Beyond The Elbo.ws Top Ten: May 28th

(Black Moth Super Rainbow)

1. *MP3: Delay Trees - “Desert Island Song”

Reverb-heavy folk song straddles the line between Phil Spector’s work with the wall-of-sound and more austere inspirations. Plantive emotions help anchor an endearingly vulnerable track.

Grade: B

2. *MP3: The Silent Years - “Madame Shocking”

Beatles-esque chamber-pop (think “Eleanor Rigby”)  segues into…strangely enough, anouter Specter-referencing sugary-sweet pop track. Some pop formulas work well for a reason, and, with its sing-songy jangle of a chorus, “Madame Shocking” is exhibit A.

Grade: B

3. *MP3: Black Moth Super Rainbow - “Born on a Day the Sun Didn’t Rise”

The experimental collective new track stars out with organ sounds and danceable beats worthy of a Devil’s Haircut, but as more psychedelic inclinations (heavily processed vocals, soundscapey guitars) creep in, “Born” takes on symphonic qualities. A more discernable melody would have helped, but this is sufficiently weird.

Grade: B-

4. *MP3: Cage The Elephant - “Tiny Little Robots”

Certainly enough energy in this garage/mod homage to power a large college town, but the humdrum drum hits and commonly crunch riffage fail to differentiate themselves from the new millenial noveau garage-rock bands. But what about that reggae-fueled breakdown…

Grade: C

5. *MP3: Cassettes Won’t Listen - “Into The Hillside”

Whimsical dance touches (beats, strings, pretty much anything instrumental) establish a solid groove for 3 minutes of instrumental happiness.

Grade: B

6. *MP3: Iron Age - “Dispossessed”

Holy metal balls, who doesn’t love a solid speed metal groove? At the same time, if songs like these aren’t about nuclear apocalypse or are a part of a literary concept album, then they can’t help but suffer by comparison though, can they? Still, tasty riffage.

Grade: B

7. *MP3: Lands and Peoples - “Awake (America)”

Considering the rich vocal harmonies and the Velvets-referencing psychedelia, “Awake” sounds like Grizzly Bear on methadone. And yes, that’s as awesome as you’d might expect.

Grade: A-

8. *MP3: Pete Fowler - “Magic Morning”

Charming ukelele ditty is perfect for beach-side contemplation, and the more atmospheric touches simultaneously add depth and whimsy.

Grade: B+

9. *MP3: Sharon Von Etten - “For You”

Country-folk amalgam in the vein of Alela Diane, “For You” is short, and, given the subject matter, ostensibly sweet. But in spite of tasteful melodies and arrangements, “For You” has very little impact.

Grade: C

10. *MP3: Zeus - “Marching Through Your Head”

British Invasion rhythms and rhyme schemes meets the precocious piano-pop of Elton John/Ben Folds. Tries to craft a compelling confection, but melodies aren’t developed enough to warrant any kind of repeated plays.

Grade: C

(Jon Graef)