Dartmouth Soundoff: Ten for Ten
“Mind Over Matter” – Young the Giant (Jan. 21)
The sophomore release from the California indie rock band comes four years after their debut album, which includes the well known "My Body" and "Cough Syrup." Lead singer Sameer Gadhia describes the album’s concept-theme as "the obstacles one creates for themselves are the only things that can really destroy you." Deep. Rolling Stone's Christopher Weingarten labeled the record "explosive, inventive rock," and described its lead single, "It's About Time," as a cross between "Foo Fighter fuzz, Justin Timberlake croon, EDM sputter and spiraling high-life guitars." On the other side, Washington Post's Catherine Lewis found the album bland, calling it "a tepid affair that doesn't stand out."
“Transgender Dysphoria Blues” –Against Me! (Jan. 21)
While punk has always been about defying—if not antagonizing—mainstream culture and its accompanying expectations, not all would argue that it's the safest space for gender exploration, making the latest album from Against Me! almost paradoxical. “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” the first album after lead singer Laura Jane Grace transitioned from a man to a woman, is filled with power anthems that Grace penned about her transformation.Pitchfork sums up the album quite nicely: "She makes all that cis punk sound limp in comparison."
“Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son” –Damien Jurado (Jan. 21)
The 11th album from indie-Americana singer-songwriter Damien Jurado was produced by Richard Swift of The Shins, which raised the profile of its release. Jurado continues to show progression and some strategic risk-taking as he disregards convention with his latest record. We hear the funk influences ("SilverDonna"), interpret the Christian references ("Jericho Road") and see that five of the 10 tracks start with the word "Silver."The album received generally positive reviews and critics have been quick to note Swift’s potential influence in its production.
“Too True” –Dum Dum Girls (Jan. 28)
The dream pop band’s third album is full of influences from the same era their name references – a 1977 Iggy Pop song and a 1989 record from The Vaselines. What was once a one-woman bedroom project has grown into a multi-piece band with international recognition and a producer who used to write for Blondie and The Go-Go’s. The songs are generally melancholy, but they’re thinly masked by upbeat arrangements like the goth-pop predecessors of decades past (think The Cure). The album received generally positive reviews, and Pitchfork described “Too True” as “well-crafted, well-written and immaculate-sounding, but it’s a middle distance affair.”
“Sun Structures” –Temples (Feb. 5)
The debut album for this English rock band has charted across Europe and Oasis’s Noel Gallagher continues to talk it up. The majority of the album, especially when vocals are involved, sounds like it’s straight from the ’60s, an observation widely acknowledged by all critics. NME’s Mark Beaumont calls lead singer James Edward Bagshaw a “true cosmic dancer” and the “model lovechild of Jim Morrison, Marc Bolan, John Hassall and Timothy Leary,” which is quite a compliment for the lead singer of a band that cites The Byrds and Pink Floyd as “essential touchstones” to their sound.
“Galore” –Thumpers (Feb. 11)
British indie-pop duo Thumpers’s debut album “Galore” received generally favorable reviews. The record is filled with dreamy mid-tempo alt-pop (“Dancing’s Done” and “Come on Strong”), the occasional anthem chorus (“Sound of Screams”) and a single “Unkinder (A Tougher Love)” that should be on the soundtrack to a beach party. Under the Rader describes the album as “utterly fresh, imbued with an aural sense memory that transports you back to lost summers and nostalgic snapshots of a half-remembered past.”
“All Love's Legal” –Planningtorock (Feb. 18)
The experimental electronic artist’s third album preaches the message of gender and sexual equality. While the music itself is very far from commercial, the lyrics are universal tenets of liberal gender constructs and are almost laughably basic. “Her lyrics can be a bit too simplistic, as when she sings ‘It kind of feels that gender's just a lie’ on Human Drama, or ‘Patriarchal life, get out of the way’ onPatriarchy Over and Out,” writes The Guardian’s Tshepo Mokoena. This lowest common denominator rhetoric is especially pronounced when juxtaposed with her backdrop of choppy beats and songs a listener would struggle to hum along to. “It's undanceable dance music sung by an arid, semi-digitized voice. It asks you to abandon the kind of categorical thinking that divides man from woman and gay from straight,” wrote Pitchfork’s Jessica Suarez.
“Morning Phase”– Beck (Feb. 21)
The twelfth album from alternative-rock pillar and "Loser" singer Beck has been one of the most anticipated albums of the season. “Morning Phase” was intended to be a "companion piece" for“Sea Change,” released twelve years ago, and definitely channels the folksier sound of the album that marked a turning point in Beck’s career. “Morning Phase” has received very strong reviews across the critic community and many are saying it’s his best work yet. The album "serves up a lusher sound and stronger melodies," saysThe Los Angeles Times’sMikael Wood, andRolling Stone'sWill Hermes calls it "a set that feels like an instant folk-rock classic."
“RISER”– Dierks Bentley (Feb. 25)
Since I’m always conscious of my country references, I had to choose between this record and Eric Church's latest album (still definitely worth a listen), which received marginally better reviews. I don't find anything particularly innovative about “RISER”;the record feels like standard top-40 country. But honestly, it fills my criteria for listenable country music: some small-town nostalgia, a naïve approach to love, a "too real" attitude toward booze and only a mild twang.
“St. Vincent” –St. Vincent (Feb. 25)
New-York-based Annie Clark, who performs under the name St. Vincent, has seen excellent critical reception with her fourth studio album and is poised to become an art pop goddess. Without question, her sound is unique and artsy, but it’s still marketable. “She's a great song dissector, breaking down pop's essential rhythmic, melodic and emotional components, retooling every impulse,” wrote Rolling Stone’s Jon Dolan. She understands the pop formula and plays with it just enough to keep the mainstream listener satiated. St. Vincent is certainly here to stay: she has opened for Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Death Cab for Cutie, collaborated with Bon Iver and appeared on a “Twilight” soundtrack.