James Pants - Seven Seals

Ugh. This week is fucking awful, busy, and stressful, so expect a lot of late reviews (like this one) that I start and never end up finishing on time.

James Pants is a DJ from Texas with an interesting style that apparently changes or at least fluctuates between a few ends of the vast electronic spectrum every album. On Seven Seals, we have James Pants attempting to create some infectious boogie grooves with no-wave dissonances, and just from the use of the word "dissonance," you should know I'm going to enjoy this.

The cult-inspired album art was a big draw for me. A friend mentioned this album as electro-pop and I was in the mood for something different, so I checked it out based on the album art alone. Baphomets and dark artwork with a Biblical-themed title isn't the first thing you expect when you hear "pop," but Seven Seals isn't exactly an archetypal release either.

As funky dance music to Pants' fictional cult, this album serves its purpose. The latter part of the album in particular has this merit: "I Promise I Lied," "Thin Moon," and "Now Let Me Brush You" have great funk-ridden basslines and beats. The first half of the album feels a bit more straightforward, often relying on normal indie pop/rock conventions. That doesn't mean these tracks are dull. "A Chip In The Hand" and "I Live Inside An Egg" are uplifting, upbeat, and a just a little bit weird. "Beyond Time" is the most aggressive track on the album with a highly distorted riff-beat, and the straight eighth notes on "Thin Moon" are melodic and driving. There's plenty of no-wave sound and dissonance in the beats and riffs, like on "Not Me," which features some cool tritones. "Wash To Sea" also features some great saxophone-sample harmonies to go with the dissonant melodies, and is one of the more low-key tracks on Seven Seals.

The biggest problem I have with Seven Seals is that these boogie-beats do not feel fresh or dirty in the slightest. Some of the effects are really lame-sounding and ugly (not in a good way), like they came straight out of the pro-tools box. Some of the tracks, like the opener and "I Saw You" are pretty forgettable and boring too. The album was apparently recorded by Pants over a weekend of reading cult-themed books in a cabin somewhere. Seven Seals certainly sounds that way. It has that cult atmosphere, and the DIY feel of using stock samples, albeit well.

7.0 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1. The Eyes Of The Lord
2. A Chip In The Hand
3. Beyond Time
4. I Live Inside An Egg
5. Wormhole
6. Sky Warning
7. Seven Seals Theme
8. Thin Moon
9. Not Me
10. I Saw You
11. Now, Let Me Brush You
12. I Promise I Lied
13. Wash To Sea
14. Aqua Sun
15. Oceans

Zammuto - Zammuto

Zammuto is a new indie synthpop group with electro-infused grooves formed by members of now-defunct The Books. I hear great things about The Books all the time, but after listening to Zammuto's self-titled, I can't really say I'm excited to check them out if they're similar in the slightest.

 

This IS indie synthpop. I knew that going in I would be subject to experimental beats and odd computerized sounds, hoping many of them didn't feel cheap. Luckily most of the sounds used on here have a bit of grit to them, making it accessibly dirty. The songwriting bounces around between funk-grooves (see: "Zebra Butt"), math rock guitar riffing on "Groan Man, Don't Cry," and more complacent, straightforward beats like on "Weird Ceiling." Like a jack-of-all-trades, Zammuto are a master of none of these styles, and the horrid vocal distortions and mixing make it painful to listen to.

There's only so much of a vocoder one can take. I mean if you think you can handle more, go for it, but I certainly can't. Zammuto abuses the effect until your own hatred for it will make you want to join the band in beating the computer (or pedal) into a bloody pulp. It's disgustingly overused on literally every track that its presence is felt, except perhaps "Idiom Wind" which is a nice, mellowed out break that comes too early in the album to serve as one.

My irritation when listening to the vocals is mostly due to the mixing. As primarily a pop album, Zammuto's self-titled has the vocals mixed very high, and thus they overpower the beats and harmonies that the album tries so hard to envelop the listener with. The only exceptions to this would be "Idiom Wind" and the closer, "Full Fading" which features a melancholic vocal line and chord progression. It sounds like Bon Iver, which isn't much of a good thing, but it works well here.

Zammuto's self-titled isn't entirely on the level of horrible I've made it seem. Some of the beats are pretty cool, and I like the riff-heavy sound of "Zebra Butt," the mellow progression on "Shape Of Things To Come," and the intro to "Groan Man, Don't Cry," but some of the tracks reach self-indulgent levels of annoyingness, and the shit mixing doesn't help either.

4.75 out of 10
 
Tracklisting:

1 Yay
2 Groan Man, Don't Cry
3 Idiom Wind
4 Crabbing
5 F U C-3PO
6 Too Late To Topologize
7 Zebra Butt
8 Weird Ceiling
9 Harlequin
10 The Shape Of Things To Come
11 Full Fading

Stream here.

The Dø - A Mouthful

Getting my vidya game on, I've recently been playing Saints Row: The Third. Decided to check out some of the bands on the in game radio, and since I'm now on a self-proclaimed quest to find female vocalists who aren't annoying like the banshees in your favorite symphonic metal bands, I decided to check out The Dø, a French-Finnish indie/folk pop hybrid. Their debut A Mouthful is pretty interesting if solely for the fact it's so eclectic.

You can hear it all on A Mouthful. Jazz, indie rock, hip hop, folk, pop, whatever. It's all on here with Olivia Merilahti's odd but sweet sounding voice. I read some quotes from reviews and critics compared her voice to Bjork's and Eminem's. How the fuck does that make any sense? Well you have tracks like "Searching Gold" and perhaps "On My Shoulders" which I could see having the Bjork aesthetic, but the latter reference is much less audible except on "Queen Dot Kong," the track that made me go out and get this album. Here Merilahti essentially raps while accompanied by brass. It's refreshing, different, and interesting to hear. Something you can't say for most pop music these days.

The more standard tracks like reggae-influenced "At Last," "On My Shoulders," and the bouncy "Tammie" are all great as well. The folk break "Unisassi Laulelet" is decent if just for the break it provides in the middle of A Mouthful. There are some more predictable tracks like the girl-rock "Stay (Just a Little Bit More)" and the melancholic "Song For Lovers" which are a bit of a letdown, but overall the album is pretty enjoyable. Both Merilahti and Dan Levy utilize a plethora of instruments and the production accentuates each very well. Although it's not the most deep listen in the world, A Mouthful is definitely worth a try. There's bound to be something that you can enjoy on an album as eclectic as this.

7.75 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1. Playground Hustle
2. At Last
3. On My Shoulders
4. Song For Lovers
5. The Bridge Is Broken
6. Stay (Just a Little Bit More)
7. Unisassi Laulelet
8. Tammie
9. Queen Dot Kong
10. Coda
11. Searching Gold
12. When was I Last Home
13. Travel Light
14. Aha
15. In My Box

Sorrow - Under The Yew Possessed

I've been in the mood for non-metal lately. After listening to Soreption last week, the awful melodic death/thrash metal band The Sorrow started playing. I got a song of their's from one of those samplers that come with magazines and certain labels send you when you order their stuff. I had last.fm open and I was thinking to myself "who the fuck actually listens to this?" When I clicked the artist name to see all the listeners and comments it gave me a list of all the bands with the name Sorrow, and I came across this little folk rock/pop gem.

Sorrow is technically a duet composed of Rose McDowall, a Scottish pop singer, and some guy named Robert Lee. Apparently McDowall always had some minor obsession with gothic fantasy as it shows clearly in her photos and especially in Sorrow's music. Under The Yew Possessed features folksy guitars, melancholic lyrics, and a psychedelic-gothic vibe. Opener "Die" paints a pretty good picture of what the album is about. You can hear the melancholy in the music, but it still has some of Rose McDowall's previous bubblegum pop sound to it. The contrast is great, especially as her ethereal voice hits another octave on the last repeat of "die," making what should be an uplifting pop tune seem rather negative at heart.

Naturally the music is centered around McDowall's vocal delivery. Under The Yew Possessed is swooning bleakness but it's delivered in an almost whimsical, dreamlike state. It really makes you feel like you're in some overly dramatic nineteenth century horror/romance novel set in the forests of eastern Europe. As lame as it sounds at least it has atmosphere going for it, and it's a pretty strong atmosphere to boot. Songs like "Songbird" and the very gothic "Darkness" are absolutely enchanting, with stunning vocal melodies and that aforementioned contrasting sound between the melancholic lyrics and uplifting instrumentation. Interlude "Dew Of The Sea" and "Emptyness" both feature spoken word vocals, which actually work in the context of the album.

The neo-folk sound on Under The Yew Possessed is pretty apparent too with all the strumming, light acoustic guitar. The drumming is minimalistic and the bass often compliments or harmonizes with the vocal melodies, which is exactly what is supposed to happen in good pop music. My only real complaint is that the album ends on a downer, with "Loki and Evil," followed by three tracks of silence and an untitled ambient outro, but it still fits the atmosphere of the album. "Forgive Me" is also a bit less lyrically inspired, but I guess the album is still pop and it needs some sort of blatancy.

8.5 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1. Die
2. Forgive Me
3. Songbird
4. Dew of the Sea
5. Emptyness
6. Ice and I
7. Ruby Tears
8. Darkness
9. Loki and Evil
10. Silence
11. Silence
12. Silence
13. Untitled

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Time for something different. Don't worry, it's just one review!

"Hipster" has become such a meaningless term with all those forum-reading internet dipshits throwing the term around at everything that doesn't fit their opinion. I know because I am one of those forum-reading internet dipshits, but at least I try to use the trite label with a degree of integrity.

With that said The Antlers are a very "hipster" band. Their music is comprised of simple, mellow indie rock songs with a lot of subtle ambient nuances. Sounds like it could be cool if done right, right? Indeed. And it was pretty awesome too back on Hospice. With Burst Apart The Antlers took a page from Pitchfork's guide on how to appeal to idiots and replaced their fleeting yet powerful wisp-like atmosphere with a more boring and predictable pop approach. However the atmosphere is still there, buried under a thick, crusty layer of banality.

The first three tracks on the album are a testament to this and honestly hardly worth paying attention to. Both the opener and "French Exit" are boring and uninspired, play off of beats and chord progressions we've all heard before, and not worth listening to. "Parentheses" - the Itunes (iTunes?) single is an absolute mess of a track with an emphasis on rhythm, but I feel like it does a good job of leading into "No Widows" which is actually pretty good. Here that dreamy atmosphere from Hospice seems to manifest itself due to a great use of (subtle) keyboards.

The second half of the album is much stronger and even a bit folksy at times. "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out" even has a banjo, and it's actually used competently. The track "Hounds" is a grower, with an almost post-rock like vibe to it. It's pretty cool, especially when the trumpet comes in though I've never liked when vocal melodies become the mainstay of any track and they do prior to the trumpet. There's also a lot of ambiance with songs like "Tiptoe," "Corsicana," and "Putting The Dog To Sleep," but sadly most of these tracks are more about making up for the atmosphere that the first half of the album sorely lacked. Overall the album really isn't worth more than a listens and perhaps a song or two.

5.25 out of 10

I was actually going to see this band live with my girlfriend but the tickets sold out before we could buy them. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't if they were going to play most of this album...

Tracklisting:

1. I Don't Want Love
2. French Exit
3. Parentheses
4. No Widows
5. Rolled Together
6. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
7. Tiptoe
8. Hounds
9. Corsicana
10. Putting the Dog to Sleep