Quarterlifeparty

Singles

Here We Go Magic – Tunnelvision (via gvb)

Gentle floater of a song with a redundant guitar strumming that allows you to just zone out. Feels a little bit like a filler song, but has enough substance to make you want to listen to it over and over again.

The Online Romance – Ladybug, Don’t Smile 

Nice little ditty that reminds me a bit of PB&J in the vocals with a little bit of similar chord progressions you might find in a New Pornographers song. It dances along at a nice pace with a unique sound.

Yo La Tengo – Fourth Time Around

Heard this randomly on an internet radio channel the other day and it’s a great cover of this sweet Dylan song from the “I’m Not Here” Soundtrack. And this is always how I find good Yo La Tengo songs, It’s never when I am actually listening to their albums, but when they just happen to come on at the right time.

Nickel Eye – “Dying Star”

Another offshoot of the Strokes, this time it’s the bass player Nikolai Fraiture. Just like the other side projects, this sounds a lot like the Strokes, although more edgier than Little Joy.  It will probably be worth a listen when the entire album comes out, especially with collaborations from Nick Zinner and Regina Spektor. myspace  |  purchase

Deastro – Parallelogram 

Sounds like  a mix between the cure, asobi seksu, and brother kite. Very lite and airy with a glittery guitar line throughout. myspace

Thing One – Move It

This reminds me of Indie Dance Music mixed with some old school Funk like Sly & The Family Stone. Check out the rest of their songs on Myspace, worth the time.

 

Bell X1 – “How Your Heart is Wired”

From the Irish bands upcoming Blue Lights On The Runway.  This song has a nice soft beginning with a great guitar riff to follow that becomes more echoey,spacious and somewhat epic as the song drifts on.  I always hear about this band but never have gotten into them before, so I’m not sure how this matches up to the rest of their music but it’s a nice treat on a monday morning after the holidays when I don’t want to be at work.  The beginnning reminds me a bit of a band I used to listen to back in the day, Big Head Todd and the Monsters. The song is, I must admit, a bit perfect for a VH1 audience, but as it goes on it offers some surprises in where the song leads.

 

NEW ALBUMS

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Merriweather is a very Impressive album that the blogosphere has been vomiting praise about since its release. The vocal melodies on MPP are stronger than they have been on any of their albums and the lush layers of sound are beautiful. However, it is this layering that is also where I think Animal Collective fall a little short, sometimes I think they use too many affects, like they are trying to hide something. Many times the effects are absolutely beautiful but other times they just get in the way. The best thing about Animal Collective are the vocal harmonies. To me they could be ana capella band and it would have the same affect. Beneath it all are simple pop songs.  PURCHASE

Animal Collective – My Girls

 

Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight

I’m all about glasgow recently with the release of the Glasvegas album (see below) and now with Frightened Rabbits melancholia, to me it sounds a little like The National, only the singer takes it in a completely different direction. Also, I’m not sure if it’s just the voice, but they also remind me of The Twilight Sad.  Either way, no matter what they sound like, it’s a really great album and I’m sorry I missed them at The Talking Head Last Night. PURCHASE

Frightened Rabbit – The Modern Leper

 

Glasvegas - Glasvegas

It took me a little bit to really get into this band, their “look” seems a bit forced to me and is hard to ignore, but after hearing “Geraldine” many times and seeing them play the song on letterman I finally caught the bug. It’s not the most innovative stuff out there but they make it work and when your in the right mood it can hit that sweet spot. PURCHASE

Glasvegas – “Geraldine”

 

Friendly Fires – Friendly FiresSounds like a cross between Cut Copy and The Rapture, very consistent dance music, some songs dreamy, some with a thumping bass line. The albums songs flow from one to the next without any one really jumping out, but I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s an album I can listen to all the way through. PURCHASE

Friendly Fires – “Skeleton Boy”

 

OLD ALBUMS

The Kinks – “Schoolboys in Disgrace”

After going on an A.C. Newman binge the past month I had read many places that had compared him to the Kinks.  All I really ever knew of the Kinks was “Lola” which is a great song but something that’s easy to get sick of.  So, I made it a point over the holidays to bring a little bit of some Kinks that I hadn’t heard before into my life. I don’t have much to compare to, but according to the wiki and some other sources this is one of the better albums from their concept album (or thematic) period which also included Preservation Acts and Soap Opera. The album is a bit unassuming in the musicianship, the second half of the album is much better than the first, but the lyrics are great with nice little gems like “In my sleep I’m not your lover anymore…”. PURCHASE

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