Under New MGMT

On Sunday night, I was one of the lucky few 500 people to get tickets to the Kia-sponsored free MGMT show. It was my third time seeing the band and, once again, they did not disappoint. In a tight, hourlong set they managed to squeeze in all of the best songs from Oracular Spectacular along with four new songs from the upcoming album 'Congratulations.' This rumor mill provides more detail on that, and the youtube dot com has some medium quality live footage of the new jams which I shall lank below.

The band opened with a what I think is Flash Delirium (no youtube video), one of my favorites from the new songs. I could have sworn that the steady wall of noise opening was going to lead into this classic. 'Song For Dan Treacy' has a strong Smiths feel to it. My least favorite was the progish 'It's Working.' It doesn't really come through in the clip, but I kind of felt a weird Charlie Daniels inspired by Kashmir/early Beatles vibe. They encored with the title track 'Congratulations.' As you can hear, it's a bit of a departure for the band. I felt it's pacing and melody to be kind of Lennon-esque. The final song of the encore was 'The Handshake' which is absolutely stunning live. Their guitar player adds so much to this band live and really puts on a show when it's his turn. If you haven't yet seen the MGMT, be sure to nab some tickets the next time they come through. Even if it's not free.

P.S. As promised in my last entry, I promise to post some new reviews soon. And as always, commentary is strongly encouraged.

The British Are Coming!!!

Perhaps you've heard some of the hubbub about the remastering and re-release of the entire Beatles catalogue. Personally, I hadn't paid too much attention as I'm pretty familiar with their catalogue, but this article caught my attention. Enjoy.

New reviews will be up shortly. Thanks for your continued patience and patronage.

Phoenix

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

If you read this blog or watch SNL, chances are you've already heard (of) Phoenix and the hype surrounding them. I'll be frank: I enjoy the album, but do not particularly think it is all that and a bag of chips. Also, I don't see the comparisons to the Strokes (whom I've been enjoying a lot of lately), other than the fact that both bands seem to ascribe to a straight-line -to-the-finish school of songwriting rather than a tangential way. But these Frenchies do craft themselves some catchy pop/rock songs with hooks big enough to land them some solid radio play.

Album opener 'Lizstomania' lays the foundation for the rest of the album with loud-quiet-loud dynamics, a peppy beat, simple but pleasing melodies and talk-y lyrics with a dash of synth thrown in. 'Love Like A Sunset' takes a seven minute electronic journey, with vocals eventually kicking in at about the 6:13.5 minute mark. 'Fences' is has a little bit of disco funk that definitely lets you know what time it is and "1901" is another album highlight.

My main beef with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, other than a pretentious title, is that the songwriting becomes a little rote. By the time the fifth track "Lasso" came on, I thought to myself, "Didn't I already hear this song?" But I suppose I can credit it to being a cohesive sound, which they certainly have, rather than lazy songwriting. One thing is certain, though: This album will be on plenty of Lizsts at the end of the year.

Random Thoughts

Well, this blog isn't quite going the way I expected. Life has been crazy and will remain so for the next two months (or possibly forever, depending on how you look at it). Anywho, I wanted to post up some random thoughts because I don't have time for any full blown reviews.

• Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca is definitely my album of the year so far. The angular melodies betray a musical intelligence that surpasses most bands, but with enough pop lacquered on top to make it quite palpable.
• For those of you in the Wash/Bmore region, isn't it ironic that Animal Collective's 'Summertime Clothes' came out for the year of the coldest July in recent memory?
• Both Bat For Lashes' Two Suns and Fever Ray's self-titled are albums that really intrigued me, but I couldn't quite get fully into them. Then one night, while listening to BFL, I realized what the problem was: It's night time music. They're probably not albums you rock on your iPod on the way to work or in the car. They make for a great background if you're sitting around reading (instead of watching the idiot box) having a few adult beverages. Go ahead. Give it a shot.
  
• Vampire Weekend + Ra Ra Riot = Discovery = B-
• The inimitable Frank Black is on tour with his wife as Grand Duchy. I've yet to listen to the album, but I will be seeing him live tomorrow as himself, not Grand Duchy. There are a handful of shows.
• Heartless Bastards (discovered and signed by the Black Keys) and Ida Maria (Sweden is out. Norway is in) are two new chicks who are coming on strong.
• I've been hearing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Heads Will Roll' on the radio, so good for them. I took me a while to warm up to that song, but I do love the album. Definitely near the top for me.

Well that is it for now. Come late September we should be back with more regular posts. Hopefully, you are enjoying your summer. I'll be off being wildery..... Okay, not that wildery.