Jam of the Day: Charli XCX and Troye Sivan - "1999"

Fun collaboration between Charli XCX and Troye Sivan that waxes nostalgic about the late 90s, from the Matrix-themed cover art to references to Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time."

New: Britney Spears - "Alien"

From her upcoming record Britney Jean, here is the leaked version of her track "Alien," produced by William Orbit. Rumor has it Lady Gaga was originally supposed to record the track. The track is fairly bland in my opinion, with Britney relying far too much on auto-tune and other production tricks. The track can be listened to here.

Album Review: Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time

Sky Ferreira
Night Time, My Time
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

21-year old Sky Ferreira is one of those up and coming pop stars that has so much bad luck following her that it is almost expected that her career will flame out in blaze of tabloid headlines. Following several singles and a left field electro pop hit with "Everything Is Embarrassing," Ferreira was seemingly in limbo, with many very public disputes with her record label, who wanted to mold her into the next Britney Spears, delays with the release of her album, and recently being arrested on drug charges with boyfriend Zachary Cole Smith of DIIV. With all this going on, I was completely expecting her debut Night Time, My Time to be an unholy mess of too many cooks in the kitchen. Was is most surprising well, aside from the fact it was released at all, is the fact that it is very cohesive and strong record, albeit one with some growing pains showing, but nothing that can't be remedied. What Night Time, My Time shows is that Ferreira is good at sculpting out her own personality and sound, leaning away from the overprocessed pop of singers like Katy Perry, Britney, Christina, et al, and heading more in the direction of alt-pop artists like Lorde. Charli XCX, and Lily Allen, more willing to take the piss out of the whole Top 40 game.

Working primarily with producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Solange, Haim, Charli XCX, Vampire Weekend, Usher), who knows how to brush up lesser known artists and stream-lining the successful ones, Ferreira finds her in good hands, giving the album focus and direction. What could have come across as a genre hopping mess, is a lazer sharp synthpop/fuzz guitar pop record that goes down relatively easy on the ears, with enough edge to keep it from seeming too polished. While there is nothing that matches the total charm and pop perfection that was "Everything Is Embarrassing," when Ferreira sticks to a lighter touch, the album is full of winners. "24 Hours" is a sparkly electro-pop track, that would easily have fit in the midst of the 80's alt-rock heyday with its fuzzy guitars, glittery keyboards, and Ferreira's skycraping vocals;



"Boys" is a delightful kiss-off to all the men who have disappointed her, taking cues from 50s girl groups, and pushing it through and more modern sensibility;



on "Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Ok)" the guitars and attitude get ramped up to 11;



while "Love In Stereo" is pure pop gorgeousness.



Along with these poppier numbers, Ferreira does indulge some more experimental leanings. With "Heavy Metal Heart" the pounding drums and squalling guitars are the perfect meat for Ferreira to sing her vocal teeth into;



the Clash leaning alt-reggae of "You're Not The One;"



and the title track, which is a somber, texturally rich ballad, the calls to mind late period Fiona Apple, and artists like PJ Harvey and Chelsea Wolfe.



For the most part Night Time, My Time is tonally consistent and never less than interesting, but certain tracks seem more like less fleshed out demos that end up fading into the background rather than asserting their own personality, whether it is the monotone guitar fuzz and vocals on "Kristine," lackluster 80s pop punk of "I Will," or the truly odd and droning "Omanko" which is 4:30 minutes of head-scratching weirdness.

But overall, it is a very good debut that thankfully does not sound even remotely overly thought out, or compiled by committee. While it has some missteps, they are more out of taking too much of a risk rather than being meek and timid. Night Time, My Time is a solid debut from Ferreira, and hopefully she can get her issues and troubles ironed out so that we hear a lot more from her in the future.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Album Review: Alison Moyet - the minutes

Alison Moyet
the minutes
Rating: Grrrr

I am always dubious when a longtime artist returns with an album that borrows liberally from current trends in electronic music, as if it is last stab at relevance and market share. Of course, it is easy to forget that Alison Moyet began her career as half of the electronic duo Yaz, and has always dabbled with electronic music on her solo albums. the minutes, her first record since 2007's The Turn, is her first electronic-centric release since her Yaz days, and remarkably neither sounds like a cash grab nor some blind stab at what is current. Collaborating with Guy Sigsworth, formerly of Frou Frou and producer for Bjork, Madonna, and Britney Spears, Alison Moyet finds herself with one of her best, if not the best, records of her career; her voice still powerful and rich, with Sigsworth's productions aiding her delivery rather than just being something bright and shiny in the background.

You know things are different off the bat with the strings and muffled electronics of "Horizon Flame," Moyet's voice supple and deep, weaving in and out of the dense mix of keyboards.



Throughout the record there are nods to dubstep, from the push and pull of juggernaut "Changeling,"



the stuttering, squeltchy electronic landscape of "Apple Kisses,"



and the fierce, album highlight "All Signs of Life" that runs the gamut through dubstep and drum and bass.

Thankfully, Sigsworth and Moyet aren't slaves to one genre of music, making the minutes a stylistically varied experience, one that reveals its depths over time. There are epic tracks like the barnstorming "When I Was Your Girl" which features one of Moyet's most emotionally honest vocals,



"Love Reign Supreme" which travels in the same spritely electro-pop territory as The Postal Service,



and the stately electro-ballad "Filigree," Moyet's voice as regal as it has ever been.



the minutes was a huge surprise for me, as most of Moyet's solo records have been nice yet never really doing much other than providing bland musical backing for her powerful voice. Sigsworth seems to understand that power and works with it instead of not trying to come up against it. Providing more meat to the backing tracks actually makes her voice even more powerful. Welcome back Alison, we hope you and Sigsworth continue this fruitful partnership.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Album Review - Miike Snow: Happy To You

Miike Snow
Happy To You
Rating: Woof Daddy

Miike Snow, the indie-electronic trio comprised of the production team of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg (also known as Bloodshy & Avant) and singer Andrew Wyatt, released their debut album back in 2009 and it was a surprise success considering how strange the album was. It was thought originally that Karlsson and Winnberg, who had produced for Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and Madonna, would create a fairly traditional pop album in the mold of those artists, yet confounded everyone with the quirky nature of their tracks. It was an album that, while having several immediate sounding singles, still took a long time to grow on me, having to earn its spot among my most listened to records. Since that album, they have toured extensively and have released some one-off singles here and there, never really giving much indication what direction they would be heading in. Over the past few months, through viral video and ad campaigns they have been teasing the new album Happy To You, most notably through a very bizarre series of videos featuring the "perfect man" named Jean Noel Mustonen. This search for and attempts at perfection are littered through the lyrics of the album, the characters always undone by their faults and imperfections. Despite some of the jauntiest and brightest musical backing, there is an intense sense of loneliness and melancholy throughout the record. It is pop music as soul diving exploration.

The most noticeable thing about Happy To You, is how musically insane it all is, as if mad geniuses have taken over the studio. All of the tracks are positively bursting with strange instruments, samples, vocal tweaks, and basically everything but the kitchen sink. "Enter The Joker's Lair" starts things off as a base camp and introduction to the insanity that will come forth. It's almost circus-like patterns of rolling keyboards a perfect start to the chaos within. Leading into new single "The Wave"'s martial drumming and bold piano chords, a haunting track about being led into battle (whether it be war, love, success, or other) and realizing you are basically screwed. The narrator being led to his demise: "You can hear them/You can hear them banging on the tin/But my love won’t be saved/We’ll all be staring at the wave."



Stunning first single "Devil's Work" charges forward on dense patterned drums, more stark piano chords, and a swirling cloud of horns and strings. The song about realizing it is an easy slide over to the dark side: "You don't need to sell your shirt/To do the devil's work/You finally found your place/You know it always works."



These epiphanies appear throughout the album, the characters seemingly aware of their limitations and striving to correct them, yet somehow are fated to always wind up back where they started. The divorcee of "God Help This Divorce" losing his wife by holding her back due to his crippling insecurities, looking upon people walking down the street and seeing "so many beautiful faces that don’t need me." And the husband in "Pretender" goes through the motions of his life realizing in the morning "I didn’t wanna wake up/But then I felt your touch/Now I notice that I drink too much."



Or the narrator of "Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)" who despite his assurances to his love that he will faithful and true, "I can’t be trusted/To wait on hard times/I’d rather run out/And be caught behind the lines."



All of these tracks have the most diverse backgrounds, from the countrified/orchestral ache of "Divorce," the skittering beats and funk horns of "Pretender," to the martial drumming and military feel of "Bavarian," which equates love as war.

For lyrical themes as heavy as these, you would think the album would be a downer, but the musical accompaniment is frequently joyous and mercurial, belying the pain and suffering going on. "Archipelago" floats on a jaunty, bouncy cloud of burbling bass synths, twinkling keyboards, rushing drums, and rolls of pianos, all while the narrator bemoans the loss of his lover. Or the whirlygig weirdness of "Paddling Out" and its whooshing keyboards and disco drums backing a track about getting away from the herd.



And the breezy tropicalia of "No Starry World" and its haunting realization you can't go through life with rose colored glasses, asking "sell me no/starry world/but I tried."

Miike Snow have really stretched themselves musically this go around. There are many musical touchstones that pass through the songs linking them together, from the martial drumming, strident piano chords, and subtle use of horns. Happy To You finds the band being bold and adventurous with their sound, even when it might not sit well with fans of their poppier material. High profile collaboration with Lykke Li, "Black Tin Box," is perhaps the darkest, most unusual track they have ever written. Manipulated vocals intone bleakly over burbling electronics, eclectic percussion touches, theremin, and delicate steel drum pads.



This bold, insightful, haunting, and catchy as hell record is a stunning light years jump ahead for Miike Snow, vaulting them into the upper echelons of indie pop royalty. To say that each listen draws you in further to the record, unearthing new and interesting aspects each time, is a vast understatement. There is going to be an epic battle at the end of the year for album of the year, and right now, Miike Snow's Happy To You is king of the heap.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Videos of the Week

Been a long, stressful week. Glad it is Friday; I have the new Wild Beasts' album Smother on my iPod, and a roundup of videos I enjoyed this week:

WILD BEASTS // ALBATROSS from dave ma on Vimeo.

Speaking of Wild Beasts, this is the first single and video from their new album, and it is a beautiful song with an equally striking video.

Austra The Beat & The Pulse from The Glitoris on Vimeo.

Sort of NSFW clip from Toronto electronic artist Austra. I'm really digging the electro-goth vibe of this single.

Julianna Barwick - Envelop from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo.

Although I felt Juliana Barwick's album was a bit too insubstantial for me, the songs come alive when paired with visuals. This strange, experiemental VHS video really highlights the ethereal nature of Barwick's work.

The Coathangers - Hurricane (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO HD) from Studio 8 on Vimeo.

Gritty clip from the Atlanta based punk-poppers The Coathangers. Sort of feels like a sleazier Sucker Punch, only much much better.



Salem take Britney Spears' single "Til The World Ends" and drag it out to almost unlistenable lengths. Of course, I love it. Video is kinda sorta NSFW.



I am definitely on an Austra kick. Here is another video from their upcoming album.

Manchester Orchestra - "Simple Math" from DANIELS on Vimeo.

Although I am not a huge fan of Manchester Orchestra's music (it's a little too Coldplay meets Elbow wishy washy), this video is really spectacular. As the driver of a car gets in an accident and scenes from his life pass before his eyes.



Crying over spilt milk, literally. Very funny video from Denmark's Whomadewho.



The track itself is just decent, although the addition of vocals from my beloved Roisin Murphy makes the track much more so. Strange video, but I like it.

Mini-Reviews

Smith Westerns
Dye It Blonde
Rating: Grrrr

American Brit-poppers Smith Western return with their second album of melodic pop. Their debut album propelled forward on a winning formula of low-fi production value and a great melodic sense. Dye It Blond retains the great melodies but ups the production value considerably. Now the songs have greater depth and detail. While not as baroque as Grizzly Bear, Smith Westerns are comparable, in that each release shows significant movement forward in bettering their sound. You can definitely tell the band has been listening a lot to old Electric Light Orchestra with the stunning, bright eyed production on tracks like the stand out "Imagine Part 3," "End of the Night," and "Weekend." For me though, the best tracks are the slower, more intricate songs like the delicate "Still New," with its gorgeous interlocking acoustic and electric guitars, and the starry synths and pianos of "Smile." Dye It Blond is a stunning step forward for the band, and is a great album to consistently lose yourself in.

Frank Ocean
Nostalgia
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Frank Ocean is part of the LA hip-hop collective Odd Future, and is truly the odd man out, as he is a smooth R&B crooner rather than a rapper. His debut album Nostalgia is a great introduction to his sound. His voice is honeyed and supple, effortlessly gliding over gorgeous beats. A lot of the time, and when the album hits its highs, it sounds like a mix of Drake backed by Sade's backing band. Specifically, he hits it out of the park with the gorgeous ballads "We All Try" and "Swim Good," and even on a stirring cover of Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing." The album is not perfect. There can be an over reliance on auto-tune, and there are some misbegotten samples, including the beyond strange use of The Eagles' "Hotel California" on "American Wedding." However, with a little more care and better editing, he is sure to come up with a classic soon. Due to label troubles, Ocean self-released this album and it is available for free download here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?viafqiwfgicp5v8

Elbow
Build A Rocket Boys!
Rating: Yeah Daddy make Me Want it

Elbow has always been Radiohead lite to me. I enjoyed their debut album, but then subsequent releases have always mystified me as to why they were so well heralded. Their sound has barely progressed since their debut; although their earnestness has gone through the roof. They appear so desperate to be taken seriously, that it comes across as the runt puppy wanting attention. I am still at a loss as to why even this album is getting as much acclaim as it is. It is by the numbers Elbow basically. Honestly, you can take any song from here and put it on another album of theirs and it would sound like it fit. So, why am I rating it fairly high? Good question. Musically, I would rate it a Meh at best. It is all one note and fairly flat-lined throughout the release. The lyrics, however, I would definitely rate a Grrrr. It is a beautiful set of songs about looking back at your past and contemplating how it has led to your present and affects your future. Some of his lyrics are shatteringly beautiful. I only wish the music backing them had been more adventurous. Thus, I decided to give it a merged rating.

Britney Spears
Femme Fatale
Rating: Meh

Why am I reviewing Britney? I'm not a huge fan of hers by any stretch of the imagination, however, every so often she puts out a killer single ("Circus," "Me and the Music," "I'm A Slave 4U") or gets remixed by an up and coming producer that I wouldn't expect her to use. And I am pretty much a sucker for someone who hits rock bottom and makes it back. Femme Fatale is basically by the book Britney. There are relatively few surprises here, the only ones being some dubstep-like sonics on a few tracks, specifically the breakdown on lead single "Hold It Against Me." The rest is just a mix of standard dance and club tracks, including the ubiquitous use of will.i.am as producer on the laughable track "Big Fat Bass." Though, she does have a way with a great single at times, and by far the two standouts track on the album is the Bloodshy & Avant produced electro-confection "Trip To Your Heart," and the frothy, synth heavy "I Wanna Go." With more attempts like that, the album would have soared. Instead, it just falls flat. I doubt seriously that Britney needs any money at this point. I wish she would really stretch herself and put out a leftfield dance record, and not the usual auto-tuned to hell dreck she has been surrounding herself with.







Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.