Quarterlifeparty

Each week (or whenever we have time) we take a listen to some of the top songs from elbows, review them and then give our selection of alternative tracks that we believe should be getting more recognition

Annuals “Sore”
Pretty good new song from this band. I think overall they have a tendency to get a little over dramatic with their music, but the songs I have been hearing from the new album sound slightly more reigned in.

Ladytron “Black Cat”
You’ll have to wait a few more months to get the new Ladytron album Velocifero(June 3rd, although it will probably leak before that), but you can listen to this song in the meantime. They continue on with their formula of dark electro pop music. This is a really good new song with what sounds like distorted steam puffs for some of the drum parts and a very 80′s synth melody underneath some talky vocals.

Langhorne Slim “Other Side of Heaven”
A raucous barn-burner of a rock song. It’s not breaking the mold, but it does its job.

Mystery Jets “Young Love” (Shoes Mix)
I’m not a big fan of most remixes. I usually like them when they take a song that isn’t very dancey or beat driven and make it into a club hit. This is a good remix, but the original song was pretty upbeat and danceable anyway. So, I’ll give it some cred for being a good remix, but it’s not like it reinvented the song.

Death Cab for Cutie “I Will Possess Your Heart”
Not too sure about this new Death Cab Album, the songs I have heard off of it are pretty disappointing. I’m starting to think their best work is behind them. This song has a really long, boring, generic build up. Which would be fine if at the end there was something worth waiting for, but It’s just bad lyrics and uninspired music at the end. I think “Cath” is a lot better single off this album. You can hear it here

Sally Shapiro “Jackie Junior”
Its nice to hear some new junior boys, even if it is in remix form. Is it me or is this band’s music the perfect night music. It’s got that dark, sultry, mysterious tone to it. It has enough of an 80′s sound to be fun without being a total novelty. The female vocals go perfectly with the beats, it’s that Italian disco sound.

Foals – “Balloons”
Really good Foals track. The jumpy guitar line is great.

Islands “Creeper”
Is this the islands? It sounds a lot less “crazy”, nothing like what I have heard of them in the past. I always thought of the islands as somewhat of an Animal Collective type band, but this song is very poppy and normal. That being said, I really like it. It’s just tight and well written, even if it does remind me of a cardigans song. I am a little disappointed with a total shift in music style, but will have to wait to hear the rest of the album to make nay further judgements.

Dosh “If You want To, You Have to”
Touring partner with Andrew Bird and Eclectic Multi-instrumentalist Dosh has been making some waves. Wolves and Wishes is out May 13th. This song actually features Andrew Bird on Violin. It’s an instrumental song with a lot of dynamic change-ups that flow right into one another. There is this weird warbling sound that comes in after the beautiful serene intro and that continues on throughout the song and makes the sounds fairly unique.

El Perro Del Mar “Glory to the World”
Nothing to spectacular here. There is some interesting instrumentation and the song has a nice flow to it, but not to sound too Simon Cowell’ish, but it’s slightly forgettable. I hate to say it but female singers are sounding more and more like each other, especially the ones with the Feist and Amy Whinehouse styles.

This is Ivy League “London Bridges”
This sounds like a kids song, which might be the point… but I wish it had more of that guitar solo sound in the second half of the song and less of the “London Bridges” vocals. It reminds me of Kings of Convenience.

Here are some songs/bands we think should be getting more recognition:

Tallulah Rendall – “Hope Tonight”
Tallulah Rendall – “Time Fades”

Coolhunting.com turned me onto this London singer/guitar player that looks like a blond Lily Allen, but sounds FAR from her: think the darkness of Portishead’s Beth Gibbons mixed with the wailing/face melting of Jeff Buckley and you’re in the vicinity. And those comparisons don’t come lightly. Tallulah has been getting some recent underground rumblings across the pond, and for good reason when compared to the cheeky acts they have topping the charts right now: Lily Allen, Kate Nash, The Kooks, etc.

These two songs are on her EP (buy HERE), and will also be included on her full length LP, Libellus, which she has told me they are currently mixing and hopes to be done with in a couple weeks. The album is being produced by Tallulah herself (impressive) and executive produced by Marius de Vries (Bjork and Massive Attack) and released on her own label Transducer Records.
Myspace for more songs.

Tags: