Album Review! Whitney - Light Upon The Lake

On their debut album “Light upon the Lake” Chicago-based Whitney conjured up a beautiful and quaint atmosphere that feels larger than life in its simplicity and effortlessness; a fantastic and melancholic folksy tale driven by some excellent guitar work and instrumentation, superb song-writing and the hottest falsettos to come out in pop rock music in quite a while.

Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek formed Whitney after their previous band’s (Smith Westerns) breakup and they couldn’t have put together a better breakup record than “Light upon the Lake” because at its core this this album is the ultimate breakup album but it doesn’t lean towards the sad, bummed out side so much; instead it focus on a far more reflective approach on failed relationships, learning from your mistakes and trying to look up to the future the best you can although, there’s always this sense of nostalgia and sheer melancholy all over the record that makes it feel almost conceptual in a way when you look at each song and analyze them collectively instead of just individually.

Whitney keep their song writing simple but fresh and very touching; that doesn’t make for album that lacks anything on the lyrics department, though; actually, it’s quite the opposite. It is that juxtaposition of beauty and simplicity that makes this record unforgettable, relatable and ultimately irresistible; even if very pronounced falsettos aren’t up your alley, chances are “Light upon the Lake” will win you over in one way or another by the end of the record; either it is sonically or lyrically because the album excels at both.

The album opens with one of its stronger tracks, “No Woman” where verses like “I've been sleeping alone; I've been going through a change; I might never be sure, I'm just walking in a haze; I'm not ready to turn” combine with some lush instrumentation; delicate keyboards, alternating acoustic and electric guitars and a two-words chorus that quite honestly feels more intense than most choruses this day despite its lack of words. Whitney plays as if they had been playing together for many years (and in a way they have, at least some of them) and that self-confidence is very tangible on this record and especially on tracks like “No Woman” but that’s just the beginning; there’s plenty more to come.

On the second track “The Falls” the instrumentation is definitely peppier and less melancholic than it is on the rest of the album; it’s probably the liveliest the band gets along with “No Matter Where We Go” but the lyrics are not entirely in the same tune. Drummer and singer (yes, drummer and singer, how cool is that?) Julien Ehrlich sings rather melancholic lines like “Til the falls ran dry; I was lost inside morning light; I took too much to slow down; these days and nights I can’t be found” backed up with some rather brisk instrumentation and the contrast works out wonderfully not only here but also as the record goes on.

Then “Golden Days” and Dave’s Song” come next and you’ll be inevitably hooked. “Golden Days” is easily one of the best songs to come out this year: the horn arrangements towards the end are simply awesome and the “na na na” outro, definitely one of the tracks’ trademarks, crushes through your heart in a way that feels both very intense but also very soothing; like the picture of a lion licking its wounds alone. The instrumentation here also sticks out; Whitney are a 7 piece band and “Golden Days” is possibly the only track here where it sort of seems that way because there’s room for everyone to shine equally and also because the vast majority of the album is actually so intimate that you’ll probably want to google check if the band really is a 7 piece act after having listened to  any of their songs and I’m not saying that in a derogatory manner but rather as a compliment taking into account the quiet and contemplative context of the album. Lyrics like “Oh don’t you save me from hangin’ on; I tell myself what we had is gone and after all that I put ya through, I get knocked out like I never knew” are filled with genuine emotion and nostalgia and if I were to choose one single that represents this album the best, conceptually, that probably would have to be “Golden Days”.

“Light upon the Lake” is truly an ode to Americana and pop-rock music from The Byrds’ era and songs like “Dave’s Song” provide some of the folksiest moments on it in addition to a very strong chorus that rounds things up quite well (“I know it's hard to give up when I don't want to be saved; Take me in your heart again and I know how to keep you hung up but I won't do it again; Oh I know I wish you were my friend”).

There’s a lot to be said about how good this album continues to be. “On My Own” and “Polly” are lovely and intimate and again, written with highly relatable sensibility and there’s also a monster single like “No Matter Where We Go”, which is again, another strong candidate for best song of the year. “No Matter Where Go” is the song you play on to make through the winter and melt even the thickest snow; it’s a track to go to bed to with the hot beverage of your preference while you enjoy your time cuddling with your couple or fluffy pet and if that doesn’t sum up what this album is in a nutshell, nothing will. This song is the jingliest track on an album full of jangly moments and the guitar really shines on here; it suits the vocals and sets the tone of the song masterfully. You’ll find yourself smiling and singing along to the infectious chorus “I can take you out, I wanna drive around with you with the windows down and we can run all night” all the way through the entire song.

I couldn’t have thought of a better ending to this album than “Follow”. Great performances, even greater vocals and moving lyrics like “I pray your troubled mind remembers when it’s coming to an end at least the rain won’t come again” that prove that when you’re honest and passionate about what you're doing, no matter how simple it migth seem, it will always feel meaningful and especial.

There’s an instrumental passage “Red Moon” that quite frankly feels rather anti climatic and I wish “Light Upon the Lake” was as good musically as it is lyrically because is very well-written but for me, personally, when it comes to the instrumentation it feels flat even taking into account the song’s context and it sounds as if they were more worried about wearing their influences on their sleeve than trying to craft something that matched the rest of the album the way the lyrics deserved because, again, the lyrics are nice. Other than that, my only complaint is that tracks like “No Matter Where We Go” and “The Falls” are criminally short considering how frickin’ good they are and I wished they just kept on and on but I guess that’s more of a compliment than an actual complaint depending on how you look at it.

“Light upon the Lake” is in many ways the quintessential pop-rock album: it can make you smile, cry, think, and dance and sometimes all of that in the same song; It’s reamarkably poignant and impeccably crafted, especially considering this is merely the band's debut LP; it’s the type of album that instantly takes you to a different time and place soon as you start listening to it and the sum of all its part makes for an experience that feels truly magical and enchanting in a way few albums in modern pop-rock music nowadays can match or recreate.

You can listen to some of the album’s best songs in the link down below!

https://whitneychicago.bandcamp.com/album/light-upon-the-lake

Album Review! Russian Circles - Guidance

Russian Circles new LP “Guidance” might not be their most ambitious but it’s definitely one of their most balanced and ultimately crushing works to date and an excellent exercise on post-rock and instrumental rock in general.

It’s pretty hard not to love the new Russian Circles LP “Guidance” if you’re a fan of post-rock or good rock music in general. It’s clear that this album is their less experimental and probably less ambitious album so far and it’s precisely for that very same reason that, at this point in their career, crafting a straight-up, hard-hitting rock record was ironically the most ambitious thing the Chicago trio could’ve done, if that makes sense. For a band more used to working on textures and nuances it might be easy to think choosing a more "plain" approach represents some kind of sonic detour at least to some extent, from previous records but as it turns out, Guidance’s biggest accomplishment is that it proves that, when things are done right, sometimes less is more and man, things are done quite right here.

The album starts off in a quiet and very introspective way with the harp driven song “Asa”, which essentially brings to mind some sort of folky take on an old Explosion in the Sky track and while by no means is it a bad song, it doesn’t surprise either and it doesn’t really feel like it sticks out in any particular way beyond setting a calm before the storm mood for what’s to come and in that way it works fine. What comes next is a two-track set of some of the most pummeling and heaviest stuff the band has put out with the amazing, epic “Vorel” and the Impressive “Mota” both of which are teeming with fantastic, incendiary guitar riffs and some boisterous, larger than life drums and when all altogether comes into play you can’t but make question whether you’re truly listening to a three-piece set because it seems pretty incredible to say the least that such a noisy, powerful sonic assault can come from only three people but somehow, believe it or not it is true.

The track “Afrika” felt quite frankly out of place for me both in the musical context of the album and also in terms of its placement on the track list. Perhaps on another Russian Circles record it would’ve worked out better but here, it doesn’t really add much to the overall listening experience. The song “Overboard”, though, is along with the closing track, the most “classic” or typical, if you will, Russian Circles track here; only that it certainly feels more organic, not necessarily less ambitious but definitely more straight forward instrumentation-wise but the results are quite fantastic. It’s one of the album’s most reflective and also atmospheric moments and it perfectly sets the mood for the song “Calla”.

“Calla” is basically an over six minutes long display of blaring guitars and thunderous drums performed with tight precision and a straight out of the heavy metal book rowdy appeal that makes for the most punishing track on “Guidance” and also one of the heaviest songs the band has put out; some pretty badass and jaw-dropping stuff. The closing track “Lisboa” is the most nuanced song on the album and also the most reminiscent of the band’s previous works and the most “by the book” post-rock here but in this case not for being a bit conventional it is less effective, on the contrary, it’s clean and meditative but it’s lush and epic as well.

“Guidance” is full of great moments; it's as atmospheric and cinematic as any good post-rock record should be and it's also worth noting the album contains some of the rowdiest and most crushing tracks in the band’s catalog, which combined with some more traditional but exceptionally put together and performed passages, results in an amalgamation of talent and song-crafting that exhibits Russian Circles’ versatility and visceral power and it’s probably the coolest post-rock album of the year so far. When you have both the badassery and the melodic sensibility showcased throughout almost the entire record's running time, you don’t really have to reinvent the wheel on every new record you put out; you just have to be confident about what you’re doing and what’s more important, rock and that’s exactly what Russian Circles do here and quite often, rock.

You can listen to whole record in the link down below!

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/russian-circles-guidance-stream

Album Review! Car Seat Headrest -Teens of Denial

NY based Will Toledo’s musical project Car Seat Headrest comes through with a strut-charged, genuinely relatable and pretty damn entertaining to listen to album that not only represents an improvement in terms of maturity and cohesiveness over his previous record “Teens of Style” but also happens to be one of the coolest rock albums of 2016.

After listening to “Teens of Denial” for the first time it might seem as Will Toledo had been releasing albums professionally for decades but in reality it is Car Seat Headrest’s first album to be recorded in a professional studio, with the help of a skilled, experienced producer for the first time and with an actual band backing Toledo up for the first time as well. Considering all that the level of grandiosity and self-confidence this album exudes is simply insane. “Teens of Denial” is, hands down, one of the most ambitious rock albums of the year and somehow Will Toledo accomplished that without sacrificing a single bit of authenticity and personality, which makes this record an even bigger triumph.

Will Toledo’s ability to pen songs with surprising craftsmanship (all the more surprising taking into account he’s only 23-year old) instantly stands out on the album’s opener “Fill in the Blank”. The album serves as the perfect opening track in that it perfectly captures the slacker rock heart and soul that makes “Teens of Denial” such an example of what a good rock album should be like, both sonically and lyrically. Will Toledo’s confident, sometimes unpredictable vocals are one of the album’s trademarks and this track has him singing his way through lines like “You have no right to be depressed, you haven’t tried hard enough to like it; haven’t seen enough of this world yet. But it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts” with unquestionable passion and irresistible appeal.

Not only does the rest of the album lives up to that great first impression but it actually gets better and way more epic. A lot of the songs here are pretty lengthy and the longest one hits (and surpasses) the 11 minutes mark but things are always fun and engaging. Will Toledo writes lyrics that essentially deal with rather typical teenage issues and topics but what’s not typical at all is how witty and cohesive his story-telling is and that makes the album equally easy to relate and to admire.

The next rack “Vincent” is over 7 minutes long and it features a lot of what you’ll keep getting on “Teens of Denial”:  Great lyrics, varied, fiery instrumentation that feels very classic rock n’ roll inspired and some explosive, unpredictable vocal passages. Will Toledo’s vocals resemble Joe Casablancas on many of the tracks here but “The Strokes” aren’t the only palpable influence here. There’s a lot of Pavement and some snippets of Weezer thrown here and there in addition to 90’s grunge vibes to spare but it never feels as if Will Toledo was trying to rip off anyone; he makes that eccentric and unique combination his own.

“Destroyed by Hippie Powers could’ve easily been a super grunge hit from the 90’s and the lyrics are refreshingly funny, personal and sharp as hell (“What happened to that chubby little kid who smiled so much and loved the Beach Boys? What happened is I killed that fucker and I took his name and I got new glasses”.  The track “Just What I Wanted/Not Just What I Needed” delivers a bit more of the same but at this point you’re so hooked on with what you’re listening to that that’s exactly what you want and again it boasts some strong  performances.

“Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales” might very well be the most awesome song on the “Teens of Denial” and in all honesty, it’s a strong candidate for song of the year. The lyrics are touching and charming and they are basically an examination on the whole party till you pass out lifestyle, moreover in the aftermath of it and how it can affect someone’s life. The chorus is catchy enough to make you sing along to it while you’re driving, walking, skating or just lying in bed listening to the album and it’s very well crafted with smooth care and noticeable melancholy; awesome song.

So, at this point in the album you might think, “How on earth is he supposed to top this or at least keep things up until the end of the record?” well, the truth is, for the most part Will Toledo makes it happen. The next two tracks are an adrenaline rush of bombastic performances, compelling rock n’ roll swag, a couple of wacky, off the chain endings  and again, another solid lyrical deliver: “No one should ever have to look at themselves. I steer clear of graveyards; they are cliché in my death-obsessed generation” (“1937 State Park”) and “They say that the world is one, but if the world is one how come you never come around anymore? I guess it's not that simple; well, everyone learns to live with their sins but girl you wear yours like a brand new skin” (“Unforgiving Girl”).

“The Ballad of Costa Concordia” is an impressive rock epic of over eleven minutes long that mashes together Car Seat Headrest’s best tricks in one single super track and somehow doesn’t feel long because of how varied and shifting Will Toledo keeps things at all times and “Connect the Dots (The Saga of Frank Sinatra)” is another brilliant moment and one of the album’s highest peaks alongside tracks like “Drunk Drivers” and “Vincent”. The lyrics are pretty offbeat and there’s a sense of true candor to them that will leave you smiling and pondering on equal measure. Sonically speaking the song is pure rock essence and it’s a real blast.

The album has its flaws, though. The closing track “Joe Goes to School” feels rather flat in comparison to some of the other tracks and the album deserved a far better ending in my opinion. “Cosmic Hero”, unlike the majority of the longest cuts here, feel overly stretched out and it loses steam halfway through the song whereas the song “(Joe Gets Kicked Out of School for Using) Drugs With Friends (But Says This Isn't a Problem)” didn’t really add much to the mix asides from its remarkably long title.

However, despite some very punctual flaws and a few low points the album is terrific. It’s incredibly pleasant to see bands and artists making music that sounds this fresh and fun and smart nowadays. “Teens of Denial” succeeds because it exemplifies everything that makes and has always made good rock n’ roll so fun to listen to in the first place; it’s an authentic roller coaster of thrills, laughs and introspection and on top of that, It’s insolently good. 

You can check out some of the album's singles in the link down below!

https://carseatheadrest.bandcamp.com/album/teens-of-denial