The Henry Clay People | Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives A Review

Loud but far from obnoxious the Los Angeles based The Henry Clay People are among the proud and rightfully pissy latest iteration of rock music with their new album Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives. The album might start off with a mic test but there is nothing scientific about the music that follows. Similar to The Thermals in style, the energetic sound of The Henry Clay People is rooted in what made rock music so unapologetically willful, boyish and enjoyable.

Being in the prime of life and not having much to worry about has always been a popular theme for musicians and that sentiment is properly expressed on this album’s title track. In the way that Japanther made last year a little bit more tolerable with their enthusiastic album Beats, Limes and Rice, The Henry Clay People’s latest brings some much needed life to 2012’s indie rock scene. They seem to relish in the  realization that the bands they grew up with have become less than ideal in their eyes, as it’s put in the track Everybandweeverloved, most great bands are either selling out or breaking up. A fact that is often overlooked by most music fans due to apathy or nostalgia, but they forgot the ones which became rich and stopped giving a shit about the music they produce or maybe that was covered in the selling out part. The track Hide starts off with a touch of synth that leads into a full blown critique of the state of society and its current woes.

The members of The Henry Clay People may be nostalgic but are far from apathetic. They have taken it upon themselves with their latest album Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives to remind even the most cynical music listeners what  it is about being young and pissed off that can be such a pure joy. 

Suburban Dirts | Taking a Look At Their Self-Titled Album

Suburban Dirts are an up and coming band from the U.K. who have a flare for creating bluesy dylanesque music.  Their Self-Titled album has been available for a few months now but they have yet to gain much of a fan base and that’s a shame. Suburban Dirts have a very well developed sound and they have a way of making each track on their new album resonate with real passion and emotion.   

The Suburban Dirts have a penchant for leaning stylistically, on one of the greats, namely Bob Dylan.  What makes a song or a band dylanesque? Well, the simple answer to that is it must be reminiscent of the music of Bob Dylan, a man made famous for his brand of music which became the sound track of a nation is revolt. These songs were about social discontent, political disillusionment and a subtle silver lining of hopefulness.  A lead singer with a slightly raspy voice is also a must. The album starts off with the track Tacho Breakdown Blues (Part Two) that features a classic blues guitar riff which has a reoccurring lyrical theme about Dostoyevsky that comes back by the end of the album.  Suburban Dirts have a definite streak of discontent, as can be heard in the lyrics for Lost In Transcription where lead singer John Wheatley  sings of an observation regarding a repeating of history in reference to Afghan War and hint at how its seems an awful lot like the Vietnam  War of Dylan’s era.  It’s fitting that the Suburban Dirts have taken this style, with this folksy vide laced with harmonica interludes, and infuse it with a few points of contention about the current state of society. 

Suburban Dirts are not about to start the impending revolution, they also have a number of lighthearted songs such as Ada and I Ain't Cut Out For Working 9 To 5. Ada is a song about a girl and I Ain’t Cut Out For Working 9 To 5 is self-explanatory from the title. Then there is the track The World It Turned  which features a Ukulele, it’s similar in style to Eddie Vedder’s 2011 attempt at making the music of a tiny guitar rock and roll with Ukulele Songs.   Stripped down to just vocals and a simple ukulele progression The World It Turned is a prime example of what talented musicians can do with a very simple musical premise.

All nostalgia aside, Suburban Dirts manage to bring together an album which is full of memorable moments and well executed songs that will no doubt find their way into the musical libraries of an awaiting public. 

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes | A Review of Here

It’s overwhelming sometimes, the sheer volume of stylistic influences that people draw on these days. The availability and amount of music that people have access to and as a result can be influenced by is astounding.  If you are interested in one genre from an era gone by all you need to do is go to iTunes (or wherever it is you get your music from) and fill your music library to your heart’s content.  The genesis of any album that is released by musicians could be as a result of listening to The Beatles, Johnny Cash, The Cure, The Sex Pistols even Yani. If that is what you need to draw on to make music that you can stand singing then that is what needs to be done. This blending of past and present musical influences has always been around in one way or another, though it seems more pronounced now given the current climate involving pop music and its style recycler (insert Lady Gaga comparison to Madonna here).  Next year Boybands will be back with a vengeance.

The upside of this phenomenon is a large selection of smaller current bands with varying styles, such as the psychedelic folk band Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes who have just released their second album titled Here.  Edward Sharpe was the name of a character created by the lead singer Alex Ebert while writing a book about a messiah who was sent to earth to save the human race only to be sidetracked from his mission by more important things such as the pursuit of love and female companionship.  The band gained a large fan base from the song Home and have a reputation for creating a unique atmosphere during live performances.    Their latest album Here has a style that boarders on psychedelic gospel music. The music is entrenched with religious elements but somehow manages to avoid falling into the artistic death spiral associated with god-awful Christian music.  

The question that a lot of people are asking is whether or not Here has a track that can stand alongside of the very popular song Home?  Well, let’s look at the elements of Home which made that song so attractive. It told a very lighthearted story  that focused on what it really means to call someplace or in this case someone home. It was a charming idea for a song and the lyrics meld very well with the vocal duet performed by Ebert and Jade Castrinos all set to alternative folk style the band seems to exude in an effortless manner. These familiar elements made Home what it was and resonate with such a large audience.  It touched on the omnipresent search for a sense of belonging and love that most people spend their lives looking for but so often are found wanting.  

The answer as to whether or not Here has a song similar to that of Home, is a big no. That doesn’t mean that Here is not a good album though. There are a number of good tracks on this album. Man on Fire has a classic rock style with great background harmonies, is similar to a style heard on Micah P Hinson And The Pioneer Saboteurs but without the dark tone.  Dear Believer features some high quality crooning topped by a strong chorus filled horns which always makes an impact in a song if executed properly.   

Here ends up being a strong follow-up to the band’s debut album and will no doubt find a home among fans and just might strike a chord with people looking for an album with a roots rock vibe, without having to dust off a piece of vinyl.       

The Walkmen | Taking a Look At Heaven

The Walkmen have been making music for over a decade now, so you can’t really say they are newcomers to the indie music scene. In fact, their style of alternative rock is somewhat of a musical staple in many circles. If you haven’t heard of The Walkmen though, they mostly hail from New York and have a relaxed punk-rock style that some have compared to The Cure.  As for Heaven, the band’s latest album, it sounds a lot more like Roy Orbison than The Cure in tone and content.

   

If you think back to when The Walkmen were just becoming popular and being featured on The OC (god, when was the last time you heard that show’s name dropped) with songs like The Rat, their sound was much harder and had a pronounced punk style. They are not those irritated boys anymore and really haven’t been for a few albums now.  What we are getting with the seventh studio album is matured style that reflects where the band has been with plenty of punk guitar riffs, but also where the band is going, in the way they have incorporated an almost roots rock style.  For an album titled Heaven there are a number of songs about heartbreak and longing, but the reason for such an elevated title may have more of an earthly rationale. The title track Heaven is by far the album’s best. It stands out as due to its unarguable charm, the lyrics tell the simple story of love and the unbearable thought of losing it, all set to a driven drum rhythm and topped off with a strong chorus that is best described as a stylistic mix of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Idol.  The Walkmen’s style of music has become a subtle one, once heard it will creep into the back of your mind, waiting to play on its own when you least expect it. In other words, you may find yourself humming a song off of Heaven a few days after you listened to it, which is almost always a sign of a successful album.

    

Best Coast | A Review of The Only Place

Best Coast is the product of a duo who has decided to profess a deep love for their home State of California with a new album The Only Place. Yes as the album cover/band name might lead you to believe the Best Coast have no problem telling the word that the other sunshine state is the best in the union. Actually, the sentiment surrounding California doesn’t last past the first track on the album, The Only Place. However, The Only Place does set a playful tone to start the album off, touting the medical benefits of living near sea and sunshine.  This may infuriate some people who spend a good eight months out of the year under a perpetual sky of grey clouds, filled with sharp spitting rain. But we all know that you need both sunshine and rain in order to grow, don’t we.

The band came out with their first full length album back in 2010 called Crazy for You and featured a song that has touched the lives of many would-be living room musicians playing Rocksmith with the track When I’m With You.  This first album featured more of a distortion heavy garage rock sound which stands quite different from most of the tracks on The Only Place. The new album has great pop hooks and is accompanied at times by an almost country musical flare, though it is at its heart an indie rock album. The lead singer Bethany Cosentino’s voice, as with most very song, is the main attraction on this album. Falling somewhere between Neko Case (New Pornographers) and Tegan/Sara Quin (Tegan and Sara), Cosentino lets loose with a series of short lived ballads and well assembled light rock melodies.  

The album has a number of highlights other than the opening track such as Why I Cry, My life, Better Girl and Up All Night.  The style stays fairly consistent throughout the album, maintaining a tone that will attracted most fans of Best Coast.