Review Roundup for August 2012
by Jess Grant
9/7/12
LA Music Blog BitCandy's Review Roundup returns! So, we admit, our bitchability must have been up to 11 this month, cause we bombed a massive bunch of hype fails, from Passion Pit to Ariel Pink to Bloc Party to Cat Power to Paul Oakenfold (yes, believe it or not, Sir Paul is still alive and kicking). But it's not all bad, baby, baby, baby ohhhh! We also loved up the likes of The Antlers, The Very Best, Yagya and Animal Collective (ohmygoshanimalcollectiveareback). So scroll on down to check out all that, and more!
The Antlers – Undersea – Rating: 7.9
“To follow up their two critically acclaimed albums, Hospice and Burst Apart, Sylvia Plath's biggest fans The Antlers decided to release a group of songs dedicated to water and the way we interact with it. And yes, that's actually the thought process behind the band's new EP Undersea...”
The Very Best – MTMTMK – Rating: 8.1
“Now, in the past...I made fun that these guys calling themselves The Very Best when the last album should have been called The Nearly Very Worst. Lots of hype up the ass and only one really good song 'Warm Heart of Africa.' But this recent outing on their album MTMTMK...they may actually rise to the area of legitimately being The Very Almost Best...and more...”
The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten – Rating: 6.6
“It’s appropriate that a band called The Gaslight Anthem has an album entitled Handwritten because this album is full of 'handwritten' (aka from the heart) rock anthems. It’s big and ambitious, while still holding onto its roots of Jersey punk rock...”
Passion Pit – Gossamer – Rating: 3.4
“On Passion Pit's new album Gossamer, they prove worthy of having 'Pit' in their band name. In other words the band falls into the category of indie pop releases this year that could have been easily called '12 Songs, 3 Worth Hearing'...”
Paul Oakenfold – We Are Planet Perfecto Volume 2 – Rating: 1.1
"Wha? You mean we needed a Volume 2 of this stuff? This compilation of the 'latest and greatest' club bangers is exceptional...for 1996. Paul Oakenfold, or 'Oakie' as his faithful attendees used to call him, was at one point the top man in the DJ game. If you're 15-24 and reading this article you're probably like... Paul Who? But make no doubt, there was a time he crushed it..."
The Darkness – Hot Cakes – Rating: 5.2
“The Darkness is back with a fresh dose of hair metal themed ear candy for your listening enjoyment. It’s been a little while since their last release but for those of us who grew up on their blistering guitar solos and high range vocals, there will always be a special place in our hearts for their metal throwback antics...”
Ariel Pink – Mature Themes – Rating: 2.8
“Ok, I'm done 'waiting for Kate' with Ariel Pink. Neither Kate nor Ariel ever showed up like I had thought. Does that make sense? Probably not. Let me back track... The first time I heard Ariel Pink, it was from a trusted music friend who said, 'you GOTTA hear this.' That was about 8 years ago and my reaction was -- you are obviously on drugs...”
Yagya – The Inescapable Decay Of My Heart – Rating: 8.6
“Damn! Its been a hella long time I could write about and suggest an album you really need to have. Yeah... a lot of the recent indie releases have left us high and dry. But not to fear. A great artist has arrived in your inbox. And that artist's name is Yagya...”
Yeasayer – Fragrant World – Rating: 4.7
“If you're the type of person who finds density enjoyable, then this is probably an album for you. It's not that it is necessarily bad music, it's just underwhelming. Most of the songs bleed together, and they take forever getting to where they're going while still somehow managing to be uninteresting...”
Wild Nothing – Nocturne – Rating: 7.8
“Wild Nothing sounds like what I thought adulthood would be like when I was in high school. Everything would have a dreamy, summer-y feel to it. And there'd be tons of one night stands. (Yes, in high school I envisioned my adult life would play out like the playboy in a romantic comedy, minus the part where he falls in love and stops being an asshole)...”
Bloc Party – Four – Rating: 2.2
"When writing reviews on music, it's easy to default into just trashing albums or bands because those types or reviews are far more enjoyable to write. Other times albums are just really shitty and deserve to be called out as such. The aptly titled forth offering from Bloc Party, Four, is the latter..."
Animal Collective – Centipede Hz – Rating: 8.5
“So, we know Merriweather Post Pavilion was a big buzzy deal, scored 108956.9893 on Pitchfork, and was basically the biggest fucking thing in independent music since the last biggest fucking thing in independent music. But rather than attempt (and fail) to whup MPP's ass (it was never gonna happen, brah, it was the best album of their career), AnCo decided to take a totez different approach to songwriting with Centipede Htz (grossest album title of 2012)...”
Cat Power – Sun - Rating: 2.2
“I'm really sorry Chan... but have to give ur album a 2.2 (for the 2 - and change - fully good songs), and if I can give a negative rating for your new hair style I would. I mean... why do women get to a certain age and decide they have to cut off their sexy femininity?...”
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