Cults – Cults
Indie blogosphere
swoons. “Album of the summah!”
– Skinny-jeaned critics.
All Things Bright And Beautiful – Owl City
Starting in parent’s
basement, it stands to reason
that Mum gets guest slot.
Junk Of The Heart – The Kooks
Breezy guitar pop,
hummable choruses and
mostly about girls.
Hell The Sequel – Bad Meets Evil
Which one is which? Royce
is the “Bad”, Eminem is
the “Evil”. Oh, thanks.
Sorry For Party Rocking – LMFAO. After getting a few tracks into this I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re not sorry for party rocking at all. If they were really sorry they’d do something else once in a while, either that or they’re continually wracked with guilt. Fun fact: members RedFoo and SkyBlu are the son and grandson of Motown label founder Berry Gordy.
In Waves – Trivium. The American metallers took a welcome and fresh approach with this, their fifth album, focussing on “writing for the specifically for the songs. not to show how well [they] could play”. which results in a less complex, more evenly structured set of songs. Not that this means a scaling back on “epic”, far from it.
Here I Am – Kelly Rowland. Fresh off her chart-topping singles with David Guetta, Kelly Rowland has recaptured the attitude and fire that made Destinys Child so compelling back in the day. Here I Am flits easily between pop, R&B and hip-hop and features appearances from Lil Wayne and Big Sean (when is a rapper going to use “Medium” or “Regular” as a prefix?).
Dirty Work – All Time Low. This is All Time Low’s major label debut and their first to make it onto our library shelves. Hopefully those two (equally important) milestones give them some much needed self-confidence. Seriously, All Time Low, there have been plenty of lower points throughout history than you and your music. Oh, unless it’s sarcastic. Carry on then.
Auckland natives, Cut Off Your Hands, released their second full-length album, Hollow, recently. It’s really good. A more fully realised version of the new wave/post punk sound they’ve been producing since 2006. But why listen to me when you can preview some of the new tracks below? They do a much better job of describing the sound, since they are the sound.
If you read the title of this post and then expected a competition to win a bag, fear not, I didn’t mislead you! Simply be the first to comment on this post (and also have a valid Wellingon Libraries YA card) to win a swell Cut Off Your Hands tote bag. It’s official. You could carry library books and the other Cut Off Your Hands CDs the library has (You & I, Blue On Blue and Cut Off Your Hands) home in it. Do it!
Ok, it turns out that the entire time I was doing haiku reviews I was actually writing senryu. You see, haikus are about nature and are serious, while senryus are about human nature and are more humorous. How about that? Excuse the lack of poetry in this post, I need to come to grips with this revelation.
B In The Mix: The Remixes – Britney Spears. Are your favourite songs on Britney Spears albums always the dance numbers? Do you always skip past the ballads while saying, “Pffft, this lacks a certain energy and I just can’t feel it, yo.”? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re in luck. All of these songs are the dance numbers, only they are even more dancetastic thanks to Justice, Jason Nevins and various other DJs.
Give ‘Til It’s Gone – Ben Harper. The prolific singer/songwriter has enjoyed such a long career that some of his albums are no longer eligible for a YA card! Sorry, Pleasure And Pain, that Justin Bieber CD is going to cost you $1 now. Ex-Beatle drummer and voice of Thomas The Tank Engine, Ringo Starr guests on this latest effort.
4 – Beyonce. Even though her last album I Am… Sasha Fierce broke the record for most Grammys won by a female artist in one night, I’d like to put it out there that this is even better. Beyonce always has great singles, but on 4 every track is strong, making it one of those rare pop albums you prefer to listen to start to finish, rather than simply cherry picking favourites. #sashafiercewho? #team4bb!
Rome – Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi. Danger Mouse is not a man who is afraid to take some left turns on the way to crafting a pop album. From inventing the mash-up genre by making unlikely bedfellows of The Beatles and Jay-Z, to spending the early years of his career in a mouse costume, it shouldn’t really surprise that this project is a soundtrack to a spaghetti western film that doesn’t exisit. Jack White and Norah Jones “guest star” on a couple of tracks.
More new CDs coming soon…
Are haikus getting old? Is there another form of poetry you would like to see music reviews in? Comment away.
Live At The Aragon – Mastodon
Crack The Skye in its
entirety, plus other
concert favourites
Fomo – Liam Finn
Displaying usual
consistent quality with
added “spaciness”
Ukulele Songs – Eddie Vedder
Pearl Jam front man jumps
on bandwagon. What have you
wrought, uke orchestra?!?
The Dark Side Of The Moon – The Flaming Lips & Stardeath And White Dwarfs
Pink Floyd opus by
way of Wayne Coyne’s musical
circus plus Peaches
Smoking In Heaven – Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
As a child of the
nineties, musical siblings
recall Hanson bros
Habits – Neon Trees
American alt-
rock band from Provo, Utah.
Good ole wiki, eh?
Two noteworthy music videos were released yesterday and they will battle it out on your computer screens in our new feature, Rock Fight! How exactly do pieces of film set to music battle you ask? By being watched sequentially and then voted on in the comments. Easy.
Our first combatants in the ring are The Beastie Boys featuring Santigold with Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win off their album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.
Good stuff, Beasties! (FYI; Santigold’s album is here)
Taking them on in this titanic struggle is Rebecca Black with her new song, My Moment. She doesn’t have an album yet because she is such a fresh new artist, but I understand an ep is in the works, look for it coming to the library soon!
Nice one, Rebecca!
Now that you’ve sized up both contenders, vote for your favourite in the comments. Who will win the Rock Fight!?!
Suck It And See – The Arctic Monkeys
You shouldn’t take the
title literally, tastes like
plastic and cardboard
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
How they resisted
temptation to include Pink
Floyd is beyond me
The End Of The World Party – I See Stars
Someone’s primary
instrument is listed as
“screams” in liner notes
Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? – Paloma Faith
But, Paloma, you’re
beautiful. Does this mean you
don’t exist? #confused
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
“Antebellum” is
an architectural style.
The more you know, huh?
Fight Or Flight – Emily Osment
Hannah Montana
franchise spawns another
teen pop sensation
Every month I will pick four newly catalogued albums that have been on heavy rotation in Teen Blog Towers and give them a slightly longer review. Because they deserve it.
Body Talk pt.1 by Robyn. The first in a series of three mini-albums (we have part two here) from Sweden’s pre-eminent electro-pop chanteuse and arguably the best. Though short in length at only eight tracks, it does guarantee an extremely favourable “Killer” to “Filler” ratio as every song is worthy of “hot jam” status. Features appearances from dancefloor faves Röyksopp too.
James Blake by James Blake. Following the NME approved indie-dubstep trail blazed by fellow Londoners the xx, whilst harkening back to the trip-hop of Massive Attack et al., James Blake has crafted a debut that seems tailor made for cold winter nights in. Which is perfect timing really – the days have shortened somewhat. Well played, James.
Upside Down, The Best Of by The Jesus And Mary Chain. Jim and William Reid’s noise rock band, The Jesus And Mary Chain lasted far longer and exerted much more influence than critics originally expected (and, presumably hoped for). Characterised by caustic performance and confrontational walls of sound, the brothers eventually evolved the band into a mainstay of alt-rock radio, leaving behind an indelible lo-fi blueprint for the Dum Dum Girls and Best Coasts of the world to study.
Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Though this album was almost unquestionably the most anticipated of the still young decade, Lady’s (it’s cool if I use Lady as her first name, right?) stadium-sized persona was threatening to outshine anything she’d achieved musically. Lucky then it doesn’t disappoint. This collection of songs is the pop event of the year, the giant eggs and meat dresses are merely window dressing.
Man On Wire – PNC
Evidently quite
proud of Palmerston North roots,
changed name to show it.
Means – Street Chant
All girl guitar pop
trio’s debut entry in
to the indie soup.
Flags (Deluxe Edition) – Brooke Fraser
The same as before
only now there is more. (these
rarely rhyme, so yay!)
System Remix – Shapeshifter
The same as before
only not really, because
remix equals change.
Our New Life Above Ground – Avalanche City
Where were they before?
Down with the mole people? Are
they mole people? Yikes!
Jam Pac’d – Various Artists
Pasifika jams
pack this compilation. Hence
the title I guess.
Blood Pressure – The Kills
Boy/Girl duo’s brand
new adventures in lo-fi
minimalism.
Blood Mountain – Mastodon
Mammoth species
lived from the Oligocene
through to Pleistocene.
Born This Way – Lady Gaga
Temporarily
banned in Lebanon due to
controversial themes.
BTR – Big Time Rush
Manufactured band
with a TV show. Is there
any other way?
Vices & Virtues – Panic! At The Disco
Two members exit
and the punctuation mid
band name reappears.
Glee, The Music: Volume Six
Placeholding series
of syllables, no further
insight to offer.
Where Did The Night Fall – Unkle
Unkle can always
be relied upon to make
great videos, see.
Moment Bends – Architecture In Helsinki
Neoclassical
features adorn buildings of
Finland’s capital.
Coming soon, New Music: New Zealand Edition
This week I was going to write a post about the regular theremin, but after finding the video below, that post can wait.
This man, Ken Moore, has made a homemade theremin out of a wiimote, LED gloves and a Roland synthesiser. It’s that kind of forward thinking that earns you the title of “Synthesiser of the week”. He has a blog here with more theremin related goodness.
If you’ve now been inspired and you’d now like to build your own theremin, you can! This mini theremin from Make magazine is very reasonably priced and cute.
Glee Presents: The Warblers
A cappella glee
club from a fictional school
down in Ohio
Sparks Fly – Miranda Cosgrove
iCarly starlet
follows Hannah Montana
blueprint to success
Helplessness Blues – Fleet Foxes
The follow up to
an eponymous debut,
released to acclaim
James Blake – James Blake
Dubstep goes Chillwave.
Electro goes Minimal.
Trip-hop, I suppose.
This Modern Glitch – The Wombats
Marsupial-themed
cynics’ sophomore effort
adds some bpm
Love? – Jennifer Lopez
American Idol
judge capitalizes on
re-found relevance
Greatest Hits – Bon Jovi
Those old dudes that were
at the stadium last year
re-package, add four.
Major Flavours 2011 – DJ Sir-Vere
Hiatus over,
Sir-Vere again mixes, cuts
up and destroys tracks
Obviously I am a big fan of synthesisers, it is after all how I got my name! So it gives me great pride to present to you perhaps the most unusual synthesiser of them all, the Oramics Machine.
Daphne Oram from Setla Productions on Vimeo.
Designed by Daphne Oram in 1957, the Oramics Machine uses strips of 35mm film that shapes can be drawn on to create sound. The shapes modulated light that was then captured by photocells and, well, I can’t really explain the science, but pictures make the sounds! There is only one Oramics Machine in the entire world and it will soon be on display in the London Science Museum, book your tickets I guess.
Give the drummer some – Travis Barker
Claims made of “no one
genre” are false. I know nu-
metal all too well.
Hurley – Weezer
Michael Cera guests,
to play the hurdy gurdy.
– Source, good ‘ole wiki.
Body Talk pt. 1 – Robyn
Now is as good a
time as any to link to
Librarians choice
Body Talk pt. 2 – Robyn
Of course we also
recommend this, the second
installment highly.
Upside Down: The Best Of – The Jesus & Mary Chain
Scarlett Johansson’s
first backing band’s previous
career chronicled.
Attack & Release – The Black Keys
Ably assisted
by a man dressed as a mouse
who provides keyboards.
Euphoric Heartbreak – Glasvegas
Contradictory
band names deserve album names
to suit I suppose.
Clubbers Guide 2011 – Ministry Of Sound
Back cover uses
type that causes Bs to look
exactly like Ds
Deerhoof vs. Evil – Deerhoof
Cuddly avant garde
popsters fight evil forces.
Yoshimi redux?
Basic Instinct – Ciara
First Lady of “Crunk
‘n B” rounds bases, covers
all with hits. Home run.
The People’s Key – Brights Eyes
Conor Oberst’s band
name reminds me of Bonnie
Tyler. Can’t help it.
Crack The Skye – Mastodon
Mammoth riffing from
prehistoric pachyderm
namesake metal band.
Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl and his pals
finally deliver on
long made promises.
Wounded Rhymes – Lykke Li
Sweden takes further
monopoly on pop songs
worth blogging about.
Endgame – Rise Against
This week in angsty
radio punk broadcasting
from America.
Now That’s What I Call Music 35 – Various Artists
Currently these are
the songs EMI Records
are calling music.
A State Of Trance 2011 – Armin Van Buuren
Not hypnotism
related, rather it is
dance music instead.
The Best Of – Nelly Furtado
Has she now – like a
bird – flown away? Or is this
a stop-gap album?
Queen – Queen
How many dudes do
you know that rocked a mic stand
like this? Not many.
Awesome As F**k – Green Day
Apparently their
live shows are more awesome than
most everything.
London Sessions – LCD Soundsystem
I will miss you James
Murphy. Like, a whole lot. Is
this really goodbye?
Angles – The Strokes
Former coolest band
in world returns from lengthy
hiatus to rock
Femme Fatale – Britney Spears
Nico reference
excepting, it’s not really
that avant at all.
The King Of Limbs – Radiohead
All summaries pale
compared to animated
.gifs, see example.
Wonders Of The Younger – Plain White Ts
Essential wardrobe
items release another
album. Their sixth.
Seasons Of The Soul – Rumer
“I’d have these moods in
my soul that would come around
like seasons” – Rumer
No More Idols – Chase & Status
Polished dubstep from
United Kingdom duo, plus
many, many guests.
Build A Rocket Boys! – Elbow
Well received alt-rock
featuring nostalgia as
the major motif.
F.A.M.E. – Chris Brown
Forgiveness rhythm
and blues record? Fans are my
(his) everything.
We’ve started a new YA CD collection devoted to the voice, and mostly the human voice in harmony. I’d recommend these CDs to anyone who’s enjoyed Glee (The Warblers, especially!) or has listened to (and enjoyed) your local college’s barber shop quartet.
An American programme called The Sing Off has just been renewed for its third season and has seen a resurgence in interest in ‘a cappella’ singing, which Wikipedia describes as ‘solo or group vocal or singing without instrumental sound.’ Watch a clip from Nota, the winners of the 2009 Sing Off competition here.
Here are some of the CDs in the a cappella collection!
The Sing Off : The Best of Season 2
Nota, by Nota
The Sing Off : Harmonies for the Holidays
With a Twist, by Straight No Chaser
University A Cappalla!, by Ben Folds
Ritual – White Lies
Grandiosity
fills every second of
available songs
The Drums – The Drums
Heir apparents to
eighties indie empire start
out pleasingly strong.
No Boys Allowed – Keri Hilson
She only wants men.
I think that was the main
takeaway at least.
Aha Shake Heartbreak – Kings Of Leon
Before they cut their
hair and shaved their beards, the songs
were much, much better?
Youth & Young Manhood – Kings Of Leon
Does this make them the
music version of Samson?
Yes, actually.
Lasers – Lupe Fiasco
Light amplifica-
tion by stimulated e-
mission of photons.
Burlesque – Soundtrack
Christina Aguil-
era sings most of the songs
but Cher chips two in.
Tarot Card Rock – Barnaby Weir
Vaguely predicting
people’s futures through the rock
and roll medium.
We have the guys from Poppy Dust and Oosh Multimedia with some ideas to help you get your music out of your bedroom and into peoples lives.
Come along to the last of our Urban Survival Series, tomorrow March 30th at the central library from 4-5pm.
