Album Review

By Claire Diver Tennis’s debut album, “Cape Dory,” chronicles an eight-month long sailboat trip taken by the husband-and-wife duo behind the music, Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore. The result of the voyage is an album of nostalgic, lo-fi, beach pop. Moore’s voice sweetly echoes 60s girl groups like the Shangri-Las as she sings about love, sailing, and coconuts. Although the album is only 29 minutes long, it feels complete – a balance is struck between high-tempo ditties like “Take Me Somewhere” and “Seafarer” and the more leisurely “Bimini Bay” and “Waterbirds.” The high points of the album include more meditative … Continued

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By Alexa Squire Dan Bejar, an occasional member of the New Pornographers and Swan Lake, has been recording as Destroyer for nearly two decades, varying his style with every album. On Kaputt, his tenth full length release, Bejar takes on some of the most poorly regarded musical styles of American history: 80’s pop, smooth jazz, and easy listening. You read that right. Bejar’s album is full of that smoky, dreamy 80’s synth-wash sound, complete with flutes, hi-hats, and jazz saxophone. Think Kenny G. This style choice is almost enough to turn some listeners away, but Bejar finds a way to … Continued

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By Kendall McCabe Akron/Family might actually live in the woods. Their latest release, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth & Journey of Shinju TNT, seems to capture the panic of a red fox stalking its prey, the calm of tree leaves rustling next to each other as they sleep at night, and the loud snapping of sticks underneath hikers’ heavy feet…all within each individual song. This manic psych-folk album is full of contrasting tracks and is, ultimately, a wild and confused romp that will leave listeners will feeling caught between one song and the next. Recommended Tracks: 1, 2, 5, 9, … Continued

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By Alexa Squire It’s hard to imagine an album that starts out sounding like African pop, morphs into shredding psychedelic guitars, and passes by twangy Southern riffs before finally landing on a bright slide guitar solo, but Delicate Steve does so in their first single. This debut album from the New Jersey band is only 26 minutes long and completely instrumental. The guitar parts are both primitive and post-rock, the keyboard is fuzzy and the drums are loud and soulful. While comparisons have been made to the Dirty Projectors and RATATAT, the fact is Wondervisions is the product of a band … Continued

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By Blake Carlson-Joshua John Vanderslice’s new album, White Wilderness sets out on a different path than his previous releases. Known for his studio precision, Vanderslice changes things up in this album as he teams up with San Francisco-based conductor/ composer Minna Choi and her Magik Magik Orchestra. Unlike any of his previous work, Vanderslice was able to complete this album live and in merely three days by enlisting the help of Choi to deliver the heavy musical layers we’ve all come to know and love. The result is a wonderfully vivid set of music that will resonate with any Vanderslice … Continued

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By Alexa Squire Derealization isn’t your typical remix EP. The Forms (now only a two member band) have completely deconstructed their songs and combined them with new chord progressions, lyrics, and arrangements. The result is six original songs that manage to still be dreamy, rich, and melodic like the band’s previous material, but poppier with the instrumental additions of synth bass and drum machines. Old fans will recognize echoes of the songs they know from The Forms and Icarus and hear many things that are entirely new. Guest vocalists include The National’s Matt Berninger, Pattern Is Movement’s Andrew Thiboldeaux, and … Continued

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By Max Johnson Hailing from Ames, Iowa comes the powerful horn-folk dance band – Mumford’s. Mumford’s appeal is a very specific one, a fact that is as clear in their first full-length “Eyes” as it is in their incredible live show. The band’s songs emerge from a place of high contrast. The characters that inhabit the songs live their lives in black and white, completely devoid of all grey areas. Borders exist in the songs, lines are drawn in the sand, but they are sharp and definite and nobody will ever understand why and how they can both exist side … Continued

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By Pat Quinn The People’s Key is Conor Oberst’s search for the meaning of life. The album as a whole touches on scientific and theological arguments to answer the question many artists before him have tried to answer. While the subject matter of the album isn’t that unique, the blend of stringed and synthetic sounds Oberst orchestrates on this album is. The album begins with a slightly insane man rambling about space, time, aliens and the existence of humanity. Like the rambling man, the beginning of the album is a little spacey featuring more staccato percussion and a stronger lyrical … Continued

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By Terry Quinn Deerhoof’s latest release finds a happy medium between the reverb-flecked, art rock leanings they have built much of their sound around and the nuanced, ADD-informed pop structures of their 2007 release, Friend Opportunity. On Deerhoof vs. Evil this balance allows a collection of songs that can stand strong on their own attributes to fuse together into a seamless experience upon a full listen. This can be immediately recognized in the transition from the playful opening track, “Qui Dorm, Només Somia” to its progression building follow up, “Behold a Marvel in the Darkness.” The two flow into each … Continued

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By Emily Levins Dye It Blonde is the sophomore effort from the Chicago-based group of twenty-somethings, Smith Westerns.  The album is a wonderful mix of youth, rebellion, and love, all set to a backdrop of fuzzy and dreamy instrumentals.  The songs have a certain drunken haze to them, seen especially with album opener, “Weekend.”  This ten-song collection is the perfect blend of carefree and catchy, a fun and exciting soundtrack to the glory days of adolescence. Smith Westerns – Weekend

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