are some of the most off-the-wall elements I've heard here so far, and they go fantastically with these very soulful and funky guitar licks.  "Nuclear Fusion" as far as a catchy track goes, this may be the most infectious track here.  Between the distorted vocals and the mysterious guitar licks, everything about this one works.  Which brings us to the finale, "Flying Microtonal Banana".  I don't really have much to say about this one, it's a pleasant instrumental outro.  I'm really not used to hearing instrumentals from King Gizzard, but this certainly works for them.  It has a very mystic and Psychedelic vibe, like most of the rest of the album, and there's plenty of freakish instrumentals as well.  There's not a whole lot to take out of this, but it's certainly a good outro.  

Rating: 7.9/10

Give A Listen To: "Rattlesnake", “Sleep Drifter” “Doom City”, “Nuclear Fusion”

Overall Thoughts: I wasn't as affected by this album nearly as much as the last three King Gizzard albums.  However, I think that King Gizzard are far from done blowing us away in the future.  This is easily the most freakish and bizarre album I've heard from them in years,  When they seriously get into a groove and lock it in, they end up coming up with some of the best material here.  However, there are still a handful of tunes that just come off as underwhelming and out of place.  Overall, it's still head and shoulders better than what passes for most Psychedelic Rock in 2017.

Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now

Jens Lekman is a Swedish Indie Pop artist who ever since the mid 2000's has been treating us to sweet, often clever Indie Pop/Baroque Pop albums.  People have often compared him to the works of Belle & Sebastian as well as The Magnetic Fields, which I totally get!  But Jens had such a charm to him that reminded me a little of the early work of Of Montreal.  Anyways, he debuted back in 2004 with his album "When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog", and album that I think doesn't get enough credit.  I really wasn't into the folkier tracks on here to be honest, but when it comes down to the poppier sounds Jens seriously was making some solid tunes.  And on Jens next project, "Night Falls Over Kortedala, I got exactly what I wanted out of him.  Jens here dropped most of the folk aspect and focused much more on writing catchy pop tunes and it worked fabulously.  Sure the instrumentals were glamorous and over the top and totally overblown, but everything was so jolly and joyous and Jens was sounding more adorable and cute than ever.  I couldn't say no to this album at all.  I was a little mixed when it came to Jens next album however, "I Know What Love Isn't".  Don't get me wrong, tracks like "Erica America" and "Some Dandruff On Your Shoulder" were fantastic, but Jens was going in a completely different direction here.  Jens as an artist seemed so much more heartbroken, even instrumentally.  And while I loved his lyrical work and the fact that he was making some seriously classy pop music, I wasn't completely sold.  As far as the singles go leading up to this new album, they've shown a TON of promise, I don't wanna waste another second!

(One of the songs that turned me on to Jens years ago)

This album starts off with "To Know Your Mission".  Jens has over the years become so good at taking little things in life and stretching them out and making them into wonderful tunes.  The intro here is very sweet, as Jens illustrates how he's basically people watching, which I would much prefer to the more sad side of Jens that we got on his last album.  Not only that, but it's certainly already much more lavish and colorful than we saw from Jens on his last album.  Quickly, "To Know You Mission" picks up into a sweet, bouncy indie pop song that's full of life, and is certainly much more along the lines of what Jens should be focusing on.  I wouldn't say he's completely returned to the sheer intimacy and colorfulness that he had early on in his career, but this is still certainly enjoyable and right up Jens alley.  The sleigh bells and the backing vocals absolutely give me that same overwhelming sense of joy that I felt listening to Jens early material.  Then all of a sudden towards the end of the track, everything comes together in this "ah-HAH" moment as Jens reveals he's singing about himself in some major flashback.  It's a very joyous intro.  Up next though is "Evening Prayer", where things really start to pick up.  Right off the bat this is just so sweet, upbeat, and likable.  Jens vocals here are to die for, there's certainly a very "cool" feel to his performance here.  The melodies here couldn't be more on point, and I absolutely love the slight disco feel that he has going on his the background.  It's actually a really fantastic sound for Jens, and one that I'd love to hear more from him on in the future.  Lyrically, it's just as visual and as intriguing as you would hope, with some really surreal stuff thrown in as well.  As far as "Evening Prayer" goes, I couldn't be happier.  Jens on a few different occasions here goes for more of an electronic sound, but he certainly pulls it off well.  On "Hotwire the Ferris Wheel" Jens brings in tons of beautiful carnival imagery.  I love listening to his lyrics, it always feels like I'm catching up with him after not seeing him for a while.  This one is certainly a slower track and all, but it's still so lush and colorful.  Personally, I enjoy his more upbeat and peppy tunes, but this is certainly great.  Not to mention, the entire buildup to that gigantic string release is just wonderful.  There's just such a carefree attitude to all of this, I'm more of a winter dude in general but this certainly has me wanting to take a nice stroll somewhere warm.  On "What's That Perfume You Wear?", that upbeat, almost disco sound is back in a big way, with a huge tropical feel on top of that.  This honestly one of the most straightforward tracks here, BUT, it works for Jens.  Once that first verse hits, I dare you to try and stay in your seat.  This sounds like something a whole lot of indie pop bands would try out in an attempt to sound different.  It comes very naturally to Jens though, and makes this a super classy performance.  Jens remains just so damn good at making portraits of life occurrences you wouldn't expect to take notice of.  In this case, it's smelling a perfume and remembering a vacation.  Yea, we've been there Jens, and it's wonderful.  

On "Our First Fight", Jens tones it down quite a bit.  This may be the most somber sounding track here, but with a topic like this one, that's probably a good time to tone it down.  Jens may continue to weave great stories, but this one falls a little short for me.  It's just as solid of a performance, but instrumentally this one just fly's right by.  This reminds me way too much of the material on "I Know What Love Isn't", which did little to nothing for me.  Yes there are still plenty of adorable and sweet lyrical moments though that redeem it a little, but this is still not what I'm looking for from Jens.  Up next is "Wedding in Finistère", and if you're a fan of the more World Music influence, this is a track you're going to want to check out.  This is easily the most confident sounding track here so far as far as Jens's performance goes.  His voice has seriously aged wonderfully, since he usually takes so long between albums I really never know how he's going to sound.  But his performance here is sweet and just as admirable as it was many years ago.  The chorus on "Wedding in Finistère" is easily one of the most memorable of the entire album.  As long as Jens continues on with these kind of tracks and stays the hell away from folk tracks, this can end up being a really fantastic album.  Up next is "How We Met, The Long Version", which honestly from these opening notes sounds like a direct cover of The Doobie Brothers "What A Fool Believes".  Now that we can move on from THAT, this disco vibe Jens is experimenting with here is absolutely a must continue for him.  This is all just coming off so smoothly and effortlessly with his already established sound.  Lyrically, this is a hard u-turn for Jens as hes talking about the earth and what it's made up of.  Honestly, I have no idea what he's getting at, but it works nicely with the feel of everything.  There's certainly a very cosmic feel in these instrumentals, and those horn sections are absolutely to die for.  I can't help but be completely swept up in the atmosphere of "How We Met, The Long Version".  Towards the end of the track, Jens loses it a little with that awful semi-rap verse and that entire story about the bass guitar.  But the rest of this track is just so fantastic that I can't help but say no.  This album however isn't without it's flaws, I really should have kept my mouth shut about folk songs, because I can't stand "How Can I Tell Him".  I feel like when Jens goes for these songs, it changes who he is completely as an artist.  Certainly there are tons of really sweet lyrical moments still, and when the other instrumentals pop in things absolutely pick up.  But overall I just can't stand Jens in this environment and I certainly can't take it seriously.  While lyrically it's on point and instrumentally it's stunning, overall this just comes off a little goofy, and it's a shame.  

The ending to this album is a little messy.  First we have the unbelievable "Postcard #17".  This track has such a somber tone to it, but holy hell each of these piano chords are just pounding away at my soul.  If Jens wants to go for a softer jam, THIS is what he needs to be going for, not some folk track.  This is just such a sentimental, sweet tune.  We've had plenty of personal stories all through here, but nowhere near as deep or as hard hitting as this.  Lyrically, Jens brought out his ! game on this one, painting unbelievably vibrant pictures.  If Jens wanted to take this approach, I would be so much more inviting to some of his slower stuff.  Honestly, "Postcard #17" might just be my favorite track here.  All of these great things to say, and then Jens wants to give me "Dandelion Seed" as an outro.  Right from the start of this one I've got some iffy vibes.  I really do love Jens's music, but when he goes into these tracks of him alone with an acoustic guitar it just gets so damn cheesy.  Once again, there's plenty to like about this track.  From the sweet instrumentals to the return of the obvious world music influences, there are a bunch of great elements.  Personally though, I feel like "Postcard #17" would have been just so much better as a finale.  

Rating: 8.1/10

Give A Listen To:"Evening Prayer", "What's That Perfume You Wear?", "Postcard #17", "How We Met, The Long Version"

Overall Thoughts:  To put it bluntly, Jens Lekman's strengths continue to be his strengths, and his weaknesses continue to be his weaknesses.  Here, Jens writes some of his most colorful, vibrant pop tunes in years, with a snappy new semi-disco vibe.  However, his slower songs continue to be very hit or miss.  That being said, I still think this is Jens' most solid project in years.  

Flume - Skin Companion EP II

Flume is an Australian Electronic artist that I started to get familiar with ages ago.  Years ago I feel like I stumbled across Flume's music on an FKA Twigs Pandora station.  In his early recordings, I love the chilled out alternative R&B vibe he was going for, which was brought to HUGE levels with the release of 2015's "Skin".  A lot of people were iffy on "Skin" but I thought it had a handful of really great performances and guest spots.  However, my one issue was that Flume more often then not took a little bit of a backseat to some of his guests.  On huge tracks like "Never Be Like You" this worked out fine, but other times I wanted to hear a little more from  him.  Which is why when he released his first companion EP to "Skin", I LOVED the more stripped back sound that was more focused on Flume himself.  Since then, he's released a second companion album, let's chat about it.

This EP starts off on the more sluggish side of things with “Enough” featuring the great Pusha T.  The synths that start this track are just as dark yet gorgeous as you would expect from Flume.  However it’s obvious very quickly that this is far from the direction that Flume was going for on his 1st Skin Companion EP.  That EP showed Flume hold back on the guest spots and honed his production, going for more of an alternative R&B vibe.  I thought that was actually really refreshing for Flume.  But here, instantly Flume is taking a backseat to Pusha T (mostly because of just how animated Push is, seriously I’ve seen the dude live, he’s got energy to spare).  While I enjoy both Pusha and Flume, this track doesn’t do much for me at all.   As far as Pusha’s verse goes, it’s solid, but for my liking I would much rather hear him on a more upbeat tune.  This is literally the farthest thing from an upbeat tune, with Flume’s beats being dominated by bass and just coming off as sluggish.  However all isn’t bad here, the atmosphere Flume put together is actually fantastic.  It’s alright overall, but I just enjoyed the direction he was going in on his last EP so much more.  Up next is “Weekend” featuring Moses Sumney, who’s been getting a whole lot of exposure recently.  As far as the intro goes on this one, man can Flume build up a nice atmosphere quickly.  This one is pretty far out overall, hell listening to this one I feel like I’m in the middle of a damn alien invasion.  The beat on this one is much more adventurous, and overall is muchhhh more along the lines of what I expect from Flume.  Some of the backing instrumentals here are absolutely stunning, from those strings to that odd plucking that appears occasionally.  All of this, as well as Sumney’s performance, add to the alternative R&B sound that Flume has gotten so accustomed to.  Speaking of Moses Sumney’s performance goes, this is overall just such a better collaboration.  Moses’s vocals aren’t overpowering at all, allowing Flume’s production to dominate.   Simply put, the two have great chemistry together.  The great atmosphere from the start of the track eventually does return towards the end, but why the hell did it take so long?   I still would have liked a tiny bit more of the focus to be on Flume, but compared to that first track this is certainly a huge improvement. 

When “Depth Charge” hits, immediately I feel like this is where I want Flume to be.  I understand that Flume’s music and his genre in general depends on vocal guest spots.  But as far as an instrumental track from Flume, this is exactly what I want to hear.  The synths here are absolutely to die for as they wheeze in and out, as far as a great overall electronic track this is about as good as your going to get.  I mean thankfully Flume has never really gone full on EDM on us, mostly because his personality is always in every one of his synth notes.  There are also some really great, bizarre moments here as well with oddball vocal samples which go fantastic amongst this atmosphere.  “Depth Charge” as far as instrumentals go, are right where Flume should be.  This EP ends off with “Fantastic” featuring Dan Bayley of Glass Animals.  As far as the beat goes here, this may be the most adventurous and most left field sounding track here by far.  It actually comes off sounding like a Glass Animals rhythm, so Dan’s presence actually goes over quite well.  However once again I do have some issues.  Dan and Flume absolutely have chemistry.  But once again I feel like Flume is seriously taking a backseat here to his guest.  Once again, I 100% get that when your a DJ this is something you have to deal with though.  As the track goes on I have less problems with this one, mostly because more synths and production tricks pop in.  I just wish Flume had a few more tricks up his sleeve.  

Rating: 6.8/10

Overall Thoughts:  Personally, I did enjoy the first Companion EP a little bit better.  However, this certainly still shows a lot of promise.  While I wasn't amazed by Pusha T's performance, Moses Sumney and Dan Bayley had some serious chemistry with Flume.  "Depth Charge" as well shows just how much Flume can wow us with instrumentals when he sets his mind to it.  I still wish this was a little bit more about Flume, but I digress, it's not terrible.  

Strand Of Oaks - "Hard Love"

Strand Of Oaks, aka Singer/Songwriter Timothy Showalter started making a name for himself in the late 2010's.  In 2009, he started turning heads with his debut album "Leave Ruin".  While I thought Strand Of Oaks had the warm atmosphere down and had an incredible voice, I found a lot of his songs to be a little tedious and I had trouble being into ever track for it's duration.  Up next though Stand of Oaks seriously turned my head with the epic "Pope Kildragon" album.  Instrumentally, it had a whole lot more going on than just vocals and an acoustic guitar.  This album had all sorts of influence from folk rock to country instrumentally, and as far as lyrics go Showalter was starting to seriously become an absolutely masterful storyteller.  In other words, Helllllllll yes "Pope Kildragon" was a great folk album.  That being said, I really didn't expect to enjoy another Strand of Oaks album nearly as much from Strand of Oaks.  His next full length album, "Dark Shores" however, I found myself enjoying just as much.  It wasn't nearly as gloomy, and it incorporated a whole lot more of Rock instrumentation, but to be honest I thought he pulled it off very nicely.  Then, on 2014's "HEAL", Strand Of Oaks made the BIG leap.  He was no longer a Folk artist, he transitioned to straight up Alternative/Indie sounding, very nicely too.  Showalter's voice had grown to be so soulful, while yet somber in tone.  It was a bold sound for Strand Of Oaks, but I respect the hell out of him for taking this huge risk and leaping to a more electric sound.  As far as these new singles go, they've certainly continued down the much heavier route that Strand Of Oaks have been going down, but they've been pretty great loud rockers for the most part.  Lets not waste any more time.

(Strand of Oaks classic to get you guys going)

The album starts off with it’s title track, “Hard Love”.  Instantly, I have to talk about just how far Showalter has come.  His music used to be so bare, so intimate.  This is certainly still intimate, but this is the farthest thing from bare anymore.  Strangely enough there’s almost some electronic influence in this intro.  However, once things begin to step it up a little, there’s almost a Heartland Rock feel to everything, which is something I can SERIOUSLY get behind when it comes to Strand Of Oaks.  Showalter’s genre has been a little all over the place over the years, but for the most part this is straight up Indie Rock, and he’s certainly pulling it off.  There are no gimmicks here which is refreshing to hear in an era of visual albums and God knows what else.  As far as his vocals go, they’ve come a VERY long way.  I remember sitting down with his earliest material thinking there was a single distinct feature of his voice.  Now, he’s giving us all of these memorable performances and I couldn’t be happier.  That being said, I can most definitely understand why some older Strand Of Oaks fans wouldn’t be into this at all, he’s come  a long way from being a reserved folk artist.  But if your into Showalter going for some heavier tunes, these are still very well crafted, and his emotion is still on point.  Instrumentally, Strand of Oaks have been steadily getting heavier for years, but instrumentally this may be his heaviest yet.  No, I’m fairly certain you won’t get caught in a Mosh Pit at a Strand Of Oaks show.  But this is certainly much heavier.  Not to mention, the almost Heartland feel Showalter is going for gives this album a heavy feeling of nostalgia, which is actually really nice, overall this is a solid intro.  Up next in the track list however is “Radio Kids”, and absolutely chilling and masterfully penned tune.  This track doesn’t waste a single second, building up quickly and confidently, with an even more nostalgic feel then ever.  As corny as it sounds, just listening to this track just makes me want to blast down the highway with my windows down.  “Radio Kids” also may be his most straightforward song to date.  Earlier tracks of his took me a few listens to really appreciate the entire package.  This on the other hand is just a triumphant, straight up rock tune that I feel like we need so much more of these days.  As far as a “single” goes, this is easily the closest thing to a big one I’ve heard from Strand Of Oaks ever.  Sure, there’s some cheesiness in this track, hell I even get a dreaded “Dad Rock” vibe at moments.  But I’ll be damned if I can’t help but to eat it all up.  Up next is “Everything” which instantly has a much heavier mood, almost a doom-oriented mood.  It actually sounds a whole lot more like the material on his “HEAL” album.  Everything about “Everything” (HAH) is the exact opposite of “Radio Kids”.  There, Showalter sounded so comfortable with himself and so positive (for the most part).  On “Everything” on the other hand, he sounds so calculating and so much moodier.  Honestly though, it’s not a bad thing at all, this is actually much more of what we’re used to from him.  He still sounds confident too,, and while this is far from infectious it’s still a solid track.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSEdhB9faEs

As far as a an album goes, “Hard Love” overall is certainly good, but this middle section is absolutely a little on the boring side.  Tracks like “On The Hill” start off really nicely with a great atmosphere and some chilling guitar licks, hell theres even a strange mysticism to everything.  His vocals to me though are far from ear grabbing on this one.  I wouldn’t say they’re bad, but there’s certainly a whole lot more interesting stuff going on in the instrumentals.  His vocals do get more passionate as the track goes on which is certainly a huge plus, and Showalter’s lyrical performance is pretty fantastic.  But overall this track doesn't click at all for me.  There are some cool instrumentals, but they’re still so sluggish, which is especially agitating after how explosive this album started.  “Cry” really isn’t that much better, and I’m certainly not going to get the pace picked up like I was hoping.  However, those opening piano notes ARE pretty sweet.  Showalter certainly sounds at one with the Piano here which is nice, but outside of that this one does little to nothing for me.  There are some seriously great elements to this all, but nothing about this really screams originality to me.  His vocals are great, the instrumentals are sweet, but this sounds like it could literally be any singer/songwriter out there.  It’s like I’m listening to early Strand of Oaks all over again, and it’s very frustrating.  Not to mention, that last minute is unnecessary in every way.  Thankfully, tracks like “Salt Brothers” save the middle of the album from being completely skip-able.  By this point in the album, these tracks are getting moodier by the second.  Once again, this sounds much more like the material on “HEAL”, and certainly almost has a blues influence. Showalter’s performance here however is absolutely gripping.  If he’s going to go for some more slower tracks here and there, this is certainly the way to go.  All of the instrumentals here are so sharp, blending elements of Indie Rock, Country, Folk Rock and plenty of others.  Obviously though, Showalter’s performance alone brings everything together.  Everything just sounds so incredibly delicate, like he’s only a few bars away from tearing up a little.  It’s a solid tune my friends.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnMjpYGhUVc

Thankfully, Strand of Oaks seriously buckle down when it comes to this finale and make for some seriously amazing  tracks to leave us with.  First up, we have “Quit It”.  We’re back to a more electronic sounding start, but the real story here is Showalter’s voice which sounds absolutely ridiculous.  The atmosphere on this one is just so sticky and heavy.  This is just such an effective track though has that atmosphere seriously drags you in super close.  So much so that the kick drum ushering in the much heavier, rock oriented instrumentals may be the most exciting moment of the entire album.  “Quit It” isn’t the most upbeat track on the album, but it’s just upbeat enough to wake me up a little after some of the more forgettable material here.  Once again, there’s a huge feeling of nostalgia that helps this one shine, and there's absolutely some classic rock influence as well.  Shockingly though, it really doesn’t come off cheesy or overblown.  “Rest Of It” is up next, one of the other early singles released from the album.  To be honest, he’s certainly choosing the right time to be getting things a little more revved up to leave us with some of the more memorable material here.  This track overall isn’t the best, it’s solid and all, but it shares almost all of the same qualities with earlier tunes here.  The backing vocals add a little bit of a wild edge to this track, but besides that it’s just more of the same.  It’s certainly not bad, but it’s nothing too memorable either.   Then we have the album’s finale, “Taking Acid and Talking to My Brother”.  As far as an atmospheric track goes, this may be the strongest one here.  I’m usually pretty iffy with these more folky tunes from Strand Of Oaks, and they can certainly go one of two ways.  This track though is an absolutely home run though.  Showalter’s vocals are so smokey and raspy, and all of the subtle constant changes instrumentally are absolutely to die for.  Once again, there’s a strong retro vibe to this track, but it’s a whole lot less cheesier and much easier to swallow.  And you may have guessed by looking at that title, but yes there’s a strong Psychedelic element to this track as well.  But it all works wonderfully, and this ends up being one of Showalter’s most memorable performances here.  It’s a shockingly gigantic, and overall wonderful finale.  

Rating: 7.8/10

Give A Listen To: "Radio Kids", Salt Brothers", "Quit It", “Taking Acid and Talking to My Brother”

Overall Thoughts:  You know I wish I could have liked this album more.  There are so many moments here that are some of Showalter's greatest moments as a songwriter.  Instrumentally this is one of the most diverse albums he's produced yet, and it's filled with so many fantastic performances that I have a tough time really picking my favorite.  However, there are also some serious weak spots that still show Strand of Oaks struggling with some more folk-oriented songs.  

Animal Collective - The Painters EP

At this point in the game, what is there to even say about the legendary experimental pop band known as Animal Collective that hasn't already been said.  There was a time where Animal Collective were Gods of the indie world, creating vast, Psychedelic, experimental pop atmospheres like nobody else.  "Sung Tongs", "Feels", "Strawberry Jam" and the near perfect "Merriweather Post Pavillion" are juggernauts of the indie/electronic world, and for good reason.  There was such a fun, youthful sound to Animal Collective, with Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Geologist and Deakin all contributing wonderfully.  Recently though Animal Collective have hit a rough patch, releasing the sloppy "Centepede Hz" as well as last year's "Painting With".  Neither one of these were necessarily terrible albums, but Animal Collective seemed to be playing things so safe overall (a word I was hoping to never use when describing them).  Here we are now with a new, companion EP to "Painting With", "The Painters EP"

( Can we go back to THIS please guys)

This short EP starts off with “Kinda Bonkers”, and let me just say that mere seconds into it and already this sounds like a much lesser produced and more drugged out version of a track from their classic “Merriweather Post Pavilion”.  I mean it’s a far cry from that caliber of a song, but this is much looser sounding than anything on “Painting With”, which is a huge plus.  The atmosphere is much hazier and drugged out, but as Animal Collective have done in the past they work with that fantastically.  Hell, even as far as the lyrics go this is much more memorable, mostly that opening lyric about life being like french toast (“if you wait too long it gets black and weak”).  Overall “Kinda Bonkers” is far from perfect, but it’s bouncy, and a little more on the serious side of things.  I mean I don’t think I’ve ever really heard a more serious track from Animal Collective, but if that’s what this is I’m certainly ok with it.  So many moments on “Painting With” floated by without leaving any sort of affect on me, Panda Bear and Avey Tare most of the time sounded like they were trying way too hard.  Here, Panda Bear sounds so much more comfortable and in his element.  I wouldn’t say “Kinda Bonkers” is a 100% return to form, but it’s a start.  Just when I thought Animal Collective were getting back on track, I hear “Peacemaker”.  Instantly this just sounds like more of the same overproduced and heavily structured indie pop that we got on “Painting With”.  Ok maybe that’s being a little harsh, this is far from THAT watered down and this isn’t nearly as robotic, but I’m seriously not feeling these vocals at all.  This is the epitome of everything I couldn't get into about “Painting With”, all of these tracks show Animal Collective desperately trying to be weird.  While the harmonies are passable at best, the beat here sounds like it was made in about 5 minutes on FL Studio by some teenager.  Even the atmosphere on this one is off.  While the first track here focused on that hazy, drugged out atmosphere that worked wonders, the atmosphere on “Peacemaker” just seems so forced.  Overall this one is just so agitating.

“Goalkeeper” at the very least acts as a little pick-me-up.  While I’m not completely sold on this one, it does have a more bouncy instrumental.  But in about as much time it took me to type that sentence, “Goalkeeper” takes a nose-dive and quickly it becomes very obvious that Animal Collective haven’t given up on this very polished, oversaturated sound.  There are some good elements here and there, but the rest of the track comes off as woozy and the farthest thing from experimental or adventurous, and certainly isn’t fun.  Animal Collective within the worst moments here sound more lost and convoluted than ever.  When they’re on their A Game, the music Animal Collective produce is some of the most beautiful textured electronic music out there.  This however, is not their A Game.  However, I do give credit where it’s due.  The vocal harmonies here on “Goalkeeper” aren’t bad at all.  As a matter of fact, the chorus here as delusional as it is it so damn catchy and lovable that it ends up being one of the most memorable moments of this entire EP.  If you haven't caught on already, this EP is all over the damn place.  But, let me tell you, Animal Collective finish this bad boy off insanely strong with their cover of “Jimmy Mack”.  As soon as this track starts it sounds so much more vast and adventurous compared to everything else I’ve heard from them in the last year from them.  It certainly wakes you right up, and dare I say this may be the most legitimately fun sounding Animal Collective track I’ve heard in years.  The band used to have this great, youthful element to them that used to give me such a wonderful feeling.  “Jimmy Mack” gives me that feeling, and I honestly can’t even remember I felt that way listening to an Animal Collective song.  Despite it being a cover, it really comes off well, maybe going as far as coming off as some long forgotten B-Side.  The verses and just so bouncy and joyous that I can’t say no, with each member of Animal Collective doing their thing nicely.  Now take this last thought of mine with a grain of salt, if it meant more legitimately fun tracks like this, I don’t think I would mind an entire Animal Collective covers album.  Until then, they're slowly getting back on track, lets see how they keep it up in the future.  

Rating : 6.9/10

Overall Thoughts: Sure, it's a good start.  I'd even go as far as to say that this has some of the best material Animal Collective have done in years.  But at the same time, there are too many moments on here that are a grim reminder of the very safe path that Animal Collective are heading down.  

Cloud Nothings - "Life Without Sound"

Oh hey there Cloud Nothings, it's been a while.  Cloud Nothings got their start back in 2010 when they used to consist completely of sole member Dylan Baldi.  Legend has it that he recorded their debut, "Turning On" in his parents basement.  If you've listened to it, you'll probably believe that.  It's certainly not a bad album, there's actually quite a few decent tunes on there. But overall, I wasn't really into the Low-Fi production of everything.  On the other hand, when it comes to their Self Titled 2011 album, it was love at first listen.  At the time, I was super into low-fi garage rock bands, and Cloud Nothings seemed to fit into that mold so wonderfully.  The tracks here were so catchy and innocent, while continually packing enough energy and grittiness to keep their fanbase pleased.  Then came "Attack On Memory", which basically was the hardest U-Turn Cloud Nothings could have done.  There were no more sweet, upbeat surf rock tunes, no no.  Cloud Nothings on here were noisy, slow burning, angry and full of emotions.  Even the peppier performances on here were so much harsher and heavy.  Not to mention, these instrumentals were just so vast and gigantic compared to the 2 minute low-fi jams they have been pushing out before. As far as vocals go, Dylan Baldi just sounded so hurt, so empty, and more than anything like an animal.  Cloud Nothings had clearly been boning up on their Slint and Fugazi albums, and they were seriously owning this new sound.   As far as their next album goes, "Here And Nowhere Else" seriously didn't hit me nearly as hard.  While the music there was OK,  I didn't feel nearly as moved by any of the performances.  Cloud Nothings to me were going for a different sound yet again, almost pulling from some classic Emo sounds.  Like I said, a lot of the stuff here wasn't necessarily bad, but I don't know why Cloud Nothings had to change anything.  Since then, Cloud Nothings have been relatively quiet.  They did that kinda bizarre split mini-album with Wavves which felt criminally incomplete, but outside of that it's been a while.  Let's chat about this new album, "Life Without Sound".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtkePLlTUcY
(For those of y'all that aren't that familiar with Cloud Nothings)

“Up To The Surface” starts off with a pretty stunning intro, to be honest I never really know what to expect when it comes to Cloud Nothings.  As far as their style goes, it’s always been a little bit all over the place.  However, I do have to say that the piano in the background here actually works quite nicely with the buildup of everything.  Overall, I think this works nicely as an intro for fans of Cloud Nothings, especially if you were a fan of their “Attack On Memory” album.  It’s sluggish, we see once again Cloud Nothings toying with this old school Emo sound, they’ve been once again boning up on their Sunny Day Real Estate.  Cloud Nothings fill the sound well however, there’s certainly PLENTY of tension in those drums as well as the pianos that continue to pummel their way through the background.  As far as Dylan Baldi’s performance goes, it’s nothing short of commendable.  While Baldi’s performances have always been a little hit and miss with me, he’s certainly “on” here and and filled with emotion.   If you’re a fan of “Attack On Memory” this is certainly one to check out.  Up next though, things take a huge turn for the worse with “Things Are Right With You”.  I feel like Cloud Nothings usually take their time on an album to bring in these more upbeat tracks, but here we are this early on in the album with a more upbeat track.  Dylan Baldi on this one however, sounds pretty awful.  His vocals here have absolutely no emotion whatsoever, he comes off here as a whiny singer of a late 90’s “fake” “punk” band.  I’m totally fine with Cloud Nothings picking up that pace and going for a more upbeat sound, but this doesn’t even remotely sound like them.  All of that emotion present on that first track is just flung completely out the window.  Instrumentally, it’s alright, it’s certainly not terrible, and some of the solos add a nice touch. But the intro to this album had Cloud Nothings playing with such PASSION, this just floats by and doesn’t leave anything behind to remember.  And if that wasn't enough, the chorus here is just so flat and unenthusiastic, “Things Are Right With You” is not good.  “Internal World” on the other hand at least has Dylan Baldi showing us some emotion right off the bat, and this at the very least SOUNDS like a Cloud Nothings song.  Baldi here isn’t coming off whiny at all, and that’s a huge plus.  As solid as this track is for the most part, Cloud Nothings still have a huge problem in deciding their genre.  There’s still plenty of elements of old school Emo, there’s some post grunge, there’s some post hardcore, some old school indie sounds, we seriously have to start narrowing down some of these Cloud Nothings.   “Internal World” while stylistically it’s a little all over the place, it doesn’t crumble and fail miserably, it actually sticks together nicely and ends up having some really memorable moments.  Some of these instrumentals as well are some of the more epic of the album, especially in Jayson Gerycz’s stellar drum performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3TnFdEdFpI

“Darkened Rings” picks the pace right back up again, and I can’t stress enough just how much they really need to be careful with these tracks.  I don’t necessarily have a problem with upbeat Cloud Nothings tracks, they’ve proven in the past that they CAN make them work.  But to be honest, in their last two albums or so they’ve shown that their real strong point is sticking with slower pace, more atmospheric tracks.  “Darkened Rings” has a very “wild” feel to it all, with all of these soaring “out of control” instrumentals.  The piano here is a little goofy occasionally, and not for nothing but I can’t stand when Baldi’s vocals get all yelpy like this.  It’s a shame too, because in the right instance his vocals can be so emotional.  It “Darkened Rings” is supposed to be the “unhinged” version of Cloud Nothings, I’m seriously not feeling it.  The instrumentals here are hit and miss.  Jayson Gerycz’s drum performance continues to be a standout, but the guitar licks just seem grossly out of place and the piano melodies continue to be agitating.  If you’re not into Cloud Nothings usually slower paced tracks, you may dig this a lot, but I can’t get into it.  “Enter Entirely” is up next, with a much slower and almost bluesier sound.  It works very nicely though for Cloud Nothings, and Baldi’s vocal performance here is nothing short of chilling.  These much more minimal atmospheres seem to do wonders for Dylan Baldi’s vocals.  I wouldn’t say this track is completely barren feeling, but it’s certainly giving Baldi much more room to shine.  His vocals get a little yelpy towards the chorus but even that works here due to the sheer derailment of everything going on around him.  Once again, Cloud Nothings are totally going for that old school Emo vibe, locking into these serious grooves which go fantastic alongside Baldi’s almost paranoid performance.  “Enter Entirely” proves that Cloud Nothings can certainly still write a great tune, but this still poses a problem.   This is literally their fourth album, but here they still are still desperately trying to figure out what their signature sound is.  I’m still enjoying most of this album, probably more than most other critics, but I worry about the future of Cloud Nothings quite a bit.  They seriously need to buckle down and get one distinct sound going, because I feel like I haven’t been this into a chorus since “Stay Useless” from “Attack on Memory”.  Then we have “Modern Act” which Cloud Nothings definitely pick up the pace for.  It certainly doesn’t come off bad at all however, with Baldi actually sounding really confident amongst this more uplifting tone.  I was actually was really worried that Baldi was going to come off whiny on a track like this, surprisingly he doesn’t, and he actually ends up coming out with one of the album’s catchiest and most memorable choruses.  If “Modern Act” is going to be the sound of future, more upbeat tracks from Cloud Nothings, I’m totally fine with that.  But I’m still sick of Cloud Nothings being the proverbial grab bag of everything heavy in the indie rock world.  Hell I don’t even know where “Modern Act” fits in genre-wise, it sure fits nicely though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xit8uUxuKd0

Starting off the final third of the album we have “Sight Unseen”.  Right from these opening bars, I’m not feeling it at all.  Baldi’s performance here is just so sluggish and lifeless, even when that chorus comes in.  As peppy and as upbeat as it is, nothing sticks with me about this track at all.  The instrumentals here are hard to pinpoint, with the guitars for the most part taking a backseat to these soaring pianos that are once again seriously not necessary.  It’s just getting frustrating how often this album switches up genres and moods and everything in between, I would honestly just love if they stuck with their Post Hardcore sound.  However, I’m seriously about to eat my words completely.  They absolutely go for a more Post Hardcore sound on “Strange Year”, but boy is this one hard to swallow.  This track seems so unbelievably forced to me, like Cloud Nothings are trying desperately to make up for some of the more upbeat tracks here.  The result isn’t necessarily a bad track, but my issue is that this sound used to come so natural to Cloud Nothings.  While the instrumentals are solid and all, Dylan Baldi sounds like he’s putting on one hell of an act.  We’re talking about a genre here that’s supposed to be filled with over the top performances, but this is just so damn FORCED.  There’s also little to no instrumental buildup, it’s just constant release after release.  It’s not the worst track here, and it’s certainly the most intense track here, I just wish it came off as more natural.  Thankfully Cloud Nothings end this album off on a good note with “Realize My Fate”.  If any of the last few tracks made you lose interest, this one will certainly win you back quickly with it’s sharp intro.  In just about every way, “Realize My Fate” is what I want to hear from Cloud Nothings.  This slow, pounding instrumental and slowly creeping along atmosphere are both to die for,  When they seriously buckle down on a sound like they have here,  and I mean ONE sound not SIX, it comes off masterfully.  Baldi doesn’t even sound human here, he sounds genuinely tortured. Cloud Nothings on this finale don’t just sound like they were influenced by great Post Hardcore acts like Fugazi, Slint, and Drive Like Jehu, they sound like they could easily stand toe to toe with them if they just focused.  THIS is the sound I want to hear from Cloud Nothings.  Bring me plenty more of this, and stick with it, then we’ll chat again.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFLXnJwvBzk

Rating: 7.4/10

Give A Listen To: “Up To The Surface”, “Internal World”, “Realize My Fate” “Modern Act”

Overall Thoughts:  This may go as an unpopular opinion, but I actually ended up liking this more than their previous album, "Here And Nowhere Else".  Cloud Nothings have proven that in the right circumstance they can still do real wonders for the Post Hardcore sound.  My only issue really is still the same one I've had for years, we're 4 Cloud Nothings albums in and they still really don't seem to know what sound to stick with.  THAT'S a huge problem.  If they could figure that out and narrow down their sound, man these guys could be unstoppable.  

Ariel Pink & Weyes Blood - "Myths 002"

Weyes Blood to me has flown under my radar for a while now.  I've heard her name passed around from time to time, and I know she's worked with Ariel Pink in the past.  On her first album, "The Outside Room".  This was seriously a bizarre album, with Weyes Blood's angelic performance usually floating directly above these absolutely chaotic, disturbing psychedelic passages.  This was actually a pretty difficult album to really get into, but there was something absolutely gorgeous but even more so dark that I couldn't say no to.  Her follow up album was pretty stunning as well.  On "The Innocents", Weyes Blood went with a more straightforward sound in her brand of folk/baroque pop.  It was much easier to assess. but at the same time remained just as haunting and absolutely gorgeous.  There was also a serious old time beauty to all of this, especially on tracks like "Summer". That being said, I still wasn't totally sold on Weyes Blood, I thought she had some really fantastic elements but still a handful of these tracks went on FAR too long and went nowhere.  I honestly though wasn't nearly as into her big breakout album of 2016, "Front Row Seat To Earth".  Yea it was still just as gorgeous and dreamy, but I wasn't into the fact that she dropped most of her folk elements for a much more Baroque Pop sound.  So here we are with this new collaborative EP, to be honest this is probably the last thing I expected out of these two but let's see what they're up to.

This EP starts off pretty gigantic with the explosive “Tears Of Fire”.  The track starts off with an airy, folky sound with some psychedelic undertones.  The atmosphere is pretty stunning, but whenever Weyes Blood is present on a track this airy atmosphere is almost certain to follow.  What’s most shocking here however, is just how well Weyes Blood and Ariel Pink play off each other so well.  On the verses here, Ariel brings out some character in Weyes Blood’s sometimes monotonous delivery, while she in return brings out how nice Ariel’s voice can sound when he’s being serious.  We tend to forget this, but Ariel Pink is more than just Indie Pop’s resident goofball.  Ariel’s usual quirky personality is all over this however, and Weyes Blood as her performance goes on makes this track more and more ethereal.  For me, this was a “one time listen & love” track, everything here is just so overpowering. Every element to these verses build up towards this absolutely explosive release of a chorus.  As Weyes Blood get’s older I’d swear her voice just keeps getting better and more stunning, her performance here is absolutely jaw dropping.  Overall, I have nothing but great things to say about “Tears Of Fire”, it’s just a fantastic Psychedelic Pop song.  There’s absolutely a very retro feel to this all, and I mean VERY retro, like medieval retro, and I can’t help but eat it all up.  As far as singles of the year goes, I know it’s early to tell but I wouldn’t be surprised if this ended up on my list.  Up Next is “Daddy Please Give A Little Time To Me”, which right off the bat has a little more of a spacey feel to it.  This one is centered almost completely around Weyes Blood, which to me is a little disappointing, mostly because I thought they played off each other very well on that first track. “Daddy Please Give A Little Time To Me” is a little too breezy for my liking.  Weyes Blood sounds incredible and all, and her vocal performances are stunning, but everything else here seriously doesn’t click with me.  At the end of the day, “Daddy Please Give A Little Time To Me” sounds like just a Weyes Blood track, which is fine and all, but Ariel’s presence is barely felt.  And I know as a collaborative project both artists aren’t going to be consistently featured, but still, their collaborations on that first track made me want so much more.  “Morning After” is up next, and is certainly a slight improvement.  The production however on the EP needs to step it up a bit.  I get that Ariel and Weyes Blood are going for that retro, Low Fi sound which Ariel HAS done plenty of in the past.  But here on this EP, it’s not done as well as you would hope, at least I’ve certainly heard it done better with other artists.  Weyes Blood’s performance here is much more solid and she sounds a little more down to earth, literally.  Now leading up to the release of this EP I was making joke after joke about the cover looking medieval.  Like I said earlier, they go seriously hard on that sound, and that atmosphere is something that works about this EP magnificently.  There’s a huge mysticism sound to this EP that is certainly fueled by Weyes Blood’s performance.  Strangely enough though, once again on “Morning After” Ariel’s presence is barely felt, outside of some production I’m sure.  So once again we’re just sitting here with a Weyes Blood solo track basically, but this one is a whole lot more pleasant and well structured.  Finally, we come to the much more psychedelic finale of “On Another Day”.  Strangely enough, as much more psychedelic this feels, it’s also a whole lot more current sounding, this track isn’t drowning helplessly in that heavy old school production.  Ariel is back in a big way, and with these lyrics here he’s sounding more animated than ever.  Granted, I haven’t heard anything new from Ariel in about two years so just hearing him on this EP is just so pleasant.  I love the hazy feel to “On Another Day”, and that very mystic vibe from earlier is back with a vengeance thanks to those mysterious synths.  Vocally, these two are doing absolute wonders for one another, making these tracks some of the most vibrant performances I’ve heard from either one of them.  It’s not as peppy as Ariel’s usual work, and it’s not as cloudy as Weyes Blood’s usual work, this is just some nice middle ground.  My only real issue with this EP is that I want more, A LOT more.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl5nG5DA2Is

Rating : 7.1/10

Overall Thoughts:  This is an alright EP from Ariel Pink and Weyes Blood.  It seems a little incomplete, this EASILY could have had a two more tracks on here for us to enjoy.  But as far as a collaboration record goes, this is solid.  These two  completely different songwriters bring out a lot of fantastic elements in one another, I just hope we get to hear more from this duo in the future.