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LCD Soundsystem new album review of “This is Happening”

April 16th, 2010
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Let me start out by saying that in general I LOVE LCD Soundsystem. Seriously, I should get a room and marry the band I love the music so much. Let me also point out that rather than reading this review, for a limited time anyway, you should just head over the the LCD site and listen to the new album yourself, which is streaming in its entirety for free. Seriously, go listen.

Ok, with that out of the way, let me get to the new album. Overall, I’m hugely disappointed. Their punk sound is gone and the retro casio-tone vibe that replaces it does not adequately fill the gap. Much of the album sounds like a poor attempt at an 80s retro sound mixed with some techno elements from the mid 90s. While there are a few moments here and there which shine, they are very few and very far between. This album feels rushed, the product of someone with too many other things to do. The music is severely underdeveloped and sadly, forgettable. As I streamed through, all I could think is “Is Murphy really boning it this badly? Yes, this is really happening.” This album is in severe need of editing, with annoying synth nonsense layered in on various tracks for no discernible reason, and with several extra throwaway minutes in nearly every song. Anyway, I think you get the big picture, let’s move on to the songs themselves.

The album starts off very quietly with a bossa nova soft bongo thing at the beginning of the track “Dance Yrself Clean”. Murphy’s lyrics accompany this very drab opening section which thankfully transitions to a techno clash number a few minutes in. While the sound after the transition is much less snoozeworthy, it fails to be memorable and transitions back to the tragically flawed opening riff again at the end. I feel distinctly unclean and not at all inclined to dance through the entire song.

Next we move on to Drunk Girls. Another forgettable track. Seriously, I just listened to it and I can’t remember anything except a very basic pop song about drunk people. At least this has a bit of the punk energy of old LCD songs though and the best vocal performance. So after hearing the rest of the album, this is actually one of the better tunes. As with the rest of the album though, it is repetitive and tiring. This should play well at frat parties.

“One Touch” follows. This is the best track on the album, though the most derivative. It sounds very like early Moonshake or even Laika, but a significantly simplified rhythmic structure. If you don’t know those references, go get Sounds of the Satellites and Dirty & Divine right away. They are both much better albums than this one. This song is like mid 90s art techno rock. So, it mixes interesting electronic sounds with rock elements and lyrics. “One touch is never enough” is the refrain, and for this song at least I would hit the play button again.

Next up is “All I want”. We start out with a simple beat and Echo and the Bunnymen style guitar through an crunchier effects pedal. This song really feels more and more like a late Echo song as it goes along, though it is far more boring. It is kind of like an M83 song with worse music and a flat vocal performance. At various points, annoying synth freakouts occur, the first major sign this album needed to be edited down.

Next is “I Can Change”. Here perhaps we learn the reason this album is so bad. Maybe Murphy has a chip on his shoulder and is trying to show he can do something different than what he has put out before. However, this overly repetitive dance number doesn’t demonstrate any new directions of substance. This feels dated and dull. If you have to change Peter, move in a new direction!

Moving on, we get to “You Wanted a Hit”. Yuck. We start out with subpar ambient music that goes on endlessly before turning into a standard dance house beat with 80s guitar in the background. “You wanted a hit”, the lyrics tell us, “but maybe we don’t do hits.” Well, certainly not if you are pumping out this kind of garbage. At one point pan flute comes in. That’s right, pan flute straight out of the Peru. I was laughing out loud. Total Fail.

Next up is “Pow pow”. This song sounds like a terrible remix of “Losing my Edge”. Unlike that song though, the lyrics aren’t as compelling and the music is awful. The bongo fury that has haunted us at various points of the album reappears here. Peter’s vocals are almost identical in tone and timbre to Losing my Edge, but imagine that song with an awful pre programmed casio backing track, and maybe you’ll understand why I NEVER EVER want to hear this song again. It goes on endlessly (like many songs on this album) and builds to nothing.

We are almost done. “Somebody’s calling me” is next. This is basically a variety of dissonant piano tones accompanying soft vocals. The tones are really unpleasant and monotonous, and I found myself looking around for the Advil.

“Home”, the final track (thankfully), is decidedly upbeat, which is an interesting change. Again though, it is little more than Peter Murphy singing over a soft techno track you would have heard in Miami in the mid 90s. I get that the 90s have to make a comeback at some point but not here, not now. Don’t take my LCD Soundsystem you damn retro cancer!

So, overall, I would give this album 1 or 2 out of 5 stars. I would never pay money for this. That’s not to say you shouldn’t give money to LCD Soundsystem. You really should. Just go buy everything else they’ve put out instead. I truly hope this is not their final album, as this is a really sad and sloppy way to go out.

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Peaches in Portland – Thanksgiving 2009 (Give Thanks for Mama Peaches!!!)

November 27th, 2009
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Ok, so I’m in love with Peaches. The deep, real love that only comes of seeing a live performance that literally tears your shirt off and makes you beg for more (twice). She was fabulous. Everything I had hoped for and SO MUCH MORE. The opening act, Amanda Blank, was an unexpected treat as well, donning a skin tight “david lee roth” swimsuit (her words, not mine) and spitting some mad shit over two highly talented djs and a somewhat bored drummer (i feel your pain man). When the band went off of the first set, peaches stayed up there and munched a turkey leg, in an animalistic, gutteral and low way that drives you frigging crazy. They played “Rock n Roll” in the first encore, rocking your nuts off for ten minutes before going through a fake accidental stage fall and fight between the usher stage hand and the leather pants wearing, shirtless, iggy pop impersonating, keyboardist/dj/guitarist/singer guy. I got every song I wanted. From an epic “Shake your Dix” to a thumping “the Boys wanna be her”. I really couldn’t ask for more. But then, before the second encore, she munched into a whole turkey carcass, ripping off bits before tossing the carcass in front on the drums. Oh, yeah, she kept climbing on the drumset and then jumping off it. She does a weak ass splits in the air (like 35 degrees), but at least she’s up there, hurling herself in the air. Bless you Mama Peaches.

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Abby the Spoon Player – Portland cool person of the month

July 5th, 2009
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There are musical instruments out there that never really get the respect they deserve. High on this list are the Triangle and the Tambourine – both so simple we give them to children, but both also rich in their possibility. No matter how musically sophisticated you are, I would bet you serious money you can’t tell me who the Yo-Yo Ma of the Triangle or the Tambourine is. While these masters may linger in obscurity, at least we can bring one guru of the lowly to the spotlight. Abby (she gave no last name), is without a doubt the finest spoons player I’ve ever seen.

Abby was performing down on the waterfront today, but the tourists were largely ignoring her, fixated instead on yet another guy making metallic tone spray-paint space art (what do people see in that stuff?). I was completely mesmerized. At first, it seemed she had created a special two spoon connected device, but no, in the end it is just two spoons turned with their bulbs inwards towards each other, their handles covered in white tape. She was kind enough to give me a quick lesson in which she explained how the positioning of the spoons relative to each other, the part of your hand or other surfaces you hit, and even the wind effect of moving your other hand around the spoons, and swooping the spoons in the air, all play an important part in terms of the musical tone produced. I was impressed by the washboard contraption she had built which had two tin cans, some bells and small finger cymbals all worked in together to give her a wide variety of percussive options. She explained how she watched lots of people play, and slowed down various videos to really learn the different technical traits of different techniques. Clearly her hard work has paid off, as she is now a joy to watch. Sure, we need great violinists, but I’m glad we have some spoon players like Abby as well.

(Abby was kind enough to pose with Cutie also, but she seemed a bit confused by his wings and articulated bum. )

Abby and Cutie

Abby and Cutie

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Hypernova

June 19th, 2009
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Let’s hope this song isn’t too prescient about the unrest in Tehran “these are fairy tales that don’t have happy endings”.

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Autopilot is for Lovers (is for me)

May 16th, 2009
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Looking for a great new Portland band to adore?  How about these guys?

AutoPilot is for Lovers

http://www.autopilotisforlovers.com/

 

 

“Autopilot is for Lovers” is a fine new four piece from PDX with a small spunky lead singer (Adrienne Hatkin – or should i perhaps say Smoking Hotkin) who mixes kim gordon with jan sjankmeyer producing wavering tones of goodness as she rocks out either a Banjo or a bad ass red guitar that seems to be plucked from the pages of Robotech.  There is a towering violinist (Fiona McLoughlin) who looks around alot.  The rhythm section is tight, adding a nice layer of rock out to what could otherwise delve into iron and whinedom.  Paul Seely (skins) and Kyle Knight (says violin in the liner notes but I believe he was on bass) were both great, but need to ’sex it up a bit’ when it comes to the performance. (Come on boys, make the ladies swoon. )

I like Forget Cassettes, Interpol, Cat Power, and Siouxsie more than the average man on the street, so Autopilot was right up my alley.  They played the Alberta Art Hop and did a great job.  The crowd loved it.  This could easily be a big band – at least on the indie scene.  I would hurry up and book this band for your indie venue.  Come on, try to keep ahead of the curve rather than just following whatever CMJ throws your way.  

Autopilot is for Lovers at the 2009 Alberta Art Hop

Autopilot is for Lovers at the Alberta Art Hop 2009

They offer 2 CDs at their shows, an EP for $6 and the full length “To the Wolves” for $10.  I bought both, and am very happy with my decision, though the show was more rocking than “To the Wolves”, which is excellent, but much calmer than I had imagined.   

You should get them both, but if you are on low end of broke, then don’t miss the EP.  The packaging alone (you can fold it out and hang it on your wall) makes it well worth the money, and it seems like they may be hard to come by a year from now.  I liked the music too, with songs like “Dogs for Cats” and “#1 Fan”  that really brought back Sonic Youth, Erase Errata, and Forget Cassettes to the tip of my musical tongue.  If you play #1 Fan really loud on your boombox, you will get laid, I promise you. That’s worth $6, no matter how broke you are.

The Full Length is an excellent record as well.  It showcases Hatkin’s vocals exquisitely, especially in tracks like Come Now, Bones, and Whale Belly.  Some songs, like Left to the Sun and Shadows, do reach rock heights, but too many tracks lack drums for my taste.  

If you are one of those people that only buys individual songs now, my picks would be:

  • #1 Fan
  • Dogs and Cats
  • Left to the Sun
  • Bones
  • Whale Belly
  • Come Now
  • Shadows
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