Pop 'stache

Usually cast to the wayside in in the shadow of Sonic Youth band mate Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo’s solo projects are welcomed with open 90s band tee-clad arms. And Matador Records’ unleashing of Between The Times And The Tides showed just why Ranaldo’s rare vocal appearances on Sonic Youth’s albums were so highly anticipated. His first solo album in four years, Ranaldo was heavily influenced by The Byrds, Neil Young and R.E.M. which is evident in his vocal delivery and heavy use of arpeggios. With Between, Ranaldo has delivered a solo album staying true to his own musical vision while dealing with issues that have been haunting us all for the past decade—dreams collecting dust, passion fizzling and worry creeping in—in a polished alternative rock package.

Borrowing from the famous Rolling Stones “Paint It Black” riff, Between opens with catchy rock groove “Waiting On a Dream.” Rushed tenor vocals are reminiscent of the Michael Stipe’s cryptic incantations and gives the track a refreshing sound coupled with classic rock guitar. But clichéd imagery that has been done countless times bogs down the ultimate theme of broken dreams and fading hope. Ranaldo’s journey toward clarity hits a speed bump in the refrain, “I know exactly what you mean, I know exactly what you dream,” which comes off as whiny and tired as opposed to intuitive.

The lengthiest song, “Xtina As I Knew Her,” boasts just over seven minutes of material and is chock full of smooth electric guitar riffs along with Ranaldo’s sometimes-clever, other-times-laughable rhymes. Discomforting lyrics, “As Christina came of age, I hung with Xtina’s friends,” definitely grab listeners’ attention in the most shocking of ways. The flow of the song is occasionally disrupted by choppy shifts between singing and spoken word but serve to add backstory to the song. Despite a few lyrical pitfalls, Ranaldo aptly describes a self-destructive young woman and the meaning of the album title “between the times and the tides” begins to surface with perfect subtlety.

Uppity number “Angles” serves as a much-needed refresher following the emotional depth of previous songs. Electric guitar and organ intertwine to create a backdrop for vocals as Ranaldo sings with two-dimensional cheer.“Angles” is followed by the most stripped down number of the album “Hammer Blows,” which sticks with the same rhyme structure as many songs previous and almost lulls listeners to sleep. And just when listeners start getting in a tranquil groove, an annoying guitar “wah” pedal disrupts. Ranaldo’s electric guitar chops are extremely evident; “Fire Island (Phases)”and makes it obvious why he was named Rolling Stones 33^rd greatest guitarist of all time, one spot above his band mate Thurston Moore.

Closer “Tomorrow Never Comes” tries hard to match the AABB rhyme scheme upheld for the entire album but often falters with either painfully cryptic lyrics or unnatural vocal delivery. “Did you wake up late this morning with a halo around your head/ find yourself on the streets and wishing you could climb back in your bed,” is one of the most begrudging highlights of the song.

Each song on Between The Times And The Tides tiptoes near flawlessness, with profound overarching themes and innovative guitar composition. But then something interludes to jeopardize that progress, sometimes a just-too-cute rhyme or a wayward wah pedal. Whatever it may be, listeners remain stranded somewhere not between the times and tides, but between satisfaction and confusion.

Lee Ranaldo – Between the Times and the Tides tracklist:

1. “Waiting On A Dream”
2. “Off The Wall”
3. “Xtina As I Knew Her”
4. “Angles”
5. “Hammer Blows”
6. “Fire Island (Phases)”
7. “Lost”
8. “Shouts”
9. “Stranded”
10. “Tomorrow Never Comes”

M. Ward is a deceptively hard artist to access. His music is rightly described as authentic retro, with most elevator pitches including something about ‘old-timey radios’ being the preferred listening device with which to hear a record like Post-War. Those records, excellent as they almost all are, carry a sort of weight of preordained values – if you don’t want retro, M. Ward was a pointless listen. If you did, you had to be prepared to deal with retro folk in its purest, least gimmicked approach. If anything, M. Ward is actually one of the more unforgiving musicians with regards to his audience’s commitment to the listen.

Which is why, of course, She & Him was the best possible circumstance for Matthew Ward’s cache. Combining his expectant retro literacy and the brilliant ray of sunshine that is the queen of Manic Pixie Dreamgirl-dom, Zooey Deschanel, Volume 1 and Volume 2 (for we shall not speak of A She & Him Christmas) were an effective distillation of the best parts of both. Neither record were as good as End of Amnesia, but they provided a natural starting point for a fan wanting to dive into the M. Ward songbook.

To that end, A Wasteland Companion, M. Ward’s first solo effort since 2009, might be a great starting point on the journey into his discography. Mostly swathed in warmth, frequently poignant in ways that M. Ward hasn’t been in years, and easily digestible in large or small chunks, Wasteland is a comfortable primer into what makes M. Ward special, apart from his invaluable additions to the She & Him formula.

Coming off of three years of escalating production values and larger sounds, Wasteland welcomes airiness and spatial comfort back into the Ward toolbox. Ward largely shies away from giant pop songs, settling into a groove around the record’s second half that could only come from an artist getting to spend time inside his own head. Opener “Clean Slate” hints at this atmospheric guitar-folk with Iron & Wine like plucking and a gorgeous opening line: “When I was a younger man I thought the pain of defeat would last forever/ But now I don’t know what it would take to make my heart back down.” It’s that kind of well-worn poetry that punctuates Ward’s best songs, and thankfully there’s more of those moments on Wasteland than have been present in any of his past half-decade of work.

The first half of the record is a far more mixed bag. He treads back to the transistor radio style folk-rock for songs like “Primitive Girl, “Sweetheart” and “I Get Ideas,” and his success rate at any of them is scattershot. The songs are that jerky-tough M. Ward songcraft, impossible to chew away on if not in the right mindset. This goes doubly for the somewhat unwelcome intrusion of Ms. Deschanel on “Me and My Shadow” and “Sweetheart,” the later of which sounds just like a She & Him toss off; little comfort for those wanting to hear Ward express himself alone.

Yet again, the second half of the record is far better. Disregarding the unfortunate Network-esque “Watch the Show,” Ward shoos everyone else out of the recording space and gets into his head, leading to some of the more affecting and calming songs of his career. His beaten romantic trope still bears fruit, as the indelibly strong “There’s a Key,” “Crawl After You” and “Wild Goose” impress. She & Him were the perfect songs for being in love with someone, where M. Ward has always been best for loving something that can’t show it back. Each of his lovesick odes twinges of pain; nothing is ever one emotion.

A Wasteland Companion most clearly succeeds in demarcating M. Ward from She & Him. It’s not the strongest M. Ward album, but it’s a comfortable reminder that Ward has not just become the glue guy for more effective supergroups (Monsters of Folk especially). Most of all it welcomes a more open M. Ward, an artist who writes records, quaint symmetry aside, as companions for the lonelier moments in life. Wasteland is just that, and while imperfect, its ticks and flaws are admirable a winning, a quality the best M. Ward record have had in spades.

M. Ward – A Wasteland Companion tracklist:

1. “Clean Slate”
2. “Primitive Girl”
3. “Me and My Shadow”
4. “Sweetheart”
5. “I Get Ideas”
6. “The First Time I Ran Away”
7. “A Wasteland Companion”
8. “Watch the Show”
9. “There’s a Key”
10. “Crawl After You”
11. “Wild Goose”
12. “Pure Joy”

Threads is the second full album by Minnesota trio Now, Now. Originally called Now, Now Every Children, the band has recently shortened its moniker, pulled its act together and is ready for the big leagues. Threads is the kind of album that launches bands from nowhere straight to indie stardom. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, but it does capture that perfect mix of cute, fun, endearing and genuine that will make people take notice.

The fourth track on Threads is called “Dead Oaks.” Listen to it right now; we can wait. Clocking in at well under two minutes, the song is hardly an investment, and it is easily the best track on this album. “Dead Oaks” perfectly demonstrates what Now, Now is all about: melancholic indie pop powered by tense guitar strums and driven forward by simple but heavy drums. The two female vocalists harmonize perfectly, and the song slowly builds dramatic tension and climaxes in a way that is bittersweet, both happy and sad.

The rest of Threads doesn’t ever quite top “Dead Oaks,” but it comes close a few times. Other album highlights include the denser “Prehistoric” and “Wolf,” which mixes things up with some eerie rolling synthesizer. Sometimes a “good” album can be devastated by one “fantastic” song, but Threads as a whole is a consistent and enjoyable listen and shouldn’t be overshadowed by one song, even if it is nearly perfect.

Part of the reason that the album holds up under this pressure is because of its strong composition: the album is both musically and thematically cohesive, and it flows together in a very natural and enjoyable way. The songs aren’t so bland that they mindlessly blend together, but the sound is consistent enough that nothing is dangerously shocking—the album follows a very logical progression and benefits as a result.

Threads also does a very good job setting a bittersweet mood that carries throughout the record and makes the collection of songs feel artistically complete. This is very impressive and something that not enough bands strive for. Particularly cool is the repeated use of the album’s title, which is a recurring word throughout the album and one that ties (pardon the pun) everything together in a full, rich way.

That being said, a few of the songs on the album are a bit forgettable. None are truly “bad,” and they never feel like album filler (because the band is clearly giving each song its all), but there are a few that don’t differentiate enough. As a result, they tend to drift toward the background. It isn’t a deal-breaker, but it is something to be prepared for.

Now, Now is a band to watch out for. Threads isn’t a perfect recording, but it does capture an emotion and retell that emotion in way that is captivating and real. There are a few real gems here, and with a little more polish, Now, Now could easily become something huge.

Now, Now – Threads tracklist:

1. “The Pull”
2. “Prehistoric”
3. “Lucie, Too”
4. “Dead Oaks”
5. “Oh. Hi.”
6. “But I Do”
7. “Separate Rooms”
8. “Thread”
9. “Wolf”
10. “School Friends”
11. “Colony”
12. “Magnet”

Rocky Votolato breathes a very expressive West Coast energy in his new album, Television of Saints, that aligns with the likes of The Head and the Heart, Bright Eyes and The Shins. Tones in his voice catch the coastal wave that lines his heritage, outlining a past filled with angst, travels and newfound wisdom. We’re enlightened by the stories in the words that fill his latest compilation.

The singer-songwriter vibe that listeners collect from Votolato is tranquil yet upbeat and solemn yet dense. He doesn’t fall into the rut of the one-trick-pony curse that ails most singer-songwriters like himself: people get bored of hearing the same material from one person, no matter how talented he or she may be.

We hear the character of a writer come up every now and then to frame the album’s concept, trailing in and out of the novel listeners are treated to in Votolato’s latest set of songs. At one moment in “Crooked Arrow,” things get inspiring and profound:

“Author of all things/whisper in your ear/while you were asleep/you’re not alone with crooked arrows/like you used to think.”

It’s possible that Votolato’s work could fool listeners into thinking that it was performed by a full band. Not only does his voice fill the space in our ears, but the guitar also accompanies it enough to become fulfilled while other instruments, such as piano, harmonica and strings, chime in to complete the picture.

Votolato’s chiseled voice is the final and most prevalent instrument in the ensemble. His words are so filled with depth that they call for the right execution, which is often delicate and lovely. In “Writing Fiction,” however, his voice strains as it lets out the most lengthy powerful notes along Television of Saints. This effect as lyrics tell of “stories old” is worth tuning into wholly.

The beauty in the craft of Votolato is that even after a decently lengthy career of producing albums on his own, he still hasn’t become a prick. There’s no way to croon about finding yourself without staying humble because the subject material is so vulnerable. If he’s willing to put out such raw content, he’s not able to come off as a dick because the man is so sensitive.

Votolato’s only downfall in Television of Saints is that some may view him as dull or uninspiring. As with anything, his indie-acoustic sensibility isn’t advised for all music lovers. It could be classified as things white people like: fans would sway back and forth instead of pumping their fists at a live performance of the tunes. But if this is our biggest argument against Votolato, then he’s pretty well off. Television of Saints is harmlessly somber.

This is his other selling point: finding strength in capturing the ability to let go of feelings in front of an audience many  years after finding success in the industry. People will respect him for this, and if they can’t, they won’t allow themselves to fully appreciate the wonder that Votolato puts forth onto his audiences. Plain and simple as his style goes, all in all, Television of Saints is to be liked.

Rocky Votolato – Television of Saints tracklist:

1. “Little Spring”
2. “Ghost Writer”
3. “Fool’s Gold”
4. “Above the Water”
5. “Sunlight”
6. “Television of Saints”
7. “Start Over”
8. “Sparks”
9. “Writing Fiction”
10. “Crooked Arrows”
11. “Let Go”
12. “St. Louis”
13. “Disguises”
14. “Instrument”

Few bands have developed a style so unique that a new term was coined to describe it. Swedish metal band Meshuggah’s pummeling, syncopated, palm-muted guitar riffs have long stood in a league of their own, but over the past few years the metal scene has been flooded by other groups trying their hand at this so-called “djent” music. While this term was originally meant to describe the sound of the guitars playing those quick, distorted riffs, the sheer number of bands that have formed their sound around the technique have made a case for it to become its own subgenre.

Most of these bands seem to be going for the “I can’t believe it’s not butter” effect, but the problem is it clearly isn’t butter and it’s also terrible. The only instances where the style really has ended up working are in oddball situations like the late Manchester alt-prog group Oceansize’s track “Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions.”

With this wave of clones washing up on Meshuggah’s little island, it’s not hard to believe that the band has been itching to bail. So if 2008’s obZen is Meshuggah out djent-ing everyone because they can, Koloss is Meshuggah forging a new path because it has to.

On Koloss, the Swedish quintet doesn’t have anything to prove, and delivers 10 punishing tracks that will knock the listener on the floor and put their minions in their place. It’s undeniably Meshuggah, but it sees the group backing away from their signature chugs a bit in favor of simpler grooves and straight-up brutality.

In fact, it’s kind of startling how simple the tunes are here. Drummer Tomas Haake sits in the pocket for a good majority of the album. His beats were never particularly flashy, but his polyrhythmic functioning was always astonishing. On tracks like “Do Not Look Down,” the polyrhythm is still there, but much more subdued, emphasizing the groove above all.

In metal, a standout vocalist can really carry a band, and nobody sounds like Jens Kidman. His mid-range shout is instantly distinguishable and on Koloss he sounds as menacing as ever.

On its 2011 self-titled full-length, Torrance, Calif.’s Joyce Manor released one of the most powerful debut albums in recent memory. Vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson spat ire with his lyrics while simultaneously crafting songs that sounded like a hardcore band covering Weezer. The tight rhythm section, comprised of Matt Ebert and Kurt Walcher, propelled the band against Chase Knobbe’s soaring guitar leads, and, rightfully so, Joyce Manor quickly became the talk of the punk-rock world. Taking notice of this well-deserved hype, longstanding independent punk/ska label Asian Man Records nabbed up the band for its second album, Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired.

The 13-minute, nine-song affair certainly bears Joyce Manor’s signature, but it never sticks to the pop-punk blueprint laid out on its self-titled album. Tracks such as “Comfortable Clothes” and “If I Needed You There” wouldn’t have felt out of place on the band’s debut, but the cleaner production—mixed with Johnson’s improved singing ability—sees the band growing in different directions.

Embracing the lighter side of the punk world, Of All Things sees the quartet explore the depths of the recorded medium. Where the self-titled album was a 19-minute gut punch, the band’s sophomore effort is nuanced and varied without losing the magic that made the band so immediate just more than a year ago. “See How Tame I Can Be” is not only a prime example of the group’s sonic progression—as the processed drums are a notable change for the group—but the song’s title almost feels like a response to the fans that were hoping for more of the same from Joyce Manor.

Extrapolating upon this tamer side, Of All Things boasts two acoustic-style tracks: the soft and elegant “Drainage” and the lo-fi, borderline demo-esque “I’m Always Tired.” It’s hard to imagine these tracks ever fitting alongside such energetic numbers as “Constant Nothing” in the band’s live show, but the inclusion of these tracks prove that Joyce Manor is perhaps one of the most nuanced pop-punk acts currently running.

Although the short runtime is far from a hindrance—each song feels complete, even if it is only a minute long—the fact that the album includes a cover of The Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star” deprives fans of more original material from the band. The cover is well-done and certainly sounds like a Joyce Manor song, but it would have been nice to have heard another new song as opposed to an homage to a rather great pop song.

With increased hype and an increased public persona, Joyce Manor avoided the sophomore slump in the best way possible. Instead of giving fans more of the same—or running too far from the sound it mastered on its debut—the band found a way to meld these two concepts by putting quality songwriting above stylistic desires. Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired is by no means as good as Joyce Manor, but it doesn’t need to be. Perfection is rare on a band’s debut, but proving it was no fluke, well, that’s almost just as rare.

Joyce Manor – Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired tracklist:

1. “These Kind of Ice Skates”
2. “Comfortable Clothes”
3. “See How Tame I Can Be”
4. “Drainage”
5. “Video Killed the Radio Star”
6. “If I Needed You There”
7. “Bride of Usher”
8. “Violent Inside”
9. “I’m Always Tired”

Yukon Blonde is a band that is refreshingly true to its name: a Canadian hybrid of dreamy indie and peppy, sun-kissed pop. Fresh off a raucously well-received performance at this year’s South by Southwest, these talented Vancouver-ites are set to take the American music world by storm with the release of their newest album, Tiger Talk. While their 2010 self-titled full length was a celebration of ’70s radio rock and modern-day Americana, Tiger Talk recalls the sunshine melodies of the late ’60s–with some ’80s electro-punk guitar solos thrown in for good measure.

Although this four-man band has been making music since 2005 (starting out as Alphababy before switching to the more Canuck-friendly moniker Yukon Blonde), Tiger Talk is primed to be their big mainstream breakthrough. With its toe-tapping beats and sing-along choruses, this record is not only Yukon Blonde’s most infectious work to date, but also their warmest and most accessible.

Tiger Talk packs a wallop of energy and enthusiasm into its brisk 36 minutes. The first track “My Girl” is pure dance-around-your-room pop, with a “Woah-oh-oh” refrain just asking to be sung into a hairbrush. Other highlights include the soaring three-part harmonies on “Stairway” (a hit-worthy single that is already climbing the charts in Canada) and the retro electric guitar riffs of “Radio,” “Breathing Tigers,” and “Oregon Shores.”

All 10 songs share an underlying theme of Paisley Underground-jangle pop, with stylistic nods to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Big Star. While the second half of the album lags in comparison to its high-octane opening, the combination of less punch and more pomp adds whole new layers of thoughtfulness to the soundscape. Lead vocalist John Innes brings a raw intensity to lyrics such as “You can wish on stars/and crash the fuck out of cars” (on the glittery ballad “Guns”) while still retaining a wink of playful likeability.

With summer rapidly approaching, Tiger Talk is the perfect soundtrack for a sun-drenched road trip or a beachside getaway. Just roll the windows down, turn the stereo up, and bask in the glow of heartfelt nostalgia and unbridled joy.

Yukon Blonde – Tiger Talk tracklist:

1. “My Girl”
2. “Radio”
3. “Stairway”
4. “Iron Fist”
5. “Oregon Shores”
6. “Six Dead Tigers”
7. “For LA”
8. “Breathing Tigers”
9. “Guns”
10. “Sweet Dee”

Delta Spirit’s new self-titled album is a big step for the band both for their musical production as well as songwriting. As any Delta Spirit fan would expect, there are soulful songs with extremely catchy melodies that grab you upon your first listen, but then also grow with you each time you go through the album as a whole.

Their single for the album, “California,” is a fast, driving song with distorted and wailing guitars reminiscent of a shoegaze band than Delta Spirit. This isn’t to say that Delta Spirit changed their sound drastically, but that they took a focused approach to the instrumentals on this album and stole small bits of inspiration and used them subtly but powerfully to pump up the magic that Delta Spirit always had under their belt.

The first song on the album opens with a fast synth keyboard part that gives fire to the whole track. In a similar way, this small addition of keys are featured on other songs like “California” in which they are a small addition to the track but take Delta Spirit into a new sonic territory that still sounds exactly like a Delta Spirit song without compromising the style that fans of Ode to Sunshine will still find new, exciting and comforting at the same time.

“Tellin’ the Mind” is built off a vocal sample of someone rolling their tongue then yelling in a way that sounds like a stereotypical Native American call to arms that is soaked in reverb in a fashion similar to your average Animal Collective loop/sample, while still sounding alive and organic. You can’t tell if it’s a sample or if it’s someone yelling into the microphone. The vocal melody in the chorus of the song enters a totally different realm that sounds more like a dirty rock song by T. Rex than anything tribal or spacey.

Though the album has a lot of tracks that are fast and full of energy, the highlights might be the softer and slower ones on the album. “Home” is a simple song with lots of emotion poured into it. Vocalist Matt Vasquez sings a very heartfelt song with beautiful, yet very simple electric guitar parts bobbing in and out of the speakers, with a slight delay that is used tastefully to add to the song. The bottom line is: any special effects used in the production and mastering side of this album were done so in a way to make the album sound better, to add to what was already there and pump it full of life, contrary to many bands who are drenching their songs and guitars in reverb and delay to make up for their lack of focus and craftsmanship in the songwriting.

One of the most important things about this album is that it will most likely bring Delta Spirit to the average, mainstream music listener. The songs on this album could be pegged as pop-rock or radio-friendly, but that doesn’t mean they are empty and three to four chords in 4/4. This simply isn’t true.

Delta Spirit is made up of true musicians with dedication and real passion and has been from the start. Anybody who has watched a video of them from their early days or seen a show knows that they are grateful to have people at their shows and that they want to give their fans the best musical experience they can give them. They aren’t on the road to sell t-shirts and move units, but they certainly won’t fight that type of attention. Instead of thinking of Delta Spirit as selling out or going big and leaving their roots, we should look at this as maybe the Delta Spirit adding some integrity to the rock music that has plagued the airwaves for too long, taking the radio play back from bands like Nickelback and giving mainstream audiences something real to listen to for a change.

Delta Spirit – Delta Spirit Tracklist:

1. “Empty House”
2. “Tear It Up”
3. “California”
4. “Idaho”
5. “Home”
6. “Otherside”
7. “Tellin’ the Mind”
8. “Time  Bomb”
9. “Into the Darkness”
10. “Money Saves”
11. “Yamaha”

Zammuto is the solo project of Nick Zammuto, perhaps best known as one half of folktronica duo The Books. The Books quietly disbanded earlier this year, but they were known for their groundbreaking use of sampling, which they layered with simple, acoustic folk elements to make surprisingly tender compositions. Now on his own, Zammuto still remains caught in that juxtaposition between harsh, synthetic noise and lighter instrumentation. In fact, the major difference between Zammuto’s self-titled debut and his work with The Books is that Zammuto is a little less sample-heavy and perhaps a little less dense, for better or for worse.

Again, the core sound here will be very familiar to those who’ve heard his prior work. Instrumentation is kept mostly simple and very folksy: a few stray plucks on an acoustic guitar, maybe some light strings. That’s kept constant and the generally pleasant mood and groove that Zammuto established during his tenure with The Books is the same, but everything else is tweaked slightly for this solo effort.

There are a few stray samples throughout the album, but they don’t drive the songs the way that they did with his previous work. Instead, the songs are actually rather vocal-driven, and unlike the clean, folksy vocals you might be expecting, these vocals are very heavily filtered and almost robotic. This sounds like a recipe for disaster (especially since Zammuto has clearly proven that he has the chops to really sing), but here, mixed with the samples and lingering strings, it actually sounds pretty natural after you give it some time to settle.

It’s difficult to really say whether this album benefits from its less-dense sound or not. On one hand, it’s a very accessible album; once listeners get over the robotically tweaked vocals, they’ll have a very easy time listening through the album and absorbing its sound. On the other hand, it might rob Zammuto’s compelling and interesting style of its longevity: denser songs might be difficult to crack into and immediately enjoy, but repeat listens of Zammuto’s earlier work always got progressively more and more enjoyable as listener’s learned to peel back the many layers and discover the core of the song.

On a more positive note, there are absolutely no duds on Zammuto, which is a rare find. Every song feels unique, well-developed and interesting. The fact that nothing here feels like filler makes a world of difference and really helps the album overall.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few standout tracks, though. Surprisingly, the two longest tracks on the album might be the most compelling. Both “Groan Man, Don’t Cry” and “Harlequin” start in a sort of plodding, uncomfortable territory before building into something much larger and grander. Both of these tracks clock in at more than five minutes, and that extra time allows the songs to really establish a groove, then mess with that groove by building it up or stripping it down in interesting ways.

A colleague referred to this album as “The Books Lite,” a very succinct and accurate representation of what Zammuto is: folktronica in a very similar vein as The Books, just a little less heavy on the sampling. Don’t let that discourage you, though; fans of The Books or those looking for something fun and experimental will find Zammuto’s solo debut an easy record to enjoy, if not one that they will listen to forever.

Zammuto – Zammuto tracklist:

1. “Yay”
2. “Groan Man, Don’t Cry”
3. “Idiom Wind”
4. “Crabbing”
5. “F U C-3PO
6. “Too Late to Topologize”
7. “Zebra Butt”
8. “Weird Ceiling”
9. “Harlequin”
10. “The Shape of Things to Come”
11. “Full Fading”

Miike Snow is an electronic band that surfaced a few years ago with its self-titled debut album, a side project between two friends from Sweden. If you haven’t heard of Miike Snow before, you’ve probably heard its production and songwriting work on a song called “Toxic” by Britney Spears, the avenue through which members Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg (also known as Bloodshy and Avant) met the third and final band member, Andrew Wyatt.

The band’s second album, Happy to You, has 10 new songs for electronic fans to scour and a bunch of new songs for DJs and other artists to remix to high heaven. To cut to the chase, this album is good. It’s a strong pop-electronic album in both production and songwriting. As expected, every little effect, every little sample, every melody, every riff and every part of the instrumentals are processed and engineered to sound as perfect as humanly possible. That’s no surprise to Miike Snow fans.

What is surprising is how members of Miike Snow have used their skills to strip this album down to the bare essentials during certain songs. Most notably, the percussion on this album doesn’t feel like it was made with machines; there are drum rolls and tempo changes that feel extremely real and organic compared with that generic soulless 4/4 drum beat we’ve all heard a million times before. On top of that, each drum hit on the record is mixed to absolute perfection, and the right sound is highlighted for every song and every mood they were going for.

Among the common themes that the songs on this album share are the melodies that sound like they were forced out of their keyboards in a sticky, staccato way that can only be compared with something like what the Rapture would do if they’d been locked in a room with synthesizers instead of guitars, or what the Faint might sound like if they were still making music.

The main piano riff of the album’s single, “Devil’s Work,” the album’s second single, “Bavarian #1 (Say You Will),” and “Pretender,” have a stop-start feel to the main melody that is almost unsettling but so catchy at the same time. As the songs progress, Miike Snow keeps augmenting these melodies further and further as the song goes on, playing it on different instruments and eventually climaxing into a giant sound that suddenly stops and takes you to the next song.

The lyrical content on this album is hit or miss. Some songs have lines that you just can’t help but sing along to once the beat and the melody are engrained into your head, like the main hook/chorus in “Pretender”: “I didn’t wanna wake up, but then I found some time/Now I notice that I drink too much, in the turning of the universe.” You have no idea what to think of them, but it gives you something for your brain to chew on through each listen.

The refrain on the last track on the album, “Paddling Out,” goes: “There’s someone here that laughs too hard at everything,” in a way that’s so poppy and catchy that it could almost get some radio airplay, and it’s not even one of the singles on the album.

At the end of the day, Happy to You is a solid collection of songs. There isn’t a bad one in the lot of them from the quick, poppy and catchy to the slow and introspective songs that actually make you sit down and contemplate while you’re listening to them, and those might be the best ones on the album.

Miike Snow also tastefully used all its studio magic. It isn’t over the top or obnoxious, and it shows on songs like “God Help This Divorce” that consist of fluttering and shimmering piano notes similar to Animal Collective and dark lyrics that are pulled off in a dead-pan, nonchalant style that will still have you singing along to the chorus: “She was a beauty queen, but I held her down, down, down.” On the first listen, you don’t realize what the hell you’re actually saying because the melody is so infectious.

Happy to You might have benefited from more heavy-hitter songs like the aforementioned “God Help This Divorce” and Miike Snow could have taken a more artistic direction, but you simply can’t ignore the infectious and simplistic goodness of the more poppy tracks on this album.

Miike Snow – Happy to You tracklist:

1. “Enter the Jokers Lair”
2. “The Wave”
3. “Devil’s Work”
4. “Vase”
5. “God Help This Divorce”
6. “Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)”
7. “Pretender”
8. “Archipelago”
9. “Black Tin Box” (featuring Lykke Li)
10. “Paddling Out”

Julia Holter is just plain intriguing. That was true when she released 2011’s Tragedy, a concept album based on the Greek play Hippolytus, and it’s even more true with Ekstasis. Normally, it’s a dicey proposition for an artist as experimental as Holter to move away from a strong central concept like the one that drove Tragedy in favor of a more freeform songwriting experience. Here though, the result is glorious because it’s given Holter more freedom, and she knows exactly what to do with it.

This is an album of unique soundscapes that belong equally to summer daydreams and dusty cathedrals devoted to the worship of ambient pop. There’s scarcely an understandable lyric on the entire disc, but it’s evocative of the kind of dreamy, high-level vocalizing that put Sigur Ros on the map. Holter stands out with a stronger, statico beat and more versatility by far. Even the most ambitious of overdubbing pioneers have never been as crafty with vocals as Holter gets on “Our Sorrows.” There, she becomes a kind of human pipe-organ, turning her voice into an instrument of baroque complexity as glimpsed from the bottom of the sea.

Then without missing a beat, the record switches gear and produces a poppy, near-danceable winner with “In the Same Room,” with a perfect interplay of beat, vocal harmony, synth that tapers elegantly to a perfect ending. “In the Same Room” is still the odd duck out, though. While Holter has certainly gotten poppier and more accessible since Tragedy, most of the songs here are still her particular flavor of post-modern hymn.

“Fur Felix” could be the soundtrack to some steampunk version of Santa’s workshop, and “Four Gardens” could be what a children’s choir would be singing in a wuxia film set in space. Holter’s ability to pick the right sound for the right occasion is matchless, and she’s succeeded in creating something that feels terrifically ancient and modern at the same time.

The complexity here admits pianos as easily as synthesizers, and in most cases, the instrumentation is a worthy partner to Holter’s voice, never quite overshadowed by the unique overdubbing and harmonizing. According to Holter, the album, like her larger body of work, was made using home-recording methods. For better or worse, that doesn’t come through at all: it’s a polished-sounding work, as it would need to be to support this much musical ambition. It’s also terrific.

Julia Holter – Ekstasis tracklist:

1. “Marienbad”
2. “Our Sorrows”
3. “Für Felix”
4. “Moni Mon Amie”
5. “Goddess Eyes II”
6. “Four Gardens”
7. “Boy in the Moon”
8. “Goddess Eyes I”
9. “In the Same Room”
10. “This Is Ekstasis”

My Dad is not another noisy/poppy/math rock band from Chicago, but one that has familial integrity. Sure, the album is layered with idiosyncratic lyrics and sardonic wit, but it’s not just another one of those typical albums that becomes ubiquitous as soon as it hits the shelves. This is a talented one-man band, much like Campfires. Multiversed musician Dave Collis performs everything—from music composition to vocals—himself and sometimes with help from a couple of his friends.