Happy to You

Miike Snow

Swedish indie pop trio Miike Snow bombarded the music scene in 2009 with one catchy single right after the next, the highlight of which being “Animal”. I’ve listened to that song hundreds of times and it still has not worn out its welcome. Three years later, Miike Snow return with their second studio album Happy to You. For their second go-around, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and Andrew Wyatt try to branch out from their hook-heavy debut and focus more expanding their sound and crafting something more ambitious.

Happy to You reminds me of Congratulations, MGMT’s sophomore album: hard to digest at first, especially with the lack of a monster single, but you can appreciate it for what it is after a few listens. The first few songs are kind of just their and aren’t anything to really brag about, but once “God Help This Divorce” rolls around, its soulful beat had me hooked. Round it off with some powerful piano lines and you’ve got one of the album’s best songs. The album really finds its groove as it then dives into the catchy and synthy “Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)” (think The Cure’s “Close to Me”) and Archipelago has a very solid, albeit brief, piano riff after each chorus that adds so much to the track’s already upbeat melody, yet depressing lyrics. On the album’s longest (and slowest) track “Black Tin Box”, Lykke Li shows up for a guest verse that should have gone one a bit longer, but the pattering drums and masterful synth work make up for that. The album then closes with first single “Paddling Out”, which is by far the catchiest track on the album and has me dancing and singing along to it more and more with each listen.

Though not as approachable as their debut, Happy to You is a decent effort by Miike Snow. Though they might be a little disappointed after one listen, but there is enough here to satisfy superfans of their work to date. This record wouldn’t be nearly as good if Karlsson and Winnberg weren’t such talented producers. As long as they are still producing their own albums, I’m more than willing to give whatever they record a shot.

Recommended Tracks: “God Help This Divorce”, “Archipelago”, “Paddling Out”

Port of Morrow

The Shins

I feel that calling this a Shins album is misleading. Though Port of Morrow is still technically the fourth album released by The Shins, bassist Dave Hernandez, keyboardist Marty Crandall, and drummer Jesse Sandoval were relieved of duty by singer/guitarist James Mercer prior to recording the album and hired a plethora of musicians to help record the songs. Incidentally the album is also the “band’s” first record on Aural Apothecary, Mercer’s record label. So yeah, big changes and a fresh start here.

Produced by Greg Kurstin and Mercer himself, Port of Morrow features an expansion of their previously humble sound for The Shins in favor of a more electronic sound that Mercer established with side-project Broken Bells two years ago. This decision does pay off on certain songs, like on opening number “The Rifle’s Spiral” which contains some solid keyboard interludes accompanied by a drumbeat that keeps the listener intrigued. If there’s one thing that Mercer has always retained, it’s his ability to craft a well-written song. His falsetto voice would have you think that this is a feel-good track, but his lyrics suggest otherwise with references to a man with a death wish not just for himself, but for others. This theme of beauty mingled with darkness has always been present in The Shins’ songs and thankfully remains present here.

Love is another inspiration for Mercer on Port of Morrow, especially on lead single “Simple Song” which he has gone on record that it was inspired both by his recent marriage and the departure of former bandmates Sandoval and Crandall. One of the album’s best tracks, “Fall of ’82”, serves as a letter of thanks to someone who helped the singer conquer depression during his youth, yet still ends on a somber note when not all is healed. Beauty mingled with darkness at work again.

In what might be the most well written song on the album in “No Way Down”, Mercer takes perspective from both sides in the Occupy movement and suggests that maybe not all of the 1% are money-grubbers, but rather they are worried about what is happening in the lyrics “Is there no way down from this peak to solid ground/without having our gold teeth pulled from our mouths?” and even takes an apologetic tone when he utters “Get used to dust in your lungs” to the sick and the young.

Though not every track is a gem on The Shins’ fourth album, this isn’t necessarily a bad collection of songs. Port of Morrow is a far cry from what we’ve grown used to from the indie rockers, but I suppose that has to do with change in both the band’s lineup and the direction that James Mercer is moving in as a musician. Thankfully, he is still able to write brilliant songs to keep fans appeased.

*Notice I went this whole review without mentioning Garden State.

Recommended tracks: “Simple Song”, “No Way Down”, “Fall of ’82”

The OF Tape Vol. 2

Odd Future

I listen to the Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ every day. I haven’t missed a show in years. In the time that I’ve been a listener they’ve had some really great interviews and some extremely poor ones. Earlier this week, they boldly scheduled Odd Future front man Tyler, the Creator and “idea man” L-Boy to be on the show to promote their new album The OF Tape Vol. 2 and tv show “Loiter Squad”. It was honestly one of the worst interviews I’ve heard, not just on Kevin & Bean, but in the history of life. And it was in no way Bean’s fault (Kevin was on vacation last week). He asked all the right questions that any good radio show host would ask a guest. Tyler and L-Boy just didn’t give a shit. They gave short, vague, and shitty answers to every question, showed very little enthusiasm and clearly had no interest in promoting neither their album nor their tv show.

But that is the very nature of Odd Future in a nutshell. They don’t care what anyone thinks or who they offend. They make the music they want to make and tell everyone else to fuck off. If anything, you can’t blame Odd Future for being inconsistent because this nonchalance is evident in The OF Tape Vol. 2, in which Tyler, the Creator serves as executive producer. This collective has been together for about 5 years. In that span, they’ve released hundreds of tracks individually and three mixtapes. Though this is their first official album, it feels more like another mixtape that is typical of what they’ve previously released.

That’s not to say this is a great record, but more of a consistent record. It starts off with “Bitches” with Hodgy Beats and Domo Genesis spitting rhymes and proving they have better chemistry than any of Odd Future’s other collaborators.  Match that with an extremely catchy/synthy beat and you get one of the album’s highlights. From there, we get a plethora of different songs including “Ya Know” and “White”, the former featuring the electro inspired The Internet and the former being a soulful R&B interlude by Frank Ocean. These two tracks stand out from the rest of anything anyone else puts out in Odd Future because they are the only members of the collective that really transcend the genre of rap music. They feel very out of place, but are better songs than others on the album like “50”, “Lean” and “We Got Bitches”, though the latter song is anything you’d come to expect from the obnoxious side of Odd Future.

Where this album really shines is when they (especially Tyler) tackle pop culture headlines, like Sean Kingston’s jet skiing accident or Casey Anthony in “P” or graphically paint an image of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy having sex in “Hcapd”. The outro for the latter basically confirms my intro of what Odd Future stands for (side note: I watched “The Muppets” literally right before I decided to listen to this album. This song scarred my childhood). “Forest Green” is another great track that surprisingly appears here because it was released as a Mike G single a year ago, but still holds up with the album’s best chorus. But, no track shines brighter than “Oldie”, which features most of the Odd Future collective passing the mic one at a time, laying down their own verse. Toward the 7-minute mark of this 10-minute epic, we get a welcome surprise return from Earl Sweatshirt, the youngest member of Odd Future who was shipped off to boarding school in Samoa over a year ago. This is the only track on the album that captures the camaraderie of Odd Future and is further illustrated by the track’s video.

Though they pull no punches here, The OF Tape Vol. 2 delivers what you’d expect from Odd Future: brash, juvenile, yet oddly intriguing lyrics. A lot of this album seems like filler and could have been left out. And some songs are so brainless it sounds like a 13 year-old aspiring rapper wrote them. But, when the album shines, it does so on a level that shows how clever and talented these guys can really be. As Odd Future emerges from the underground and into the album-release game (they’ll never be considered mainstream - you win this one hipsters), one wonders how much longer their novelty will last.

Recommended Tracks: “Bitches”, “Forest Green”, “P”, “Hcapd”, “Oldie”

Concert Review: Of Monsters and Men

Ok so this isn't going to be a very long review, seeing how I completely fawned over these guys in my most recent album review. I've been to many, many concerts over the years, yet last night was my first time ever going to the Troubadour. For those who've never been, it's a very intimate venue. Basically just a bar with a stage and a small upper floor with a few tables and a balcony. I would imagine no more than a few hundred people could fit inside. This adds so much more to the concert-going experience and it feels like the band is actually performing for you, rather than you paying to see them perform.

When Of Monsters and Men took the stage, they immediately broke into album opener "Dirty Paws" and the uplifting "From Finner". From there they treated their audience to a few new songs that would be featured on the U.S. album release as bonus tracks. All three were enjoyable, but the third new song titled "Mountain Sound" was my favorite with its very upbeat and catchy chorus. After that the band proceeded to play most of the songs from their debut album My Head is an Animal. The highlight of the night had to be "Little Talks", which had the whole crowd dancing, chanting, and singing along with the band as they belted their hit single.

This being their first North American tour, I was skeptical that they wouldn't have perfected their live sound quite yet. However, the band eased my skepticism quickly as every song sounded as good as it does on the album. In between songs, the band would banter with the crowd and were constantly thanking and expressing how excited they were to be in the U.S. The crowd in turn was equally excited to be in their presence. Most people knew the titles and lyrics to every song, despite that the album has yet to be released stateside. It added to the experience that these people liked Of Monsters and Men as much I do. One thing they could work on though was their preparedness. It seemed like they forgot their setlist at times and had to remind each other which songs were next. And for their encore it was clear they hadn't decided which song to play when they took the stage and ended up asking the crowd. Naturally, everyone requested both songs to which the band graciously obliged. This is a very small qualm though and after a few shows I'm sure they'll fix it.

My Head is an Animal

Of Monsters and Men

Forming in 2009, Icelandic indie folk band Of Monsters and Men have endured a long build up for their first LP. Hard work and patience has definitely paid off for this indie folk sextet. In 2010, the band entered Músíktilraunir (Iceland’s version of battle of the bands) and won the competition. They would eventually sign with Record Records in 2011 to work on the release of their debut album. By September 2011, Of Monsters and Men finally released My Head is an Animal in Iceland. It quickly topped the album and singles charts with lead single “Little Talks.” The aforementioned single even gained airplay in Philadelphia, received an immensely positive response, and has quickly been gaining momentum on various other radio stations across the U.S.

After signing with Universal and releasing an EP in December, Of Monsters and Men will finally release My Head is an Animal worldwide on April 3^rd. Fortunately, I was able to get a copy of the record about a month ago. After first hearing (and immediately enjoying) “Little Talks” last fall, these guys have been on my radar as an up and coming band. I’ll admit that before listening to their debut album, I was very nervous that they wouldn’t live up to the hype and that I was putting them on way too big of a pedestal. Having listened to My Head is an Animal many, many times, I can honestly say that this is one of the best albums to be released in a long time.

The core of what makes this album so beautiful is the vocal duality of singers Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar þórhallsson (don’t ask me how to pronounce their names). They compliment each other so well and nail every harmony on every song. Neither one of them tries to outperform the other, but rather focus on singing to each, which gives the whole album a very intimate feel. Album opener “Dirty Paws” highlights this perfectly with a slow build up followed up by chants, cymbal crashes, and snare drums. The following song, “King and Lionheart” is a potential single with its catchy chorus, thudding kickdrums, and masterful accordion work. “Numb Bears” will have you whistling along with its chants and even catchier accordion hooks. We get an acoustic break with “Sloom” that further highlights the harmony between the lead singers. Afterward, we finally break into “Little Talks”, which is still my favorite song on the album. The lyrics hint at a failed relationship, the chorus is unforgettable, and every instrument works together to create a nearly flawless song. If this track doesn’t hook you from the start, then there’s no hope in salvaging the rest of the album for you.

 “From Finner” is a modern day immigrant song, celebrating life in a new home. Surely this will apply to their future world tours and warm reception they have received these last few months. “Six Weeks” finds the band more in touch with their mythical side, singing of fighting off animals and sharing a meal with a wolf. “Love Love Love” provides a nice interlude with a strong lullaby-esque ballad about unreciprocated love with Nanna flying solo on vocals (for the first time on the album). As she belts out lyrics like “‘Cause you, love, love, love when you know I can’t love”, you can’t help but sympathize with whomever she’s singing about. “Your Bones” pulls another solo showcase (save for one final harmony toward the end), this time focusing on Ragnar. He is accompanied by a marching combo of snare/kickdrums. The lighter-waving worthy chorus reminds me of something you’d hear at the end of an old conquistador film. “Lakehouse” is an all out belter featuring the whole band in harmony and all instruments at their most proficient that builds up until slowing down toward the end. This transitions well into “Yellow Light” which brings the album back down into the lullaby-esque rhythm previously heard on “Love Love Love.” As it fades out, hidden acoustic track “The Sinking Man” takes it home on a mellow note that is a perfect ending to the album.

Though their sound may not be all that original (think the musicianship and dual vocalists of Arcade Fire combined with the festivity and bliss of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), Of Monsters and Men are able to craft a nearly flawless album that only gets better with each listen. Though they have yet to release My Head is an Animal worldwide, I’m already looking forward to seeing what they will follow it up with. Do yourself a favor and listen to this album as soon as you can. It will definitely be on my best of the year.

Recommended tracks: “Dirty Paws”, “King and Lionheart”, “Numb Bears”, “Little Talks”, “Love Love Love”, “Your Bones”

LA Concert Update

Another big week for LA concert ticket sales! First I'm gonna quickly list some shows that still have tickets available and are coming up soon.

• Andrew W.K. @ The Glass House on Saturday, March 10 ($25)
• Super Mash Bros. @ The Music Box on Saturday, April 7 ($33.15)
• Nipsey Hussle @ Club Nokia on Friday, May 4 ($21.50-$31.50)
• Washed Out @ The Music Box on Saturday, May 5 ($30.60)

Let's dive right into on sales this week:

Indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will be playing a show at the El Rey Theatre on Saturday, May 19. Tickets went on sale today and are going for $22.

Chevelle will be performing at Club Nokia on Wednesday, April 25. Tickets go on sale 3/9 and range from $26-31.25.

Curren$y will be playing at The Music Box on Tuesday, May 1 as part of the Jet Life 2012 Tour. Opening acts include THE JETS, Smoke DZA, Fiend 4 Da Money, Corner Boy P, Trademark, and Young Roddy. If you've never heard of any of them it probably sounds like I just made all those names up, but I promise you I didn't. Tickets go on sale 3/9.

German heavy metal band Scorpions are gonna rock Staples Center like a hurricane on Friday, June 22. Hard to believe these guys have been around since 1965! This may be your final time to see them though as they plan on retiring when their current tour ends next year. Tickets go on sale 3/9 and will cost $49.50-$99.50.

British indie rockers The Wombats are taking their tour to the El Rey Theatre on Thursday, May 8. Tickets go on sale 3/10 for a mere $22.

For those on a budget, Cass McCombs is coming to the El Rey Theatre on Saturday, June 2. Tickets go on sale 3/10 for a meager $18.

For fans of americana, Justin Townes Earle will be playing the El Rey Theatre on Thursday, June 28. Tickets go on sale 3/10 and will cost $20.

After playing at the Grammy's and then announcing that they'll be headlining Bonnaroo this year, The Beach Boys would be disavowed if they went without performing in southern California this year. They'll be taking their talents to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on Sunday, June 3. Tickets go on sale 3/12 and will cost $19.50-$89.50.

Indie pop duo Best Coast will be playing the Wiltern on Friday, May 18. Tickets go on sale 3/9 and will cost $17.50-$22.50.











And finally, for those of you who were unable to score Coachella tickets, a bit of luck may be coming your way. In the past, bands playing Coachella were bound by contract to not play any shows in the Los Angeles area 3 months before or after the festival. However, since Coachella has expanded to 2 weekends consisting of the same lineup this year, Goldenvoice has apparently relented and allowed the its performers to play sideshow gigs in the area so it doesn't affect their touring profits! Since it'd take too long to post each individual show, I'll just re-post a nifty calendar that Goldenvoice created and you can look up ticket prices yourselves. THESE SHOWS WILL SELL OUT FAST!

Break It Yourself

Andrew Bird

It’s been a while since I’ve positively reviewed an album. Sorry to have been such a downer lately, but nothing I had chosen to review really impressed me. When I decided to review Andrew Bird’s new album this week, I was eagerly hoping things would turn around because I really enjoy listening to Bird’s music. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed.

Break It Yourself is a typical Andrew Bird album. You get exactly what you’d expect from the singer/songwriter”: playful laidback melodies, philosophical lyrics, and whistling (it wouldn’t be an Andrew Bird album without the latter). And that’s very much a good thing. This is Bird’s sixth solo album, so why mess with what’s working. He’s not at the point in his career where he needs to switch up his formula that’s worked since the mid-90s. Though I was pleasantly surprised to see that on Break It Yourself Bird returned instrumental focus back to the violin, whereas on 2007’s Armchair Apocrypha and 2009’s chart topper Noble Beast he switched to guitar as his primary instrument. He shows just how sharp a violinist he is on one of the album’s standout tracks “Orpheo Looks Back”, which features a thrilling and remarkable violin solo midway through.

Break It Yourself is a strong album throughout from “Desperation Breeds…” all the way through the extremely lengthy “Hole in the Ocean Floor”, which oddly never feels like it’s meandering too much considering it clocks in at over eight minutes. The album’s closer “Belles” feels like as proper an ending to any Andrew Bird album with its lush and soothing xylophone chimes and crickets chirping in the background. Songs like “Give It Away”, “Sifters”, and “Fatal Shore” (not a Chili Peppers cover, though that would be just as intriguing) display Bird’s signature lyrics that are so much deeper after multiple listens, whether he’s musing about society and our reliance on currency or love and how it changes as we get older.

This album truly shines though when it really tries to grab the listener. “Danse Caribe” could easily have been a garbled mess, but Bird somehow manages to blend his signature folk sound with a little bit of Celtic and still deliver a track that makes me want to dance. “Eyeoneye” is the album’s catchiest track by far and delivers the biggest the hook, easily winning me over. It features the perfect blend of guitar, whistling (what else?), and introspective lyrics.

Overall, I’m very pleased to say that Break It Yourself is another solid album from Andrew Bird. It’s not revolutionary or game changing, and it doesn’t need to be. It’s the perfect album to usher in the spring season and can be enjoyed in various atmospheres, whether you’re relaxing on a lazy Sunday, trying to provide some good mood music on a date, or taking a long drive through the desert.

Recommended Tracks: “Danse Caribe”, “Eyeoneye”, “Orpheo Looks Back”