ArchdukeJFranz
Beach Fossils was great here at Emory, and so I’m really excited for the new Dive… errr, DIIV album.
“And for many Instagram users it’s discomfiting to see a giant company they distrust purchase a tiny company they adore — like if Coldplay acquired Dirty Projectors, or a Gang of Four reunion was sponsored by Foxconn.”
Great line.
By this point, you know the drill.
The tracks:
Long Was The Year // Broadcast
Roygbiv // Boards of Canada
Had We Had It // Frankie Rose
Open You Heart // The Men
Purple Slipped Right // Dustin Wong
Autograph // Nite Jewel
Western Homes // Pavement
One More Night // Can
Some of Montreal Love
I wrote this for WMRE a few weeks ago. After coming across the above video, I thought I’d post them both.
ARTIST: of Montreal
ALBUM: Paralytic Stalks
LABEL: Polyvinyl
SOUNDS LIKE: of Montreal + extra Bowie + Acid
REVIEW: I’ll just be blunt, I haven’t liked an of Montreal album this much since Hissing Fauna. Gone is the limp funk of False Priest and the scatter-shot hook-a-thon of Skeletal Lamping, and instead Kevin Barnes and producer/colaborater Jon Brion inject of Montreal’s minimal electronics of old with technicolor psychedelic flouishes that fly every which way over piano rock fit for Ziggy Stardust era Bowie. Nonetheless, the album has a few caviots. This set of songs take a few listens for the subtle melodies to sink in and only the truly daring should even attempt to listen to the albums final two tracks. But for the first time in a while, I’m actually excited to see where of Montreal goes next.
BEST TRACKS: Spiteful Intervention, Dour Percentage, Malefic Dowery
From the 2/27 radio show.
Tracklist:
In The Dark / Nite Jewel
Golden Years / David Bowie
Big Day Coming / Yo La Tengo
Fight This Generation / Pavement
Natural’s Not in It / Gang of Four
Passing Complexion / Big Black
Stay Useless / Cloud Nothings
Mona Lisa / Atlas Sound
WMRE Heavy Rotation 2/28
Here’s my contribution to Heavy Rotation this week. I’m going to start posting these here because why not.
ARTIST: Frankie Rose
ALBUM: Interstellar
LABEL: Slumberland
REVIEW: One time drummer for Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls, and Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose debuted with 2010’s Frankie Rose and the Outs, a noisy garage pop record that mined similar terrain as her former groups. Yet this time around, Rose sheds the backing band and the grime for shiny synths, and more importantly, subtle melodies that transcend the recycled dream pop tropes dating back at least thirty years. The lead single “Know Me” features elements we’ve all heard before, a programed dance beat, textural guitar chords, and a pulsing bass, but the familiarity does little to detract from the catchiest chorus of 2012. Elsewhere, the backing tracks perfectly interplay with Rose’s endlessly overdubbed vocals. On “Had We Had It”, fifty seconds of cut time build up explode into multicolored keys and another ear worm chorus. The album as a whole capitalizes on the perfect ratio of drifting texture to breathless hooks, always offering the listener a respite after a big refrain, but the next wave of melody is never far off.
BEST TRACKS: “Know Me”, “Had We Had It”, “Daylight Sky”
