January 2013: Albums summary

We absorb a lot of music into our brains here at Sound Influx, but amongst our thirty-odd writers sometimes we don't get to review all the albums we'd like to of a month. So here's a reminder of the albums we did give a full review to, and our verdicts on the rest of what January 2013 had to offer.

Reviewed 

Fidlar - Fidlar (7/10)
Yo La Tengo - Fade (6/10)

A$AP Rocky - Long.Live.A$AP (7/10)

Mystical Weapons - Mystical Weapons (5/10)

Toro Y Moi - Anything In Return (7/10)
Villagers - {Awayland} (8/10)

Album Of The Month

Everything Everything - Arc (9/10)

"They've done it then, the Manchester foursome. They've made an album that manages to balance the indie/dance/pop/experimental with radio playability and pure integrity. It’s not perfect, but we’ll be hard pressed to remember 2012 if more albums come like Arc this year. "

The Rest

Ducktails - The Flower Lane (5/10)

Fads come and fads go, yet some fads outstay their welcome. For his latest venture as Ducktails, Matt Mondanile seems content on clinging onto the ever-outdated nostalgic fantasy of the 80s, as recently exploited by genre-cum-meme ‘chillwave’. It’s a shame, as the record is strongest where Mondanile’s previous brand of oft-challenging psychedelia shines through. Title track ‘The Flower Lane’, for example, is a brilliantly crafted take on Todd Rundgren’s warped pop music of the 70s, and ‘International Dateline’ modestly achieves more than the bulk of the record, recalling the laid-back jangle pop of Mondanile’s main project Real Estate. These moments are lost, however, in a record that is ultimately all too harmless to make an impression. Will Hall

Foxygen - We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic (6/10)

The second album from the nostalgia obsessed Foxygen is about as divisive as they come. It's an album that scraps any notions of newness or innovation, instead dwelling on their past influences (Dylan, Rolling Stones, The Kinks) and occasionally outright copying them with rock cliché upon rock cliché. Played out hippy escapist bullshit swathes this album in a way that verges on hilarious: "If you believe in yourself you'll free your soul", "Because it's a bummer in the summertime, but everyone's going to have a really good time", "Rearrange your mind if it makes you feel fine" 

You get the overall impression though that Foxygen aren't taking things that seriously, the album's title alone is too ridiculous to have any real meaning behind it, making this a fairly innocuous and pleasant listen with catchy melodies, albeit with the occasional cringe worthy lyric. Toby McCarron

Nosaj Thing - Home (7/10)

The second album from LA beatmaker Nosaj Thing picks up on trends in modern electronic music expertly, with quirky rhythms and use of space. Recalling the work of artists like Schlomo, Shigeto and Flying Lotus, Jason Chung twists and contorts enticing sounds into something bordering on majestic. With guest spots from Toro Y Moi and Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, the album feels very studied and is realised with pleasing results. Toby McCarron

Christopher Owens - Lysandre (6/10) 

The sad news of Girls disbanding is still fresh in the forefront of people’s minds but frontman Christopher Owens has already launched his solo career and has finished debut solo album Lysandre as well as fronting a campaign for the newly rebranded Saint Laurent. Whilst the foundations of Girls’ music is embedded in Owen’s debut solo effort, everything has been diluted to a watery formula. The lyrics are pretty simplistic, the guitars quieter and the general atmosphere sounds too spacious for Owens alone to be occupying. The excessive use of saxophone is a welcome novelty on first listen but quickly comes off as cheesy after a while. You could be mistaken in thinking that Lysandre was a rush job but Owens has actually been working on the record from when Girls were still together. It’s not quite what we expected but as Owens says in ‘Love Is In The Ear Of The Listener’ “Everything to say has been said before and that’s not what makes or breaks a song” Aurora Mitchell

Dutch Uncles - Out Of Touch In The Wild (5/10)

With bands like Everything Everything and Django Django producing remarkable left of centre, yet still decidedly British indie pop, is there any room for Dutch Uncles to impress? The short answer is, not really. Out Of Touch In The Wild comes across like a more experimental and less beige Two Door Cinema Club record, with plenty of neat choruses but without much excitement in its experimentation. Stand out tracks 'Fester' and 'Flexxin' delight, but everything else feels worryingly hackneyed. Toby McCarron

Widowspeak - Almanac (6/10)

Duo Widowspeak's sophomore effort is an exercise in being lovely. The cover is beautiful and amongst the most visually appealing of the month, with the music being similarly calming with a vague husky sense of intrigue you might get from a band like Beach House. Enchanting, but not wholly memorable. Toby McCarron

Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (9/10) 

2013 looks set to be noisy.  With The Men, Iceage, FIDLAR and California X amongst others set to release albums in the top half of the year, there’s not going to be a shortage of music to shred our ears to a pulp. Parquet Courts’ debut ‘Light Up Gold’ is not as abrasive and in-your-face as some of the above, and even boasts a degree of accessibility with songs like ‘Borrowed Time’ and ‘Stoned And Starving’. Although there are some gloriously shouty moments, including the strained shouting of “I WANT YOUR DISEASE” in ‘Disney P.T’. The production is quite muffled for a record of its caliber though, bringing to mind The Men. Aurora Mitchell

The History Of Apple Pie - Out Of View (8/10)

The debut album from East London small venue stalwarts The History Of Apple Pie transcends much of the hipster bullshit the areas they frequent churn out. Out Of View is an undeniably enjoyable record full of grungey guitars, sweet vocal coos and impeccable melodies. The Pixies like feel to tracks 'Mallory' and 'You're So Cool' placed alongside more straight up embraces of shoegaze guitar like 'Do It Wrong' is exciting and youthful enough not to feel like a rip off, and works as a fitting soundtrack for teenage angst or just a straight up celebration. Toby McCarron



Girls - HMV Forum 28/05/12

Having never seen Girls before and being a pretty big fan, I've heard that they're absolutely amazing live and was not expecting any less and I definitely wasn't disappointed when I went down to their only UK show this year at the HMV forum. Before Girls took to the stage, support band Weird Dreams, basically a toned-down and less captivating version of Girls - ambled through a set that felt a lot longer than it probably was as each song merged into the next, creating one long song. What didn't help was that Weird Dreams were so low-energy and largely failed to arouse any interest from the crowd. It's safe to say that everyone was waiting for Christopher Owens and co. to hit the stage and blow everyone away. 

Over half an hour of anticipation follows before Girls hit the stage and Christopher Owens is decked out in a white suit and tie - complementing the array of beautiful flowers attached to each microphone stand. Having seen pictures of previous live shows and photos of Owens next to flowers, this came as no surprise but was still equally as lovely. Starting off slow, they open with 'My Ma' and the crowd instantly comes alive as soon as the first note is played, showing their appreciation right from the off. 

A few older songs follow including 'Ghost Mouth' and 'Laura' which come as nice surprises since it's only fair to expect recent material from their incredible second album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. By this point, Owens has already taken off his jacket, feeling the heat as summer has newly sprung upon us. Throughout the first half of the set, Owens barely shakes his hair out of his face and avoids eye contact with the crowd, only graciously but meekly saying 'Thank you' after each song - a humble gesture from someone who exudes such power and emotion through his songs. He leaves the talking to his band mate J.R White who shares a few words about the last time they played a show in London. 

When it comes to 'Vomit', the crowd is completely enraptured in Girls' live show, dancing and singing along the words as the most indescribable rendition is going on in the foreground; and the gospel singers really come into their stride as one comes forward and belts out her part - sounding even more soulful and vivid in real life than on record. The three backing gospel vocalist serve as hype women throughout as they encourage the crowd to clap and dance along to each song, even when they're not participating in the song with their flawless harmonies. The raptures of applause that ensues is astounding as it feels like the praise carries on for a long time, whilst Owens subtly smiles to himself at the reaction and gets a well deserved break in between songs. 

'Morning Light' causes a moshpit at the front of the crowd, as they have much more energy than would be expected in the sudden sweltering heat in London. Girls bring out more older songs than expected but this is welcomed profusely by the crowd who no doubt are eager to hear a mix of the three outputs from the San Francisco band. Unsurprisingly, by 'Lust For Life', the barely audible sing-a-longs to songs have turned into a mass sing-a-long in the Forum, 'Oh, I wish I had a boyfriend. I wish I had a loving man in my life...', as Owens gets completely comfortable and sweeps his hair out of his face as well as maintaining concentrated eye contact with the crowd.

Afterwards, the band leave the stage but it's obvious that there's going to be an encore and predictably, the band return to the stage for three songs, 'Honey Bunny', 'Love Like A River' and 'Carolina'. Although perhaps 'Honey Bunny' would have been a suitable last song due to being one of Girls' most high energy songs, the three songs were the perfect exit to an amazing set, as the crowd and Owens unite to bring energy and fun to the Forum, and by this point, Owens has unbuttoned his shirt - unable to take the heat in his full attire. 
Christopher Owens may sing 'They don't like my boney body/They don't like my dirty hair' but it's safe to say that everyone was united in love for Owens and his band mates at the gig of the year so far. 


Aurora Mitchell

Girls - Honey Bunny

San Francisco outfit Girls’ latest offering is a glorious piece of wonky foot-shuffling surf-pop which has drawn comparisons to ELO and Belle and Sebastian. With lead singer Christopher Owens’ wavering vocals and backing-singer harmonies, it’s not so hard to see where these comparisons have sprung from. The song contains the sort of lyrics that I expect many an awkward teenage boy will be able to relate to; "they don’t like my bony body, they don’t like my dirty hair..." And Owens’ trademark "whining" (his words) voice only adds to the sense of longing and wishful thinking; the line "I want a woman who loves me, me, me, me..." is sung with such fragility it could break your heart. But the slightly sombre lyrics don’t detract from the rich guitars and rumbling drums of this slightly fuzzy and very summery song (It does make you wonder, however, whether it is being released a little late in the year.)

Girls may have been criticised for being "unoriginal", and they are certainly playing it safe with this single, but those rattling drums and Chris’ heartfelt lyrics mean that this is a pretty damn good comeback. The song leaves you pining for scorching summer’s days spent on a really cool road trip in a soft top car like they do in the movies. Proper pop.

By Holly Read-Challen

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

The second record from San Francisco band Girls sees them take a more expansive sound with everything from heavy distorted guitar solos to soft acoustic moments to gospel accentuating the melancholy of Christopher Owens' voice. The songs make sure they cannot be pinned down, many metamorphosing into something entirely new in their duration. 

No song is simple on this album. The raucous opener ‘Honey Bunny’ speeds up then slows down into a lighters in the air moment before speeding up into an abrupt ending, while ‘My Ma’ is tinged with gospel but features a distorted guitar solo. ‘Forgiveness’ feels like an intrusion until it becomes a funk song with a huge Prince –esque epic guitar solo. ‘Vomit’ twists and turns starting as a simple acoustic riff before growing into a distorted guitar solo which segues into ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ which could be straight off a Beach Boys album before finally blowing up into an epic gospel finish while Smith sings softly “come into my heart” seemingly oblivious to his backing.

But it’s sometimes when Girls stick to one genre per song that their ability really shines through. ‘Die’ is a hardcore head banging piece of heavy rock and ‘Just A Song’ uses a lack of production to highlight a Billy Bragg guitar part and simple strings to allow Owens' vocals to act as a haunting distraction. The catchy, jaunty ‘Magic’ will have you clicking your fingers or tapping toes without even realising, while ‘Love Life’ is straight off a Best Of 50s Rock n Roll record and ‘Jamie Marie’ is a broken hearted goodbye.

It is clear that Girls are not a band to be pigeonholed and their versatility is firmly proved on this record. The ability for every song to be contrasting and different while at the same time to fit together is a rare quality. Majestic song writing spanning every genre, I dare anyone to not enjoy this rather wonderful record.

9/10

By Jessy Parker