Music shorts for October 23

Parts & Labor

Receivers

pop/noise

(4 of 5 stars)

Distant voices, feedback and radio static build up into a formidable wall of sound. Suddenly, out of the chaos appears an insistently propulsive guitar pounding out power chords and a defiant voice singing, “Sometimes I think this never was my home/ A 1957 kind of heaven-sent remote control.”

That’s how “Satellites,” the huge anthem that opens Parts & Labor’s Receivers, begins, setting up the model for the rest of the magnificently modern album.

Receivers concerns the difficulty of being heard in a world where people communicate in so many ways that it creates an oppressively scattershot din that’s nearly impossible to overcome.

Throughout Receivers, exquisitely rendered noise underlies intensely catchy pop gems with huge melodies and lyrics that strive to galvanize the unheard together to be noticed above the static.

But nothing on the album is that simple. Sure, the anthems are huge, but there’s always a tense struggle between melody and noise.

And while the contrast is essential, the modern sounds also make up major parts of the album’s traditionally “musical” passages.

In “Nowheres Nigh” a wall of feedback convalesces into a distorted organ that lends the song an air of blissful resignation that makes its emotion resonate.

This blend of the abrasively futuristic and the comfortably grandiose provides plenty of sonic fireworks.

The triumphant glee of  distorted bagpipes closes “Little Ones” with a bang, and the prog-influenced keyboard part on “Wedding in a Wasteland” vaults and prances like a tap dancer on speed.

All in all, Receivers is a wonderfully entertaining call to arms that shows how, with enough effort, the squall of modern life can be boiled down into something that’s beautiful and accessible.



-Jordan Lawrence



Gang Gang Dance

Saint Dymphna

Avant-Rock

(4 of 5 stars)

Gang Gang Dance must be crazy. An appropriate assumption as its new album, Saint Dymphna, takes its title from the patron saint of mental illness.

The band has moved its sound in a radically different, if not entirely unexpected, direction on its fourth full-length and follow-up to 2005’s well received God’s Money.

Where God’s Money was a behemoth of percussion and experimental inner workings, Saint Dymphna builds on this foundation, using these percussive backbones in conjunction with synthesizers, dubbed out bass lines, squalls of guitar and Liz Bougatsos’ wailing vocals.

On the new record Gang Gang Dance definitely delves into depths the band has never explored before by taking on pop music in its own New York experimental style.

“Princes” begins with oscillating synthesizers building and droning before a pounding hi-hat rhythm comes in over a two-step bass line. Then grime MC Tinchy Stryder steps in, delivering a hyperactive rap that’s perfectly placed.

The album’s lead single and obvious highlight, “House Jam,” is one of the best singles of the year. Pumping an organic, old school jack vibe with Bougatsos doing her best Kate Bush vocals, the song is a triumphant dance-floor-stomper that challenges even as it caresses the listener.

It’s a fine line for a band to walk between experimentalism and accessibility without compromising integrity. On this record Gang Gang Dance walked the high wire, dove into a glass of water, and then,  to the astonishment of all, started swimming.



-Ben Pittard



Rachael Yamagata

Elephants ... Teeth Sinking Into Heart

power pop

(3.5 of 5 stars)

The piano has never sounded so good as it does with Rachael Yamagata playing it.

With her complex songwriting and piercing vocals, Yamagata proves that she’s deserving of attention on her third release, a sprawling double album.

Yamagata’s emotion heaped tracks connect easily with the listener because she sings with feeling that makes you hang on every word.

On Elephants ... Teeth Sinking Into Heart, she captures listeners with a voice that can change to carry almost any emotion.

Her voice carries desperation, love and loss with enough power to make the album into a rare gem.

On the first disc, Elephants, she creates a more intimate sound with minimal instrumentation besides the piano.

Teeth Sinking Into Heart is more rock based, with guitar and drums.

The two discs display Yamagata’s range, as she combines melancholy with a more contemplative edge.

Her songwriting, emphasized on the first track “Elephants,” expresses a desire to move on from the heartache of her life.

With lyrics such as “If elephants have past lives/ Yet are destined to always remember/ It’s no wonder how they scream/ Like you and I they must have some temper,” the song is unforgettable.

With a clear mastery of her instrument and a fiery passion for her songs, Yamagata forces her listener to feel exactly as she does when she’s playing.



-Rachel Arnett



The Stars Explode

The Stars Explode

power pop

(3.5 of 5 stars)

The Stars Explode, the brainchild of local singer/songwriter Doug Edmunds, has produced a refreshingly lively new album.

Edmunds seems to be heavily influenced by classic rock bands, particularly the Beatles, but there is also an element of originality in the songs that is often absent from many produced by current rock groups.

The guitar progression on “Lost on Planet Love” sounds eerily similar to that found in the end of the Beatles’ “You Never Give me Your Money.”

In certain songs, Edmunds’ voice sounds remarkably similar to John Lennon’s.

Besides a similarity in style to the Beatles, The Stars Explode possesses an ability to captivate the listener.

The majority of the songs are upbeat and downright catchy. There are also many layers within each song, but they blend together to form a finely tuned whole that comes across as interesting rather than just noisy. There is something new to discover about the album upon each listen. 



-Cassie Perez



Oasis

Dig Out Your Soul

rock

(2.5 of 5 stars)

Even though Oasis decided to name its newest record Dig Out Your Soul, it’s hard for listeners to ignore the desire to start digging out the older, better Oasis albums.

Granted, Oasis’ ever-present anthemic ability does make you want to sway to the music or sing the lyrics at the top of your lungs.

 But the Gallagher brothers have clearly been listening to their old albums too much, and, slowly, they begin chipping away at the sound the nineties came to adore.

Overused guitar riffs mixed with philosophical lyrics leave audiences begging for time-transcending  singles such as “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” 

Did they get over their alcohol abuse? Probably not, but this time it leads them to write such lyrics as, “Shine a light on your fire when you come on in/ I got my heebie-jeebies in a hidden bag/ Tell me what you desire, and we’ll bag it up.” Seriously, what are you talking about?

Thankfully, Liam offers redemption with “I’m Outta Time,” as he sings “If I’m to fall/ Would you be there to applaud/ Or would you hide behind the law?”

The expressive ballad captures the heart and attention of the listener as the band drifts into the heartache of the lyrics.

Despite how average it can be, Dig Out Your Soul isn’t bad and won’t scare off already converted Oasis fans. But it certainly doesn’t live up to the band’s glory days.



-Rachel Arnett



Magnetic Morning

A.M.

Pop/rock

(2.5 of 5 stars)

Magnetic Morning’s first full-length LP, A.M., does not possess the attractive power suggested by the group’s name.

Most songs just seem to be a cacophony of sound that lack a distinct melody.

One song, “At a Crossroads, Passive,” seems to be reaching for a distinct sound, but sadly falls short, coming across as a bizarre hybrid of sounds, reminiscent of generic new wave styles with a bit of Coldplay mixed in.

The album lacks direction, and seems to be a disjointed attempt at infusing rock with avant garde stylings.

Although the album is disappointing, it’s not completely terrible. A.M. might be useful as a study tool if one is looking for a little white noise to promote concentration.

To put it plainly, Magnetic Morning’s album just doesn’t hold the listener’s interest for long.



-Cassie Perez