The duo’s debut full-length, Post Nothing, is a starry-eyed blast of Clinton-era crunch, each of its eight songs a sweaty salve for quarter-life miseries, or better yet, girl problems.
At 10 songs and 35 minutes, there’s no filler, not even on the obligatory final comedown “Leave It At The Door,” which is all fluttery woodwinds and exhaustion.
This one just goes further, with more layers and cameos from Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, Lil Wayne, and others. Costello endorsement or not, Folie À Deux won't change the minds of people who use "Wentz" pejoratively. But Fall Out Boy seems more comfortable than ever with that.
It’s only when he gets a little too melodic, on “Liquid In, Liquid Out,” that Now We Can See steers slightly wrong. But that’s a very slight complaint for an album that goes so far in proving that simplicity not only has its place, it’s also often the path to unmitigated greatness.
There’s very little of the old Yeah Yeah Yeahs skronk on the band’s third LP, It’s Blitz!, but the record still sounds not of this Earth.
In spite of that earnest, staunch reliance on its blueprint, TPOBPAH’s debut full-length is refreshingly watertight throughout.
What makes Eagle so strong is that the music stayed light, and those bucolic splashes of washed-out color contrast so well against Bill Callahan’s blues.
Making good on the only slightly veiled threats of Curses, the new Travels With Myself And Another finds Falkous’ barbed stories—of fruitless sex, godless existence, and other pointless-yet-unavoidable bullshit—stretched wire-taut, with nary a moment of wasted energy.
Raekwon pays further homage to his late friend’s memory by releasing a tour de force that honors both the legacies of Wu-Tang Clan and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.
It’s Jay-Z’s world, but on The Blueprint 3 he’s considerate enough to let listeners perambulate about for a most enjoyable visit.
About a third of Noble Beast coasts along like this, generating an amiable atmosphere while advancing the album's contemplations of evolution and the loss of self. But then Bird arrives at a song like 'Fitz And The Dizzyspells', or 'Anonanimal', and suddenly Noble Beast turns into a higher form of pop music, so beautifully, horrifyingly evolved.
The gospel/blues vibe is musical as well as lyrical: Brother Ali brings the rumbling cadences of the black church to every line while producer Ant complements these tales of woe with greasy blues licks.
Middle Cyclone, is in the same exploratory mode as 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, as Case tries to discover what she can eke out of just a little shimmer, some elliptical lyrics, and her big, yelping voice.
Over nine indispensable tracks, Bitte Orca forges a more perfect union between eccentricity and accessibility.
Gone, for the most part, are the experiments in atonality that marked previous outings, particularly 2007’s Random Spirit Lover. In their stead are gorgeous melodies and intricate song structures that demand multiple listens to even begin to comprehend.
Merriweather's sound plays like both a summation and an expansion of everything Animal Collective has done so far, with a sharper focus on melody and more emboldened vocals that drive the songs.
Veckatimest is more song-oriented than its predecessors without sacrificing any experimental tics, making for the band’s most satisfying record yet.
Laced throughout all of it are generous, wide-eyed melodies of a kind that makes for swooning sighs and curious feelings of instant nostalgia.