Album of the Week: Only By the Night / Kings of Leon

Kings of Leon have sold out - and I am quite glad they did. What I like about Only By the Night is Kings of Leon let you know where they stand. These guys know they're way cooler than Daughtry or Hinder so they don't waste any time worrying about whether you think they're cool. Instead the band looks beyond the apathy of indie rock and instead draws influence from those rockers of time's past who didn't stop believing and wanted you to show them what love was. There is no greater moment than on the unashamed power single, "Sex on Fire," which is brilliant in its earnestness and lacking any hint of pretension. The rest of the album has a difficult time measuring up to the electricity of "Sex on Fire," but its not for a lack of trying. Crying out for "someone like you" on "Use Somebody," it is clear the band is moving past that garage blues sound they built their name around. Only By the Night is a bigger album in its scope - epic tracks built for arenas. When bands shift to these U2/Colplay-like goals, such bids for commercialism are often viewed as contradictory to what the band actually stood for. In the case of Kings of Leon, they turn this sonic growth into an experiment - one that is overall successful.

Album of the Week: Everything is Borrowed / The Streets

When I reviewed the last album from The Streets, I began the review like this: "When discussing the work of Mike Skinner (aka The Streets), I like to apply a little bit of auteur theory. Auteur theory, introduced by French New Wave filmmakers in the 1950's, defines the director as 'author' of the film, while arguing that you can analyze a film in the context of the auteur's complete body of work." I still feel like this applies - in fact, Everything is Borrowed solidifies this approach even further. Skinner called his last record the "bravest of my albums," as it dealt largely with the exploits that go hand in hand with fame. Older and wiser on Everything is Borrowed, Skinner is waking up from fame's drug haze and attempting to look deeper into what life is all about. "I want to speak every cliche" he proudly states on the "loving life" opening title track, and indeed Skinner does explore a world of cliches on this album. It is his simplest record, and if it were his first, it would not receive the "groundbreaking" praise of his previous efforts.

But to judge it on those terms is to kind of miss the point. In the context of the story Skinner is telling, than this album makes perfect sense. It sounds better sitting up against the previous albums rather than being judged on its individual merit. If we are looking at individual merit, then the album does deliver three absolute gems that speak to the album's larger theme - the title track, lead single "The Escapist," and "On the Edge of a Cliff," which features a lovely lyrical passage:

I lay right there once
on the edge of the rock
I was ready to jump
I was ever so lost
but this gentlemen stopped
and said something I never forgot

For billions of years
since the outset of time
every single one of your ancestors survived
every single person on your mums and dad's side
successfully looked after and passed onto you life
what are the chances of that like
it comes to me once in a while
and everywhere i tell folk
it gets the best smile

Watch The Streets history through videos at the New and Used Records Music Video Blog.

Album of the Week: The Best of the Rykodisc Years / Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse has always written songs that I've liked ("Directions," "Winter in the Hamptons" and "My Love is Gone" in particular"). Often romantic, the styles of the singer/songwriter have swayed from alt-country to 70s AM radio, while the choruses are frequently catchy as hell. I have not been a fan of everything Rouse has done, but his hand-picked Best of rightfully leaves those off in favor of his finest tunes. Rouse's greatest attribute may be his ability to create the feel of a band, while still remaining a genuine singer/songwriter. This is due in part to the fact that he has always surrounded himself with talented musicians, and that he is well-versed in the trade of songcraft. Arranged chronologically - showcasing the first seven years of his career - the first disc shows Rouse's evolution. Rouse did make changes, however each was subtle. The most striking aspect is the fact that through it all, Rouse has never sold out and always maintained his artistic integrity. In fact, with his recent independent efforts, Rouse has seemingly avoided the spotlight by choice.

The first disc asserts Rouse's place in music, while also arguing that his career progression is far from done. Disc two is for the fans - collecting all six songs from his Bedroom Classics Vol. 1 EP, as well as a smattering of demos and outtakes.

Album of the Week: Fulton Lights / The Way We Ride

The weather took a bit of a turn earlier this week, and it left me with that melancholy winter feeling. When I listened to Fulton Lights' The Way We Ride, it seemed to capture that feeling for me. But The Way We Ride is more than that - it is a dark, layered, sonic masterpiece. The album is out now on Catbird Records, the boutique label associated with fabulous music blog The Catbirdseat. Each release on Catbird is given a limited physical release in special packaging. The Way We Ride is available in a 7" sleeve with artwork by Jez Burrows of Evening Tweed. Ryan likens to record to Kid A, writing, "there are some really intriguing juxtapositions going on with this record. It's like a team of robot scientists trying to piece together a Sergio Leone Western from dusty celluloid remnants, circa 2208 A.D."

The title track captures that perfectly - a dark western rhythm with Andrew Spencer Goldman's voice distorted. The song is layered with strings and static creating a very eerie feel, as Goldman sings, "If there's a God/ He's turned his back on me." Throughout the record, Goldman - the brainchild behind Fulton Light - strings songs together to create a narrative, completing each song with a mix of sounds and instruments. At times it recalls Frog Eyes and Wolf Parade, but sometimes it sounds wholly original. You can stream it and pay what you want here.

MP3 - "The Way We Ride" - Fulton Lights

Album of the Week: Conor Oberst / Conor Oberst

I was a little confused by this record at first, namely why it wasn't coming out on Saddle Creek and why it wasn't under Oberst's Bright Eyes moniker which he's used since 2005. Perhaps that is just it - Oberst was a teenager when he started making Bright Eyes records, and the time has come for something new. With his first official solo record, Oberst sounds like a musician who has genuinely come into his own on all fronts. While the charm of early Bright Eyes records was always the naieve songwriting - the belief that he had learned all there was to know about life and love at a young age. No, as a songwriter, Oberst does sound wise, embracing the "new Dylan" he'd been lapped with, while also channeling greats like Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty. While he was always one to mix styles and often create pretentiously long epics, Oberst now seems to have found a calling somewhere between edgy folk and twangy country. He's also honed his songcraft to the point where he can condense his ideas into a 3-4 minute song, making the moments where he actually unleashes all the more powerful. Favorite line of the record: "You taught me victory's sweet even deep in the cheap seats."

Album of the Week: Something For All of Us / Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning

Winter is a great time for albums. When the weather gets cold and the holidays approach, we begin to get melancholy and nostalgic. Certain artists have a way of soundtracking that, and Broken Social Scene is one of those artists. But it is not Winter. It is still summer, as the Oakland heat reminds me. I am sure Something For All of Us will play a key part in Winter listening, but for now I must let it soundtrack my summer. The second artist in the "Broken Social Scene Presents" series, which showcases an individual BSS member backed by his cohorts, Brendan Canning takes full advantage of the spotlight after playing a downplayed role on the band's albums. I wouldn't exactly call Something minimalist, but it does tone down the more-is-more approach of BSS's last album. The lush BSS orchestration and harmonies only enhance Canning's gorgeous melodies.

Like Badly Drawn Boy, Canning strings his album together in storylike fashion, unafraid to leap from acoustic singer/songwriter ("Snowballs and Icicles") to just being funky ("Love is New"). "Hit the Wall" is an obsession-worthy single, though the albums two highlights come towards the end - the beautiful instrumental, "All the Best Wooden Toys Come From Germany," and "Been At It So Long," a duet with Elizabeth Powell of Land of Talk.

MP3 - "Hit The Wall" - Brendan CanningMore On This Album

Album of the Week: Modern Guilt / Beck

Beck was featured on the September 2006 cover of Wired with the headline, "The Rebirth of Music." The article begins - "Release a traditional 13-track CD? No thanks, says Beck. Instead he serves up a collection of songs, remixes, and videos that fans can piece together anything they want." Three years later, Beck has returned with a new album. Not an album that seems to embrace modern technology or forward-thinking marketing; simply, an album. Ten tracks at 33 minutes, all produced by Danger Mouse. The album is minimalist - whereas past producer's have let Beck's imagination run wild through a series of genres, Danger Mouse keeps things focused. There are blips and playful instrumentation, sure, but all with the precision of creating an album that flows with ease from beginning to end. And Beck still appears to be having fun, if you listen to the sixties jangling of "Orphans" or the fun bounce of "Gamma Ray." But Beck is also digging deeper this time around - maybe not quite the depths he reached on Sea Change - but you can tell Danger Mouse won't let him get any kicks. Everything has a purpose, making it one of Beck's most focused efforts yet. Perhaps, one of his best.

Album of the Week: Real Animal / Alejandro Escovedo

A year ago, I saw Alejandro Escovedo speak at the Bandwidth Conference. Embarrassingly, I was not particularly familiar with his work, but the stories he told and songs he played had me very interested. Its fitting now that a year later, I am listening to his most recent release, Real Animal while anticipating this year's conference. Escovedo is a student of many styles, having played in punk band the Nuns, as well as the more alt country Rank and File. These different styles of interest converge on Real Animal, which in many ways feels like the culmination of an artist's work. The album opens with "Always a Friend," a live version of which was featured on Bruce Springsteen's recent iTunes EP. The song does have a bit of that E Street Shuffle, while "Chelsea Hotel '78" rocks more like the New York Dolls. "Chelsea" like many of these songs is autobiographical, some about his days as a musician, and others that are deeply personal.

The combination of life-or-death rockers and confessional ballads reminds me a great deal of Warren Zevon's The Wind. Zevon created that album with his death looming. Escovedo recorded this after surviving a nearly fatal bout with Hepatitis C. The result is sometimes fun, sometimes dark, and almost always moving; a remarkable achievement from a veteran musician just starting to get his due.

MP3 - "Always a Friend" - Alejandro Ecovedo

Album of the Week: 2 / Darker My Love

With so much music coming out, I find I am usually behind on my listening. This it is very rare that I actually "anticipate" an album's release - I just don't have the time to. Even more rare is anticipating an album from band from whom I've only heard one song by. But such was the case with LA/SF band, Darker My Love. I began hearing single "Two Ways Out" on Indie 103.1 and it really grabbed me. I've already written (possibly multiple times) about my love for this song, referring to it as "shoegaze-y Byrds." Perhaps it also sounds a bit like Teenage Fanclub and The Soundtrack of Our Lives. I still haven't gotten tired of this song, but thankfully their second album, 2 dropped this past Tuesday on Dangerbird Records and I don't have to wait any longer to hear what else is there. This mix of classic styles with a bit of a modern, alternative twist continues on the psychedelic "White Composition," as well as rockers like "Northern Soul" and "Waves." If you grew up on sixties rock like I did then you will probably dig this album, which you can stream the album at the band's MySpace.

Album of the Week: Top Ranking (mixtape) / Diplo and Santogold

The latest issue of Paste focuses on "Redefining World Music" and contains a pretty dope and thorough article about Diplo. I've been interested in Diplo's work since I saw him DJ for M.I.A. Diplo has a diverse musical taste and an interest in reaching the far, forgotten corners of the world. Through his label (Mad Decent), he's been seeking to bring a wider audience to artists from all over the world. Through his mixtapes, podcasts and DJ sets, he brings a cross-cultural sound pulling out party jams from every corner and every era. He's hooked up with Santogold for the Top Ranking mixtape, maintaining that same spirit. With her self-titled debut, Santogold has drawn comparisons to M.I.A. (they work with some of the same producers), but my girlfriend has said that's kind of "obvious." She's likened it to Gwen Stefani and Kate Bush. With two large personalities in the mix, Top Ranking is a diverse affair - Aretha Franklin, Three 6 Mafia, the B-52s, lots of dub, an M.I.A. appearance, and a plentiful supply of Santogold remixes. The album flows seamlessly and is almost too cool for school. Get over any hipster phobia and you've got a classic summer mix. You can download it at Notes From a Different Kitchen.

Album of the Week: Frozen EP / Psychic Powers + RCRDLBL

Everyday, I get an email in my inbox from RCRDLBL announcing their "MP3 of the Day." I've spent lengthy amounts of time on the RCRDLBL site and I really think it is an innovative and exciting way to discover new music. One of these great discoveries has been Psychic Powers. The LA-based duo of Nik Brinkman and Alejandro Cohen have one release to date - an EP entitled Frozen - all four tracks are available for free download on the band's RCRDLBL page. The songs recall the mellow new wave of New Order, while there are also similarities to M83 and South. "Frozen" is my personal favorite. Dig through the RCRDLBL vaults and you will find free MP3s from a variety of notable acts (Conor Oberst and Cut Copy to name just a couple) as well as new bands worthy of your attention. N&UR fave, Cassettes Won't Listen has a free remix EP up for download.

Album of the Week: At Mount Zoomer / Wolf Parade

There is something very rare and special about Wolf Parade. Perhaps its the fact that the band features a modern day Lennon and McCartney - two distinct voices with different approaches swapping vocals. Dan Boeckner sounds a bit like an angsty Beck - his voice is endearing and his approach is more indie pop. Spencer Krug has a more challenging voice and always seems anxious to push indie sound out of its standard structure; as a singer Krug seems to to compress the most accessible elements of his collaborators voices (Boeckner, Dan Bejar, Carey Mercer) into one. Since the first fabulous Wolf Parade album, both have maintained a steady stream of side projects. Both singers assert themselves early on At Mount Zoomer - Boeckner on the easily catchy "Soldier's Grin" and Krug on the surprisingly catchy first single, "Call it a Ritual."

I've always been a bit more of a Boeckner guy, but Krug threatens to steal the show here, especially on the brilliant "California Dreamer." When Krug cryies out, "And I think I might've heard you on the radio/ but the radio waves were like snow," you realize just how far he can push the sound, while still creating something that sticks in your head. No reason for the two to get competitive however - with enough brilliance to go around, I'm inclined to think the band's best days may still be ahead of them.

MP3 - "Call it a Ritual" - Wolf Parade

Album of the Week: Arm's Way / Islands

Arm's Way has been in some serious rotation at both N&UR offices for some time now. I'm pretty sure I'd be willing to follow Nick Diamonds on any musical journey he wished to take me on. The ex-Unicorns frontman is constantly working to outdo himself while remaining unique in his combination of quirkiness, creepiness and brilliance. His voice and style and difficult to replicate, and the latest release from Islands (the band's follow-up to 2006's Return to the Sea) is a worthy successor to the auteur's previous work. The quirks of past efforts remain, but Diamonds and co. seem to have been also keeping the dial tuned to classic rock radio - opening the record with a guitar riff that sounds straight out of "The Final Countdown" and re-constructing the Who's "A Quick One While He's Away" on "In the Rushes." In an era when records are starting to get shorter once again, Islands boldly go for length, with only two songs clocking in at under four minutes. One of those is current single, "Creeper," which may be the catchiest song ever about having a slasher in your house.

Video - "Creeper" (live)

Album of the Week: Paradise Massage / The New Centuries

This week's album comes courtesy of a band steadfastly emerging from the local scene - The New Centuries. The band emailed me an MP3 of "Birds in the Garden" -an angsty rock tune that still finds a pop melody while remaining rough around the edges - and I was instantly hooked. The mini-album, Paradise Massage follows in a similar vein combining post-punk aggression with indie dance floor grooves, sounding a bit like a more fun Joy Division. I was also reminded a bit of VHS or Beta. The band plays Spaceland in Los Angeles on July 5, and has a number of local shows lined up, meaning that the buzz is likely to continue building.

Download "Birds in the Garden" at Stranger Dance.

Album of the Week: Feed the Animals / Girl Talk

When Danger Mouse crafted The Grey Album, he set out a very specific challenge for himself - creating "mash-ups" (for lack of a better word) out of songs from only two albums. The challenge, or the exercise, is quite different when Gregg Gillis compiles/composes a Girl Talk album. There's no formula as to how many songs create one track - or where they will come from. Gillis obviously has a taste for modern rap and R&B, but clearly he has an interest in nineties grunge, classic rock and old school hip hop as well. All these sounds from at least five decades of music meet and collide on Girl Talk's fourth release, Feed the Animals.

Feed the Animals is about many things - hence a week's worth of posts devoted to it - but at its core, it is simply about music; how we listen to music, how we evaluate it, and how we remember it. While Gillis claims no political intention with his mix of music, he does boast the ability to recontextualize songs in ways thaty can range from fun to profound. A particular highlight occurs when Pete Townsend's "Let My Love Open the Door" is brought underneath Unk's "Walk it Out" on opener "Play Your Part (Pt. 1)." On "Still Here," he revives the fabulous "No Diggity," propelled with Kanye's "Flashing Lights" beat. Also featuring a sped up "The Weight" and Cassidy's "My Drink, My Two Step" over Ace of Base, "Still Here" is a personal favorite.

With samples on the surface and many buried beneath, there is much discovery to be made while listening to this record. In fact, it took six or seven good listens for me to realize that Radiohead's "Karma Police" and Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" were among the sampled tracks. The risk with this kind of record is that there does ultimately reach a saturation point. While Gillis continues to perfect his art, he does not stray far from the fun party vibe he established on Night Ripper. After successive listens a Girl Talk record can become less fun - violent even - when it seems to be the soundtrack of an excessive culture.

Violent or fun, Feed the Animals remains a remarkable conversation piece - and we will continue to discuss it all week.

Album of the Week: Tha Carter III / Lil Wayne

There was a time when Lil Wayne was a kid rapper hanging out alongside Lil Bow Wow. There was a time when Lil Wayne was just another face on the label most famous for "Back That Ass Up." Then there came a time when Lil Wayne declared himself "The best rapper alive" - and those who nodded outnumbered those who didn't. Most fascinating about Lil Wayne is not his artistic growth, but that his ascension to the spotlight has occurred over a short period of time and without an official release. In 2006, Weezy made his famous proclamation on Dedication 2, an underground mixtape in DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz series. High on internet buzz, Weezy became not just one of the most followed in hip hop, but a crossover sensation, whose name flew from the lips of Pitchfork critics and indie kids on a regular basis.

Weezy continued releasing street-level mixtapes in 2007, mostly freestyling over well-known beats ("Show Me What You Got," "Upgrade U," "This is Why I'm Hot"), decimating the MCs whose voices had graced the original. Wayne was asserting himself, and also displaying a unique vocal style. His delivery was often slow, barely catching the beat (and for that you can blame the mix of weed and syrup), but could also catch fire and spit at rapid-fire rate. What would come out of his mouth was anybody's guess. Tracks from the Carter 3 sessions leaked in abundance last year, and were collected and bootlegged by numerous half-assed DJs. All of the piracy and bootlegging built a mystique around Wayne, his crazy flows and tireless work ethic. When the official Carter 3 dropped last week, it was poised to be one of the biggest releases in recent memory.

C3 succeeds at capturing the many facets and contradictions of Lil Wayne. He does showcase his craziness right off the bat - with the urgent opener "3 Peat." Throughout the record, he pulls off a number of baffling lines - "We are not the same, I am a martian," he declares on "Phone Home," while "Mr. Carter" finds him being hated on by the four seasons. He makes multiple comparisons to Andre 3000, and while the OutKast rapper also has a penchant for alien connections, Andre's weirdness is charming, while Wayne's is frightening and unpredictable. Where the fuck does this guy come from? "I am a beast," he pronounced on last year's DJ Khaled collaboration "We Takin' Over," and Weezy is one that cannot be tamed. He's violent, horny, paranoid, political, offensive, cocky but a genuine wordsmith.

"Mr. Carter" and "Dr. Carter" are throwback hip hop, with the former featuring an appearance from Jay-Z. Jay once called himself the "best rapper alive," but judging from his verse, he's ready to pass the torch. "Dr. Carter" finds Wayne attempting to cure MCs who've lost their lyrical skill over a jazzy Tribe-like beat. Elsewhere, Wayne is paired up with a whose who of R&B singers (Babyface, Bobby Valentino, T-Pain), likely to add radio friendly hooks. "Tie My Hands" features extensive contribution from Robin Thicke, and is a Hurricane Katrina anthem that is a bit more rise up than the rise up with fists that was his 2006 tirade, "Georgia Bush."

It is possible to sedate Wayne for the masses - but he's at his most refined spitting fucked up rhymes over fucked up beats. "Lollipop" is an interesting choice for first single, and it manages to outweird Snoop's "Sensual Seduction" for oddest radio track of the year. "La La" is built around simply a xylophone and repetitive "la las"; Wayne seems right at home, but guest Busta Rhymes seems totally lost. There was a time when Busta passed for weird, but that time has passed. Weezy doesn't really need guest appearances, in fact they simply weigh him down. But if producers will keep handing him the most whacked out shit they can concoct, Wayne's going to be able to carry the load for everyone else.

Album of the Week: Small-Time Machine / Cassettes Won't Listen

I know that it's Wednesday, but I was too busy working on the MySpace yesterday to write a review. I decided to re-post this review, seeing as how it got a not-so-nice score of 4.0 on Pitchfork today.

There are few things as un-compelling as some guy on stage plugging away at his laptop barely glancing up to look at the crowd and hardly looking like he's working hard. That doesn't really pass for a concert in my book. Sure, ambient laptop beats can sound interesting in recorded form, but they tend to work better as a movie score. Every so often, however, there comes a laptop savior - in 2008, that savior is Cassettes Won't Listen - a New York resident/Def Jux employee armed with compelling lyrics and vocals to accompany his solid computer beats. Instead of wasting time geeking out on blips, Cassettes wizkid Jason Drake crafts actual pop songs. "I try so hard/ but nobody knows my name," he fusses on "Metronomes," the opener to his phenomenal Small-Time Machine. It seems as though his name will soon be known judging by the quanity of parties he played at South by Southwest, not to mention blog fans ranging from Perez Hilton to Stereogum.

The heart of the eight track album lies in the middle ballads - "Freeze and Explode" jumped out at me when I heard it on WOXY earlier this year, its chorus of "Wish we all could/ freeze and explode" hard to deny. The verse and slow beats were reminiscent of Her Space Holiday's The Young Machines, one of my favorite records from college. At first I thought this track was about a breakup, but it's probably about suicide. Either way, a story has started to unfold on my head that continues with the longing of "The Broadcast," in which Drake is "Trying to find a feeling/ One that keeps me stuck to the ground."

What keeps the laptop artist from being compelling is the detachment between him in the actual music. Yet, Cassettes play with these themes of detachment. Thus, by engaging with the medium rather than viewing it as a shortcut, Small-Time Machine is a collection of works that are, after all, quite compelling.

You can stream the entire album at Cassettes' MySpace, and also download a free (not nearly as good) covers EP from their website.

Video - "Paper Float"

Album of the Week: The Age of the Understatememt / The Last Shadow Puppets

Sometimes, you know (or at least I do) that you will love a record before you've even heard it. Such was the case when I first read about the Last Shadow Puppets - a duo comprised of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (The Rascals) - in Paper. Admittedly, I am a bit more familiar with Turner's work, following the Arctic Monkeys since 2006, with Favourite Worst Nightmare becoming one of my favorite records of last year. Both are skinny, devilishly young British boys with rock star haircuts and voices that have both a comforting softness and a punk edge. The two became pals when Kane's old band, The Little Flames, toured with Arctic Monkeys. They bonded over a mutual love for Scott Walker and David Bowie, and began writing material together. Meld those two influences alongside the bombast of Shirley Bassey Bond themes and the romance of Burt Bacharach strings and you've got The Age of the Understatement.

Turner's and Kane's voices are so similar that at times it is difficult to tell which is singing. Their voices blend spectacularly well, whether harmonizing (which they do quite often) or trade off (like on highlight "Separate and Ever Deadly").The arrangements reflect a time gone by, however The Age of the Understatement does not appear dated, and only a tad nostalgic. Their is a consistency to the the songs on the album, suggesting that the two artists take this far more seriously than just your typical side project. If there is any disappointment to this record, it's that it ends before you want it to - "The Time Has Come Again" proves to be an understated ending. Flawless in every other way, Kane and Turner simply keep you the listener wanting more - which, in this day and age, is not such a bad thing. (Note: The two are set to begin working on new material next year).

Video - "The Age of the Understatement"


Video - "Meeting Place" (live in-studio)

Album of the Week: Accelerate / R.E.M.

For the early nineties, R.E.M. were my favorite band. From Out of Time through Reveal, I purchased everyone of their albums the week of their release - not to mention the occasional single and compilation. When the band released Around the Sun in 2004, I was inexplicably uninterested (and I don't think I was the only one). I was pretty resistant to all of the advanced buzz surrounding Accelerate, as I've never been one to buy into "Best album since... " talk. It seemed that critics reviewing the album seemed to forget that both Up and Reveal were well received albums. R.E.M. hadn't so much beaten themselves down with a string of disappointing albums, as much as they had made one boring one.

Despite my skepticism, I still opted to pick up a vinyl copy of Accelerate on Record Store Day. While I don't buy all of the hype, there is something different about R.E.M. this time around. Clocking in at around 30 minutes, Accelerate is a fast-paced record. Songs are short and ballads are at a minimum. The pace isn't just fast, its furious (no pun intended), with "Living Well is the Best Revenge" setting the tone. Avoiding the constrains of age, Michael Stipe has developed a bit of a punk rock snarl. While the band has been rather politically vocal during the Bush Administration but thankfully the album does not date itself with overt references the the current situation. There is a tone of frustration overcome through raw energy that captures the political feeling much better.

Elsewhere, the signs of life from R.E.M are all still there - the choruses are especially strong and Mike Mills's backing vocals/harmonies are still comforting. The album does seem to waiver a little bit at the end, and I kind of feel embarrassed for Stipe when he sings, "Because death is final/ I'm collecting vinyl/ I'm gonna DJ at the end of the world," on closer "I'm Gonna DJ." While Accelerate is not the forced "comeback" it's being marketed as, it is a sign that a band with nothing left to prove does still have something to offer.

Album of the Week: The Story Behind the Story / The Confusions

I feel that before reviewing the Confusions, I should first introduce the Confusions and how I arrived at them.

About a month or so back, I was listening to Bagel Radio and a fantastic song came on on that really piqued my interest - "The Pilot" by The Confusions. Doing what I normally do when a new song or band strikes me, I went into serious research mode - I checked the band's MySpace, found out about their label, etc. The Confusions are a six piece from Sweden, who have been releasing records since the early nineties. As it turned out, "The Pilot" was from their 2002 record, Trampoline, yet its getting a good deal of American radio play right now. I downloaded Trampoline and it is a great rock record with hints of Oasis and the Stone Roses.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and the Confusions have a brand new record out - The Story Behind the Story. You can find it at all American digital outlets, and in their homeland, the band is signed to Massproduktion - "Sweden's oldest punk label." With a vast variety of influences, the Confusions manage to successfully create one well-crafted rock song after another while managing to jump between rock sounds. The seven minute opener "There Ain't No Easy Way Out of Here" has epic folksy hints of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," with maybe just a pinch of Peter Gabriel. It is then followed up with the agitated "Dead Afternoon," which has the angst and energy of early eighties post-punk and late sixties garage rock.

"Thin" - my personal favorite - is maybe the most "Pilot"-esque tune, ie the one with most potential to break into the American marketplace. Its simply a catchy tune pop tune with a great chorus. I was kind of reminded of South - who I have been listening to a great deal lately.

Lead single "Logo" returns the album to the folksy atmosphere of the opening, with slight vocal distortion and minimal sound loops. With its chorus of, "The logo on your t-shirt is not who you are," perhaps this critique of brand identity is also examining the negative influence of American popular culture around the world.

What makes The Story Behind the Story successful is its ability to make slight genre changes, while displaying a wide range of influences and remaining free of gimmicks. Few bands anywhere can claim that. At 17 tracks, it leaves a lot of room for discovery. In fact, with a lengthy back catalog, there's much for the American audience to discover about the Confusions. Hopefully, some well-deserved attention will be showered on them shortly.

MP3 - "Painted People" - The Confusions
(from 2002's Trampoline)

Video - "Logo" (first single from The Story Behind the Story)