Future Album Releases

Notable albums that are set to be released within the next few months:

Murs - Murs for President :: 9/30
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul :: 10/7
The Streets - Everything is Borrowed :: 10/7
AC/DC - Black Ice :: 10/20
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping :: 10/21
Queen + Paul Rodgers - The Cosmos Rocks :: 10/28
The Cure - 4:13 Dream :: 10/28
John Legend - Evolver :: 10/28
Q-Tip - The Renaissance :: 11/4
The Killers - Day & Age :: 11/25
Kanye West - 808’s and Heartbreak :: 12/16
Common - Universal Mind Control :: TBA

Kings of Leon - Only By the Night

3.5/5
I don't know what to think of Kings of Leon's latest release. Some of it is awesome, some is disappointing. Part of me loves the new sound, but the other part pines for the gritty old days of 2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak (Check out "King of the Rodeo"). The fourth track, "Use Somebody", provides a perfect microcosm of my feelings toward the album. It's catchy and sticks in your mind, but it's so...pop. If you accept the fact that KOL has become less like the Strokes and more like U2, as in less raw and more atmospheric, then you will probably find Only By the Night to be very enjoyable. "Closer" is a great track with superb instrumentation (that, oddly enough, reminds me of once-popular "This is Why I'm Hot" by Mims). Caleb Followill's yowl on "Notion" is powerful, "Crawl" rocks hard, and "Sex On Fire" is not exactly the definition of subtlety, but it's a tremendously catchy track. The church-bell intro in "17" and the amateur lyrics in "I Want You" reflect the entirety of those respective tracks: stupid. "Revelry" is interesting enough and "Cold Desert" can't be described as anything other than beautiful. Overall it's a great album and the rating might be bumped up once I lose the original KOL nostalgia.

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons...

4.0/5
Atmosphere, the duo of Ant (producing the beats) and Slug (delivering the flows), has become one of the titans of underground rap. Their latest album is a breath of fresh air from the rap you hear everyday on the radio and has easily become the best rap album of the year so far. These are not club jams, but that doesn't mean the album's any less enjoyable. These tracks have easy, mid-tempo grooves. "Dreamer" has a beautifully constructed beat, "Your Glass House" and "Shoulda Known" are ominous tracks with incredibly powerful beats that grab your gut, "Yesterday" is a pleasant jam, and "You" has actually gained some radio airplay. But the quality that most separates Atmosphere from mainstream hip-hop is the thought-provoking lyrics, whether they are Slug's personal confessions or tales of losers with real problems, the type of subjects that most self-promoting rappers completely evade. Highly recommended.

Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun

3.5/5
It's certainly hard to follow anything as epic as SMiLE, the amazing and visionary album from former Beach Boy Brian Wilson. He almost completed it in 1967, but became increasingly depressed and paranoid until the project was dropped. He finally rerecorded it and released SMiLE in 2004. In what was probably a smart move, Wilson released a decidedly less ambitious album in That Lucky Old Sun. The tracks describe the glorious side of L.A. as heard in tracks like "Morning Beat": "Another Dodger-blue sky is crowning L.A. / The City of Angels is rushed every day" or "Driving through the maze of the Hollywood Hills / Headed to the ocean for a view that would kill / Watching from the Wheel in Santa Monica Pier / A million diamonds floating on heavenly tiers." The lyrics can go too far at times, almost going out of their way to reference every notable thing about the Southland, but they can also paint a great portrait of my favorite city of all time. But if you don't share the same view of L.A., then this album's definitely not for you.

As expected from a Brian Wilson record, the melodies are natural and the harmonies are impeccable. It would be safe to say that Wilson is a musical genius. "Good Kind of Love" has a catchy melody and "Midnight's Another Day" is simply beautiful. And the a cappella harmonies at 1:05 in "Going Home" are what originally pressed me to buy the album; the lyric there is noteworthy as well, a reflection on Wilson's past depression: "At 25 I turned out the light / Cause I couldn't handle the glare in my tired eyes / But now I'm back drawing shades of kind blue sky." And the album's magnum opus, "Southern California", sounds like it could be on a 1965 Beach Boys record.

BUT, despite the amazing musical textures, the album can be unbearably cheesy. It wouldn't feel out of place in the Musical Soundtrack section of the record store: just take that assessment for what it's worth. For example, there are little 45 second narratives spaced through the album that could have certainly been omitted. It can be gag-inducing. And Wilson's obvious sense of nostalgia for the good old days can be a little much.

However, if you don't mind the cons, the pros can be incredible. I mean, this is Brian Wilson we're talking about. You're in good hands.

Upcoming reviews

These are the albums I've purchased that I still need to review:

Beck - Modern Guilt
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons...
The Dodos - Visiter
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
No Age - Nouns
The Morning Benders - Talking Through Tin Cans
The Kills - Midnight Boom
Al Green - Lay it Down
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

3.0/5
I wasn't really planning on purchasing this album, but Amazon had a deal on it for $5, so I figured I might as well, considering it has made quite a splash in 2008. After giving Tha Carter III a listen, the album basically confirmed my first impressions. It has some great moments. "Mr. Carter" is a really good track featuring Jay-Z. The beats on "Dr. Carter" and "Let the Beat Build" are sick. But overall the album is nothing amazing. There are lots of repetitive, unimaginative beats (especially on the single "A Milli") backing Lil Wayne's flows, unique and endearing at times, annoying at others. The highly popular "Lollipop" is a joke, but it can be strangely likable and has come to grow on me. I can understand why this record is popular, but the fact that critics praise it baffles me. It's catchy hip-hop for the masses, nothing more and nothing less.

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

4.0/5
Don't be turned off by the misleading name because whatever image just popped in your mind is probably far from the reality (I thought it was a sappy emo band). Girl Talk is, in fact, a DJ, and an expert in the art of mashups. Feed the Animals is one big hour-long dance party containing all your favorite hits, and I mean all of them. You can hear components of songs across the musical map, including Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U," Kanye West's "Flashing Lights," Radiohead's "15 Step," Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," Soulja Boy's "Crank That," Britney Spears' "Gimme More," Of Montreal's "Gronlandic Edit," Flo Rida's "Low," and The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows." And that's just a tiny fraction.

Just a word of warning, this album may not be everyone's cup of tea, especially if you are largely against most top-40 music. I've gotten to the point where I can really listen to anything, top-40 included.

Some tracks in particular really shine through. "Here's the Thing" effectively uses Chicago's "Saturday in the Park," Blur's "Song 2," and Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" (to name a select few) and it has me doing something I never thought I'd do: singing along to Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," haha. "In Step" uses Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It," Nirvana's "Lithium" Earth Wind & Fire's "September" and, as already mentioned, "God Only Knows." And the last track, "Play Your Part (Pt. 2)" ambitiously combines Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" with the guitar lick from the Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge." It's a bit out of tune, but it somehow works beautifully.

The best part? You can get it for free if you wish, a la In Rainbows. Go here and download it, it's completely worth it.

The Virgins - The Virgins

3.0/5
After seeing Rolling Stone Magazine's praising review of the Virgins' debut, I decided I'd give it a try. People described the band as a disco-infused Strokes, which sounded good to me. Unfortunately, the album fell far short of Rolling Stone's 4 stars. It has it's moments of course. "Rich Girls" is an extremely funky and exciting song. "Hey Hey Girl" has a great guitar lick and "Private Affair" is pretty catchy. But overall, the rest of the album lacks a drive and natural spark that separate these guys from the Strokes. Supposedly the Virgins have an EP out there that is more raw than this often overproduced and slick record, but I've never come across a copy. Moral of the story: download "Rich Girls", don't bother with the rest.