Chairlift - Something

I was made aware of Chairlift's existence listening to what we thought was an 80's new wave internet radio station at work. I heard "I Belong in Your Arms", thought it was a great song, and went about investigating the band. I was surprised to find out that the album was released this year, although the recording did sound a little too slick to be from the 80's. Turns out the station was based on that time period but included songs from any era that fit in with the sound.

According to Wikipedia, the original intention of the project was to make music for haunted houses. Apparently sometime after they had decided to make pop music instead, their song Bruises was used in a commercial to launch some new iPod model. I have not heard that album at all, but here are my thoughts on Something, filtered through Chairlift-virgin ears.

OVERVIEW
Something has a very heavily 80's influenced feel, with lots of atmospheric and bleepy synths, and super airy vocals with sweet melodies, although there are moments of rock intensity and darker moods. Maybe that's some of the spookiness held over from the haunted house phase. It's almost like The Eurythmics meet Imogen Heap. The vocalist doesn't necessarily draw directly from Annie Lennox or Ms. Heap, but I feel there are healthy doses of both in there, with maybe just a little early 90's r & b slowjam, minus the over the top vocal acrobatics. What really defines this album are the atmospherics and the melodies, the first getting the feeling just right, so when that amazing melody jumps out, sometimes unexpectedly, you are primed for it, and its like someone just put a blood pressure cuff around your heart and inflated fast.

HIGHLIGHTS
Sidewalk Safari - Starts off sounding a little wacky, but once you listen to it a few times you get used to that bendy melody, and it does relate well to the keyboard line chorus hook (it's kinda interesting that it is the keyboard line that sticks in your head and not the vocal in this chorus). The beat sounds a little like an audio heart arrhythmia. Party heart. The bridge takes us on a twilight adventure in an electric jungle. That sounds like an MGMT video.

I Belong in Your Arms - Pulse pulse pulse. This song is audio butterflies. I dare you to not like it. Unless you don't like airy female singers, or the 80's. Then it wouldn't be much of a dare.

Met Before - The start of this song could have easily come from the Stone Roses side of the Madchester Music scene. Guitar bang wiggle. The chorus would go well with a fast forwarded montage section of a Brat-Pack movie.

MUSIC NERDERY
Many electronic keyboards are equipped with a pitch-bend wheel. It's kinda like a big knob turned on its side and spring loaded so it always returns to center, and when you roll it forward or backward it moves the pitch of the notes you are playing up or down a preset amount. It's a keyboard trying to be like a guitar player bending strings, but much more accurately. Not that there is anything wrong with that. What? You will find liberal use of a pitch-bend wheel in the intro to sidewalk safari.

RECOMMENDATIONS
If you smile when 80's pop or new-wave comes on the radio, either because you are joyful or just amused, give this album a listen. Also if you have liked any of the more recent wave of electro-pop like the Sounds, Imogen Heap, or less Rock-y Metric, give it a go. If you are generally just kinda uptight and serious, this might not be your bag. Not to say that if you don't like it you have a stick up your ass, but you do and I can't hear you protesting because the stick is coming out of your mouth.

Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires

After their introduction in the late 70's and popularity in the 80's, synthesizer parts started sneaking back into rock in the early aughts with The Sounds and Metric, and subsequently The Killers who pulled it right to the front of the mainstream. That brought a bevy of followers, some putting their own spin on this synth-rock sound (like the band in this review), some following the same formula (the bravery), and some just inserting bleepy keyboard lines because it was cool (even grossly pop-punk stalwarts simple plan). I don't know if or where Radiohead really sits in that whole trend, and I am not even going to try and tackle their use of electronic instruments or the influence that may or may not have had on other musicians, because well…they're Radiohead.

This resurgence of the synth in rock started nearly ten years ago, and now spans everything from a programmed beat or keyboard part here and there to fully electronic rock, and pops up in songs from small indie rock bands right through to mainstream indie rock bands. Haha, I joke I joke, I kid I kid. Anyway, it's everywhere. Some bands have found a mix that works well for them, such as Ratatat (distinctive instrumental sound, harmonized guitar that sounds like a synth leads), Pheonix on their most recent album (laser precise indie telecaster guitar, with some electronic energy and catchy but not tiring melodies), and the ever-present Metric, who retain a raw feel, boasting a catalogue ranging from songs entirely driven by electronic parts to others devoid of synthesizers or drum machines that somehow still maintain the dancey rock energy they are known for.

OVERVIEW
Friendly fires have a fairly equal mix of live and synthesized instruments, with the two types meshing so well with each other that it is often difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. Latin, disco and rock beats are combined with funky and/or indie guitars/bass, and Brit-Pop/R&B/disco vocals on this album to create a mix that sounds wholly original, despite all seperate parts being noticeably borrowed from specific genres. Just enough of an edge is kept on each song to keep the roots in rock.

HIGHLIGHTS
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Jump in the Pool - Synthesized vocal choir opening implies something much more like an electronic Sigur Ros song is slowly developing, but latin and or afro-funk percussion and British Idie-pop vocals quickly jump into the mix and dispel any such notion. The verses are energetic, and the reverb drenched chorus vocals return us somewhat to the feel of the intro but it's like we have skipped over the buildup of the previously imagined sigur ros style right to the crescendo. That's why I like pop, sometimes it's best to just deliver the goods up front. Immediate gratification, audio drugs. There is a keyboard solo near the end of the song that sits just right in the mix, allowing the percussion and atmospherics to do most of the talking, and just adds some light frosting (have you ever had one of those cakes that has like an inch of frosting on the outside, gross right? Ruins a perfectly good cake).

White Diamonds - Disco flavoured beats. Theatrical verse vocals. Driving, Dance-tastic, Octave-bounce chorus, sparse atmospheric break makes you wonder for a second if there has been a transition to another song, but familiar elements begin to return and pull you right back to the chorus. While the singer advises "don't hold your breath too long, for white diamonds in the snow" the backing music of slowly swelling guitar notes and reverby pianos sounds just like falling snow might, if it weren't silent.

Lovesick - Latiney percussion accents, Chromeo pre-chorus, full-on pheonix meets bloc party dance pop chorus, lo-fi synth bridge.

MUSIC NERDERY
Just to try something different for this section, I am going to try and explain what I mean by some of my music nerd/guitar player babble instead of continue to babble away in said fashion.
I refer to different instruments and musical parts as sounding "indie" multiple times in this post, and I know some people might not know what I mean, or might not agree with me. When I think of indie guitars, I think of the guitar sound (the amp, guitar, effects, and knobs on each), and how that guitar is played (input from the musician).

For sound, I think of fairly clean (as opposed to distorted) sounds. Thats kind of like you can hear every string in a chord (instead of being mashed together in a fuzzy but fun mess), and the notes decay (get quieter) reasonably quickly (instead of sustaining, or retaining volume for longer). It sounds closer to an acoustic guitar than a distorted guitar would. Also, an indie guitar sound tends to be fairly "round", not twangy like in a country song, or sharp sounding like a rock song. This is mainly a function of what type of pickups (kind of like a guitar's built in microphone) are in that guitar, and the position under the strings of the pickup or pickups selected.

What I would classify as indie guitar playing would be fast, repeated, almost robotic sounding chords or single notes. These are often produced by picking the strings only on the downstroke, but doing it fast. Very similar to a lot of punk guitar, but a little more precise, and when combined with the cleaner guitar sound, a different feel is produced. But then again, there is a lot of overlap between punk and indie. I hope I just took something confusing and made it more confusing.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Listen to it. With some volume. Dance and/or smile. Naked and/or with friends.

Brandon Boyd - The Wild Trapeze

Brandon Boyd is the lead singer from Incubus. I had no idea that he was making a solo album until the day it came out. I was interested to hear it, but unsure about how good it was going to be. I am a big Incubus fan (well, at least since they made "A Crow Left of the Murder"), but I felt they were excellent because every band member was excellent at what they did. Mike Einziger is one of my favorite guitarists, but he, like the other members knows exactly where to sit in a song, never sticking out unnecessarily or showing off. I also love Brandon Boyd's voice, but from hearing their older albums and seeing live videos, I was aware of his tendency to ramble on in an oversymbolistic fashion, and play hand drums (damn hippies and their hand drums). I felt that the more recent albums found a balance between his style and the music the rest of the band produces. Like Jack White in the Raconteurs, his over-the-top tendencies are tempered by the other members, and his talents are allowed to shine through. My doubts stemmed from the fact that Brandon Boyd had played pretty much every instrument on The Wild Trapeze, and that it would lack the magic Incubus has as a band.

OVERVIEW
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Maybe I'm just turning into more of a hippy in my old age, but I was not bothered by Mr. Boyd's wordy, wacky-tobaccy fueled writing (he was actually on a prescription for medical marijuana because a severe injury during the time he wrote the album). It certainly is hard to seperate this album completely from Incubus - Brandon's voice is too distinctive - but this album does not suffer for the comparison. Any one of the songs could be plucked out of this album and dropped right into an Incubus album without it sounding misplaced, but as a whole album it is obvious the other members of Incubus are not present. This album found Brandon exploring more acoustic sounds, with each instrument's part being fairly simple, while the arrangements and layering are quite dense at times. Most songs are anchored with acoustic guitar (on which they were written), and then adds doses of electric, sometimes fuzzed out bass, enourmous sounding drums and percussion in sparse beats, and smatters of piano, organ,other keys and ambient and backward sounds here and there. I commend Mr. Boyd on holding his own without his talented bandmates, and producing an interesting and enjoyable batch of songs. I also cannot wait to hear his voice on top of his band again sometime soon.

HIGHLIGHTS
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The Wild Trapeze - Almost sounds like a strange acoustic cover of an Incubus song. The most energy I have heard from a nearly entirely acoustic song in awhile. Brandon sings in a much lower voice than usual for some of the backup vocals, but belts it out in his usual rock frontman style for the chorus.

Courage and Control - Probably the most sparsely arranged songs on the album. Just acoustic guitar and an added piano in the chorus serve as a background for the vocal, which is certainly the centrepiece of this song. Sounds like a tip of the hat to John Lennon at times.

Last Night a Passenger - I like fuzzy backgrounds with clear vocals. I love piano echoes. I like this song.

MUSIC NERDERY
I feel that much of this album was inspired by the writing of Earth to Bella Part 1 off of Light Grenades, Incubus' most recent full studio album. Written by Brandon Boyd on acoustic guitar, and imagined to become a Massive Attack-ish song, it morphed into something that was very much Incubus with huge, distorted bass on the chorus. For The Wild Trapeze, Brandon seemed to mix the feelings of E.T.B.'s verses and choruses together to create an honest, natural, but bombastic sound.
It is also important to note that the use of hand drums was not over the top on this album. High Five.

RECOMMENDATIONS
I think many people will enjoy this album. Incubus fans for sure, possibly also people who enjoy solo-ish acoustic-ish acts such as Jack Johnson or City and Color. Also, if you think Brandon Boyd is a dreamboat, this collection songs will not be likely to discourage that opinion. Sigh.

The Gandharvas - Kicking in the Water

This album is from 1995, but I was just introduced to this band, and this - the middle album - was my favourite of the three. The Gandharvas rode the 90's alternative wave for a little while, but not out of the 90's. I'd be surprised if you didn't recognize their 1997 single, Downtime.  That was off their final album, which seemed to employ more distorted guitars, and less whimsy, putting the sound a little closer to other bands of the time. I liked Kicking in the Water because it sounded like a more varied and drew from a unique mix of influences.

OVERVIEW
When I first heard this album, I was immediately reminded of the lighter and more whimsical side of Faith No More, and Beautiful Freak era Eels, with the almost talking, hooky vocal style; and jazzy instrumentation. The vocals are similar to those of other singers who take a nod from Axl Rose, but tone it down and chill the eff out. Guitars and pianos are the most prominent instruments on most songs, but the emphasis seems to be more on the groove and atmosphere created by the mix of instruments as a backdrop for the vocals as opposed to focusing on any specific instrument.

HIGHLIGHTS
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I am going to let the music speak for itself this week, I kept trying to write things for the songs, but I seemed to be only referencing music styles I don't really have a handle on, so that would be pretty useless innit?

MUSIC NERDERY
I don't know what to put in here this week, so I'll put this link. That song is awesome, and the Gandharvas feels like a much better, more  thought out, more musical, less ridiculous version of Wheatus. But I've only really heard that one song, so I am probably being unfair to Wheatus. I'm sorry Wheatus, keep the rock alive.

RECOMMENDATIONS
If you liked the 90's, this album is up your alley for sure. If you only liked the grungy, screamy, aspects of the 90's then maybe not so much. I'm talking more the Blind Melons, Faith No Mores, No Doubts, Janes Addictions, Soul Asylums, Presidents of the United States of Americas, Eels, Gin Blossoms, Marvelous 3s (and all those other sugary but scuzzy pop bands that were around). Even if that makes no sense to you, listen to this album, it's good.

I don't know about you, but I'm really enjoying going back and listening to all these 90's bands that were not quite so angsty as those that tended to carry the flag for the decade of my youth. All the less angry sounding bands were probably just covering up the depression with sugar instead of venting their anger, but it makes me happy now, so I shall give them a cheer-up high five through time.

Sage Francis - LI(F)E

"I heard god is coming and she's a screamer"- I Was Zero. I wasn't lying about doing a rap album this week . This is going to be a little new for me, so forgive my ignorance of the genre. I don't even know if I should call this stuff hip-hop, indie rap, or what. I generally don't like rap (which is different than not respecting it), and I think it has something to do with the lack of a live band. I feel that live instruments are able to convey a sense of dynamics and energy or emotion to a track that just doesn't happen as easily when backing tracks are programmed and/or sampled. Though I am a fan of earlier hip-hop like Run DMC, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys etc. and some of those beats are as robotic as you get, so who knows why I don't like it. There are groups such as the Roots who are a live band, but I find that hip-hop that makes use of a live band tends to lean towards reggae, another genre that I am not so fond of for some reason. Anyway, this week's mixtape is going to be all rap/hip-hop/grime/post-rap/whatever/post-whatever, so I can highlight some of that stuff I like. Now onto what I like about this album!

OVERVIEW
On LI(F)E, Sage Francis mixes Josh Martinez/Everlast/Kazzer vocals with rock, folk and indie backing tracks. The whole album seems to be without programmed beats or samples, relying mainly on live drums, keys, bass, guitars, and other stringed instruments of the acoustic and electric varieties. From time to time, some synthesized keys appear, but sound like they are played by a live person as opposed to a midi track. This all makes for an interesting mix, which I like so far, although I am unsure of its staying power in my playlists. I have a short attention span, and I generally listen to pop music with catchy melodies, so for me it is very hard to absorb everything a rapper says without listening intently a number of times. Sometimes it just seems like random figures of speech that sound interesting strung together. Mr. Francis does seem to be at his best when he is storytelling, like in "Little Houdini" or "The Best of Times". It makes the words easier to follow, and you quickly get a sense for the context of the lyrics so the metaphors don't come across as so random. I was a little torn on picking favourite songs, between fun rockin' backing tracks, and more vocal focused tracks. Anyway, I did my best, here they are, if you like any of them, please check out more.

HIGHLIGHTS
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Three Sheets to the Wind - This is the song that introduced me to Sage Francis. A chugging, charging guitar line starts this rockin' track. It's pretty cool how the vocal manages to join in the rhythm, instead of being part of the melody first and foremost.

The Baby Stays - The vocal reminds me of an aggressive Josh Martinez. The backing track comes courtesy of a very folkly ensemble of acoustic guitars, banjo, fiddle, and maybe some ukelele or mandolin. Almost zeppelin-ish at times.

London Bridge - Messy fuzz rock that sounds like it was recorded inside a bouncy castle with a bunch of kids that have been fed too much cotton candy. Awesome.

The Best of Times - A cool storytelling track. Sage Francis's childhood and beyond in five and a half minutes. Xylophones, skinny white boy indie backups, and warbly synths maintain the anti-beat feel of this album.

MUSIC NERDERY
In order to achieve the eclectic sound of this album, Mr. Francis got many indie artists on board for recording, including Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, and Richard Terfry (better known as Buck 65). Wiki it up to see the full list, It's pretty extensive.

RECOMMENDATIONS
If you are a fan of Josh Martinez, Buck 65, Everlast, The Streets, or other slightly off-center hip-hop/rap with clever lyrics, you should check this album out for sure. I think most everyone should give this album a listen though, the variety of odd combos of musical styles could mean lots of surprise favorite songs for each person. I don't think anything groundbreaking came out of this album, but I commend Sage Francis and his friends for trying something just a little different than what we've heard before.

Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks

I have come to very much enjoy scottish bands. There is something about the way that a scottish accent sounds in vocals that is really cool. Maybe it's just because I have heard the English or faux English accents for so long, that this sounds fresh. One of my favorite scottish bands is Biffy Clyro, and when I originally heard Frightened Rabbit on the radio, I mistook the latter for the former. That is until the song continued and I realised how much more reigned in, flowy and straightforward the backing music was (if you are familiar with Biffy Clyro, that is not an insult, they can be pretty all over the place, loud, and angular at times). The best way I can describe Frightened Rabbit is if Snow Patrol had been from Scotland (instead of transplanted there), and if they had not gone the top 40, over-produced route at all, and instead kept playing in bars forever, and had a singer who emotes like that dude from Once.

OVERVIEW
The Winter of Mixed Drinks is filled with heartfelt, layered, scottish indie rock. Very strong front to back. The songs are never particularly quiet or loud, and changes in volume or dynamics tend to be gradual, and flow up and down, like waves that have not yet come close enough to the shore to topple over themselves. Blech, lame water analogy. I'll let that one pass though, this album is full of water themes. Many songs start with a single sound, but different instruments are quickly stacked, then the song is allowed to settle at that level for a bit before the main bits come in. The remainder of the song is usually buoyed by the base of either the initial sound, or the levelled out stack. The more I listen to it, the more I hear the atmospherics of The National, and Bon Iver's denser moments, but with a little more oomph.I found that the songs that moved me most just had an interesting vocal melody that sat just right over all the backing instrumentation and tugged at my heartstrings. I couldn't always hear the lyrics on the first go, but the communicated emotion makes me want to know what he is singing about if it makes him feel that strongly.

HIGHLIGHTS
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Things - The opening track is a good indicator of things to come. If you like this song, you'll like the album. Is it about getting rid of material things? Figurative baggage? Both? Good message either way, in a pleasing sonic wrapping.

Nothing Like You - An uncharacteristically speedy song, matured pop-punk verses bookended by the late 80's manchester sound on caffeine instead of acid. "She was not the cure for cancer, all my questions still ask for answers." 

Foot Shooter - A kick drum anchors the E-bow and piano intro, Vocals and Bass come in to raise it up, leading into Jimmy Eat World-ish gang drums (a la Your House or Disintigration) and quick, constant guitar strums. The chorus melody is kinda weird and disjointed but familiar and catchy at the same time. Lot's of oooo-wooo backup vocals to keep it floaty.

MUSIC NERDERY
When listening to this album, one has a sense of being surrounded by the music. I think this is due to two things, the reverb and echo used on the instruments, and the frequent use of organ, strings or other sustaining sounds hiding in the background. I feel that those subtle organ or organ-like background sounds are what gives songs by bands like U2 and Coldplay that soaring feeling. Listen to some of their songs again, and pay attention to what's going on behind all the instruments and vocals that jump out of the mix.

RECOMMENDATIONS
People who will like this: fans of The National, Glen Hansard, even Explosions in the Sky, awww heck, Snow Patrol too. Also, people who like scottish accents. Good in the background, great on headphones, or good speakers in an otherwise quiet room.

Matthew Good - Vancouver

A week late on this one, so I mght do two next week or just drop this weeks, we'll see. Anyhoo, I normally like to try and do reviews of albums I like, but this week I felt I had more to say about one I didn't like so much, although I do have some good things to say about Matt Good's work in general, and will make some recommendations of better albums and songs to listen to. Just to put my biases out there, I tend not to like many of Matt Good's long, slow, steady songs, so maybe there are just more of those on this album, and that's what's making me all cranky.

Overview
If you have heard more than one of Matt's previous albums (with or without the "Band" moniker), you've pretty much heard this album. On this album are lots of the following: open chord guitars, ominous strings, echo-ey pianos, sparse acoustic breakdowns, long songs (once a basically structured pop song starts to reach and surpass the five minute mark, I often wonder why), and the trademark drone/quiver vocals. On this album are little of the following: the rock, spaces, new influences, fresh sounds, intensity, excitement. On Matt's three other solo albums, I have found at least one song to get really excited about. Weapon, Put Out Your Lights, and Born Losers (yeah I tend to like singles) were all songs I wanted to listen to again and again after first hearing them, and I still enjoy listening to them now. I think what this new album is missing is some sense of intensity and dynamics. Most of the songs sound like you could take out all the backing instrumentation, just leaving the constant guitar strumming and vocals, and there would be little to no change in the sound or feel. There are very few changes in the dynamics, even song to song. I always felt one of Matt's best skills as an artist was the ability to sing a low, somber, flowy verse, and then kick it up a notch and an octave for another verse or the chorus or the bridge, and I didn't notice any of that here, if it was present it was dampened by the constant volume and intensity level of the rest of the music. Alright, enough Hatorade, down to some good stuff.

Highlights:
Last Parade - Sounds like it would fit right in on Audio of Being or Avalanche (sampled, almost electronicky feel), with a multi-instrument stacked melody like the main guitar hook in Born Losers.

Fought to Fight it - Anti-Pop energy with Hello Time Bomb-ish synth blurts, and some good old sound byte sampling.

seeing as I found the strengths of theses songs to be mostly how they sounded like old Matt Good songs, I'll recommend some other Matt Good songs I really like.

Poor Man's Grey - White Light Rock and Roll Review: Short, sweet, dirty rock n' roll. "My Momma she done told me, there's heart and then there's hate, if one of them's inside of you, the other one it ain't."
Ex-Pats of the Blue Mountain Symphony Orchestra - White Light Rock and Roll Review: A little injection of the Who, and chorus that is totally not a standard Matt Good melody makes this one a blast of fresh air.
Advertising on Police Cars - Audio of Being: Yeah it's long and slow, but he had me at stereo delay piano (that's the chimey sound bouncing between speakers in the chorus). Also, the verse is somber, but the chorus gives this nice lift of hope (although the lyrics kinda contradict that), and the change back and forth between the two different tones makes the seven minutes useful.
While we were Hunting Rabbits - Avalanche: Again, long and slow, but somehow I like it, maybe its the swell and fade of the intensity throughout. There is also a cool video for this one that was done by some Vancouver Film School Students I believe.
Near Fantastica - Avalanche: Don't love the chorus but boy do I love that intro. I have no idea what makes the airy, indecisive melody at the start, but it's cool. I love the weird, spacey background sounds all over this album. The sampled live drums also add a nice touch to the start. Makes it almost sound electronic for a minute.
I Am Not Safer than a Bank - Hospital Music: just listen to it. I would hate to insult a whole bunch of other stuff that he has likely worked much harder on, but I think this may be the best song Matt Good has ever written. Maybe I just have a thing for concise, to-the-point songwriting.

Music Nerdery:
It's not on this album, but the solo of Hello Time Bomb is pretty much the reason I wanted an analog delay pedal. The lead guitarist is not really playing any notes, just turning up the feedback so the delays never stop, and then changing the delay time to make those space-warp sounds. I just wish I could learn to control it like that, at make it sound at least close to musical.

Recommendations:
Listen to other Matt Good Albums. Pick any one. If you like your stuff with more instrumentation, cool airy/spacey sounds, and interesting uses of instrument samples, go with Audio of Being, the last Matt Good Band album, or Avalanche, his first solo effort. If you like it a little more down and dirty, check out White Light Rock and Roll Review, the most different sounding of all his stuff, it was tracked almost entirely live, resulting in a loose, more honest sound. Actually sounds like four dudes in a room together playing some music. I also think it's good for Matt to have other people playing on his stuff. I don't know for sure, but I think a lot of the recent stuff is all him on the recordings (for guitars and vocals at least), and I really think he needs to have some outside influences to shake his stuff up, or the next album is going to sound even more tired than this one.

The Dodos - Time to Die

I didn't feel like reviewing any of the albums that came out this week, so I am going to do another one from last week.

I first saw the Dodos at the '08 Sled Island Music Festival in Calgary. Their setup seemed strange right from the start. There was a seat for the guitar player, the drum kit was sparse, and there were random things like garbage cans and toy pianos kicking around on a table at the back of the stage. The two members came onstage, and seeing that the guitar player was using an old semi-acoustic guitar, I thought they were going to play some sensitive, quiet music with limited drums. Was I ever wrong. The guitar player plugged into an overdriven amp and starting hammering out chords and frantically finger picking. He was seated still seemed active, and spent most of his time almost tipping off the front of his seat. The drummer treated his kit in a similar fashion, hitting every possible part of it in frantic rhythms. From time to time a third person would come on stage to add percussion by banging on the trash can, or add chords and percussion by banging on the toy piano. The music while frantic and messy, was still melodic and pleasing, with the guitar player's vocals adding feeling or energy to every song. The melodies either floated nicely over quick strummed and picked parts, or matched up melodically and rhythmically to more spread-out chords.

After seeing this impressive performance, I picked up their first album, Visiter, and was rewarded with a similar sound to what I heard at the show. More of the songs were played on an acoustic guitar on the album, although often doubled with a distorted electric guitar to keep that grit in there. Also, no effort was made by the guitar player to hit the strings lighter so that they would not rattle, very much like on acoustic Led Zeppelin songs, and I think that adds a lot of character to the sound, because thats what it really sounds like when you play an acoustic with any sort of abandon. Anyhoo, enough about live and the previous album, on to Time to Die!

Overview
This album is certainly a lot cleaner and more layered than the previous one, and the vocals are certainly more prominent, and sweeter sounding on most songs. The previous album sounded like every instrument and microphone was turned up just a little too loud, and the few extra instruments blended into the mix along with the vocals. This different approach to their new songs (both in writing and recording), has its pros and cons. I feel like some parts could have used a little more string rattle and distortion, but some quieter or moody parts had a lot more atmosphere and space, and didn't feel so cramped. I think it made for a more varied and stronger album than Visiter. The singer's voice is unremarkable, but I think it fits the music just right, anything more aggressive would make to much of a mess with everything else going on, and anything more subdued would get lost or take the energy out of a song. I think that although The Dodos aren't breaking new musical ground, they are hard to compare to other groups due to the distinctive way they choose to play familiar music. I did hear hints of Bleed American era Jimmy Eat World on "the Strums", guitar breakdowns on "Time to Die" that sound Jimmy Page inspired (think Bron y Aur stomp), fingerpicked guitar on "Acorn Factory" that is not unlike that found on Gomez's album, A New Tide, as well as A.D.D. drumming throughout that reminds me of the likeminded drumming off Bloc Party's Silent alarm.

Highlights
This is a Business:
This is closer to what Visiter sounded like, but tighter and cleaner. The mad fingerpicking is still there, but at times the electric guitar is played all by itself pretty clean, and most of the grit seems to come in through a distorted keyboard in the background as opposed to the electric guitar. The middle of the song takes a different turn with a subdued marching beat, and and a sense of space in the other instruments contrasting with the busyness of the rest of the song.

Time to Die:
The title track leads off with something that sounds like a few people blowing air over the top of glass bottles with volume swells. A relaxed acoustic guitar part and melody take it from there for awhile, with nice 70's ballad harmonies, before a wall of harmonies leads into typical Dodos bang-rattle-bang, and more typical indie guitar, with the aforementioned Jimmy Page guitar breakdowns.

Company:
I think this might be a bonus track, but it beat out my next favorite (Two Medicines) for the third spot in the highlights section. Buzz-Ding-Buzz-Bang-Bang intro, and more frantic vocal and guitar chord matching over the bed of fuzz laid in the intro. Distorted vibraphone (giant wood xylophone), and stretched out vocals lend character to the chorus. An angular guitar bridge seperates the rest of the song from the ending, which brings the buzz of the intro back in, rocks out like a bunch of musicians suddenly reverse aged back into a bunch of children banging on fisher price intstruments, before returning to the Buzz-Ding-Buzz-Bang-Bang of the intro.

Music Nerdery
The guitar player does not use a pick, he just grows the fingernails on his picking hand very long, which allows him to five-finger pick and spanish-style strum like a madman, but make it sound like he's got a pick taped on every finger. Watching him play and thinking about that makes my fingernails hurt. They're all curvy and stuff, what if he catches one on a string going in the direction that doesn't allow it slide off? Yikes. Also, how does he keep his fingernails from wearing down if he is strumming that hard? I beat the crap out of my pointer fingernail even playing with a pick.

Another note, this dude has mad skills, his messiness is all on purpose, and very accurate. If you listen to both albums, you'll hear parts where he purposely doesn't fret a note all the way, making a weird buzzy note, or picks things kinda funny. At first you might think it was just a mistake that sounds kinda cool, but he plays it the same way every time. Check out Troll Nacht for an example.

I keep thinking I am done this section and then I keep thinking of more things. I think the drummer doesn't use a bass drum, anything that sounds that low is just a floor tom hit with a mallet. Probably explains why a lot of the music feels pretty frantic; no beat to anchor it.

Recommendations
If you like engergetic music, not necessarily danceable or head bobbable due to the lack of a defined beat, this is for you. The melodies are nice, and while the guitar is messy or frantic at times, it's not all dischordant or out of tune, so I think there is something here for most people. If you like this album, check out the previous one, Visiter. Also check out Visiter if you thought this one was too polished and could use a little more string rattle and a little bit of distortion on everything.

Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much

I was first introduced to Mika by my roomate who blasted "Grace Kelly" on repeat for days. I normally got on his case for doing that, but this song was a lot of fun. Similar to the Scissor sisters, and with very feminine male vocals that reminded me of Freddie Mercury more than just a little. I listened to the rest of the album, and found more of the same thing: sugary, layered pop. Most of the songs were fun, though not necessarily memorable, as I can't seem to recall enough about them to actually compare that last album to this one.

Overview
This album sticks mostly to fun piano vibe throughout, although there a couple tracks that have a more somber tone. The overall sound is a fusion of Elton John's piano rock with 80s-00s girl pop (but sung by a man with a feminine voice), with the addition of big band horns and/or orchestra strings and/or synthesizers as backing tracks. You'll even hear touches of latin music (Blue Eyes), lo-fi electronic indie (bits of One Foot Boy), Eric Clapton a la the "Unplugged" album (Pick Up Off the Floor), old-time carnival music (Lover Boy), and Electric Light Orchestra (Dr. John).

Highlights
We Are Golden:
This opening track gives you a pretty good idea of what Mika is about right off the bat. Campy vocal lines with liberal use of falsetto like you would hear from Queen, or more likely The Darkness channelling Queen. A choir of children backs Mika up on the pre-chorus, and the bridge is driven by a dance rock beat before alternating hushed vocal lines and banged piano chords lead back into the big pop rock chorus.

Touches You:
This piano-driven tune bounces along with squelchy synth bassline, and Mika sings like he's Freddie Mercury channelling Michael Jackson. Choir vocal backups add some atmosphere.

Toy Boy:
If you have read more than a few of my reviews, it is probably apparently that I often enjoy silly, theatrical music as much as I enjoy guitar dirven rock. In this song, Mika tells a story in the first person of a toy boy who is thrown away, neglected and abused by various owners. It could almost fit into a Disney movie, other than the lyrics being somewhat suggestive at times. The sad but silly vocals ("She stuck her voodoo pins where my eyes used to be") are backed up by strings, with flute and tuba accents here and there.

Music Nerdery
I didn't realise when I chose this album to review, but Imogen Heap (whose album I reviewed Two weeks ago) worked on one of the songs on this album, called "By the Time". If you are familiar with her style at all, it is very obvious that it was either her that wrote it, or a well crafted ripoff. I originally thought it was the latter, until I realised that both artists reside in England, and probably wouldn't have too tough of a time running into each other now and then. Also, Mika sings with such a feminine voice, and he apes other voices well, so it was a little tough to tell if some of the backing vocals were done by Mika or Ms. Heap.

Recommendations
If you are a fan of the Scissor Sisters, Mika's previous album, dance-pop (not the clubby kind, more like the Spice Girls Kind), or even Queen or Elton John, this album has something for you. If you do not like sugary pop, piano, or campy vocal styles, cover your ears and start running.

Two Hours Traffic - Territory

Two Hours Traffic is a band from Prince Edward Island, and they certainly sound like it. If you have heard much from Matt Mays, Joel Plaskett, Hey Rosetta, or Sloan (all east coast acts), you will likely find much of Territory very familiar.

Overview
I would say that on this album, the style sits mostly somewhere between Sloan when they are channelling 70's rock and earlier Matt Mays (like say...Cocaine Cowgirl), but leans a little towards the folkier rock of Plaskett and Hey Rosetta. I'm sure it will take me a few more listens to figure out the other familiar styles I noticed on the first listen, but there certainly were snippets of Sonic Youth in the intro/verse of Noisemaker, And 40's pop/barbershop quartet influence on Weightless One and Sing a Little Hymn. Lots of borrowing going on here.

Highlights
Painted Halo:
Darker, rockin' song. The chorus of this one really reminds me of Cocaine Cowgirl by Matt Mays and El Torpedo, but I think I like this song better, due to the more varied dynamics and sounds. I
really like the synthy stuff that leads into the chorus.

Drop Alcohol:
This one alternates back and forth from smoky organ to reggae style muted guitars and vocal echoes before the soft new-wave pre-chorus leads into the smooth sweet chorus. I was a little surprised at the direction the chorus took the first time I listened to it, but it fits really well with the song, and manages to generate some energy without getting louder. I liked how the ending added the organ back in, and took everything up just a couple notches, keeping the feel of the whole song coherent, but still taking you somewhere.

Happiness Burns:
I think the melancholy songs on this album were my favorite, including this one. Another smooth blend of styles, starting with the Sloan-ish intro rhythm guitars, into a verse that is very Weezer sounding with its oooo-wooo-oooo backups, but not so Weezer sounding in its atmospheric looseness, the pre-chorus that seems to borrow from Saves the Day's In Reverie, who in turn were borrowing from Electric Light Orchestra and their contemporarys, and finally the chorus, which is the intro over again, but with a melancholy vocal line over top.

Music Nerdery
The more I write this section, the more I realize I am not as skilled at picking out and identifying sounds as I thought I was. Anyhoo, some of my favorite sounds on this album were the keys, specifically the slow attack, shimmering, organ sounds on noisemaker and sing a little hymn, although at times, they almost sounded like they might be guitars through an electro-harmonix pog or hog. It is also possible that it's just some synth modelling, and I am not knowledgable about synths, so if you know what is going on there, enlighten me in the comments.

Recommendations
If you like the east coast rock sound, you will surely enjoy this album. If you are are a fan of catchy music in general, and don't mind the occasional somber or melancholy song  mixed in with the upbeat, danceable stuff, this will also likely be right up your alley. The album borrows very much from other acts, and is not strikingly oringinal, but that does not mean it is not enjoyable, maybe just a little less exciting.

Imogen Heap - Ellipse

If you've ever watched the movie Garden State, and wondered who is singing that song when Zach Braff is on the plane at the end, that's Imogen Heap, with her former group, Frou Frou. Apparently she got sick of people thinking that all she did in the group was sing, so she procured a studio, and pretty much locked herself in for a year to write and record, "Speak for Yourself", all by herself. You may have heard the vocal only song Hide and Seek if you are a fan of The O.C. As much as I made fun of that show, (while watching it on a regular basis) it certainly featured some fine music. Overview "Ellipse" is the follow-up record to "Speak for Yourself", and has a similar overall feel (dreamy, airy, synthy pop, with lots of harmonies and odd vocal sounds), but with a few curveballs, such as Aha! (which sounds like it would be more comfortable on a Danny Elfman movie score), or Half-Life, which sounds strangely sensitive singer-songwriterish for this off-the-wall Englishwoman. Even on the tracks that remind me of the old album, Imogen sounds like she is more comfortable with her sound. Her songs are stronger, more varied, and she throws in unexpected mood changes, nintendo blips and other seemingly odd ideas with smoothness and confidence. Highlights Little Bird: Not too far off from the last album, but I love the dark turn into the "Rats in the kitchen" line, followed by the turn way back the other way with some sweet, smooth harmonies on the same lyric. Bad Body Double: A good head-bobber with some brisk melodies, random shower vocals, my favorite weird imogen voice sound ever at 2:08 , an acoustic guitar breakdown that sounds like Madonna's Don't Tell Me, and half-talked vocal lines (boy do I love those). If you are a fan of clever lyrics, this one seems to be an interesting out-of-body take on body image. Aha!: I might complain that this song doesn't fit with the rest of the album, but I sometimes like surprises, and this is by far my favorite track on the album. Maybe Imogen loves Danny Elfman as much as I do, and this is how she tells everybody. Whether the musical tip of the hat was purposeful or not, wicked song. Music Nerdery For those that don't know, Danny Elfman is the guy who does most of the scores for Tim Burton movies, especially the spooky ones. He also did the themes for the Simpsons, Futurama, and Desperate Housewives, and he used to have a band called Oingo Boingo. If you haven't heard Oingo Boingo, check them out for sure. Kinda 80's new-wave, but with goofy/spooky/morbid lyrics, and all super-talented, well rounded musicains. If you've seen Weird Science, they did the theme for that. My favorite song is Little Girls. I think I will put it on this Sunday's mixtape. Anyhoo, back on the Imogen Heap train. Imogen seems to enjoy using her voice as an instrument. I'm often surprised on the umpteenth listen of a song when I notice a weird sound I though was some instrument is actually her voice. Sometimes she even does entirely acapella songs that sound very different from traditional vocal-only offerings. On the last album, there was Hide and Seek, which was awesome, and apparently all that was used was her voice (although it sounds like some of it was through a vocoder, which would technically make this song not acapella), and a frying pan. She wanted some sort of weird echo on something, so she sang straight into the frying pan. On this album there is Earth, which, unless my ears fool me, is entirely vocal. Took me a couple listens to notice, because I was looking for something like Hide and Seek with no beat (or in this case, Beatboxing). Recommendations Pick this album up in your favorite format. It's interesting and enjoyable from front to back if you are listening intently, even after multiple listens, and is also great to put on as background music. I find this is rare, music is often either too in your face and/or attention demanding to be background music, or is bland and uninteresting if you enjoy actively listening to music. If anybody sees Ms. Heap, please pass on a high-five from me.

Mute Math - Armistice

I discovered Mute Math at the 2006 Warped Tour in Vancouver. I was wandering around in between sets by bands I wanted to see, and there was these four guys on the shittiest little stage there playing to about 15 people. I'm not sure whether I heard or saw it first, but either way, all four band members were in the middle of a Stomp-style jam, none really playing their instrument, the drummer was on top of the keyboard, playing a miked piano stool, the bassist was using a cymbal mallet to play an extra bass drum raised behind the drum kit, the guitar player held his pedalboard in the air, 'playing' the knobs, and the singer/keyboard player was stood beside the drums hitting cymbals and anything else he could find with a pair of drumsticks. At one point they even handed a homemade, theremin-like instrument to an audience member to play. Now, a lot of bands go into a noise jam, gradually destroying the song they were playing, and then kicking back in for one more chorus or something. It can be good if done tastefully. Mute Math took this to a whole new level though; their 'noise' jam actually sounded great too, it was just the chords and melody were forgone in favor of solely rhythm. Anyway, that was what drew me over to the stage, but then they came out of the jam back into the song and they were awesome. Wicked singer, accessible but interesting melodies, INTENSE drummer, powerful but inventive rock bass, tasteful use of guitars and keys, not the usual thrash and chug you hear at warped tour, and most of all, a shitload of energy. I stayed for the rest of the set, and at the end asked them who the hell they were and where I could get some of their music, along with thanking them for a great show. I came home with their only album and eagerly showed it to my roomate, who was underwhelmed, and even I had to admit the recording was missing a lot of what I had experienced that day. I don't think I have ever seen a better example of a band being better live than recorded. I have since seen them a couple other times, brought friends, told friends in other cities to see their shows, and every single one of these people, no matter their taste in music, was amazed. One fellow music nerd who was not blown away when I showed him the record spent most of the show with a big grin on his face, and after the show he bought their cd, now understanding how my brain managed to change what I heard when I played the record. I was always hoping that it was a small recording budget that robbed the album of the live show's intensity and energy. With their new album, I felt that Mute Math had the chance to somehow capture all of that on tape.

Overview

This album is not what I had hoped for. The drums and bass mostly get drowned by the vocals and keys, and songs that could rock your socks off are subdued and almost end up sounding like mediocre adult-alternative. I think as a whole, it is significantly more tame and reserved than the last album.

My view is certainly biased by my extremely high hopes. Mute Math does makes pop music with an inventiveness and originality rarely seen, and even when they ape current top 40 styles, dance, or disco, it is surprisingly good.

Other than the visual energy of their performance, I felt Mute Math's live show was better because it sounded like every instrument could be heard more clearly than on the album (except for some of the electric piano and keyboard bits), while feeling well balanced at the same time. Also, the quiet sections were quieter and had more space to them, and the loud sections were louder and more bombastic. Maybe there are just too many overdubs or too much compression on the album, or maybe it's just not possible to cram that much awesomeness into every track of a recording.

I was very disappointed with a lot of the lyrics on this album. Simple love and/or lust songs can be alright once in awhile. I actually really like a lot of sappy stuff. I just feel that a writer who is capable of speaking to our humanity or commenting on society has much more valuable things to say regarding love than in "Electrify" or "Lost Year".Very one-dimensional and uninspiring for a guy who wrote "Break the Same" (from the previous album) and "the Nerve".

I still can't wait to hear this album live, I have yet to be disappointed in any way by a Mute Math show.

Highlights

The Nerve - probably one of the rockin'est songs on the album, with some sweet changes in dynamics. The chorus really reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it right now. If I remember, I'll edit the post.

Pins and Needles - I know I complained about the lack of rock on this album, but this quiet song is quite good. I think the in-between elevator stuff like "No Response" or "Lost Year" should be ousted in favor of more stuff like this. I really respect a band that can keep a song low key the whole way through, yet still have it go somewhere. So many bands have these pretty acoustic or atmospheric songs that end with a big, loud version of the chorus at the end, so instead of sounding different, the song ends up sounding like all their other ones, but with a quiet bit tacked onto the start.

Armistice - Upbeat song with some cool horns. I'm starting to think I have a thing for horns. Maybe it's because they add an orchestra-like feel to a song, but unlike strings, we haven't heard them on a bajillion recordings in the last two decades. I wonder how this one will translate live, seeing as they tend to play on pretty cramped stages already, I don't think they'll be able to squeeze in a horn section.

Burden - This is more like Mute Math is live. A long song that is long because there are different things happening, and each instrumental break is short enough that you don't lose interest a la the Mars Volta and their six minute latin jams mid-song. Music Nerdery

I saw a video of the band recording some loops for the album in the bathroom of the house they were using as a studio. They were mostly percussion but also included some xylophone, and at least a few times in the video, some of the samples were played backwards. I thought these were cool and was a little sad that they seemed to get buried in the mix, but I think that's what you can hear at the start of "Armistice" and "Burden".

Recommendations

Download and listen to the whole thing, the songs are far from boring, and you might hear something I missed due to being pissed off with the lack of Rawk. Don't buy it. GO TO A LIVE SHOW IF THEY PLAY ANYWHERE NEAR YOU. Bring friends. Say thanks and buy a t-shirt or something if they impress you.

Third Eye Blind - Ursa Major

For a band that writes seemingly simple pop songs, these guys take forever to work on their albums. This is only their fourth full-length over their 12 year recording career. I've always found Stephen Jenkins' (lead singer and songwriter, rhythm guitar) work to either be brilliant, or pleasant but mediocre. He is a very wordy singer, and when all those words are not wrapped up in a decent melody with some energetic instrumentation, I find the songs really tend to drag. For example, on their previous album, Out of the Vein, "Blinded" is a wicked song with one of the best pop lifts into the bridge that I have ever heard, whereas "Self Righteous" is driven by a single guitar, with other instruments sneaking in here and there, six minutes long, and it gets quite repetitive with no changes in the dynamics.

Overview

Ursa Major is pretty much exactly what I would have expected out of a new Third Eye Blind album, wordy, sometimes half talked/rapped lyrics, motorcycle references, thoughts during the perceived slow motion of a crash etc. Same basic sound as the previous albums with a few new pieces; they threw in a little more piano(certainly there before but now on rockin' songs too), keyboard, horns, and some bigger/louder/weirder guitar sounds (like the Smashing Pumpkins or White Stripes-esque leads on About to Break, Summer Town, and Dao of St. Paul).

Highlights

"Sharp Knife" - sweet, airy, heartfelt verses, big catchy chorus with vocal breaks to let the rock shine through.

"One in Ten" - acoustic driven song, I was scared this one was gonna get all long, wordy and hand-drummy on me, (damn hippies and their hand drums). But, it is thankfully short at under three minutes, and I really like the accompanying instruments, the horns were a cool touch, and I think it's better to keep a song like this pretty much free of percussion, instead of putting in a quiet beat. I also might just like it because it is probably about Vanessa Carlton.

"Don't Believe a Word" - Who plays that pre-chorus? No, it's Third Eye Blind ripping off the Who, silly. Who cares? Maybe the Who, not me.

"Why Can't You Be" - but just because near the start of the song, the girlfriend character (again, probably Vanessa Carlton) in the song asks why the singer can't be a little more like her handheld water-jet massager, "a sweet, reliable machine". Unfortunately there is about three minutes in the middle of the song that adds next to nothing to it. Once any song starts approaching 5 minutes, I usually start to ask why, and often there is no good answer (see Metallica's "St. Anger")

Music Nerdery

There are a couple references to other artists I caught on this album, on the Who-ish "Don't Believe a Word", after some screams over big full band hits (a la "Won't Get Fooled Again"), Jenkins says "I hope we don't get fooled again". Also in "Summer Town" during the hip-hop/reggae/r&b-ish ending he says something along the lines of "wanna be hustles cool M.I.A., make a paper plane then you fly away" although his mumbly, speech impediment style of singing makes it hard to understand the line, the reference to M.I.A.'s song "Paper Planes" is obvious. I bet there are more in there, but with as many lyrics in a song as some people put on a whole album, it's a lot to sift through. If you find another one, write it in the comments. He seems to throw them in when the style of the song reminds him of another artist.

Recommendations

Download for background music if you wish. Don't pay for it. If you like to purchase single songs, the first three from the Highlights section would be worth it. Even if you are already a Third Eye Blind fan I'd download the album to check out what you like before throwing any money down. You might actually be more inclined to like this album if you don't already have any other Third Eye Blind albums, because it might sound fresher to your ears than it does to mine.

note - after writing this, I re-listened to Out of the Vein, and if you haven't heard that, check it out instead of this one, I think it is a much more solid album.

The Dudes - Blood Guts Bruises Cuts

First post! First album review! This is gonna be awkward like a first kiss, but a lot more wordy. The Dudes are from Calgary, and they've been around for awhile, but I've been hearing them on the radio in Vancouver recently, and I should hope they are also getting played all over the country. Any airplay they get is well deserved. I liked their previous album, Brain Heart Guitar, but I felt it was a little weak in the second half, and I thought this band had much more to offer. I tend to be a sucker for bands that have a very distinct sound, yet still manage to make songs and albums that sound significantly different from one another, so that I don't get bored of the sound. Most bands seem to have a difficult time doing this for more than two or three albums, and as this is the Dudes second album* we'll see if they can keep up the good work after this one (*widely released at least, and I haven't heard This Guy's the Limit or the Bee Puncher EP, so they have had no effect on my boredom or lack of it as it relates to this band). It is Dan Vacon's voice that seems to anchor the Dudes' sound. I think he would sound unique no matter how he placed his words, but he also has his own way of phrasing lines that is interesting, musical, clever and somehow very human.

Track 1 - Honest Mistake

I heard an acoustic version of this song a year ago while the Dudes were writing this album, and I was mildly disappointed. It really seemed to lack the punch and gusto I had come to love and expect from this band. I don't know if it is the addition of drums or the switch to electric guitars, or just how the song developed in recording, but I like this version much better. Right off the bat it sounds like the gritty sound of the previous album is still there, while Bob Quaschnick adds some clean guitar with dotted eighth note delays for some fresh sparkle.

Favorite seconds: 1:34-1:35 "Not, my, fault!" there are many talked lines on this album, and I will probably gush about all of them, because they are all awesome. Although, I generally find any talked vocals awesome. But I generally don't like Rap, Spoken Word, or that weird Baz Luhrmann song about wearing sunscreen. Go figure.

Track 2 - Girl Police

I love how clever and humorous Dan's Lyrics are, without being too campy (like Mika) or ridiculous (like Tenacious D). I wish I could put words together that well. Listen closely to all the lyrics, or google them if lyrics tend to escape you. I really liked the Cheap Trick-ish guitars in the first half of the chorus, and the barbershop backup vocals in the second half. I don't think there are many bands that can pull off style changes mid-song, especially in the stuttery fashion that seems to be all over this album, but I think the Dudes do it well. I don't know if they do it as well as the Matches on Decomposer, but they certainly pull it off.

Favorite seconds: 1:22-1:39

"They want to hole us up in their lockdown, a year for every precious heart we knocked down, less a day for every night we rocked out, oh thank god we always rocked out." Haha, more talking, and clever lyrics, I sense a trend.

Track 3 - Ghosts We're Buried On

I read in an interview that this was a song that was written about Vacon's Grandfather, and that it was his favorite song he had ever written. I certainly think it is one of his best. I don't know why, but I really like the songs I write that come from tough emotional times too, there just always seems to be a little something extra that makes it sound better, like I could have used the same chords and the same melody and written it about something else, and it would have sucked. I wonder what exactly he means by "the ghosts that we're buried on"? I presumed the ghosts are our ancestors, but in what way are we buried on them? If I actually get anyone to read this, I encourage you to share your thoughts on this lyric. Also, I read another review of this album that described this song as being Sublime-ish, and I don't see the similarities, I get more of a Big Band vibe, but I would be interested to hear what other people have to say.

Favorite seconds: 0:30-0:44 both guitars and the bass seem to be playing things unrelated to each other, but they somehow sound really cool if you listen to it all together. Also the demonstration of how Grandad played guitar, and the vocal affirmation of it were nice touches.

Track 4 - Pretty Lies

When I first heard this song it was on my alarm clock radio one morning this summer, and while the voice told me it was the Dudes, I was surprised at the dirty heshin' rock style, with little to no indie modesty. It's like a really good Trews song, but with less polish and way better songwriting. (apologies if you are a Trews fan, there is just something about their songs that irritates me personally, not because they are bad, but because they could easily be so much better, if I could just point out to them what their weak points are. Maybe they should just talk to the Dudes instead)

Favorite seconds: 0:26 - 0:31 "My heart is pulsing and bloody, she beats for nobody specifically" I always get this bit stuck in my head, but the second half has this wonky timing, and I can never get it right, so it gets stuck even worse, but I still love it. Also, what is with the line "say that I'm needed, like the landlord on the 30th, I don't believe you" which line goes with which? Is the landlord needed on the 30th, or is he as skeptical as a landlord would be on the 30th? Discuss.

Track 5 - Terrified

This song sounds too much like the previous album to me. And it sounds like one of the songs I would have passed over on the previous album as well. It's not bad, it just doesn't grab me. I did like how the gang vocals were compiled from fan recordings sent in via the internet, a good way to get fans involved who might normally not get a chance to be on a record.

Track 6 - Mr. Someone Else

I think this is one of my three favorite songs on this album. A fresh take on the girl envy song (see Jessie's Girl, I Want Your Girlfriend to be my Girlfriend Too). I like the way the chorus lyrics are a little different each time, and equally slick every time.

Favorite seconds: 1:55 - 2:01 "Don't think it's indestructible, cus love can die, I've seen it die, and born again like 50 times man." I think the addition of the "man" at the end is my favorite part of my favorite part.

Track 7 - Turning All Red

See Track 5

Track 8 - Small Mercies

This is a cool track, and the chorus gets stuck in my head all the time. It kind of surprised me after all the rock, but I think it really strengthens the album, whereas I felt like the slower numbers on Brain Heart Guitar just bogged things down. I like the bit of the rhythm track that sounds like a bitcrushed shaker or something. That one sound almost makes the track sound a little electronic, even though it doesn't really have that programmed sound.

Favorite seconds: 1:27-1:50 Cut everything, cue folky acoustic guitars, a little harmonica, bring the shaker in....now, annnnnnd full band back in. yes

Track 9 - Connected

This may not be the strongest song on the LP, but I think it sums up what the Dudes make me feel. I may not feel connected to the same things the lyrics refer to, but all the songs on this album make me feel like I'm part of a music community, a neighborhood, a city, or the human race. The instrumental chorus sort of thing is cool, reminds me of Feel the Pain by Dinosaur Jr. I'm looking forward to seeing this live, I'm gonna dance like this: sway, sway, head bob, sway, sway, head bob, sway, fist pump, kick it, head bob, kick it, head bob with extra enthusiasm on the stops, sway kicks.

Track 10 - Ever Been to Taiwan?

Haha, Taiwan on, tie one on, get it? "But the PA's fine, we turn it up louder" Good gang vocals, I think I'll like this one way better live. I think I have seen the band that he's talking about with the frontman who dresses like Stephen Tyler. It was at the Palomino, and I feel like it was either when I played a random one-off show with the Tetraktys, or a Lions and Tigers and Bears Show, but both of those don't seem to fit properly with the rest of the memory.

Favorite Seconds: 2:37-3:20 the slow-down

Track 11 - Had Enough of It

I can't quite decide if I like how the start of those song really sticks out from the rest of the album (except for Small Mercies maybe), but I do know I really like it on its own. I also know I really don't like the transition from the electronicky bit to the old time bit that kicks in at 2:20, I think it sounds sloppy, amateur and out of place. I think maybe the song would have benefitted to sticking closer to the style of the first minute and a half. Maybe that would have made it stick out even more from the rest of the album, which may or may not be a good thing. Discuss.

Favorite seconds: 0:01-1:34

Track 12 - Not S'pose to Call

This is my favorite song on the album. I saw them play this live at Sled Island last year, and I was disappointed by what I thought was the chorus, until the chorus kicked in, and it turned out I really liked how they took it down a notch just before busting out on the chorus. Love, love LOVE the stops in the chorus. Love the volume swell on the reverby backups. I hope the kids will understand what quarters would be used for other than the laundromat, although last time I checked, it was a quarter and a dime. Yes, more talk-singing! "And my friends say..."

Favorite seconds: 1:04-1:10 and again at 2:19-2:25

Track 13 - Find Out

See Tracks 5 and 7. Sluggish.

Track 14 - Bonus

I like short, simple bonus songs like this that finish an album, rather than full live songs or b-sides as bonuses that start when everything should be concluding. For example, Metric's new album, Fantasies came with a bonus song called Waves at the end that kinda messed up the flow of the album, felt like things were starting up again. Another cool short ending song is Proctor Rd. by the Matches at the end of A Band in Hope, although it might be even better as an intro song.

Final Thoughts

Well that was not like a first kiss in any way. More like an unsuccessful first attempt at having sex. Maybe if I keep writing, one day I will learn how to pleasure the lady that is your mind, and maybe if I'm lucky I'll even feel a little more satisfied.

The guitar sounds on this album are bigger and thicker than those on Brain Heart Guitar, suggesting Dan leaned more heavily on his ES-335 for this recording than the Jazzmaster that I believe was used previously. I liked how the Dudes used this big sound, some bands get lost in it, and end up with a song that rocks and has a decent hook, but doesn't go anywhere or say anything. When the songs did slow down or quiet down, they still had feeling and momentum, and this resulted in Blood Guts Bruises Cuts being a stronger album, with more depth than Brain Heart Guitar. I look forward to seeing the Dudes live again, and hearing what they will do with their next album.

In hindsight, most of my comments refer to guitar sounds, andDan Vacon's songwriting. I write songs and play guitar, so I suppose that's what I am going to notice, although I'll make an effort to listen for standout performances by other intstruments in future reviews. I tried to keep the technical stuff somewhat limited, especially because I probably don't know what the hell I am talking about half the time anyway, but I am still deciding if I will be writing this blog as if you are as much of a music dork as me, or if I want to be objective and generally informative, include personal thoughts or not, go into excessive detail or be concise etc. Who am I writing this blog for anyway? Discuss.