Pop 'stache

Somehow Odonis Odonis ended up being labeled as a surf-rock band.  Yes, if you were to listen to a few select track off their debut Hollandaze, you would get the vibe that they were a happy-go-lucky rock band that was really into noise, distortion, and abrasive instrumentals and vocals.

“Hollandaze” is probably the most surf-rock sounding track off the album, though there are a handful of songs that also fit the label like “Handle Bars” and “Ledged Up.” Odonis Odonis is from Toronto, and they probably aren’t catching many waves there. And if they were, it’d be the cold waves of the Atlantic, which would actually explain the Odonis Odonis style better than the sunny connotation surf-rock gives.

However, if you were to take a few other Odonis Odonis songs and play them out of context, you’d have an entirely different perspective of the band, and you might even consider them closer to a really angry ‘80s Goth or industrial band. Odonis’s tracks are covered in distortion and reverb; if you heard the riffs clean it’d be an entirely different album. They don’t stop there, though. Whether they know it or not, it sounds like they structure their songs similar to other ‘80s industrial bands like My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult;  the songs all build up as they progress instead of floundering and repeating the same verse and chorus with different lyrics twice or three times over.

Hollandaze has its impressive moments, but they aren’t truly epic. The album is more a collection of tracks than a larger, more cohesive piece of music that goes together from song to song. But don’t think Hollandaze is a poor first LP.  There is a distinct style Odonis Odonis has that takes influence from a few different styles (shoegaze, punk, and surf rock) and they jam it together in an original way that is unique to them which results in a few gems on the album. The most interesting part is that they find a way to build both their quick, two-minute punk-ish songs as well as their longer droned-out ones.

There isn’t a lack of oomph to be found; even the weaker tracks on Hollandaze are fun to listen to because of the energy Odonis puts into their music. For all the times Odonis sounds like other bands, they have times when they are totally unique, and that’s more important to focus on.

The things that stand out most about Hollandaze are how hard Odonis Odonis throw themselves into their music.

Even though the drums are repetitive electronic loops with just a few beats that, for the most part, don’t change throughout each song they still have that marching power you get from the White Stripes.

It’s this unique combination that unlocks what makes Odonis Odonis unique and hopefully they strengthen this strange yet impressive monster of style that they’ve created on their next release. Needless to say, you’re not going to hear this from anyone else.

Odonis Odonis Hollandaze tracklist:

1. “Hollandaze”
2. “Busted Lip”
3. “White Flag Riot”
4. “Blood Feast”
5. “Seedgazer”
6. “New World”
7. “Handle Bars”
8. “Basic Training”
9. “We Are the Left Overs”
10. “Ledged Up”
11. “Tick Tock”

Folk music seems to be working through a period of stagnation. A good number of entirely generic new folk bands dropped debut albums in 2011 and even a few hugely popular folk outfits that did release albums in ’11 (Fleet Foxes and The Dodos to name a couple) ended up feeling a little tired this time around. That’s not to say there weren’t any great folksy songs last year, there just wasn’t a whole lot of mind-blowingly fresh stuff either.

Luckily, The Gertrudes are here with their third full album Till the Morning Shows Her Face to Me, where the band ends up mixing in some really weird, crazy stuff with standard acoustic folk. While it doesn’t always pay off perfectly, it’s good to see someone out there trying something risky.

The best example of this is probably the album’s super catchy opener, “Derby Girl.” While “Derby Girl” features a pretty common chord progression as its backbone, the song is an intense experience of the terse strumming of acoustic instruments driving the song forward, accompanying banjos, explosive flashes of brass and singer Greg Tilson’s vocals switching between cocky and violent on the fly. It isn’t a song you could listen to forever, but it’s a hell of a ride while it lasts.

Surprisingly, the fast paced “Derby Girl” is followed by a few slower songs. “Six Jars” is  a calm, lazy song driven by some twanging banjo and hearty vocals; “Dreams”  is a ballad featuring a haunting female singer, shuffling drums and a bit of harmonica to accentuate the guitar plucking. Both are good songs that manage to meld together the band’s ridiculous number of instruments nicely, but they seem a little less crazy and inspired than some of the other songs on the record.

Luckily, things get really interesting again with “Good People” which starts as very minimalistic, vocal-driven piece but halfway through it rapidly picks up tempo and adds in some psychedelic synthetic noises, becoming a mash up of classic Stereolab-style electropop and southern bluegrass. It’s entirely unexpected, uncalled for, and absolutely jaw dropping. It’s probably the definitive moment of the entire album.

Unfortunately, surprises like this are just a little too uncommon: “Good People” and “Derby Girl” are proof that the band works really well with faster, braver songs, but most of the songs on Till the Morning Shows Her Face to Me are slow and somber. They’re really well done and still feature a diverse selection of styles and instruments, and they still definitely deserve a place on the album; it’s just a shame that they take up so much of the album’s run time when the band has proven capable of writing some hectic and thrilling fast-paced jams.

There are so many conflicting elements at play here that Till the Morning Shows Her Face to Me could have easily been an unfocused mess, but The Gertrudes manage to juggle all these instruments rather well, and even in the most chaotic moments the songs still feel controlled and focused. It isn’t perfectly refined right now, but it’s a worthwhile genre exploration for anyone looking for something different.

The Gertrudes Till the Morning Shows Her Face to Me tracklist:

1. “Derby Girl”
2. “Six Jars”
3. “Dreams”
4. “Good People”
5. “Flashbulbs”
6. “Carolina”
7. “Summer Plans”
8. “Yellow Yard”
9. “Heartland”
10. “Lonely Days”

The Gorilla Press compares itself to everything from Mogwai and the Foo Fighters, and somehow this Chicago band finds a way to meld these varied influences into something other than a train wreck. Its sophomore album, A Natural Thing (Unnatural to Me), sees the group attempt to meld these disparate influences while simultaneously finding its own voice.

“On Fire” opens the album with a punch. It is an uptempo indie-rock sing-along that actually rocks. It comes out of the gate boasting layered guitars, and occasionally borders on post-rock in spots. By the time “On Fire” ends it appears that the Gorilla Press has given listeners a summary of what all the band has to offer.

From there A Natural Thing (Unnatural to Me) slows rather significantly. There are a few rockers spread across the album, but its emphasis certainly seems to be on moodier arrangements. Sadly, this approach doesn’t always yield the strongest results. What makes the Gorilla Press successful is the fact that the group is composed of adept musicians that avoid overplaying. Drummer Reid Erickson adds a unique backbeat to each song, allowing the group’s rhythm section to stand out amongst some fairly standard rock affair. However, the fact that the group is known for having members switch instruments during live performances makes it seem that the group’s roles and ambitions are never clearly defined.

While the Gorilla Press adds layers of effects and reverb to A Natural Thing (Unnatural to Me) it sends up making the album’s production seem fairly one-note. In the moments where the group is rocking, it makes sense. However, when it quiets itself for slower arrangements, it feels as if the songs have been removed of all their energy. The guitar work of Kirill Orlov and Chris Kang has the ability to sound both aggressive and vulnerable over the course of the album, but they are stuck in the middle of a reverb purgatory.

When the Gorilla Press is on, it does an impressive job of mixing genres without ever being overly proggy or self-indulgent. Yet when it falls flat – as it does on numerous occasions – it is due to an apparent internal identity crisis.

A Natural Thing (Unnatural to Me) is an interesting release from a band that has a large amount of potential. If the Gorilla Press pulled back the reverb and went for a more natural sound on the recording perhaps the album could have been more effective. The songwriting is there, but it is obscured, and often overshadowed by lackluster production choices.

The Gorilla Press – A Natural Thing (Unnatural To Me) tracklist:

1. “On Fire”
2. “The Night You Walked With Me”
3. “Everything That Can Be Done”
4. “Kneejerk”
5. “Sunrise”
6. “Whale in the Sea Pt. 1”
7. “Whale in the Sea Pt. 2”
8. “To the Hills”
9. “When I Care”
10. “Possibilities”

Secret Colours are still painting with the palette of the psychedelic sixties, and they make no apologies for not even nodding toward music from the last forty years. It’s true that there is a sonic similarity to nineties revivalists that led the caravan of light like Ride, Chapterhouse, The Jesus and Mary Chain and their descendents Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Crocodiles. However, their greatest debt is owed to the pastoral canvases painted by obscurities like The Creation and their Nuggets-y ilk and the stripped down sound of The Kinks (whose “Sunny Afternoon” is given a faithful rendition here).

On the none too creatively named Ep3, the Chicago sextet sashay through four originals and a Kinks cover, in a leisurely and minimalist manner. “Faust” begins the EP with an appropriately ominous guitar pulsing, then unleashes a groovy shoutarrific maelstrom akin to the recent work of fellow Velvet Underground inspired kin Black Angels. Highlight “Legends Of Love” begins with a compelling electric guitar interval and vibrates its way into a conga-driven backbeat laced mini-skirt wearing shindig– it could have well been a lost Stone Roses b-side. The slurred tenor vocals with the tinny effects reinforce the drugged-out, “I just woke up” feel of the shambling vampiness.  The lovely acoustic guitar-anchored “Carry My Soul,” crafts a trance-like vibe with its pulsing, repetitive keyboards.

There are two schools of thought with regard to covers. One maintains that there is no point of performing someone else’s song without bringing something new to it, whether it be a twist, like Johnny Cash doing a Nine Inch Nails song, or Chicago’s Tiger Bones mashing up a Harry Nilsson classic with a Joy Division song. The second school of thought maintains that a cover version should be a respectful homage, taking pains to duplicate the original as closely as possible. Secret Colours take the latter approach, but it works, sometimes wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve is the best route to take, and coming at the conclusion in the running order, it serves as a fitting coda. Having said that, there is an eerie similarity between “Sunny Afternoon” and the preceding track, “Carry My Soul,” so much so that one could play them back to back and play the “Separated At Birth?” game.

But if Secret Colours are not the most original ensemble, that’s kind of beside the point. There’s enough great music left to tap in the vein of sixties rock to keep the adrenalin and endorphins a’flowin’ for as long as the group can keep it together.  If there’s any other criticism to be applied to the palette of Secret Colours, it’s that they paint themselves into a corner with some very short songs and a short EP, but like the best short-form releases, it leaves the listener wanting more, and that’s certainly an unqualified success.

Led by the bizarre and brilliant Toby Driver, avant-garde/metal/whatever group Kayo Dot has created some strange music recently (as one may expect from a guy that has previously dabbled with astral projection in his songwriting). Perhaps in an attempt to pump some blood back into their abstractions, their fifth album Gamma Knife takes a look back at the dynamic range of their first two albums, 2003’s Choirs of the Eye and 2006’s Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue, showing each extreme on its own over the course of five tracks. Two soft tracks bookend the set with three heavier tracks in the middle. Strangely, the band decided to only record the first and last track in the studio and record the rest live at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY.

“Lethe” is a really promising opener, bringing back the delicacy and melodic sensibility of the group’s best work. Lightly strummed guitars and tubular bells support Driver’s soft croon as the piece slowly unfolds into a creepily beautiful hymn being sung in, imaginably, an old cathedral.

Then things take a weird turn. “Rite of Goetic Evocation” is the first of the three live recordings and it introduces a black metal sound. Stylistically, it still works with the intro (the cathedral image makes sense now) and the band tries to incorporate Mia Matsuyima’s trademark violin as well as saxophones into the maelstrom, but it often sounds like just a muddled mess of sound. This is in part due to the low-budget live capture, but there is no doubt that even in a more controlled setting the chaos would abound. Certainly chaos was the goal, but these guys are capable of better (see: “Aura on an Asylum Wall” or the conclusion of “The Manifold Curiosity”).

On their earlier releases, Driver’s screams were noticeably cathartic and his feelings translated to the listener. There was a certain magic about how his croon was met with sweeping clarinet and then destroyed by crushing guitars and drums and a frightening shriek. There was so much to take in, but it was so clean, so compelling and, most importantly, so real. They were onto something. It’s a wonder how they got to be so impenetrable since then. Gamma Knife starts to bring that magic back, but it doesn’t quite get there.

This can mostly be attributed to Driver’s inability, or perhaps refusal, to write anything resembling a song anymore. Even the longest of tracks on Choirs of the Eye had a clear impetus and direction. The melodies were strong and the dynamics were stronger.

So, the next two tracks follow a similar format, black metal with avant-garde and jazz infusions. It’s often intriguing but never impacting. The title track, however, winds things down quite nicely – easily the prettiest thing they’ve done since “Immortelle and Paper Caravelle” – complete with gorgeous, subtle piano and jazzy guitar accompaniment. It is still very much an avant-garde composition, but it emotes like nothing this group has done in half a decade.

All of the elements that made Choirs of the Eye the cult classic that it is are hiding somewhere in here, but the band often fails to bring them to the foreground. The album has more in common with Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue, in that it’s imperfect, but massively imaginative with some very fine moments peppered in, although that one was much more consistent and sounded a whole lot better.

Nevertheless, this does mean a step in the right direction for Driver & Co.  At its best moments, the band is on the verge of black metal’s greatest breakthrough in years, but the poor production and sometimes poor execution cause the band to miss their mark.

In 2009, Driver reunited his old band maudlin of the Well (several members have also been a part of at least one Kayo Dot release) to release Part the Second. It showed us that Driver could still write melodies and appropriately epic compositions. If he can take that same approach with Kayo Dot on their next album, the result will be something astounding.

Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife tracklist:

1. “Lethe”
2. “Rite of Goetic Evocation”
3. “Mirror Water, Lightning Night”
4. “Ocellated God”
5. “Gamma Knife”

Electronic music can be everything and nothing at the same time. A continuing repetition of samples and beats can create an entire album, allowing each tune to flow into the next. In some cases, it is meant to create a feeling or atmosphere rather than express emotions. Music created with evocative beats and textures engulf anyone who listens transporting them directly into the DJ’s whimsical mind.

New York DJ Alec Feld goes under the moniker Expensive Looks to create his own world of hypnotic bliss and electro bedroom-pop in his debut LP Dark Matters. By blending Chicago house, Motown, disco and ‘90s pop, Feld is able to sustain a modernized composition of electronic at its finest and worst.

Dark Matters is full of sunny samples and airy sequencing creating a non-existent escape from reality. Feld has a dark demeanor, though. It could be the heart-pounding bass in songs like “Nightfalls” or the ghostly background vocals in “Be My Own.” Either way, the contrasting sounds are an underlying theme within a constant state of confusion.

In opening track “Your Dreams are Week,” Feld breaks through with a hazy guitar riff and pounding percussion. Quick moving house beats are smothered across a bright canvas as Dark Matters releases into a psychedelic wave. Merging remnants of shoe gaze into the mix, “Your Dreams are Week” gracefully dissipates into “Nothing More.”

The most pop-sensible of them all, “Nothing More” twinkles with atmospheric space and love-struck vocals before quickly melting itself into “Felt Up.” His sometimes too short tunes flow with ease into the next as if each song is just a chapter in his short-winded story. Maxing out at mere 33-minutes, Feld strays from the lengthy tunes commonly seen in the electronic world with only three songs over four minutes.

Moderately dance-able songs like “Tracewave” and “Sea/Air” embody tendencies seen in early house music with distorted samples of brass-like instruments and quickly paced drum lines.

Ending his journey is “Vanishers.” Feld slowly builds up with fuzzed vocals and synthetic loops in an effervescent world of youth. His steady crawl to the top is like awaiting a long coming sunrise through the cloud break. Feld uses chirping noises resembling birds, but there is nothing organic about the album. Even his voice is heavily processed, but that’s the dark beauty that Expensive Looks creates his path upon.

Dark Matters is a world of its own. Throw on a pair of headphones because this swift moving album is best as a daily soundtrack. While the bass thuds through the brain and the airy pysch opens up into a spacious soundscape, any surrounding noise just doesn’t seem necessary.

Expensive Looks – Dark Matters tracklist:

1. “Your Dreams are Week”
2. “Nothing More”
3. “Felt Up”
4. “Nightfalls”
5. “Tracewave”
6. “Be My Own”
7. “Sea/Air”
8. “Moving Visions”
9. “Vanishers”

Don’t ever start by listening to Errors through laptop speakers. It’s a good rule of thumb with any music, but with this album especially. Even if it’s just until headphones are plugged in, don’t judge it until there’s sufficient fidelity. The difference is dramatic – between hit and miss, really. it could be said that Errors greatest strength lies in sound quality itself. The Scottish quartet have put such attention to detail that they deserve to be called, like their album art, pointillists. Actually, there are times when it gets “too real,” the music is so crisp and refined that it doesn’t seem like a part of this world.

Since there’s no apparent theme to Have Some Faith in Magic the Rock Action ruffians choose to bang out tunes as strange and eclectic as themselves; Gregorian style chanting backs angular synth textures and an assortment of live percussion. Opener “Tusk” hearkens back to Prog with its histrionic guitar lines wailing over the mix. Lead single “Magna Encarta” is more the vast “Post-Electro” haze we’ve come to know and love the band for. One quality they haven’t lost is to put human back into the machine; even the most synthetic of runs manage to bend and squeal, defying its pitch-perfect creation.

While it is a fun collection and there’s nothing per se wrong with it, there’s also nothing about Have Some Faith in Magic that pierces. There are so many groups using era-authentic instrumentation to sound dated that it’s easy to get muddled in the bunch. This is a collection songs that never really challenge the listener nor do they make one want to get up and gyrate, it’s all washy ambience.  But that’s a choice, a choice from a singles-oriented group, and it’s not for lack of experience. That the band made their public debut on Total Request Live goes to show just how long they’ve been in the wings. It’s hard to believe that this is only their third album.

Errors are frequently compared to Battles, and not unjustly. Their instrumentation, tempos and sounds brought back from the future add intrigue. They are also quite alike in their use of voice not as something that speaks but produces tone. On the glowing “Cloud Chamber” it seems like the airy chanting is begging to mean something, in some dead language; alas, it’s just sounds, just another element in the tapestry. And as each number lapses on the album the effect is something like a feel-good documentary on human life or the planet: Scenes so disparate and diverse, one can hardly hope to make sense or empathize with them. And yet they are by turns mesmerizing, lustrous and exotic, making you feel connected to something larger than yourself.

Errors – Have Some Faith in Magic tracklist:

1. “Tusk”
2. “Magna Encarta”
3. “Blank Media”
4. “Pleasure Palaces”
5. “The Knock”
6. “Canon”
7. “Earthscore”
8. “Cloud Chamber”
9. “Barton Spring”
10. “Holus-Bolus”

Chances are nobody reading this review has ever hitchhiked for a decent portion of their adult life. One can imagine it as a uniquely solitary existence, one filled with scant human connection and more time to considers one’s involvement, or lack thereof, in the grand scheme of things.

All this to say that Trevor Jones probably has a fairly unique viewpoint on his music. The portland blues-punk musician, or so the Bon Iver-esque story goes, set himself out on the actual highway, hitchhiking his way around America while learning lap steel. Disregarding whatever exaggerations were made crafting this story into a tweet-friendly size, the narrative bears out a truth about Jones, performing as Poor Boy’s Soul, on his new record Burn Down. The subject matter of his songs all elicit varying traditional hard-folk tropes (kill-gamble-steal-anarchy, in some order), but either due to his perceived authenticity or in spite of it, Jones always sounds like he’s singing from a place of truth.

Which is a good thing, since Burn Down frequently gets bogged down by Jones’ admittedly excellent lap steel skills. Poor Boy’s Soul survives on a mixture of tense emotion, gruff shout-song and an endearing knack for how riffs should be played; the mixture gets murky when one of those outweighs the other. “Nails in the Pine” has a bit too much furious bloodletting, “Movin’ to the City” too much riff-as-song obsession, and “54 Ways” doesn’t dive far enough into specific song-craft, trading an interesting take on the Marc Cohn song “29 Ways” for basic gruffness. On a seven track, just over half-hour long LP, and given that most of Burn Down is only Jones tapping his foot, singing and playing lap steel, the cracks in the foundation are almost damning.

When the concoction works, however, Jones can arrive at something that relentless and fairly magical in its solitude. The fact that the title track is the work of just one man (excepting the presence of the female voice in the refrain) seems like a trick, but his burnt bridges are better persona is so clear and bracing that it merits consideration among the bigger names in hard-folk. Then Jones throws an inexplicable curveball, toning his delivery down several notches, slowing his feral tempos to porch-swing time, and churning out the beautiful seven minute closer “Annalisa.” The straightforward narrative about a woman who continues to evince her inner strength for displays of weakness, despite the protagonist’s desire for her to grow, borders on poignant. A soft, meaningful track to clean away some of the disturbing harsh tones of before, “Annalisa” is a wise and potentially fruitful direction for Trevor Jones, an avenue that can add character to the sturdy foundation supplied in the rest of Burn Down.

But it’s still only a foundation. Jones has crafted a singular aesthetic, a dynamite persona to go with it, and has the talent to back his storefront up with skillful songmanship. Were Burn Down longer, or did more with the idea that Jones is a lone gunman with his pedal steel and voice, this might be one of the more refreshing records to come out of the blues-folk genre in a while. But because Burn Down stays largely within the confines of its sub-genre, veering away from any tangible artistic forward moves, Trevor Jones sits rather as a marker for potential future successes.

Tracklist

1. “Burn Down”
2. “Movin’ to the City”
3. “Nails in the Pine”
4. “Throwin’ Stones”
5. “Ain’t Comin’ Back Any More”
6. “54 Ways”
7. “Annalisa”

Devil Ship is the sophomore release for indie-folk band Among the Oak & Ash. On it, the band mixes together elements of indie, folk, rock and Americana in a way that is technically sound, but unfortunately, it’s almost entirely forgettable.

Right from the album opening title track, listeners will notice that Devil Ship has a very familiar style: singer Josh Joplin delivers in a clean, soft, country folk style; drums are light and simple, instrumentation is kept mostly acoustic; and it’s all wrapped in a sort of rustic, mountainous aura. There are a few interesting instruments that give the songs a sort of old-world spin but they don’t really differ much from the overall dynamic of most indie-folk. It’s ultimately too generic: other than the few twanging banjos, lutes or mandolins, there isn’t anything exceptionally new or exciting.

There are a few tracks that fare better than most of the others, though. “The Rose and Briar” slowly builds from a sparse introduction into a classic rock ‘n’ roll anthem with fuzzy backing guitars while still maintaining a folksy, pastoral sensibility. “Sing Sparrow Sing (The Ballad of Walter Kohn)” has a genuinely fun and catchy chorus, and the verses feel rich and well-developed. Also interesting is the track “Among the Oak & Ash” (Yes, it’s named after the band.) which is a slow, very personal song that really shows off what the band is capable of when trying to recall more somber emotions.

While most of the songs on the record are pretty forgettable, songs such as these give hope that, given enough time to find a unique and compelling style and voice, the band could develop into something really interesting. They just need to try being a little more adventurous.

It’s difficult to be so critical of Among the Oak & Ash. There’s an obvious passion for music in their album, a genuine desire to express emotion and enthrall the listener, but it plays everything too safe. There are no wild cards, no surprises, no shocking turns of events; everything is strictly by the book, and it’s hard to recommend Devil Ship to anyone. Fans of folk will already have heard everything here, and those new to the genre can find better examples of standard indie-folk.

Deep down, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with either Devil Ship or Among the Oak & Ash. The musicianship is competent, songwriting works and there’s nothing distracting or deeply unpleasant on the whole record. It’s just that everything done here has been done before—and done better—and as such, the album feels a little unnecessary. At least it’s inoffensive.

Among the Oak & Ash – Devil Ship tracklist:

1. “Devil Ship”
2. “The Redemption of John Hardy”
3. “The Rose and Briar”
4. “Billy and the Good Girl”
5. “Among the Oak & Ash”
6. “New York City, New York”
7. “Little Red Rocking Chair”
8. “Don’t You Weep (I Could Never Forget You)”
9. “Sing Sparrow Sing (The Ballad of Walter Kohn)”
10. “The Shaker’s Daughter”
11. “Come All You Young and Tenderhearted”
12. “The One Behind”

“Pink champagne/tastes the same,” or so says Kathleen Edwards. Such a minuscule detail, posing as a chorus in the aptly titled “Pink Champagne,” shouldn’t matter. However, such specificity, so emotively transmitted, is part of the reason Edwards’ latest record, Voyageur, handles the naturally gentrified genre of folk-pop with such grace and uniqueness. But then again, when given a record produced by Justin Vernon and featuring such varied guest as John Roderick and Norah Jones, one is almost begging genre lines to be crossed.

Possibly because of Vernon and Edwards collaborating on the boards, Voyageur’s color palette is far deeper than her previous three LPs. She still has the road-worn troubadour trope down pat (Opener “Empty Threat” is still one of the best songs on the record.), but there are some welcome changes of pace here, and some songs are downright outside of folk. “Soft Place to Land” is about as Death Cab for Cutie as one can get, and “Change the Sheets,” if you squint hard enough, resembles Taylor Swift.

But back to that pink champagne thing, for a bit. The tendency might be to call these off-folk cuts from Voyageur a variation on Starbucks-y, adult alternative fare. True enough, “Change the Sheets” would probably work well with a latte. But to insinuate that Edwards is innocuous background music would deny her still-restless heart, moreso ignoring the calmness and confidence with which she bears out such a heart. To say the way she sings, “I used to make you happy/but I don’t know you” on “House Full of Empty Rooms” is just mindless verbiage to go with a placating aura is to almost completely miss the point. Pink champagne may taste the same, but Edwards doesn’t.

A close listen would reveal the folly in missing the point, since Edwards has rarely been this consistently excellent and on a set topic, this time (obviously?) voyages. The first song starts off with an albeit empty threat of large-scale geographic change, and the threats gets progressively less empty from there. First, its personal (“Change the sheets/then change me”), then developmental (“you and I will be sidecars/there to chase down the hard stuff”). Then in a final, somewhat brutal, turn, it’s following a deceptive lover down to hell. Her conviction is always the same in these decisions, and that steadfast commitment to movement makes Voyageur’s lesser movements (“Mint”) seem forgivable. By the time Edwards has found a safe distance from her subjects on what’s sure to be a gem of a live cut “For the Record,” there is a resignation to her fate that feels earned, not slapdash.

Conspicuously, the last line of Voyageur is, “For the record/I only wanted to sing songs.” It’s at once true and also far too modest. Edwards is far surpassing her potential as a songwriter by just playing her songs. Vernon certainly has helped here, but it’s testament to Edwards bearing her soul and not, as she sings in “Chameleon/Comedian,” “just [hiding] behind the songs I write.” There is a rawness here, plumbed by a conviction to move and create that makes Voyageur what it is. In that, maybe Edwards is hiding. Her proclivity for claiming herself less special in her narratives belies just how gifted a songwriter, and artist, she has become with Voyageur, her best work.

Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur tracklist:

1. “Empty Threat”
2. “Chameleon/Comedian”
3. “A Soft Place to Land”
4. “Change the Sheets”
5. “House Full of Empty Rooms”
6. “Mint”
7. “Sidecar”
8. “Pink Champagne”
9. “Going to Hell”
10. “For the Record”

After listening to Make the Girl Dance on a steady repeat, the looped dance beats and nostalgic vocals became delightfully catchy. The trend of bedroom pop-turned-electronic is steadily growing, but the youthful, retro, female voice in Everything Is Going to Be OK in the End is much more mysterious than other groups with a similar sound.

Although Everything Is Going to Be OK in the End features mainly female vocals, Make the Girl Dance is French DJ duo Greg Kozo and Pierre Mathieu. Known for their overtly sexual videos, these Parisians seem to be obsessed with promiscuity, drugs and women.

The duo’s video for “Baby Baby Baby” led to a variety of spoofs that took over YouTube. The original features three naked women walking down the streets of France with black boxes flashing lyrics over their socially inappropriate areas. Each of the tall, skinny and beautiful women walked down the street as if it were a cat walk—and of course got many stares from the public.

“Kill Me” shows the duo acting as if they only had eight days left to live. The two travel to New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles to blow through $30,000 in savings on drugs, tattoos and strippers, and the video documents the whole trip in a money-tracking timeline. The song itself is an obvious ode to fellow French duo Daft Punk, but it lacks the same punch.

The oddest of them all is “Broken Toy Boy.” This video is a story of a girl ordering life-size dolls of Kozo and Mathieu only to trash them after she births a doll baby from the two. Doesn’t make sense? Watching the video doesn’t quite clear it up, but worth a watch.

“Breezy” features all spoken words taken directly from 1973 Clint Eastwood film Breezy, which is about a middle-aged man falling in love with a teenage girl who stumbled upon his home. This tune is looped with heavy breathing, simple synth beats and airy rhythms. The seemingly innocent melodies mask the obvious sexual references with a lustful glaze. But it’s this youthful track that brings up weary thoughts about this duo’s intention. The obvious fascination with sensuality is apparent in nearly every track, and honestly, it gets a little old after a while.

Among the low points, Make the Girl Dance do shine in hip-hop infused “Glocken” and retro surf-rock “Tchiki Tchiki Tchiki,” which is the only track featuring male vocals. Each has an individual flavor of body-swaying goodness, making their vintage-tinged sound charming at times.

Needless to say, these two have a knack for the shock factor and some catchy dance beats, but it unfortunately doesn’t translate to the album. The female vocals aren’t explained, and the repeated samples become a little overkill. Here’s to hoping the next effort from this duo will be a bit more polished.

Make the Girl Dance – Everything Is Going to Be OK in the End tracklist:

1. “Hair Addiction”
2. “Breezy”
3. “The Sand”
4. “South”
5. “Interlude/Sleeping Daisy”
6. “Broken Toy Boy”
7. “Kill Me”
8. “Better Under Water”
9. “Baby Baby Baby”
10. “Interlude Sparkling Clarence”
11. “Glocken”
12. “Rocker 33”
13. “Wall of Death”
14. “Tchiki Tchiki Tchiki”