The Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

"Oh go-oh-ohd how did i get here, i do not know, I just woke up at this strange show, This woman's clearly out of her mind, She's covered in shit and high as a kite, La la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la, la la la"

Cali-grown Dum Dum Girls release a noise-pop gem with I Will Be.  "Baby Don't Go" sings like a runaway note written for a loved one, explaining why she has to go, but wants you to stay and wait for her; it also makes for the perfect closer to the album, and a perfect opener to my review. (forgive me if I didn't use the semi-colon correctly, I'm a high school drop. ADUHHH)  With the radio and mtv churning out it's usual bile that gets pawned off as music, one should hope that DDG find a way to be heard.  Echoing melodramatic guitars, simple yet precise drumming, and a little bit of german will have you hooked like a delicious bass.  "Jail La La La" can potentially take over the world with its humorous and catchy lyrics, I envision DDG going to Japan and having a Runaways style riot on their hands. Its the kind of music any hipster dad would hope for his daughter to find in his record collection and become their favorite band. (Yes, margot, i'm talking to you!) Favorite Tracks - "Yours Alone," "Jail La La La," "Baby Don't Go"

Fans of - The Best Coast, Beach House, Cadence Fox (great girl band), being to cool for school, and talented woman.

The Chariot - Long Live

"They cannot escape, one if by land, two if by sea, i saved my money, but it can't save me."

Dissapointed I know you are! Chariot lead singer Josh Scogin explodes repeatedly to end the first song "Evan Perks" on Long Live, but I have know I idea what he's talking about because this album is anything but disappointing.  A ten song half hour dose of NO-XPLODE in music form, I'm doing overhead tricep extensions with my PC console as i type this.  not really. but really. not really.  Furious guitars, flame-thrower drumming, devasting growls, chants, and a little spoken word poetry for good measure.  The one flaw in the album, is at the end of Calvin Makenzie when they sample a 50's style radio jingle that ruins one of the better breakdowns on the cd, it has no business on anywhere near the album, and felt forced and weird for the sake of weird. ok enough about the 4 bad seconds of this cd, because thats it.  The band had some sort of contest on their myspace blog, that promised a prize for the 5 listeners to have songs on this album named after them, which explains the titles "Evan Perks, Andy Sundwall, Calvin Makenzie, David De La Hoz, and Robert Rios; imagine your favorite band naming a song after you, thats so legit. The music video for "David De La Hoz" is as fair as I know, the actual one take live recording that is on the album,that takes you on a journey of the studio while the chaos erupts, mustard stands by idly, creepers creep creepily reading creepy poetry with mustaches and drums everywhere.  (link at the bottom of the page.) "The City" calls for a revolution as Scogins panicked screams beseeches listeners to "stand hand in hand, and walk without fear;" while on "Andy Sundwall," cries "WE'VE GROWN BORED OF YOUR WAYS, WE WANT MORE," and once you've finished listening to this album you'll be joining me in exclaiming " LONG LIVE THE CHARIOT!"
Favorite Tracks - "The City," "Andy Sundwall," "David De La Hoz," and "Evan Perks"

For Fans Of - Norma Jean ( ADUUH! Poor Schmity) Maylene and Sons of Disaster (not really), Heavy Heavy Low Low (prior to that toxic shock BS), Revolutions (minus the industrial revolution of course) and Parenthesis (  .  )(  .  ) <---boobs.

Video for David De La Hoz.

Japandroids - No Singles

"My love is bigger than your love, my band is better than your band, my songs are better than your songs, we've got my songs than a song convention, and we're all going straight to hell"

Although the music on this album was originally released in 2007 and 2008 as two seperate eps, the combination of the two was released in 2010. I had not previously had to absolute pleasure of indulging in this Canadian bred duo's spastic and inventive style of rock and roll prior to today, boy howdy am I happy to have them in my life. The self-recorded eps are split with Lullaby Death Jams being the first 5 tracks and All Lies finishing the LP resulting in a fist-pumping, hip-rocking, and at times chill provoking good time. The bands timing and chord progressions matched with witty lyrics, and unique dueling vocals give Japandroids their it factor, and  they do it well.  The bullet-train paced "Lover/Strangers" must cause complete chaos at live shows due to its physics defying riffage and yelping vocals.  "To Hell With Good Intentions"  is a ravenous account of the bands vanity, that boasts of drug use, and large fathers.  I was originally under the impression that this was their latest album, so i guess i'm going to have to go get 2009's Post Nothing to get the latest taste of the Japandroids. Favorite Tracks - "To Hell with Good INtentions," "Couture Suicide," and "Lover/Strangers."

For Fans of - Neon Blonde, Cadence Fox, Team Sleep, Sweet,  nipple twisters, and slam dancing.

Adam Haworth Stephens - We Live on Cliffs

"Oh no this living ain't for the faint of heart, oh no this living is just a dying art"

Adam Haworth Stephens takes a departure from Saddle-Creek records' folk rock duo Two Gallants, to remind us that we live on cliffs, and everyday we fall. As a huge Two Gallants fan, i've been waiting impatiently for a follow-up to 2007's self-titled album. A far decent from the gallants, Stephen's much more expiremental solo project still features his raspy yet angelic vocals, but not over finger picked acoustic guitars, harmonicas, and gallant-mate Tyson Vogel's manic yet precise drumming. The solo project embraces a more modern electric feel than the gallants.  "City's That You've Burned," was the first song to really stood out to me on the album, the song has a great escalating tone causing you to tap your foot to the tension, only to end with a smile inducing strings, and piano mini jam.  "Angelina" is Stephen's furthest departure from his prior music, as he journey's into the genre that many have tried but most have failed to produce anything substantial or even tolerable for that matter...... Calypso! An island themed chorus has Stephen's lamenting of a past  love by the name of Angelina, who apparently has become somewhat of a laugh-stock in his life.  The album ends with a throat knotting ballad, "Everyday I Fall" that has Stephen's confessing "the center of your heart, thats where I was bound, and if I ever get there, I'm sure i'd have turned around."  We Live on Cliffs is a solid spin-off, but it merely made me hungry for the gallants, so until that day comes, this will do. Favorite Tracks - The Cities That You Burned, Everday I Fall, The Elderwoods and Praise Your Name.

For Fans of - Two Gallants (poor schmitty, ADUHH!) fun., clapping your hands, old english towns w/ troubadours on every corner, and the little mermaid (just the "under the sea" song.)

No Age - Everything In Between

""Thoughts are looming, I've been wondering, When is it my turn to get a win, Everyone is out to get you again, But I want you back underneath my skin"

  No Age keep the streak of incredible music from 2010 alive, with their genre blending mystery house of an album "Everything In Between."  Every song on EIB stands on its own as a story, feeling, thought, or memory, but the album has an incredible pace and flow to it that makes the record such a musically intoxicating experience. From the disconsolate and paranoid first single "Glitter" to the thunderous yet dreary "Sorts" EIB is an album that is a pure glass cage of emotion. There was an instance while listening to "Glitter" that the vocals expanded back into the song, and  i was caught so off guard that I was jolted  and felt like a stranger was looming behind me whispering the lyrics into my ear. The song after Glitter on the album is 4 minute riot anthem just waiting to be added a sundance soundtrack. "Shred and Transcend" does exactly what it boasts as leaves behind any and everyone that attempts to call themselves their musical peers.  Theres so much going on throughout the album, and i just don't have enough similes and metaphors to do the album justice, so how about just a small list of adjectives that describe some of my favorite parts of:  Tokyo at dawn (ok one last metaphor), echoing, marching, twinkling, sonic, youthful, thrusting.   Favorite tracks - "Fever Dreaming" "Glitter," "Shred and Transcend" and "Valley Hump Cash."

For Fans of - Sonic Youth, Harlem,Owls (band and animal),  Donnie Darko, and  flannel (shirts not sheets, flannel sheets are itchy, and this album is more of a back scratch to calm your itch caused by horrible music.)

PS:  Here's my last.fm account if you want to check out what i've been listening to, and maybe even friend me!!
http://www.last.fm/user/StromileDaBeast

Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

"Take my hand and pray with me, My final days in company, The devil now has come for me, And helicopters circling the scene"


  A bipolar orgy of musical fusion that ranges from sound sampling, and saxophone solos, to leisurely relaxing guitars, and twinkling keys resulting in Deerhunter's fourth full length album "Halcyon Digest."  The album has that sort of ugly beauty that mainstream America can't and won't ever be able appreciate.  Revival is a 2 minute euphoric dream with echoing vocals and classical guitar.  The album feels like a fine wine, and is getting better the more i listen to it. I'm just not sure, if its going to be installed into my musical rotation long enough for me to ever fully understand or appreciate the entire bottle.  In the mean time though i'm enjoying these few glasses that i've poured myself while trying to understand, and purely enjoy the album.  Overall the record lives up to its thought provoking time while delivering 11 halcyon tracks that can take a while to digest, but it's there. Not every great album is great at first listen, this one is a prime example of that fact.   Favorite Tracks - Revival, Sailing, Helicopter, and Coronado.

For Fans of  - Radiohead, The Dear Hunter, Dear and Headlights, Deerhoof, Deer Tick, The Deer Tracks,  Dear Me Dear You, Wolfmother, Wolf Parade, Seawolf, Deerwolf? people who like writing letters.

The Walkmen - Lisbon

"With my old friends, drunk and lonely, to the end,  how i love'm all, as the days slip by, and they're all following my lead"

          Woe is me. Woe is me. Not only is that the title to one of the songs on the Walkmen's latest and greatest "Lisbon," but it also seems to be the theme of the album. Although at times the vibe, and tone of Lisbon can make you feel alone in world, and nostalgic for heartbreak and loss, once the album is over you can't help but be awestruck with the fact that the music has such an effect on the you.  "While I Shovel Snow" took me on a journey of winter's past, and reminded me that "There's no life, like the snow life."  Swirling guitar riffs, and Hamilton Leithauser's raspy almost bellowing voice are the band's moneymakers, and are produced flawlessly throughout the album. Lisbon was named in tribute to the city in Portugal, but I like to think its named after any great city that someone has left behind, and want  nothing more but to return, and until then they'll have this album to remind them and not let them forget about whats waiting for them, out there, someday. Favorite Tracks - While I Shovel Snow, Angela Surf City,  Victory, Stranded.

For Fans of - Two Gallants, Explosions in the Sky, the Midwest, and nostalgia.

Wavves- King of the Beach

"Green Eyes, I'd runaway with you, Green Eyes, cause i'm a fool. I try running away, i'm just not fast enough, i'm just not man enough"

No seats. I look around the now full train, traveling from Yamato to Yokohama, shrug, press play on my ipod and disappear in wave of  Wavves. "Baby Say Goodbye" pulsed through my ear buds as stared out the window and smiled while thinking to myself This is exactly where i'm suppose to be. ALIENS! STONER CATS! CONVERTIBLE BALLOONS?  King of the Beach is a 12 song beach party from sunset to daybreak. Nathan Williams (band creator / singer/ guitarist/ andy sandberg look-alike) is the self proclaimed King of the Beach and with lyrics like "bill clinton in my head, little clearer through the roof ; little clearer in my head bill clinton through the roof" makes you wonder what he was taking when he wrote this album, and where you can get some. (i know lame cliche line, felt appropriate though) The band's first single and music video of KOTB is "Post Acid" and proclaims "I'm just having fun, WITH YOU!!" (in the video, link below, the "YOU" is a skateboarding, guitar playing alien who beams down for a one day leashfest with our boys of Wavves)  Another band the likes of Harlem that sounds as though they just have fun playing music and would be content in doing so the rest of their lives. So if you're just sittingalone playing ninetendo in your room, maybe take the time to listen to some wavves while you do so, particularly "Convertible Balloon." Favroite Tracks - Green Eyes, Post Acid, King of the Beach, and Convertible Balloon.

For Fans of - Hellogoodbye, Girls (the band and gender), and dancing in speedos while on mushrooms in the middle of any beach anywhere!!!

.King of The BEach - Post Acid (music video)

The National - High Violet

"Your voice is swallowing my soul"
It wasn't my intention to give nothing but good reviews when I started this blog, but i've yet to be disappointed in anything i've listened to so far, and The National's "High Violet" is the best album of them all. (I know it's only the third)  A smart, and dreary masterpiece of ambient guitars, and Matt Beringer's baritone croon has sparked something inside of me that i haven't felt for an album in a very long time. Whether it was reading the lyrics, or closing my eyes getting lost in the wave of musical genius I didn't want to take my headphones off. Echoing choirs, sharp and precise drumbeats, and whimsical perfectly placed string sections construct the framework of the album.  The music video for the single "Bloodbuzz Ohio" is a simple black and white following of Beringer as the video cuts back and fourth between Beringer performing on a small dark stage with a dim spotlight on him as he rocks back and forth with a Sammy Davis Jr. swagger holding on to his dark martini, and Beringer strolling through a park park pondering life.  The album thrives on its subtle and intricate details performed by the two sets of brothers who make up the rest of the band. One of whom studied classical guitar at Yale. This album needs to be enjoyed with a large set of headphones and no distractions.  It is instantly my favorite album of the year, and hope you take the time and indulge in the beauty that is "High Violet." Favorite Tracks - Coversation 16, Sorrow, and Anyone's Ghost.
For Fans of - The Arcade Fire, The Smiths, the feeling in your chest when you encounter a true work of art.

Evelyn Evelyn - Self titled

"Evelyn, Evelyn, why we do we both to stay? Why are you running away?"
The title track to this macabre self titled album "Evelyn Evelyn" opens with the most haunting harmonies I've had the pleasure to listen to.  This concept album tell the story of Evelyn Evelyn conjoined twin sisters, from their grisly birth, to their present day life.  I spent the day listening to the album, and when I wasn't listening to it, I was thinking about it.  The album is entirely tongue and cheek and at times hard to keep listening to due to the graphic story telling.   The twins Evelyn Evelyn live a tragic and tortured exsistence, but remain completely oblivious to the fact that they haven't lived perfectly normal life.  From both their parent's dying minutes after their birth, to being raised as chickens for the the first years of their life, to becoming child prostitutes, to a stint in a circus side show, the girls endure what would surely break a normal person, but the girls remain
unflinchingly content with their situation.  There are three instances on the album in which the tracks are spoken word by Evelyn Evelyn explaining the "Tragic Events" of their lives. Each track is sung as though its part of a musical, and paints a nightmare before christmas-esque portrait for the listener. The album is not entirely depressing, one standout track entitle "My Space" is an ode to social networking sites that the twins discover and inspire them to create the album. The album closes with  Evelyn Evelyn's chilling cover of Joy Division's- "Love Will Tear Us Apart."  The album is not for the faint of heart, but is definitely worth your ear.  Favorite Tracks - Evelyn Evelyn, and Love Will Tear Us Apart.

For Fans of - The Dresden Dolls, Sweeney Todd, Creepy Stuff.

Harlem - Hippies

"Tell your mama, tell your pa, tell everybody you ever saw, i'm coming home and i'm going to be kind of pissed." I dare you not to rock your hips, bob your head, and gimme a little toe tap while you listen to this album. Hailing from Tuscon, AZ but based in Austin, TX Harlem is a rock and/or roll three piece comprised of the coolest kids in the world...well at least thats how I picture them thinking of themselves because they probably are.  The music projects a dorky sort of toughness reminiscent of The Ramones. The album "Harlem" is destined to be played in the background at college hipster parties for years to come, while providing just the right amount surf inspired bass lines, and body rocking drum beats to keep the party moving.  The whole album gives a feel that these guys showed up to the studio plugged in, said "hey press record", played and rolled out. The first time I listened to Hippies (this morning) I was quick to assume that I wasn't going to like the album, and this was just another annoying, pretentious college rock band. I left the album on repeat throughout my entire work day, and constantly found myself doing little jigs at my desk.  Whenever I'd leave my office, I would reenter expecting to see my friends standing around my desk dancing like peanuts characters.  Someday Soon is the album opener, and warns "Someday soon you'll be on fire, and you'll ask me for a glass of water, and ill say "noooo, you can just let that shit burn." Basically saying, IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN. The album is timeless and will be enjoyed by young and old. (My 2 1/2 year old daughter wouldn't stop dancing while I listened at home.)  Favorite tracks - Someday Soon, Pissed, Prairie My Heart, and Gay Human Bones.   Harlem knows what they are, and they do it well.

For Fans of: The Shins, Vampire Weekend, The Wonders, and good music.
domo arigato for reading this. DOZO!