SOUND BITES

PORTUGAL. THE MAN Sleep Forever / Got it All (This Can't Be Living Now) From: In the Mountain In the Cloud Released: July 19 Portugal. The Man can be a pretty confusing band.  The grammatical challenges their name presents to writers like myself notwithstanding, their career has taken a rather bizarre trajectory in recent years.  Some of you may recall People Say for being included on their 2009 album The Satanic Satanist and that year's edition of Year in Rock.  Well, 2010 saw them release another new album (in fact, since their 2006 inception, they've released at least one new album every year) in March, followed by the announcement a month later that they'd signed a major label contract with Atlantic.  They promptly ran back into the studio and recorded a new album over the summer before releasing a video in October... for People Say.  Whaaaaa? The new album, In the Mountain In the Cloud (oh sure, they'll use periods where they don...

As you're probably well aware by now, The Black Keys are getting set to release their seventh album El Camino a week from today.  Well, you can sample nearly half of the album right now by entering your email addy and postal code below.  Fully co-produced by Danger Mouse (who also co-helmed their massive breakthrough hit Tighten Up for last year's Album of the Year runner-up Brothers ), El Camino doesn't really expand on Brothers ' mix of rock, blues, soul and R&B, but it does trim off that album's fat in terms of ballads.  So as to say, there are none on El Camino ; it's a brisk, punchy, balls-to-the-wall thrill ride from cover to cover.  In fact, the opening half of Little Black Submarines (which will blow your mind and possibly make Jack White shit his drawers) is the only breather you get in the album's 38 minutes.  You can judge the whole thing for itself on December 6, but my Album of the Year race just found another horse.

INCUBUS Adolescents From: If Not Now, When? Released: July 12 Here's a free piece of advice, hard rock bands: if your fans are yelling out that you've gone soft (as many did when Incubus released Light Grenades in 2006), don't make them wait five years for a follow-up (as Incubus did) only to release an album so tepid and testosterone-challenged that it makes the previous "soft" album look like Reign in Blood .  Incubus' seventh album If Not Now, When? is just that laughably light, that unflinchingly soft, that it warrants a serious examination of the band's head space.  The album was preceded in April by first single Adolescents , which turned out to be the only logical choice since it's the only thing on this lukewarm platter that resembles the Incubus anyone ever liked (and is the only thing worth mentioning for Year in Rock; to be honest, the album is so bad that I almost refused Adolescents ' nomination).  This is seriously the heavi...

FAIR TO MIDLAND Whiskey & Ritalin From: Arrows & Anchors Released: July 12 Fair to Midland are one of those bands you rarely read about in magazines or online, but there's a groundswell of extremely vocal fans screaming out adulation at the top of their lungs, proclaiming the band as the best thing to ever happen anywhere while most of the world ignores them.  After giving in to curiosity and checking out their latest album Arrows & Anchors , I can see where both sides are coming from.  The band is filling the void left by System of a Down, whose fans have always been rabid supporters, so it makes sense that Fair to Midland would generate a certain level of fanaticism (although, to be fair, they were once signed to Serj Tankian's record label).  Which is not to compare the bands on a heaviness scale (because System leaves FtM's feet danging four feet off the ground on that seesaw), but rather they're creating world-minded, sonically diverse music tha...

VETIVER Wonder Why From: The Errant Charm Released: June 14 Some albums are released right on time; Vetiver's fifth album The Errant Charm rings bright and sunny, its rhythms and melodies evoking a relaxing afternoon drive along the coast with the windows down.  Guitars jangle with exuberance, the drums warm and welcoming, the songs floating along an easy breeze.  Sure, it's fun to listen to some angry and/or challenging music sometimes, but every once in a while you just need to chill and let the tunes take you to a happier place.  The Errant Charm has several tracks more than willing to do that job for you, none more satisfying than Wonder Why .  Andy Cabic's lyrics paint a sort of bleak picture, as the song's protagonist ponders whether or not his hard work will ever pay off.  It could be about his band, it could be about the struggling middle class.  Whatever the case, the calming waves of music that carry the song along bring with them hope....

AGAINST ME! Occult Enemies From: Russian Spies/Occult Enemies 7" Released: June 14 Dissatisfied with their mishandling by clueless major label dimwits (as I documented in full last year while praising White Crosses as 2010's Album of the Year), Against Me! parted ways with Sire Records and opted, like so many mishandled bands do, to go the independent route.  After starting up Total Treble, their own label, the band christened it with a new single, containing Russian Spies on the A-side and Occult Enemies as the B-side (which, by its inclusion on Year in Rock, pretty much locks it up as the year's best B-side).  It's also the first studio recording to be released with Jay Weinberg on drums.  If the last name sounds familiar, it should; Jay's dad is Max, famed drummer of the E Street Band and Conan O'Brien's O.G. house drummer from his Late Night days. As for the material, it's suitably raw yet surprisingly crisp.  It's the sound of a ba...

FRANK TURNER Peggy Sang the Blues From: England Keep My Bones Released: June 7 With a background in post-hardcore, it's no surprise that Frank Turner's albums found distribution on Epitaph, one of the planet's foremost punk labels.  The surprise lays in the grooves of his records; England Keep My Bones sees Turner once again proving his considerable chops as a songwriter while moving away from his earlier, more politically minded efforts and toward themes with broader appeal.  Instead of railing against injustices and issues of the day, his sights are set on big picture problems.  Religion is touched upon with Glory Hallelujah , a song Turner wrote as an atheist anthem.  It's scathing and hilarious, and isn't for the pure of faith.  Meanwhile, mortality pops up here and there, most notably on lead single Peggy Sang the Blues .  A full sounding, classic sounding track dedicated to Turner's late grandmother, it's the sound of a man and his band (sinc...

FUCKED UP The Other Shoe From: David Comes to Life Released: June 7 Coming three years after their Polaris Music Prize winning album The Chemistry of Common Life , Fucked Up knew they'd be placed under increased scrutiny for David Comes to Life .  You don't just win an award proclaiming your band's album as best in the country and have your next go unnoticed.  Luckily for us, Fucked Up cranked out another winner, upping the ante on their wall of guitars attack and keeping the quality of their songwriting sharp.  Oh, who am I kidding?  They obliterated expectations, creating a tour du force record filled with mammoth riffs, thesis-worthy narrative arc and more catchy tunes than most any other record released this year.  It's a complicated, often confusing, always exhilarating 78 minutes of theatrics and primal scream that's only as good as it is fun, and how much fun it is depends on how open your mind is. To the uninitiated, it can be hard work buying ...

ARCTIC MONKEYS Reckless Serenade From: Suck It and See Released: June 7 The phrase "suck it and see" is British, just like the Arctic Monkeys.  It refers to something you're unsure about, i.e. the flavour of a candy.  The gist being that if you don't know what it's like, try it and you will.  Of course, America isn't allowed to have nice things, and the gutterminds in charge of sheltering the public from anything that may possibly have the slightest hint of something that may be considered by somebody somewhere nay anybody anywhere the tiniest bit offensive decided that Arctic Monkeys were suggesting we suck their dicks and censored their album cover at some retailers.  Yes, that album cover.  The completely blank album cover with just the band's logo on a sticker and just the title.  It's so risqué, n'est pas?

EDDIE VEDDER Longing to Belong From: Ukulele Songs Released: May 31 Being a Pearl Jam lifer can sometimes be a little overwhelming.  Take this year, for instance: marking the 20th anniversary of their debut album Ten, 2011 was designated "PJ20", and saw a big year of special treats for fans of the band.  It culminated in the premiere of the Cameron Crowe-directed feature film, which just saw release on DVD and Bluray.  There was also that film's two-disc soundtrack, massive coffee table book, Live on Ten Legs concert collection, and deluxe (and super deluxe) reissues of their second and third albums Vs. and Vitalogy .  All told: four albums, a ginormous book and a feature film.  And that's not even mentioning their Labour Day Weekend concert, or the two releases Eddie Vedder released solo this year.

MY MORNING JACKET First Light From: Circuital Released: May 31 Making their name as Bonnaroo-ready jam rockers with 2003's epic guitar odyssey It Still Moves , My Morning Jacket took a slight left turn by adding splotches of pop and branching out into other art forms with Z two years later.  Rather than balk at the idea of an expanding sound, the fans took it all in.  So, when Jim James started singing in falsetto and throwing the kitchen sink in on 2008's Evil Urges , people started giving My Morning Jacket dirty looks.  This writer praised Evil Urges for being as freaky as it wanted to be; mass perception be damned, Evil Urges is a hell of a fun album to listen to.  Nonetheless, the band was considered by many to be at a crossroads leading up to the release of their sixth album.  Would they get back to basics?  Would they get even weirder?  Would Jim James keep using that damned falsetto? As Circuital reveals, the answer is yes to all th...

FLOGGING MOLLY The Power's Out From: Speed of Darkness Released: May 31 Over their last few albums, Flogging Molly has started to drift away from their raucous Celtic punk roots and into the rough waters of what could be considered a mainstream-aspiring compromise of less ragged, more easily digestible folk rock.  They've caught a fair amount of criticism from the closed minded set that just want every album to be twelve variations on Devil's Dance Floor , but on Speed of Darkness it's beginning to feel like a natural progression.  This is not to say that their signature style isn't still present; the title track rocks with confidence, and Oliver Boy (All of Our Boys) is a pub punk masterwork.  There's just a little less bite to the overall sound.  It doesn't necessarily mean they're going soft; it seems just as likely the fault of the album's production, which definitely softens the blow of their more rowdy material.  The difference is, wh...

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE You Are a Tourist From: Codes and Keys Released: May 31 Much was made of the fact that Codes and Keys was the first Death Cab for Cutie album to be released after mainman Ben Gibbard's marriage to indie darling and eternal hottie Zooey Deschanel; it was hypothesized that married life would bring out Gibbard's sunnier side.  Indeed, Codes and Keys finds Gibbard in a much more pleasant, stabilized mood compared to previous releases.  Sadness replaced with content, despair with hope.  And the music follows suit; not that DCFC were ever really considered a guitar rock band proper, but on Codes and Keys they're becoming extinct, the melodies more often painted with keyboards while guitars laze about unnoticed in the background. On You Are a Tourist , however, they're front and center; there are no power chords in sight, but the strings do spit sparks of positive energy that propel the track from just your standard indie rock tune to your indi...

SEASICK STEVE You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks From: You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks Released: May 30 (UK) It's hard to use the phrase "up and coming" when describing a 70 year old man.  And yet there it is in praise of Seasick Steve, a man who's had such an interesting life that I can't even begin to describe it here; suffice to say, his Wikipedia entry is a great primer that will earn this man your admiration and respect.  Indeed, his life has been turbulent and triumphant from the start; he's been a hobo, carnie and cowboy.  He's also sold out Royal Albert Hall  and earned a spot at several massive European festivals.  His breakthrough started with a New Years Eve 2006 performance on Jools Holland's BBC program, and has yielded four albums since.  His latest, You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks , stays true to what Seasick Steve has always done; play he blues.  It's been his life, and on the title track he briefl...

SLOAN I've Gotta Know From: The Double Cross Released: May 10 Given the tumultuous history of the band, it's sort of amazing to consider that Sloan has survived for twenty years with the entire original lineup intact.  Being hailed as the next big thing from the get-go, then having your record label fail to promote your second album and drop you like a bad habit only two years later is strenuous enough to push a band to call it quits, and they very nearly did.  Now we know that not only did Sloan not break up, but they founded their own record label and self-released One Chord to Another , their brilliant third album, in 1996 (I still consider that album to be their best).  After a string of three lukewarm-to-poorly received albums (from 1999's Between the Bridges to 2003's failed U.S. comeback Action Pact ), there was plenty of talk about Sloan hanging it up for good.

SAM ROBERTS BAND I Feel You From: Collider Released: May 10 Having already endured the breakout success ( Brother Down was Canada's it rock song of 2002), the tentative dabbling in the U.S. market, as is the rite of passage for all moderately successful Canuck artists (2003's debut We Were Born in a Flame was the best time to try; one of the best albums of the year, it made a small dent in the American mindset upon its release there a year later), the difficult, druggy third album (the aptly named 2005 disc Chemical City ), and the subdued creative step backward (2008's Love at the End of the World , aside from hit single Them Kids , was really kinda bland), it seems according to script that Sam Roberts would start settling in on his fourth album (and first with the band credited as equal contributors), Collider (you know, I think it was a bad idea to give me brackets). Well, as far as settling in goes, Roberts does and doesn't on Collider .  W...

MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA Virgin From: Simple Math Released: May 10 How do you follow up record as emotionally raw and sonically bombastic as Mean Everything to Nothing , an album that was so relentless in its execution that I named it the best of 2009?  Well, it appears as though you make it bigger .  Simple Math , Manchester Orchestra's third album (and first as a band no longer flying under the radar), saw the songs grow wider in scope, the lyrics reach further into life's tough questions, and the band finally making with half of their namesake in the form of rich orchestral flourishes that hang over nearly every song like thick, black clouds.

TV ON THE RADIO Caffeinated Consciousness From: Nine Types of Light Released: April 12 2011 will be remembered predominantly as a tragic year for TV on the Radio, with the sad passing of bassist/keyboard player Gerard Smith, who succumbed to lung cancer just eight days after the North American release of Nine Types of Light .  At least he went out on a high note; Nine Types of Light is a gorgeous, sprawling and frenetic album, sometimes all three at the same time. If a complaint must be made about Nine Types of Light , it's that its lighter content seems to be corralled into the first half of the album while keeping much of the harder material stuffed toward the back.  Hopefully, this doesn't signal a lessened desire to rock out; in my opinion, TVOTR's best moments are measured in volume, not scope.  In that respect, Caffeinated Consciousness is certainly high on the list; it's a loud declaration of perseverance, perhaps written with the knowledge th...

THE TREWS Hope & Ruin From: Hope & Ruin Released: April 12 The Trews have always been underdogs.  Just being a band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia is hard enough.  But, when they burst onto the Canadian scene in 2003 with their debut House of Ill Fame , an album that came out of the gate swinging and rocked with such swagger you had to root for them, you thought "they're really going to make it".  However, House of Ill Fame stalled out and never achieved anything higher than modest success.  So, they got legendary producer Jack Douglas (who has worked with John Lennon among many others) to helm the boards for their follow up Den of Thieves .  It was a really good album and spawned four hits in Canada, so their record label turned their eye toward the south, releasing the album in the U.S.  You pulled for them, thinking "they just might make it".  Of course, the Americans didn't take hold of the band, and it was back to the drawing board ...

RED FANG Wires From: Murder the Mountains Released: April 12 If you were wondering when the inevitable sludgy metal entry was going to make its first appearance this year, wonder no more.  Making their recorded debut only two years ago, Red Fang have already turned a lot of heads in the metal community.  After doing some small shows with the likes of Helmet and Crowbar, Murder the Mountains was released to critical priase. Listening to Murder the Mountains , it's easy to see why.  From cover to cover, its rocks hard; riffs are tasty, groove intact, heavy as fuck.  It's as though the boys were sitting around one night sipping on a brew and listening to Melvins' classic Houdini , lamenting the fact that they didn't make albums like that anymore, when they suddenly realized that they could probably make an album like that.  As it turns out, Murder the Mountains isn't quite up to snuff when compared to all-time sludge masters like Melvins, but be patient...

FOO FIGHTERS White Limo From: Wasting Light Released: April 12 Resonating with the warmth of the analog tape it was recorded on and benefiting from some of the band's best songwriting ever, Wasting Light is a hulking slab of rock the likes of which we don't see very often anymore.  Maybe it's because it was produced by Butch Vig, maybe Dave Grohl had the 20th anniversary of Nevermind on the brain.  Maybe Grohl was simply sick of hearing people say the Foos had gotten soft after 2009 single Wheels became a crossover smash.  Whatever the case, Wasting Light grabs you by the throat from the jagged opening salvo of Burning Bridges , and doesn't let go until after the soaring Walk 's final note rings out. In between, the album is chock full of Grohl's uncanny sense of melody; it's a gift that has spawned more hits than you could have fit on their 2009 greatest hits album.  On Wasting Light , though, that gift for melody is filtered through a wall o...

R.E.M.  All the Best  From: Collapse Into Now Released: March 15 It came as kind of a shock when R.E.M. announced in September that they were disbanding after a storied 31-year career.  However, when you look at the events leading up to that announcement, you definitely don't have to look very hard to see the clues.  When Collapse Into Now was released in March, they said they wouldn't be touring for the album; at the time, they cited fear of repetition and ineffectiveness in bolstering album sales, but now it's apparent that they were already set to hang it up. There are lyrical clues on Collapse as well, none more blatant than on All the Best , which sees Michael Stipe singing such plain as day forfeitures as "it's just like me to overstay my welcome" and "I'll sing and rhyme / I'll give it one more time".  Musically, R.E.M. chose to go out on a bit of a high note; Collapse Into Now is a pretty good microcosm of the band's...

DROPKICK MURPHYS Going Out in Style From: Going Out in Style Released: March 1 Even at their fastest and heaviest, Dropkick Murphys have always been one of the most fun bands to listen to.  There's just something about their Celtic-infused punk rock that's a blast to sip whiskey and howl along to, no matter what the subject matter.  If you need confirmation of this, just go see them play a show sometime.  It's as though the Dropkicks are the raucous, tuneful musical manifesto of an Irish wake.  That the title track of their 2011 album Going Out in Style is actually about an Irish wake seems like acquiescence of the highest order. Of course, Dropkick Murphys have traditionally been at their best when telling stories; from the hilariously inappropriate chubby chaser anthem Spicy McHaggis Jig to the harrowing account of drug-induced broken homes in The State of Massachusetts , there's always been a fine art at work in their music.  With Going Out ...

RADIOHEAD Lotus Flower From: The King of Limbs Released: February 18 Slight .  That's the word that comes to mind when I think about The King of Limbs , Radiohead's eighth studio album.  Rush released online on a dreary February Friday (only four days after they'd announced its existence), it seemed like such a letdown after the years of speculation and anticipation that followed In Rainbows , a record which I had decreed upon its release Radiohead's most shocking due to its "play it safe" mentality.  Of all the bands in the world, the one that's most thrilling when it thinks outside the box is Radiohead, and hearing them whip out a batch of tuneful yet unobtrusive songs was a little unsettling to the musical maverick in me.  So, at a glance, The King of Limbs should have been a glorious return to form, the band's defiant pushback at normalcy.  However, after giving the album a few listens, it all felt so... slight .

YUCK Get Away From: Yuck Released: February 15 When you hear a throwback noise as glorious and melodic as is found on Yuck's debut album, many places come to mind, from the claustrophobia of Sonic Youth's New York City to Dinosaur Jr.'s rural Massachusetts beginnings to even the sugary-yet-bitter North Carolina that Superchunk calls home.  One of the last places you think of is jolly old England.  But, upon further inspection, the UK makes sense; it rains there quite frequently, and it was the birthplace of punk, after all.  Plus, it's not like Yuck don't have internet access.  Local scenes are quickly becoming a thing of the past as more and more bands draw their inspiration from websites instead of peers.  It may sound a little odd to hear someone say, "our band is influenced by Stereogum", but isn't that what we're coming to?  Not that it's a bad thing; if an afternoon on Limewire eventually results in an album as loud and enthrallin...

HEY ROSETTA! Welcome From: Seeds Released: February 15 When you think of Newfoundland, you think of its lush scenery, rich history and friendly people.  When you think of Newfoundland in a musical sense, you think of kitchen parties, fiddles, and Great Big Sea.  Hailing from St. John's, six-piece Hey Rosetta! are one of those bands you'd be forgiven for assuming are just another of the wave of indie rock bands calling Montreal or Toronto home.  Indeed, they incorporate the big sounds of Canada's best-known musical collectives into their third album Seeds , but there's also an overlying sense of neighbourly compassion and communal play that absolutely screams Newfoundland.  They didn't have to bring fiddles into the proceedings (although, by times, they do) or sing traditional sea shanties to beam with provincial pride.  Sometimes, all it takes is a bandwide brotherhood, heartfelt performances and an intelligent, soaring brand of universally recognized r...

...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD Pure Radio Cosplay From: Tao of the Dead Released: February 8 Perhaps best known for their 2002 breakthrough Source Tags & Codes (and its infamous Perfect 10 from those lovable trendsetters at Pitchfork; they've since expressed regret in the form of relegating them to overeager prog worshiping status and dogging them with mediocre-to-average reviews ever since), Trail of Dead is one of those rare beasts in rock music; as much pressure and suggestion has been forced upon them since the dawn of their existence some 17 (!) years ago, Trail of Dead have steadfastly stuck to their guns and done whatever in blue blazes they wanted to.  When this meant frequently smashing their shit onstage, they smashed their shit.  When it meant mixing furious rockers and grandiose, way-over-the-top theatrical flourishes (most notably on 2005 release Worlds Apart ), they heaped sounds upon sounds upon noise.  When it meant illustrating ...

THE JOY FORMIDABLE Whirring From: The Big Roar Released: January 24 (UK) The debut album from England trio the Joy Formidable has caused quite a stir in their homeland.  The BBC, NME, and many other UK outlets praised the big sound of the album.  Of course, there's always one bad one in the bunch.  Upon its US release in March, Pitchfork gave it a more lukewarm reception, criticizing it for being too excessive.  Leave it to Pitchfork to scoff at something perfectly fine; lead single "Whirring" is huge, loud and melodic, and is still doing the slow burn on radio.  With this steadily rising success, plus knockout festival shows behind them, the Joy Formidable won't be flying under the radar much longer.

COLD WAR KIDS Louder Than Ever From: Mine is Yours Released: January 25 It seems like a lifetime ago that Cold War Kids' mix of Southern rock, blues and modern pop was the toast of Indie Town, their amazing debut album Robbers and Cowards gracing every other top ten list that existed online.  Then, something happened.  By which I mean, the bloggers and critics abandoned the band by the time they released their quirky, rather difficult follow-up Loyalty to Loyalty .  Indeed, the album was heavily criticized for being too odd and not enough fun, which this writer presumed was the backbone of the entire indie rock community.  I must be getting too old for this shit. Anyway, now you know the story; local band does good, gets noticed, gets praised, gets weirder, gets ignored.  Which brings us to Mine is Yours .  In a musical equivalent to Cartman's "screw you guys, I'm goin' home", Cold War Kids recorded their 2011 release with producer Jacquire King...

THE DECEMBERISTS Down By the Water From: The King is Dead Released: January 18 Renowned for intricate albums chock full of murder ballads and high concepts, the Decemberists released what vocalist Colin Meloy referred to as "an exercise in restraint" in 2011.  The King is Dead doesn't have an overarching storyline, song suites, or even a particularly high body count.  What it lacks in familiar Decemberists fare, however, it makes up for in heartfelt, well-written songs.  Musically, most of the album is less cabaret and more Americana compared to earlier efforts, and it really does work.  Plus, the lack of concept gives the songs a chance to stand on their own merit.  Sure, it's no doubt fun to create a cast of characters and give them a songbook, but by throwing out the box that concept albums lock a writer into, the Decemberists have given their most cohesive, most concise and (most importantly) most enjoyable set of songs yet.  Ch...

CAGE THE ELEPHANT Shake Me Down From: Thank You Happy Birthday Released: January 11 In late 2010, Cage the Elephant premiered the lead single from their sophomore album to mixed reviews.  Many fans were expecting a return to the snotty, groovy rock that coursed through previous singles "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" and "In One Ear".  Instead, what we got was a more sombre, almost mature tune that eschewed instant gratification for a slower burning satisfaction.  And eventually everyone caught up to them, as "Shake Me Down" became a pretty substantial rock radio hit.  Unfortunately, much of the rest of the album proved much more difficult to find the joy in; a good number of tracks seem like hastily assembled deadline meeters that pile on top of each other with no regard for melody or common sense.  Maybe for album number three they'll take their time and craft a whole album's worth of solid tunes; "Shake Me Down" proves they...