Self-released debut album coming from another Brooklyn indie rock band, though this time what first comes to my mind is actually Canadian super-group Broken Social Scene. Maybe because "Why There Are Mountains" has an epic sound, full of peaks and valleys (that title has an explanation after all), but mostly because there's that special ability to create something meaningful out of chaos and experimentalism. And in the midst of all the instruments almost fighting against each other, great songs seem to emerge. (7/10)
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Wind Phoenix (mp3 via Pitchfork)
After promising a lot with "The Vague Archive" song and video, these Leeds-based indie-poppers fill all expectations and some more, with a very solid debut that is also a bit of a surprise. Loaded with very rich details and oh-so-serious heartfelt lyrics, there are not many upbeat songs in here like "The Vague Archive". Instead, what we mostly have are clever ballads full of affected postures, feelings and riffs that still manage to sound genuine and sincere. Basically, this is demanding music that needs us to be open and fully available, in order to take the most out of it. And then, if you're not moved by a song like "Murderer", you probably don't have a heart. (8/10)
Nothing really new in here, but It's always good to have a record by a Berlin-based artist that sounds so much like Berlin. Minimal digital songs that seem to have been made late late night, much after that last underground-techno party has ended and we're on an empty train heading back home. Hence that cold/warmth dichotomy that Berlin artists seem to understand (and do) so well. (7,5/10)
When I first started this blog, my intention was to make random posts about the things that I like, with main focus on music. 3 years later, and I feel now that it has grown a bit out of proportion while, at the same time, stopping me from fully enjoying things free of thinking, in the back of my mind, how, when and what will I write about them. So from now on, expect this page to change a bit...still not sure how, but I'd probably say less text oriented. Stay tuned.
Translation: some time ago I was offered a very cool synthesizer and I now want to dedicate more time exploring it :)
Pulsating electronic beats, a voice not far from Alan Vega (Suicide), demented guitar riffs, an absurd amount of infectious hooks...not more than a few seconds into first song "Legal Tender" and this album has already taken us by storm in every possible way. But the fact that its momentum never stops until the very end is a bit of a surprise. A husband & wife duo, Handsome Furs is also a side-project of Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) with a first record ("Plague Park") that didn't create much waves back in 2007. But fast forward to 2009, and we now have an amazing collection of addictive songs in our hands, which even include a re-writing of a New Order's 1982 classic ("Temptation") among them. What's even more surprising is how everything is so spared and focused to achieve maximum effect, using a very simple and direct approach: invent a single hook and repeat it until it has revealed all its potential and urgency. Following this rule, there's no need for much more than three-chord melodies, skeletal drum machines, one guitar, handclaps and keyboards... and the world is ours. Want to know the name of that New-Order-based song? Fittingly, "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything". (7,5/10)
