New Music for 2011 - Reviews

Who says the music industry is dead?
One Month down already in 2011, and it was a busy one for the restless music fan like myself. Here on my blog, if I am mentioning an album, it’s because it’s a good one. Life is too short to bash something that I don’t like. That’s is what is so amazing about music, to each his own. I just happen to listen to a ton of it, and want music lovers like myself to be aware of the highlights from mostly under the radar artists and bands.

British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall 5 out of 6
Let it be said, I love these guys. My second favorite band from 2000-2010 is ringing in the new decade with anthemic songs straight from the North Sea. “Who’s in Control” starts off strong speaking of anti materialism and protest. Timely, huh? “Sometime’s I wish, protesting was sexy on a Saturday night” bellows lead vocalist Yan. Next track “We are Sound” is another example of the great artistry this band has, with shimmering guitars and perfectly punctuated percussion. I think these guys always have the right doses of reverb and I feel they are very well produced. Mongk II is a breathtaking beat driven homage to Krautrockers like Can and other Industrial oriented contemporaries. The next standout, “Luna” is a very Pulp like number that swaggers along like only Brits could do. Nice guitar work by Noble on this album makes itself quite apparent on this album, especially on the aforementioned songs. “Living is So Easy” is another light Brit Pop number that has some cool dated synths, but is not my favorite. The song that really makes sure you got you money’s worth is “Observe the Skies” It’s BSP at their strongest, sweeping walls of sounds and big time hooky chorus’. I think these guys may have a Britishness that is too much for some, but I equate them to the sound of U2 and Coldplay with more Balls. And I am not trying to knock the others by saying that.

Smith Westerns – Dye it Blonde 4.5 out of 6
Indie Buzz band that has some chops. These 18-20 years olds from Chicago seems to have relied heavily on Glam albums growing up, as they have delightfully and tastefully lifted the sound of Glammers like Bowie, Mott The Hoople, and the lesser known, Be Bop Deluxe. 2nd song in “Still New” has one of these borrowed guitar lines that would either disgust or give great pride to one Ian Hunter from Mott. “Imagine Pt. 3” is a nicely paced Piano track that has the feel of The Kinks, or The Move in a new and shiny package. “All Die Young” is an amazing track that has incredibly old school feel for such a young band. A Shoegazing classic has a really pretty pace with guitars that echo George Harrison’s playing style. “Smile” is another slow and pretty one that feels like a dated ballad. Nice piano and well produced vocals. Not the greatest voices from a talent standpoint, but have some nicely produced harmonies. They laid a bit flat, live in studio on XMU earlier in the week, but this album plays quite well. “Dance Away” has a real Built to Spill feeling to it which is always a good thing. “Dye the World” wraps up this nice LP with more of the Glam driven guitars and more subdued pace that the stronger songs have.

Tennis – Cape Dory 4 out of 6
Cool story of a couple that basically hung everything up and planned for over a year to sail as much of the world as they could. Along the way they had limited power to play much of anything they liked to listen to, and got restless. They started writing the entire album before you. They sounds like 20 other reverby Indie bands such as Best Coast and Beach House, but these songs a really pretty and catchy. A delightful amount of Beach Boys and Girl bands influence make these songs very light an Summery. Remember Summer? I don’t. “Long Boat Pass”, ‘Marathon”, and “South Carolina” are the strongest of these Indie Pop tracks but the short album is all very listenable as far as I’m concerned.

Wire – Red Barked Tree 4 out of 6
Holy Post Punk Veterans Batman!!! These guys in Britain are art rock gods. Nobody here in the states appreciates the subtle and artistic variant of Punk presented by Colin Newman and 2 other of the original 4 members. This band who has been playing since 1976 has never relied on the cult critical acclaim of their first 3 masterpiece LP’s. They never look back, and this album is no different. “Please Take” and “Adapt” ease you in with a stately and contemporary sound. These fellas are almost 60 now, you know. Well, they spice it up plenty in the middle of the album “Two Minutes” and “Clay”. The real track to check out on this one is called “Bad Worn Thing”. It is sultry and really tightly played by these talented old heads. “Moreover” and “A Flat Ten” are classic examples of how tight Wire has been for decades now.

The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts 4.5 out of 6
This sextet of British hipsters is infectiously fun. Artistry and instrumentation accompany samples of some pretty non-UK things such as the College Marching band sound so cleverly used on tracks like the opener T.o.r.n.a.d.o. and the instrumental Bust Out Brigade. With infusions of hip hop from MC Ninja, this outfit really genre hops, but it is something that translates really well and could be enjoyed by many generations and Men and Women alike if open minded about tunes. “Secretary Song” is a great 2nd track and a great example of this bands capabilities. “Apollo Throwdown” has some great spacey TV sitcom soundscape to it. Kind of Love Boat.
“Ready To Go Steady” is a great track as it bounces around in a schoolyard tale cadence and typifies what feels young and fresh with these guys. Their songs are really poppy and uplifting. The Metal guys will f’ing hate it. Everyone could put Bust-Out Brigade on pre Superbowl and feel it for they have a great Drumline feel that could fire up anyone. Great gym song. The Go! Team already has a couple songs played on TV you may know if you heard. Honda used older song Huddle Formation, and the NFL Network plays “The Power is On” in a pump up scene in fact. Be absolutely certain you try the amazing track “Buy Nothing Day” with Best Coast’s Bethany on vocals for a guest appearance. This song has killer hooks. With this being the 3rd album, The Go! Team make a great 20 song play list when you assemble their best tracks.