The Opiate of Blame

Hands down.

Since leaving Neon Musical Insight behind, I haven’t taken much time to discover music via my inbox. Recently, I felt motivated. I decided to sit down a few days at work and give these submissions the time of day and attention that they deserved.

Now the intention of this blog wasn’t meant to pick up where Neon left off - I do not have any plans to write numerous posts on a daily basis. Yet that’s not to say that I won’t post the occasional discovery, especially when it’s something that grabs me as much as this young, singer-songwriter from Manchester.

On this brand new track from Jordan Bolton entitled “Love Was Cruel, It Just Wasn’t Cruel To Me,” Bolton, in his baritone voice croons over lush harmonies and melodic riffs that bring to mind Pavement circa Terror Twilight. Bolton, sounding wise beyond his years - only 19! - leaves me hopeful for the future.

Bolton is in the process of writing new tracks, but in the meantime, head to his soundcloud to check out some more of his offerings, which take a more experimental route, where you can download this song as well.

A Sleep & A Forgetting, the fourth album from Nicholas Thorburn’s most successful outfit Islands, finds the band conquering new territories and offering a previously unexplored level of maturity and first-person storytelling to their songwriting. Not only is Islands’ latest album rather bleak, but it is also the most personal.

Typically known for releasing quirky pop, A Sleep & A Forgetting is anything but. Fittingly set for release on Valentine’s Day, Thorburn said that the album came about after a break up and transition period for himself where he moved from New York to L.A.. Everything from the gloomy artwork to the lyrics cry heartbreak. And while Islands venture into new areas of songwriting, they do so superfluously, reinforcing the fact that it would be a challenging effort for these guys to release an album that is subpar.

On opening track “In A Dream (It Seemed Real),” smooth, jazz-like snappy percussion accompanies twinkling keys on the piano with Thorburn digressing on how even in his dreams he cried, offering a template of emotions for what’s likely to come. But while the majority of the album does in fact deal with heartbreak, the tone of the album, sonically speaking, isn’t terribly overwhelming or completely downtrodden.

After a few standout EP’s over the past couple of years, Porcelain Raft finally sat down and crafted his debut full-length, Strange Weekend. With the oh-so-familiar DIY Brooklyn mentality, Mauro Remiddi, the sole member of Porcelain Raft, managed to create a telling and heartfelt album that layers itself in murky reverb and occasional distortion. Musically, Strange Weekend does its best to deceive, but upon hearing Remiddi’s glossy vocals and impressive songwriting, it quickly becomes evident that Porcelain Raft is much more than your typical bedroom/laptop project.

(Continue reading…)

In the process of landing a major label deal with Columbia, Chairlift also managed to lose one of their founding members, Aaron Pfenning, after his relationship with singer Caroline Polachek went south. As unfortunate as it might be to say, this may have been the best thing that could have happened to the band, especially considering how much further the act has come since their 2008 debut Does You Inspire You.

What we have on Something is Polachek and Patrick Wimberly sounding both confident and self-assured, and at the peak of their game. Their sound is fleshed-out and the album navigates into the depths of their romantic hearts, yet never digging too deep. At the end of the day, Somethingis the most pop that Chairlift is capable of being, with “I Belong In Your Arms” serving as the best example. Strongly influenced as per usual by shimmery 80s synths, “I Belong In Your Arms” sounds like a b-side to a Tears For Fears song.

But while their sound has come together quite well, its really Polachek’s vocal abilities that leave the best impression. On album opener “Sidewalk Safari,” she pulls this neat little trick where her vocals trail and accompany the ascending octaves on guitar, which also happens to be one of the finest numbers of them all. “Take It Out On Me” brings things down a notch, sonically speaking, and is pretty self-explanatory from its title, with the song’s central character wanting to prolong the onslaught of abuse set to come her way to not make a scene in public. Polachek’s lyrics often tend to not dig too deep, which reinforces Something‘s pop appeal.

(continue reading…)