Junior Boys
So This Is Goodbye
Available Sept. 11
Electronica is one of those musical categories that takes me a while to warm up to. There are only so many computer-generated sounds I can withstand before what I'm listening to ceases to be music and becomes glorified video game noise. The Junior Boys' sophomore album, So This Is Goodbye, makes a valiant effort to spur popularity on this budding branch of pop music, but it still falls short.
The album starts off too slow and does not pick up speed until well into the second half. Unfortunately, by that point most listeners have lost interest and changed to something else. Every track sounds exactly the same as the last, because the album relies heavily on electronic beeps and boops.
Maybe if Junior Boys added some actual instruments and sang at a level slightly above a whisper, the album would have more substance and tangibility. If you are absolutely into video game sounds and those cheesy songs that play in the background, this is your album. But anything the Junior Boys will make in the future will be made for just the people it implies - junior boys.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
Return to Cookie Mountain -
TV on the Radio
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Funeral - Arcade Fire
Dirty Pretty Things
Waterloo to Anywhere
Available now
Carl Barat has had a pretty tumultuous couple of years. After witnessing the break-up of his British band, the Libertines - because of singer and guitarist Pete Doherty's cocaine addiction - he formed Dirty Pretty Things in hopes for a fresh start. And even if Dirty Pretty Things' sound is not exactly fresh, it is still good ol'-fashioned British rock 'n' roll. The guitar riffs are heavy and crisp, and the vocals are half-witty and half-drunken slurring. Waterloo to Anywhere is energetic and able to keep a fast pace going for the entire 11 tracks.
This high level of musical intensity can be a little tiring at times, but it is better to have too much energy on the album than to lack it. The band manages to find a happy medium between sell-out pop and a gritty, hard-sounding garage band.
The first single, "Bang Bang You're Dead," is a sure hit with its catchy chorus and infectious sound - two elements that can be found on the majority of the album. If this band is able to stay together and function well enough to have substantial longevity, Britain is very much on the way back to having some top-rate rock bands.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Down in Albion -
Babyshambles
Broken Boy Soldiers -
The Raconteurs
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not -
Arctic Monkeys
Nina Nastasia
On Leaving
Available Sept. 19
If your taste in music leans slightly to whiny female vocalists, New York City folk singer and songwriter Nina Nastasia is exactly the artist you have been searching for. With 12 long and drawn-out tracks on her album, On Leaving, Nastasia can easily put even the most attentive listeners to sleep.
Her style is a drowsy concoction of barely audible piano and acoustic guitar laced with seemingly pointless lyrics. Overall, this creates a sound akin to Sarah McLachlan - that is, if she were to be heavily drugged with tranquilizers.
Although some might characterize her minimalist technique as bold or intimate, sadly, the end result leaves much to be desired - it is as bland as it is empty. While it is fairly easy to get lost in the overly tranquil sounds of On Leaving, when you are done with the album it is hard to remember what exactly you spent the last half hour listening to. So, if you want a tryptophan fix but can't find the time to cook a turkey, or you need a cure for a bad case of late-night insomnia, I would highly recommend On Leaving.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
The Greatest - Cat Power
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case
Garden Ruin - Calexico
