With the album’s final release, I can gladly admit that my initial expectations were dead wrong. In general, people aren’t great at predictions anyways, right? Modern Vampires of the City is a complete return to Vampire Weekend’s debut sound, but with a more modern and mature feel. Essentially, it’s everything their second album should have been like.
These days having a two-piece brass section in a band has become so overdone that it’s rare to see them used for reasons other than gimmickry. However London-based The Veils use them subtly to their advantage and truly are talented. Check out this performance of their song ‘The Birds’ and hear for yourself.
Check out their full performance here.
After months of anticipation and teaser leaks, it will be a relief for many to finally hear Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’ in it’s entirety. If you’re in the mood for robotic voices singing over 80′s disco, you’ll be happy. If you’re looking for something more like ‘Da Funk’, this is not the album for you. Personally I fall more on the latter category, so the album was a bit of a let down for me. Make sure to give “Giorgio” a listen, as the lengthy jam proves to be a standout on the album.
Stream Random Access Memories via iTunes here.
I can’t make up my mind about Low based on this performance. On one hand, the music itself sounds perfect- it’s like they took the stoned, Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles’ sound and slowed it down even more. The tones of their instruments and singing sound flawless together as well. The problem for me comes with their lyrics and songwriting. Generally I look past lyrics and focus on the music itself, but for songs like On My Own, which repeats “Happy Birthday” over and over again, they can really be distracting from the ambient music around it. Overall though, they’re still definitely worth checking out for the music alone. Give it a listen on the link below.
Y La Bamba is the stage name for Portland artist Luz Elena Mendoza. Her dark, stripped down and experimental acoustic songs allow her unique voice to shine. This is especially true when accompanied by fellow bandmates’ harmonies, as seen in their KEXP Radio performance below (read: 00:38). Enjoy.
The band’s new album, “Lupon”, was released on September 28th, 2010 on Portland label Tender Loving Empire.
