QUICK REVIEWS

THE KILLS | midnight boom | B













GRIZZLY BEAR | veckatimest | A-














DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES | in ear park | A













RADIOHEAD | these are my twisted words | B














RADIOHEAD | harry patch (in memory of) | A

THE WALKMEN - YOU & ME

THE BEAT
THE WALKMEN
YOU & ME

In all honesty, I haven't given The Walkmen enough attention over the years. I've always liked their singles (The Rat, We've Been Had, Etc.). They've always been a pretty good band. They've always had a consistent sound.

This album, however, immediatly caught my attention after the first listen... and now I find myself revisiting their back catalogue based on it's merits. They've really got something now, maybe because the Brooklyn scene is finally catching up to their sound. This album has all sorts of low key moments and climactic peaks. There are highlights in every song, and it flows naturally from one track to the next, like a well constructed album should. They've really embraced the ambient-recording sound. You feel like your sitting on a musty old futon in their basement while they practice next to the dehumidifier and litter box. It really works well for their loose guitar and muffled drums.

Overall, its really good.

GRADE: B+

STANDOUT TRACKS:
In The New Year, Red Moon.

listen for yourself:

You & Me - The Walkmen

ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS - THE CRYING LIGHT

THE BEAT
ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
THE CRYING LIGHT

There is absolutely no other way to say it... Antony Hegarty ruins Antony & The Johnsons. The music is orchestral, and pretty listenable throughout the entirety of The Crying Light. Occasionally, it's excellent (like on Everglade). However, Hegarty's voice is so incredibly unbearable that it makes his unbearable lyrics bearable through association.

Its hard to describe. Some people have compared it to a soulful black woman's voice, but that only works if you actually think his voice is soulful. SPOILER ALERT: its not, and he is really white and mostly not a woman. The whole thing sounds contrived by a wildly obsessive Nina Simone fanboy, which probably isn't so unlike the truth. All I can credit him with is creating a sound that is certifiably 'closed-eyes-singing'.

His lyrics are bad too. He says "kiss" in every song, which is annoying. The way he says it makes it an even more anoying.

Overall, I didn't dig it. Also, as a side note, he has released one of the WORST cover songs of all time... a slowed down melodramatic version of Beyonce's extremely catchy Crazy In Love. He took something fun and killed it with solemness and that pretentious manchild voice of his. Goddammit!

GRADE: D-

STAND OUT TRACKS (notsomuch though):
Aeon, Everglade

listen for yourself:

The Crying Light - Antony & Th...