Deastro - Moondagger (Ghostly International) Bubbly electronica indie pop-rock that bounces, beams, and ricochets from woofer to tweeter. Deastro is the one-man electronic act from of Randolph Chabot Jr. whose influences falls somewhere between 80’s dance pioneers New Order and the cute n’ quirky Elephant 6 aesthetic. And while Moondagger wows the ears its constant UP Romper Room attack quickly starts to grade.
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream (Astralwerks/Capitol) Aussie duo Empire of the Sun like the best ear candy, it leaps right out of your speakers with its techni-color retro-future rock synths, taught electronic beats, and huge hooks, which in no time at all casts it’s electric spell. And much like the early 80’s Brit pop-new wave of ABC and Duran Duran Empire of the Sun is extremely satisfying in small doses.
Historics - Strategies For Apprehension (Metropolitan Indian / www.myspace.com /historics) Stranger combinations have come together but this is indeed an unexpected mix of people including Maroon 5 bassist Mickey Madden, VietNam guitarist Josh Grubb, Ink & Dagger's Don Devore on guitar/vocals, keyboard player Dale Jiminez from Philly's Need New Body, and drummer Ryan Rapsys from Chicago's Euphone and Sea and Cake. The bi-coastal band recorded in both Los Angeles and in Brooklyn. Their “anything goes” aesthetic coalesces and creates a melodic and sonic mood that brings to mind The Byrds, Can, and a healthy dose of 90’s indie jangle. Devore’s passionate and desperate vocal delivery is a dead ringer for a young Ray Davies. At its core Strategies transcends the influences and stands as a beautiful heartfelt collection of tunes that carry the listener away from the here and now.
Roger O'Donnell - Songs from the Silver Box- (Great Society) O’Donnell cut his teeth playing keyboards in the 80’s for The Psychedelic Furs, The Thompson Twins, and The Cure. In 2006 O’Donnell released The Truth in Me, a collection of organic warm ambient waves and beautiful looping melodies that translated into swelling introverted electronic emotion. While Songs from the Silver Box is Truth in Me’s extroverted twin, beaming and surging outward with each vibrating note. Both were written solely on a Moog Voyager O’Donnell’s favorite in his vast arsenal of many vintage synths. Also present once again is the whispery angelic vocals of Erin Lang who adds real beauty to O’Donnell’s soulful electronic compositions. Highly recommended.
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glass Note) French pop unit Phoenix have out done themselves on their forth release in which the group combines the sweet soft rock sensibilities of their debut United, the pulsing R&B hip hop beats and crisp production of Alphabetical, and the jittery energized guitars of It's Never Been Like That. Quite literally there isn’t a bad track on the record, starting with “Lizstomania” with its adolescent butterflies, the buzzing razor sharp pop of “1901”, the mellow hazy groove of “Fences”, the romantic power pop of “Lasso”, and celestial electronic instrumental of “Love Like a Sunset”. Like Joy Division before them, Phoenix use the pop rock medium as a way to express themselves and elevate it to an art form.
Sleepy Sun - Embrace (myspace.com/sleepysun) The folkier song-driven side of psychedelic rock seems to have taken up where many of the one-dimensional heavy metal riff dead-end 'stoner rock' bands of the late 90's and early 00s got stuck. Sleepy Sun tastefully opts to following in the warmer more organic melodic and atmospheric space rock oriented path of the masters: Pink Floyd (circa Syd), Gong, and Hawkwind. I have to say it’s refreshing to hear and Sleepy Sun does it well tapping into the ol’ white magic that made those records drift hazily into blissful oblivion.
Stardeath and the White Dwarfs - I Can't Get Away EP (Warner Bros) What we got here are few Flaming Lips roadies laying down some fried circuitry, shimmering waves of moog modulations, haunting harmonies, and buzzing fuzz guitars that all culminate into sweeping tweaked- out psych tunes that comes off like a bit 70's era Floyd gone Stereolab. If these two songs are any indication of what we can expect from these Okies, I can hardly wait for the full length.
We Are Hex - Gloom Bloom (Hex Haus) We Are Hex pilfer early Siouxsie and The Banshees records and other post punk staples ala Magazine and Echo and the Bunnymen for icy cool blueprints and gloomy effect. The Sioux ice pick vocals, jagged buzzing guitars, throbbing bass lines, and propulsive drumming brings me fondly back to 83' when rat tails, trench coats, and punk chicks were swirling inside my pre teen brain.
Welcome Wagon - Welcome to the Welcome Wagon (Asthmatic Kitty Records) The Welcome Wagon is a Brooklyn Presbyterian Pastor and his wife who lay down heartfelt gospel pop with the guidance of Sufjan Stevens. I first stumbled across this husband wife duo on YouTube with their stripped down bare bones version of opening track “Up on a Mountain” which recalled the magic of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Welcome gets the full Stevens over-the-indie-pop-top treatment of a horn section, strings, and other colorful instrumentation. Sometimes it’s right on the mark but often it bogs down the songs simple beauty. I'd love to get my hands on a stripped down live or demo version of these songs.
