The Week in Albums: May 27

After a week of boring and altogether ignorable releases, The Week in Albums returns with a couple decently reviewed records and one painful reminder of promising talent that has ultimately gone no where. Aww shucks.

#1
Pala
Friendly Fires
XL Records

The past ten years have seen hundreds of English bands mining the post-punk years of the late 70s and early 80s for musical inspiration. However, while most of these groups have gone straight to critically beloved acts like Joy Division or Gang of Four, Hertfordshire trio Friendly Fires have their sights set squarely on Duran Duran. None of that hip moodiness or atmospheric gloom for them, just funky, edgy, dance-friendly pop songs. It's taken the band a while to move past the neseccary imitation stage, but on Pala, their second album, Friendly Fires are finally beginning to sound unique and noteworthy. Singles "Live Those Days Tonight" and "Hawaiian Air" are big, summer-y and quite determined to get parties started. However, the less bombastic tracks (such as the title song) and more experimental attempts ("True Love") hint at an even more promising future for the band. The lyrics throughout are generally horrible, but that hasn't stopped many other bands from turning out high-quality pop. Pala may not be the album of the year, but it's certainly worth hearing and bodes well for a band that was in danger of becoming "just another Brit-rock band."

Simon's Grade:



#2
W
Planningtorock
DFA

Full disclosure time: I know very little about Planningtorock, aka Janine Rostron. This Berlin-based English performer first came to my attention through her collaboration with the Knife on last year's Tomorrow, in a Year, an insanely ambitious electro-opera about Charles Darwin. However, that brief exposure, combined with some positive reviews of her new album W convinced me to check her music out for myself. Long story short, I'm very glad I did. The Knife remains the best comparison here, since Rostron is another female musician who electronically distorts her voice beyond any recognizable gender. Dramatic, artful and perhaps a bit indulgent, this is very theatrical music, far removed from anyone's idea of pop accessibility. However, if you have the patience and/or interest in more avant-garde music, tracks such as "Doorway" and the exceedingly odd "Manifesto" can be quite rewarding. Give W a listen, form your own opinion and decide from there.

Simon's Grade:



#3
Brilliant! Tragic!
Art Brut
Downtown Records

Back in 2005, Art Brut seemed like the next great hope for garage bands. On their debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, frontman Eddie Argos and his band of misfit musicians sang about the simplest things in the simplest ways possible and the result was eighty types of charming. But then we got a second album... and a third... and now we have Brilliant! Tragic!, the latest in a long line of Art Brut albums that are only full of disappointment. This is a band that announced their arrival on the music scene by screaming "formed a band! We formed a band!" but are now recording dreary intro tracks like "Clever, Clever Jazz," where Argos shouts about jazz appreciation for a few directionless minutes. Likewise, the softer tracks, such as "Lost Weekend," can't measure up to the "Emily Kane"s of albums past. It's never fair to constantly measure a band's latest songs against the stuff that made them famous... but in Art Brut's case, each new track only reminds us fans that we're never going to get another Bang Bang Rock & Roll ever again. Forgive me for being bitter about that.

Simon's Grade: