Given the many guises the songwriting of Mark Eitzel took on after the disbanding of American Music Club in 1995, the band’s 2004 reunion album, Love Songs for Patriots, wasn’t quite the jarring return to form that might have been expected, but more of a subtle dipping back into familiar waters. The band’s new album, The Golden Age (Merge), recalling AMC benchmark California, treads over paths Eitzel first cleared more than a decade ago, only now there’s wisdom where once there was desperation, world-weariness replacing emotional exhaustion. When Eitzel sings “No one is going to save you” on highlight “Decibels and Little Pills,” it may sound like a familiar refrain, but here he comes off resolute instead of at the end of his rope. Elsewhere cuts like “The Dance” may lack such a dramatic lyrical hook, but Eitzel has developed a narrative form that’s just as captivating for its character development and miniature plot lines. Guitarist and only other remaining original AMC member Vudi is the real difference though. In some intangible way, the songs are more firmly rooted for his presence, his intricate playing still the perfect blend of tear-in-a-beer twang and ambient moodiness for Eitzel’s sadsack tales. It would be unfair to say that it’s like no time has passed since the band’s hey day because really it’s specifically time that has produced The Golden Age.
Moviola and the Black Swans will open for American Music Club when they play at Cafe Bourbon Street on Monday, April 14.
Sounding (to these ears) somewheres between the Delgados and Housemartins, the debut from this Leeds, England group is an arresting bout of vitriolic pop.
While I dug the Casady sisters’ debut, their sophomore album lost me. Less nefariously obtuse then, their third album is an enchanting mix of worldly rhythms, hip-hop chants and siren singing.
One of my perennial favorites, Calla parted their oceansize electric guitars with acoustic reveries and Tex-Mex accents for their fifth record. The result is no less consuming.
The “other” band of Wire’s Colin Newman, Githead bears much resemblance to Newman’s main preoccupation: glassy guitar riffs, angular rhythms and a mix of pop and avant garde ideas. The band’s second full-length strikes the perfect balance of these qualities.
Locals Times New Viking’s last release with the rejuvenated Siltbreeze label before their out-soon debut with Matador, the Paisley Reich shows the band continuing its expert dismantling of pop archetypes.
The debut full-length from the Maps (a.k.a. James Chapman), is a lovingly textured mix of shoegazed electronica. Awash in warm tones, the record is much more affecting than the sum of its effects.
This curious collaboration between the Fall’s Mark E. Smith and electro experts Mouse on Mars, turned out to be one of the best of both’s output. Mutated pulses and jarring beats clash with Smith’s distinct mutterings, making for a truly unique and ingenious record.
With her second record, M.I.A. proved that her multicultural tract on debut Arular was no flavor of the month. She returned with an album enriched with sundry influences manifested in cohesively infectious songs.
Sweden’s Shout Out Louds increased the pop quotient for their second album, creating a contrasting blend of bittersweets and melodies.
I once had a friend tell me that “there are two kinds of people in the world: freaks and weirdos.” So with its liner notes transcription of “Psychotic Sounds for Freaks and Weirdos,” could these British upstarts’ debut unite the two? I don’t know, and it certainly doesn’t matter. The band’s blend of Iggy-ed caterwauling and Birthday Party?recalling rumble is top-notch, while their sense of humor (“Sheena Is a Parasite”) helps lighten the batcave aesthetic. I’m always suspicious of the authenticity of any band (especially one that’s British) with this much put-on, but when it’s this good, best just to suspend any disbelief.
It’s been said many times before (I’ve probably already said it in print once or twice already) that