Print Edition: September 10, 2014
Bear in Heaven
Time is Over One Day Old
Until the release of their 2012 album I Love You, It’s Cool, Bear in Heaven was considered a high-concept experimental outlier. I Love You, It’s Cool ended up connecting with a more mainstream fanbase due to its combination of Bear in Heaven’s traditional experimental soundscape with cozy and familiar electropop melodies. The band continues this trend on their new record, Time is Over One Day Old, albeit in a less successful manner. The problem with Time is its lack of consistency and overall lacklustre songwriting. The standout tracks — like opener “Autumn,” the dreamy, bass-driven “Time Between,” and the ballad “You Don’t Need the World” — contain melodies that stick in your head for days on end, but these tracks are few and far between. Unfortunately, a heavy portion of this record is monotonous and easy to forget. This is more lamentable because of how beautiful and charismatic the production of the album is. Overall, the album’s lackluster songwriting overshadows the vibrant sonic tapestry Bear in Heaven has created. It is surely worth a listen, but maybe only that.
JEFFREY TRAINOR
Murs and iMayday
Mursday
The collaboration of rapper Murs and group iMayday comes the album Mursday, released this past spring. It contains 14 tracks, including the singles “Tabletops,” “Here,” “Brand New Get Up,” “My Own Parade,” and “Serge’s Song.” Although I was hesitant to give the album a listen as hip-hop is not my go-to genre, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Lyrically, it flows together well. It is refreshing to hear tracks that don’t solely revolve around money and sex. There are serious songs (“Here”) tucked between more upbeat songs (“Brand New Get Up”). One of the songs that stood out the most for me was “Here,” with its tone and showcasing of iMayday member Wrekonize’s vocals. Lyrically, the track can make you think about where you are in life. Overall, if you enjoy hip-hop, but not necessarily what you hear in the mainstream, check out the album. It is a good introduction to both artists.
REMINGTON FIORASO
Bleachers
Strange Desire
It’s hard to believe Bleachers had a good chance of never evolving to anything more than a creative idea of Jack Antonoff. Antonoff, lead guitarist and backup vocals for Fun, initially released the Bleachers track “I Wanna Get Better” six months before the full-length album Strange Desire would appear in July. What an achievement that was. The initial single, an incredibly catchy song of the summer, showed what the band had to offer — but the depth of the album was still unexpected. It played much like an ode to guitar, synth, and 1980s Phil Collins. Over 11 tracks, the layering, progression, and process are masterful; it’s a strong contender for a personal album of the year. A lot of the tracks feature amazing pop hooks that keep the pace of the album floating along. “Wake Me” changes that tempo, as a hypnotically romantic track. Antonoff also presents some unexpected collaborations with the likes of Grimes and Yoko Ono, the latter presenting an unsettling and conflicting listen. In a year that has seemed to be a valley of break-through albums, Bleachers has shown that they’re sitting above all else.
JOE JOHNSON
