Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Maybe this brings me back to being on the precipice of new releases. Death Cab for Cutie return today with their follow-up to their Grammy-nominated major label debut Plans (2005) called Narrow Stairs. If you're not familiar with "Death Cab" by name you've probably heard of lead singer Ben Gibbard's side project The Postal Service. Either way, the band is back to prove indie bands can be just as credible on major labels. The other closest competition would seem to be The Decemberists, but they haven't put out a follow-up. So, this will be a lesson to see the lay of the land is shaking up. With the might (money) and prowess (advertising) of a major label they are expected to rake in the dollars for their parent company. It must be a hard juggling act for the band since they need to make money but they also need to appeal to their hardcore fans which care much more about the music than how many copies are sold. In addition, the major label would to attract casual listeners who may decide that they like what they hear.

Thankfully, Death Cab doesn't try too hard on this album to reinvent the wheel or grasp at the things that made Plans such a huge hit. While not the runaway great album, Narrow Stairs is a fine listen for a band that is now mature in itself. They know what they do well, and pretty much stick to those things. For example, this album is on the dark side but entirely self-assured. They are still trying to speak to listeners hearts and pull on those strings. Topics of interest are growth and change and how being content may never occur no matter what - not even if you're a rock star, quit your crappy job, or find true love. Some songs are poppier than others, but even those they tend to get right by going with their instincts. Overall, this new album is pretty solid, but less inspired than Plans. It's certainly worth a listen and is sure to keep fans satisfied, but it may not bring in many new ones or convince haters to jump on the bandwagon.

Death Cab for Cutie (Narrow Stairs) - "No Sunlight"

UPDATE: Death Cab on Letterman below

The Black Keys - Attack & Release

The new Black Keys album came out recently and I was excited. They were bringing Danger Mouse into the fold for the production on the album. It would seem to be an interesting choice that would surely bring some new ideas to the table for the Akron, Ohio blues duo. But, along the way there were also some potential red flags. The Black Keys have never recorded in an actual studio before and now they were. Danger Mouse has been known more for his hip-hop work than anything with old-school teeth like blues. Would these things play major factors in what the group produced or would they just be part of the musical story?

After a few listens this much is true of Attack & Release: this isn't the rough around the edges blues-rock the Black Keys have made previously. This album is slick. This album is clean. This album feels polished and buffed. Unfortunately, this album doesn't send chills up your back. To put it another way, Danger Mouse has rubbed off most of the patina to the Black Keys. The music is still recognizable as theirs, but it's lost the dirt and grunge that made it worth so much more. Some things shouldn't be cleaned up and the music of The Black Keys is one of them. The music needs to feel instantaneous like they wrote the song a couple days before recording it. Instead, this album feels deliberate as if they thought, "okay, put crunchy guitar riff here. put shuffle-beat drums here. on second thought let's put this here and maybe this over there." It sounds more premeditated. It sounds like they had too much money and too much time in an actual studio. Don't get me wrong, the album is still quite good, but it's not that vintage Rubber Factory feel. It also doesn't have the same drive as their previous efforts. I don't know if all this can be attributed to the producer and the surroundings, but I like to think it's part of how it happened.

The Black Keys (Attack & Release, 2008) - "I Got Mine"

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

Gnarls fuckin' Barkley. Back again for more. The truly unusual pairing of hip-hop/soul crooner Cee-Lo Green and funky DJ Danger Mouse has returned with a follow-up to their hugely successful first album St. Elsewhere. If you don't know who these two characters are by now, you may live under a rock (sorry, Mom). The single off the first album "Crazy" was the hit single of 2006 and spawned cover, after cover, after cover. Usually, collaborations of this magnitude and success are rarely repeated. This was obviously not the case for Gnarls Barkley. You'd think that going back into the studio again they'd put out something even more gnarley and crazy (sorry, that was awful). You'd think they'd want to test the limits of where their influences could take them. You'd think that the second album would be just as good or better than the first. If you thought these things would be true, well, you'd be wrong.

The Odd Couple should have been titled St. Elsewhere 1.5. It shows very little progression, and sounds mostly the same as the first album without the super smash hit. These facts are indisputable when you listen to the albums close together. One flows into the other. Back and forth. This is not to say the album is no good. The album is actually quite solid. It's better than much of the other drivel that is pressed onto a CD. With that said, when I was done listening to The Odd Couple I thought to myself they're good enough to just go through the motions and get away with it. Most people will be sufficiently happy with listening to this new album. There are catchy shows, some great beats and repeatable melodies. But don't you think they could have push a little more? They're massively creative artists content to just kinda cruise along. That is a waste; even if their bank accounts have exploded. I'm not sure you can blame one or the other for concocting a record that is almost the same as it's predecessor. But you have to wonder whether or not they'll go back to the well in another couple years for the completion of the trilogy with the working title of Strange Bedfellows.

Gnarls Barkley - Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)

Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static

Jack Johnson approached his fourth studio album in seven years differently than in years and albums past. He was carrying a melancholy heart after personal travails and the loss of a close cousin (Danny Riley); to whom the album Sleep Through the Static is dedicated. The album had also been talked about for it's change in tone and mood musically speaking. The title is meant to give a warning that long gone are the days off pleasantly strummed acoustic folky-bluesy-pop songs and in their place are rough around the edges electric guitar solos and crunchier melodies. That is at least what was advertised. Unfortunately, those dreams of a different side to Jack Johnson are still hidden in his buddy Ben Harper's closet.

Sleep Through the Static wants you to believe Jack Johnson is all of a sudden going to let loose with nasty guitar chops, or at least some electric solo lines. If you guessed this would actually happen you'd be terribly wrong. It's the same laid back Jack Johnson, strummin' on his acoustic, sweet melodies and everything in a nice slow shuffle. The only difference to be had is if you read the lyrics off a piece of paper or listened very, very closely. The actual music is very much in keeping with everything that has come previously from Jack Johnson. This isn't surprising but it is slightly disappointing. The only "static" comes from him strumming the electric guitar instead of his trusty acoustic (n.b. it took multiple Google searches to even find a picture of him holding an electric guitar. It's a press photo from the shoot for the record cover. Could he look more uncomfortable holding it?). That's about it. While I liked him when I first heard his music back in 2001 and thought it was progressing, he now seems to be stagnant. He's happy writing his Hawaiian influenced pop tunes and not really venturing beyond that. As an artist, it's hard to keep challenging yourself when something has become your brand or your bread & butter. It's not that this album is bad or awful it's just mediocre and somewhat forgettable. The tunes are nice background music for hanging out at a pool in the summer, but other than that these tunes aren't going to reach that far. His early work was refreshing and somewhat new, now his music is predictable and semi-forgettable.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

The backstory to Bon Iver's (Justin Vernon) debut album For Emma, Forever Ago is nearly as good as the album itself. Vernon began recording under the pseudonym Bon Iver after the breakup of DeYarmond Edison which was a group similar to Iron & Wine and Little Wings and sort of like Bonny "Prince" Billy. Vernon moved back to Wisconsin and took residence out at his father's hunting cabin deep in the woods. In the dead of winter. For 3 months. Alone. He wrote and recorded music in 12 hour spurts. What he produced was a nine song debut album by spring time. For the French majors 'Bon Iver' is an intentional misspelling of the French for 'good winter'. He polished the album off in a studio in North Carolina to add some horns and drums, but mostly left it very stripped down.

For Emma, Forever Ago is truly a stunning debut. (So stunning, that even The Fork gave it an 8.1.) It is an album that begs to be listened to curled up in front of a fireplace on a snowy night with some hot chocolate. While that's not how I first listened to it, I wish it had been. The album is very intimate and subtly powerful. Bon Iver draws you in with pristine falsetto tones that are disarming and songs that well constructed and very moving. The first thing you have to notice is Bon Iver's voice. There is no question it's what anyone would talk to you about first. His soaring falsetto is breathtaking and when he drops down the register and adds a mass of harmony vocals it is something special. Built around his voice are lightly strummed guitars, the occasional electric guitar, horns, light drums, and slide guitar. All of which never impede on his voice as the heart and soul of the music. They offer exactly what they should: accompaniment. His voice ebbs and flows. He knows how to build a song toward a climax and delivers each and every time. It is a debut whose songs are sure to be heard in emotion spaces in TV/Film for years to come. For Emma, Forever Ago captures the feeling of quiet isolation where the only sounds are snow falling gently on trees, the occasional crackle of firewood, and your own beating heart.

Bon Iver - Flume

Counting Crows - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

How can a band (Counting Crows) honestly think they can string their fans along into thinking every album after their first (and best) is going to be as good as that original (August and Everything After; 1993), when each subsequent release is consistently disappointing? Basically, Counting Crows have been cashing checks on credibility from 15 YEARS ago. I know they are great live and they have a catalog of songs that is large enough, and good enough to get away with not putting out solid albums. But it's pretty disgraceful in many ways. With each album, there is a glimmer of hope that the band can catch lightning in a bottle again and produce a gem of an album equal to the one made over a decade ago. I'm not old enough to say I was a Counting Crows fan from when they started, but it's hard to deny that August... is one of the least dated albums of the 90's. It's really hard not to like this band, even after some of the crap songs they've put out because you (and me) cling to the ones that are awesome and totally overshadow the shitty ones.

With all this said, it's been 6 long years that Counting Crows fans have been waiting for a studio album to counteract the acidic taste left over from the pop-heavy Hard Candy (2002). Thankfully Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings assuages some of that feeling. It's been long enough to mostly forget the missteps and remember the nostalgia the band evokes from their fans. The new album tries desperately to regain that credibility that was previously lost. Unfortunately, there are few certifiable "hits" on this record. It's better than the last release, but it had to be right? They couldn't keep going downward, right? They had to try and get back to what they did best, right? Well, some songs give fans just enough hope to think, "Hey, maybe they can put out a record as good as their first couple in the coming years." STOP. Stop thinking this. It's not going to happen in your lifetime. What you can look forward to is more albums that are pretty alright, and maybe even decidedly mediocre. This album is in one of those categories, and I would classify it as, "just okay." If someone asked me if they should buy the record, I would offer to let them borrow my "copy" and listen before buying. It sees them return to form on a few tracks but something is just off. Normally a strong lyricist, Adam Duritz is really narcissistic on a few tracks that is really off-putting after a couple listens. Overall, Counting Crows fans may be duped into thinking one of their favorite bands is "back." So, if you like being strung along, go for it, but I'm done setting the bar so high.

Coachella - Day 3

Coachella...the hottest desert party outside of Dubai returned this past weekend to Indio, CA. Luckily, I was able to go for at least one day yesterday (Sunday) thanks to my cousin and a trusty Main Stage wristband. I know it wasn't the "best" day lineup-wise, but whatever. You just have to know where to look. I got some sweet pictures, and great video. Enjoy...there will be more to come as it's all uploaded.

the Cool Kids:


I'm From Barcelona:


Holy Fuck:



Does It Offend You, Yeah?:


Duffy: