Guards - In Guards We Trust
This is the debut from a very interesting new Brooklyn band. Led by Richie Follin, the brother of the lead singer of the underrated indie band Cults, Guards is attempting to combine the crowd-pleasing power pop hookiness of 70's bands like the Raspberries and Big Star with what is considered traditional indie music of the 2010's. The end result are a batch of guitar-driven hook-y songs with vocals that sound like they were recorded at the end of a long hall which manage to achieve a very nice balance of being more or less instantly accessible while still sounding fresh; it's traditional yet modern. I'm reasonably certain this is my favorite album of 2013 thus far and would encourage everyone to give it a listen.
Selections
Ready to Go
Telekinesis - Dormarion
Nevermind: this is really my favorite album of 2013 so far. Telekinesis is the project of Michael Benjamin Lerner, power pop extraordinaire. It seems that when it comes to power pop, you either have the ability to write a countless number of catchy songs or you don't, and Lerner is establishing himself as amongst the very best. It's early, but this guy could be as good as Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger or Matthew Sweet or Carl Newman. He's that good.
This is the third album by Telekinesis, and though the first two are plenty enjoyable, I think this one is quite comfortably the best. Whereas the first two albums were produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, Dormarion is produced by Spoon's Jim Eno, himself no stranger to a catchy tune. The instrumentation is a little fuller here too: the first two albums were fairly basic guitar-bass-drum arrangements, but there is noticeably more synthesizer on this album.
The songs, on the whole, remain remarkably strong. I don't count a single misstep, with every song offering plenty of catchy hooks, but with each one differentiating itself enough to avoid the same-y feel power pop sometimes has. You have the mellow acoustic song that eventually explodes into 70's-style power chords in "Power Lines," the punk-y spike-y rocker of "Empathetic People," the chilly expansive electronic atmospherics of "Ghosts and Creatures," etc.: I could go track by track and rave about each one, but I'll just summarize and say Telekinesis wears it all well.
Anyway, everyone should check this album out. I'm almost certainly going to be banging the drum constantly about this band, so you all might as well check them out now and save yourself a lot of annoying arguing from me over its greatness.
Selections (although they're all good)
Power Lines
Telekinesis – Lean on Me
Symphony
Telekinesis – Symphony
Boy - Mutual Friends
Boy consists of two women, one German and one Swiss, who churn out simple but pretty pop music (in English). They've been kicking around Europe for a couple years now but I only first heard about them recently. It certainly doesn't seem like they've gotten a lot of attention in the US. That's liable to change soon (if it hasn't already). The closest comparison is undoubtedly Feist (with a little bit of Regina Spektor thrown in), and like Feist the duo's best song's have an easygoing bouncy catchiness and beauty. Also, banjos. Considering Mutual Friends is their debut, it's impressive how good it is from top to bottom: I'm not sure I can identify any filler on it at all. This is a really strong album and an act to familiarize yourself with if you have not already.
Selections
This is the Beginning
Bleached - Ride Your Heart
I wrote about this band almost exactly a year ago to the day here, and today finds them releasing their first formal album. Fortunately, the album was worth the wait. I would really like to see Bleached play a concert with Best Coast; though Bleached is slightly punkier, they both manage to convey a sense of California easygoing that I think would work well together. Bleached is clearly indebted to various New Wave groups: at different times of this album, the vocals reminded me of Debbie Harry, Chrissy Hynde, and Patty Donahue of the Waitresses. All in all, I find this album fun and an intriguing debut.
Selections
Searching Through Your Past
The Besnard Lakes - Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO
This album is going to get a decent amount of play from me when I need to take the edge off. If you're looking for chillout shoegaze-y dream pop music, you could do a lot worse than this album. With so many strong releases this week, I may not have given this album its proper due, but it is very beautiful and expansive, combining psychedelia and space rock. Think if someone heard "Porcelina (of the Vast Oceans)" by Smashing Pumpkins and decided to make a whole album inspired by it.
Selections
People of the Sticks
The Besnard Lakes – 46 Satires
Vondelpark - Seabed
I have to say: I am thoroughly enjoying the indie R&B movement that seems to have sprung up in the last year or so. Vondelpark is a little too low energy to hold my attention for a whole album's worth of material, but the good songs on here are quite equal parts trippy and sexy.
Selections
Quest
Hookworms - Pearl Mystics
This is just a really strong British psychedelic album. It has a big sound that makes you want to get immersed within it, but the songs don't forget to rock enough to be more or less accessible. This is meant as a compliment (although I could see it not being taken as one): the band reminds me of Jane's Addiction at their most druggiest.
Selections
Away / Towards
Singles Section
Avicii vs Nicky Romero - "I Could Be the One"
Or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the EDM."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bek1y2uiQGA
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