Print Edition: November 6, 2013
Los Campesinos!
No Blues
With four full-length records under their belt, the clever Wales group Los Campesinos! are approaching that point in their career when bands try a shake-up or a change in musical direction. When you compare their rapid 2008 debut, Hold On Now, Youngster to their latest output No Blues, the changes are small and nuanced. They still sing about relationships, grief, sports, mortality, faith, and sometimes dancing, but on No Blues they command their melodies instead of chasing them around. The most consistent aspect in all Los Campesinos! records is their tight but uncertain song structure, which adds a thrust of chaos to each track. Down to a six-piece band, the remaining members of Los Campesinos! are forced to fill the extra space by adding textured melodies and layered guitars, and to great effect. Maturity and confidence are brimming on No Blues, with the juvenile cheerleader-style backing vocals of “Death to Los Campesinos!,” “You, Me, Dancing,” and “By Your Hand” that plagued their early output taking a back seat here, save for the catchy lead single “Avocado, Baby.” Their mischievous lyrics and enthusiastic sound combine to create a fresh-sounding record that satisfies on every level. Los Campesinos! are a band that clearly wants to grow up, and it suits them.
Mazzy Star
Seasons of Your Day
Album release dates can make reviewers and fans alike use words like “comeback” and “hiatus,” but a band’s continuation or end is best known only to its members. Mazzy Star knows itself in a way few bands do, assured but not stagnant over its now three-decade lifespan, to the point where, rendering a 17-year gap nothing, Seasons of Your Day opens with the same organ keys and patient drums that ended 1996’s Among My Swan. Fading out on “Look on Down from the Bridge” with lines like, “how could I say goodbye?” might have been a neat ending, but Mazzy Star’s slow tempo and immediate lyrics pick up without any awkward skips, sounding out of place (and alive for it) in 2013. Hope Sandoval’s vocal still hangs between background and out loud, musing with the permanence of something dreamed twice. David Roback’s guitar, single and distorted or spare and grounded, sounds mostly the same. One might ask what’s the big deal after nearly 20 years; where are the highs? But Seasons of Your Day is an album without the need to flail about after new things, which almost always just lead to a same idea of career advancement. “California” arguably makes the album one of Mazzy Star’s best all on its own, and, like most of the band’s songs, it pitches between peaceful, nothing happening, and the disquiet of everything passing by in a parallel, untouchable world.
Katy Perry
Prism
Although three studio albums and 15 singles are under her belt, the pop industry question remains: how much longer can Katy Perry maintain her level of success in future releases? With the release of Prism, Perry proves that she still has a hold on relevance. The release features the lead single “Roar,” as well as “Unconditionally;” both are memorable to listen to and you can find yourself humming to them when they play. Overall, the songs are more mature than those in previous releases, however, Perry does follow the adage, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it;’ Prism covers the same themes and subject matter as Teenage Dream. For those who enjoyed her earlier releases, this album is a pleasure to listen to. But if you are looking for something new and adventurous, this is not the release to check out.
Öhm
Öhm
Öhm’s debut is masterfully crafted. With this duo, on the one end there’s Chris Peterson’s professional polish and streamlined synthesizer programming, on the other Craig Joseph Huxtable’s melodic edge – a darkly spiritual and human ingredient. The sleek shine of this record doesn’t come across like the latest Dr. Luke production, polished in plastic pink. This work gleams like a puddle on the downtown eastside of Vancouver, reflecting a neon glow of oil and grit right back the ears of the listener. Tracks like “Divinity” and “Car Crash” are the surface material, but the krakens that lie beneath are in songs like “Apparition” and “Brute.” Huxtable’s vocals have a violet crooning quality; sometimes the message is clear, sometimes it is wrapped in a binary of meaning. Each track takes a plunge deeper into the dark. What comes back from the depths of Huxtable’s artistic exploration is not pretty, but it sounds better than ever. Öhm took their time on this album. There isn’t a haphazard layering of kick drums and misplaced bass lines: everything is placed and played with care. While other “dark electro” acts tend to sound flat and mopey, or just plain abrasive, Öhm packs a thick thematic punch.
