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

The Start of 2010

So the new year has begun!  Sorry for being a little lax about the posting in the last two weeks, but apparently bloggers travel too.  I was getting some requests for what I am looking forward to most in the new year, so here we go!

Yeasayer :: Odd Blood (Febuary 9)


As the follow up to All Hour Cymbals, one of my favorite albums, Odd Blood is certainly looking to me as a possible Merriweather Post Pavillion situation; everybody's been dying for a new release, it's by a very unique band, and it was partially leaked (well, all of MPP was leaked and that's sort of what was special about it, but oh well).  Everybody has been drooling over Ambling Alp and the video for it, and after a few other songs were leaked the anticipation is certainly building the same way it did for MPP with the full album leak.  Yeasayer hasn't really done anything at all with the exception of the excellent "Tightrope" from Dark Was the Night, and hopefully they will impress and keep the Psych-pop that I love them for coming.
mp3: Ambling Alp

 Toro y Moi :: Causers of This (February 23)


T y M was for me the biggest breakout of 2009, really taking it to the next level with Talamak and Blessa.  His woozy, completely computer generated, mellow dance-pop certainly separated him from the rest of chillwave.  The difference between him and the rest of chillwave is that when you listen to Talamak, you are captivated by its ethereal vocals and simple sounding beat, and those two chords that repeat through the whole song; it is more of a sort of pop-jam that you really focus on the music, whereas, for me at least, the rest of chillwave is the perfect background music, a soundtrack to whatever you are doing.  Hopefully the rest of the album can live up to Talamak and Blessa, and not be overshadowed/let us down because of the greatness of those two songs.
mp3: Talamak
mp3: Blessa

Local Natives :: Gorilla Manor (February 16)

I fell in love with this band with just two songs; they are an up and coming LA band, and they fit in perfectly with the whole Deadly Syndrome-Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros-indie-power-pop scene, and I think the two songs really show a potential for a complex and sophisticated album.  Both songs seem to be complex arrangements of simple instruments, and "Airplanes" certainly has the slightly anthemic feel of Band of Horses' "Funeral" or the Deadly Syndrome's "Eucalyptus," or at least the sound that some indie-rock songs have that makes you feel like "Oh, this is the song that is going to become popular and is slightly stereotypical in sound of an indie-band."  The album is already out in the UK (weird right for an LA band to release across the pond first?), and hopefully they will have some success with it here.
mp3: Sun Hands
mp3: Airplanes
mp3: Camera Talk

LCD Soundsystem (Early 2010)
The title I believe hasn't even been released yet (I know, I know, I should be able to find it, but it's not out yet!), but this is certainly one of those albums that I have a feeling that I am so excited for it that it is bound to let me down, but who knows maybe it will amaze.  The previous album, Sound of Silver, is easily one of my favorite albums; "Someone Great" is one of my favorite songs EVER (and I hate choosing favorites) - it is such an emotional song with incredible lyrics, as well as incredible synth... you can't get much better IMHO.  If the new album has even one song as good as "Someone Great," "All My Friends," or really any of the songs from the first album, LCD Soundsystem, it will be great.  I really don't know why I am doubting the new album... I just don't want to be let down.

Born Ruffians :: Say It (early 2010)
A band similar in style to Vampire Weekend, their previous album Red, Yellow, and Blue was excellent and hopefully this album will be just as good as well as able to fill the gap left by an awful Vampire Weekend album (always a chance of an I stand corrected... get the pun?).

The Morning Benders :: Big Echo (Early 2010)
Another really good California band made up of really young guys...

Broken Bells
James Mercer & Danger Mouse... what more needs to be said?

Spoon :: Transference

Rumor
Arcade Fire!!!!!!
Arcade Fire have been reported to be in the studio right now.  They always let a lot of time pass between releasing albums; they are extremely deliberate when it comes to making music (and it always pays off).  It appears that we are due an album soon!!!

Anything I'm missing?
-- A Teenage Elephant