The Vaccines don’t have the most original of styles or tunes, but they know a catchy hook when they hear one. What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? is a record that functions on those basic principles of a catchy rock album: energy, straightforwardness, volume. With influences ranging from
Holy Ghost!’s debut LP is buff with great sounds, songs, and production value. This is not some soggy, lo-fi set of dance tracks you’d find for free on the internet somewhere. This is a crisp, lush barrage of beats and hooks. This LP is on DFA Records, and
Trap Them’s third album won’t be a shock if you’ve heard their earlier work, but they have inched once more toward a unified sound. With Kurt Ballou at the controls again, the band has built a torturous gauntlet of twelve pounding tracks. They’ve got the intensity
Though it is fun to see Bibio cover so much ground on this album–jumping from cowbell rock ballads to odd electronics without batting an eye–the songs behind the sounds aren’t doing all that much for me. Not that this album isn’t tuneful. In many respects it
Craft Spells’ debut LP is a mutated mixtape of the best sounds new wave had to offer. It’s a kind of shy LP, but the tunes will definitely stick with anyone willing to lean in and give a close listen. Though it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, this thing
It seemed impossible, but the Pains of Being Pure at Heart have somehow found a way to sound sweeter and more innocent than they did on their self-titled debut. This slight change in direction didn’t sit well with me on first listen, though. I was a little disappointed to
On their latest LP, the Strokes want to head in a new direction, but they can’t decide on one. So they use every track to obtain a different sound. Moments like “Under Cover of Darkness” embrace what’s best about the band’s past work, but “Two Kinds of
With heavy beats and a strong flow, Reks’ latest album is an extremely admirable piece of hip hop. It’s true blue lyrical homicide. Listen to iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! WATCH THE REVIEW
Album Reviews
Panda Bear- Tomboy
I enjoy Animal Collective as much as the next guy, which is why I’m baffled by this album failing to translate in any sort of major enjoyment to me. I have to admit I kind of saw this coming, though. Many of these tracks were released on singles before