MGMT CONGRATULATIONS

Following their critically acclaimed debut, ‘Congratulations’ is the second studio album from Brooklyn duo MGMT. The distinctive electro-pop that yielded hits from ‘Oracular Spectacular’ has been traded for a psychedelic sound where influences from ex-Spacemen 3 producer Peter Kember are evident. In an attempt to encourage fans to experience the album as a whole, members Ben Goldwasser and Andrew Van Wyngarden refrained from releasing any singles from the set.

“Much like their first album, this contains songs which are an exhilarating hit as soon as you hear them. ‘It’s Working’ is a great opener with its irresistible verses, de facto single ‘Flash Delirium’ is an adrenaline rush. Two acoustic guitar-lead tracks ‘Someone’s Missing’ and ‘I Found a Whistle’ are in a similar vein to ‘Pieces of What’, but much of the rest of the album is less obvious. ‘Siberian Breaks’ clocks in at 12 minutes and seems to have been too much for some. But it plays like a collection of short songs segued together into a mini song suite, and expands the experimentation and linear structure of the songs at the end of ‘OS’, which start in one place and finishes in another, without the usual verse/chorus structure. From the first five or so listens I feel the album starts to peter out a bit after that. ‘Brian Eno’ is quirky rather than psychedelic, and the last two tracks slip by without leaving a big impression, which seems a let-down after the compellingly strong sequence that ends OS.”

“While many of the vocal melodies are still subtly poppy, the musical background has become a woozy landscape, drenched in very non-commercial psychedelic sounds and production. Actually, it’s very reminiscent of the best of experimental 60’s psychedelia - ‘West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,’ and ‘The United States Of America’ spring to mind as much as modern psychedelic-pop bands like ‘The Flaming Lips’ when listening to it. They really have dispensed with the big radio singles (as they said they were going to, and as other reviews here complain about), which is commercial suicide, but that’s more than ok with me when they make the music this beautifully detached. It also obliterates the arguments of those who criticised the first album for being simply repetitive, 2-dimensional and irritating. While I really liked the first album I also found it patchy, largely got old quite quickly, and I ultimately stopped listening to it after a few months, feeling as though i’d already exhausted it. However, this album feels like a journey. There’s not a bad song on it, and it’s grown on me more with every listen. While i’ll only ever re-play the odd track on Oracular Spectacular, I think that I may end up playing this album for some time to come, as it offers so much more!”

ED: Still listening but it’s getting to me! I reckon there’s three songs I could play, but I’m starting off with my standout ‘I Found A Whistle’ which is both highly original and made for radio. 3.5/5

Jeff Beck EMOTION & COMMOTION

For his first studio album in seven years, Grammy-winning guitarist Jeff Beck returns with an eclectic mix of tracks that find the guitar virtuoso joined by a handpicked cast of musicians, as well as several songs accompanied by a 64-piece orchestra. Recorded at Sarm Studios, London in late 2009, Emotion & Commotion was produced by Steve Lipson and Trevor Horn. To create the album’s diverse sound, Beck used a number of musicians, including appearance by frequent collaborators Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Jason Rebello (keyboards), and Tal Wilkenfeld (bass). Also included are contributions from a trio of singers: Imelda May, Olivia Safe and Grammy-winner Joss Stone. Described as “the first of the great guitar showmen”, Jeff Beck is a true rock legend. From his time with the Yardbirds in the ’60s, through the Jeff Beck Group and throughout his solo career, his unique guitar style and constant desire to explore new musical areas and sounds has won him the admiration of his peers and legions of fans.

“As a long time fan of Jeff Beck I had no hesitation in buying this album on release. Before playing the album I read the reviews here and thought maybe I was hasty in my purchase as many were negative. No need for me to have been concerned as Jeff did not disappoint! Not sure what album many of the reviewers here were listening to but I found it to be an excellent album right from the first listen. Only two minor negative comments from me are that “Nessun Dorma” although very good, sounded a bit out of place here and the second point is why the track “Cry Me A River” is not included and only available as a separate download? The album at 40 mins or so is quite short so it would have made sense to include the missing track. Having said all this, do not be put off by the negative reviews here. This is not “Guitar Shop” or “Who Else” because Jeff has so much creativity not to stand still and I respect him for moving on to other things. This is an excellent piece of work so don’t be shy, buy it!”

“Jeff’s touch and his subtlety is wonderful throughout - is there another modern rock guitarist who can control feedback and vibrato so delicately as Beck? OK, there may not be shredding but the old chestnut “Somewhere over the rainbow” shocked me with its beauty and its emotion - a quality I often find lacking in Beck’s work. However, despite the fabulous guitar playing throughout, with Beck showing all his versatility, my award of four stars is because I find that the record is just too disparate and doesn’t hang together as an album.”

ED: The album reveals the sort of music that Beck likes personally, including it seems, opera.  It’s an excellent album and I’ll be playing the rock  instrumental ‘Hammerhead’, a great version of ‘Lilac Wine’ sung beautifully by Imelda May, and ‘Nessun Dorma’ (yes, the operatic song gone electric!). 4/5

Coheed And Cambria YEAR OF THE BLACK RAINBOW

“`Year of the Black Rainbow,’ is a fine album indeed, maybe a little different than some may have been expecting but of undeniably high quality, in terms of superb songwriting, outstanding musicianship and a production job that feels almost like an instrument unto itself. I can imagine that the band may lose a few fair weather fans with this album, but those who remain will find a wholly enjoyable album that gets better with each listen. Coheed and Cambria are not a band you could ever accuse of stagnation. Perhaps ‘Departure,’ is too strong, but this album is certainly different, the album seems to make a conscious effort not to sound too much like 2007’s ‘No World For Tomorrow,’ album, eschewing the slick almost overproduced sound and bright tones for an almost industrial sound, with more electronics, flatter tones and an abundance of samples, electro drums, odd guitar tones and vocal effects.”

“Drummer Chris Pennie is a perfect fit for this band, and fits perfectly with the band’s established drum style on songs like `World of Lines,’ and `The Broken,’ but adds a whole new flavor to the excellent almost drum solo quality `Guns of Summer,’ and `In The Flame of Error,’ which are at times unlike anything you’ve ever heard on a Coheed album before. The songwriting also seems to be more in line with the band’s work before Good Apollo than after, but all the new tones, sounds and Claudio’s vocals stop this from sounding like a rehash of new ideas, but rather a new era of Coheed all together. Lyrically, the album seems to be a lot more personal than the previous two albums and features barely any reference to place names, character names, or words like `Prise,’ `Mon-Star,’ or `Key Frame,’ this may please some sections of the fans and upset others, but given the quality of the lyrics and vocal performance few will be disappointed in any serious way. Highlights include the fast potential single `World Of Lines,’ the drumming masterpiece `In The Flame of Error,’ and the superb semi-ballad `Pearl of the Stars,’ which features some brilliant unusual percussion, beautiful guitar work and possibly Claudio’s finest vocal performance to date, switching between new low pitched vocals and his traditional style to great effect.”

ED: Love the band but when I first heard this album I thought the band had suddenly gone mainstream. But it just shows you that a single listen is just not enough to make valid judgement. This is a fantastic album, less experimental, but the band’s most acccessible following a period of releasing ‘concept’ albums. I’m playing three songs this weekend: ‘Here We Are Juggernaut’, ‘Far’, and ‘Pearl Of The Stars.’ One of the best rock albums of 2010 so far. 4.5/5

Yeasayer ODD BLOOD

Yeasayer are a psychedelic rock band from Brooklyn, New York, although the band themselves describe their sound as “Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel”. ‘Odd Blood’ was recorded in rural upstate New York and includes the single ‘Ambling Amp’.

“”All hour cymbals” the debut by Yeasayer is a personal favourite and the songs Sunrise and the epic “2080″ (with its “Yeah Yeah” refrain) should be sought out immediately if you have not yet heard the band and their “Middle Eastern-Psych-Pop-Snap-Gospel” (the bands description not mine!). Yeasayer are part of sonic boom that occurred when the Brooklyn conveyor belt started churning a few years back and produced contemporaries like Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, the Antlers, MGMT and more recently White Rabbits. No one can quite pin down what’s happening on the far side of New York’s East River with it becoming the “indie” capital of the planet in the same way that Seattle begat “grunge”. What we do know it that for many Yeasayer have the potential to the greatest of all these bands. This clearly is a big claim and is it just another large and potentially insurmountable bit of music hype or proper recognition of the huge potential showed on AHC?

“Odd Blood” starts with the “The Children”. It’s industrial in its feel, has a distorted vox form vocals and is eerie and oppressive. Frankly it would be a bizarre opener to any an album and its not a great start. Its crunchy sludge motif continues into “Amblin Alp” the first single. Suddenly this transforms into the album into electropop dance music with a song chock full of catchy hooks and reggae bounce with a great vocal by Chris Keating. It is the lead single from the album, has been out for months and for some reason reminds me of Heaven 17. It’s fine but is it as special as what follows?”

“The heart of the album comprises three key songs “Madder Red”, I Remember and O.N.E. All the anticipation and hype which has gone into “Odd Blood” is fully justified here. “Madder Red” is a guitar led anthem and it’s a beast. It’s probably the most rock orientated song the band has produced yet and works perfectly. “1 Remember” alternatively is a wall of bubbling synths and much gentler but with Keating’s yearning vocal repeating “you’re stuck in my mind, all the time”. A truly gorgeous collective performance by Anand Wilder, Chris Keating and Ira Wolf Tuton and the best song on the album and with Beach House’s “Norway” the best pop song I have heard this year. Next up is “O.N.E” which is destined to be the song of the summer, a joyous roaring pop song that will be remixed to death and which will set the dancers going wild in festivals across Europe (it also could have sat happily on “Dare” by the Human League; anyone detect a theme here?).”

ED: Here’s one USA underground band that could go well and truly overground very soon. Each song has a different, extended electronic/instrumental intro, and distinction/originality is this band’s ace-up-the-sleeve. I’m playing ‘O.N.E.’ this weekend a few more in later weeks. 4/5