Album Review

Vitalic
Bells EP
B-

Bells is a dark alley of sounds where infectious, haunting grooves weave with eerie underwater megaphone chants. Mechanical buzz and blips, dancing keyboard riffs, and pounding bass lines bounce about to incite head bobbing, even body rocking. The title track with Linda Lamb is a swirling, thumping, stomping, rave-ready monster. The foggy, dark "You Are My Sun", suggests Pascal Arbez has been listening to Swedish brother-sister duo, The Knife, or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, it's a good thing. "Fanfare" could pass for Lucifer High School's marching band during homecoming, or a cyborg military parade.
This is three am music, smoky dance club with lasers music. For me this equates to; clean the house music, or spin the elliptical at Gold's Gym music. A little disjointed, and a remixed hook or two, but any fan of Vitalic's flawless OK Cowboy will not be disappointed. Electronica isn't my bread and butter; but authentic and inspired music always transcends its traditional audience and genre. Zombies rave on.

Listen to:
Bells
Candy

I downloaded my copy at Emusic.
Check out their ultra slick website here.

Album Review

Tap Tap
Lanzafame
B

I'm a sucker for jangly guitars, lo-fi fuzz and yelping vocalists; of course I like these blokes. Propelled by kick drums, handclaps, accordions, and poppy hooks, the songs march steadily along with Sir Thomas Sanders shakily shouting or softly wavering his conversational falsetto dutifully.
Lanzafame provides a great soundtrack for getting drunk, pretending to sing along, or awkwardly flailing about; or ideally, all three simultaneously. Glimpses of Punk, Country, Folk, and Pop occasionally peek in through the ramshackle, raw, and messy wave of Tap Tap's sound. This is a compact album stuffed full of easily digestible tracks--filled with la la las and catchy, hum-able harmonies--that rarely run over three minutes. While the lyrics are sometimes obscured and hard to decipher, clever lines such as, "I got up in such a hurry I'm still stuck in my dreams," lace each song.
I can picture these guys converging in a garage after a day at the pub and work, strapping on their instruments, turning up the amps and disturbing the neighbors. Overall, the garage-of-microphones-and-duct-tape sound adds to the charm and atmosphere of the melodies. But once in a while the hooks are so catchy, the flow so contagious, I wish his quirky high-pitched vocals or the jerky guitar strumming would pierce the confines of the tinny recordings. Too often the (nearly tape recorder quality) lo-fi production frustratingly hold Tap Tap’s raw and volatile energy back. Obvious and often noted comparisons exist with such hip bands as CYHSY, Tapes 'n Tapes, and Sunset Rubdown. But they carve out their own distinct sound, and uhh… they're British too. Buy this album.

Listen to:
10,000 Thoughts
Talk Slowly

Check out their myspace page here.
Buy the CD here, it's only $7.

Album Review

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
The Dust of Retreat
A-

Think Weezer meets Andrew Bird by the flagpole after school only to have the fight broken up by Paul Simon while the school's band nerds stand by. That's how I describe their sound anyway. The songs relate stories of anxiety, heartbreak and drug abuse, all of which take place in a sleepy Midwest American town. The album is decidedly depressing but optimistic, reminiscent without being sentimental. Whether it's lamenting the return of a drug addled old flame whose picture was seen "...in a swank magazine," or losing a home to invading tourists, the band deftly conveys the intended emotional affect. Tasteful- and admittedly conventional- arrangements and unique instrumentation (a Cello and horns are found in their musical arsenal) combine with Richard Edwards' affected, sincere voice to create one instantly likeable American rock record with wide appeal.
On the track "Paper Kitten Nightmare," Edwards sings nineteen consecutive "meows." Amazingly, the track still rocks and the "meows" sneak by with merely a chuckle. This is indicative of his lyrics, while overall witty and insightful, some may induce a slight cringe at the sappiness. But the perceived cheesiness could also be viewed as honest and earnest songwriting, a la, The Mountain Goats. Although I wish the record had a few less audible inhales and gasps from Edwards and a couple more musical surprises, the overall awesomeness of the record remains virtually unscathed by these petty complaints.

Listen to:
"Vampires in Blue Dresses"
"Quiet as a Mouse"

Check out their myspace page here
And their website here