Picking Someone's Pockets

Alpinisms
School of Seven Bells
Speak N Spell, 2008
3 stars

Named after a fictitious Colombian pick-pocketing academy, this three-piece (one guy, and twin sisters on vocals) have created an interesting concoction with Alpinisms. One part abrasive shoegaze and two parts dreamy ‘90s electronica, the band’s inspirations are fairly obvious - though let’s face it, they’re not exactly the first band to find inspiration in My Bloody Valentine in 2008. That said, they have brought something nice to the table. The guitar noise is, for the most part, treated as a background texture, giving the songs a clean, dreamy quality. The good songs are pretty damn good – Face To Face On High Places is a standout - but the bad ones are pretty average, such as the confused ‘90s middle-eastern vibe of Wired For Light. Still, it’ll make good background music for hot summer nights in the backyard.

Artwork: A
Some nice collage work and some simple text make for a nice, modern album cover. The pic on the inside of the digipak is a bit average, but that cover art would look amazing blown up huge as a poster or something.

Published in mX, Thursday January 29, 2009.

Chong On

Let’s Go Dancing!
Chong Lim & His Orchestra
Universal, 2009
2 stars

If you were left wanting more after the end of Dancing with the Stars, here’s your chance to Chong on! Twenty-nine of Chong’s finest moments from the series have been re-recorded and packaged into a disc that is sure to get your mum and dad’s feet a-tappin’. The hits just keep on coming, including a quickstep version of Oasis’ Wonderwall, a rhumba take on Light My Fire and everyone’s favourite samba – Tequila! But wait - that’s not all! Call in the next fifteen minutes and get this convenient plastic jewel case and eight-page booklet, absolutely free! Don’t delay, call now! Call now! ... But seriously folks - albums like this are incredibly easy to hang shit on, but there’s obviously an audience for this kind of stuff. If you ever found yourself dancing in your lounge room on a Tuesday night then this album will most definitely appeal.

Artwork: D
It's Chong. And that's it.

Published in mX, Thursday January 29, 2009.

Ecstatic Schizophrenic

Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective
Domino, 2009
4.5 stars

Watching Animal Collective’s progression over the last few years has been like watching a difficult, misunderstood schoolkid grow into a well-adjusted, creative young adult. Where their early stuff often involved making beautiful organic experimental songs out of rough, animalistic sounds, Merriweather is a polished gem of danceable, summery psychadelic pop. More accessible, and less sickly sweet than last year’s Strawberry Jam, Merriweather borrows the layered Brian Wilson-esque vocal harmonies of Panda Bear’s wonderful Person Pitch LP, melding them with some great ‘90s synthetic beats and samples to create something different again. My Girls and Bluish are two amazing tracks amongst an album full of them – both so dense and unabashedly joyous you can’t help getting carried away by the vibe. And album closer Brother Sport is the perfect ecstatic, schizophrenic closer. Merriweather is an Animal Collective album (possibly the first) without any of the tough bits, and the perfect summer soundtrack.

Artwork: A
As a mate said, the artwork matches the album perfectly - trippy as hell. My shitty hand-drawn rendition doesn't have the same effect, but it's worth checking out the original - here.

Published in mX, Thursday January 15, 2009.

Shedding Skin

Carapace
Children Of The Wave
Sensory Projects, 2008
4 stars

Judging by the press photos of this Melbourne duo, one might file them somewhere between the Ployphonic Spree and Daft Punk – they appear in white gowns, traipsing through rockpools wearing ski goggles and headphones, holding acoustic instruments. They look lost – but that's couldn't be further from the truth. Carapace is like a document of some kind of aural journey of discovery – these boys are looking for something alright, but the goal isn't the finding, it's the search itself. Experimental at its core, the album's closest comparison would be the ramshackle, otherworldly folk leanings of Múm's Summer Make Good – it's a textural melding of found sounds, acoustic instrumentation and ethnic vibes. And, despite some warm electronic flourishes, it never sounds anything less than completely organic. By all accounts these guys are a bit hermitic, and only recently played their first live show - hopefully sometime soon, like the cicadas on the album's cover, they can leave their shells (or 'carapaces' – see, there's the link!) behind once more and bring their unique sound to a venue near you.

Artwork: B
It actually took me Wikipedia-ing "carapace" to discover that the cicada shells on the album's cover are, in fact, carapace themselves. How 'bout that! The design of this album is very nice, minimalist and neat. All up, it's a very classy package.

Published in mX, Thursday January 15, 2009.

A Well-Worn Path

"Make The Road By Walking"
Menahan Street Band
Daptone/Dunham, 2008
5 stars

Listening to this album through headphones, even the simple act of walking to the milk bar to buy a Snap Crackle bar feels like the coolest thing in the world. Apparently Menahan Street is in Brooklyn, New York, and the Band is a collection of musicians from Sharon Jones' Dap-Kings, the Budos Band and a few other New York funk/soul heavy-hitters. Make The Road By Walking is a real treat – recorded in the bedroom of the group's main man Thomas Brenneck, it drips with soul. The sound is timeless – a seamless melding of piano, guitar, vibes and a great hip-hop-tinged percussion section (not to mention horns, trumpets, saxophones, flutes … basically, think of something with a hole in both ends and these guys have probably used it as an instrument). The album's title track was actually sampled in last year's Jay-Z hit Roc Boys, so you can rest assured the band's fans extend beyond Brenneck's shared-wall neighbours. Named after a social justice organisation on Menahan Street, Make The Road By Walking paints the same picture of the New York boroughs that Sesame Street did back in the '80s – a set of bustling, larger-than-life streets full of friendly, familiar faces, where everyone's welcome and nobody wants to leave.

Artwork: A
This is a classic New York funk/soul record with a classic New York fuck/soul record look. They've nailed it here - nothing fancy, just nice simple design. Daptone are living in the past and absolutely loving it.

Published in mX, Thursday January 15, 2009.