“Ice Cream Piano” begins with a healthy dose of guitar feedback and pronounced strumming, and then the first few lines of the album soothingly unfold, “‘Fuck the world’ / You said it quiet / No one could hear you / No one but me / Cynical, you can’t deny it.” It’s a surprising, but no less strong, sequence of phrases on which to launch Vampire Weekend’s fifth studio album, Only God Was Above Us. The album explores the status quo, including international conflicts, generational attitudes, and society’s unrelenting grip on historical traumas. And yet, Only God Was Above Us, named after a headline quote in the Daily News from a real-life Aloha Airlines flight incident in 1988, is not overtly political. Rather, it’s a musical commentary about fatalism and disillusionment, punctuated by an ultimate yearning for hope and progress. It’s the most cohesively inspired Vampire Weekend album yet, with the band diving head-first into a (mostly) New York City urban soundscape of grunge and grit (see the album cover image above) while not abandoning their gleeful chamber pop origins. Continue reading “Album Review: Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us””
Tag: Album Review
Album Review: The Black Keys, “Dropout Boogie”
From the twanging riffs and thumping percussion that open the album on the single, “Wild Child”, we know we’re in for a head-bopping, foot-stomping, groovy record. Dropout Boogie is The Black Keys’ eleventh studio album (!) and a conscious return to stripped down hard-nosed bluesy rock ‘n’ roll they first earned a passionate fanbase and later numerous accolades. For the first time in their studio album discography, the Akron, Ohio duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney solicited collaborations from other artists and the result is a river flow of laid back jaunts, comfortable grooves, and a few raw first take recordings. All hail the majesty and imperfections of the blues-rock guitar!
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Album Review: Spoon, “Lucifer on the Sofa”
If you don’t know Spoon, you’ve probably still heard a handful of Spoon songs and, unknowingly, are a fan. The rock band from Texas has produced a steady flow of albums since 1993, including a handful of radio singles and major contributions to the Stranger than Fiction soundtrack, culminating (but hopefully not finishing) with their tenth studio album, Lucifer on the Sofa. I would’ve guessed Lucifer on the Sofa as a more likely Cake album title than a Spoon one, but considering the album was mostly conceived and recorded in and around COVID lockdowns, the title is apt in describing the set of ten songs’ lyrical and instrumental battle against one’s own domestic demons. With a stripped-down rock n’ roll sensibility, Spoon has delivered a live-esque studio album that plays like a group artistically re-coalescing together for a spontaneous living room concert, and we’re lucky enough to have a front-row sofa seat.
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Album Review: Guided By Voices – Zeppelin Over China
The release of Zeppelin Over China (Feb 1st), an album title appropriately conjuring visions of a large scale and high concept endeavor, has every indication of a major milestone for Guided By Voices and frontman Robert Pollard. The double LP album consists of 32 songs and clocks in at 75 minutes (yes, that’s only ~2.5 minutes per song) — no song reaches four minutes. The experience of listening to Zeppelin Over China is a truly cohesive yet rambunctious audio journey, with the tone set immediately with the quick grungy cuts “Good Morning Sir” and “Step of the Wave”. If you aren’t impressed after the first five songs, the extended tracklist won’t win you over by the end. But if you are impressed, or willing to give the remainder a shot, then completing the album feels expectedly rewarding. Continue reading “Album Review: Guided By Voices — Zeppelin Over China“
Spinning Platters Interview: Ronnie Carrier, “Lost In The Eclectic”
A chat with the singer/songwriter the week of her debut album release!
If you were a frequent client of Green Apple Books in the Inner Richmond, and especially if you attended their live music series, then perhaps you’re already familiar with singer/songwriter Ronnie Carrier. Though she moved to Portland last year, her guitar twangin’, foot stompin’ music, filled with literary depths, can now flood your home/phone/computer speakers via her full-length album debut, Lost In The Eclectic, which comes out Friday, April 7th (with an upcoming SF show on 4/14). I had the fantastic opportunity to ask her a few questions after listening to the new album:
First of all, it’s so great to see (and hear) your first full length album, “Lost In The Eclectic”, come to fruition. How do you feel now that it’s completed?
Thank you! The first word that comes to mind is “relieved”, but also there’s a side of nervous excitement. I’m very proud of this album – now that I’m presenting it, I get to find out how the story translates to the people who listen to my music. I’m excited to hear what listeners get out of this, and I hope it is something worthwhile.
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Album Review: Jenny Lewis, ‘The Voyager’
Jenny Lewis is back! And, she’s brought herself with her. The Voyager is Lewis’ first solo record in six years, and appropriately named due to the long journey the new collection of songs took to find themselves together on a record. Since Rilo Kiley officially split in 2011, Lewis involved her talented musicianship in a few endeavors, meanwhile she dealt with a long bout with insomnia and the death of her father. The Voyager is a pronouncement of her strength and resilience. The record enshrouds brutal honesty and confessions within a blanket of summer pop jangles and melodious hooks.
Album Review: Laura Veirs – Warp and Weft
Not many musicians have the longevity to release nine full-length studio albums. Laura Veirs is one of the few. The Portland, OR resident has been producing a constant flow of beautiful folk rock and delicately woven lyrical tales since 1999. It’s only appropriate, then, that Veirs’ new effort, Warp and Weft, is aptly named using the terms for the crossing threads in weaving. It is tightly constructed, contemplative but also commentative, and weaves together vivid images and stories of lives long gone and some yet to pass.
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Album Review: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros is the self-titled third full-length album from the 10-person folk rock group. It’s fitting that the group’s third album is self-titled, since it emits a level of musical maturity that signals that they’ve finally found their authentic stride. Their super popular debut album, Up From Below, was filled with songs that were heard all over the radio and in commercials, movies, and just about everywhere one looked. Yet Up From Below felt forced, as if the group jumped onto the folk revival bandwagon late and inserted as many trending characteristics as they could. The same level of mass consumption didn’t occur with the second album, Here, but it nevertheless catered to a fan base eager to hear catchy choruses and jangling folk-rock melodies. With Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, the group has merged catchy hooks with natural sounding music composition. The songs don’t feel contrived. Sure, the album still carries a dose of pretentiousness that the group will never be able to shake. However, frontman Alex Ebert feels more at home here, embracing the rawness and eclectic range of influences and tones, and the band is able to follow suit, creating what may end up being one of the best albums of the year.
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Album Review: Coma Cinema – Posthumous Release
“Closer than before / on the edge of being / the same fuck up as before / dying in a secret”, Mat Cothran (aka Coma Cinema) mumbles out on the opening track of his fourth full-length album, Posthumous Release. The South Carolina native spills out seemingly half-conscious lyrics throughout the twelve short tracks, as if he is reading scribbled notes directly out of a diary. The music does not stray far from Cothran’s melancholic roots, though this time recorded with a higher production value. The question is — how does the higher quality change the feel of Coma Cinema’s output, formerly lo-fi, that fans are accustomed to?
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Album Review: Bleached – Ride Your Heart
It’s hard not to go overboard with the metaphors, but someone took diamond cutting tools and applied them to Mika Miko. The result? Bleached.
I always enjoyed Mika Miko, and seeing them at Nickel City was one of the better shows I’d attended, because there’s little better than playing NBA Jam while they’re yelling into telephones in the other room. So I was excited to hear what Jennifer and Jessica Clavin had been up to since then. It turns out they’ve been brought back from the experimental punked-up cliff, and are now best suited on a ticket with Brilliant Colors or the latest Go-Go’s reunion. Cheers.