Gorilla Manor

Gorilla Manor by Local Natives

Local Natives, a band based out of Los Angeles put out their debut album Gorilla Manor in the UK in late 2009, leaving the US waiting very eagerly for their debut full length which has been very well hyped. Local Natives were a band plugged by Ear Farm as one of the bands to watch in 2009 and one of the bands to explode in 2010, and with an album as strong as Gorilla Manor, they should do just that.

The band has a very catchy sound to them, between their poppy guitar sounds and their creative harmonies, the band creates a unique experience for their listeners throughout the length of the album. The band does a encompassing the sound of a youthful and energetic rock band perfectly with Gorilla Manor by combining the high energy songs with the perfect amount of slower, introspective songs. From the opening riff of "Wide Eyes" the listener becomes hooked into Gorilla Manor and can't seem to let go, which is understandable seeing as they come in strong with their in your face drum beats and chants that seem to echo in your brain throughout the day. The first half of the album continues at this strong pace and keeps it all the way through their insanely unique Talking Heads cover with "Warning Sign". One wouldn't be able to even tell it's a cover of the Talking Heads if they weren't told because of how seamlessly they fit the song to their own mold.

Local Natives do calm just as well as they do fast-paced high energy, something you see in the second half of the album. "Who Knows Who Cares" showcases a different side of the band with a violin in the background and a sweet piano part playing throughout the song, but even towards the end of that song you get an eruption that comes from nowhere of drums and chants that really tops it off perfectly. Local Natives know how to perfectly construct a song and make it interesting to hear what comes up next and where they take the direction of the song. The only song that really stays at a consistent pace throughout it's duration is the albums closer "Sticky Thread" which is consistent with it's slightly slower pace and the familiar chants and harmonies by the members of the band. The sound of Local Natives is hard to put into words because they do so many things at once that one can't truly encompass all parts of their music within an album review.

To put it simple, this album is a very strong start for a band like Local Natives. The band just announced a world tour and has been getting a lot of hype from the big magazines on the indie scene, just as Ear Farm and many other sites expected. Local Natives have erupted within the past year, and hopefully they're here to stay.

Rating: 9/10

Standout Tracks: Wide Eyes, Airplanes, Sun Hands, Shape Shifter

Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You

Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You by Lightspeed Champion

Devonte Hynes is better known to many as Lightspeed Champion, but before he donned the moniker he was a member of the English band Test Icicles. After Test Icicles split in 2006, Hynes started his own project in Lightspeed Champion and made a huge splash with the debut LP of "Falling Off The Lavender Bridge" in 2008. Lavender Bridge was produced by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes fame and featured Mogis, Nate Walcott (also of Bright Eyes), and many other notable musicians. The album came out with a distinct sound that was incredibly heartfelt, but also had a lighthearted feeling to it as well (With a song title like 'Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk how couldn't it be). Either way, the 2010 album "Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You" was one that many were looking forward to, especially since it featured the live favorite "Madame Van Damme". The album has a very different feel to the debut, which isn't a flaw but it has it's own highs and lows.

The album kicks in with "Dead Head Blues" which in itself features a unique blend of a twangy sounding guitar with piano accompanying Hynes' unique voice pouring out "I know you're happy and thats lovely/It won't keep me complete" and erupts into an anthemic ending which smoothly transitions into "Marlene", the albums first single. "Marlene" sounds more like the first album than any other song on the album, but it also shows off the unique sound that Devonte has created with "Life Is Sweet". However, the catchy "Stop being cool" chorus is one of the few moments that really sticks out amongst the album. Devonte showcases his new style with a guitar solo that shows you just how much he's developed as an artist in "Marlene", something that you wouldn't have seen in "Lavender Bridge", however one of the biggest problems with this album is he can't seem to follow up with more high moments. "Everybody knows you want a baby/And god knows everybody wants one too" is just one of the many lines that makes you sit down and reevaluate the song and wonder whether or not it really is one of the highlights of the album or just another one of the songs that just seems to only serve the purpose of providing an extra track on the album.

Diversity is certainly not a problem on "Life Is Sweet". Each song has it's own unique sound to it and parallels his songwriting in terms of how jumpy everything feels, leaving you on the edge wondering just where he will take the next song, or even where the current song will end up. Devonte also has a way of singing anything and molding the lyrics to fit the sound he wants it to have. When one hears "Kill me, baby won't you kill me" they certainly wouldn't think that it's in the poppiest song of the album, and that's just one of the many examples of this on the album. Every high point is complemented with a greater low, which unfortunately puts a damper on what could have been a very good album. There's simply far too many bland songs for the album to stick out as something truly great, even when compared to how brilliantly everything seemed orchestrated on "...Lavender Bridge", much less when compared to what's been released in the past two months from other bands. The album certainly had a lot of potential, but it ultimately just sort of fades out halfway through and leaves the listener waiting for something to come that never does.

Rating: 7/10

Standout Tracks: "Dead Head Blues", "Marlene", "Madame Van Damme"

Odd Blood

Odd Blood by Yeasayer

Odd Blood is the sophomore release from the Brooklyn band Yeasayer who had a meteoric rise to fame in 2007 after playing at South by Southwest. The band released their debut album "All Hour Cymbals" the same year which was given rave reviews by almost all of the major music magazines, and even found it's way into Pitchfork's Top 200 albums of the 2000's. All of this is a lot to digest for a band who just put out their first full length record not even three years ago, and now here they are with their second album with a large amount of hype behind them. I wish I could say that this album met the expectations that I had for it, but Odd Blood was just that...a bit odd.

The album starts out with an eerily voiced intro called "The Children" and jumps right into "Ambling Alp", which I'll admit is one hell of a song. Ambling Alp personifies what Yeasayer is doing right with their music, it's an insanely catchy song that still has substance and an underlying goodness about it ("Stick up for yourself son, nevermind what anybody else does"...come on, how can you NOT want to yell that out with your windows down in the car). However, if the rest of the album kept up with the pace of Ambling Alp, or at least channeled some of it's energy then the album would be mindblowingly amazing, instead it just ends up being a bit lackluster. Ambling Alp, instead of setting the tone for the rest of the album, just ends up usurping everything that comes after that and makes it all feel a bit out of place. Every song following just feels like it's trying to recreate the magic of the first album and failing. This doesn't mean that the entire album is bad though, I can't stress that enough. If this album was their debut instead of their sophomore release then it would probably be more well received, but much more was expected from this young band.

Songs like "I Remember" and "ONE" still standout very heavily on the album and if it weren't for the awkward attempts at R&B rhythms in the verses of "Love Me Girl" then that song would be included as well, seeing as the chorus is absolutely addicting. However, lyrics such as "Stay up in bed with me, Stay up and play with me" just bring down the song as a whole. The album as a whole isn't bad per say, but it's nothing outstanding either. When this album has good moments they are definitely good (Ambling Alps is one of my favorite songs of the year so far), but the lows are just the same.

Rating: 7.5/10

Standout Tracks: Ambling Alps, I Remember, ONE, Rome

Astro Coast

Astro Coast by Surfer Blood

Astro Coast is the debut album from the Florida band called Surfer Blood, released in January of 2010. Surfer Blood was already getting hype from the likes of Pitchfork before their album even came out, the first single from the album called "Swim" was on the Top 100 tracks of 2009 list. So needless to say, Surfer Blood had a lot of hype to live up to with their debut album and they somehow lived up to the expectation that Pitchfork had set up for them. "Swim" is a track that hooks you you right at the beginning of it and keeps you enthralled in it throughout the length of the song. The band showcases their blend of simplistic yet catchy guitar riffs and choruses that jump out at you and leave you humming them for the rest of the day. The majority of the album is very similar to the first single in the fact that it sounds very reminiscent of the early 90's indie of Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. and Weezer who have all clearly had a great influence on this band, and not to mention the surf rock aspects of the music as well. The clever blend of surf rock and the gritty distorted guitars of 90's indie makes the bands name all the more fitting, but Astro Coast is far more than a 90's rock imitation album.

The album starts out with "Floating Vibes", an upbeat song that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Just because the hooks and choruses are catchy doesn't mean that the lyrics don't still have substance to them. "Forget the second coming/I need you in the here and now" is just one of the many lyrics that seems to stick with you throughout the album and realize just how much there is to these early twenties indie rockers. The album continues to power through with much more of the same type of songs, that being probably one of the only quoms with this album. Aside from Slow Jabroni, Anchorage, and Catholic Pagans the album does have a very same-y feel to it, while it's a logical means of making an album with the mindset of "Don't fix it if it isn't broken" but too much of a good thing can still end up dragging on. However, Catholic Pagans is one of the strongest songs on the album, containing a much darker sound than the rest of the album and really showcasing that Surfer Blood can break out and be much more than the catchy indie surf rock band that they appear to be on the surface.

This young bunch of twenty-somethings are truly onto something here and if they can make an album as solid as Astro Coast from their dorms then one can only imagine what is to come from this band in the future. Between their catchiness, intricately calculated lyrics, and heavily distorted guitar riffs this band can truly rip up the indie scene within the next few years if they continue on the trail that they've blazed for themselves with this album. Only time can tell if they live up to the hype coming off of this album, but they certainly met and exceeded the expectations of the critics for their debut.

Rating: 8/10

Standout Tracks: Floating Vibes, Swim, Twin Peaks, Catholic Pagans

Teen Dream

Teen Dream by Beach House

Beach House is a dream-pop duo from Baltimore that was formed in 2004. The band released their debut self titled album in 2006 and immediately received rave reviews for it, being hailed as one of the best albums of the year. Their follow up was highly anticipated and certainly didn't let anyone down in terms of quality. So now that the picture has been painted here is the band's third release, and surely the dream pop thing can only be done so many times while being innovative right? Wrong. This band amazingly continues to change up the game with each album while still staying true to the sound that brought them all of the acclaim in the first place. Teen Dream is the bands first release on Sub Pop and even though it was leaked way back in November this album is still the talk of the internet and rightfully so, seeing as it's already getting hailed as a possible album of the year.

However all of this praise is certainly justifiable. Upon the first listening of this album it's hard to digest all that just happened. I found myself a bit disappointed that it was already over in all honesty. The duo creates their spacey, dreamy sounds and it is complimented very well by the soothing voice of Victoria Legrand. The music feels almost unsuitable for the lyrics in a sense, which makes it all the more devastating when Victoria sings out "In a matter of time you will slip from my mind" and "Your hand that you sometimes hold doesn't do anything" in 'Walk in the Park'. This is a recurring theme throughout the album, when reading the lyrics to these songs one wouldn't think that it's the lyrics to a song that opens with a cheesy drum machine track. However, this isn't a criticism, this is a compliment to the band. The feel of the music as compared to the lyrics adds to the effect of it and cuts you that much deeper when you hear "I'll take care of you, If you ask me to" in the album closer "Take Care". It's the theme of longing that makes the album title that much clearer, Teen Dream. The emotion felt in Victoria's voice certainly makes this album that much more to digest, the way that her voice resounds so strongly while singing out these heartfelt lyrics puts the nail into the coffin, in a good way.

To sum it all up, there isn't a weak moment in the entire album of Teen Dream. The whole thing flows together so perfectly that you wish that it would never end. I've said this before but when I do I usually mean it. Teen Dream is one of the first albums this year that jumped out at me as a true album of the year candidate, even if it's only the first month into 2010. Teen Dream is an album that cements this band as one of the top names out there, and deservingly so seeing as they've put out album after album of absolutely mind-blowing material. For such a young band, Beach House is certainly steaming through the industry and if their next album continues on the uprising progression then I can't wait to see what is to come from Beach House.

Rating: 9.5/10

Standout Tracks: "Zebra", "Norway", "Walk in the Park", "Take Care"

And for the record I'm now going on a .5 scale since I've noticed that there are getting to be far too many 8 and 9 albums.