Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Music to Work To



Smashing Pumpkins – Oceania

Combines the feel of Mellon Collie Pumpkins with a nod to Zwan-era Corgan. The guitar riffs are still
there, but the album overall seems to have a bit of a pop lean to it. It’s a completely different feel than
Zeitgeist, but that’s okay.
Also, I swear he uses the theme of Suspiria in “Oceania”, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Favorite track: "The Chimera"
Rating: 4/5



Twin Shadow – Confess

A heavy dose of 80s-era synth-pop. I would assume that he was mocking the genre if he didn’t seem so
earnest about it. There are a handful of really good songs on here, but there are also a lot of moments
where the songs start to run together. I’m sure more songs will begin to distinguish themselves upon
repeated listening (which I will most certainly be doing).

Favorite track: "Five Seconds"
Rating: 3/5



Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo, Magellan

I don’t get it. I’m not sure if that means I’m old. It seems like they know how to write a good pop song
(the title track is proof of that), but it seems like they’re more concerned with being “weird” instead. It
doesn’t even seem arty to me. It just seems like they’re trying to be weird for the sake of being weird (I
believe that’s what they call “po-mo”. Isn’t that right, Mr. Szyslak?).

Favorite track: "Swing Lo Magellan"
Rating: 1/5



Chains of Love – Strange Grey Days

50s/60s era pop. It’s a short album, but it’s solid. Not a bad song here. Seems like it will be a good
album for the rest of the summer. (It should be mentioned that there seem to be a lot of bands that fit
this description that have come out in the past few years, and I seem to love most of them. Keep ‘em
coming!)

Favorite track: "He's Leaving (With Me)"
Rating: 4/5



The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten

Good, driving rock n’ roll. I read a review that mentioned this album as being a bit “too Springsteen”.
As long as you’re drawing your influences from Born to Run Springsteen and not Working on a Dream
Springsteen, I really don’t see what the problem is. I’m not sure how well this will hold up with repeated
listens, but, after one listen, I really like it. Sometimes you just need a good rock album.

Favorite track: "Too Much Blood"
Rating: 4/5