A Bundle of Recent Releases For Forum Member Discussion
 

Here's a few of my favorite new album releases over the past couple of months:

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Title: Overgrown
Artist: James Blake
Release Date: 4/5/13
Genre: Electronca

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Title: R.E.V.O
Artist: Walk Off the Earth
Release Date: 3/19/13
Genre: Indie Rock

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Title: The Comedown Machine
Artist: The Strokes
Release Date: 3/26/13
Genre: Rock

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Title: The Golden Age
Artist: Woodkid
Release Date: 3/18/13
Genre: Electronica, Baroque Pop

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Title: False Idos
Artist: Tricky
Release Date: 5/27/13
Genre: Electronica, Trip Hop

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Title: The Invisible Way
Artist: Low
Release Date: 3/18/13
Genre: Indie Rock

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Title: The North Borders
Artist: Bonobo
Release Date: 4/1/13
Genre: Electronica, Trip Hop

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Title: The Shocking Miss Emerald
Artist: Caro Emerald
Release Date: 5/7/13
Genre: Lounge, Crossover Jazz

If you've heard any of the albums, I'd like to hear what you think about them.

I seriously enjoyed the production on Overgrown, but find James' voice to be a bit annoying; I think slippery is a good word for it.

I'm kinda meh on Comedown Machine. I liked Angles better, but appreciate the effort that The Strokes put into the new album

I really enjoyed nearly everything about The North Borders, though.

I love some James Blake. Overgrown is pretty damn good. The interesting thing, though, is that I liked it more immediately than his self titled...but once his self-titled grew on me, I couldn't stop listening to it. Overgrown was good the first time...but has stayed on that level so while I think it's good, I think the last album was still better.

I was really disappointed in The North Borders. Black Sands was truly phenomenal, so I had high expectations going in. It's not bad, but it doesn't stand out nearly as well as Black Sands. It sounds like a generic electronic pop album. Black Sands had several tracks I couldn't get enough of (Kiara, Kong, All In Forms, etc.) but I couldn't be arsed to pick out any songs from the new album.

I somewhat share Dugas opinion of The North Borders in the sense that individual tracks didn't stand out, as they did on Black Sands. I just don't think this is a bad thing however. I put that album on and I completely zone out. I think it's beautiful.

I also rather enjoyed Low's album. I think they have managed to again stay with what they know but this time, they have really improved on the last few records. It doesn't approach the beauty of their stunning debut, of course, and it also doesn't go "back to their roots" but it's a marked improvement, and a worthy attempt.

As for The Strokes, I only listened to it once but I hated it. I don't know what else to say. I don't think that synth-pop is a bad route for them to take and if they were do it to really well I wouldnt even feel the need to compare a new release of theirs to Is This It but what really let me down about the new record is that Julian Casablancas already did it, and did it better, with this solo record.

I agree with Mojo Pinuk's assessment of the new Bonobo album. I found unexpected treasures on every Bonobo album since they released Dail M for Monkey over a decade ago.

Few bands that have survived 20 years remain as musically relevant as Low. The music on The Invisible Hand sounds way too good for a band making it's 16th studio album. Low is not the same slowcore band that recorded I Could Live In Hope & Long Division even though Alan Sparhawk & Mimi Parker have remained the team that has shaped Low's creative vision for the past two decades. The choice of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy to produce The Invisible Hand has resulted in a more pastoral feel to the album and Tweedy has enriched Low's sound with the use of more acoustic guitars & pristine layered vocal harmonies. Mimi has a lovely voice & she sings lead on five songs which more than on any other Low album.

I didn't quite know what to make of James Blake when his first album came out in 2011. I found his lavish use of dubstep production techniques to be a distraction from the beauty of his songwriting & his soulful voice. Someone complained about Blake's voice earlier. Like Bryan Ferry, Blake has a distinctive voice that grates on the nerves of those who don't like it. Blake's music is an acquired taste for many and it took me awhile to accept Blake on his own terms, as an artist. It also made it easier to instantly enjoy the music on Overgrown which consolidates and expands upon the unique musical vision of his debut album.

Like Mojo Pinuk, I found Strokes album to be a disappointment. From my perspective, Is This It was the only truly great rock & roll album released in the first decade of the millennium. As it turns out Is This It may be the last great rock and roll album ever released because the music of most contemporary bands is closer to electronica than good old fashioned guitar rock in the time tested manner of Chuck Berry, the Beatles, the Stones, the New York Dolls, the Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Sonic Youth and Nirvana. The synthesizer has replaced the guitar as central instrument in contemporary pop music, and without the guitar there really isn't any rock and roll. The Comedown Machine is an ill conceived and mostly lame effort by the Strokes to remain relevant in the brave new world of post-rock electronica.

Perhaps some transformational rock band will come along, and as the Beatles, the Sex Pistols & Nirvana did in their respective eras, and revive rock music from it's decade long comatose state, but it looks like the Strokes won't be that group. Their bright shining moment ran away from them over a decade ago.

If it was an attempt to remain relevant I think the band would have played live shows, or at least promoted the album through interviews and TV appearances. They haven't done either for Comedown Machine. Musically, The Strokes have been headed in the '80s/synthesizer direction since Angles (or even Julian's solo album if you want to count that).

As far as the album itself, I like it quite a bit. That being said, it doesn't have a single killer Strokes track like Last Nite or Under Cover of Darkness; each song is only good or very good in my opinion. It is a very consistent record, but Julian sounds disinterested on several of the tracks, which lessens the quality for me.

You're right...many of the songs on Comedown Machine are well crafted but the songs lack the visceral power of the thick, angular guitar riffs between Albert Hammonds and Nick Valensi.

I sympathize with Julian and other rock singers. It's hard for a singer to maintain the same level of passion on the 14th take of a song as he had six hours ago on the first take.

Sinatra refused to do more than 2 takes of any vocal track in a recording session but he came to the studio with the lyrics well memorized and the vocal arrangement for each song ready to record. It's a little different for rock bands who are often writing and arranging a song in the studio and doing constant re-takes until the song evolves into the final take that's a keeper.