The Week in Albums: Apr. 15

If last year was a bit short on new releases, this week was absolutely crammed full of awesome new albums. Therefore, today you get four (!) reviews, to balance out last Friday's meager two. Let joy ring out.

#1
Nine Types of Light
TV on the Radio
Interscope

After scaring everyone half to death by declaring themselves on a hiatus in 2009, TV on the Radio returned this year with their fourth full-length album, Nine Types of Light. Ever since the release of 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain, TVotR have been a critical favorite and Nine Types of Light was predictably showered in praise and accolades. Mixing the more experimental end of alternative rock with lean, Prince-worthy funk and some world music leanings, TVotR hit so many "this is awesome" points on a music critic's checklist. And yet... not unlike their 2008 album Dear Science, this new release feels slightly soulless. Not in the sense of, say, "soul music," because there's certain enough grooviness and emotion here. Rather, the shiny production and airtight arrangements result in an album that feels weirdly plastic. TVotR are an explosive live band and their direct-to-digital recording style smooths out too many of their live quirks and eccentricities. The songwriting is still there, as evidenced by wonderful tracks like "Will Do," "Second Song" and "No Future Shock." I just wish they would wipe a layer of digital sheen or two off their music in the future.

Simon's Grade:



#2
Tomboy
Panda Bear
Paw Tracks

Noah Lennox, perhaps better known as Panda Bear, has already carved out a slice of music history for himself through his work as a member of Animal Collective. However, that's evidently not enough for Lennox, as he's gone on to release three solo albums. One of those, 2008's Person Pitch, is without question one of the finest releases of the past ten years and his latest, Tomboy, is threatening to continue that legacy of greatness into the summer of 2011 and beyond. Unlike the Brian-Wilson-worthy compositions on Person Pitch, Tomboy feels much more linear and organic, featuring more real instrumentation and far fewer eclectic samples. Most of the album's best songs, including the title track and the positively magical "Slow Motion," are driven by simple guitar strumming. Of course, in Lennox's hands, things become substantially less simple after layers of effects and keyboard squiggles and squelches, but the core songs on Tomboy are surprisingly traditional. The resulting album is one that's hard to love on first listen, but constantly rewarding multiple listens. Panda Bear's dreamy, meandering pop will certainly be on repeat for me over this spring and summer.

Simon's Grade:



#3
Build a Rocket Boys!
Elbow
Downtown/Cooperative Music

I've had to sit on this one for a while, since it was released in Elbow's native England more than a month ago. I don't like reviewing albums until I have a sense of how things are being received internationally and American critics have balanced out the almost universal acclaim their English peers were throwing at Build a Rocket Boys!. Elbow have always been an odd band for me, since they manage to operate at an almost Coldplay-esque level of anthemic earnestness without becoming obnoxious or corny. With this new release, the band's fifth album overall, Elbow continue to record inexplicably good music. In lesser hands, the eight-minute-long opener "The Birds" would have been an impossibly portentous and insufferable monstrosity. Here, it's actually a wonderful experiment in tension, building to a much earned climax and a catchy breakdown. Angular tracks like lead single "Neat Little Rows" help counterbalance the band's tendencies toward piano-y ballads and even some of those ("The Night Will Always Win") are strangely wonderful. Elbow are a band that drives me crazy as a critic, since I can never quite understand why I don't hate them. I simply have to hold up my hands and go "yup, they're big and populist and cliched. And I don't care." Deal with it, folks.

Simon's Grade:



#4
The English Riviera
Metronomy
Because Music

I was going to use this space to review the new Foo Fighters album (see below), but then I discovered Metronomy's The English Riviera and knew I had to include it instead. Although it has received very few reviews, those that it did get were wildly positive and rightly so. The third album from this London-based band, Riviera is an understated, surprisingly mature effort from a very young group of musicians. There's an air of European, Bryan-Ferry-worthy cool lurking on the edges of this album (christ, just look at that title and album cover!), yet there are also some great, against-the-grain elements as well. Funky songs like "The Look" or "She Wants" balance their non-threatening boogie with off-kilter or dissonant chord changes. Band leader Joe Mount has crafted a set of songs that wouldn't sound out of place during the early 80s, which is the highest of praises in my book. Albums that sneak up on you are always the best and The English Riviera has the highest ratio of expected enjoyment to actually enjoyment of the year so far.

Simon's Grade:



Also this week: Wasting Light by Foo Fighters (3 pretzels), C'mon by Low (3.5 pretzels)