Review: The Last Shadow Puppets- Everything You've Come To Expect

In 2008, Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner joined forces with musician Miles Kane for the side project known as the Last Shadow Puppets, which infused the indie rock style of Arctic Monkeys with some lavish orchestral arrangements and spaghetti western influences. They have now returned almost a decade later following Arctic Monkey's highly successful AM and hiatus announcement. The record is called Everything You've Come to Expect, but I would argue it's anything but.

Though the songs weren't stellar on The Age of Understatement, the duo's first record (I much prefer the material Turner and the Monkeys have put out), there was a certain energy there, and there was a balance between energetic tracks and balladry. Here, apart from two unremarkable songs awkwardly crammed in the middle of the record, the songs are pretty much all ballads backed by a full orchestra and generous reverb. The reverb on the guitars is so high that a palm muted note sounds like a drop of water in a cavern. I feel like I'm listening to a full album of the My Favourite Worst Nightmare track 'Only Ones Who Know',  which by itself was okay, since it acted as a slower moment on a much more varied and energetic album. This is more like a slog.

That's not to say the album's terrible. There are witty lines (it has songs by Alex Turner after all), and the abundance of sexual theme s and relationship talk that every one else seems to be harping on doesn't really bother me, but the general mid paced nature of this album can get a little stale. Maybe this is due to the lack of Matt Helders on drums here (though he does contribute background vocals, so they should have had him behind the kit). I feel like a huge Helders fan boy, since I just brought him up with Iggy Pop, but his drumming on the first few Arctic Monkeys albums really gave their songs drive. Now that they're kind of in their club/ hip hop influenced material, he doesn't have as much of a license to let loose, but his drumming still has power and momentum that's severely lacking here. While we're on the subject of drums, what is with the drums on 'Bad Habits'? The bass drum groove is good, but the drums (which sound sequenced) could have come off some '80s pop. Why?

All in all, this album was a little disappointing to me. It was very samey, with mid paced ballads dominating, and the tracks that had any uptempo moments weren't particularly notable. I really hope Turner got the mediocre ballads out of his system, because I need some fast paced,quick witted rock from the Arctic Monkeys on their next go around.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

Check back in later, because as soon as I get the EP in the mail, I'll be taking a look at Blind Spot by Lush. I'll also be sharing the fruits of my outing for Record Store Day 2016.


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Review: John Congleton and the Nighty Nite- Until the Horror Goes

John Congleton has delivered a masterpiece. Congleton, who has made a name for himself as the front man for the now defunct Paper Chase and as an engineer and producer, has had a pretty phenomenal past few years. I actually became familiar with him due to his production of the last St. Vincent LP (actually pretty much her whole catalog), and he has lent his engineering, session work and production to some of my favorite albums of the past few year, such as the aforementioned record as well as Chelsea Wolfe's Abyss, and my favorite album of 2014, Swan's To Be Kind, though his credits include hundreds of records.

With such an impressive but diverse resume, and my unfamiliarity with the Paper Chase, I had no idea what this album was going to sound like, but I knew it was going to sound fantastic. His production is always extremely well recorded, and this record is no exception. This kind of sounds like a distorted and warped version of synth pop, but through an extremely dark lens. These songs are super catchy and are inherently poppy in sound, but the throbbing synths, pounding drums and demented vocal performances give it a unique flavor. If you can imagine Fred Thomas singing about mortality, serial killers and the meaning of life through a compression filter, with Icky Blossoms as a backing band, all dropped in a cavern of reverb and weird soundscapes, you have his aesthetic. It's interesting to see this influences bleed into the albums he's worked on, and vice versa, because I definitely get traces of St. Vincent, Swans and Xiu Xiu on this album. Explosions in the Sky and Kirk Franklin's influences might be a little more difficult to pinpoint.

As previously stated, the lyrics on this album take some dark turns. Congleton really excels at the thing Kevin Barnes and of Montreal do where they put super depressing lyrics and dark subjects over super bouncy, sugary and upbeat music (I hear a little bit of them on 'The White Powerless'), though some sour piano chords and some synth work hint at something a little sinister. From the title(-ish) track 'Until it Goes', I hear a story of a killer or killers, who are now contemplating suicide after authorities find their murder house, along with their grizzly trophies, or at least that's how I'm interpreting it (did I mention I just binge watched all of Hannibal over the past month?). However, unless you listen to the lyrics, it's a indie rock tune with a catchy melody and some fuzzed out but bright synths and bells. I just love tracks that can mask their disturbing nature by offsetting it with an upbeat tune. He also has some great lines on this album. "If you want to see a dead body, take off your clothes", from the first track 'Animal Rites' just had such a bitter and haunting quality to it, and most of the music cuts out when he says it the first time, so it just sits their with you while you ponder its meanings.

This record is great, and I'm looking forward to what he does next, or what albums he'll be producing or engineering in the future. I see his name in the credits of Swans' upcoming album, The Glowing Man, which I was already excited for, so this record just amped me up even more. If you've listened any of the albums he's worked on and dug them, I suggest you look into this (A list of his credits can be found here:  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-congleton-mn0000215209/credits ). A fantastic album.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

Check back in soon for my Last Shadow Puppets review. Many other reviews coming soon.





"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Mini Album Reviews: Domo Genesis, Explosions in the Sky & Open Mike Eagle / Paul White

I thought I would share some more opinions on some new albums. These are either records I didn't have a whole lot to comment about but still wanted to speak on, or the window of relevancy to talk about a "recent" album was winding down. So, let's jump right in.





Domo Genesis: Genesis
Domo Genesis, at first, didn't seem like a notable member of the Odd Future collective, but through his great features on other members' albums, or the surprisingly good Under the Influence 2, he changed my mind, so I was anticipating this a little bit. I can't say I loved it. Domo, though he raps well, and provides some decent bars, doesn't rap with a style to suit the super chill beats he selected. He's at his most aggressive and raspy, but over like jazzy, subdued beats. It's a weird combo that kind of throws me off. I feel like if he dropped his self imposed weed rapper image, and started rapping over some rowdier production, I'd enjoy it a lot more.




Explosions in the Sky: The Wilderness
I remember the first time I was introduced to this band, I was a prospective student at a college tour, staying with an RA and a few other prospective students, and he had to share his favorite band with us. The thing I took away from their sound was the sheer energy and climaxes they would build. They definitely shied away from that on this record, and instead of post rock exaggerated dynamics, they're experimenting in the subtle, softer areas on this record, which is definitely a change of pace. The fuzzed out grooves and rare instrumental climaxes are still where they shine, though.




Open Mike Eagle + Paul White: Hella Personal Music Festival
This record is fantastic, and I really feel this is what Macklemore wants to be. Open Mike Eagle is able to rap about social issues and personal topics and juggle that with witty and genuinely funny word play (that Lena Dunham GIRLS reference had me kind of weak the first time I heard it), and he's able to do it in a way that doesn't come off as corny or overly serious. It's a perfect blend, and the humor invites you in for him to share his opinions on issues, so whereas other rappers come off as preachy, Open Mike Eagle's rhymes are almost conversational in nature. Also, producer Paul Whit does his thing on here with some extremely varied beat work, covering all emotional and stylistic wave lengths. He does so in a way that provides a comprehensive emotional range for Mike to work with, without coming across as jumbled or lacking a cohesive aesthetic. A must listen for hip-hop fans into the more lyrical side of the genre, and most likely returning in my year end list somewhere.



Check back in later for more of my opinions on new records. Going to be tackling the new John Congleton record, as well as the new album by the Last Shadow Puppets soon.




"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."