Young Adult Friction

——— Other Releases ———

(2010) - 8.5 - Wake Up The Nation

1

Poor Moon - Illusion [Ep]

Sub Pop | March 2012

5.4

Boasting two flannels from Fleet Foxes (Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott), the quaint Seattle outfit introduce themselves with the five-track Illusion ep. Matching the slippery pacing of their proper band minus the trademark grandiose harmonies and adding in a misguided, self-inflicting sense of structure, Poor Moon’s debut results in little fanfare and remains distinguished strictly for Fleet Foxes completists.

Poor Moon - “People In Her Mind” [stream]

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——— Related Releases ———

(2011) - 6.6 - Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues | review

(2008) - 7.5 - Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

(2008) - 7.4 - Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant [Ep]

Young Prisms - In Between

Kanine | March 2012

8.5

My, my, my have Young Prisms blossomed since their solid, but over-evokative debut from last year Friends For Now. This time around, their second, the San Francisco shoegaze group put out In Between, but I’d prefer if they stayed exactly where they are. In Between is a blissfully poignent, beautiful smear of guitar and snare all cozily wrapped up in Stefanie Hodapp’s humble vocals. Surpassing the experimentally off-kiltered forcefulness of Friends For Now, In Between sees the band coming of age and settling for something, yes, more traditional and upbeat, but more importantly, something more tight, well-constructed and well-executed earning them an arguable placement among the best shoegaze acts today and perfect for 3am insomnia.

Young Prisms - “Floating In Blue” [stream]

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iTunes | Amazon | Insound | ~~Wiki~~

——— Other Releases ———

(2011) - 8.1 - Friends For Now | review

1

Saschienne - Unknown

Kompakt | March 2012

5.7

Julianne Dessange and Sascha Funke (Tobias unrelated) fit rather snuggly under the illustrious Kompakt banner. In fact, they’re almost a stereotype of the label in that they’re from Berlin and they make stripped-down, icy, prestigious electronic music. Unknown is the duo’s first lp and, as expected, it’s calculated and spotless. However, unlike their labelmates releases from earlier this year like WhoMadeWho and this summer’s Mohn, Saschienne sounds the most detached, distant and inhuman. While the record gets the job done in that it has the occasional intriguing lift to bob your neck to ever so slightly, it all sounds so processed and faceless like it could be anyone with a laptop in Germany.

Saschienne - “Unknown” [stream]

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~~Listen on Spotify~~

Allmusic | ~~Metacritic~~ | ~~Pitchfork~~

iTunes | Amazon | Insound | ~~Wiki~~

2

Zeus - Busting Visions

Arts & Crafts | March 2012

6.1

It pains me to say, but there is a vacancy in distinguished distinction when it comes to Zeus. I suppose you could say, that (and especially with this, there latest record) the group’s aim is to reinvigorate tropes on the classic rock stylings. Grabbing for city-block wide guitars, towering vocal hooks and tailored radio-ready summertime choruses. Still, when listening to Busting Visions, your become more inclined to throw on MC5, ELO or T. Rex record to a superior avail and wonder how someone with a solid folk-pop output like Broken Social Scenester Jason Collett would want to return to the well. The band puts forth sort of power pop metal that certain has little to no carved out comfort in modern indie music. The record is just so jostling out of time and place that you fear that the creative nebulas of Toronto is dwindling when fresh bands settle for trodden, out of date lackluster homages.

Zeus - “Are You Going To Waste My Time?” [stream]

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Allmusic | Metacritic | ~~Pitchfork~~

——— Other Releases ———

(2010) - 7.1 - Say Us

(2009) - 6.6 - Sounds Like Zeus [Ep]

——— Related Releases ———

(2010) - 8.0 - Jason Collett - Rat A Tat Tat

(2008) - 7.8 - Jason Collett - Here’s To Being Here

(2005) - 7.4 - Jason Collett - Idols of Exile

1

Retribution Gospel Choir - The Revolution [Ep]

Sub Pop | March 2012

5.6

Alan Sparhawk’s poundingly full, adreneline machine, Retribution Gospel Choir release themselves a place-holding ep between lps and a tonal shifting alternative to his excellently hushed dourness in his day-band, Low. The Minnesota native and his side-band’s new ep bursts and stumbles as it is banged out haphazardly with little actual spirit to match the illusion of such their attempting to persuade. A bit clap-heavy, overzealous and ostentatiously reliant on a eerily similar beat for each of the four tracks, The Revolution ep hardly live up to its moniker, but based on the formidable scope of 2010’s sophomore Mark Kozelek-aided record, 2, and Sparhawk’s reliant fallback on Low, Retribution Gospel Choir is around, but on thin ice.

Retribution Gospel Choir - “Feel It, Superior” [stream]

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Allmusic | ~~Metacritic~~ | Pitchfork

——— Other Releases ———

(2010) - 7.1 - 2

——— Related Releases ———

(2011) - 7.5 - Low - C’mon | review

(2007) - 7.8 - Low - Drums and Guns

(2005) - 7.2 - Low - The Great Destroyer

(2002) - 8.0 - Low - Trust

(2001) - 8.4 - Low - Things We Lost In The Fire

Chromatics - Kill For Love

Italians Do It Better | March 2012

8.5

Juggling Desire and Glass Candy, Portland electronic wizard Johnny Jewel has landed (thankfully) on Chromatics for his next release. Five years since their last full-length, Kill For Love is a juggernaut of the delightfully cheesy stoic 1980s melancholy we’ve come to love. Thanks in part to his rejuvenation via the Drive soundtrack, Kill For Love could easily score a sequel with enough pulpy oversentimentation to fill the 17-track, hour-and-a-half record. The polished sheen, blinding light-in-your-eye release, and timely, well-paced unravelling structure the record conjures is a welcome departure fro the jumbled lo-fi trends of late. Kill For Love is dark and bright at the same time, demonstrating a glossy shadow of teenage melodrama that somehow makes it sexy and fun to have your heart broken.

Chromatics - “Kill For Love” [stream]

Chromatics - “These Streets Will Never Look The Same” [stream]

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~~Listen on Spotify~~

iTunes | Amazon | ~~Insound~~ | Wiki

——— Other Releases ———

(2010) - 7.7 - In The City [Ep]

(2007) - 8.0 - Night Drive

——— Related Releases ———-

(2011) - 8.2 - Glass Candy - Warm In The Winter [Ep]

(2010) - 7.6 - Feeling Without Touching [Ep]

(2009) - 6.6 - Desire - Desire

(2007) - 8.1 - Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X

2

The Shins - Port of Morrow

Columbia | March 2012

5.3

Five years removed since the last Shins record, captain James Mercer certainly has shaken things up since. Following his name-making stint in Broken Bells, Mercer returns to old tricks with a brand new crew. Port of Morrow marks merely the fourth Shins record for a band that seems to have been around forever. As such and adolescent staple for my own generation, The Shins are almost the quintessential high school band. Looking back now and having not been the biggest Shins fan in a lineup, it still pains me to admit that Port of Morrow is ultimately, downright poor. Despite two strong singles as back-to-back openers, the record severely dwindle from that point on. It seems like Mercer and producer Greg Kurstin (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lily Allen, Ke$ha) were more inclined to exercise random genre practices rather than conjure a coherent, thorough album. Each of the remaining tracks may be barely suitable out of context, but especially when lined up next to each other properly, Port of Morrow is an unfortunate mess. Another aspect of contention, and a problem I’ve had with Mercer for years is his lyrical songwriting. Even beyond the overflow of creatively odd word choice (which has now definitely become a stretch), one of the biggest strength of the band was the marriage of melody and vocals. From the spark after the guitar solo interlude of “Kissing The Lipless,” to the melodic spike of “Caring Is Creepy,” to the crafty build of “Sleeping Lessons,” the best Shins tracks demonstrate a knack for all the pieces falling into place in an impressive sequence and while Mercer briefly revisits this in “Simple Song” he apparently is more concerned with his own vocal presence above and at the expense of anything else. It’s just become sad.

The Shins - “Fall of ‘82” [stream]

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