Crank
Wet-palmed reviews for the easily distracted!
Published: May 9, 2012
AU
Both Lights
Hometapes
2.5 Stars
Riffing: Charm and obnoxiousness in equal measure on overly busy showcase that sounds like a different band from song to song: classical-infected baroque here, power pop and bizarro noise there.
Reference points: Architect Luke Wyland digs Animal Collective-derived headfucks, but Panda Bear and company are better at making them cohere. You stay unsettled, especially on wildly sprawling individual cuts like "Solid Gold."
If you like: Turning every radio in the house on at once indiscriminately while spinning around in an office chair.
La Sera
Sees the Light
Hardly Art
2.5 Stars
Riffing: Vivian Girls bassist Katy Goodman brings melodic bliss to serviceable if not particularly distinct pop tunes, peaking with the cathartic "Break My Heart" and glorious riff-machine "Please Be My Third Eye."
Reference points: Goodman's major asset is her voice, which soars triumphantly over more engaging examples of Spectorian girl-group garage rock like Dum Dum Girls and Colleen Green.
If you like: Besides the obvious, No Joy and Wavves — yet you long for more straightforward seriousness in your emotionally heavy punk.
Lee Ranaldo
Between the Times and the Tides
Matador
2 Stars
Riffing: With Sonic Youth's future up in the air, axman Ranaldo makes a serious bid for solo recognition on agreeable but stodgily bland record.
Reference points: Simple guitar-driven rock is pleasant enough, but the songs and arrangements recall the dullest adherents of the Tom Petty aesthetic. A strong example of the in-vogue "indie easy listening" — so if that's your thing ...
If you like: The pleasantness of Real Estate sans sprightliness; Dean Wareham at his calmest.
Suckers
Candy Salad
Frenchkiss
4 Stars
Riffing: Restless Brooklyn boys take a left turn from their debut to present hummable, disparate, thoroughly engaging pop worth relishing, as eclectic as AU but infinitely more pleasurable.
Reference points: Intricate production bubbles underneath solid, ageless songcraft with an earnest bent. "Chinese Braille" and "Figure it Out" are catchy-as-hell examples, but the climax comes with the ridiculous Beach Boys shimmer of "Turn on the Sunshine."
If you like: Improbably, Matthew Sweet! And the Shins, especially if you were fatally disappointed by Port of Morrow.
WhoMadeWho
Brighter
Kompakt
3 Stars
Riffing: Copenhagen disco punks have trouble fitting in because they're neither as spirited as LCD Soundsystem nor as starkly serious as Cold Cave. But their songs occasionally soar.
Reference points: The first half is four-star material, as fun and ingratiating as something like Cut Copy's Zonoscope. Then, malaise sets in like a dull afterparty, but how many of us even played Side Two of our Camouflage LPs?
If you like: Depeche Mode, New Order, Hot Chip, the more playful side of Wire and Cabaret Voltaire.
> Email Nathan Phillips
To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.
Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
Full Feed