The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love

The Decemberists have their fifth album, "The Hazards Of Love," a splendid job in wich they use the conceptual album format again now to tell the story of Margaret and William, lovers whose romance is threatened by William's mother "The Queen". Assemble over small suites that revolve around a melodic line that is repeated with different nuances throughout the album, the 17 tracks are linked to form a "single piece" of about an hour in wich the quintet continues the path that began with his previous album, "The Crane Wife," delivering an elabotared album with a highly theatrical style in which no detail is left to chance, but maintaining the simple and warm sound that has characterized his music. If in "The Crane Wife" Jenny Conlee keyboards dived the band into 70´s progressive rock sound, in "The Love Of Hazards" Chris Funk guitar leads them to bordering hard rock limits with passages filled with powerful riffs and chords that are interspersed with sweet and bucolic moments generated by Colin Meloy acoustic strings. In the vocal part the band has invited Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond), who lends her sweet voice to "Margaret", and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) playing "The Queen" , who just need to participate in 3 songs for almost steal the album with her intense interpretations, in total harmony with Funk´s hard guitar, which sounds even more captivating than those achieved with his own band. With "The Hazards Of Love" The Decemberists deliver us a real gem (again) and, for those who still doubted it, show that since long time ago they ceased to be a pretentious little indie band to become a mature and brilliant band while Colin Meloy confirms that has formed, along with Win Butler (The Arcade Fire) and Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunsent Rubdown, etc.) somekind of holy trinity of indie. Amen. -CORANNIEIT-

The Decemberists, The Hazards Of Love
Capitol, 2009

Links:
Official Website
My Space Site

The Wanting Comes... + An Interlude (extract)


The Abduction Of Margaret... + The Queen´s Rebuke


The Hazzards Of Love 3 + The Wanting Comes (reprise)...

The USA Is A Monster - Space Programs

"Space Programs" is the fourth and probably last album of American duo The USA Is A Monster who recently announced their separation and even have shutdown both their official and My Space websites. An album composed by 7 pieces with an anti-solemn and casual/funny character ranging from psychedelia to progressive rock, and from RIO to space rock, developing a surprising complex and powerful sound in despite of the austere instrumentation that is limited to the guitar of Colin Langenus and the Tom Hohmann drums (plus some keyboards). With a remarkable interest in Native American cultures, reflected in many of their lyrics and also permeating the music, the sometimes mantrics interpretations by Hohmann and the sharp and vigorously stoner guitar of Langenus assemble electrifying passages where the music acquires a "mystical" and hallucinating touch. With pieces such as the impetuous opener "Cocaine Weeding", the splendorous and trippy "Frozen Rainbows", and specially "Tulsa," almost a religious experience, "Space Programs" is progressive rock without ornaments, solid and delirious. A trip. -CORANNIEIT-

The USA Is A Monster, Space Programs
Load Records, 2009

Links:
Load Records

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz

New album from Karen O and company in wich seem to be get away from the “alternative” sound still showed in "Show Your Bones" delivering now an album with a more varied sound but also much closer to pop. While the trio has never been the non plus ultra of rock, and dance music has been not entirely strange to his discography, songs such as openers "Zero" and "Heads Will Roll", rather than rhythmic, shamelessly discotheque music or "Dragon Queen", another poppy dance song with 80´s influences, may be disappointing for those hoping to find the melodic but full of energy and guitars music that the band had delivered in their last album in pieces like "Cheated Hearts" and "Mysteries". However "It's Blitz" is not a bad record, irregular perhaps, and contains good songs in which New Yorkers recover some energy like "Softshock" the third song in which Nick Zinner guitar stands out for the first time in the album, or "Fortune And Shame" aggressive and slightly noise, as well as others in wich calm arrives like "Skeletons", a quiet, almost atmospheric piece in which Karen O is accompanied just by idyllic keyboards and "Hysteric" a beautiful dream pop in wich for a moment we do not know if we are listening to Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or to Amy Millan and Stars. At the end "It's Blitz" is an uneven album in which we are often tempted to push the "Next" button and then we find songs that tempt us to push the "Repeat" button. One of those records that leave us with a bittersweet taste. -CORANNIEIT-

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz
Interscope, 2009

Links:
Official Website
My Space site

Mastodon - Crack The Skye

Masterfully combining the full power of metal with progressive rock cerebral structures, this band from Atlanta give their fourth album "Crack The Skye" which like its predecessor, the furious "Blood Mountain", is a conceptual album about a bizarre story that include Rasputin, the Tsarist Russia, astral travels, spirits and demons. Perhaps slowed and less aggressive than "Blood Mountain", but also so much darker and ambitious, "Crack The Skye" confirms that the quartet's music goes far beyond the power chords and headbanging delivering 9 songs (including instrumental versions of a couple of pieces) with an elaborated and full of nuances sound without losing its hard, heavy and often clangorous essence. Much closer to Tool than to Dream Theater, Mastodon go in prog metal using, without abuse, progressive elements (passages, structures, etc.) to achieve a more sophisticated sound while maintaining an always rude and visceral attitude. With the guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher playing wild chords but also solos that winks to David Gilmour, the album passes so overwhelming between pieces as "Quintessence," with a progressive start and final explosively heavy, "Ghost Of Karelia" , with a phantasmal riff that immediately takes us back to "Schism" from Tool, and "The Last Baron" a monumental, and perhaps the best summary of Mastodon's music, such that at the end leave us exhausted and not by their 13:00 minutes of duration, but by the intensity that reaches: after 3 minutes of simple and almost inconsequential metal "The Last Baron" takes off and starts to level up until it reach a quite progressive passage, with no signs of metal, then turn into a 100% Toolean music full of power that leads to the headbanging, finishing with another Gilmourean solo. Without rest nor truce along 50 minutes, Mastodon delivery in "Crack The Skye" elaborated and ambitious music, but above all, no-mercy intense metal. -CORANNIEIT-

Mastodon, Crack The Skye
Reprise, 2009

Links:
Official Website
My Space Site

Joe Gideon & The Shark - Harum Scarum

A brother-sister power-duo. Using as primary instruments guitar and drums respectively. With an austere but powerful sound based on blues. Where we heard this before? However, despite many similarities, the music of this London duo sounds completely different to the "brothers" White of Detroit. With the unsophisticated but intense and effective Gideon’s guitar, which in some songs is changed for bass guitar and Gideon no doubt to use some distortion to create crushing riffs, and accurate and precise drums of Viva, Joe Gideon & The Shark deliver in "Harum Scarum" music in a simple and overwhelming way with a clear and vibrant blues vein despite the dark atmosphere that wraps the 9 songs that compose it. With a voice that makes listening a lot longer than he is (let say he has a voice of an old men) and a vocal style in which he often talk more than sing (maybe because the duo elaborated lyrics are small stories of disappointment, love, loss and crimes) Gideon interpretations at times evoke Iggy Pop and Johnny Cash (in particular when he talk) providing warmth and emotion to each song. Including decidedly vigorous songs as "Harum Scarum", "Civilization" or "Johan Was A Painter An Arsonist," a tasty and distorted blues, others that combine delicacy with moments of explosive guitars as the poignant and epic "Kathy Ray" or the accelerated "Hide And Seek" with Viva playing the piano, and also some moments of serenity as the beautiful and heartbreaking "Pale Blue Dot" that closes the album, "Harum Scarum" is a great debut for this real brothers band that definitely promises great things. -CORANNIEIT-

Joe Gideon & The Shark, Harum Scarum
Bronzerat Records, 2009

Links:
My Space Site