Radiohead – In Rainbows

Your eyes, they turn me. I’ll be honest when I first heard this album back in 2007 it was like a ton of bricks had fallen on me. I was fortunate enough to get the heralded discbox and it was an album that arrived during that fall to very sensitive minds and hearts. It’s hard to believe we’re nearly five years removed from this album, it’s hard to believe just how amazing of an album it really is -- just another bona fide classic from Radiohead.

I remember loving the way it vastly improved from what Hail to the Thief left to be desired (flow and songwriting to name a few) and how it was ten stellar songs. It’s still an album people love with highest regards for Radiohead’s ability at combining amazing words about love and life, with amazing sounds and well, Thom Yorke’s absolutely flawless voice. Flawless in how it’s mesmerizing and uncannily always on pitch and through all the aesthetic value – his cadence, his delivery, his spectral tone – it’s a flawlessly perfect voice for this band. It’s a much different album from The King of Limbs, sure, but both are dissimilar beyond comparison; yet, heavy heavy listening experiences. Anyways, here’s my probable two favorite songs off this album.

On “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” the band truly reigns in on their forceful musicianship with a song that is both a complex discussion on song structure in the 21^st century and how the enveloping nature of words is like poetry for some of the best. At the heart of the album lies many of the album’s strongest looks and that isn’t to say it’s not naturally bookended with outstanding songs like every single Radiohead album, but to have this song, back-to-back with “All I Need,” still floors me every time. Well on this song, they take the Arpeggi and spread it throughout all the instruments, even the drums if you can take me seriously ha. An Arpeggi is plural for arpeggio and an arpeggio is the notes of a chord, spread out and played one at a time, instead of altogether. So maybe on this song it would be something like D-F#-A in succession into the five chord (A-C#-E) and probably some sevenths (G) for contrast and color and they basically circulate that into one massively growing ball of layers and sound. There’s, as always, lots of imagery here with the bottom of the sea, seeing her eyes and how the music prevails this underwater feel; the way it all comes together at the end is so great. 

Then there’s “All I Need,” which is basically, your perfect pop song in the 21^st century. Perhaps I’d be too confident in saying this, but we should save this album and use it to teach music to our kids when they’re old enough because very simply, this might be as good as it gets. Here they enter with a chilly entrance of overtones, before the kick drum and snare appear and then suddenly, boom, there’s that looping bass. It’s all about feel and composure and on this song, they sound entirely in control. But it’s the lyrics, (I’m an animal, trapped in your hot car) that make all the wild difference; by the time you get to “You’re All I Need” and singing it together, it’s sublime quality. There’s sadness in the music and a realistic defining moment in it all, “I only stick with you, because there are no others.” So even when he’s depressed as hell, “I am all the days that you choose to ignore,” he eventually realizes that he’s just as much in control of his infatuation with her as she is in control of him. I think by the time he sings the chorus the whole bottom just lets out and the ending chaos with the clashing cymbals and Yorke’s vocal yelps are downright everything you could ask for. Powerful music for sure. ---  Bryan 

The Shins (recently and now)

With April halfway over, it’s been a very interesting first quarter of the year. There’s a lot of hope in the beginning of it and now it feels like everything is just coasting by. Sometimes it all feels like a drifting away, sometimes not. The Shins recently released their stellar new album, Port of Morrow. A collection of ten dissimilar songs that amass sounds that sound heavily influenced by everyone from U2 to The Smiths. It’s a really amazing album and one that I’ve been heavily digging lately. Before this album James Mercer had taken some time off to record music with Danger Mouse as Broken Bells, here’s my favorite song off that album they released, “The Mall and the Misery.” It’s a nervy, guitar-shaking groove that builds Danger Mouse’s beats around Mercer’s fragile voice; the muscular guitar resonates throughout and the strings are a fantastic touch.


Anyways, for this new album Mercer recorded it solely with the help of another producer/musician. A newly formed band that kept the same name, The Shins were always Mercer’s baby. On “It’s Only Life,” he takes a lulling guitar vibe and pairs it with heartfelt lyrics that are both reflective and advisory. The music has a soft sway to it and throughout Port of Morrow, the gentle cycle of flowing music is irresistibly warm. I love the way his voice is the focal point for all of the songs' various shifts and as they drive a myriad of styles through the album, Mercer’s voice soars over it all.


It’s still early on in 2012 but already this is an album that will surely get a lot of merited talk. It’s a drastic change from where The Shins were on their previous album, that’s for sure. Here is the first song off that album, “Sleeping Lessons,” to serve as a stark contrast from each of the songs mentioned before. Here you have Mercer’s voice acting more as a guiding light and although he still sounds just as spectacular then and now, the atmospheres and everything is just a swirl of blissful sound. He sings, “You’re not obliged to swallow anything you despise,” as everything continues to grow around him. Just another bad ass band based in Portland, OR. Here’s to more Port of Morrow forever. – Bryan

Fever Ray – Fever Ray

So I mentioned Fever Ray the other day and I simply needed to force myself to try and remedy something about this amazing album by the main part of The Knife, Karin Dreijer Andersson. This album, was such an honest surprise for many people that had low expectations – for whatever reason. But it’s spooky calming feeling is such a rich, dark shade of extensions from The Knife, this self-titled album is killer. This very first song, “If I Had A Heart” is such a fantastic way to start the whole thing off. There’s the chugging bass line, that menacing synth line in the background, the overall chanting vibe of the music: more give me more. There’s this rugged feel to it and all the while Andersson’s voice goes through various ranges, octaves and keys to travel a wide path in amazing skill. Here’s the lyrics to torture us some more:

This will never end ‘cause I want more. More, give me more, give me more
This will never end cause I want more. More, give me more, give me more

If I had a heart I could love you. If I had a voice I would sing.
After the night when I wake up, I'll see what tomorrow brings

If I had a voice I would sing

Dangling feet from window frame, will I ever ever reach the floor?
More, give me more, give me more.
Crushed and filled with all I found, underneath and inside just to come around.
More, give me more, give me more.

If I had a voice I would sing

Now there’s some spectacular “Ahhhs” in there where her voice reaches awesome peaks. There’s as much atmosphere and layers as there is musicality on this album and her voice is simply amazing. That first song has so many interpretations, personally she seems to me like she’s channeling some feeling of depression here. The more give me more chant is like a nod to Gregorian chant and at the same time, it sounds so perfect. It could mean a lot of different things really.


This next one, “I’m Not Done,” drives more of the upbeat electronic music that definitely recalls some of The Knife in spades. There’s the layers of voices that she collects and attacks with from the beginning, the rapid beat in the background, the scaling keyboard line in the foreground, the swooping atmosphere that’s encompassing the spectrum as each dynamic is raised: it’s a massively decorated electronic bliss. She half-hearted declares and shares: “One thing I know for certain, ooooh I’m pretty sure…It ain’t over, I’m not done,” and it’s after sharing a list of trials against her. She sounds like a true force to be reckoned with all over this album, her voice commanding authority, and here – covered in a blend of beats and patterns all around – she sounds bad-ass, for lack of a better word ha! Yessss, those strings and cloudy sounds at the end are great to close. Everything on this album is so great. Here’s to more. – Bryan

Mount Kimbie – Crooks and Lovers

Amongst all the types of electronic music there is to choose from, the umbrella of that aforementioned genre has to be the most wide of all? Maybe not, when you think of different kinds of jazz, maybe SO when you really get down to it. I mean, for every shade of dupstep we have post-dubstep, where there is techno, there is minimal techno, then there’s dance music and then IDM (intelligent dance music), so where does it end? How much of it matters too? I find myself wondering what does it all matter anyways as long as the music is good!

For whatever it is, Crooks & Lovers is British duo’s Mount Kimbie’s sole LP (rumors say they are working on a new one) and it is a fantastic blend of electronic music. Close friends with dupstep/post-dubstep extraordinaire James Blake, this kind of music is what most closely represents post-dubstep for many people. And no, this isn’t your Skrillex or whatever dubstep some may like, this is tons better ha! So Mount Kimbie dress their beats with inaudible vocals and sleeker backdropping lines that aren’t nearly as heavy on the actual bass. This album was sort of a revelation and is still getting much talk now, and with a lot of electronic music I’ve been playing lately (Junior Boys, Fever Ray, The Knife, LCD Soundsystem) I thought I’d share this one. Here is “Before I Move Off” with soft, pedaling synths and a keyboard pattern that shadows the ominous dark layers of atmosphere. The music is lush and gorgeously rendered with a terrific pace: the back and forth ebb and flow of the music is sublime.


The ruby is the birthstone for the month I was born in and it’s a very beautiful stone if you ask me – a member of the four ‘precious’ stones. On “Ruby” the duo contrasts a darker ambience that’s almost like Burial in shade but with a consistent drive, the beats are swift. One of the many strengths of the album is the way the diversity of the songs compliment the actual sequencing: the fusion of electronic sounds on here are subtle and understated but very awesome. And while “Ruby” shifts in and out of focus, Mount Kimbie show off their skills. The beats are scattered about and the atmospheres are once again cloudy. Here’s that song:


And finally, here’s “Mayor.” Something about mentioning three songs just felt right. This one has much more of an upbeat feel with female vocals manipulated throughout and the beats sounding cozily warm – the funky drive at the end is almost Stevie Wonder-esque and all the while, electronic. There’s an array of sounds that come in and out, the focus always remaining on the sheer aesthetic feel of it all. And in the end, that’s what should really matter. Crooks & Lovers has a gorgeous sound embedded deep within and here’s to more electronic music of the same. – Bryan