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)

Jolie Holland & the Grand Chandeliers - Pint Of Blood

I first heard Jolie years ago on a petite jazzy vocal kind of thing called "Springtime Will Kill You". And as close I was to listening to the new Limp Bizkit album released today (no... really)- I decided to go an alternate route.

The draw here is really Jolie's voice. Her singing style is unique and runs the gamut. Like there's seven different accents at once. It's jazzy and bluesy, but also folky and country. Imagine a throat like a big tree saw you shake for that wobble sound. Not vibrato. Wobble. She's doesn't have the dynamic range of a Björk, but you can tell it's an influence.

The songwriting- I'm seeing as less of an asset. I remember that playful breezy rhythm of that first song I heard and in comparison, this is just simpler folk-rock. I've got Neko Case on the brain because I heard her not too long ago; but it fits. Lyrics like "It brings a smile to my lips when I think of your fist" are great, but few and far between. The rest of the album is just general mellow frustration. "If disappointment is like a drug, I've overdosed again" Could be more imaginative. But it is pretty. (2.5 of 5 stars)

Bodies Of Water - Twist Again

This is supposed to be the pared-down minimalist record from a duo that generally prides itself on large, grand arrangements. Having not heard the past catalog of the two; I would not say that this was too pared-down. As we get started, it seems that on the songs where Meredith takes the most lead, it's actually still real full-bodied sounding. Horn arrangements over upbeat riffs.

But there is another half or so which focuses on a mellow walking chord progression harkening back to beach ballads or even some slow Leonard Cohen jams. But I may be confusing myself as the dude side of this duo coin has one of those deep Johnny Cashy vocals.

I appreciate the mellower tones on the album. It's not indie-rock. These lean more toward wall of sound than basement tapes. Production is is lush and clear. Favorites include the galloping bass track "Like A Stranger" and the wistful rememberance of the final track, "You Knew Me So Well". But the best track is a Meredith-led ballad, "Lights Out Forever". An acoustic murder-ballad (almost) with a taps like trumpet solo and a great lyric:

"I am forgotten already by someone
My image is fading from their mind."

"Tonight our loves will cancel each other out."

(3 of 5 stars)

Vetiver - The Errant Charm

Named after the place where camels shit, Vetiver is a folk rock group from San Francisco who have been around a few years. This is their second album for Sub Pop. ...and sounds like nothing that which I grew up remembering Sub Pop bands sounding like.

Which is okay by definition; but by and large Vetiver are not my cup of tea. For example, the opener, "It's Beyond Me" is a good enough California dreamscape wave of mellowness, but then it spends two minutes at the end droning on like they forgot they were still plugged in.

I'm not sure when this Fleet-Foxy trend started occurring, but Vetiver is acheiving only polish here, not originality. "Hard To Break", for example is merely a reworking of Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down The Line". Nor do they have the vocal prowess to handle FF's type-of harmony. It also sounds just like it's pretending to be organic. If the percussion here's isn't completely digital I'll be shocked.

I'm posting the official video, the best track, which is an uncharacteristically upbeat track from the record. Enjoy, but don't be fooled. (1.5 of 5 stars)

Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

After having their opium freak-out a couple years ago with Josh Homme on Humbug, the Sheffield speed freaks are back with a new one just in time for the summer festival circuit. It has opening track which feels like a hug opening number from an outdoor live set. "She's Thunderstorms" also speaks of that hugely influential impenetrable girl. And with a line like, "She does what the night does to the day"; it's going to be favorite among the panty droppers in the crowd.

And after a lazily executed "Black Treacle"; comes a slipshod frat-guy bullshit song called "Brick By Brick". It couldn't be any more obvious if they had just covered, "I Wanna Be Your Dog". "I wanna steal your soul / I wanna rock and roll / I wanna feel your love". It's unbecoming of the otherwise outer-worldy wordsmithing of Alex Turner. Fuck that shit. The next track doesn't help. "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala" is just a fangled-fancy way of titling your song out of your insipid "Shalalala" chorus. That's all it fucking is.

A saving grace is the first proper single, "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair". A straight-up desert-groove homage to their prior producer, Josh Homme. And say what you will about the Beck-like non-sensicalisms of "Library Pictures"; but it fucking rocks.

We move on through a couple more mid-tempo songs which are fine, if unremarkable, like the awesomely-titled title track. It's decent pop, but not great AM. But we are brought to a standout romantic ballad. Surprisingly not as pandering as the rockers on the album; "Love is a Laserquest" holds up with other sentimental Monkey favorites like "Cornerstone" and "Only Ones Who Know".

It's not the psychedelic tones replacing the pub-rock that has me irked. God knows, I love Queens. But the sentimental slow stuff used to augment the snotty rockers. And we don't get any of that attitude here. Don't get me wrong, the great tunes on here are GREAT. But there's far too many cross-over appealing tracks to be able to pump my anti-Coldplay fist with Alex et. al.

I sucked it and saw. It's a C. (3 of 5 stars)