Holy Fuck "Holy F**k" Young Turks Sounds like: LCD Soundsystem, rockified Grade: A
Holy Fuck have proven they are more than just a shocking name. In their first full-length album, this Toronto-based electronic post-rock group stands undaunted before a palette of lo-fi synthesizers and several drum kits to create a sound that is truly unique.
Holy Fuck's newest album draws heavily on its own brand of organic-sounding electronic rock. Defined by repetitive motion, their sound is full of ricocheting drum lines, surging synth and slow, dramatic mutations of sonic sensations. To gauge their sound, imagine a mix between a more rock-oriented LCD Soundsystem and a vocal-free A Place to Bury Strangers. And while this may seem uncomfortable, you'd be surprised at the jaw-dropping ease with which Holy Fuck pulls off every song. Each one sounds like it's streaming live from a frenetically energetic performance, a little reckless and even more confident.
The strongest song on its own is probably "Lovely Allen." It is refreshingly harmonious and swells and flows with a kind of hallelujah feeling reminiscent of a transcendent live performance. The song "The Pulse," which grows out of "Lovely Allen," has a more typical Holy Fuck sound as it combines the best the band has to offer --- playful, rhythmic beats, repeating faux-dance melodies and highly listenable eclecticism.
Overall, this release enforces Holy Fuck's ability to bring together a tight electronic rock sound that captures the band's energy and zest for live performance. A strong album from start to finish, it's well worth a shot. Holy Fuck will be playing in D.C. at the 9:30 club with Super Furry Animals and the Fiery Furnaces on Sunday.
-ILANA KALMBACH
Wu-Tang Clan "8 Diagrams" SRC/Universal Motown Sounds like: Classic Wu-Tang minus ODB's craziness Grade: B+
At first listen, "8 Diagrams" is so strong that one starts to think Wu-Tang leader RZA could actually pull it all off. No ODB, serious infighting and still a classic album? Amazing.
He has to be given some credit for this - his beats seems to have a way of bringing out the best in otherwise lackluster rappers, like U-God on "Take it Back." Tracks like "Rushing Elephants" feature Raekwon and the GZA in top form, manipulating the English language like a toy. "Wolves" somehow mashes fairy tales, spaghetti westerns and a guest performance by funk legend George Clinton together into some sort of fantastic stew.
And then there's the single "The Heart Gently Weeps," which features an interpolation of The Beatles' "While my Guitar Gently Weeps." This track is ambitious as hell, and somehow the RZA pulls it off. It's a remarkable trick that sounds like nothing else coming out of hip-hop right now.
However, a closer listen reveals some serious flaws in the album. First off, there's the skip-worthy RZA-only track, "Sunlight." But the bigger problem is what's missing from the album, namely the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. He was always the playful yin to the RZA's yang, and his presence is greatly missed here. As in the past, guest spots are used with somewhat mixed results. George Clinton and Gerald Alston's performances work, while Dexter Wiggles and Streetlife's do not.
While no one will mistake this new album for the masterful "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers," their debut record from 1993, "8 Diagrams" is a solid Wu-Tang album, which makes it better than most stuff out there.
-DAVID GROSSMAN
Boys Noize "Oi Oi Oi" Turbo/Last Gang Sounds like: Noize Noize Noize (if you like that kind of thing) Grade: C+
Trying to review an album of heavy electronica can be a tedious, almost insurmountable task. It's especially true when every track, with the usual bleeps, purrs and other classic house sounds, begins to run together. Alex Ridha, the German-born musician almost exclusively behind Boys Noize, surely has talent. But exceptional masterwork this is not - at least not yet.
Ridha made a name for himself reworking and remixing notables like Feist, Depeche Mode and Bloc Party, but this is his first full-length release. His strongest work, in fact, is the bonus track remix of Feist's "My Moon, My Man," which has an altogether memorable, fun and danceable beat.
The rest is tricky. A truly listenable electronic album is hard to achieve, so it can be hit or miss. Opener "& Down" and second track "Lava" hold up well, but then there's a middling slump, rendering "The Battery" and "Oh!" lifeless and unusually bland. The album picks up with "Arcade Robot" and then "Superfresh," which, beyond the Feist remix, is the album's other highlight.
Highly memorable this album is not, but it's a worthy listen, especially when you are in the mood for high-energy electronica. It's a noisy romp, but it can be fun, especially for the trained listener.
-ANDREW GARDNER
Foot Foot "Trumpet" Oedipus/Aagoo Sounds like: A wolf howling at the smog-covered L.A. moon, then running for the woods Grade: C+
Instead of adopting the more focused sounds of the city that can be heard in many of their peers' work, Foot Foot stick to what they know in this sophomore effort: their upper northwestern roots. The album art alone is enough to suggest a rejection of the city, and their music does even more to that end.
In their songs, they bounce their listeners from Italy to the Old West, never leaving time to adjust to culture shock. If their eclecticism is their strength, it is at times their greatest weakness. While it certainly has the potential to charm and captivate, the plethora of influences the band incorporates become muddled and overbearing. It takes away from the sparse moments that contribute to the album's elegant simplicity.
The songs' quieter moments are a refuge from the female howl that tends to overpower both the melody and lyrics, making listeners cringe and hope that the atonal train roaring through the folksy compositions will soon embrace the wilderness it interrupts.
Most of the album's songs, though unique and even catchy, are decidedly mediocre, though "In One Room" sways with just a twinge of country and the feel of a simple, yet poignant, waltz. This redeems, if for a moment, the harsher points of the album.
"Trumpet" appeals to the more raw side of folk, inviting audiences to take a few listens before casting judgment or casting it aside. In essence, the album begs an audience of those for whom the rest of the world and its banality have become plain.
-MADALYN WASILCZUK
