Surfer Blood
Tarot Classics EP
Just like their 2010 debut, “Astro Coast,” Surfer Blood excel in making the type of music Rivers Cuomo used to write when he was still a competent songwriter. Their guitar-driven, 1990s indie-rock style has never sounded better than it does on these four tracks, as the band removes the heavy reverb of their first album and replaces it with some very sweet melodies.
“I’m Not Ready” follows the lead of its harmonizing surf-guitars, while “Miranda” is perhaps the catchiest song the band has ever written. The second half of the EP mixes up the formula, however, as the harmonica breaks in “Voyager Reprise” and laments of closing track “Drinking Problem” combine to form two of the band’s saddest songs.
If the band’s next full-length can match the pop-smarts and songwriting strengths of this EP, Surfer Blood could break through to the next level.
Recommended if you like: “Blue Album,” Weezer, Built To Spill
By Cameron Meindl
Phantogram
Nightlife EP
MOOG SOUND LAB: Phantogram "16 Years" from Moog Music on Vimeo.
After a few years of touring, Phantogram are following up their excellent “Eyelid Movies” with this six song EP. These songs make sense, considering the first album — stylistically, they largely follow its low-key, guitar-infused trip hop vibe.
The interplay between the gorgeous vocals of Sarah Barthel and the raw Josh Carter songs continues to frame the band’s personality. This disjointedness also frames the music on this EP. The band jumps from the upbeat, U2-tinged “16 Years” to the Kanye West-esque sample-slicing beat of “Don’t Move” to the beauty of “Turning Into Stone” to the paranoid future-fear of “Make A Fist” to the existentialism of “Nightlife” to the psychotic “A Dark Tunnel.”
That’s the EP. It’s a lot for six songs, and a little jumpy, but they are great songs, and hopefully a longer album is following soon.
RIYL: Frou Frou/Imogen Heap, The xx, Miike Snow
By Jesse Paller
The Beets
Let the Poison Out
First off, this is sadly not The Beets who made songs like “Killer Tofu” and “I Need More Allowance,” childhood favorites on Nickelodeon’s “Doug.” Once you get over that disappointment, however, you’ll come to appreciate that this version of The Beets is a minimalistic garage rock group whose third effort is over before you realize it.
These 13 tracks clock in at less than 30 minutes, but a longer running time would just bring the album down, as there are barely any departures from the group’s signature lo-fi sound throughout the record. Instead, listeners are sure to enjoy the DIY, almost backwards quality of these recordings before it wears thin.
While it’s certainly not breaking any ground, “Let The Poison Out” is a perfectly enjoyable way to spend 27 minutes of your day. Luckily, it’s not trying to be anything more than that.
RIYL: Woods, Violent Femmes
By Cameron Meindl
Wavves
Life Sux
It’s been interesting to observe the evolution of pop-punk, a genre that for the last two decades has garnered both acclaim and scoffs from many journalists and the overall taste-making community.
At the forefront of the current revival is the ever-controversial Nathan Williams of Wavves. The band’s third release in two years shows Williams at a creative crossroads. Without the fuzzy production of his first LP or the novelty of having that element removed, as seen on 2010’s “King of the Beach,” where does a pop punk band go without ‘selling out’ “American Idiot”-style or fading into un-creative obscurity?
On “Life Sux,” Williams attempts to hold on to his relevance without compromising his ‘punk’ identity to some success.
“Life Sux” is still a barrage of distorted power chords and hazy reverb, which underscores Williams’s infamous nasally vocals. But unlike previous releases, beneath Williams’s trademark cheekiness are genuinely catchy hooks, un-obscured by poor production.
The resulting record is less obnoxious, less ‘aggressive’ and much more in line with his current MTV-approved image. Much like a couple of bratty San Diego skate-punks who ruled the world a decade ago with three-chord songs and snotty-nosed humor, Williams hints on “Life Sux” that he may be ready to be taken a little more seriously.
RIYL: Male Bonding, late Jay Reatard, early Blink-182
By Maxwell Tani
Kurt Vile
So Outta Reach EP
Click here to listen to lead track “The Creature.”
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to predict that Kurt Vile’s latest release, an EP composed of outtakes from his 2011 album “Smoke Ring For My Halo,” would be a drop off in quality. Luckily, these songs uphold the high standard set by that excellent album while making an argument that nobody has had a better year artistically than Vile.
Some might criticize these songs as interchangeable, but the intricate finger-picking patterns and Vile’s airy voice make the material too interesting to dismiss. Meanwhile, Vile’s backing band, The Violators continue to make perfect contributions, particularly on “Laughing Stock” and “Life’s A Beach.” These five songs (and a Bruce Springsteen cover for kicks!) prove that Kurt Vile is truly a songwriting force to be reckoned with.
RIYL: Neil Young, The War on Drugs, Tom Petty
By Cameron Meindl
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