This is not unprecedented; I will occasionally become so taken with a song that it will be the only music I can think about for several days. Since 2003, when this phenomenon first manifested (“Fishing the Sky” by The Appleseed Cast, which is now my ringtone), I have not stopped enjoying any of these tunes. […]
Pop
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The Gardes — Make Out the Sound
If you chuckled just now, you have the right sense of humor to enjoy the goofy, low-key songs contained in “Make Out the Sound.” Its nine, seemingly off-the-cuff performances are marked by low-to-mid-fi acoustic guitar, tambourine and a general feel of gleeful subversion, making early Mountain Goats and They Might Be Giants equally effective RIYLs. […]
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. — It’s a Corporate World
Ben Folds has it: Pretty much anyone can cover a Folds tune and it will be money. MGMT was apparently able to write two of the best pop songs of last decade (“Kids” and “Time to Pretend”), but no more. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. has already been anointed with the MGMT mantle as the next […]
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Simple Plan — Get Your Heart On!
No matter what happens, anyone who can put together melodies and evocative (not necessarily deep, just evocative) lyrics will find success if they want it. Enter Simple Plan and their new album, “Get Your Heart On!”, which drops June 21. With a thinly veiled double entendre in the vein of Blink-182’s “Take Off Your Pants […]
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Barry Manilow — 15 Minutes
1. The recording style and instrumentation of the folk-rock “15 Minutes” sounds straight out of the ‘80s, which, I suppose, so is Manilow. Kinda. 2. Vintage disco with Manilow semi-rapping. He hasn’t had to “Work the Room” in 30 years, so this just feels wrong. “Startin’ in sweet with a rockin’ beat / Show ‘em […]
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Suzanna Choffel — Steady Eye Shaky Bow
The tracks on “Steady Eye Shaky Bow” that catch attention have a sultry, dangerous vibe about them; the tracks that don’t work sound like average jazz standards. Choffel kicks off her latest album with “Archer,” from which the album takes its title. The jagged rhythms and herky-jerky propulsion of the verses are met by a […]
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Dr. Pants — The Trip Side 1: Illusion & Truth
The Oklahoma City-based quartet plays straightforward pop songs here, relying on vocals and lyrics to carry the release instead of the ear-crushing, distorted guitars of Weezer, to which the group is often compared. This is made clear from the onset, as “Move So Slow” is played primarily on an acoustic guitar and hangs on a […]
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Laura Stevenson and the Cans — Sit Resist
Laura Stevenson and the Cans’ “Sit Resist” does that, too, but on steroids. Genres that are beautifully integrated here include (but are not limited to) folk, pop, rock, indie rock, indie pop, ’50s girl pop, Motown, gospel and waltz. And somehow, she ties it all together into an incredibly coherent album. Wow. The unifying thread […]
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Roy Orbison — The Monument Singles Collection (1960-1964)
“The Monument Singles Collection (1960-1964)” collects 39 Orbison tunes on two discs (A-sides and B-sides, naturally) and includes a 25-minute DVD of a performance in Holland. Orbison was a master of the 2:20 pop song, as only four of these tunes break the three-minute mark (and “Mama” is 3:01, which barely counts). Many radio staples […]
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Tiny Animals — Our Own Time
Tyson Ritter and company put the gas to the floor on the first track and don’t really let up until the end. The guitars roar, the vocal melodies soar, the drums pound, the bass thrums and various keyboards twinkle. Everything is done for high drama, and it’s great. Tiny Animals’ “Our Own Time” is exactly […]