Preview: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
The sprawling terrain of suburban America has been mapped so many times that life out there begins to take on the qualities of myth. However, the myth of life in suburbs is an inversion of traditional myths. Instead of taking on epic qualities of bravery and cunning, the characters who float throughout suburban literature are presented as quiet, modest people who are the definitive representation of life in America. The problem here, obviously, is that this kind of formulation of American life ignores the racial and ethnic diversity of our country.
July 26th, 2010 |
by svotel |
published in
experimental, indie rock | 5 comments
The Books – A Cold Freezin’ Night
One little boy vividly recounts the ways that he could kill you: “I can kill you with a rifle, a shotgun, any way I want to. Probably cutting your toes and working my up toward your brain.” Yikes. But underneath the violent imaginations of children, the duo have composed a fundamentally unsound beat that suddenly bursts with borrowed sounds: whistles, screams, harmonicas, electronic rushes, bird calls. The whole sounds like it’s on the verge of collapse, and it’s a thrillingly unnerving listen.
June 28th, 2010 |
by svotel |
published in
experimental, instrumental, house | 5 comments
Preview: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Arcade Fire’s career is built on sensationally anthemic bombast, so the most striking thing about the two new songs from their forthcoming The Suburbs is that they are relatively modest affairs. But, then again, almost anything after “Intervention” or “Keep the Car Running” or “No Cars Go” is going to sound modest.
June 7th, 2010 |
by svotel |
published in
indie rock | 4 comments
Sunvisor – Sky Dive
Every now and then I come across a song that I really hits me and I have the damnedest time explaining what’s so great about it. Take, for instance, Sunvisor’s “Sky Dive,” a song that I’ve been hanging out with pretty steadily since the duo sent it to me a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been struggling with my review because I can’t get much past a list of all of the things I like about the song: the vague clang of the snare, the woozy synths, the way the gentle background vocals waft across the track, the way the bassline recedes as the layers pile up, the reverb blurring and smearing the vocals.
June 1st, 2010 |
by svotel |
published in
dreamwave/chillwave
LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
LCD Soundsystem has always been at their most potent when Murphy examines the emotional tectonics shifting underneath the cool swagger of his sleek disco. And it’s these moments that are the highlights on This is Happening. The motorik beat of “All I Want” carries Murphy along as he admits that all he wants is your pity. But instead of sounding pathetic, it comes across as a triumph of honesty.
April 29th, 2010 |
by svotel |
published in
dance, electronic, indie rock | 4 comments
