Oh, BT. Such memories of BT. All great ones might I add. The first note of BT’s that I ever heard was his collaboration with Tori Amos, “Blue Skies”. I can’t remember where I was or who spun it, but I remember standing in a vast warehouse wondering how Tori Amos could be pumping from these speakers. It. Was. Glorious.
BT is one of those artists who is actually an artist. The man has a musical technique named after him, his own software, six studio albums, numerous collaborations, and a plethora of movie and video game scores. His sheer volume of work is astounding, especially considering the quality. A lot of the time when an artist has that magnitude of work, some of it’s bound to be crap.
Well, not the case with BT. This newest album, These Hopeful Machines was released on Tuesday and musically, it’s awesome. It’s just a natural progression when you consider his previous albums. While These Hopeful Machines returns to the clubs after the break that was This Binary Universe, it absolutely has that element of ambiance.
It’s got dance floor stomping tracks like, “Suddenly” and “The Emergency”, the drowsy beats of “Every Other Way”, and the shockingly different cover of The Psychedelic Furs, “The Ghost in You”. This album has a wide variety of sounds for your listening pleasure. Based on the music alone, This album would have gotten and A. Unfortunately, the vocals make me want to bleed from my ears.
Thankfully, there’s two solely instrumental tracks (one per album on this dual disc set), “The Rose of Jericho” and “La Nocturne de Lumiere” to stop the screeching, whiny vocals. It’s a damn shame, really. It’s not BT’s voice that I mind so much, and honestly I find it very refreshing that he does do his own vocals, but where he gets some of these women for the female vocals just beats the hell out of me. All in all, I’m still going to give it a C because, musically, it’s a marvelous album. They just need to shut the hell up and let the music happen.
BT’s Site
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Fourtet – There Is Love In You
Fourtet (aka Kieren Hebden)’s new album, There Is Love In You, is just the beginning of a fantastic year in electronic music. Massive Attack, Groove Armada, Goldfrapp, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Gorillaz, and Autechre all have albums due out before the end of March. Holy shit, you guys. I didn’t even realize how awesome this year is until RIGHT NOW!
If the rest of these albums are as good as There Is Love In You, I’m going to be one happy kid! Hebden’s new album is trip-hop in it’s finest hour, seamlessly blending the minimalistic into twinkling, Atari inspired beats. The album starts off with “Angel Echoes” which has these incredibly haunting, abbreviated female vocals eking out the phrase “…there is love in you”. For as pixelated as the vocals are, there’s just such yearning in that voice. This is how vocals should sound on a trip-hop record. I want my heart to break a little.
I’m hopelessly addicted to “Love Cry”, the first single from the album, right now. So. Much. Fun. It starts off with this barren wasteland of minimal beats, but by the end of it, it’s a cacophony of well placed notes and breathy, angelic vocals singing a mantra of the track title. Two more of my favorites have to be “Sing”, an 8-bit throw back, and “This Unfolds” which does just that. It’s got this swell to it that just simply kicks ass.
This album is by far the most punctuated of Hebden’s career and I’m sure his residency at London’s Plastic People has helped. I mean, imaging being able to try out that new track in front of a live crowd at any given moment just to see their reaction. While Rounds has been considered the Fourtet “classic” (and it is a phenomenal album), I really think this one’s going to climb to the top for a lot of Fourtet fans. Even though this album is of such high quality, it’s certainly not perfect, as no album should be. I want to hear where you transition, I want a little but of dust on the vinyl, you know? This is really a fantastic, chill-out album and a great note to start a year in electronic music on. A!
Fourtet’s Site
If the rest of these albums are as good as There Is Love In You, I’m going to be one happy kid! Hebden’s new album is trip-hop in it’s finest hour, seamlessly blending the minimalistic into twinkling, Atari inspired beats. The album starts off with “Angel Echoes” which has these incredibly haunting, abbreviated female vocals eking out the phrase “…there is love in you”. For as pixelated as the vocals are, there’s just such yearning in that voice. This is how vocals should sound on a trip-hop record. I want my heart to break a little.
I’m hopelessly addicted to “Love Cry”, the first single from the album, right now. So. Much. Fun. It starts off with this barren wasteland of minimal beats, but by the end of it, it’s a cacophony of well placed notes and breathy, angelic vocals singing a mantra of the track title. Two more of my favorites have to be “Sing”, an 8-bit throw back, and “This Unfolds” which does just that. It’s got this swell to it that just simply kicks ass.
This album is by far the most punctuated of Hebden’s career and I’m sure his residency at London’s Plastic People has helped. I mean, imaging being able to try out that new track in front of a live crowd at any given moment just to see their reaction. While Rounds has been considered the Fourtet “classic” (and it is a phenomenal album), I really think this one’s going to climb to the top for a lot of Fourtet fans. Even though this album is of such high quality, it’s certainly not perfect, as no album should be. I want to hear where you transition, I want a little but of dust on the vinyl, you know? This is really a fantastic, chill-out album and a great note to start a year in electronic music on. A!
Fourtet’s Site
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Los Campesinos! – Romance Is Boring
So I really thought that these guys (and gals) had more albums than they do. Apparently, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed and Sticking Fingers Into Sockets don’t count.
Alright, for the sake of being correct for the masses: Los Campesinos! released their second feature length album, Romance Is Boring today! It’s so much fun! They’ve really evolved from that hyperactive, messy indie noise and have this excellent razor-edged punk sound going on, but with enough melodic female harmonies to make up for it. It’s a surprisingly good blend.
This album has a little bit of everything. From guest appearances from Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, Parenthetical Girls’ Zach Pennington, and Dead Science’s Jherek Bischoff to the horns, strings and distorted guitar of the Welsh(ish) septet, this album has a myriad of flavors to be had. Indie goes punk to early 90′s synth-pop and back again.
I’m absolutely addicted to “A Heat Rash in the Shape of the of the Show Me State; or, Letters From Me to Charlotte” right now. One of the poppiest tunes on the album (sans the song below, “There Are Listed Buildings”), it is downright catchy. Gotta love that Modest Mouse inspired name as well. This album really builds well…I find myself getting more and more into it the longer it goes on and the more plays I go through. It’s refreshment in the face of mass produced, radio wonders. With albums like this though, it’s only a matter of time before people realize how awesome Los Campesinos! are. A for you, Los Campesinos!
The Los Campesinos! Site
Alright, for the sake of being correct for the masses: Los Campesinos! released their second feature length album, Romance Is Boring today! It’s so much fun! They’ve really evolved from that hyperactive, messy indie noise and have this excellent razor-edged punk sound going on, but with enough melodic female harmonies to make up for it. It’s a surprisingly good blend.
This album has a little bit of everything. From guest appearances from Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, Parenthetical Girls’ Zach Pennington, and Dead Science’s Jherek Bischoff to the horns, strings and distorted guitar of the Welsh(ish) septet, this album has a myriad of flavors to be had. Indie goes punk to early 90′s synth-pop and back again.
I’m absolutely addicted to “A Heat Rash in the Shape of the of the Show Me State; or, Letters From Me to Charlotte” right now. One of the poppiest tunes on the album (sans the song below, “There Are Listed Buildings”), it is downright catchy. Gotta love that Modest Mouse inspired name as well. This album really builds well…I find myself getting more and more into it the longer it goes on and the more plays I go through. It’s refreshment in the face of mass produced, radio wonders. With albums like this though, it’s only a matter of time before people realize how awesome Los Campesinos! are. A for you, Los Campesinos!
The Los Campesinos! Site
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Vampire Weekend – Contra
You know, I really tried to like Vampire Weekend and their new album Contra, but I really just can’t get over how fucking pretentious these guys are.
Seriously!
I appreciate an African vibe and a solid appreciation of African music, but really?
You’re four Ivy League white dudes with trust funds. Really, just get the fuck over yourselves already. Vampire Weekend is simply too hip for me, I guess.
Vocally, it’s kinda neat, and musically, too. Ezra Koenig’s got this Bob Marley/Paul Simon thing going on most of the time, except for the shrieking in “House”. I don’t know what that’s all about, but it’s really unnecessary.”Horchata” is kind of catchy, except when Koenig tries to rhyme “horchata” with “baclava”. It’s like Rivers Cuomo trying to rhyme “bitch” with “kids”: Painful.
What also gets me on this album is the track, “I Think UR A Contra”. You’re talking about a Nicaraguan revolution here, man, you can’t take the time to actually spell out the word “you’re”? Also, Vampire Weekend is certainly not, and never will be, The Clash. Give up on that now, guys and leave Sandinista! alone.
On the plus side, I think that they guys of Vampire Weekend love this album. It’s something to listen to with their hipster friends while they puff away on cigarettes and sip their Starbucks with their superior smugness.
These guys are really pathetically hip.
I just can’t do it. I can’t get into this album or this band or even give them a good college (pun intended) try. Because of the one catchy song, it gets a D. Minus.
Vampire Weekend’s Site
Seriously!
I appreciate an African vibe and a solid appreciation of African music, but really?
You’re four Ivy League white dudes with trust funds. Really, just get the fuck over yourselves already. Vampire Weekend is simply too hip for me, I guess.
Vocally, it’s kinda neat, and musically, too. Ezra Koenig’s got this Bob Marley/Paul Simon thing going on most of the time, except for the shrieking in “House”. I don’t know what that’s all about, but it’s really unnecessary.”Horchata” is kind of catchy, except when Koenig tries to rhyme “horchata” with “baclava”. It’s like Rivers Cuomo trying to rhyme “bitch” with “kids”: Painful.
What also gets me on this album is the track, “I Think UR A Contra”. You’re talking about a Nicaraguan revolution here, man, you can’t take the time to actually spell out the word “you’re”? Also, Vampire Weekend is certainly not, and never will be, The Clash. Give up on that now, guys and leave Sandinista! alone.
On the plus side, I think that they guys of Vampire Weekend love this album. It’s something to listen to with their hipster friends while they puff away on cigarettes and sip their Starbucks with their superior smugness.
These guys are really pathetically hip.
I just can’t do it. I can’t get into this album or this band or even give them a good college (pun intended) try. Because of the one catchy song, it gets a D. Minus.
Vampire Weekend’s Site
HIP. STERS.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
OK Go – Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
OK Go released their third album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, yesterday and already there’s some serious hype. This album seriously has everything. It’s a little bit of Prince, a little bit of Bowie, a little bit of Nine Inch Nails, a little bit of Modest Mouse, and it seems to me, a little bit of what U2 would sound like if they were any good. Plus, a million other completely awesome musical influences (Peter Gabriel, early 90′s acid-rock, I could go on for DAYS), but this album still has a vibe all it’s own.
Weighty percussion, psychedelic guitar, and heavy synth are definitely the recurring themes of this album, but it’s amazing in how many different ways they pull it off. From the groovy “Skyscrapers” to the straight up disco of “White Knuckles” to the industrial vibe of “WTF?”, there is never a dull moment. It’s kind of funny to think that four white dudes have this much funk. They’re like Jamiroquai, but less creepy. For guys who are as in to sweater vests and ties as they are, you sure can’t hear it on this album. It’s far more leather pants than pocket protector.
I seriously can’t wait to see them dance on treadmills to ” I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe”. Dear god, let it be in ass-less chaps a la Prince. That’s the money right there.
Other than that, I really don’t even know what to tell you about this album. It’s awesome. It makes me want to dance and invest a lot of money in glitter. Seriously, check it out even if you aren’t an OK Go fan because this album is so far removed from OK Go or even Oh No, it’s not even funny. This album gets a serious A.
OK Go’s Site
Weighty percussion, psychedelic guitar, and heavy synth are definitely the recurring themes of this album, but it’s amazing in how many different ways they pull it off. From the groovy “Skyscrapers” to the straight up disco of “White Knuckles” to the industrial vibe of “WTF?”, there is never a dull moment. It’s kind of funny to think that four white dudes have this much funk. They’re like Jamiroquai, but less creepy. For guys who are as in to sweater vests and ties as they are, you sure can’t hear it on this album. It’s far more leather pants than pocket protector.
I seriously can’t wait to see them dance on treadmills to ” I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe”. Dear god, let it be in ass-less chaps a la Prince. That’s the money right there.
Other than that, I really don’t even know what to tell you about this album. It’s awesome. It makes me want to dance and invest a lot of money in glitter. Seriously, check it out even if you aren’t an OK Go fan because this album is so far removed from OK Go or even Oh No, it’s not even funny. This album gets a serious A.
OK Go’s Site
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