Review: Kashmir – Trespassers
I was first introduced to Kashmir while in Denmark in 2000 when their album The Good Life, which is actually their 3rd album, had been released a year earlier. They instantly became one of my favorites. It’s been a long 5 years since 2005′s No Balance Palace and a lot has changed. The previous album was quite dark in comparison to Trespassers’ more melody-driven optimistic sound. It’s great to hear a band evolve from one album to the next and Kashmir is a great example of that. The 1st song is the constant, driving, dynamic Mouthful of Wasps and it really provides the catalyst for the rest of the record. This album is led, more than any of their others, by singer Kasper Eistrup’s incredible voice. It has a unique melancholy quality and is equally good low and calm on Intruder as it is pushed to the limit on Mantaray and Still Boy. There is a bit more sophistication and ambition on this album with more production and a fair amount of orchestration which is used to great effect as what sounds like a dramatic movie soundtrack for the last minute of the album’s final song. But the songs are not overdone and remain cohesive. The lyrics are fantastic. The songwriting is super sharp. And the production and musicianship are great as usual. Like Mew, the drummer and bassist are quite comfortable with odd time signatures. This album offers everything from intense rock songs to epic melodic ballads. Trespassers is fantastic and so are The Good Life, Zitilites and No Balance Palace. To my knowledge Kashmir are still not released in the US but please don’t let that stop you from buying their music. They are absolutely brilliant. And in my opinion, the most underrated band of the past 10 years.
Review: Annuals – Sweet Sister EP
The first thing that stood out to me on this EP is how busy all the songs are. Everything is recorded very well and the musicianship is very good but there tend to be too many things going on. Every space was filled with multiple sounds or instruments. Sometimes it’s good to let the song breathe a little bit. But the melodies are catchy and there are some cool drumming elements. There is an overall sunny, cheery, upbeat tone to all the songs. They feel a little too Jason Mraz-y to me. And now I can’t get the sight of that ridiculous fedora hat out of my mind. But if that is your thing then you’ll probably enjoy this EP.
Review: The Unwinding Hours – The Unwinding Hours
The album starts with a slow 6 minute song that layers gradually and then crescendos quite nicely at the end. It’s a great way to start the album because there are layers to sift through from start to finish. Lyrically and musically. The drumming has a unique approach and adds some dynamics and interest to the songs which can be somewhat plain in their arrangements. Some strings and ambient noise help out also. But the simplicity of the songs is nice and offers balance. There are no particularly fast songs on the album which I think is one of it’s short-comings. It can be hard to listen to all the way through. It has a fantastic ending with The Final Hour which starts out very quiet with guitar and vocals and absolutely explodes out of nowhere with crashing drums and guitar and a great melody and slowly fades away. A good album overall and worth the time to listen to it.
Review: The Magnetic Fields – Realism
This album is somewhat diverse in it’s lyrics and subject matter. At some times humorous and others serious. Some of the humor becomes a little too cute for my personal taste (ex. We Are Having A Hootenanny, The Dolls’ Tea Party, Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree. I think the titles say it all). The recording and production are great. Although, I could have done without the toy piano that seems to find its way onto every Indie album these days. The hammered dulcimer was an excellent choice, however. As well as the autoharp. There are no drums, really. I’m a drummer and it was still able to keep me interested, though. The songs are mostly childish or whimsical, so it’s hard for me to take this album too seriously. Although it does work very well for “Walk A Lonely Road” which is an absolute gem. It also makes many of the songs and the album itself memorable. Overall, I would say the album is good and offers something interesting.