Author: Victoria Kendrick

Cults – Static (Columbia Records; 2013)

Following the end of the duo’s four-year romantic relationship, singer Madeline Follin and multi-instrumentalist Brian Oblivion decided that Cults should not suffer due to the split. Instead, the ex-lovers channeled the tension to create their sophomore album, Static.

Despite co-producers, Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend) and Ben Allen (Gnarls Barkley) overlooking the production, Static lives up to its name. Though Follin’s vocals are more confident and the overall sound is bigger and more layered, the band relies too heavily on the same retro ‘60s power-pop influence introduced in their 2011 self-titled debut. Unfortunately, unlike their debut, this album lacks a standout hit-single like “Go Outside” to support it.

More was expected from this lovelorn New York retro-pop duo. Ultimately, Static lazily suffocates itself in the mid-tempo, neo-psychedelic haze that it creates.

Trial Track: “I Can Hardly Make You Mine”

Rating: 5.5/10

– Paul Traunero

 

Chevalier Avant Garde – Resurrection Machine (Fixture Records; 2013)

Dreamy and synth heavy, Montreal-based duo Chevalier Avant Garde dropped their second full-length album Resurrection Machine on Sept. 10. From the peppy indie-pop synth beats of opener “Nowhere,” to the ominous sounds of “Temenos,” the whole album has an abstract feel to it.

Resurrection Machine is dripping with shadowy reverberations and ghost-like vocals; on tracks like “It Was Me,” the vocals are detached, hazing into another astral plane. Chevalier Avant Garde layer guitarwork over their signature ethereal vocals in tracks like “It Makes Me Crawl” and “When We Meet.” With their official album launch at this year’s edition of POP Montreal, Resurrection Machine proves to be an altogether melodic and celestial experience.

Trial Track: “Return”

Rating: 8/10

-Jessica Romera

 

Black Milk – No Poison, No Paradise (Computer Ugly Records; 2013)

Black Milk’s music has always been pretty serious and No Poison, No Paradise is no different. Definitely a very personal album, Black Milk moves in a different direction this time after his previous album — aptly named Album of the Year — by leaving his partying days behind. Confronting his heavily religious upbringing and desires for a different lifestyle, each track is packed with reflection and frustration. Melodically, the album is amazing and complex. He doesn’t fall back on beats, but instead bends and twists new ones keeping his usual soulful organ and choir, while throwing in a couple heavy beats and contrasting floaty synth lines. No Poison, No Paradise is definitely an album worth playing more than once: the more you listen, the more you get out of it.

Trial Track- “Monday’s Worst”

Rating : 8.5/10

-Maddy Comi

The Avett Brothers – The Magpie and the Dandelion (Republic Records; 2013)

After teasing fans with the single “Another is Waiting,” released this past August, the Avett Brothers finally dished out their latest album, The Magpie and the Dandelion on Oct. 15. Striking while the iron is still hot—barely a year has passed since their previous album The Carpenter hit store shelves—the group emerges with a noticeably evolved sound. Boasting a more ballad-riddled track list, the collective exhibits a more subdued, mature style, reflecting on their growing seniority as a tried-and-true folk-rock band.

In opting for “swoon” over “stomp,” The Avetts convey an impressive degree of reflective intimacy, backed by a consistent stream of quotably clever lyrics. While The Magpie and the Dandelion possesses the usual eclectic bevy of musical styles notorious to the group, the tracks are blanketed by an all-encompassing folky maudlin vibe. In short, while the album isn’t likely to boost anyone’s morale, it fits the autumn mood like a trusty oversized sweater.

Trial Track: “Good To You”

Rating: 8/10

-Victoria Kendrick

Widowspeak – Almanac (Captured Tracks; 2013)

Widowspeak follows up their 2011 self-titled album with the richly-textured and bewitchingly seamless Almanac, released Jan. 22.

Almanac is an eclectic combination of songs fit for an adventure movie montage — with strong, clear riffs, infectious and tumultuous beats and hazy vocals. This is most clearly displayed in “Dyed in the Wood,” four minutes of raw inspiration, more invigorating than that early morning double-shot espresso on the way to school (you know what I’m talking about).

The impressive thing is, the Brooklyn-based duo manages to create such powerful tracks without any overkill whatsoever; no repetition, no tortuously catchy songs, no impression of trying too hard.

The album is assertive, not aggressive, and the end result is soft pop with a hazy, folky spirit. In regular indie fashion, the group artfully compiled one of the best albums I’ve seen in almost a year and seems to pass it off as no big deal.

Trial Track: “Thick as Thieves”

Rating: 9.5/10

– Victoria Kendrick

 

 

Sean Lennon – Alter Egos [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Chimera Music; 2013)

Premiered last summer as an “official selection” from Montreal’s International Fantasia film festival, the soundtrack to the indie superhero satire film, Alter Egos, was composed by Sean Lennon (only son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono).

Boasting a definite sense of humour, the score to Alter Egos blends sweeping orchestral arrangements, surf rock and the nostalgia of classic superhero themes.

Tracks like “My Hero” feature a Hawaiian-style ‘50s doo-wop, while “The Killer” and “Hampty Hamps” create a film noir-ish atmosphere of danger.

Despite the grandiose sound of the film’s soundtrack, Lennon recorded all the instrumentation himself, using his computer to create the symphonic flourishes.

With limited film scoring experience, Lennon found the experience liberating: “Your path is made clear. You just focus on the scene and what works and not worrying about your feelings,” he said.

Trial Track: “My Hero (Ft. Karla Moheno)”

Rating: 6/10

– Paul Traunero

 

 

Solange – True EP (Terrible Records, 2013)

The biggest compliment that can be paid to Solange’s EP True is that at seven tracks, it is too short.

True, released digitally in November, deviates from Solange’s previous releases, the poppy Solo Star from 2003 and the Motown Sound-inspired Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams from 2008.

True is neo-soul, R&B goodness that, hopefully, is a preview of what’s to come for Solange’s next full-length album, slated for later this year.

True’s standout tracks “Losing You,” “Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work,” “Lovers In The Parking Lot” and “Don’t Let Me Down” — but seriously, all seven songs on True are great — highlight everything that’s right with the EP and Solange’s music: upbeat, bold and sometimes-catchy melodies, but with dark and deeply personal lyrics about relationships, life, love and loss of love.

Trial track: “Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work”

Rating: 9/10

– Chris Hanna

 

 

Nosaj Thing – Home (Innovative Leisure; 2013)

Get ready to fly away into an electro-ambient parallel music universe. Los Angeles-based electronic musician Jason Chung, a.k.a. Nosaj Thing, releases his latest album, Home, on Jan. 22.

Nosaj’s music infuses his musical influences – from hip-hop, to electronic, to glitch — into a treat that’s hard to resist.

Home adds a new element to the ambient blend when he brings in Toro Y Moi to record the song “Try” and Blonde Redhead vocalist Kazu Makino for “Blue/Eclipse.”

Some of the notable tracks include the melodic, trance-y beats of “Tell” and the catchy, digitally flavored, urban-esque feel of “Snap”.

But with all that said, to embrace Home is to listen to it intimately with your headphones on when you close your eyes. Let Nosaj’s music gently take you in for a one-of-a-kind joy ride. Ambient. Refreshing. Lovely. No kidding, really.

 

Trial track: “Blue/Eclipse”

Rating: 8/10

 

– Saturn De Los Angeles

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill (2012; Reprise)

After almost half a century of making music, Neil Young is back with Crazy Horse for his 35th studio album, Psychedelic Pill. The album delivers over an hour of brand new material with the same soul of earlier, classic Young albums like Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. Throughout the album, Young pays homage to the decade where it all began for him: the ‘60s. In “Twisted Road”, Young reminisces about the ‘old-time music’ and the first time he listened to Bob Dylan’s monster hit “Like a Rolling Stone”.

The entire album has a nostalgic feel that will take those who lived through the decade back to a time where peace, love and rock ’n’ roll reigned supreme. For those of us born not so long ago, Psychedelic Pill allows us to back-track to a different time. Regardless of age, Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s new album allows us all to feel like a part of the psychedelic sixties.

Trial track: “Twisted Road”

Rating: 8.5/10

– Jessica Romera

 

Calvin Harris – 18 Months (2012; Columbia)

Over the past year, few DJs have experienced as much commercial success as Calvin Harris. The Scottish-born pop-star-turned-DJ burst onto the North American scene with club anthem “Feel So Close” and monster hit “We Found Love”. His third album, entitled 18 Months, is a collaboration of all his recent singles and features international stars Rihanna and Tinie Tempah.

Harris’ style of combining catchy hooks with talented vocals is one that Brits have known about for years and is now attracting a North American audience. The only problem with 18 Months is that it is a collection of songs that electro-pop listeners have heard repeatedly over the past year or so.

For the most part, 18 Months is more pop than it is electro, with few exceptions. Songs such as “Mansion”, “Iron”, and “Awooga” don’t rely as heavily on vocals and show Harris’ potential as a rising EDM producer.

Trial track: “Bounce” (feat. Kelis)

Rating: 7.5/10

– Alexandre Beaubien

 

Macy Gray – Talking Book (2012; 429 Records)

Teamed with Hal Willner, who also produced Gray’s last album, the R&B songstress returns to reinterpret Stevie Wonder’s multiple Grammy Award-winning album, Talking Book. Originally released in 1972 by Motown Records, Talking Book is celebrating its 40th anniversary on the day of Gray’s release.

While showcasing her distinct vocal style, the “I Try” singer sincerely reworked every track from the acclaimed album as a ‘love letter’ to Stevie Wonder. From “Superstition” as a slowed-down ballad, to “I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)” as a gospel masterpiece, Gray takes liberties with several songs from Talking Book, changing styles, tempos and instrumentation, but her devotion is clear.

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, reinterpretation is the expression of love.

Trial track: “Blame It On the Sun”

Rating: 6/10

– Paul Traunero

 

Luke Lalonde – Rhythmnals (2012; Paper Bag)

Frontman of Born Ruffians Luke Lalonde proves he’s quite capable of working solo in his aptly named debut album, Rythmnals. Rythmnals is a whimsical collection of spacey and nostalgia-inducing tracks, bound to make just about anyone sway quietly and peacefully.

The songs themselves are early Born Ruffian pieces that never quite made the cut. Fans of the band will enjoy listening to these tunes, revamped by Lalonde to reflect his own personal style. Considerably softer than the average Ruffians tracks (like the 2008 hit “Hummingbird”), Rythmnals boasts cleverly placed piano and violin punches tied together with electronic beats. The two flow together with a surprising smoothness, notably in the impressively catchy “Red Wagon”.

Taken individually, the songs are new and creative, but taken collectively they lack one crucial characteristic: diversity. The ingenuity of the style is drowned by a limited tempo and repetitive sound throughout the whole ensemble. While this new side of Lalonde is pleasant to the ear, a change of pace once in awhile would have been welcomed.

Rating: 7/10

Trial track: “Grand (Rythmnals)”

– Victoria Kendrick