Album: Luminous by The Horrors (May 5)
(An album I was underwhelmed by on first listen. It took a few spins to get into the music. Holds up to repeat plays I think. Tough to pinpoint what genre the music is, has been described as dreamy synth-goth/pop. I like the production and layers of sound)
Favorite tracks: So Now You Know, I See You, In And Out Of Sight, Chasing Shadows, First Days Of Spring
For a limited time, stream the album in its entirety at Pitchfork
Rating 8 out of 10
Album: I Never Learn by Lykke Li (May 2)
(A melancholy breakup album, so a bit of a downer, though it does have moments of beauty. The vocal has been reverbed so much though, that it at times undermines the emotional impact she is going for)
Gunshot I loved on first listen. The first two tracks I Never Learn and No Rest For The Wicked are the other stand-outs for me)
Rating 7 out of 10
Album: Hot Dreams by Timber Timbre (April 1)
(Has been described as the bands strongest album to date. Atmospheric, brooding sound. To do the album justice, you really have to listen to the whole thing in its entirety. If you're looking for big hits, you'll be disappointed. What you get is a very cohesive set of tracks. Like a companion piece to the 2012 album All Hell by Daughn Gibson.)
Favorite tracks: Hot Dreams, The New Tomorrow, Run from Me
Rating 8 out of 10
Album: Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst (May 19)
(Solo album by Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst. Musically pretty samey, but I love the lyrics. Was basically what I expected, his trembling pained vocal is as per usual, and won’t please everyone. As with other singer/songwriter records, it’s wordy, so an album I’d prefer to read the material of while listening. The theme in several tracks is about coming to terms with celebrity. I can admire the songwriting, but I didn't love everything about the album. The cover art is a painting by Oberst's friend Ian Felice entitled The Creation of the Bulls.)
Favorite tracks: Time Forgot, Hundreds of Ways, Common Knowledge
For a limited time, stream the album in its entirety at NPR First Listen
Rating 7 out of 10
Album: White Women by Chromeo (May 12)
(I really wanted to love this electro-funk album, but it just wasn't for me. Instead of catchy the music was annoying and repetitive. "Jealous" is pretty good, but for me, the other tracks just lack that special something.)
Favorite tracks: Jealous (I Ain’t with it), Play The Fool
Rating 4 out of 10
What do you think? Agree or disagree? As always, share your opinions in the comments. In part 2 of 2, I'll review Benji by Sun Kil Moon, Sun Structures by Temples, To Be Kind by Swans, and XSCAPE by Michael Jackson
I agree with you 100% on I Never Learn, Gunshot is my favorite too.
ReplyDeleteI meant to listen to Chromeo's album. Hope it's good.
Haven't listened to the others.
@Cristi B: Glad you agree and yes Gunshot is pretty good(but not best of the year)
DeleteThe album from Chromeo, I didn't like it apart from a couple of tracks, hope it will work for you!
The Horrors album is my favorite of the bunch, and is currently in my top 5 of 2014.
I recently listened to the Lykke Li and Chromeo albums and came away with the same impressions as you. A little disappointed with the production on I Never Learn, and greatly underwhelmed by the generic and uninspired sounding White Women. Still need to check out The Horrors.
ReplyDelete@Bonjour Tristesse: Perhaps Lykke Li album needs to be heard live for her vocal to shine. Too bad your Canadian friends from Chromeo didn’t make a great album, part of what I disliked were the lyrics.
DeleteChromeo doesn't do anything for me. The new Horrors album is alright though I need another listen yet the Lykke Li album is fantastic.
ReplyDelete@thevoid99: I like a few tracks by Chromeo, Don't Walk Away from Business Casual (2010) is very catchy.
DeleteHope The Horrors album will grow on you! Great that you think the Lykke Li album is fantastic.
Never got much into Chromeo either, though I haven't listened to their new album.
ReplyDeleteWill have to check out The Horrors and Timber Timbre!
Eric @The Warning Sign: The new Chromeo album is skippable.
DeleteHope you’ll enjoy The Horrors and Timber Timbre albums!
Luminous sounds the most interesting. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDelete@Josh: Luminous I can imagine will stick around in my top 10 for the remainder of the year
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