The Week in Albums: Mar. 4

#1
Wounded Rhymes
Lykke Li
LL

Rising to the top of a slightly thin week for album releases, Lykke Li's Wounded Rhymes was greeted with almost universal praise. The Swedish indie-pop star's second album is a searing collection of great songs, finding a very precarious balance between hooky catchiness and angular, left-of-center electronics. It can be hard to believe that songs like "I Follow Rivers," which sounds like a sort of Knife-lite art-pop, can be sequenced quite naturally along accessible ballads like "Love Out of Lust." Supposedly inspired by a rough breakup, Wounded Rhymes seethes with angst, rage and sexual frustration, best heard on the album's lead single, "Get Some." If Wounded Rhymes occasionally veers too far into maudlin territory, beautiful tracks like "I Know Places" and the ringing closer "Silent My Song" ensure that the album has plenty of powerful moments.

Simon's Grade:



#2
He Gets Me High [EP]
Dum Dum Girls
Sub Pop

Californian rockers Dum Dum Girls record noisy, messy rock songs, channeling the Supremes and Sonic Youth in equal doses. Building on the strength of their debut album, released last year, this new He Gets Me High EP further consolidates the band's strength. Three original songs, highlighted by the cacophonous title track, hint that something great could come from Dum Dum Girls in the future. The album's fourth track, an amped-up cover of the Smith's immortal "There is a Light that Never Goes Out," further demonstrates the power this young band is starting to tap into.

Simon's Grade:



#3
Different Gear, Still Speeding
Beady Eye
Beady Eye Records

While I usually use these recaps to cover albums that everyone liked, I do want to draw special attention to things that everyone absolutely hates. This debut from Beady Eye, the name Liam Gallagher chose for his post-Oasis band, might not be truly despised, but that's not for a lack of trying. Without his brother Noel around to write actual songs, Beady Eye's material trots out the most boring tropes of classic rock without adding even a pinch of originality to the mix. While this is nothing new for Oasis, at least Noel's blatant rip-offs were catchy. Now that Liam is leading the charge, we get brain-dead self-mythologizing like "Beatles and Stones." We'll see if this band holds together long enough to record a second album.

Simon's Grade: