Still Burning Bright

Lifted or The Story is in The Soil, Keep Your Ears to the Ground" was my first experience with Bright Eyes. The song "You Will..." captivated me from the beginning, and I've followed Conor Oberst and company with great curiosity ever since. Bright Eyes 7th studio album, "The People's Key" is a departure from the recent folksy "Cassadaga", and leans more towards rock and effects. This album highlights Oberst's intellectual lyrics and quietly emotional vocals, and seems to be more highly produced than previous efforts.

Leading off the "The People's Key" is "Firewall". This track opens with over two minutes of spoken-word abstract musings (or "shamanic vocals" as they are referred to in the liner notes) by Denny Brewer of Refried Ice Cream. I found this to be annoying at first, but after listening to this CD a few times, Brewer's orations somehow just fit into the big picture like beaded door curtains in a college student's door room. If you can listen long enough to get past the far-out mysticism of Brewer's words, you'll be rewarded with a plodding, sharp, slow-rock tune that sets the tone for the remainder of the album. This is followed by "Shell Games", a beautiful tapestry of rock, pop, and poetic lyrics that makes for the most musically diverse track on the disc. Frantic rapid-fire snares introduce "Jejune Stars", a song that melodically bounces off your ears and finds Oberst defiantly crooning, "So it starts again, at our childhood's end, I'll die young at heart". Further on is "Haile Selassie", an upbeat rocker referring to the revered messiah of the Rastafari movement, punctuated by a yell of "One love" in one of the later verses. Also of note is "Ladder Song", a simple, pretty ballad highlighting Oberst's pleading voice over a morose piano background.

The People's Key" is laced with spiritual, lovelorn lyrics dealing with everything from the loss of long-held childhood beliefs to the struggle with faith and religiosity. Additionally, the ever-present theme of heartbreak permeates to the surface on multiple occasions as well. The production on this album is excellent, with the balance of electrical guitar, keyboards, percussion, and symphonic effects giving this album a quietly impassioned vibe, further augmented by Oberst's inspired, poetic prose. It has been rumored for some time that this will be Bright Eyes final album, and after repeatedly enjoying "The People's Key", I sincerely hope this is not the end.

Return of the King

Radiohead, the pride of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England, has returned to the musical stage once again with eight new tracks collectively known as "The King of Limbs". Released with very little advanced billing, "The King of Limbs" is currently available as either a digital download or on vinyl from the band's website, with a CD-version to follow sometime within the following month.

As a longtime fan of Radiohead, I was excited by the news of a new album. Furthermore, I was curious to hear what sound they would embrace, as their first seven albums have shown a progression from guitar-injected rock to near total electronica, and ultimately back to a delicate mix of the two. I've always favored their earlier works ("The Bends", "OK Computer") over albums such as "Kid A" and "Amnesiac", principally due to the presence of multiple guitars. As it turns out, "The King of Limbs" is heavy on synthesizers and fairly light on guitar, but the result is nonetheless captivating and quite an enjoyable listen.

"The King of Limbs" begins with the multifaceted "Bloom". In "Bloom", Thom Yorke philosophizes, "So I lose and start over, don't blow your mind with why" over a fluttering piano, a convergence of drum effects, and a final deluge of horns and strings. Next is "Morning Mr. Magpie", another song featuring Yorke's hovering voice floating like feathers over the crisp, frantic beats below. Track 3 is "Little By Little", an up-tempo percussion-infused tune that's rueful, darkly pretty, and classic Radiohead. "Feral" is the record's only instrumental track, and the seemingly untamed mix of cadence and flow gives credence to it's title. This is followed by "Lotus Flower", spotlighting Yorke's hauntingly beautiful vocals over an understated musical backdrop. "Codex" is a piano-driven piece that slowly pulls you in and gently lets you down. There always seems to be one quiet, gripping ballad on each Radiohead release (the last one being "All I Need" from "In Rainbows"), and "Codex" admirably fulfills that criteria for me. Next is "Give Up the Ghost", a quiet, acoustic love song, followed by the final track, "Separator", a breezy musing that glides easily over an ethereal instrumental.

After the first listen I wasn't sure how I felt about this album, but I've grown more intrigued and impressed each successive time through. Amongst the myriad of snappy beats and synthesizers lies something calming and serene that makes "The King of Limbs" rather endearing. In "Little By Little" Yorke reflects, "Little by little, hook or by crook, never be an artist, never get judged". It's quite clear after 8 albums of continually changing scope and complexity that Yorke is far beyond caring about judgement, and Radiohead continues to march to their own satisfyingly unique beat.

Even On A Cloudy Day

Cage the Elephant's 2nd album, "Thank You, Happy Birthday", contains a wide spectrum of genres, ranging between the extremes of acoustic pop all the way to no-holes-barred punk. I had heard a few of their previous songs on the radio and had expected this disc to be rather one-dimensional; I couldn't have been more wrong. Matthew Shultz and company mix things up throughout, and the results are, well, mixed.

Thank You, Happy Birthday" opens with "Always Something", a quirky, meandering song with a plethora of audio effects and a palatable variety of guitar licks that will slowly (but ultimately) grow on you. Next is "Aberdeen", a screaming rocker reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys. This song immediately stood out to me as the highlight of the CD, and is one of the catchier rock songs of early 2011. Further along is the uplifting "Shake Me Down", a song about perseverance beginning as an ariose ballad before being interrupted by machine-gun snare drum beats, transitioning into a punchingly raw vocal effort from Shultz, then concluding with a serene guitar hook and the fitting words, "Even on a cloudy day". Also, of note, is the punkish "2024", a tune somewhat reminiscent of the Dead Kennedy's.

Overall, I found "Thank You, Happy Birthday" to be a bit uneven. There are a few "throw-away" tracks, a couple of true pop-punk gems, and some agreeable filler interspersed all over. To me, Cage the Elephant is at their best playing irreverent punk-rock while maintaining a few melodic vocal hooks, but when structure is pushed aside they sometimes breach past the boundaries of being even an acquired taste. Nonetheless, this album is appealing enough for me to look forward to their next offering, and discover where their musical creativity ultimately takes them.

Blame it on my ADD, baby

I recently discovered a band called AWOLNATION. There is very little information about them on the worldwide web. They have a website - music only, no info. You'll see them on Facebook, MySpace and iTunes (of course). You'll find them on many other small music blogs (like this one). That's about it. These are the facts I've gleaned from these few limited sources:

1. The mastermind is named Aaron Bruno, he's from SoCal and his former band was called Under The Influence of Giants. They released one album in 2006.

2. Their only available recorded material so far is a five track EP released in May of 2010 called Back From Earth. One of the five tracks is a remix of one of the other tracks. You can buy it for $2.99 on iTunes OR you can get two free download tracks on their website in exchange for your email address. (I recommend Sail and Guilty Filthy Soul if you choose this option.)

3. Portland loves AWOLNATION, due in large part to their being featured as the first band in local radio station 94/7 Alternative Portland's "I Saw Them When..." series.

The rest of this review is based on opinion and perspective:

I first heard the name AWOLNATION when I was listening to 94/7 on the way to work. They were talking about the upcoming show, which is part of a new series showcasing bands that are thought to be on the verge of breaking out. The idea is to make it a memorable and accessible experience with a band that may not be so accessible down the road. In achieving this, tickets cost a cool five bucks. The show was due to take place at Lola's Room, the little downstairs sister of the legendary Crystal Ballroom. I was intrigued. Then they played the song Sail. I was impressed. Then they played it over and over again during the subsequent weeks. I was obsessed. So were the station's DJs and thousands of their listeners.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. As soon as I heard the song, I bought four tickets on the pre-sale. Within a day, I think, they announced the show was being moved upstairs to the Crystal because it sold out immediately. Probably not more than a week later the Crystal was sold out too. It was about this time I spent the extra 3 bucks for their EP, only to discover the rest of it was as good as Sail. It was also around this time I tried to find any scrap of information I could about the band only to learn that seemingly nobody had heard of them despite the EP's release about 7 months earlier. Then I started to wonder if it was all a put-on, a pseudonym for an already established huge talent; nobody could make music this irresistible and fly under the radar for so long.

It wasn't a put-on and the show happened two nights ago. Based strictly on word of mouth and constant airplay, the house was packed and bouncing. People were excited the band was excited and the show lived up to every shred of hype that preceded it. I stood in awe that night, as I've never seen such a music-related groundswell grow from nothing. While I don't know if they'll end up amounting to anything, I really can't possibly see how they won't. If they do, I think they'll owe a lot to this city and its discerning listeners. If they do it will truly be an "I saw them when" moment for me.

I won't describe their music here but I will highly recommend it:

http://www.awolnationmusic.com/

Whew, more WEW

Recently posted on his website, William Elliott Whitmore has finished recording his new record "Field Songs" to be released on Anti- records this spring!

For those not familiar with WEW, check out these songs as a start:

-Red Buds (from Song Of The Blackbird)
-Hell Or High Water (from Animals In The Dark)
-Diggin' My Grave (from Ashes To Dust)
-One Man's Shame (from Song Of The Blackbird)
-Sometimes Our Dreams Float Like Anchors (from Hymns For The Hopeless)
-Hard Times (from Animals In The Dark)

It's already shaping up to be a great year.