Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

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Fleet Foxes have returned with the fruits of their long recording labors, and they are incredibly sweet.  “Helplessness Blues” is the title track from the bands forthcoming album of the same name.  The song tip-toes in with light acoustic guitar with Robin Pecknold reminiscing of the times when our parent would reassure us as children that we are special, like “A snowflake distinct among snowflakes unique in each way you can see.”  The chorus rises into the beautiful harmonies that Fleet Foxes are so masterful in performing, something this reviewer has missed for the passed few years.  A little past the halfway point, their baroque folk style reemerges and is just as refreshing and fulfilling as it was on the “Sun Giant” EP.

“Helplessness Blues” is one of the more energetic songs from the band and deals with themes more relevant to our times.  We give up our uniqueness to end up becoming “A functioning cog in some great machinery, serving something beyond (us)”.  Pecknold dreams of owning an orchard where he would “Work till (he’s) sore”.  Happiness in our jobs and lives is our goal and Fleet Foxes are back to show us the way.

Available for Free Download at http://www.fleetfoxes.com/helplessness-blues.html

9.5 out of 10

The Fall – Gorillaz

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‘The Fall’ is the next step in the evolution of the ever changing sound of Gorillaz.  Recorded over 32 days while on the road, during the American leg of their Plastic Beach World Tour, with an iPad, ‘The Fall’ is a prime example of an album that opts for style over substance.  The America inspired album is nothing more than a collection of blipped out soundscapes that front man Damon Albarn crafted in his spare time.  The tracks ‘Phoner To Arizona’, a funky electo introduction to the album, and ‘Bobby In Phoenix’, featuring flowing synth bursts with Bobby Womack urging the listener to talk about their feelings, are the standouts of the 15 track album.  With track names like ‘The Parish of Space Dust’ and ‘California And The Slipping Of The Sun’, one would think that ‘The Fall’ is Albarn’s most manically inspired album yet, but disappointingly falls short of the standards Albarn had previously set with ‘Plastic Beach’.

4.0 out of 10

>My Chemical Romance – Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

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The old schtick of emo’s fetish with death is becoming a tiring cliche and My Chemical Romance knows it. With their first three albums circling around that very theme, MCR is looking past the misery and starting to have some fun.

‘Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys‘ is the reboot of My Chemical Romance. Gone is the drab military garb of ‘The Black Parade,’ and in is colorful punkish outfits as the band embodies their new alter egos, the Killjoys. Their new look may stand out, but what is most prevelant is their sound.

With ‘The Black Parade’, MCR crafted a true 70’s rock album with a concept that rivals The Who’s ‘Tommy’ with solid guitar riffs and frontman Gerard Way proclaiming to be a modern day messiah. ‘Danger Days’, on the other hand, encompasses the sounds of the synthesizer filled 80’s- from punk to dancefloor pop to metal.

The album opens with our ‘narrator’ of the story, DJ Dr. Death Defying. Dr. Death interjects several times through the album updating us on the status of our heroes. These ‘transmissions’ are an attempt to add a depth and emmercement to ‘Danger Days’, but falls flat on it’s face. Other than that, MCR has made yet another entertaining album.

The album launches with ‘Na Na Na’, a driving rock gem with Gerard Way trying to out sing the guitars.  It’s a call for revolution, even though it taunts you every step of the way.  ‘Party Poison’ and ‘Vampire Money’ are two of My Chemical Romance’s punkiest outings. They set their sights on the LA party scene and a highly successful series of vampire movies (you know which ones). They are relentless as the guitars storm the clubs. “This ain’t a party/Get off the dance floor/You want the get down?/Here comes the gang war” Way snarls on the footstomper ‘Party Poison’ as he sets out to weed out the phonies.

‘Danger Days’ shows off a lighter side of MCR. The ballad, ‘S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W’ has a superstitious, liquid voiced Way telling his lover to “Hold your breath when a blackbird flies/Count to 17 close your eyes/I’ll keep you safe tonight.” It’s as sentimental My Chemical Romance gets. The glowing synth powered ‘Summertime’ promises the listener “You can runaway with me any time you want.”

The album is rounded off with a club ready dance track (Planetary (GO!)) and an ode to 80’s metal (Destroya), two of the standout tracks of ‘Danger Days’.

For the most part, ‘Danger Days’ delivers with exciting and energetic tracks that elevate the album from the mediocre.  Yet with all the great songs, it feels like a patchwork of different styles and sounds.  There isn’t a definite direction the band followed; they did what they felt like doing, which is admirable from a band.  But in ‘Danger Days’ case, it seems eclectic and scattered.

For those looking at ‘Danger Days’ for another narrative in the vein of ‘The Black Parade’, they will find an empty well.  There is no tying thread of concept of any of the songs and only in the DJ transmissions there is a microscopic hint of the story, and even then you still don’t know whats going on.  As a fan of ‘The Black Parade’, I expected a narrative just as good as their previous album.  That wasn’t the case with ‘Danger Days’, even though the story of the Killjoys is played out in their music videos, it doesn’t translate well into the content of the album.

‘Danger Days’ is a good album, full of synth dance jams and fist pumping punk rock goodness.  Their eclectic mixing of styles is a good new start for the band, but it leaves the album feeling uneven at some points.   Perhaps the album was giving fans just a taste of what My Chemical Romance could be. An 80’s punk MCR, a 90’s pop ballad MCR, a heavy metal MCR or even a dance floor MCR.  Who knows what they will become, but all we know is is that what ever they set out to be, they will be great at it.

7.0 out of 10
Key Tracks – “Planetary (GO!)”, “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), “Vampire Money”

>Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (Single)

>Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

“The Suburbs” is the title track from Arcade Fire’s third studio album of the same name.  The release is only a few days away and I am giddy with excitement.  “The Suburbs” is a breezy piano ballad with front man Win Butler reminiscing on the teenage years of the cul-de-sac.

He looks back at the time with fascination and longing: “In my dreams we’re still screaming/Running through the yard/And all the walls that they built in the 70’s   fall.” Butler looks at the rows of houses not as homes, but as a war zone.  But now that he has grown up, he is realizing that he wants a daughter and wants to show her beauty in the world, before the world does its damage.

9.0 out of 10

The Suburbs LP drops Tuesday, August 3rd

>MGMT – Congratulations

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What does MGMT want?  Are they striving for a greater appreciation for their art?  Do they want to stay on the precipice of the mainstream while clinging to the need to be unique and weird?  Well, its easy to see that MGMT wants the best of both worlds after listening to their sophomore album Congratulations.

Congratulations is a departure from the MGMT you once knew.  They have shed the hooks, so for those expecting a “Kids”esque anthem from their new album, you are out of luck.  The nine tracks of Congratulations have a shape shifting quality that blends 60’s Beach Boys surf rock and Pink Floyd psychedelia into one cohesive mass which makes for a very fun, yet VERY trippy experience.

The album opener, “It’s Working”, encompasses most, if not all, of the sounds and bizarreness of Congratulations. The reverberating voice of Andrew VanWyngarden and rubbery bass guitar give the illusion that everything is vibrating, with VanWyngarden guiding you through the oblique world of neon colored water and laser light stars.

The fun is carried on with odes to MGMT’s idols, both simply called “Song For Dan Treacy” and “Brian Eno”. Both are fun dark bubblegum pop that make the album even more enjoyable.  “Someone’s Missing” is one of the standouts with a church organ with VanWyngarden revealing to us his dreams where “Whats extinct might come alive”. “Flash Delirium” provides a blast of fluctuating tempos, band mates imitating saxophones and glistening synths with MGMT’s most hopeful lyrics.

As fun as Congratulations is, it isn’t without its own set letdowns.  The track “Siberian Breaks” is a sprawling twelve minute song cycle that mashes together several different songs into one.  The final product is a dense, overreaching mess that significantly hurts the album’s pacing.  “Siberian Breaks” has excessive textures and layers shows that MGMT were trying hard to make a successor to the track “Metanoia”, a b-side track from their previous album.  “Lady Dada’s Nightmare” is an instrumental track that is initially a lullaby that transforms into a track from a Final Fantasy VII boss battle.  The track is mediocre compared to hearty fare the rest of the album has to offer.

As much fun as Congratulations is, it is essentially a nonsense album.  The lyrics are merely a collection of random statements, so looking for profound meanings would be a fruitless task.  Even though the content is lacking, it is where the album finds its heart.  Congratulations sheds worldly concern and opens a universe where you can “Stab your Facebook” and “Weep like a rubber tree”. So give Congratulations the chance to let the nonsense envelop you and yourself to the wonderful world of MGMT’s creation.

  8.1 out of 10

Key Tracks – “Flash Delirium”, “Someone’s Missing”, “It’s Working”