The Horrors - Skying

I had a cousin who would always describe my favorite band Van Halen as having "an FM verse and an AM chorus". His point being that they were heavy but got poppy with the choruses. I was reminded of that with the start (at least) of this Horrors disc.

They come off as a cross between Bends-era Radiohead and the Strokes. It's got experimental electro-waves of sound. Even Doves-like. But then a chorus comes in an its built up big and with a rainbow, even if it's through a sloopy Ramones-loving singer. Now personally, as a rocker, I could have traded the Depeche-Mode synths for some fuzz tones, but that's not a problem.

"Endless Blue" is a great example of the whole record. It builds on its new wave overtones and the picks up the pace with a great riff and a danceable backbeat. The lyrics will tell you that you're never certain of anything unless you go in. A great metaphor for a perfectly titled record.

Now after I sell you on all of that modern hipsterosity, the album actually ends on a pair of truly uncharacteristically psychedelic tracks. The zombie freak out "Monica Gems" and the drowsy Pink Floydian "Burning Oceans". The former in completely excelling the listener to a scary riverboat in Wonka's midget slave dungeon. The other a mess that the band can use to stretch out if they need to fill festival times slots. A good collection. (3.5 of 5 stars)

Portugal. The Man - In The Mountain In The Cloud

I remember listening to "Censored Colors" years ago and I remember not liking it. Which is odd, because I saved a good three tracks from it. Maybe it was 15-song length that made it seem worse. Because "Mountain..." is delightful.

It kicks off with the best track, "So American". A song that, for some reason, has me convinced that this is what the Beatles would have done if they had another 10 years of life. If they shaved their beards and got glammy.



That feeling is echoed through some other tracks on the album. Vocal harmonies, lush orchestration, John's (may I call you "Portugal"?) falsetto. Songs about light/sun/mothers/children. It's hippie, but the psychedelics are toned down and we're left with a mellow indie rock with a scoop of Ziggy/E.L.O. thrown in.

I may altogether keep the same number of songs from "Mountain" as I did from the album of old; but this record feels more cohesive and fully realized. (3 of 5 stars)

Incubus - If Not Now, When?

For a band I first saw tripping over the singer's ankle-long dreads while playing a didgeridoo during an opening slot for Pantera, it's odd that the first song of their comeback album sounds like U2 needed a sit down song. It's fuckin' mellow. And it conitinues its dreamtime state with one of the first singles; which sounds a helluva lot like an adult-contemporary song from Brad years ago, "The Day Brings".

On and on. So once you get over the style-shift; you'll either grow into the songs or you won't. I didn't. You've all known Brandan Boyd before. He sings of existential questions of finding one's place in the shirtless world and the idea that somehow; with you here with me baby, it's a little easier. He sings that thought in different ways, but with this new laid back style, it seems a little insincere. Like there's no fire to inspire such questions or resolves.

The single "Adolescents" fits most into the Incubus of old. And to fans hearing that on the radio, they may expect more of what they love. "Switchblade" provides some up-beatitude, but that's it. But what they'll find is ambien-induced dreamscapes of California sun-soakers. In a way, the heaviest track on the album is the most acoustic one, "Defiance".



I guess when a man says, "I was lost, but now I'm found" and "Face the fire, come into your name" I, as a listener, should feel like a revelation has occurred. But instead, I feel like Incubus are telling someone else's story that they're bored of telling. (2 of 5 stars)

My Epic - Broken Voice

This holiday being a slow one for record sales; no one really releases anything this week historically. So finding something of interest to me is difficult. My Epic has no history to speak of, so I can't even tell you anything about them.

But simply, this record is acoustic pop music. It doesn't even really fit in the indie folk scene where you might find a Fleet Fox or a Bon Iver. It's like Counting Crows without the instrumentation of a talented band. Leader Stephen Price fingerpicks a nylon string guitar instead of strumming anything. And musically, I find it hard distinguishing one song from the other; except that here and there the producer adds some percussion and cello.

Vocally, Price is again completely non-descript. He sing/speaks with a boyish one-octave range and makes sure not to wake the neighbors. As if Jack Johnson stopped smoking weed. What are the songs about? I don't know. The one below is decidedly Christian. But I'm sure that every song had the words "darkness" and "rise" in them. (1 of 5 stars)