Welcome to another edition of CD Impressions, the bi-weekly feature at JPP that allows the music writers to offer brief opinions and critiques on recent albums. This time, we're pleased to present a look at recent albums from the extreme noise rock duo Lightning Bolt, Christian rockers Relient K, James Chapman's electronic pop alias Maps, and indie alt-rock darlings Animal Collective.
Turning the Mind Artist: Maps Label: Mute Release Date: 28/09/09 5 out of 10
At first glance, Turning the Mind isn’t terribly far removed from We Can Create, though even at that cursory appraisal, I knew immediately that one was considerably better than the other. Which isn’t to say that Mind is entirely devoid of worth, but the epiphany that it feels a little blander, a little more predictable, a little more amorphous, isn’t difficult to discern. Occasionally, it’s a lot more of these things, such as the tepid dance dribble of “Love Will Come” and the grating hiss hook of “Let Go of the Fear.” The more James Chapman pays tribute to M83 and New Order this time around, the less inspired his, cough, original vision sounds. There’s evidence of a lot more polish this time, but it doesn’t glisten in the right spots—instead of making the hooks sharper and bolder, it washes away the personality, leading to long, hymnal-esque passages that suggest 30 Seconds to Mars at their swoon-iest or Squarepusher without the jazz fusion element. Some melodies are tough to resist even as you squirm shamefaced in your delight (“Nothing Is Shattering”), while others honestly work—despite the repetitive elements that have defined Chapman’s songs, the complexity of how that repetition serves makes the title track and “Die Happy Die Smiling” worthy of a listen. Worst of all are the lyrics; on Maps’ debut, they were minimalist (even piecemeal) placeholders that I could forgive, but here, Chapman attempts inflated but murky theme, so the weightless proclamations shudder harsher than the synthesizers. Maybe if I overrate the oft-sensational We Can Create, I would then underrate this sophomore effort, but after that first glance, the gulf in quality seems to grow wider each time I revisit. I already knew that synthpop was tricky territory, typically yielding either the irresistible or the irritating, and Turning the Mind is a reminder of that sad fact. (Matt Medlock)
Earthly Delights Artist: Lightning Bolt Label: Load Release Date: 13/10/09 8 out of 10
There’s a point where you’ll discover if you’re going to like Earthly Delights, and that happens to be four seconds into leadoff “Sound Guardians.” If you haven’t torn the headphones from your ears or yanked the speaker wire right out of your stereo, Lightning Bolt has won you over. Otherwise, don’t bother. To call these fifty minutes intense is an injustice to vocabulary itself. For the majority of its running time, Brian Chippendale furiously pounds on his wounded drumkit at about 200 bpm while Brian Gibson chugs haphazardly alongside with his bass guitar so that craggy distortion and howls of feedback replace any semblance of standard chord eruptions.
The aforementioned “Sound Guardians” is as unkempt as it is unruly, wide-angled, snarling craters of sound that undulate on a recognizable groove while volume and tuning throttle you out of any firm semblance of meter. “Funny Farm” almost makes you burst out laughing at the appearance of a bluesy honky tonk riff, sped up and mangled into one part Primus, two parts psychotic. “Colossus” plays at a much slower tempo and even ripples dirge-like early on as a respite of sorts before the squawking bass begins tightening up and spiraling nervously around the escalating beat. And twelve-minute closer “Transmissionary” is simply astounding, slowly pulling in instead of splaying out, and violently lashing upon your senses like the aural equivalent of face-melting Nazis standing before the Ark stretched out ad infinitum. As expected from an expressionistic noise rock duo as extreme as Lightning Bolt, there are a few moments where you wish for something a shade more benign (or at least a bit more sensible)—the arduous “Flooded Chamber” lacks the exhilaration needed for such ear-splitting effects to not induce you to a frozen wince—but as a showcase for the group’s endurance, (seemingly non-existent) limits and pure, unpolished technique, it ranks right up there with Hypermagic Mountain. (Matt Medlock)
Forget and Not Slow Down Artist: Relient K Label: Jive Release Date: 06/10/09 8 out of 10
It took a Justin Vernon-type seclusion in the woods of Winchester, Tennessee for Relient K frontman Matt Theissen to get serious. Famous for their pop punk melodies and tongue in cheek humor, Relient K's latest album, Forget and Not Slow Down, steers the band into a more mature direction. And while not all the playful humor is gone from Theissen's songwriting, the more serious lyrics is one of the main things that help make the band's latest album one of their best.
Relient K's previous full lengths often featured a handful of enjoyable pop tunes surrounded by throwaway filler. Songs about Thunder Cats and Attention Deficit Disorder are fun at first, but I just don't have the desire to come back to such mindless tracks very often. Gradually, Theissen has taken on more interesting topics; the culmination of this forward progress being Forget and Not Slow Down. The album is in essence a "break-up album;" similar in thought to Justin Vernon's own seclusion break-up album released last year but polar opposites sonically. Though Theissen does wear heartbreak on his sleeve for a number of songs, the music still doesn't lose complete touch with Relient K's pop punk origins. Songs like the driving "Therapy" and the infectious "Over It," combine upbeat songwriting with heartbreak lyrics to great effect. The album has a greater feel and flow to it than anything the band has done in the past, segueing songs with short intros and outros throughout the disc. The greatest tracks on the record may be when Theissen breaks away from the melancholy to write a handful of beautifully melodic love songs, the best of which being the lovely "Candlelight." It's a song that not only shines with Theissen's spot on vocal and swaying acoustic-driven music but also because it shows that he can use his sense of humor in a more focused way. Combining the band's trademark fun and newfound sense of seriousness is a delicate process, but on Forget and Not Slow Down, Relient K seems to have found a way to do it quite well. (Tyler Barlass)
Fall Be Kind EP Artist: Animal Collective Label: Domino Release Date: 15/12/09 7 out of 10
There probably isn’t a more defining cult-alt band of this coming-to-a-close decade than Animal Collective, one that inspires instantaneous gushing from certain circles while it will simply never fit into every other circle out there. Even though I was in that unconvinced majority for many years, I pursued a reappraisal that has become more flexible but not so willing to kowtow to (un)popular acclaim—overrated frequently, but even more frequently worthy of a large measure of that esteem. It might have been better for AC to cap the decade with their Merriweather Post Pavilion LP since it may never be topped by the band, but as an epilogue, while no absolute must-buy, Fall Be Kind has more than its fair share of inspired moments to be essential for fans and recommended highly for the curious.
Clocking in under a half hour is beneficial for AC, too, as their more ponderous elements are restricted by the limited space. That said, I shall now contradict myself and declare the two shortest songs to be the murkiest. “Bleeding” is echoing in a haze with virtually indecipherable words and instrumentation—in the hands of any other act, it would be a meddlesome segue, but with these guys, it just builds on their confounding character, one I wish I liked more but find impossible to dismiss outright. The other, “On a Highway,” creates a nice ominous tone, but never builds on it, winding up spurting along on atmosphere and disembodied harmony alone, which doesn’t suit these animals. On the other hand, while the disc starts slow and sleepy with strings that don’t promise much, AC proves their mettle in stocked surprises and bursts the tune (“Graze”) just past the halfway mark with a sudden, chipper flute melody and sublime sing-along that inspired a smirk on my part. The two tunes hovering around seven minutes are the best (and busiest), emphasizing the band’s skills at cycling polyrhythms chirped and pounded out on some of the most unusual percussion around (not to mention their fondness for interrupting those rhythms with keyboard ripples and orchestral flourishes). Fall Be Kind might not be the 2000s exclamation point that Pavilion would have delivered, but it’s another reference point in proving just how wrong I was about (most of) Animal Collective’s spirited music. (Matt Medlock)
