Back from the Break!

Sorry for having no posts in the last two weeks I've just been busy with finals but now I am done.  Here's some stuff that's been going on!  The biggest thing these past few weeks has been the release of two of the most generally anticipated albums of the new year, Transference and Contra, so I will start out with those.

Spoon :: Transference

On Tuesday Spoon released their 7th studio album, Transference, which is a follow up to their first big commercial success, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.  In this album, they still maintain the distinct Spoon sound, but they are more adventurous with it as well, perhaps banking on the notion that they are now big enough and have enough of a "completist" fan base that they will sell plenty of records regardless of whether people like the different sound.  I thouroughly enjoyed listening to this album, although in my opinion, it is not quite as good as say Kill the Moonlight or Girls Can Tell, which are both excellent in my opinion.

mp3: Got Nuffin'  (in other news this song was featured heavily in Josh Schwartz' tv show Chuck's most recent episode.  Spoon actually gained some of their initial recognition from "That's the Way We Get By" being played in another one of Schwartz' show, The OC.  If you haven't seen Chuck, I recommend it.)
(Update: Sorry I got requested to remove my link...)

Vampire Weekend :: Contra
 This came out on the 9th, but I didn't get a chance to write about, so now that I have listened to it fairly thoroughly I can give you my opinion on it.  While there are songs that are good on the album, such as "White Sky," "Taxi Cab," "Run," and "I Think Ur a Contra," on the whole the album feels like it doesn't quite know what sort of sound it is going for, which in this case takes away from it.  "White Sky" and "Taxi Cab" both sound very similar to Discovery, Ros Botmanglij's electronic summer side project with Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles.  "Taxi Cab" and "I Think Ur a Contra" are both slower, more ballad-like tunes, which certainly outshine some of the other frantic, all over the place songs on the album.  I think that this capacity for songs that seem slower, more deliberate and planned out do show some growth in the band, but songs like the completely uncoordinated "California English," which I won't even get into how much I dislike, and the inane "Holiday" turn an album that could have been a fairly good one with a couple of filler songs into an album that leaves a feeling of missed opportunities and definitely not wanting more.

Even the naming of the song "I Think Ur a Contra" takes away from the album for me; the song is good, but the obnoxious use of "Ur," even if Vampire Weekend are trying to be annoying on purpose (which they probably are), is just pretentious and unfortunately takes away from a good song.  It's part of the whole "We try and alienate people on purpose because we have our own style" deal, but I'm just not buying into it.  I will say though that I do like the naming of "Diplomat's Son," which has almost got to be a reference to the great Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son" (it has a lyric "I ain't no senator's son / no).  Normally naming of songs doesn't make a difference to an album, but for this album it seemed to have a strange impact.

Bottom line: an album with a couple of good songs that are certainly in a new direction, but overall it does not live up to the previous album.

mp3: White Sky
(Update: Sorry I got requested to move my link...)

-- A Teenage Elephant

In Other News
The Coachella lineup was officially announced, and it's excellent this year.  Tickets went on sale yesterday.


Benefits
All of Radiohead are playing a special benefit show for Haiti at the Music Box here in LA on Saturday.  They have also said that they are currently in the studio in the middle of recording new material... 
Bon Iver, Britt Daniel of Spoon, and St. Vincent will all be playing a special benefit show in Brooklyn on Saturday.

Album News
Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy) released his new album Heartland.
mp3: Lewis Takes Action

OK GO released their new album Of the Blue Color of the Sky.
mp3: This Too Shall Pass

RJD2 released his new album Colossus.
mp3: Games You Can Win

Surfer Blood released their new album Astro Coast.
mp3: Swim

The New Pornographers announced May 4th as the official release date for their fifth studio album Together.

She & Him (i.e. singer-actress Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) will release their second album, Volume Two, on March 23rd.
mp3: In the Sun

Photo by Taea Thale