I think this band get a bit of unfair press for being labeled "the next Arcade Fire", just because they feature a husband and wife duo and create some of the best music you'll hear all year. For me, they're like a more orchasteral version of Pure Reason Revolution mixed with some Shoegaze elements - Albatross is such a wonderful song, but opening the album is the two-part epic Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent. These two tracks show that they can create great songs no matter what length, and I'm very much looking forward to their future releases.
Along with Fang Island, this was one of the albums that put the fun back into music. Their music is quite simple - the lyrics are everyday-like and so is the melodies, but the guitars pack such a punch, it's impossible to ignore it. That's why I love this album - you get some sweet sickly vocals in the foreground whilst there's carnage behind it. In reality it shouldn't work, but it somehow does. It's some of the coolest Pop music I've heard all year.
Quite simply - one of the most stunning albums I've heard all year. I got into this one quite late too, but better late than never! The music is largely stripped back and you can bearly hear the vocals, but it's quite similar to last year's Hospice album by The Antlers - it's very melancholy and tender, but because of its Lo-fi production there's also an air of mystery to it. For me anyway, it was one of those albums that made me go "wow" on first listen.
I've always liked Caribou, but never really loved his music until I heard Swim. It has some of the most interesting Electronic music all year - combining some aspects of Shoegaze, Dubstep and brass elements to this already varied record. It might take a while to get used to the weird happenings in the music, but it's a great album that keeps getting better with each listen.
It starts off with a bang (infact, No Words/No Thoughts reminds me of the song Hun Joro by Sigur Ros) and so should an album that's the first one released since 1997. It's a terrifying return to form, and the album is quite a difficult listen at first, but it opens up the more you hear it. In a nutshell - it's one of the most powerful records I've heard all year, and very nearly made my top 10 before it was bumped back thanks to a very, very late entry...
Top 10 starting tomorrow! Yay!
No comments:
Post a Comment