Blogisode 4: A New Blog

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

The bar was set pretty high for My Morning Jacket when they released their landmark album Z in 2005. It marked a departure from their more straightforward sound, and it paid off well. Many critics thought it to be the best album of the year. Well, they didn't clear that hurdle, but still got some good air on their latest, Evil Urges.

Jim James's falsetto could be a little off putting, especially on the slow rocking title track/opener. Things get much more weird on Highly Suspicious when JJ's voice get higher and more erratic and is coupled with a guttural backing chorus. I eventually got used to the strange vocals and fell in love with the crunchy guitar riff and wailing solo near the end. I'm Amazed is probably the highlight on the album, as there are more than a couple of songs that come off as a little too 'yacht rock'-ish but MMJ do get bonus points for being the first album I know of to use the term "interweb." Towards the end, the rockin' picks back up with Aluminum Park and Remnants. The closer, Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2 is an 8 minute spacey, funk jam with a driving bass line and drum beat. In closing, Evil Urges is a solid effort, with a few skipable, but no terrible, songs.

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

As the great Norch once said, "Death Cab are kind of like Weezer." I agree but not fully. While the two have their obvious differences in musical style, they share slightly nerdy and vulnerable lead singer/songwriters and original, yet mainstream sounds which have earned them the respect of music snobs and your average radio listener alike. The big difference, however, is in the trajectory of each bands quality (Known as "quajectory." Try using it in a sentence when appropriate.). Weezer rocked the musical world with their perfect Blue album back in the 90's, whereas DCFC have steadily improved since their outset.

Bixby Canyon Bridge, the album opener, begins with ambient noise and Ben Gibbard's crystal clear voice, slowly building until a thumping riff kicks the song into high gear. Mild experimentation (like in college!) begins with a dirty filter on Gibb's vocals and ends with the music quickly turning into a swirl of reverb and distortion, until it fades and Gibb takes us out with a few couplets. It's a pretty epic opener and it leads straight into the stalkerish I Will Possess Your Heart. This song regularly appears on the aforementioned radio, but with one major difference: The radio version doesn't have the instrumental opener, which in a way reminds me of Pink Floyd's opening to Time. Piano, reverbed guitar, syncopated drum and bass all build into a four minute crescendo which ends with one of the best lyrics I've ever heard: "How I wish you could see the potential. The potential of you and me. It's like a book elegantly bound, but in a language you can't read just yet." The "just yet" trails off, but takes us into the mind of someone so obsessed with someone, he's deluded himself into thinking she will be his. Pretty deep, huh? And these are just the first two songs!