Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Taylor's Choice:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Hipster Review:

It is said that positive emotion trumps negative emotion. The Suburbs, while guilty of the latter, is still fantastic record in it’s own right. In fact it’s brilliant, miles above Neon Bible. While that was a good record, it oftentimes suffocated itself with its own bombast; on the other hand, the key to [their debut] Funeral’s perfection was its ability to communicate big, powerful messages through intimacy. The Suburbs, however, opts to walk the line between intimacy and bombast, and succeeds because of the album’s careful craft; The Suburbs was not rushed or hurried for damn sure, and that carefulness is present in every aspect of the album. The record was clearly created as a complete experience, meant to be listened to from front to back; there is no filler, only pieces that serve as small parts of the whole. And instead of making catchy songs, the band is more concerned with making pieces that do more than please that hook-loving part of your brain. The album is also very downcast in tone; despite the sentiments stated above, the looming, powerful despair that hangs over the record cannot be ignored or denied. However, while sad, it’s a fighter, and the further one steps into the record the more one sees the flurry of mystery that resides inside; it's not just a sad sack album. Overall, The Suburbs is a beautiful, touching work, and easily one of the best albums I’ve heard this year.

Hipster Rating:

9.0

Friend Review:

I kinda lied about the New Politics album being next, sorry. I was hoping to interview them when they rolled through Dallas, but right now it’s looking like I may not be able to attend their show. : ( BUT! I promise I will do my best to see it and interview them for the blog and then post the interview and reviews this week! No promises though! Except for the album review, that will for sure be posted this week.

So, I’ve listened to this album nearly three times now and I’m still not sure what to think about it. It’s alright I suppose, slightly above the average mark. But there’s nothing that really amazes me. Then again, I’ve never really been the biggest Arcade Fire. I mean, I like Funeral as much as the next guy but I’ve never been obsessed with them. There may have been a time where I’d namedrop them pretty frequently to sound cool but I believe those times are over. Anyways, upon listening to this album, the instrumentation anything but bad, really the only thing I have against this album is the vocals. There doesn’t appear to be much energy in them, each song just kinda drones along. And at over 63 minutes, this album isn’t just a casual listen. This album felt more of a chore listening to it rather than listening to it for enjoyment. There are a few high points such as the track “Empty Room” and “Month of May” which are a bit livelier than their surrounding tracks, but overall the album is rather boring. But, I think that there may be sometime in the future when I want to listen to it again. This album is one of those where you have to be in the mood for it, which just kinda sucks. I guarantee you this will be one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, but in my opinion it will also be one of the most overrated.

Friend Rating:

7.0

Coming up next, Let It Sway by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin!

M.I.A. - /\/\/\Y/\

Taylor's Choice:

M.I.A. - /\/\/\Y/\

Hipster Review:

Wow. Even for M.I.A., Maya (or /\/\/\Y/\, if you're not into the whole brevity thing) is a weird album. In fact, not even that is an appropriate word to describe it. Instead of twisting pop on it's head like her previous albums did, Maya builds pop songs from the ground up and blasts them with layers of industrial noise. Sounds like an M.I.A.-esque enough idea, but the execution on display here makes it seem like the album was made by someone with a lower caliber. A lot of the ideas here are either overdone or underdone, and rarely do the songs hit that sweet middle ground (The Suicide-sampling "Born Free" is incredible, and easily the best song on the album). Which is a shame, because the very idea of the album is perfect on paper; after the crossover success of her last album Kala, it would make perfect sense that a rebellious spirit such as hers would try to make the most unfriendly-sounding record possible. She does that with ease, but a lot of her songwriting chops are lost in the haze of contempt. But the industrial sound does, in spite of everything, seem to suit her music. Sometimes it does get way too ridiculous, like in the second track "Steppin' Up," but for the most part the whole noise thing fits each song in a strange way. It's not a bad album (Well, I don't think it is; a lot of people will despise it, even hardcore M.I.A. fans. Hell, freaking Pitchfork gave it a 4.4), but it could have been so much better.

Hipster Rating:

7.4

Friend Review:

Holy crap. I don’t even know. I was too harsh on Caribou, I see that now. This is hands-down the worst album I’ve ever heard. The best song is practically a carbon-copy of Lady Gaga, what does that tell you? There’s just nothing redeeming about it, everything song is absolutely obnoxious as every second of this album is filled with random noise that drills a headache into your brain. At least it’s redeemed by M.I.A.’s intelligent lyrics. FALSE! Let’s take a look at some of her art: “Rub a dub a dubdub, rub a dub a dub a dub.” So deep. “It takes a muscle to fall in love.” Thanks, now get the hell outta my house. “Gravity is my enemy, it grabs at me like harmony.” I am absolutely amazed that science has gotten to the point where someone is capable of taking a bucket full of poo and transforming it into sound waves. I’m certain that this is how this album was created, and if not, I’m completely bewildered. How anyone can find this even listenable is beyond me. All it sounds like is a dumb girl who learned how to manipulate music on her Mac and now thinks she is artistically inclined. I’m gonna name some things I’d rather do than listen to this album… Let’s see… Eat soup that’s too hot, stub my toe, lick a chalkboard, get into a car after it’s been sitting in the heat all day, ride on a bike off a curb, get a wedgie, give a wedge, watch someone get a wedgie, marry Jenna Fischer, ride in a car with Taylor driving… Well, you can see it’s pretty much everything. For your own sake, don’t listen to this album

Friend Rating:

0.1

Coming up next, New Politics!

Jenna Fischer and Pam Beesley

Special Post

Jenna Fischer and Pam Beesley

Friend Review:

So what is there to say about one of the most beautiful girls in the world? Or did I just say all that needs to be said? Maybe I should explain how along with being gorgeous she also plays one of the most beloved characters on the hit show “The Office?”? Did I just blow your mind? Did you ever have a mind or did you leave it on the side of 635 on a rad red couch I saw the other day? I don’t even know man.
Jenna Fischer is gorgeous, cute, adorable, pretty, whatever. I would hit it. And anyone who wouldn’t is a fool. There’s not much I can say about the personality of Jenna Fischer because I don’t know her on a personal level. I mean, I read her blog once and fell in love with her but how much would you trust that? I do, but that’s not the point. Pam Beesley, on the other, I feel like I do have an intimate relationship thanks to how much of my life I’ve spent in front of my television watching my favorite TV show. She’s gorgeous, of course, she cares for others, she’s absolutely hilarious, and she’s gorgeous. People, we should all strive to be a bit more like Jenna Fischer/Pam Beesley.

Friend Rating:

DAYUM/10

Hipster Review:

I feel weird and awkward about this for a lot of different reasons; rather than reviewing an artist's work or an common item, I'm reviewing a person-a rather attractive person at that. This will be difficult, but I'll do my best.
My introduction to Jenna Fischer was on The Office, from her character Pam Beesley. I always thought that she was cute, and her low-key demeanor only made her more so. And as the series progressed I enjoyed watching her character progress from an awkwardly adorable receptionist into a perky, exuberant saleswoman. Other well-known characters of Fischer's include Katie van Walderberg from Blades of Glory and Darline Madison from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, the latter of which shows the actor at her most enthused and uninhibited. Her humor lies in the subtleties of her various performances, her role in The Office being the most striking (I'm no critique of actors, but I know a good one when I see it). Fischer is wonderfully funny, but not in a ridiculous, side-splitting way; she's able to ease with her humor.
I suppose that's about all I have to say about Jenna Fischer; she's a funny, attractive actress.

Hipster Rating:

8.8

Wavves - King of the Beach

Paul's Choice:

Wavves - King of the Beach

Friend Review:

So I got into Wavves when I guess I felt like my raising my indie cred a little bit so I just randomly decide to listen to their sophomore album Wavvves. I honestly think Wavves is one of the dumbest band names ever created. Honestly, why? One v wasn’t good enough for you? Screw you and your damn v’s. But nonetheless, I fell in love with the music. It was my first experience with lo-fi music and I definitely dug it. The one problem I had with the album was that it had too much filler to me. There’re a lot of instances where it just seems like noise to me. Now, you might say it’s “2deep4me” but whatever, I think Wavves is at its best when it’s full of the pop-punk sound I love. This is why I think King of the Beach is definitely a step up from Wavves’ past attempts. I gotta get this out of the way first, this is the ugliest album art in the history of the world. MGMT’s Congratulations looks like Jenna Fischer in comparison to this piece of crap. However, King of the Beach definitely has a more mainstream feel to it in comparison to Wavvves (seriously, dumbest album name ever as well, multiplied by the band name). It has what I believe to be the theme song of the summer, “King of the Beach” as well as several other pop dancers. What detract from this album are the slower droney songs which I think just takes away from the bouncy rhythm of the album. Nevertheless, I am very impressed with this album and in my opinion it is one of the best of the year so far.

Friend Rating:

7.9

Hipster Review:

Wavves' first two self-titled albums were noisy, feedback-laden records that, upon close listens, revealed frontman Nathan Williams to be a pretty impeccable pop craftsman. The emotions that the songs conveyed seemed empty to the naked eye (song titles like "I'm So Bored" don't exactly scream "inspired"), yet nevertheless a present sentiment was felt, even if it was a bit obscure.
Now, with a full rhythm section comprised of the late Jay Reatard's backing band, Wavves has made some changes to it's sound. The arrangements on King Of The Beach are more varied and dynamic compared to the previous albums' more simple song structures, and Nathan's singing is significantly more audible, which pulls the curtains away to reveal his surprisingly emotive voice. The songs here are, to my ears at least, reminiscent of 90's Alt-rock, which is actually a fitting sound for them ("Linus Spacehead," musically at least, brought Nirvana to mind). The lyrics are still in the general area that the first two albums were in; generally, Nathan mostly talks about being bored, being apathetic about being bored, and getting high from being so apathetic about being bored. It's not the deepest lyrical pattern ever, and he's aware of it ("I hate my writing; it's all the same."). But he's not as emotionally dead as that pattern might suggest; "Baseball Cards" and "Green Eyes" have Nathan showing a child-like romantic side, and are very simple and sweet in their sincerity. Overall, King Of The Beach is a good evolution for Wavves' music, and honestly I wasn't expecting much of a maturation. But the album is undeniably their finest moment, and I'm excited to see what else they have to offer in the future.

Hipster Rating:

8.3

Coming up next, /\/\/\Y/\ (Jeez that’s a stupid name for an album…) by M.I.A.!

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

Taylor's Choice:

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

Hipster Review:

Since their fifth release and double-album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, OutKast, the southern Hip-hop duo of Antwan "Big Boi" Patton and Andre "3000" Benjamin, has been something of a split force. However, this divisiveness gave the two rappers the opportunity to explore their creativity separately and to further discover themselves as artists. Although it can be argued that the two parts of the aforementioned double album were in fact their debut solo efforts, both are coming to a point to release their first official solo albums respectively. Big Boi's is the first one up, and after years and years label disputes and whatnot, Sir Lucious Leftfoot is finally here. And it's better than I could've imagined.
Big Boi uses this debut as an opportunity to show off his explosively creative musical mind, drawing from both retro and modern-day influences (that's not Auto-tune you're hearing on "Shutterbug," its a talk box - yeah, that talk box). Make no mistake, this album is firmly rooted in the mainstream Hip-hop sound; however, rather than using the cliched and dull-natured tools that rappers like Lil Wayne uses, Big Boi uses his mainstream position as a challenge to invent rather than stay the course, which is just what OutKast is known for. The tracks here are unusual and full of tricks and treats, and even the songs that stroll through the waters of modern rap are done in a way that distinguish themselves from any other artist's work. Big Boi is a fantastic rapper; his delivery is incredibly versatile and constantly changing from song to song, and his lyrics are thoughtful and sharp; even during moments when he's saying stuff that many have before, he says it in such a way that no other rapper could, using double entendres, puns, and various other tools of the english language that few rappers have the audacity, or even talent, to use. The music backing his rapping is fresh and exuberant, and while it is a mainstream sound, Big Boi is more sonically creative than your average MC. And his guest list is as dizzying as it is fitting; I'm not exactly a fan of Gucci Mane, but his spot on "Shine Blockas" (arguably the album's best track) is perfectly fitted for the song, and his quick, molasses-dripping lines finely contrast Big Boi's smooth, darting delivery. This is a rap album for the ages, and perfectly shows that while the mainstream may be dry, it nevertheless has its diamonds in the rough. Now all we need is Andre...

Hipster Rating:

9.1

Friend Review:

So it’s 12:20 a.m. the morning before I leave for orientation at A&M and I’m watching this really weird movie on Netflix. Ladies and gentlemen, can you imagine a better time to write a music review?

So before listening to “Sir Lucious Left Foot”, the closest I’d ever gotten to Big Boi was shaking it like a Polaroid picture in middle school. And even then, he wasn’t involved with “Hey Ya!” at all, as far as I know. This just goes to show that I was venturing out into uncharted waters with this dude. The first thing I have to say is, if you’re going to make an album, spell check is your friend. Heck, if you’re going to make anything, spell check is your friend. I’m of course referring to the fact that “Luscious” is misspelled on the cover of this album. I’ve been informed that this is because Big Boi pronounces “Luscious” as “Looshus”. Big Boi, this is no excuse. Get your spelling together. Your 7th grade English teacher is disappointed. I don’t even mind that Big Boi is spelled with an i, rather than a y, but the “Luscious” matter has got to be stopped. So, on to the stuff that really matters: the music. Overall, I was very pleased with the sound of the album. I listened to it while running and it had good flow. “General Patton” was one of the best tracks I’ve heard all year, full of energy and I felt like I could’ve run for miles while listening to it. While this album did sound good overall to me, it was not short of some major flaws. The lyrics become very bland throughout the album as one of the common topics is drugs. Alongside this there is a lengthy dialogue between Big Boi and a female which gets boring very quickly is absolutely unnecessary to the rest of the album. These two things just sounded like major clichés which resulted in a much lower rating than the album could’ve had. Big Boi is capable of producing a much better sounding album, he just needs to stick to his sound and fall away from everything that is overused and typical.

Friend Rating:

8.2

Coming up next, Jenna Fischer and Pam Beesley!

Mystery Jets - Serotonin

Paul's Choice:

Mystery Jets - Serotonin

Friend Review:

So Taylor is finally back in town which makes me happy because I missed him and we can finally get back to reviewing! Anyways, today (well, it may be passed by the time this gets posted) is a special day because it is Ringo Starr’s birthday! He may not be the greatest drummer that ever existed but he’s the drummer of the greatest band that ever existed! And for that he should be commemorated, so in his honor I’m watching “A Hard Day’s Night”. Feels good, man.
On to the album then! Mystery Jets have always been kind of a favorite band of mine simply because you know how you find that band by yourself and then you get to introduce them to your friends so you feel cool? That’s how these guys were for me. I found their video for “Young Love” randomly on YouTube and show it to my buddy Sofia and I said something like, “These guys are cool.” And then I think she said something like, “Yeah, you’re right.” And… yeah, that’s about it. Their debut album Twenty-One was good so I was pretty interested in this album.
The album opens up with “Alice Springs” which I think is Mystery Jets’ best song to date and overall simply an amazing song. Besides this, nothing is really noteworthy of the album. It’s very slow-paced and there’s no really song that will get stuck in your head such as “Young Love”. Mystery Jets have always had an 80’s vibe attached to them and there are times in this album where it becomes increasingly annoying. Synth lines can be cliché nothing particularly grooves in the album. If you are interested in this band, I highly suggest you listen to Twenty One before giving Serotonin a listen as this appears to be a miscue for Mystery Jets.

Friend Rating:

5.4

Hipster Review:

I've never checked out Mystery Jets before this, and was looking forward to listening to them when Paul picked Serotonin for our next review. Although that album cover is kind of a red flag, I was open-minded while listening to the music. It's not bad... not great, but not terrible either.
Many of the songs here, despite the band's rock vibe, are strongly pop-minded; a lot of them reminded me of Phoneix, like my personal favorite "Lady Grey". Which isn't to say that Mystery Jets are master song crafters; in fact, they come off a bit uninspired at times. Sometimes there's too much fluff in the songs, like synths that appear for no real reason and kind of take away from the substance in the song. There's not a lot of soul in the album, and most of it just feels like bunch of guys making poppy rock music, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are a few pretty good songs on here, but honestly I wasn't too taken by the album as a whole; It's decent enough, but definitely not something that's particularly gripping. It gives me a vibe similar to the one I get from bands like The Kooks, but thankfully Serotonin isn't nearly that crappy. I don't mean to sound like Friend, but in this case I don't have much else except this to say:
It's alright.
Some will dig it, others won't; such is life. I didn't hate it, but I didn't dig it either.

Hipster Rating:

5.5

Coming up next, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty [sic] by Big Boi!