Media Junkie

CD Review: The Summer Pledge - Vessels

The Summer Pledge
Vessels
Self-Released
2012

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It seems like an eternity since Detroit post-rockers The Summer Pledge released their stunning debut You Are You.  After seeing them perform the album in its entirety at a prom-themed, multi-band extravaganza, I instantly fell in love with their energy and You Are You became my favorite record of 2009 - one that still receives regular playthroughs on my iPod, at home, and in the car. 

Since then the band has slimmed down a bit to a foursome, but they have lost none of their charisma, power, and have actually grown musically.  The long wait is finally over, and I'm happy to announce that the band's second album, Vessels, features the same blend of spacey effects and melodic, somewhat experimental rock that made You Are You so special, but with an increased focus on more proper song structure instead of largely instrumental jams.

CD Review: Margot & the Nuclear So and So's - Rot Gut, Domestic

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
Rot Gut, Domestic
Mariel Recordings
2012

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Margot & the Nuclear So and So's are nothing if not prolific.  Singer/songwriter Richard Edwards is constantly writing, and it seems just when they finish one album, he's already working on the next.  When many of the bands most unique members were dismissed after the release and subsequent tour for Animal/Not Animal, the band's offerings from their ill-fated deal with Sony Music, many fans (including myself) were worried about the direction their sound would take.  After all, much of what attracted me to Margot's music in the first place was the mishmash of different sounds and styles ranging from folk to country to balls-out rock, and this was largely due to specialist players like pianist Emily Watkins and trumpet player Hubert Glover.

Their first record with their new line-up, Buzzard, failed to completely alleviate my fears that Margot were headed down the path of being little more than "just another indie rock band."  It had flashes of brilliance, but even in my original review I expressed an intense dislike for several tracks - a feeling which has only grown with time.  Buzzard was, by far, the band's weakest effort to date, despite the fact that I'd always wanted to hear Margot rock out a bit more as they did on classics like "Quiet As A Mouse" (The Dust of Retreat) and "Pages Written On A Wall" (Not Animal).

Enter Rot Gut, Domestic, the group's officially sanctioned fourth album and second on Edwards' own Mariel Recordings imprint.  Rot Gut is a decidedly more rock-oriented album, and a definitely more focused one.  Gone are the echoes of Margot's past.  Edwards has given himself fully to this new direction - though almost assuredly for the time being, as he is constantly exploring new ones - and produced an album that wouldn't have sounded out of place during the grunge rock boom of the 1990s, and you know what?  I'm OK with that.

CD Review: The American Dollar - Awake in the City

The American Dollar
Awake in the City
Yesh Music
2012

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Since veering in a more movie-centric direction, I haven't posted many music reviews.  It's not that I don't still listen to music, but there were several other factors, not the least of which is the fact that my brother's blog covers everything I'd review and then some.  It has also become difficult for me to write music reviews without sounding redundant.  I rarely waste time reviewing something I dislike, which gives the appearance that I like everything (which is far from true), and there's only so many ways I can describe an album or the sounds contained therein.

Having said that, every once in a while a record comes along that will still compel me to talk about it, and right now that album is the latest from The American Dollar.  Hailing from Queens, New York, the duo of John Emanuele and Richard Cupolo began making music in 2005.  Their two most recent albums, Atlas and A Memory Stream, are two of the best examples of the post-rock genre, with the latter arguably being one of the best the genre has seen since seminal Scottish band Mogwai released their classic Young Team in 1997.  With the release of their fifth proper studio album, Awake in the City, you can add another record to the list of best ofs.

CD Review: The Envy Corps - It Culls You

The Envy Corps
It Culls You
Self-Released
2011

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It was a long time coming - three years since their last full-length, with only one EP in between - but Iowa's The Envy Corps have finally returned with their third LP, It Culls You, available digitally now with physical releases in October. 

The good news is the band has used the long hiatus to craft a worthy successor to 2008's Dwell, one of my favorite records of that year.  It Culls You is generally more atmospheric, more electronic, and moodier than Dwell, but it's almost as impressive.

CD Review: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - It's A Corporate World

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
It's A Corporate World
Quite Scientific
2011

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What do you get when two of Detroit's best and brightest songwriters team up?  The answer is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., a stripped-down indie pop group with heavy electronic influences (poptronica?) whose silly name and catchy music has helped make a name for themselves.

At a glance, it would be easy to dismiss DEJJ as a gimmick.  They wear NASCAR driving suits on stage, their name is borderline ridiculous, and the portrait on their debut album's cover where the duo wear gaudy plaid-patterned suits in an intentionally cheesy family-photo-style pose is cringe-worthy.  The band's music trascends their goofy image, however, and has caught on nationwide, appearing in television shows, garnering plenty of attention in both the mainstream and independent press, and from an evergrowing fanbase.

As a result of their newfound popularity, it's difficult to tell what will become of both singers' other bands.  I've made no secret of my love for Josh Epstein's The Silent Years, and Daniel Zott's The Great Fiction have also produced some of the most perfectly crafted pop-rock of the last decade.  Zott is also a member of the Victorious Secrets, the band best known for their FreeCreditScore.com TV adverts.  What started as a fun side project for the prolific songwriters has now become a full-time gig, and for the time being their original groups seem to be on temporary hiatus.

That makes it somewhat difficult for me - a native Detroiter and fan of both singers' other projects - to review It's A Corporate World fairly.  You might think I'm predisposed to love it, but the truth is that I couldn't help but compare DEJJ to bands like The Silent Years and The Great Fiction.  I realize it's an unfair comparison to make, but the bands are inexorably linked.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s lo-fi electronic pop is a far cry from the complex arrangements found in Epstein or Zott's other bands, but it stands on its own with irresistable hooks, excellent harmonies, and striking melodies - with just a touch of experimental weirdness.

CD Review: The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain

The Lonely Island
Turtleneck & Chain
Universal Republic
2011

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"The world needs us," Jorma Taccone shouts at the end of The Lonely Island's sophomore album's opening track.  Along with cohorts Akiva Schaffer and Andy Samberg - all three of them writers for Saturday Night Live, and Samberg a member of the regular cast - and a plethora of high profile guest stars, The Lonely Island have been pumping out some seriously funny hip-hop for several years. 

Self-deprecation, toilet humor, absurd fantasies, and loving parodies of the genre abound in Turtleneck & Chain, just as they did on the group's first record.  It's silly, it's over the top, even a little gross at times, but damn is it funny, leading one to believe that Taccone might just be right.

Essential Albums: Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

Funkadelic
Maggot Brain
Westbound Records
1971

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"Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time, for y'all have knocked her up.  I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe.  I was not offended.  For I knew I had to rise above it all, or drown in my own shit."

This eerily poetic statement opens Funkadelic's second full-length album.  Maggot Brain is, quite possibly, the quintessential Funkadelic record - a psychedlic, apocalyptic trip that effortlessly blends hard rock and funk and establishes what would become the band's signature sound.

EP Review: Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas - Weird Looking Women In Too Many Clothes

Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas
Weird Looking Women In Too Many Clothes
Self-released
2010

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May 1, 2010 was an important day for two reasons.  First, it was the day Michigan enacted its ban on smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants.  Second, it was when I first discovered Jessica Hernandez.  The dimutive singer sat at her piano and effortlessly belted out notes that would make most singers jealous.

Shortly thereafter, I had the extreme pleasure to see her perform with her full band, The Deltas.  If her solo set had been an appetizer, this was like a twelve course meal.  Quite frankly, I haven't been that impressed by an artist or band since I got into The Silent Years. 

How best to describe their music is the problem.  Baroque soul, I suppose?  Or better yet, let's skip the formalities and just call it what it is - astounding.  The combination of piano, brass and woodwinds, and Hernandez's powerful vibrato vocals are hypnotic, and the magic is evident on their first EP.

CD Review: Bell X1 - Bloodless Coup

Bell X1
Bloodless Coup
2011
Yep Roc Records

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Irish rockers Bell X1 seem to have something of an identity crisis.  This could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.  While they started out as a pretty standard indie rock band, they have since dipped their toes into poppier waters, culminating with the disappointing (but commercially viable) Blue Lights on the Runway. 

Far be it from me to begrudge a band their success.  Bell X1 have always maintained strong crossover appeal with catchy hooks and clever, often funny lyrics, but Blue Lights was a massive disappointment coming after the outstanding, versatile Flock.

With their latest release, Bloodless Coup, it seems they've gone new wave.  Though electronics have always found their way into Bell X1's records, this is the most overt and prominantly electronic album they've recorded.  And it is arguably their best.

Essential Albums: Cee-Lo Green - "The Lady Killer"

Cee Lo Green
The Lady Killer
Elektra/Roadrunner
2010

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Cee Lo Green must own a time machine.  That is the only way I can explain how he managed to pluck an album from the Motown Records vault during its heyday and brought it back to those soul-seekers and true R&B fans who remember the good old days.  Those of you who grew up on modern day imitators and think that's the best the genre has to offer don't deserve The Lady Killer, Cee Lo's third full-length solo record. 

Green and his cadre of producers have managed to make an album that sounds both vintage and contemporary, mixing elements of soul, funk, doo-wop, and R&B.  Infectious hooks, liberal use of horns, and beats right out of the 1960s and 70s will thrill people who grew up with the true greats like Stevie Wonder and The Temptations.  Despite the multitude of producers, this is not a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.  This is a rich, full-bodied, soulful record that will make you move and will move you.