The Fresh & Onlys | A Review of Long Slow Dance

A quartet from California called The Fresh & Onlys are set to release their fourth album called Long Slow Dance. The band’s previous work has been more within the realm of low-fi psychedelic rock and although there are musical elements that hold fast to that style, this new album has a more refined sound.  Less background distortion and more smooth tones populate this new album, though the band still has a throwback style which calls to mind great acts such as Joy Division, New Order and sometimes even The Ramones.

 You can also tell that they have a real sense of how to write tight pop songs, loaded with compelling lyrical hooks and driven background percussion and synth.  One of the tracks, Presence of Mind has a breezy guitar portion and an occasional dose of synth percussion. Dream Girls takes on the idea of idealized women, how they ruin lives and have the run of the world while remaining completely intangible. The entire track has a hazy lighthearted pop song quality to it which is just very well done and is more reminiscent of the previous work.   The title track, Long Slow Dance, has vocal elements similar to what James Mercer from The Shins leans towards, however because it’s matched with a musical style that has very little in common with the now passé mid-00s brand of indie music, it allows the track to take on a stylistic identity of its own.     

Every once and a while a band releases an album that has a quality to it that makes it utterly listenable. Each track on Long Slow Dance has enough stylistic pull to allow individual songs to shine but result in a complete work that stands out among other recent albums. The Fresh & Onlys may have created one of the better albums to have come out so far this year with Long Slow Dance.  

Holograms | A Review of Their Self-Titled Album

The Holograms are a post punk band from Stockholm and have released a new album filled with hard hitting rhythms and dripping with energy. Punk music came about in the U.K. during a time of economic troubles and obvious case differences in society, not unlike now.  So it makes sense that a return to this satisfyingly angry style of music would happen. What else will fight off the corporately created likes of One Direction. The fate of all ruffians does not lie entirely on the shoulders of the Holograms, but they are a nice addition to the fight.

A punk band with an electronic flare isn’t a new thing but there is something compelling about this Swedish band’s take on the genre. Laced with driven guitar riffs and tightly woven lyrics the Holograms have, with this self-titled album turned out something that is rather memorable mostly due to the strong choruses that pop up throughout the album. Orpheo has a killer chorus which is essentially a one word anthem; it just seems to burst out of the speakers with a life of its own.  Then there is the track Stress, it has an electronic backed with a bit of surfer rock vibe, when the lead singer hits the chorus of this track leans on the word Stress like a champ, which might sound like a small thing but the devils in the details as they say, and this band has managed to work the punk genre very well.

The self-titled album of the Holograms is loaded with great songs that harken back to songs like London Calling and God Save The Queen. But the album does leave the listener wondering why the lead singer in a Swedish band sounds like he has an English accent?       

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.