If you're like us, and love some Smiths songs, can't stand Morrissey, think the Dum Dum Girls are groovy, and didn't realize they had done a brilliant cover of "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," well, today is our collectively lucky day.
Emily's Army just debuted the first official music video for "Broadcast This," the first song on their new album Don't Be A Dick. Click the link below to watch it on the Rolling Stone website. If you haven't already, check out our review of their album Don't Be A Dickhere.
Yesterday, YACHT stopped by the Sirius XMU studios for a live set in support of their new album (which we'll discuss at some later date) and delighted everyone with a blippy electro-cover of the Judas Priest classic "Breaking The Law."
Cults got some attention last year with their release of the supremely catchy indie single "Go Outside." Some of that attention was from major labels, like Columbia Records, who signed the freshly-minted band and released their debut album "Cults." Some of that attention was from the usual indie blogger-bullies who couldn't wait to jump off the Cults bandwagon upon hearing that news.
Cults seems to have surprised a lot of people with their new release. The sound is consistent enough with the first single; 60's-era girl group kitch, tinged with ambient sound and electronica, all drenched in reverb. Beneath the bright and beautiful pop sound is a core of lyrical darkness - the band's name is "Cults" after all.
The songs here are all consistently pretty, but also a little emotionally unhinged - if not sinister. Hearts are torn out on "Abucted," where the antagonist admits "I never loved her." In "I Can Never Heal Myself," more teenage heartbreak as frontwoman Madeline Follin pleads "tell me all the things that you thought weren't right about me." "Most Wanted" laments that teenage loss of innocence, the lure of the darkness, away from childhood loved ones and toward "flirtation, drug use, and adultery."
A solid record that we'll likely remember as one of the best of 2011.
The Lonely Island's sophomore album "Turtleneck & Chain" is a record full of disgusting raps about their dicks and having sexual relations with their friends' mothers, but the beats and hilarious lyrics really make up for the immaturity. In their last album "Incredibad," they were obsessed with the drink "Santana" champagne. Now they are obsessed with turtleneck sweaters and "thin ass chains."
The Lonely Island is composed of three SNL writers Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer. The group is like the Beastie Boys; white and awkward looking at first, but when hear the album, you realize that they can actually rap. The album is full of catchy hip hop songs featuring Nicki Minaj, Beck, Michael Bolton, Snoop Dogg, Akon, Rihanna, Santigold, and of course, Justin Timberlake.
The album immediately begins with the group rapping about how small and useless their dicks are in the song "We're Back." The immature lyrics themselves wouldn't work without highly-produced beats and their competent white boy flow.
In "I Just Had Sex," Andy and Jorma sing about having sex and how great it is, but once they get into detail you find out that their experience wasn't all that great. (she kept looking at her watch/ doesn't matter had sex/ but I cried the whole time/ doesn't matter had sex/ I think she might have been a racist/ doesn't matter had sex/ she put a bag on my head/ still counts!).
Another hit off the album, "The Creep", the group shows us a dance that they made up called "The Creep", which you can use it to "make friends at the ATM" or "When you see a country peach laying out on the beach." The song features famous female rapper Nicki Minaj and director John Waters who reminds you "Don't forget to smile." In the infamous "Motherlover" Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake team up for the second time after the huge "Dick In A Box" SNL success. They decide for mothers day, to sleep with one another's mothers. Although it does sound extremely wrong, the song is actually really funny and, like "I Just Had Sex", the song is one of those songs that you can't get out of your head so you end up singing along to it all day. The song "Turtleneck & Chain" pretty much sums the whole album up with fresh beats and of course who else but Snoop Dogg to explain their love for turtlenecks and a thin ass chain while sipping on a light beer.
This album surprised me with how funny it was, because I have been watching the past SNL Digital Shorts, (which is where most of these songs had their debut) and there haven't been a lot of extremely funny bits. The album really does work as a whole. I first heard this record on my last day of school and I was watching all the videos that come with the album and couldn't keep myself from laughing. This record is extremely funny and was worth half of the money on my iTunes gift card.
Emily's Army debut full-length album "Don't Be A Dick" brings a fresh new sound to modern day punk rock that still manages to respect the classic bands. Cynical modern punk rock is about what sucks and "fuck this and fuck that," but Emily's Army comes off with positivity and class. At times they remind me of The Clash. In their time, The Clash made punk that was about musical style, without sacrificing lyrical substance.
Now in 2011 Emily's Army have their full length album "Don't Be A Dick," including all songs we've heard over the last couple of years in the live shows. The album went on sale June 14th and i preordered the "bundle" which included the 12" record on vinyl, stickers, a T-shirt, and a poster for only $20. The record is full of catchy, fast, and stick-in-your-head songs that is amazing for a band with such young members ranging from 15 to 17 years old.
I've been following Emily's Army since the summer of 2009 and the only place you could find their music was on Myspace or YouTube. Then in the summer of 2010 they began touring up and down the California coast, and I was lucky enough to see them four times (once at Velvet Jones, and twice at the Troubadour, and once at Gilman).
"Don't Be A Dick" was produced by Green Day's Billie-Joe Armstrong and Chris Dugan in Jingle Town Studios in 4 days. The band consists of Cole Becker (singer and guitarist), Max Becker (bass and singer), Joey Armstrong (drums) and Travis Nuemann (guitar). They came up with the name from Max and Cole's 15 year old cousin Emily, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in 1998. The name is also from the charity for their cousin.
The record begins with the song "Broadcast This," which is how they usually open a live show. Like most of the songs on the record I relate to it a lot because this song has to do with how the radio/media is full of "boring music and depressing talk shows." "Asslete." on the other hand is about how athletes who may seem straight edge or as Cole says "white horse" but in the end "you can't be a good guy in sports." "Little Face" I think shares a similarity with another great song on the album "Strictly For The Birds" because before, I only heard the songs live but on the record they have great catchy riffs and stick-in-your-head chorus sung by Max. "Ho-Lloween" sounds like a Misfits song with the band making weird screaming noises throughout the song and full of singalong "ba-ba-bas." The meaning is pretty straightforward with the title, about how girls dress like hoes on Halloween. "To some girls it just means everything/ so everyone's a skank for Halloween."
Another highlight in the record would have to be "West Coast", because its longer than most of the songs and changes to completely different riffs that give the song its own style. "Statutory Brainrape", however, uses a pretty common punk hook, but it can relate to anyone going through high school. Teachers manipulating us "with required books" and how "the video game industry is teaching us to learn how to kill." The last song, "Lochlomond", although a cover of the traditional Scottish song, is probably the best song on the album. If there is one thing Emily's Army is good at, it is making their cover sound better than the original.(i.e. listen to "Do You Wanna Dance). "Lochlomond" ends the record with a fun easy to dance to song that makes you want them to add more songs to this very short record.
This record was a great way to start off their hopefully long career of music. This record proved that they are serious about their music and plan to make more in the future. I know they are going to be really big one day and I have to say I'm gonna miss seeing them in small shows all around California. They're all really nice and smart kids that deserve to be remembered and seen as one of the great influencing bands of modern punk music.
P.S.. I have a lot of pictures from their past shows but unfortunately most of them are blurry. This band is like Bigfoot - always out of focus.
Ida Maria's sophomore entry, "Katla (named for an Icelandic volcano)," was surprisingly different. Her last album "Fortress Around My Heart" came on strong with songs like "I like You So Much Better When You're Naked" and "Oh, My God".
The new album "Katla" starts out with an acoustic ballad called "Quite Nice People," but soon takes a turn with the catchy and clap along song "Bad Karma," which takes the album on a sexy turn, Maria's voice crackling. The song "10,000 Lovers" stands out because in the middle of the song switches to some (likely Norwegian) awful foreign language - which I loved. .My other favorites are "Cherry Red," which was fun as hell, and filthier than one might expect. "Lets Leave," with its sing along "hey-heys," and the Mariachi-tinged song " I Eat Boys Like You For Breakfast", and "Devil." "Devil" winds the album down with a slow rocking jam, and long, yelling vocals.
The record ends with another slow song, "My Shoes," whose lyrics scream confession with Maria asking "Am I alone?."
That the album slows to a depressing end didn't take anything away for me. I had the pleasure of catching Ida Maria with Glasvegas in Hollywood last year. Her boozy but brilliant performance was great, and I hope to see the band pass through town again!
Arctic Monkeys new James Ford-produced album, " Suck It And See" sounds at first blush like a porno flick or Tootsie Pop commercial, but do not be deterred, the album is beautiful. The first song "She's Thunderstorms" soaks you into a beautiful melodic ballad. Lead singer Alex Turner, has a soothing sort of comforting voice throughout the album. Unlike every other Arctic Monkeys album, where the snotty British sneer was used to such great affect, (see "Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not"), Alex shows he has the chops to perform a solid pop album.
Although I do love the easy-rocking songs of the back catagalog, I thoroughly enjoyed this album. I was reminded of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club meets Frank Sinatra; all the songs sound like they belonged in the climax of a beautiful movie.
My favorite songs of this record would have to be "She's Thunderstorms," "Black Treacle," and "Restless Serenade". In "Restless Serenade", Turner's voice is amazing (hence my Frank Sinatra reference). The album ends in two great songs as well. The song "Suck It And See" just defends the title with a pretty indie sound while "That's Where You're Wrong" ends with an epic explosion of piercing guitar and crashing cymbals. A beautiful end to a beautiful album.
