Songs From Mount Chorus

Miike Snow - Happy to You - 2012 - Downtown Records

First Listen? Yes

Man, June is off to a great start musically.

I’ll admit that this isn’t my first attempt to make it through Happy to You; the first happened about a week ago, when I was running some errands. I made it about halfway through the second track and decided I just wasn’t in the mood (apparently, I was in a Springsteen mood at that moment, as I went and listened to this little gem here). Now, though, having made it through the album, I can’t see what turned me off of it the first time. Because it all boils down to one thing - Happy to You is fascinating. Electronic indie rock isn’t even normally my style, and I found myself grooving along to large parts of the album.

The album is an eclectic one, to say the least. The opening track, “Enter the Jokers Lair,” was eerily reminiscent of Joy Electric (I promise that you’ll be able to count on one hand the number of times you’ll read that on this site). From there, the album hops between Vampire Weekend-esqe, off-rhythmed tracks (“Vase,” “Archipelago”), 90s dance-inspired numbers (“Pretender,” “Paddling Out”), and any number of other styles (“God Help This Divorce” had a real Simon & Garfunkel feel to it, for some reason). The only time I was jarred by the shift was the transition from “Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)” to “Pretender;” other than that, the rest of the album flowed remarkably well. I love the orchestration of the album, particularly the rhythm section. I’m not quite so sold on the electronically-touched vocals, and they abound throughout the album. Nevertheless, I rather enjoyed Miike Snow’s sophomore album. I suppose I should go check out their debut now (The Artist would be disappointed if I didn’t).

Arbitrary Score: 9/10 

A Wilhelm Scream - Ruiner - 2005 - Nitro Records

First Listen? Sadly, Yes 

For as much as I love A Wilhelm Scream, I don’t seem to have made a complete listen-through of any of their albums. Which is odd, because I’ve had them for years. That being said, if there’s an album that says AWS to me, it’s Ruiner. I had several run-ins with the band before I got into them full-album-style (read, they kept popping up in my compilations), and every single one of the AWS songs I know by that means came from this album (this should give you a fairly accurate time marker for my compilation phase). Before even listening through this album today, I was already intimately acquainted with “Killing It” (from a Loud Fast Rules demo CD, if I remember correctly), “The Soft Sell” (Take Action! vol. 5), and “Me vs. Morrissey in the Pretentious Contest (The Ladder Match)” (Warped Tour 2005 Tour Compilation); that’s almost a quarter of the album right there.

What’s left is more of the same, in the best way possible - wailing and grinding guitars, gravelly vocals, and driving drums, all delivered at a breakneck pace. Though released only a year later, Ruiner is a lot cleaner and tighter than the last AWS album reviewed on this site; the base style is still the same, but an improvement in recording equipment [I assume] makes the instrumentation that much easier to enjoy. Ruiner is AWS doing what they do best - post-hardcoring faces off for a little more than half an hour. If that’s you’re thing, certainly give this album its due diligence. For my part, I can say that it’s certainly a keeper.

Arbitrary Score: 8.5/10

Said The Whale - Little Mountain - 2012 - Hidden Pony Records

First Listen? Yes

I could not have asked for a better album with which to start the June Blitz. 

Little Mountain was recommended to me on account of my musical tastes (though which artists were used for comparison escape me for the moment), so I picked up the album. I think it’s one of the better musical decisions I’ve made this year. Though I don’t remember what artists were used as the “You Like? You’ll Like” for Said The Whale, I can say that - to my ears - it has overarching flavors of The New Pornographers, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and Los Campesino!, with other sounds mixed in on specific tracks (I remember thinking of early Weezer and Cake, among others). All of this blends together to form a wonderful indie-rock album. It’s been a while since I’ve had such a thoroughly enjoyable listen-through to a new [to me] band (On The Impossible Past is probably the only thing in recent memory that comes even close). The album is cohesive enough to feel like a whole, but varied enough that it doesn’t begin to feel repetitive. After an initial listen-though, the tracks that most grab my attention are “We Are 1980,” “Loveless,” “2010,” “Heavy Ceiling,” and “Lucky,” but there’s really no track on the album I dislike. For a 15-track album, that says something. I heartily recommend Little Mountain, and I expect big things from the little guy come the end of the year.

Arbitrary Score: 8.5/10

Ahh, the return of the shame creatures.

It has come to my attention that I’ve been failing incredibly in the past month or so to keep this site updated. I blame this failing on a combination of work, living in a house full of hilariously interesting people, and video games - but, mainly video games (what can I say? The creators of the Mass Effect series know what they’re doing). In response to the aforementioned failing - and in order to combat my ever-growing backlog of unheard music - I have decided to attempt a sort of musical blitz in the month of June. The goal is an album a day like back when I was unemployed, and because I’m getting to a point where I have more music I’m unfamiliar with that music that I am familiar with, I’m only going to do new albums. I should clarify that “new” can mean either actually new (as in, from this year) or new to me (as in, I’ve never made it all the way through the album before). I know I’ll fail at some point, but we’ll see how long I can make this last. Here’s to luck, and the many great tunes ahead.

Happy June!

The All-American Rejects - Kids in the Street - 2012 - Interscope Records

First listen? Yes

Well, I’ll admit it - this was something of a surprise. I came into Kids in the Street expecting to not hate it and little more. What I was not at all expecting was to actually enjoy the album. That, however, is exactly what happened. I was expecting (perhaps cynically) to have to suffer through 45 minutes of trite and simple power pop nonsense; for my impudence, AAR gave me an 11-track slap upside the head. The band really pushed their limits with this newest release, and the results are fantastic. The sound is richer, filled in by a subtle abundance of synth work that artfully supports - rather than detracts from or muddles - the core sound that AAR has spent the past decade building. The result oddly calls to mind both a ’90s alternative vibe (I remember thinking of Weezer and - strangely enough - Reel Big Fish) and a modern indie rock feel (think Hockey and French Films), but it does both of those through the lens of the band’s pre-existing style.

In terms of individual tracks, the album holds up rather well. I got into AAR for their upbeat stuff (all the way back to “Swing, Swing”), and on that account, “Beekeeper’s Daughter” holds its own with the best.  If I have one complaint with the album, though, it’s that there aren’t more tracks of this ilk. It’s a minor complaint though, because I have never enjoyed AAR’s slow songs more. Songs like “Heartbeat Slowing Down” and “Affection” showcase what the band can do as composers as well as musicians. The songs are soft and sombre, but they are rich, fully-instrumented pieces that open up a little more on each listen. Close with the acoustic “I For You” and you’ve got a recipe for one hell of an album. From a track perspective, the only songs I really don’t care for are “Walk Over Me” and “Bleed Into Your Mind.” Other than that, I’m sold. Keep your eyes peeled come December - this album might do a trick.

Arbitrary Score: 7/10