Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:
100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably)
Now... onto the reviews:
100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably)
Now... onto the reviews:
Local Natives feel less like an organic band than they do one that was cooked up in a music lab somewhere. "I need one indie band to go please. Heavy on the Afropop." This is not to say that their debut, Gorilla Manor, feels fake in any way but there are so many reference points present, ranging from Cold War Kids to The Walkmen to the Afropop fad that's prevalent in indie music lately (think Vampire Weekend and Surfer Blood) that the band ends up feeling like a synthesis of these other acts instead of creating their own identity. It's like they're chemists mixing and matching popular indie conventions yet, strangely? Their experiments end up yielding some pretty enjoyable results. Test driven in the UK last fall after success at last year's SXSW, Gorilla Manor finds the Los Angeles-based act playing to their strengths on slow burners like "Cards And Quarters" and "Who Knows Who Cares" as the three-part combo of keyboardist Kelcey Ayer and guitarists Ryan Hahn and Taylor Rice combine to sing, "You figure it out, I can't stay/ Water's in the clouds/ Is my life about to change?/ Who knows who cares." Local Natives prove to be equally adept with bursts of raw emotion on "Shape Shifter" and lead single "Sun Hands," both of which are anthemic as they build to a final catharsis as each track fades. Gorilla Manor, while a grab bag as many debut albums are, is good professional work that suggests that Local Natives are one day going to stumble upon the perfect formula.
Dirty Rating: 79/100
A record that seemingly melds the pastoral 70s AM sound of Fleetwood Mac with the experimental side of Fleetwood Mac should probably be more intriguing than Midlake's The Courage Of Others proves to be at the end of the day. Unfortunately, many of the tracks on this record blend together to form an amorphous blob of pleasantness but nothing approaching the exceptional sounds of either of its influences. There's a much stronger British vibe to this album than there was to Midlake's last, The Trials Of Van Occupanther, but there's nothing as strong as that record's "Roscoe" either. "Core Of Nature" and "Children Of The Grounds" are mildly successful but aren't strong enough to carry the record. The Courage Of Others ultimately is an interesting approximation of classic sounds but it's done in neither a way as to add something new to the genre, nor as a perfect enough recreation to stand confidently on its own.
Dirty Rating: 56/100
No comments:
Post a Comment