British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall (Album Review)

BRITISH SEA POWER * VALHALLA DANCEHALL

(Rough Trade Records)

Valhalla Dancehall sounds exactly like a British Sea Power record should. Moody yet energetic; calming yet loud. The band hasn't been shy at saying that their latest is their most ambitious record yet (although it's hard to imagine something more ambitious than 2008's fantastic Do You Like Rock Music?). When I listen to Valhalla Dancehall, though, I don't think it's really that ambitious compared to their previous records, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Heard throughout the record are the band's signature songs within a song. They have a way of crafting a pensive intro into a punchy verse into a reflective chorus into an enraged outro, all with a layered sound that makes it seem like 4 cloned Phil Spectors were all behind the soundboard, instead of out murdering actresses. Also pleasantly present is the band's love of tongue in cheek lyrics. Hell, when you hear "sometimes I wish that protesting was sexy on a Saturday night" in the opening track, you know you're not dealing with a band that takes themselves too seriously...maybe that's why Pitchfork hated this record so much.

The down points are when the band forgets about the sound that earned them praise in the first place. "Baby" is just out of place..it would have been better suited at half its length...and as part of another song. It's a good thing that "Living is So Easy" and "Observe the Skies" immediately pick up its slack.

Rumor has it that British Sea Power will be hitting the road and in Minneapolis late this March. I'm still kicking myself for opting out of their Triple Rock show a few years back, so time to make amends, because Valhalla Dancehall just oozes a solid live vibe.

Grade: B+

Wire - Red Barked Tree (Album Review)

WIRE * RED BARKED TREE

(Pinkflag)

In all fairness, and with full disclosure, I lack a decent amount of formal knowledge on Wire as a whole...probably because their first record came out a few years before I was born. During their formative years as a band, I was in my formative years as a human being. 'Nuff said.

Red Barked Tree is one of those records I expected myself to embrace. It's a backstory that I enjoyed reading. Post-punk pioneers getting back to their roots, in sound, style and substance. Sitting down, I cranked up the lead track "Please Take" and eagerly anticipated where this record would take me...then it was 20 minutes later, and I was still waiting for something to happen. Now the first half of the record wasn't bad, it was just kind of there. For an influential band such as Wire claiming that they were going to get back to their roots, this was not a step in the right direction. I persisted, because anyone that knows me knows that I must give an album a full two listens before I let myself properly critique it. The second listen for me didn't differ too much, although it did allow for a previously unnoticed highlight, the blistering 2:01 track aptly titled "Two Minutes." It's really a shame that this was just one of the very few bright spots in an overall lackluster record.

In a year where they're doing a substantial tour of the States (and are rumored to have an enviable time slot at Coachella), Wire better make up for their latest effort on stage.

Grade: C

Tapes 'N Tapes - Outside (Album Review)

TAPES 'N TAPES * OUTSIDE

(Ibid Records)

If you take the praise given to Tapes 'N Tapes since their 2005 debut, The Loon, and throw it on a line graph, it would look something like Katie Holmes' smile....super high at first, then steadily declining as it reaches the other side of the teeth, and for some reason it never goes back up. Something like that.

After the former Pitchfork darlings lost the love of the means-too-much indie rock blogosphere with 2008's Walk It Off, Outside was supposed to be their explosion back into credibility. The lead single, "Freak Out," proved that Tapes 'N Tapes still had it in them...that they knew how to break the right amount of ground while still maintaining a certain amount of pop sensibility. It's a damn good track and it got me super excited for the rest of Outside.

Consider my balloon popped.

While "Badaboom" is a good way to start a record, what follows doesn't deliver on its implied promise. "SWM" and "One in the World" just seem lazy...with the latter embodying some sort of wannabe Vampire Weekend tribal vibe at times. The curiously named "Outro" in the middle of the record really wants to be an epic jam, but the band decides to cut it short right when the guitars are at their angriest. For this being a self-released album, it seems awfully restrained.

There are a handful of really good songs on the album, but Tapes 'N Tapes would've been better off releasing Outside as an EP.

Grade: B-

Cage the Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday (Album Review)

CAGE THE ELEPHANT * THANK YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY

(Relentless Records)

I was first introduced to Cage the Elephant in August of 2009, when they held the opening slot at a State Theatre show featuring Manchester Orchestra and headlined by Silversun Pickups. My brother and I got there early (which is very much unlike us), right near the beginning of Cage the Elephant's set. I had heard a bit of 93X-ish buzz about the young Kentuckians, and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of verve frontman Matt Schultz displayed. At one point, the spastic leader climbed into one of the faux theatre boxes perched near the sides of the stage (ya know, the ones that are usually reserved for Statler & Waldorf) to perform a track...then he got stuck and had to be rescued by a not-so-glamourous crew member.

That aside, let's talk about their sophomore effort Thank You, Happy Birthday. While Cage the Elephant's collective stage presence is definitely positive, it does not translate on a recording. From the lazy opener "Always Something" to the unnecessarily over-the-top "Indy Kidz" to the sad attempt to be retrospective closer "Flow," Cage the Elephant really had no idea what they wanted to do with this album. Well, the one thing they did do consistently was create simple, repetitive vocal patterns on virtually every track which bore you into a daze. For a band that commands respect on account of their constant touring schedule, they really don't deserve much of it for this album.

Grade: D+

Cake - Showroom of Compassion (Album Review)

CAKE * SHOWROOM OF COMPASSION

(Upbeat Records)

Wait. Cake has a new album? Really? Let's take a look at what was going on the last time the loveable dessert-named quintet released new material:

1 - John Kerry was a Presidential hopeful

2 - Hurricane Katrina had yet to happen

3 - Evanescence was popular

Yeah, it's been 7 long years since John McCrea & company released Pressure Chief....and 7 short years since we all escaped Bring Me To Life. Cake's jump back into modern music was a slow and steady one, with Showroom of Compassion taking almost 2 years to write & record (all within Cake's earth-friendly studio, powered 100% by solar energy). A few months ago, the album's first single "Sick of You," started making its rounds, and upon first listen, I was immediately reminded why Cake has always struck a chord with me. Fuzzy guitars, bold trumpets, and that ever-present vibraslap were all there, along with McCrea's oh-so-noticeable talk-sing style. Despite McCrea's claims that this wouldn't be a typical Cake record, the first single proved otherwise...and that's ideal.

Starting off the album is "Federal Funding," a purposefully restrained tune that really feels like an appetizer...one of those small ones...like when you only get a half-dozen mozzarella sticks and all 6 people in your group want one. You know you're going to have to be patient with that first nibble, but it will all be ok because you know the courses that follow will fill you up and satisfy you more than additional mozzarella sticks could...the same mozzarella sticks that the jerks around you are consuming so feverishly....even though it was YOUR idea to order the mozzarella sticks in the first place. Yeah, that kind of appetizer.

Patience is a virtue, and Showroom of Compassion rewards that throughout. From the welcome back opening of "Long Time" where McCrea sheepishly declares "It's been a long time since I've seen your smiling face," to the poignant reflection of "The Winter," Cake gives us exactly what we want. Standing out above all the rest, though, is "Got To Move," with its [intentional?] ode to "A Groovy Kind of Love" (yeah, the Phil Collins version).

Despite the fact that a couple of the tracks seem a tad unfinished (which is surprising given the years that were put into recording), make it a priority to give this album some time. Seven years after Pressure Chief, it's as if Cake never left.

Grade: A-