La La Land

La La Land certainly takes its inspiration from California. At times, it evokes Laurel Canyon in the 1970s, the wooziness of the Crosby, Stills & Nash era; daydreaming and getting high. But it also reflects the uglier side of California, and the excesses of this album typify the extremes of LA life; sometimes proving too indulgent for its own good.

Full Review | More Reviews from Publication | Top Rated of 2010

La La Land, the second album from Montreal-based trio Plants and Animals, should be excellent. Their woefully overlooked 2008 debut full-length, Parc Avenue, was ripe to be expanded upon. Full of spacious, mostly acoustic almost-folk sounds, it spackled rich, otherworldly harmonies and honeyed, finger-picked guitar lines over rambling epics. On Parc Avenue, P&A drew a direct line between the bearded Laurel Canyon folk-rockers of th e 1970s and the modern psychedelia of bands like Animal Collective. But La La Land, unfortunately, is more concerned with plugging in and cranking up the volume than it is with the subtleties that colored its predecessor.

Full Review | More Reviews from Publication | Top Rated of 2010

Out in the world, plants and animals are things we tend to impinge upon. They’re all out there in the world, moving around in their familiar circles, and we build cities out to meet them, or pave walkways through their forests, or domesticate them into pets or stick them in pots on our front porch. The point is: we move into their territory.

Full Review | More Reviews from Publication | Top Rated of 2010