When one thinks of survival, it conjures up images of barren islands, a lack of vital resources or, thanks to modern times, television shows where people are purposefully cast into harmful situations for the sake of money and fame. On her second album, To Survive, Joan as Police Woman (aka Joan Wasser) argues that relationships require strength and endurance, as well.

As with many a relationship, the music is seductive — and secretive. Sixteen musicians (in addition to Wasser) appear on To Survive, but rarely does it sound like there are more than two. Wasser is rightfully at the center of each piece, her voice, piano, synths, guitar, organ and/or strings the most auditorily present aspects throughout. It’s easy to get distracted by the projected simplicity, but attentive listening unfurls a gargantuan list of instruments, including saxophone, trumpet, farfisa, tambourine and even sandpaper.

Joan as Police Woman, “To Be Loved” (download)

The lyrics follow an emotional trajectory of in love — in conflict — in love — in conflict — break-up. But even the darkest songs contain professions of adoration, setting a sultry, sexy mood, creating the kind of album one might reach for before an intimate encounter.

The most interesting part of this narrative (and the album) is the final track, “In America,” which features vocals from Rufus Wainwright. It’s the only song that outright depicts any sort of fight (”In time the hunter will find the trail of blood / I see you alone tonight / when will you tear down?”), but it sounds the most majestic, the most triumphant, even though she still refers to the other person as “my love.” It leaves us to wonder: if a relationship, or love, is something to be survived, does its ending constitute a strange sort of victory or simply a release from a precarious position?

The word together implies the combination of parts — and the third full-length from Philadelphia’s Pattern Is Movement, All Together, perfectly represents that which its title suggests.

There are many pieces in play here, and band members Andrew Thiboldeaux and Chris Ward audibly have fun breaking them down and arranging them. There are layers upon layers of vocals and instruments, and they miss each other as often as they intersect. One could possibly compare them to avant poppers like Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors or Fiery Furnaces, but not because they sound exactly like them as much as they seem to embrace a similar creative philosophy with highly unique results. They’ve been labeled “Math Rock” before, but it’s an oddly fitting tag since, in recent examples, it implies a heavier, more immediate and overwhelming sound, owing more to progressive rock and metal than anything Pattern Is Movement has created, particularly on this album.

Apparently, both Thiboldeaux and Ward have classical training, and on All Together it shows in the instruments they use and the timbres they create. The keyboard parts are occasionally reminiscent of Debussy, especially when combined with the occasional oboe and violin accompaniment (and when they don’t sound like Debussy, they often sound like Bartók). Throw in some guitar and some drums, and you’ve got impressionism meets contemporary rock and pop. (more…)

Nearly two years ago now, I posted a short list of songs that reminded me of my post-college trip to Europe & Asia. One of those songs, DJ Bobo’s “Chihuahua” has recently reappeared in my life - and will soon make its way into yours, as well, if it hasn’t already.

DJ Bobo, “Chihuahua” (download)

A bit of a ridiculous song, “Chihuahua” is a silly, bouncy, dance tune that’s not actually about those yippy dogs that often get mistaken for rats and/or promote Taco Bell, but instead is about how the word “Chihuahua” makes DJ Bobo very, very happy.

I’m walking in the street and the moon shines bright
A little melody is spinning on my mind tonight
I gotcha it’s the song about chihuahua
Yeah, that’s cool alright (chihuahua)
It means fun - and a life without sorrow
Feels young - when you think about tomorrow
Say yo - when you’re about to freak out
Just go, and then shout it out loud

Nonsensical as it may be, it’s the kind of song that gets stuck in your head for hours on end, driving you insane. Kind of like “It’s A Small World.”

I first heard it two years ago on the aforementioned trip to Europe, when the tour guide used to play it to wake us up. (It was incredibly effective.) I downloaded the song as a fun little reminder, and had listened to it maybe twice since then. That is, until last week. (more…)

Fourth of July is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday. Firstly, because it’s not religiously affiliated. Secondly, because it generally involves some combination of the following three items: fire, grilling meat and alcohol. All in the name of patriotism. I’m not sure how our fourth of July traditions evolved to include these potentially disastrous things together, but I’m thankful they did.

However, there are few songs that connect with the holiday for me. Sure, there are all the patriotic anthems if you want to get stereotypical. There’s really only one song that reminds me of a particular fourth of July.

While I was still summering at home on the West Coast, it was something of tradition to go out to the cabin of some family friends on Harstine Island, which is in Puget Sound. It’s right on the water, so it cools off at night, and it’s far from any big cities, so it gets really dark. Because it’s so quiet and woodsy, everyone is shooing off fireworks. You can stand on the shore and be surrounded by bright, colorful lights in every direction — including an Indian reservation. They always delivered. Big time.

I was more or less left to my own thoughts at these holidays, and often I’d clear my mind of everything associated with my life in the cities, my life in New York, my life in Seattle, and just spend hours using as many senses as possible.  Watching the water roll in waves, skimming my hand on top of soft, pointed blades of grass, listening to the sounds of voices from far away, smelling the musk of the forest and the smoke of barbecues in the air… the taste of alcohol. (more…)

Their fifth studio album finds My Morning Jacket attempting to fulfill their urge to not be evilly defined solely by one genre. They’ve banked on the same aesthetic for awhile: change is not only expected by this juncture, it’s generally welcomed.

The first single and opener, “Evil Urges,” is both misleading and indicative of where My Morning Jacket goes with this album. On the one hand, the band explores new styles (such as the surf-rock air of this song), but on the other hand, this isn’t a complete reinvention. Like so many bands releasing albums this year, My Morning Jacket tries on new styles, but they haven’t completely let go of what’s worked for them thus far.

As a result, Evil Urges feels a little uneven, musically. They’ve incorporated more synths and electronic parts (most notably in the killer two-parter, “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 1″ and “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 2″), which sounds like a strange combination in concept, but works naturally in practice. Then there’s “Highly Suspicious,” which causes one to be highly suspicious indeed of who the hell thought this song was a good idea. Instead of classic rock refitted, it’s classic rock parodied, the kind of song that, with its ridiculously pushed vocals, conjures up thoughts of My Morning Jacket starring as Spinal Tap.

More surprise waits at the mid-point. At first, “Thank You Too!” sounds like it could’ve been on Z with its languid quality, but then the strings kick in, and before long it starts to sound like the soft side of AOR. Like much of that material, it’s fun and catchy, but sappy. Very sappy. And if that wasn’t enough, “Sec Walkin’” keeps the AOR party going by being even smoother than its predecessor. It will not be surprising if Jim James finds Michael McDonald standing at his doorstep soon. (more…)

For equitable purposes, it’s probably best to mentally separate Wolf Parade from their debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary. Not because it’s too good and they’ll never top it, and not because it’s bad: simply because Wolf Parade is quite a different band in 2008 than they were in 2005.

In the three years between albums, the band’s main songwriters, Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, worked on side projects: Swan Lake and Sunset Rubdown for Krug, and Handsome Furs for Boeckner. Add to this the band’s removal of the power of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock at the helm of production, and you’ve got a band eager to make its own name in its own right, well beyond their debut.

Aesthetically, At Mount Zoomer is more refined, though not as immediately grabbing, as the band vowed, “no singles.” Still, in their time with their other projects, it’s clear that their songwriting skills continued to develop and evolve, and they bring with them the quality of experience. The melodies are more alluring, the sound is cleaner, and overall presents itself as more professional. At Mount Zoomer is considerably more upbeat, due in large part to Wolf Parade’s more frequent use of piano instead of heavily processed synths, though the synths are certainly still there.

There’s discernible difference between the two songwriting forces, but when compared to the alternative (two songwriters without distinct personality), this shouldn’t be considered a negative. Ultimately, their themes are compatible and they’re using the same musicians, so there aren’t enough variables to result in choppy pacing. (more…)

Comprised of material from their earliest singles, everything from Wooden Shjips’ Volume 1 was actually written before the material on their self-titled release from last year. Unfortunately, it shows.

Wooden Shjips’ self-titled release sounds a lot like the Doors at times, but it also sounds like a modern band doing interesting things with the same dingy, drugged out, heat wave aesthetic. Volume 1 sounds like a band who found a couple interesting riffs and decided to make songs by repeating them over and over and over with a few slight changes.

“Shrinking Moon For You” and “Death’s Not Your Friend” both employ grooves that are easy to get into at first — but incredibly irritating by the 50th time you’ve heard them repeated. The Wooden Shjips use plenty of repetition on Wooden Shjips, but everything else going on is enough to keep the songs interesting. Here, it’s hard to tell if it’s a case of a poor mixing job that’s putting the wrong sections of the song at the forefront, or just uninteresting songs. The third song, “Space Clothes,” is simply a bunch of odd effects applied to voice, which is okay, but not worth listening to more than a couple times.

Wooden Shjips redeem themselves with the the last three tracks, but the listener might have to force themselves to even get that far, and even though the actual songs improve, the quality is still a little rough. “Clouds Over Earthquake” is one of best tracks on Volume 1, with some seriously old-sounding effects. It’s really heavy, thick and synthesized, giving the song a ’70s or ’80s prog touch — especially when the deep female voice comes in. The garage rock feel of “Dance, California (Radio Edit)” helps it shine above most of what else is on Volume 1, but doesn’t quite get to the same level of Wooden Shjips. “SOL ‘07″ finds the band blending hints of brass with a quick pace carried by a warm, fuzzed out guitar, coming together in a way that makes one think of a drive into Mexico. It’s a fitting way to end Volume 1, because it’s the most Doors-inspired track, and the first song on their self-titled album is their other most Doors-influenced work. Playing this back to back with Wooden Shjips – in the order of their composition (Volume 1 first then Wooden Shjips) — makes perfect sense.

Wooden Shjips, “SOL ‘07″ (download)

Volume 1 is an interesting listen for anyone who’s really adamant about this band. It sheds light on their origins, and is a handy release for those who couldn’t find the 7″ and 10″ records that some of these songs are on. For casual fans, however, or anyone who’s compelled enough to want to give Wooden Shjips a shot, it’s probably best to stick to the self-titled album — or get this and only listen to the second half.

Death Cab for Cutie isn’t the only band who threw fans off with an unusual single this year. Go ahead and add Sigur Ros to that list. When they released “Gobbledigook,” the single from Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, everyone was quick to point out how much it sounds like Animal Collective. And in a way, it does sound like Animal Collective: a more controlled, restrained Animal Collective. It’s upbeat and perky, two words which could almost never be used to describe anything the band did in the past. So was this it? Had they really changed their sound so drastically? The answer, unsurprisingly, is “sort of.”

Sigur Ros,”Gobbledigook” (download)

The first half of Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust runs contrary to most of Sigur Ros’ back catalog. It’s perky, full and busy where they’re usually slow, sparse and delicate. The cover art from photographer Ryan McGinley fits this part of the album. Naked people running through the country on a sunny day? Sure, “Gobbledigook,” “Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur” and “Vid Spilum Endalaust” could certainly be the soundtrack to such light spirited activities. But make no mistake - Sigur Ros are still the same Sigur Ros that everyone is accustomed to. They return to their light, languid melodies for the rest of the album. (more…)

For a band like Radiohead, making a “best of” is almost like a slap in the face. Limiting their consistently impressive catalog to a handful of songs completely out of context isn’t to their benefit. But these kinds of compilations have become an industry standard as an easy way for record labels to make cash, so it was only a matter of time until it happened to Radiohead, too.

Nothing here is really a surprise. All of the band’s big players are here — “Fake Plastic Trees,” “Paranoid Android,” “Creep,” so on and so forth. For the rare case of someone not familiar with Radiohead, it’s certainly a convenient way to get an easy handle on the songs that helped to break the band. But it’s debatable whether or not this is the most accurate representation of their output.

Radiohead, “Creep” (download)

Should a potpourri be one’s chosen method for digesting Radiohead, the expanded two-disc version is easily better than the standard release, featuring songs that weren’t on proper studio full-lengths. This includes favorites more tailored to more ardent fans, like “Talk Show Host” and “Exit Music (For a Film).”

(more…)

Have you ever felt like a song has the answer you’re looking for? That if you could just figure out what the person is really, truly singing about and saying, then you’d know what to do?

For the past couple crossroads in my life, “Vienna” has been that song.

Billy Joel, “Vienna” (download)

Judging by Billy Joel’s personal life, it’s probably not the safest bet to assume that he’s got the answers to much of anything, but “Vienna” has a certain timelessness. It was released in the ’70s, but sounds like it could have come out yesterday. It tackles the questions that never really go away: questions about what we want and what we need, about getting older, about how we live our lives. But while it may be straight-forward, it’s also somewhat vague.

Slow down you crazy child
You’re so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you’re so smart tell me why
You are still so afraid?

But couldn’t slowing down be seen as being afraid, too? It all depends on what we’re talking about here.

But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old

In a song about the values of slowing down, this seems to contradict his point. It sounds like he’s saying that you can work hard to get what you want or relax and just get old. If he’s advocating the latter, this is hardly convincing. Or, is this a criticism of the former, pointing out that even if you work hard to get what you want, you’ll still get old, just like everyone else? But we’re all going to get old, anyway, so isn’t it better to get what you want in the process? Then there’s that “you know” to contend with. Is this the way the subject of the song thinks, and he’s criticizing this way of thinking? (more…)