Repost: Music Review 3/17-3/21

Okay…so here is the first in my new weekly (or as close to weekly as I can get with Ethan) column of music I am currently listening to. Before we get started I want to lay a few things out. I am always looking to check out new music, so if you have anything cool that you think I should check out, please let me know. I am writing this because outside of my family, music is my major passion, and with the radio people miss out on so much cool music. I know I may sound pretentious but there is life beyond FM and what the record labels pay to be played. As far as my collection goes, I purchase music on CD, Vinyl and digitally. I prefer vinyl, but it gets expensive and is VERY time consuming to digitize so that it is portable. I am picky about my digital music, however, and have everything encoded at a minimum of 256 kbps, unless it is absolutely avoidable (thanks iTunes). I do recommend that if you are going to purchase digital music you buy it from iTunes only if it is in the Plus format; otherwise, go over to Amazon where it is usually cheaper and everything is encoded at 256. Okay…now that I’ve gotten all of the technical B.S. out of the way let’s get started.

This Week’s Must Haves:

The first must have this week is Brain Thrust Mastery by We Are Scientists. This is a band whose first album, With Love and Squalor, was criminally overlooked. They are a New York based band who are HUGE in the UK, but can’t catch a break out of the club circuit. In fact, currently Brain Thrust Mastery is only available in the UK (you can purchase it digitally, and legally, at 7digital.com). The album itself moves away from the indie rock sound of their debut and towards the new new wave/dance rock feel of the new regime of 80’s inspired bands. It follows in the same vein as last year’s A Weekend in the City by Bloc Party, which is very much a nod to their British popularity. The band experiments with a more layered sound, which, from what I understand was bred out of necessity after their longtime drummer quit during the recording. This is especially evident on the opening track "Ghouls", where a drum track is virtually absent. The three strongest tracks on the album are "Let’s See It", "Lethal Enforcer", and "Chick Lit". "Let’s See It" is probably the most radio friendly track on the whole album, with a dual tracked vocal chorus that sounds like something from a lost Johnny Marr penned Smiths tune. "Lethal Enforcer" is straight 80’s bliss. This track sounds like what Duran Duran should be trying to do today (I’m looking in your direction Mr. LeBon). Obviously the track wears it’s influences on its sleeve and is pure synthed out ear candy. "Chick Lit" is my favorite track on the album. From the hand-claps and the gyrating bass line, to the full blown heavily overdubbed drums during the chorus, this track does everything right in my ears. It even has tinges of Songs of Faith and Devotion by Depeche Mode thrown in there. The best description I can give this track is that it is like a big, swaggering drag queen who is coming to bitch-slap you into the next county (after all, with a chorus that says "I asked you nicely once/But I won’t do that again" I think that’s a fitting image).

The second must have this week is The Odd Couple by Gnarls Barkley (available digitally this week and physically next week). I’m going to get it out of the way and just come out and say that this album is not as groundbreaking as their previous release, St. Elsewhere. Where that album took the genre rule book and threw it out the window, this album doesn’t do that. Don’t get me wrong. This is an amazing album; it’s just not a new sound like their prior album. It’s more of what they did last time, which I suppose follows the old adage of, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. The album starts off a little slow and sleazy (not the bad kind) and doesn’t really pick up until track 3, which is really my only major issue with this album. The track listing could have had a little more time devoted to it, but that’s the beauty of iTunes, you can rearrange it in the order that you see fit (once I find a suitable order I’ll post it here). The standout tracks here are "Run (I’m A Natural Disaster)" and "Open Book". I am sure that "Run", which is the first single, will become as ubiquitous as "Crazy", and it is well deserved. The track already has the controversy from its seizure inducing video (with a HILARIOUS Justin Timberlake cameo) and a hook that you could catch Jaws with. "Open Book", on the other hand, reminds me of a Bjork track (think Homogenic era) with its skittering drums, forest animal sounds and celestial chorus. This is not a track that will appeal to everyone, but upon repeated listens, it will grow on you.

Vintage from the Vault:

This week’s vintage band worth checking out is Mission of Burma. Perfectly (and intentionally) I am throwing this band out there because their first wave of releases have been reissued this week on Matador. A little history, if you’ll indulge me. The band itself formed in the late 70’s/early 80’s and released only one full length album and several EP’s before breaking up due to the partial hearing loss of one of the singers (they later reformed and have since released 2 albums: 2004’s ONoffON and 2006’s Obliterati). I was originally introduced to this band during Spring Break of 1997 when I purchased Moby’s Animal Rights and heard his version of the track "That’s When I Reached for My Revolver". After that I went and hunted down every album, single and 7" I could find (most everything has been out of print since the early 90’s so I had to subsist on compilations rather than the actual album and EP’s). This band has influenced too many bands to name here (one notable example is that Pearl Jam named Vs. after their 1981 debut album vs.) and is worth checking out if you get a chance (and thanks to Matador it is very easy to find ALL of their albums).