This is the sixth installment of Piper's Single Reviews. Each post, I will review six songs by various indie and/or alternative bands (or artists that you might chance upon when listening to an American college or modern rock station) and rate them on a scale from 1 to 10.
Company of Thieves - Oscar Wilde
Company of Thieves seem really out of place on Wind Up Records, the home of active rock radio stalwarts Creed and Evanescense and emo bands like Tickle Me Pink. In fact, the closest sounding band on the label is Welsh alternative rock act People in Planes. Which is saying alot because Company of Thieves sound nothing like People in Planes. CoT is an indie rock band from Chicago led by singer Genevieve Schatz, whose singing voices sounds like Regina Spektor without the Russian accent. Their single "Oscar Wilde" is filled with hooks (notably second half of the chorus and first verse). The video for the song - like ones by The Decemberists and Shout Out Louds before it - is a Wes Anderson homage. It's a really good song and if we lived in a perfect world, it would be a big alternative radio hit.
9/10
Regina Spektor - Laughing With
Speaking of Regina Spektor, "Laughing With" is the antifolk singer/songwriter/pianist's new single. I really enjoyed Spektor's last two records, 2003's Soviet Kitsch and 2006's Begin to Hope and "Laughing With" gives me high hopes for her new release Far. Its not as good as "Us" or "Better" and it sounds like it was made specifically to soundtrack a somber scene on Grey's Anatomy with its lines about all the misery that God brings the human race, but its a nice little teaser for what i'm hoping is one of the highlight albums of 2009.
7/10
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Wind Phoenix
Cymbals Eat Guitars are Pitchfork-endorsed indie band from Staten Island, New York. "Wind Phoenix" is the clear standout on their debut album Why There Are Mountains. CEG's singer - who goes by the whimsically goofy name of Joseph Ferocious - sounds just barely like Jeremy Egnik of Sunny Day Real Estate and the band's sound itself is vaguely psychedelic and I can hear an influence of Olivia Tremor Control and other Elephant 6 bands in their sound as well. A great song and I have high hopes for them in the future.
9.5/10
Wilco - Wilco (The Song)
This seems to be the first single from Wilco's upcoming Wilco (The Album). It was premiered last October when the band performed it on The Colbert Report. The song is very piano heavy and reminds me alot of the Sky Blue Sky highlight "Walken". Its also probably one of the strongest songs in the Wilco catalog, up there with "War on War" and "Heavy Metal Drummer". This has to be one of my favorite songs of the year so far.
10/10
311 - Hey You
Oh, they still exist? Everyone stopped liking this band (who produced a handful of rock radio classics, notably the always popular "Down" and "All Mixed Up") after they recorded the pop crossover smash "Amber" (which is a really wretched song) and a terrible cover of "Love Song" by The Cure. This song tries to capture the sound they had in their heyday but wind up sounding really flat and really bored. These guys clearly aren't having any fun anymore
3.5/10
Kings of Leon - Revelry
This is not as good as their other singles. It doesn't make me want to listen to it again the way that "Molly's Chambers", "The Bucket", "On Call" or "Use Somebody" do. "Notion" would've been a better choice for single #3 from Only By the Night. It's not a bad song, but its forgettable and not up to the same standards as Kings of Leon's other singles.
5.5/10
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Piper's Single Reviews: Issue 5
This is the fifth installment of Piper's Single Reviews. Each post, I will review six songs by various indie and/or alternative bands (or artists that you might chance upon when listening to an American college or modern rock station) and rate them on a scale from 1 to 10.
Hockey - Too Fake
By all accounts, I should hate this band. They're an American ripoff of British "new rave" bands like Friendly Fires and Klaxons. However, because both of those bands are fantastic, some of that excellence rubs off on even carbon copies, which is the case with Portland, Oregon's Hockey, a band that somehow stumbled into a record deal with Columbia Records. "Too Fake" is not a great song in any sense, but its damn fun. At times, it seems to copy parts of "Skeleton Boy" by Friendly Fires, "Dance in my Blood" by Men Women and Children and "The Perfect Kiss" by New Order (doesn't that intro sound familiar?), but I expect that isn't very hard in electro-disco-rock, since most of it kind of sounds the same anyway. Overall, a pleasant and breezy summer song, but it won't find Hockey any die-hard fans.
7.0/10
Black Kids - Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)
Shit, remember these guys? Their whole hype was created by a handful of great demos on their MySpace page and a glowing review of the same demos on Pitchfork. Then once their debut studio album, Partie Traumatic came out, Pitchfork half-assed a bad review (look it up, it's a picture of two pugs) and everyone who cared about them forgot about them. "Look At Me" follows the UK hits "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" and "Hurricane Jane" as the third single from Traumatic and its alright. I mean, It's certainly no "Boyfriend" or "Hurricane", both quality alternative radio tunes. Singer Reggie Youngblood tries to sound British on the chorus (he's from Jacksonville, Florida, folks) and like most attempts to do so from American bands, sounds fake and forced. Still not a bad song though. One of those songs you'll listen to if your local college or indie-loving alternative radio stations play it, but not something to download on your hard drive.
6.5/10
Band of Skulls - I Know What I Am
Band of Skulls sound like a mix between The Kills and The Asteroids Galaxy Tour mixed in with a bit of Kings of Leon. The chorus for their single "I Know What I Am" sounds really damn familiar. This is because it cribs the melody from "Sour Cherry" by The Kills, but manages to make it better. In fact, the band seems to have a very Kills-esque back-and-forth between the male singer and the female singer. I was surprised to find out that the members of the band were English because the vocals sound very American on this song. Like the Black Kids song, its another song that you won't mind on indie-leaning alternative radio, but if you're not into that sort of thing, pass.
6.5/10
Dan Deacon - Paddling Ghost
This is probably my favorite song from Dan Deacon's latest album Bromst . This might have something to do with the fact that it is easily the most accessible song on the record. Everyone I know insists that "Snookered" is the best song from Bromst but I didn't really care for it. "Paddling Ghost" is successful in the same kind of radio friendly what-the-fuckery that made Animal Collective's "Peacebone" a college radio hit. It build satisfactory and ends in a very fun and sunny way.
8/10
The Prodigy - Omen
Oh, Prodigy, why do you even try anymore? Prodigy's new record Invaders Must Die sold like gangbusters in England despite the fact they have not been relevant in almost 10 years. Their two major US hits "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Firestarter" were way back in the mid-90s, when we thought electronica was charming. "Omen" is exactly like you'd think a new Prodigy single sounds in 2009: very tired. Once you hit a certain age, clubbing and taking drugs becomes extremely embarrassing. Prodigy should take this hint.
4/10
Bat for Lashes - Daniel
I think that Pitchfork and the 4,000 other blogs who made this connection are totally right: Bat for Lashes' new single "Daniel" is totally her "Running Up That Hill". I'm not going as far to say that BFL is the new Kate Bush, but "Daniel" is the closest anyone's made to emulating the reclusive alternative singer's style since she last released an album in 2005. "Daniel" is also the best song BFL has ever done, beating out her previous big hit, the trip-hop influenced "What's a Girl to Do?". If "Daniel" is anything to go by, expect big thing from Bat for Lashes in the future
9.5/10
Hockey - Too Fake
By all accounts, I should hate this band. They're an American ripoff of British "new rave" bands like Friendly Fires and Klaxons. However, because both of those bands are fantastic, some of that excellence rubs off on even carbon copies, which is the case with Portland, Oregon's Hockey, a band that somehow stumbled into a record deal with Columbia Records. "Too Fake" is not a great song in any sense, but its damn fun. At times, it seems to copy parts of "Skeleton Boy" by Friendly Fires, "Dance in my Blood" by Men Women and Children and "The Perfect Kiss" by New Order (doesn't that intro sound familiar?), but I expect that isn't very hard in electro-disco-rock, since most of it kind of sounds the same anyway. Overall, a pleasant and breezy summer song, but it won't find Hockey any die-hard fans.
7.0/10
Black Kids - Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)
Shit, remember these guys? Their whole hype was created by a handful of great demos on their MySpace page and a glowing review of the same demos on Pitchfork. Then once their debut studio album, Partie Traumatic came out, Pitchfork half-assed a bad review (look it up, it's a picture of two pugs) and everyone who cared about them forgot about them. "Look At Me" follows the UK hits "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" and "Hurricane Jane" as the third single from Traumatic and its alright. I mean, It's certainly no "Boyfriend" or "Hurricane", both quality alternative radio tunes. Singer Reggie Youngblood tries to sound British on the chorus (he's from Jacksonville, Florida, folks) and like most attempts to do so from American bands, sounds fake and forced. Still not a bad song though. One of those songs you'll listen to if your local college or indie-loving alternative radio stations play it, but not something to download on your hard drive.
6.5/10
Band of Skulls - I Know What I Am
Band of Skulls sound like a mix between The Kills and The Asteroids Galaxy Tour mixed in with a bit of Kings of Leon. The chorus for their single "I Know What I Am" sounds really damn familiar. This is because it cribs the melody from "Sour Cherry" by The Kills, but manages to make it better. In fact, the band seems to have a very Kills-esque back-and-forth between the male singer and the female singer. I was surprised to find out that the members of the band were English because the vocals sound very American on this song. Like the Black Kids song, its another song that you won't mind on indie-leaning alternative radio, but if you're not into that sort of thing, pass.
6.5/10
Dan Deacon - Paddling Ghost
This is probably my favorite song from Dan Deacon's latest album Bromst . This might have something to do with the fact that it is easily the most accessible song on the record. Everyone I know insists that "Snookered" is the best song from Bromst but I didn't really care for it. "Paddling Ghost" is successful in the same kind of radio friendly what-the-fuckery that made Animal Collective's "Peacebone" a college radio hit. It build satisfactory and ends in a very fun and sunny way.
8/10
The Prodigy - Omen
Oh, Prodigy, why do you even try anymore? Prodigy's new record Invaders Must Die sold like gangbusters in England despite the fact they have not been relevant in almost 10 years. Their two major US hits "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Firestarter" were way back in the mid-90s, when we thought electronica was charming. "Omen" is exactly like you'd think a new Prodigy single sounds in 2009: very tired. Once you hit a certain age, clubbing and taking drugs becomes extremely embarrassing. Prodigy should take this hint.
4/10
Bat for Lashes - Daniel
I think that Pitchfork and the 4,000 other blogs who made this connection are totally right: Bat for Lashes' new single "Daniel" is totally her "Running Up That Hill". I'm not going as far to say that BFL is the new Kate Bush, but "Daniel" is the closest anyone's made to emulating the reclusive alternative singer's style since she last released an album in 2005. "Daniel" is also the best song BFL has ever done, beating out her previous big hit, the trip-hop influenced "What's a Girl to Do?". If "Daniel" is anything to go by, expect big thing from Bat for Lashes in the future
9.5/10
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Piper's Single Reviews: Issue 4
This is the fourth installment of Piper's Single Reviews. Each post, I will review six songs by various indie and/or alternative bands (or artists that you might chance upon when listening to an American college or modern rock station) and rate them on a scale from 1 to 10. Sorry about the delay, I usually do this on Fridays, but something came up.
Animal Collective - My Girls
This is the first single from Animal Collective's excellent new album Merriweather Post Pavilion. It is the sex. That is all.
10/10
Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler
Kasabian are known as one of the few bands still making music in the "alternative dance" genre that Big Audio Dynamite once ruled in the late 80s and early 90s. "Vlad the Impaler" is the preview track (not the first single, although it is certainly singleworthy) from their upcoming Dan "The Automator" Nakamura-produced third record The West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum and is just as anthemic as "Club Foot" or "Empire". It's a good song, but I have a feeling it could be the starting point for some great dance floor filling remixes.
8.5/10
Passion Pit - The Reeling
Coming off the internet buzz of their 2008 EP Chunk of Change and its single "Sleepyhead", The Passion Pit have released "The Reeling", the first single from their new album Manners. It's probably the most 1980s sounding song that has been released in the past few which is quite a feat to say the least. It's got a nice beat and good chorus and actually managed to be infinitely better than "Sleepyhead". This is probably one of the finest songs of the year right here.
9.5/10
Green Day - Know Your Enemy
Who would've thought that Green Day, of all bands would wind up being one of the most popular alternative rock bands again? The band's first wave of popularity was between 1994 and 1996 with their wonderful third album Dookie and the harder Insomniac. Their next two albums - nimrod. and Warning: featured a few good songs (OK, two a piece: "Hitchin' A Ride" and "Macy's Day Parade", respectively) but were otherwise middling. Then in 2004, the band released another middling album, American Idiot (again, it featured one good song - the nine minute "Jesus of Suburbia"), but it managed to become their second breakthrough spinning off their biggest hits since nimrod.'s "Time of Your Life". Now they're back with a new single called "Know Your Enemy" - the first single from their upcoming eighth album 21st Century Breakdown. It's not very good. In fact, it's instrumentation sounds a bit too much like Bad Religion's 1994 hit "Infected". The lyrics are forgettable, you'll know that the words "know your enemy" are sung ad nauseum but you're not sure how or when a few hours after listening. Such is the laziness of the songwriting of Billie Joe Armstrong. But no what I or any other critic says, it's going to be a hit anyway. You will eventually remember how the song goes after the four zillionth time you hear it on the radio this year.
5.5/10
Camera Obscura - French Navy
"French Navy" is the new single from My Maudlin Career, the fourth album by unsmiling twee pop outfit Camera Obscura. Like most CO songs, its all about the vocals of leader/guitarist Tracyanne Campbell, who sounds like a cross between a member of a 60's girl group and Amelia Fletcher of twee pop heroes Heavenly. "French Navy" is probably the band's best single since "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken", and even without a strong chorus it manages to be extremely catchy
8.5/10
Blue October - Dirt Room
Blue October's 2006 pop and rock radio hit "Hate Me" brought the long-running Texas rock group into the national spotlight for the first time in their eleven year career. Foiled, the album featuring "Hate Me" and its followup rock radio hit, the divine "Into the Ocean" was one of the best rock albums to go platinum that year. The band follows up that record with their highly anticipated fifth album Approaching Normal. The first single "Dirt Room", sadly, does not live up to the hype that was expected. Its a revenge song about the narrator kidnapping someone who really, really pissed him off. The song is cursed with bad lyrics and an embarrassingly terrible second verse. It seems to serve the purpose of showing fair-weather fans of the band's two big singles that Blue October can rock hard. Unfortunately, Blue October kinda sucks when they rock hard (they do some good up tempo songs, though). There's better choices for a first single on Approaching Normal ("Say It", anyone?) than this stumbling block.
5/10
Animal Collective - My Girls
This is the first single from Animal Collective's excellent new album Merriweather Post Pavilion. It is the sex. That is all.
10/10
Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler
Kasabian are known as one of the few bands still making music in the "alternative dance" genre that Big Audio Dynamite once ruled in the late 80s and early 90s. "Vlad the Impaler" is the preview track (not the first single, although it is certainly singleworthy) from their upcoming Dan "The Automator" Nakamura-produced third record The West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum and is just as anthemic as "Club Foot" or "Empire". It's a good song, but I have a feeling it could be the starting point for some great dance floor filling remixes.
8.5/10
Passion Pit - The Reeling
Coming off the internet buzz of their 2008 EP Chunk of Change and its single "Sleepyhead", The Passion Pit have released "The Reeling", the first single from their new album Manners. It's probably the most 1980s sounding song that has been released in the past few which is quite a feat to say the least. It's got a nice beat and good chorus and actually managed to be infinitely better than "Sleepyhead". This is probably one of the finest songs of the year right here.
9.5/10
Green Day - Know Your Enemy
Who would've thought that Green Day, of all bands would wind up being one of the most popular alternative rock bands again? The band's first wave of popularity was between 1994 and 1996 with their wonderful third album Dookie and the harder Insomniac. Their next two albums - nimrod. and Warning: featured a few good songs (OK, two a piece: "Hitchin' A Ride" and "Macy's Day Parade", respectively) but were otherwise middling. Then in 2004, the band released another middling album, American Idiot (again, it featured one good song - the nine minute "Jesus of Suburbia"), but it managed to become their second breakthrough spinning off their biggest hits since nimrod.'s "Time of Your Life". Now they're back with a new single called "Know Your Enemy" - the first single from their upcoming eighth album 21st Century Breakdown. It's not very good. In fact, it's instrumentation sounds a bit too much like Bad Religion's 1994 hit "Infected". The lyrics are forgettable, you'll know that the words "know your enemy" are sung ad nauseum but you're not sure how or when a few hours after listening. Such is the laziness of the songwriting of Billie Joe Armstrong. But no what I or any other critic says, it's going to be a hit anyway. You will eventually remember how the song goes after the four zillionth time you hear it on the radio this year.
5.5/10
Camera Obscura - French Navy
"French Navy" is the new single from My Maudlin Career, the fourth album by unsmiling twee pop outfit Camera Obscura. Like most CO songs, its all about the vocals of leader/guitarist Tracyanne Campbell, who sounds like a cross between a member of a 60's girl group and Amelia Fletcher of twee pop heroes Heavenly. "French Navy" is probably the band's best single since "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken", and even without a strong chorus it manages to be extremely catchy
8.5/10
Blue October - Dirt Room
Blue October's 2006 pop and rock radio hit "Hate Me" brought the long-running Texas rock group into the national spotlight for the first time in their eleven year career. Foiled, the album featuring "Hate Me" and its followup rock radio hit, the divine "Into the Ocean" was one of the best rock albums to go platinum that year. The band follows up that record with their highly anticipated fifth album Approaching Normal. The first single "Dirt Room", sadly, does not live up to the hype that was expected. Its a revenge song about the narrator kidnapping someone who really, really pissed him off. The song is cursed with bad lyrics and an embarrassingly terrible second verse. It seems to serve the purpose of showing fair-weather fans of the band's two big singles that Blue October can rock hard. Unfortunately, Blue October kinda sucks when they rock hard (they do some good up tempo songs, though). There's better choices for a first single on Approaching Normal ("Say It", anyone?) than this stumbling block.
5/10
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