code meets music

I bought quite a few new, and as it turned out rather good, albums last month. In brief:

Favourite Worse Nightmare (Arctic Monkeys)

Better lyrically than the first, but not quite as exciting. Brianstorm (the first single) is pretty good, but the standout track is Old Yellow Bricks- it’s pretty absorbing. If you didn’t like the first album, then probably not a good choice, but if the only thing putting you off the band is the hype, then you’d be missing out by not giving this album a chance.

The Looks (MSTRKRFT)

One of the guys from Death From Above 1979 doing electronic-dance-punk. It’s not my typical guitar-indie, but it’s a lot of fun, with some really catchy songs. Street Justice is pretty good, as is the album’s title track, with the remix giving a different, but also good, take on the song.

Sound of Silver (LCD Soundsystem)

This is more coherent than the debut, but I don’t see that as a good thing. It’s still good, but not quite as funky as the previous offering. It’s perhaps an unfair comparison, as the first album came with an extra CD of particularly good songs previously made by the artist, but it’s just a bit too polished. The single, North American Scum is good, and “New York I love you, but you’re bringing me down” gives the album a great ending.

The Reminder (Feist)

I’d never heard this singer before buying this album, but a newspaper review and the fact she sings/sung with Broken Social Scene is enough of a reccomendation. Her voice isn’t quite as amazing as Emily Haines (also of BSS, and with Metric) but it’s still good, in a relaxing but haunting kind of way. “My Moon My Man” is the best song on the album, Sealion and Honey Honey (the album and live versions) are also worth a listen.

Dr Heckle and Mr Jive (Pigbag)

I had Sunny Day by this band on the Rough Trade Post Punk compilation and liked it, so bought the album. I’m not entirely sure jazz afficianados would include them in their definitions, but the band describe themselves as ‘Jazz-revival’, and do a pretty good job of briding the pretty massive gap between Jazz and Punk. Sunny Day is probably the best track on the album, but as a whole, it is certainly catchy, and pretty different to the other music I listen to.