Ducktails - "The Flower Lane"

Artist: Ducktails

Album: The Flower Lane

Label: Domino Records

Release Date: January 29^th, 2013

Review by: Sean Kayden

Matt Mondanile of the indie rock outfit Real Estate has been making solo albums under the moniker Ducktails for sometime now.  With his latest endeavor, “The Flower Lane,” Mondanile takes a tangential turn by including the band Big Troubles to back him as well as a few other musicians lending a hand. This new collaborative approach has Ducktails veering into a new soundscape, one that isn’t all lo-fi with fuzzy guitars and echo-y vocals. Instead the “studio” like resonance feels more professional than ever before with saxophones, synths, pianos and clearer vocals to boot. If anything, the sound of Ducktails is on a much larger scale, but loses some of its intimate and tight sound. “The Flower Lane” is an easy listening pop record that is much more expressive and expansive than previous efforts have proven to be. With the combination of soft rock, pop, and jazz this new foray of a shared band experience has benefited Ducktails in many ways, but has also taken away their certain, distinctive charm.  

“Ivy Covered House” floats gently along in a breezy sort of way. There is a hazy feel to it, but never does it develop into anything much greater. As of most the songs do here, they’re all very pleasant, but Ducktails dare to take any bold risks. The title track has a nice feel to it. It moves along very smoothly and is the ideal song while sitting outside on your porch enjoying the springtime. Everything on “The Flower Lane” is structured differently than previous Ducktails’ material. There’s more songwriting to go along with the songs, but don’t expect anything remotely deep or insightful. The lyrics play a minor role as their meanings seem either vague or inessential. However, the album is a lot fuller, more polished and easily more accessible than Ducktails’ last three albums. There’s more to grasp you here with the arrangements even if the lyrics merely play second fiddle.

Mondanile draws influences from 60s pop to psychedelic rock. Each song is sonically pleasing and there are no noticeable mishaps along the way. In the end, “The Flower Lane” is a departure for Ducktails, but a rather safe bet for one to take. The music is both easy going and pleasing, but the album lacks a heartbeat. There’s no soul behind it. It’s a bunch of songs that have no interconnection to one another. While the production was boosted quite noticeably, the songwriting deeply suffers as well as little risk was taken. It’s difficult to ignore “The Flower Lane” and while it surely isn’t what many fans may have been looking for, the change in course may serve those looking for something different. Too bad different doesn’t always correlate to memorable.

Grade: 6.9 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Under Cover,” “Assistant Director,” “Academy Avenue”

Published by Mountain Views News on March 24, 2013
http://mtnviewsnews.com/v07/htm/n12/p10.htm

Beach Fossils - "Clash The Truth"

Artist: Beach Fossils

Album: Clash The Truth

Label: Captured Tracks

Release Date: February 19^th, 2013

Review by: Sean Kayden

     A few things have changed since Beach Fossil’s last record. This time around bandleader Dustin Payseur acquired three new members, including drummer Tommy Davidson to replace the use of a drum kit in previous material. What once started as a solo bedroom project of lo-fi songs has been reincarnated into a full fledge band. This time around Beach Fossils find themselves heading into a studio with a producer to craft a more polished, higher production sounding record. In the process of doing so, the band’s unique qualities could have been completely lost with the transition, but rather a sense of drive and determination is now found. However, Beach Fossils have instead found a true equilibrium from the lo-fi edges on their first album and dream-pop movement on their follow-up EP, “What A Pleasure” to combine the two sounds in what is now known as, “Clash The Truth.” Despite the lost of two original members, who have pursued their own projects (DIIV and Heavenly Beat) and taking a leap in a somewhat different, off the beaten path direction, Beach Fossils come away far from hitting a sophomore slump, but instead honing their craft with an album that genuinely doesn’t disappointment.
     The songs here are quick and bursting with energy. No track is longer than three minutes and twenty five seconds and the shortest is thirty-three seconds. Those jangly guitar riffs are still in tack, which is now proceeded by Payseur’s clearer vocals. A sense of maturity has taken its toll on both vocals and lyrics. Instead of being deemed just another surf-pop meets garage-rock summer fly-by-night summer band, Beach Fossils are clearly the real deal as they’ve become stronger and quite simply better over time. The opening and title track is a solid example of this with angst lyrics and Payseur chanting along the second half of the song. Another gem is “Careless,” that’s viciously catchy and demonstrates such a strong sense of urgency. It’s easily the best song among some of the best music Beach Fossils have put out in their reasonably short career. “In Vertigo” provides the vocals of Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead and it’s a sure winner. It’s a sprawling, darkly sweet sound with Makino’s restrained vocals to boot. The combination of that along with heavy-reverb fit hand in hand together. You will easily be clamoring for more songs of this duo. The only real problem I have with this album is the three useless instrumental tracks. “Clash The Truth” is already short in duration and the added three minutes and twenty five seconds of out of place, needless material definitely disrupts the flow of the record.
     In the end, “Clash The Truth” is the work of an artist who has developed a sound richer and more intricate than previous work has indicated. The evolution between the first two records reminds me a lot of Beach Fossils’ label mates, Wild Nothing. Both musicians started their careers as solo bedroom pop artists and now find themselves in communal projects, respectively. Plus, in relation to this, Beach Fossils’ resonance has changed with the added higher production values found in professional recording studios. Nonetheless, Payseur and co. take some risks, most of which pay off greatly. With 2013 still ahead of them, Beach Fossils just may become bigger than they ever imagined. I know for starters their new material has definitely become so.

Grade: 8.2 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Clash The Truth,” “Shallow,” “Taking Off,” “In Vertigo”

Published by Mountain Views News on March 16th, 2013
http://mtnviewsnews.com/v07/htm/n11/p19.htm 

FIVE SONGS TO KICK OFF YOUR SPRING SEASON

Review by: Sean Kayden

Coasts – “Oceans” – Coasts, newcomers hailing from Bristol, have burst onto the scene with their infectious single called “Oceans”. It’s utterly electric from start to finish. It draws you in and is simply a razor sharp, dance worthy tune. In April, Coasts will release their debut 4-song EP titled, “Paradise.” If the other songs sound like this, the name of the record will be aptly titled indeed.

Hotel Mexico – “A.I. In Dreams” – Japanese dream rockers recently released a new album called “Her Decorated Post Love.” The first single is “A.I. In Dreams”—a woozy, shoegazing induced track with 80s style vocals. It puts you into a state of euphoria with swirling, airy guitar riffs, and new wave influences. With dream pop tendencies and ultra cool vibes at the heart and soul of this song, you’ll find yourself putting this tune on repeat despite the indiscernible lyrics at times.

Local Channel – “Arctic” - The 3-piece band from SIlverlake, CA demonstrates a proclivity toward a traditional indie rock sound. “Arctic,” the band’s debut single, starts off slow and composed. There is a sort of mist layered over the rhythmic guitars. After about two and a half minutes it kicks it up a notch or two and explodes into a fully gripping jam. Ultimately, it almost feels like two songs, but “Arctic” is simply the work of a band with many faces that know no dimensions. Local Channel’s debut EP will be out this month.

Caveman – “In The City” – For their upcoming self-titled sophomore album, New York City indie rockers Caveman raise their own bar with a lush, provocative, anthemic single. What is shaping up to be an album that increases the sonic soundscape of the band, “Caveman” have crafted a song that displays lead singer Matthew Iwanusa unexpected rich vocals (not really found on their debut record). With so much going on with the arrangements, the vocals really shine on this one. If the rest of the album does this as well, there’s no telling how great Caveman’s second record will be when it arrives this April.

Foals – “Bad Habit” – Foals’ latest endeavor, “Holy Fire” dropped last month. A particular song on the record called “Bad Habit” is one of the finest tunes of 2013. It’s a multi-dimensional, deliberately paced piece of music and like ocean waves has moments of calmness followed by eruption. While “Bad Habit” never fully explodes out of proportion, it does have many elements to it making it a clever, nearly unexpected track from a band like Foals. It’s definitely one of their most pop driven songs to date. However, it’s nothing to shun when it sounds this intuitive and purely this good.



Published by Mountain Views News on March 9th, 2013
http://mtnviewsnews.com/v07/htm/n10/p11.htm

Shout Out Louds - "Optica"

Artist: Shout Out Louds

Album: Optica

Label: Merge Records

Release Date: February 26^th, 2013

Review by: Sean Kayden

“Optica” marks the fourth studio album from Swedish indie-pop group, Shout Out Louds. It’s their first album since 2010’s “Work”. Over the course of eight years, Shout Out Louds have continually made solid, joyously charming records. Their innate ability to transform the sounds of The Cure and The Smiths to a modern style is quite impressive. Lead singer Adam Olenius generally has a high-pitched voice, but this time around it seems to be slightly toned down. His previous proclivity for singing melancholy words in a relatively happy voice is still in tack. Shout Out Louds have always demonstrated a strong knack for songwriting and “Optica” is no exception. With the lyrics in tact, a slick and polished sound, and high production values to boot, the band’s fourth album in nearly three years is one of their strongest to date. In many ways it’s a return to form in how lively and jaunty the record it is. With a different direction in sight and new sounds in mind, Shout Out Louds mess around with electronics and percussions to create a refreshing, albeit uneven, yet thoroughly satisfying record.

“Sugar,” the opening number, is chirpy and utterly upbeat. It kicks the album off in the best way possible—providing what’s to come and showing the listener Shout Out Louds mean business with their recently found resonance. Follow up track “Illusions” is another gem. It’s a bit slower but equally as potent. It’s a song that dazzles with 80s influences and juggles both lightheartedness and deep sentiment from beginning to end. Ultimately, it’s the catchiest song off “Optica.” “Blue Ice” slows us down a bit, but beautifully so. It’s deeply heartfelt and introspective. Not to mention, it’s naturally smooth and divine. “Circles” is my choice for best song here. The song showcases dreamy guitars and yearning vocals. It’s as if it somehow doesn’t fit on “Optica,” but fortunately it wasn’t cut because it’s the band’s most elegant, finest written, and greatest arranged song they’ve ever crafted. However, even with all this good, there’s got to be some bad. “Hermilla” showcases the vocals of bandmate Bebban Stenborg (who plays various instruments as well as provides much of the back-up vocals). The entire song feels out of place, but unlike “Circles” it has no elements of a Shout Out Louds tune. It falls apart fairly quickly and completely has the record going off the rails for a good three minutes and thirty four seconds. Luckily, the album quickly gathers itself back on track with “Chasing The Sinking Sun.” It’s another typical Shout Out Louds affair, but despite being “typical” it still provides much variety and shines as its own standout track.

“Optica” puts Shout Out Louds back on path as one of the best indie-pop bands around. After all these years the band is still relevant and making great music. It’s been nearly three years between albums and that can feel like a lifetime for listeners, who may have given up hope on a return for a band that could have easily faded out like those before and after it. However, Shout Out Louds not only return with just a new album, but one that surpasses expectations with fresh surprises and interesting sounds to follow.

Grade: 8.4 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Sugar”, “Illusions”, “Blue Ice” “Circles"

Published by Mountain Views News on March 2nd, 2013
http://mtnviewsnews.com/v07/htm/n09/p10.htm