50 Words Or Less: Top Ten Tracks On Elbo.ws
1. *MP3: Born Ruffians - “Sole Brother”
Like a lo-fi lounge band, or Pavement on a jazz binge, Born Ruffians aim for insouciant melodies and instrumentation, whether it’s on the bouncy guitar licks or skipping bass line. But the straining vocal suggests the parodoxical problem of a band spending way too much of its energy appearing to be carefree.
Grade: C+
2. *MP3: Nada Surf - “Elecrocution” (Bill Fox)
A perfect slice of power-pop. Sure, it’s a highly glossed-up carbon copy of the original, but some covers exists solely to shed light on the unjustly ignored source. This is one of those examples.
Grade: A-
3. *MP3: Titus Andronicus - “A More Perfect Union”
Grade: B+
4. *MP3: New Pornographers - “Your Hands (Together)”
Grade: B
5. *MP3: Kisses - “Bermuda”
Chillwave takes its backpacking journey to Europe, finds that its disco heart lies in Los Angeles. Infectious to a degree, but suffering from a deluge of similarly gauzy keyboard-minded bands
Grade: B+
6. *MP3: Club 8 - “Western Hospitality”
Grade: B
7. *MP3: Phosphorescent - It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)
The same Stax-nicking that Belle & Sebastian do well, but without the Twee preciousness, and plus some Southern Rock showmanship. Like hearing a decent replicant of a good Vegas revue. (Those exist, right?)
Grade: B-
8. *MP3: Cults - “Go Outside”
Like Motown by way of dub, but presented in an electro-pop package. By no means bad, but first impressions don’t match those of ecstatic blogosphere. Still, I’ll heed their advice. It’s beautiful out there.
Grade: B-
9. *MP3: Damien Jurado - “Arkansas”
“Hallelujah” by way of doo-wop, Phil Spector and honky tonk features pleasantly melancholic vocals, but little else.
Grade: C
10. *MP3: RJD2 - “The Shining Path” (Alan Wilkis Remix)
Wilkis draws the soulful, Wonder-esque vocals of the original and adds Parliament-thick synth-bass for a funky, taut remix.
Grade: B+
Bonus:
11. *MP3: She and Him - “Thieves”
Gorgeous, echo-drenched production and singing filled with high lonesome make for a pretty affecting track.
Grade: B
12. *MP3: MGMT - “Flash Delirium”
Somewhere in a musical triangle of Bowie, The Beatles and The B-Dandy Warhols. Until a gonzo ending, “Flash Delirium” comes across as a sonic derivative. Admirable turn in direction, though, for a duo who could have just done “Kids” part two.
Grade: C+
Posted 4 months ago
