New Music Roundup, 8/20

Been a while (been awhile?  I always get the correct usage of a while and awhile mixed up), but the blog is back today after several fallow weeks with several compelling releases.

The Heavy - The Glorious Dead

I really enjoy this band: they mix soul, blues, rock, and occasional funk into an appealing package, all while displaying a weird fascination with spaghetti westerns.  That right there is something almost uniquely packaged toward my tastes.

This new album is the first since their breakthrough album The House That Dirt Built, which had the ubiquitous hit "How You Like Me Now."  While there wasn't a weak track on the previous album, at times it kind of felt like it had forced eclecticism: they were going to do their rock song, then they were going to do their soul song, then they were going to do their funk song, etc.  This new album still has the eclectic spirit, but the tracks seem to me to fit together better, and there's more blending of genres within each track.  I don't think there's a song here as catchy as "How You Like Me Now," so I'm not sure this one is going to be as big of a hit, but I do think it is a good step forward for the band and an album I will be listening to a lot in the coming months.

Selections
What Makes a Good Man?

Curse Me Good
The Heavy – Curse Me Good

Blood Dirt Love Stop
The Heavy – Blood Dirt Love Stop





Bloc Party - Four

Bloc Party is a group whose recent output I haven't been all that enthusiastic for, so when I heard that this album was being described as a return to the sound of their debut, my ears perked up a bit.  Having now listened to the album, I don't put it on par with Silent Alarm, but it's definitely worth a listen, as the band has at least returned to upbeat songs with angular rhythms.

I'm impressed with the relative heaviness of the album: someone in the band must have found wherever they misplaced their guitars.  To my knowledge, this is a new direction for the band; where they had previously been upbeat, they had done it with spare punk, but here there are more than a few chunky guitar riffs.  But the album is not just heavy rock, including a few of the light upbeat pop songs that Bloc Party does so well too.

Selections
Octopus

V.A.L.I.S.

Truth

So He Begins to Lie

Yeasayer - Fragrant World

It seems that this album hasn't been getting the same kind of exultant response that their previous album did, but I have to say, I like it more.  Consisting of electronic music that kinda sorta but not really wants to make you dance, this album has a handful of tracks that for whatever reason I find fairly catchy.  It becomes a little sleepy in the latter half, but the album's highs are enjoyable.

Selections
Henrietta

Fingers Never Bleed

Devil and the Deed

Redd Kross - Researching the Blues

This band formed before I was born, and their first gig was opening for fucking Black Flag.  Considering this, it would be impressive if this band could rock at all in 2012, but even without that sliding scale, they deliver one of the better guitar-focused rock albums of the year.  But then again, I am a sucker for power pop.

Selections
Researching the Blues

Stay Away from Downtown

Dracula's Daughter
Redd Kross – Dracula's Daughter

Plan B - Ill Manors
I didn't think I would like British gangster rap, but here we are.

Selections
Deepest Shame

Ill Manors

Drug Dealer

The Royal Concept - Gimme Twice
Do you like Phoenix, but find the lack of any Phoenix albums this year troubling?  Then the Royal Concept may just be for you.  I like Phoenix, so this works well enough for me, although I do kinda feel that Phoenix should be entitled to a cut of this band's royalties.

Selections
Gimme Twice

D-D-Dance

Justice - Audio, Video, Disco
This is from last year, but I never talked about it before and have been hearing a couple of the songs around.  Anyway, Justice is like the arena rock version of European electropop.  Fans of Daft Punk should at least check out.

Selections
New Lands

Horsepower

Civilization

Owl City - The Midsummer Station
I have zero things interesting to say about Owl City

Selections
Listen to the whole damn album, for all I care.

Alright, that's it for this week.  I'll be out of the country next week, so no guarantees on whether I'll get another post up, but at the latest I'll be back the next week.