Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty

Loyalty to Loyalty (2008, Downtown) Cold War Kids' second studio album. ****

Loyalty to Loyalty could be an album that will polarize fans and critics alike over the years. It doesn't seem to be bold enough to be considered classic, and since not all of the material is not as such, it's destined to be ripped apart. While Cold War Kids sound fairly confused on their sophomore album, they don't let that drag them down. Instead of trying to force a sound of progression or stick with what they already know, they make in album in the vein of how their minds have been working - in confusion. Loyalty to Loyalty sounds disjointed and even hesitant, but it doesn't seem intentional.

Nathan Willett's vocals are a cleaner version of Jack White's, and even on the romping "Something is Not Right With Me," his best emulation isn't always amusing. That's the thing about Loyalty to Loyalty, though. Even when not every band member has gotten something right, there's nothing really bad about anything they've done. And there are plenty of fantastic moments, like the opening jazziness of "Against Privacy," the deep guitar growls of "Mexican Dogs," or the soulfulness of the organ and piano-driven "Every Valley is Not a Lake." The album tends to slow down around the middle, and that's when a lot of people will probably lose interest in Willett's high tenor, but the non-sexy blues-swaying "Golden Gate Jumpers" and the unorthodox minimalism of "Every Man I Fall For" are fascinating bits when taken time to consider. I won't lie, most people will probably view Loyalty to Loyalty as a sophomore slump, but it's clearly a transitional album that should be given a few more looks.

TV on the Radio - Dear Science,

Dear Science, (2008, Interscope) TV on the Radio's third studio album. *****

TV on the Radio are not afraid to make radical shifts in their sound nor are they too independent-label minded to step up to the big stage. Dear Science, is a sprawling, adventurous album, eclectically mixed together to form a daring piece of indie and experimental rock. That genre is always a very difficult one to find any success in - let alone even make anything truly interesting. Most experimental rock bands never find a sound either A) worth listening to or B) controlled and rational. TV on the Radio have done so.

They don't waste time getting started, as the pulsing "Halfway Home" opens things up with a nonsensical "Ba ba baa ba bop" and a swirling drumbeat. As they approach the chorus, Tunde Adebimpe kicks in his falsetto as a wall of ambiance takes over the background. And what about "Crying"? This is the distant cousin of "Kiss" that Prince forgot to write. It's funky guitar and cymbal arrangement make it fun, and Adebimpe's soothing falsetto makes it another winner.

There's neo-soul and funk ("Dancing Choose" and "Red Dress"), heart-straining marching pop (Stork & Owl), and even a slow, melodic, piano piece ("Family Tree"). This isn't a concept album, and it's clear that this Dear Science, is to be taken one song at a time. What makes Dear Science, so amazing is not its attempt to be overly intelligent or overly catchy; these are well-crafted songs that came from the basics, morphed into complicated arrangements that can only be appreciated after several listens. TV on the Radio hit the ground running for sure, succeeding in flying colors to take the sounds that are all over the boards and shape them into one that is all without ever having sounded pretentious. Is Dear Science, the best album of the year? That's always a difficult one to answer. I'll say this - in a year where nothing has blown me away, this is probably the one that will knock me out in about two months. Right now, I know it's all there, I'm sure of it, I'm still waiting for it to sink in. (Halfway Home, Crying, Stork & Owl, Family Tree, Lover's Day)

Plain White T's - Big Bad World

Big Bag World (2008, Hollywood) Plain White T's fourth studio album. ***

Fans of Plain White T's will be pleased with a collection of moderately catchy songs with such 'deep' insights; the band knows how they feel, what it's like to have 'been there.' Problem is, the band's connection is only through generic renderings that only people without souls have never experienced. Take "Sunlight," a melodically pleasing song with a less-than-stellar message: "When you're all alone/Stuck in the dark/When you've lost your way in life/I won't be far." Wow.

Here's the kicker; Big Bad World isn't good enough to win any decent amount of critical praise, so snobby music buffs will continue to write them off. The band only has one hit, "Hey There Delilah," and there doesn't seem to be any material here that's nearly as memorable (or annoying) as that, though tracks like the bouncy pop of "Big Bad World," the indie-leaning "Natural Disaster," or the explosive guitar-and-harmonica play of "I Really Want You" might find airtime. That said, their fan base is already small, and the weaknesses of Big Bad World can't - logically, anyway - propel them any further. It's full of the cliches you'd expect from an emo band still trying to sound original, but it isn't garbage. If there's anything good about it, it doesn't have any painstakingly-irksome moments.

Inside Music Album Guide - 9/25/08

Inside Music Album Guide
The Walkmen stand tall, Buckcherry are Buckterrible
By Stephen Mason

The Walkmen – You & Me (Gigantic) 4.5 out of 5
The Walkmen have managed to create an album that’s nearly organic. From beginning to end, the aptly named You & Me talks about just that, the singer and the one important person in his life. Although never too descriptive as to how the relationship worked, we are never left in the dark. The Walkmen are never cryptic, they say what they mean to beautiful, honest effect. Martin’s signature Bob Dylan/Stevie Marriott vocals soar higher and higher, especially on the album’s strongest moment, “In the New Year,” and the rest of the band is in full swing. Maroon’s distorted guitar shuffle, Barrick’s pummeling drum rhythms, and Martin’s own churning church organ sounds make You & Me a piece of art that bares passion nakedly and proudly.

Jem – Down to Earth (ATO) 2.5 out of 5
Down to Earth is so in between audiences that it'll be lucky to ever find one. While with one foot Jem has stepped into electronica and hip-hop as heard on tracks like "Crazy" and "Aciiid!" she simultaneously has piano ballads appealing to teen-drama watching high schoolers like "You Will Make It." So guideless is this album that it's almost transparently clear that Jem is not concerned about making music she likes; she wants to make music that's cool. Cool to who? Wannabe art chicks who think this is more exciting than Feist? I can't say. What I can say is that Down to Earth is anything but, as it's aimlessly floating in outer space.

Noah and the Whale – Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down (Mercury) 3.5 out of 5
People looking for Arcade Fire imitators need look no further. On their debut, Noah and the Whale exercise the catchy, alternative rock sounds that Arcade Fire garnered from Bruce Springsteen while managing to throw in a decent amount of chamber pop. It’s an eclectic mix of strings over folky guitar, fueled by Charlie Fink’s unique lyrics of science and faith. On its surface, Peaceful is a batch of catchy songs that would lose their fire due to Fink’s less-than-convincing vocal performances, but on a deeper level it exercises themes of uncertainty – do you believe in God? Love? Don’t they go hand in hand? All probing questions that Fink asks and only sometimes chooses to answer.

Buckcherry – Black Butterfly (Atlantic) 1 out of 5
Either Buckcherry have no idea who their audience is or they’re embracing the batch of disgusting perverts who would enjoy this garbage. Black Butterfly is overflowing with generic riffs, gutter lyrics, and pure production sloppiness. The band’s singer, Joshua Todd, still has his Bon Scott/Chris Cornell vocals, but they sound flat over lyrics like “I hear talk about a non-stop flight to heaven/Can’t you just say you’re addicted to medicine?” What? It’s even worse on “Too Drunk” where Todd admits to being unable to perform in bed because of his intoxication. This is the anti-party album; it’s the overzealous guy at the party who no one likes. And in the world of Buckcherry, what happens when the party’s over? Morning comes to cheap white trash.

Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down

Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down (2008, Mercury) Noah and the Whale's first studio album. ***1/2

On their debut, Noah and the Whale aren't trying to be revolutionary. And that's fine, it's rare that bands who attempt to be actually succeed, as most tend to try to be deeper than they really are. The band doesn't take a hands-off approach to themes, though, as Charlie Fink sings about the mysteries of love, science, and religion. He especially likes to connect the idea of God and love, contemplating on the idea that they are hand in hand. Fink asks, "If you don't believe in God/How can you believe in love?"

Peaceful... is a collection of undeniably catchy songs that are advanced by Fink's interesting lyrics. They're not pointless yet not nearly as cryptic as The Da Vinci Code. The opener "2 Atoms in a Molecule" asks the first set of question that the band isn't exactly ready to answer, such as "If love is just game, how come it's no fun?/If love is just a game, how come I've never won?" The answer may seem obvious, but since Noah and the Whale have decided to let the listener answer, they're never didactic. They're not afraid to get close to quoting Paul McCartney, either, as on "Give a Little Love" contains the words "If you give a little love you can get a little love of your own."

It's an extremely balanced album, mixing sullen moments like the simple acoustic periods on the title track, or bouncy pop/rock anthems like "Shape of My Heart." The elements of indie, folk, and chamber pop are very apparent, as their influences from Arcade Fire to Belle and Sebastien are not unpronounced. This is a band that history can remember fondly if they keep this up. (2 Atoms in a Molecule, Shape of My Heart, 5 Years Time)

Duds of 2008: Part Seven

Here are a handful of albums that hardly deserve a full-length review. Duds consist of albums that have received a rating of two stars or less.

Black Butterfly (2008, Atlantic) Buckcherry's fourth studio album. *

The anti-party album, full of disgusting music and lyrics fit for the white trash that embraces comedy of the likes of Larry the Cable Guy.


Ten Kens (2008, Fatcat) Ten Kens' first studio album. **

Starts off with a bang, but gets muffled by its own confusion. Art-rock is supposed to be arty, this is just contrived.





Child Bearing Man (2008, Absolute Kosh) Little Teeth's first studio album. **

Music only hippies can enjoy, and I know that they will. Little Teeth can tap into a select portion of the Avett Brothers' audience. Beyond that, this is nonsense.

The Walkmen - You & Me

You & Me (2008, Gigantic) The Walkmen's fourth studio album. ****1/2

Sincerity is never easy to convey, even when the effort on all fronts completely is. If there's any problem that the Walkmen don't have, it's struggling to communicate their sincerity. You & Me - as it could not possibly be more aptly named - is the Walkmen's most striking album, an arrow that pierces and is impossibly lodged. Walter Martin's signature voice, a mix of Bob Dylan and Stevie Marriott, completes this album in a way nothing else possibly could. Its themes are excellently rendered by easily decipherable lyrics, and that's not a knock; the relatively straightforward matter that Martin delivers with only increases the force with which the music already hits. You & Me is one of the most upfront albums of its kind, showcasing a relationship we never get the details of but can strangely identify with. On top of that, the themes of holidays and travel are equally recognizable.

"Red Moon" is one of the album's more somber moments, with a stagnant horn arrangement and moments of silence followed by a vocal wrap-up echoes the styles of songs like "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers. The no-tempo "New Country" serves as what could have been the perfect ending for such a near-perfect album, with its growing intensity of only guitar tracks. But the actual ending is possibly more satisfying, as the Walkmen drop lines like "My head is full of dreams, it's nothing new/But maybe dreaming is all a man can do." Not to mention Paul Maroon's subtle yet brilliant guitar solo.

Easily the finest moment is "In the New Year," with a gut-wrenching organ piece, whose climbing riff struggles so hard to keep up with the tempo, is only topped when Martin's seemingly unstoppable tenor vocal range continually soars higher, laying down hurricane lyrics like "I'll tell you I love you/And my heart's in the strangest place/That's how it started/And that's how it ends." Barrick's pummeling yet dreamy percussion arrangement only help the song to sway carefully like the open path Martin sings of.

On You & Me, the Walkmen have opened up another plane on emotion, as their transparency never feels contrived, instead it shows their vulnerability as human beings. Truly one of the better albums of 2008, You & Me is not an album that can be appreciated after one listen; it's the kind of diamond in the rough that teases you, taunts you, and intrigues you just enough to go on to a successive listen, and with each one it reveals itself until all the skeletons are out of the closet. (In the New Year, Canadian Girl, New Country, If Only It Were True)

Jem - Down to Earth

Down to Earth (2008, ATO) Jem's second studio album. **1/2

Down to Earth is so in between audiences that it'll be lucky to ever find one. While with one foot Jem has stepped into electronica and hip-hop as heard on tracks like "Crazy" and "Aciiid!" she simultaneously has piano ballads appealing to teen-drama watching high schoolers like "You Will Make It." So guideless is this album that it's almost transparently clear that Jem is not concerned about making music she likes; she wants to make music that's cool. Cool to who? Wannabe art chicks who think this is more exciting than Feist? I can't say. What I can say is that Down to Earth is anything but, as it's aimlessly floating in outer space.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend (2008, XL) Vampire Weekend's first studio album. ****

The Strokes, Lily Allen, Black Kids... all artists who built up a certain amount of hype before unveiling their debut. Vampire Weekend are no different. They'd been knocking around New York City since 2006, maintained a following and were finally signed to XL - probably the leading independent label in the world - for their first album. How does a band accomplish this? Either they cheat the system like Metro Station or Panic at the Disco or actually work for it and earn it by a certain amount of luck. Vampire Weekend has done the latter.

Eleven bouncy walls performed by guys who know what they're doing in the bounds of what they actually are doing; i.e., they don't try to sound smarter than they actually are. They don't try to write songs that are too complex for their own good. Sure, they've studied Paul Simon well enough, that's heard right from the beginning with "Mansard Roof." But their best moment is their bouncy and sly falsetto-linked "Oxford Comma." With its beautiful harmonies and irresistible verses, the band has already made a classic pop song.

Then there's the charming "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," which manages to maintain catchiness and reference an influence - Peter Gabriel. One of their best moments is the exponentially growing "Campus," which perfectly displays their subject material; college kids doing college thinks. Vampire Weekend is a delicate balance of indie pop/rock with just the right amount of chamber pop; not too much, but the classical moments shine through when they need to. But the band isn't off the hook yet. Hype and praise have been thrown at them, and it's very clear when listening to the album that these are some boys who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. (Mansard Roof, Oxford Comma, Campus)

The Subways - All Or Nothing

All Or Nothing (2008, WEA) The Subways' second studio album. ***

All Or Nothing is actually quite a pleasant surprise, as I'd only heard the Subways once before during their performance on David Letterman (or was it Leno?). Either way, their performance was terrible, as was the song. Needless to say I went into All Or Nothing with low expectations. I still don't believe they're good, but their latest album almost proves me wrong.

"Girls and Boys" suffers from being the perfect opener; it features a killer riff that has energy that couldn't possibly be fabricated. On the downside, it's the best song on the album, and nothing after it comes close to matching its brilliance. Why the Subways didn't follow the punk and metal instincts that the riff suggests is unfathomable. Instead they lay down vocal tracks and emotion that sound like post-grunge. It could be worse - namely, it could be pure grunge. Doesn't anyone get that Seattle's grunge scene was just a fad? There's none of it left and it doesn't seem to be anywhere near coming back.

Ensuing tracks like "Kalifornia" aren't half-bad, but they do sound like Nirvana B-material. All fairly loud with boring, predictable time signatures and riffs. After the above-mediocre sprint of "Shake! Shake!" the album winds up fishing for interesting moments, but only reels in variations of already-established grunge motifs. Really, there isn't anything on All Or Nothing that can be identified as the pinnacle of their mistakes. Instead, it's a collection of work that could have, should have been better.

Inside Music Album Guide - 9/18/08

Inside Music Album Guide
Newman strikes it rich, The Quilt has too many holes
By Stephen Mason

Okkervil River – The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar) 3.5 out of 5
Forever the band-next-door, Okkervil River have always come so close to creating a classic album, and with last year’s The Stage Names, they nearly got there. The Stand Ins isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, though it does expand on similar themes such as love, loneliness, and the like. It’s propelled by engaging moments, most notably the album’s opener, “Lost Coastlines.” A soft, folk-rock number that expounds into a sonic tour-de-force of electric power, topped with Sheff’s heartfelt vocal performance. It succeeds and fails in relaying the message track to track, but The Stand Ins is still a worth entry in their entertaining catalogue.

Gym Class Heroes – The Quilt (Fueled By Ramen) 2.5 out of 5
Gym Class Heroes haven’t quite figured out who they are or what they want to do. The Quilt is made up of tunes seemingly made in the spirit of creating fun club music, but McCoy’s lyrics don’t match. There’s a fine line between being clever and annoying, and McCoy always finds his way to the latter. Take the monster single “Cookie Jar.” Musically compelling with lamenting synths and a notable appearance by the Dream, but bogged down by lines that mix races with treats. “Oatmeal raisin Asians” and “Macadamia Caucasians” may be the most laughable. And while the top half is loaded with potential singles like “Like Father, Like Son,” or “Catch Me If You Can,” the second act is loaded with boring filler. A decent effort by artists who take themselves too seriously for their own good.

The Subways – All Or Nothing (WEA) 3 out of 5
The head-banging riff that dominates “Girls and Boys” acts as a promising start by a group desperate to be respected, but never has an album lost so much steam so quickly. That’s not to say All Or Nothing immediately drops into a collection of ballads, but there is no moment that matches the tone the band sets at the start. The Subways would have been better off following their more metal and punk instincts, but they quickly find comfort in post-grunge, a genre that, like its forefather, is dying quickly in all spectrums. There’s not a song on here that you can point to as a truly weak moment. Rather, it’s a large collection of them that make up a sound that’s repetitive.

Randy Newman – Harps and Angels (Nonesuch) 4 out of 5
One of the more unorthodox singer-songwriters of the past few decades, Newman has always found himself stuck between two dimensions. One, his voice isn’t as pretty as Elton John’s. Two, his messages aren’t as genius as Bob Dylan’s. But Newman never tries to be either, and his cartoony, mush-mouthed vocals mixed with his “Aw, shucks,” lyrics make Harps and Angels a near-masterpiece. He never ventures too far outside of simple blues and ragtime melodies, using all the generic tricks along the way. And while he’s sure to make his acerbic political views known on tracks like “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country,” he also makes room for sincere, though comical, anecdotes as on the closing track. And to think, most people know him as the guy who wrote “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”