Month: April 2008 (Page 3 of 7)

Since leaving A&M in the mid-‘90s, David Wilcox has jumped from KOCH to Vanguard to What Are Records? – but he’s still managed to release an album about every two years, which is as much a testament to his prolificacy as it is to his devoted fanbase. Problem is, Wilcox has been pacing the same patch of dirt since at least 2000’s What You Whispered; where his albums were once artful examples of how far a talented songwriter could push the boundaries of folk both musically and lyrically, they’ve slowly devolved into regularly timed collections of the sort of frustratingly shallow and/or didactic observations you can hear on any weeknight in coffee shops around the country. Early classics like 1991’s Home Again found him using his capo to wrestle with demons and explore universal truths, but all he ever seems to do anymore is mug for and/or preach to his choir. Airstream is pleasantly free of the slick-surfaced sheen that plagued 2003’s Into the Mystery and 2005’s Vista, but that’s chiefly because of the fact that it was recorded solo in Wilcox’s – wait for it – Airstream trailer. The songs are sometimes funny, sometimes sentimental, and always pretty, but Wilcox has done all this before, and better. Dialing back the production is a step in the right direction, but he still sounds like he needs to recharge his batteries and start digging a little deeper for his material. Fans will enjoy Airstream, no doubt, but they’ll be hard-pressed to put a finger on anything it adds to what came before it. (LABEL: What Are Records? 2008)

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The Birmingham collective’s fourth album finds it working, for the first time all century, with a set lineup beyond singer/songwriters Brad Armstrong and Buzz Russell – but don’t go thinking that means The Strangest Colored Lights represents a buttoned-down shift away from the shambolic, retro-post-folk sprawl that 13ghosts fans have come to expect and love. These 13 tracks, recorded in a basement over the course of a year, cover the same dreamy, spaced-out territory the duo has called home since 2001’s We Are the Sun, but their newly settled personnel help give The Strangest Colored Lights a more consistent sonic palette. 13ghosts’ sound is so expansive – and their relationship with melody so casual – that anyone looking for a quick, casual listen need not apply; this album’s darkest truths are buried deep within its knotted whorls. The press kit compares Strangest Colored’s sound to Sparklehorse and Pink Floyd, and for once, the publicists aren’t grasping at straws; this is an album positively begging for mood-altering substances and a laser light show. Pull down the shades, unplug the phone, and pack a lunch – you may not be done with this one for awhile. (LABEL: Skybucket 2008)

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Someone should tell Eric Elbogen that maturity is highly overrated. Elbogen is the one-man creative force behind Say Hi, which was previously went by the much better name of Say Hi to Your Mom. Sure, that name may be immature and juvenile, but it’s also totally awesome; changing it is like the Butthole Surfers changing their name to the Surfers. What’s the point? Needless name changes aside, Say Hi’s latest release, The Wishes and the Glitch, is a solid collection of low-fi synth-rock numbers that should appeal to fans of the band no matter what name they’re currently using. While Elbogen may have changed the band’s name in an effort to grow up, his songwriting has not changed, so fans of his vampire and robot-themed tracks on previous albums should be happy that he’s kept his kooky sense of humor intact with tracks like “Northwestern Girls” and “Magic Beans and Truth Machines.” Say Hi might be a little too mellow for synth-pop fans, but indie-rocker hipsters looking to expand their musical collection into the electronic arena should find this to be a good one to try out. (LABEL: Euphobia Records 2008)

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Listening to an EP is usually a lot like dating a Mormon – no matter how much fun the thing is, just when you’re getting warmed up, it’s all over before you get to the payoff. But Rotten in Denmark, the solo debut from Davey La, former lead singer of the Ambershades (you’ve never heard of them, which is probably the main reason why Davey’s solo and some of his ex-bandmates are schlepping the globe with James Blunt), is more like a trial-size bag of Skittles – there’s a whole rainbow of bright pop flavors in here, but the portion size is small enough to keep you from gorging yourself on the sweetness (and, more importantly, to keep Davey La from tossing in a few clunkers to harsh your buzz). There’s nothing rotten (or appreciably Danish) about it, but fans of driving, guitar-based, hook-filled pop music will be too busy eating this up with a spoon to care. Davey’s got a perfectly elastic voice, a way with a hook, and his tongue planted firmly in his cheek; there’s no way in hell he’ll manage to keep up this kind of glorious momentum over a full-length LP, but no matter – we’ll always have Denmark. (LABEL: Nylo 2008)

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In which the formerly electronic trio mentored by the Stone Roses’ Ian Brown and UNKLE’s James Lavelle moves ever-deeper into traditional pop/rock territory. South’s fourth album might catch longtime fans slightly off-guard, what with the presence of actual guitars; for everyone else, however, You Are Here will pass in one ear, out the other, and find nary a resting place in between. It’s easy to see why these guys have become favorites of TV music supervisors for shows such as “Six Feet Under” and “The O.C.” – their songs make for perfect, non-intrusive background music. Aside from the album’s nifty third track, “Better Things,” You Are Here’s 13 songs make a thoroughly unconvincing case for the band. There are no obvious soft spots, but that’s only because the album never really works up enough of a sweat to draw you in – it’s just track after track of bland, middling indie pop. Maybe they should put the guitars back in storage.  (LABEL: bluhammock/Young American 2008)

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