Electric - Pet Shop Boys

As their 12^th studio album “Electric” hits US shelves today, it is hard to imagine the Pet Shop Boys not sounding current, since bands like the XX and Beach House sound suspiciously like Pet Shop Boy’s 1990 album “Behavior”.  The now 23 year old album has the wash of synthesizer pads, thick bass and staccato funk guitar riffs that one comes to associate with the (current) post new wave genre.  Even the choruses are doubled in the soaring falsetto that draws a comparison to bands like Passion Pit and Empire of the Sun.  So, why all the current comparisons?  Because Pet Shop Boy’s new album takes the band to a more current place where saw-tooth synths rip through the stratosphere and the noise oscillators are turned up to 11. The new hard-hitting production comes courtesy of Stuart Price (New Order, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Brandon Flowers, Gwen Stefani and his own solo projects) who shared the sonic reigns with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.  Not to say that the new production style detracts from The Pet Shop Boys signature sound.  At the core of the album, they are still the same band that released “West End Girl” and “It’s a Sin”, but with a touch more edge. Employing a variety of new sounds ranging from the now infamous frequency modulated overdriven bass (thanks a lot for ruining it for everyone, Skrillex), and the radio favorite synth-swoops into big choruses.  The band is none the worse off with its new sonic palette, if anything it shows a willingness to experiment and compete amongst a new generation.

“Electric” really puts the new sonic structure to work for the band, with the builds lasting just long enough to keep you interested, and enough give and take to not get boring.   A pleasant mix of what we’ve come to expect from Pet Shop Boys, and experimentation on the part of the band and the producer, its is clear that they aren’t fighting to stay relevant, rather just reminding everyone that they can do new wave, and they can do it well.  “Who will be the last to die for our mistake?” asks Tennant right before the melodic hook in the aptly named “Last to Die”.   Its safe to say they won’t be dying out soon, after almost 3 decades of making music, they can still experiment, and there is no mistake in taking chances.

*for a limited time get a free Pet Shop Boys Lithograph with purchase of Electric*
Buy your CD with free lithograph now

 

Light Heat - Light Heat

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In the wake of a recent explosion of “nu-folk” artists like the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons, it is easy to get swept away by the overwhelming volume of bands that have tried surfing that wave.   That being said, I felt a small spring of joy well up inside me when I listened to Light Heat’s new self-titled record.  Rather than join the ranks of bandwagon acts trying to capitalize on the latest trend, Light Heat does straight-up feel-good indie, and they do it well.  Reminiscent of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s 2005 (self-titled) release in terms of song structure, and sonically similar to Wilco’s “The Whole Love” and The Dodo’s “Black and White”, Light Heat takes you to a place where you can put the hood down on the convertible and cruise with no particular destination in mind…but that’s okay.  The destination doesn’t matter when cruising feels so awesome.

            Light Heat dispenses solid rhythms without sacrificing melodic stability, and even when singer Quentin Stoltzfus gets kind of quiet and Thom York-ish, the songs retain a sense of purpose, and make the larger parts stand out.  “Dance the Cosmos Light”, the album’s first track, immediately tells you with its wash of reverb-heavy guitars and subtle horn melodies “Don’t worry about where we’re going, cause its going to be pretty cool”.  There is a pseudo Beach Boys feel to the production, filled with organ arrangements, verb-y tacked pianos and plenty of telecaster jangle without feeling contrived. 

If you’re craving a summertime fling with songs to make us New Yorkers feel good about the few months of light and heat we have, Light Heat will be that summer love you don’t forget about, and visit when the air gets to cold.

Tricky False Idols

Our favorite mad-cap rapper from Bristol is back with False Idols! Finished with his recording obligations with Domino, Tricky sounds refreshingly relaxed and grounded. Two decades after the release of his breakout release, Maxinquaye, an album that skyrocketed the ripe 18-year-old into the limelight and the public eye, he takes issue with the concept of celebrity. Being that trip-hop has fallen in and out of fashion, Tricky's musical (and acting) career has seen extreme ups and downs, so he has first-hand experience with the trappings of fame. Former L.A. connections led to some misguided, obligatory team-ups, like working with the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Live's Ed Kowalczyk, for instance, so it's a relief to see him on a musical path where he is paired with artists who are cut from the same cloth. The most high-profile guest appearance involves the Antlers' Peter Silberman on a reworking of his indie band's song "Parenthesis," which updates the original by transforming the lush Radiohead soundscape into a stark beat and a Yeah Yeah Yeahs-styled guitar riff. It arguably improves on the original. However, the best songs on False Idols involve new vocal collaborators Francesca Belmonte, Fifi Rong, and Nneka Egbuna. Their seductive voices are reminiscent of Tricky's earlier work with Martine or Elizabeth Fraser, and when paired with beats that feel fresh in 2013, but are also based in the expected '90s Bristol dubby atmospherics and trip-hop beats, songs like "Is That Your Life," "If Only I Knew," and "Tribal Drums" stand up with his career highs. I'd say this album brings Tricky back on top of his game and this album is almost as good as the first three albums. Take a spin! Buy your copy of False Idols here.

Daft Punk--Random Access Memories

The moment of late spring has arrived--New Daft Punk!!!! And yes, it is worth the wait and worth owning!! Believe it or not, this time they have a full orchestra, a choir, and a host of bad ass modular synths ready...this is not a sample heavy album, it is an homage to all things analogue! Inspired by the AM-Radio, soft-rock, prog-pop, and disco eras of the late 70s into the early 80s, this album feels futuristic and retro at the same time. With luscious production and guest appearances from none other than Giorgio Moroder and Paul Williams, RAM has no shortage of surprises at how they make it work. We are meant to listen to RAM as a whole, a people did in the vinyl era, pre-walkmans and ipods. A particularly brilliant example is "Touch," where singer/songwriter Paul Williams conflates his work in Phantom of the Paradise and The Muppet Movie in the song's mystique, charm, and fragile yet unabashed emotions. Often, there's an almost gooey quality to the album; Daft Punk have never shied away from "uncool" influences or sentimentality, and both are on full display here. At first, it's hard to know what to make of all the fromage, but Random Access Memories reveals itself as the kind of grand, album rock statement that listeners of the '70s and '80s would have spent weeks or months dissecting and absorbing -- the ambition of Steely Dan, Alan Parsons, and Pink Floyd are as vital to the album as any of the duo's collaborators. For the casual Daft Punk fan, this album might be harder to love than "Get Lucky" hinted. After three listens, I feel it is a rewarding experience and I look forward to taking in the vinyl at home. Check out Giorgio Moroder talking about dance music and his work with Daft Punk! Buy your copy of the double 180 gm vinyl or CD here.

Little Boots--Nocturnes

Nocturnes is a sultry, slow burn of an album that finds the British electronic diva building upon the anthemic dance-oriented sound of her 2009 debut Hands. Having carved out a niche on the increasingly crowded dancefloor amongst a gaggle of similarly inclined acts like Ellie Goulding, La Roux, Robyn, and Lady Gaga with such cuts as "Stuck on Repeat," and "Earthquake," Victoria Hesketh aka Little Boots has found a more personal niche within the genre on Nocturnes. Subsequently, though still an infectious listen, Nocturnes is a surprisingly low-key affair. Tracks like "Strangers" and "Motorway," in which Little Boots fantasizes about jumping in her car and getting away from her troubles in a kind of road-trip catharsis, have an expansive, ambient quality that seems to reflect a more introspective mood. However, there are still enough vintage-influenced dance sounds and winky, glitter-mascara moments to appeal to even the most camp-oriented club kid. To these ends, the house-influenced "Every Night I Say a Prayer" brings to mind Blonde Ambition Tour-era Madonna, and "Broken Record," with its pulsing Italo-disco beat and church bell accents, sounds like an ABBA club hit produced by Giorgio Moroder. I have to say I like this album more than her prior efforts and it is an enjoyable listen. Turn it up! Check out my jam from the album, "Shake" Buy your copy of Nocturnes here.

Deerhunter Monomania

Deerhunter's latest record, Monomania, finds the band furthering their exploration of atmospheric sounds juxtaposed with stripped down pop and melodic punk. If anything, the vibe of Deerhunter in 2013 is a little leaner, perhaps even stripped down in comparison to their work on Halcyon Digest though the band tosses in plenty of charred guitars and dreamy organs which keeps this from becoming their "back-to-basics" record. Perhaps their sound is getting closer to the side project, Atlas Sound or influenced by the resurgence of psyche rock and garage rock by way of Thee Oh Sees or Ty Segall. While songs like "Leather Jacket II" and "Pensacola" are coarse and instantly likeable for their lineage to Cryptograms and earlier incarnations of the band, there are also the ethereal arpeggios of "T.H.M." and the wistfulness of "Dream Catcher" which puts Bradford Cox's melodic sensibilities and delayed voice on full display. New addition to the group Josh McKay, (Macha, A.T.E.M.), may just be the secret to the brilliance of Monomania as his bass playing is consistently melodic and perfectly rich while McKay also adds lovely organs to the lovely yet insubordinate "Back to the Middle." There isn't a clear distinction that separates Monomania from its predecessors but Deerhunter have failed to make a sub-par record and their latest effort is just further proof of the bands consistently rewarding output. Buy your copy of Monomania here.

!!! Thr!!!er

!!! return with Thr!!!er, their fifth album that's tightly wound and has whip-smart production from Spoon's Jim Eno. The band plays with a newfound loose and rubbery style that's warmer and more fun than anything they've done yet. The needle definitely lands closer to funk this time than it does punk, as the bouncy basslines, Chic-y guitars, and easy-to-sing choruses are bright and sunny with little of the political fever that infected Louden Up Now or the machine-driven grooves of Strange Weather, Isn't It? In fact, new drummer Paul Quattrone is a bit of a hero, driving the songs forward with verve and subtle power and working with new bassist Rafael Cohen to build a bottom as strong as the previous incarnations ever were. Along with the Liquid Liquid-style jams they can throw down in their sleep, the band tries out (and nails) a few new things on Thr!!!er, delving into new wave-styled pop on the "Fine Fine Fine," Stones-y dance rock on "Station (Meet Me at The)," and strutting Afro-pop influenced disco on "Even When the Water's Cold." While Nic Offer's vocals are excellent throughout, as usual, and he shows off some lovely falsetto on the slinky electro ballad "Careful," the band brought in some vocalists who really add some brilliant texture to the sound. Sonia Moore, who sang backup on MC Hammer's Too Legit to Quit, adds some fiery passion on the percolating disco jams "Except Death" and "One Girl/One Boy," Allyson Baker of Dirty Ghosts adds some gutsy yowling on her co-lead vox on "Station (Meet Me at The)," and longtime collaborator Molly Schnick adds some schoolyard sass to "Slyd." The new looseness that runs through the grooves, the variety the additional voices bring, the very strong songs, and Eno's production all add up as the album plays, and as a result, Thr!!!ler ranks as the band's best work to date. Buy your copy of Thr!!!er here.