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5/10/2013
Capital Cities
In A Tidal Wave Of Mystery
(Capitol)L.A.’s Capital Cities are two DIY boys making good. The duo self-produced and funded its first EP and tours, got major love from music blogs and wound up getting signed by a major label. And one listen to this full-length will make it clear why. With their ‘80s-inspired wash of sunny synths, inescapable melodies and positive vibes throughout, it’s the kind of smile-while-you-dance effort we swoon over. And those good vibes are palpable between Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian, the frontmen, singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists who've both made music since they ...
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4/26/2013
!!!
Thr!!!er
(Warp)
It takes some balls (and Google search confusion) to name your band with three exclamation points, and to name your record after one of the most iconic of all time. But 17 years on, !!! (pronounced “chk, chk, chk”) doesn’t care if it fits into a neat and tidy box, because the music sure doesn’t. Is !!! a rock band? Can !!! funk you up? Does !!! take psychedelic drugs when making its albums? Yes, yes, and most likely, yes! Yet there’s something wholly necessary about a band that plays everything live and ...
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4/11/2013
Yeah Yeah YeahsMosquito(Interscope/Polydor)
Where to begin with Mosquito. First of all, the artwork is simply hideous. I assume that’s the intention—ugliness/beauty has always been part of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs schtick. Mosquito is not as bad as its album sleeve would suggest, but the half-hearted experimentation found within simply doesn’t push the envelope far enough. Take opening track “Sacrilege”—it’s an exciting Florence & the Machines-esque affair, even ending with a “Like A Prayer”-type choir. The song builds up hope for an album the band has yet to record. As exciting as “Sacrilege” is, it segues into “Subway” ...
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3/29/2013
Depeche ModeDelta Machine(Columbia)Depeche Mode and I go way back. Their career started the year I started DJing clubs, and I’ve been playing (and loving them) ever since. They did, however, lose my interest with most of their forgettable late ‘90s to early ‘00s output. But they’ve progressively been finding their footing again ever since Playing the Angel, and their 13th disc finds them rejuvenated again. Themes of faith, life, death and lust have regularly inhabited Martin Gore’s lyrics via Dave Gahan’s melodramatic, vibrato vocals, and they abound. As do some of the band’s most beautiful melodies ever. ...
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3/8/2013
David Bowie
The Next Day (Columbia)
On his latest release, The Next Day, iconic rock star David Bowie reclaims past glories and reminds us why he’s in the rock canon of great artists. I mean, this is Bowie we’re talking about, and some iteration of his personae (the Thin White Duke, Ziggy Stardust, et al.) has influenced the music we listen to today. Yet 33 years since his last great record, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), he has something to prove. While it’s not a perfect record, The Next Day is certainly inspired—by the specter of death, the lure of ...
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2/8/2013
Sharon NeedlesPG-13(Sharon Needles)Andy Warhol famously said, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes,” and if the queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race are any indication, the future is now. And you might be thinking: “Oh God, Sharon Needles made a record?” Fear not, freaks, because this infamous ghoulish glamazon can not only sing, she’s delivered a tuneful, infectious and, dare I say it, fun record! Hell, even when she’s mainly reciting the alphabet on the dance floor banger “Ouija Board” or vamping in the morgue on “Dead Girls Never Say No,” they’re backed up by ...
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1/25/2013
BjörkBastards (One Little Indian)Though available as a download since November, Björk’s latest remix collection, Bastards, is finally being released on CD in the U.S. What’s interesting about these projects is that the DJs involved in their creation seem more in touch with her core audience than she herself has in years. (Blasphemy, I know, but it needed to be said.) Though I respect and admire her for her experiments and eclectic proclivities, I used to love her for much simpler reasons: her beats, her birdlike voice in the midst of cavernous clubs, her emotional outreach. I don’t want ...
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1/11/2013
Anothers BloodAnothers Blood(Unit Five)FrontiersLA.com recently published a list of the top 20 albums of 2012 from each of the magazine’s music reviewers. The album that topped my list was Amanda Palmer’s opus Theatre Is Evil. But I was wrong—that was not my favorite album of the year. The self-titled debut from UK’s Anothers Blood is my favorite album of 2012. The album was released on iTunes with little fanfare right before the end of the year—an injustice. Anothers Blood is the brainchild of Richard Frenneaux, who fronted the indie pop band Red Light Company. Red Light Company ...
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11/29/2012
Ke$haWarrior(RCA)I don’t think there’s another pop star who elicits quite the same love/hate relationship with the press and her fans as Ke$ha does. It’s easy to love her ballsy, bawdy, unfiltered opinions and ‘I don’t give a f#ck!’ demeanor. But it’s just as easy to hate her when all that appears calculated and pretentious. But here’s the deal: you simply cannot deny her ability in making earworms that drill clear through your skull. Granted, her topics du jour don’t stray far from her familiar “YOLO” themes of partying, drinking and sexing, but dare I say the girl ...
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11/16/2012
Robbie WilliamsTake The Crown(Island Records)Take The Crown, Robbie Williams’ ninth solo album, follows his brief reunion with Take That with an LP full of big, brash hooks, glossy production and soaring choruses. The lyrics? They’re basically about how in order for Robbie Williams to make a comeback, he’s going to have to record an LP full of big brash hooks, glossy production and soaring choruses. Yes, it’s that superficial. After a pair of ‘experimental’ albums that nearly derailed his career, Robbie’s all about giving us what we want. Opener “Be a Boy” has all the hallmarks of ...
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