With "Heaven is Whenever" it seems like The Hold Steady have crawled into a dark place. Without the pounding party keys of Franz Nicolay for the first time, the band has definitely found itself in a different realm of the mind. It's a darker place, sparse, reflective and hopeful; a place where the small child burgeoning inside of Craig Finn and his cast of characters have started to face adulthood. Sure their songs have been heavy handed in the past, but this album actually sounds the part, and I dig it. The album cover pretty much tells all, the band is reaching for something (or out of something) they haven't yet reached before, or weren't ready for until now. Craig Finn is, as always, is pure literary form though with his legendary monologues.
Listen to: The Weekenders
A lot of bands have embraced this "I wanna be Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr" fuzzy guitar sound over the last few years: No Age, Times New Viking, Japandroids, etc. Some of it works, some of it doesn't, some of Time New Vikings songs I would barely even consider music because the guitars are far TOO distorted. That said, I would have to say London's Male Bonding have made the first record of this recent trend that I can really sink my teeth into. I guess it's because their songs are just well crafted. Their a mix of heavy, messy Stooges punk, curiously adjoined with summer melodies of Surfer Blood. The best mix of these two descriptions? The track "Weird Feelings," which may or may not have a hijacked riff from The Beatles "Please Please Me." This is a fun, shreddin' summer album for the grungy kids.
Listen to: Weird Feelings
I'll be honest I completely skipped out on the Black Keys last album "Attack and Release." The fact that Danger Mouse produced it, really just turned me off at the time, and I never really had an desire to go back. The only other band that rocks this hard while repping, the grimy, bluesy roots oh so many people try to imitate these days, is The White Stripes. But Dan Auerbach has always had one step up on Jack White (and everyone else) in my opinion...he can actually sing the part. Sounding like a a mix of Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, you would never guess hes a scrawny bearded white guy from Akron, Ohio. "Brothers" sounds like the Black Keys I learned to love on "Magic Potion" and "Rubber Factory," this type of music never gets old, especially when it is done so well.
Listen to: 10 Cent Pistol
I guess I have never been as big of a fan Minus the Bear as I previously thought I was. Sure I absolutely love the clever, fun loving, easy going nature of "Highly Refined Pirates" and "Menos el Oso," but when "Planet of Ice" rolled around, I started to question my loyalties. That album really me ponder, "who the hell is this band" and "what the hell are they trying to do with themselves." That paired with the fact that I've witnessed a handful of piss poor live performances from them throughout the years, I can't really stay behind um anymore. Although I've only gave it one complete listen, OMNI just seems like more of the same awkward pandering to me. A attempt to recapture some of the glory of "Pirates" but suddenly getting all jam bandy on me. I'll definitely give it a couple more listens before I completely write it off, but it ain't looking great. All that said though I love the acoustic album they put out a while back!
Listen to: Secret Country
The new Moondoggies EP, Shook Ones, The Morning Benders, Tame Impala, Russian Circles, Unnatural Helpers, Madball and The Smiths (?!) still to come....
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