psychadelic

Popular Science (MGMT, Little Dark Age review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

We all have a little darkness inside of us, some of us embrace it, some of us run from it, and other find a way to little it simmer just under the surface. Adding some texture to life.

 

MGMT – Little Dark Age

released February 9, 2018
********* 9/10

MGMT is an American rock duo comprised of Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. They’ve been playing together since 2002, well before you would’ve expected from a band that hit the big time back in 2007, I remember because it was at the apex of indie electronic music. The singles Kids, Electric Feel, and Time to Pretend were everywhere that year, in movies, on the radio, and at most of the clubs I attended.

Yeah, this was back when I went to clubs, looking for loves.

And TBH, that music perfectly fit with the beautiful nihilism of the day, but I didn’t want to be part of it, so I ignored them, even though Ornacular Spectacular was clearly an amazing album. Then they followed it up with Congratulations in 2010, and it was even more experimental, but I had moved on and wasn’t really into that kind of music anymore. Around the time that the self-titled MGMT landed, the duo weren’t even on my radar, as in, I just discovered that Little Dark Age is their fourth studio album, and not their third one.

And thus, the history lesson concludes, because the boys appear to have some full circle. Older and wiser, fortunately for us, because Little Dark Age is their best album to-date and the sythn-pop was always their strong suit anyway, that and a subtle darkness, which is not unappreciated in the album title.

She Works Out Too Much is a perfect opener, capturing the challenges of dating in a smartphone app era, and later accented by TSLAMP. Then comes the big kahuna, the title track (Little Dark Age) which has been on everyone’s mind since it dropped as a single back in October of 2017. If you listen hard enough, you’ll hear Gary Numan, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, and a host of other emo progenitors. Geez, now that I think of it, I can even hear the Police in there – and that’s an incredible thing.

Me and Michael is perfect in it’s subject, a quant song about friendship. That pairs well with Days That Got Away and When You’re Small.

It’s the kind of album that I know will get better with repeated listens, and I can almost guarantee will find a place on my shelf in years to come. Dare I say it, this album might even have me aching for possession of their back catalogue.

And if you’re worried that the album slows down too much as you sink into it, One Thing Left to Try is just as upbeat as the opening songs.

I’m glad that we were able to get back on track with MGMT, and even though their third album should have been the point where they came back stronger and wiser, not every flower blooms at the same time, and we can’t fault a band which debuted on a high note, without understanding the intricacies of their relationship with music and popular culture.

Pros: Obviously the return to pop music is a welcome change. And inserting notes of psychedelic rock into the mix has proven to be a recipe for success.

Cons: I know that Ariel Pink had a hand in When You Die, but I find it difficult to separate his production from MGMT’s natural sound, and all it does is make me want to listen to his music instead.

Runtime: 44 minutes

Points of Interest: The record was conceived partly out of the election of Donald Trump as president of the US, and partly because of a desire to return back to their roots.

I guess all it took was some time for these two college friends to embrace their identity and make music which suits them. I’m personally thankful for the opportunity to revisit their music, and I truly do believe that they’ve matured into their sound finally.

theories Summarized

Do I think that you should give this album a listen? Absolutely. I didn’t really expect to like this record, as I had avoided MGMT for years, but as I sit in my office on a warm March evening, I can see fairly easily how this will become one of my favourite albums this year. Yes, I’m calling it a quarter of the way through.

And speaking of bands that got better with age. Brendon and I wanted to remind you of one of the greatest punk rock albums of the 1990s, The Offsprings SMASH. This is seriously one of my favourite albums ever, and if you’ve never heard it before, you are in for a treat. But if you have listened to it before, and you needed a reminder, give it solid listen, and appreciate their skillful guitar playing, choice lyrics, and exciting melodies.

Thanks for taking the time to read the review, watch the video review and hopefully you’ve left a comment or two. If you liked what you saw, click on the like button, and even better, subscribe to the channel! Come back tomorrow for a film review about Darkest Hour. There’ll be more theories!

Tim!

Family Matters (The Flaming Lips, Oczy Mlody review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Families are weird. And almost everyone thinks they have the weirdest of all, but let me assure you, they’re dead wrong.

These guys are the weirdest.

 

 

 

The Flaming Lips – Oczy Mlody
released February 13, 2017
********* 9/10

The Flaming Lips are an American rock band that loves their alternative, experimental, post-punk, psychedelic style, and I don’t expect them to give it up anytime soon.

Also, I’m just going to throw this out there, because I’m quite confident that it’s true. When I hear the songs on this album I can’t help but hear that distinctive Gorillaz sound intermingled in there, which makes me ponder upon the past for a minute or two… The Flaming Lips have been around for the better part of 3 decades, first forming in 1983, right? And Gorillaz only came to be in 1998, a definitive fifteen years later. So they have to have been influenced by The Flaming Lips right?

Which tells you something about me. This is my first Flaming Lips album.

I mean, I know about them. I’ve been fortunate enough to know they’ve made fourteen studio length albums in their career, but I never picked them up, mostly because I wasn’t too sure whether I’d like their sound.

It’s always the surprise albums that take your breath away.

What starts as a rather slow foray into the the fantasy world of castles, unicorns, wizards, frogs, et al. slowly becomes a backdrop for a message about the resurgence of hope. This is because Oczy Mlody, roughly translates to “eyes of the young,” from a Polish phrase these guys found. It makes sense given present company.

Over recent years Miley Cyrus has become something of an unofficial muse for The Flaming Lips. They even helped produce a twenty-three track album called Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz with her back in 2015. So it’s fitting that the old solidify the reputation of the young, and the young provide energy and relevance for the old. Best exemplified in closer track, We A Family, it is here that we get to witness some serious leg stretching on the part of The Flaming Lips.

As a track, it doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the album, but is also the best part of it. It serves as an anthem of love, but it also ties all of us together into one big happy metaphor family.

Some of my other favourite tracks are The Castle, a perfect semblance of all that is sow and somber on this album, which is most of it. For instance, James Earl Jones delivers a monologue on unicorns in There Should Be Unicorns. It’s one of the saddest and loneliest space operas I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.

I don’t care that Metacritic scored it as a 6.9, most of those reviewers missed the mark here. This is a slowburn which only gets warmer and brighter upon subsequent listens, this I can be sure of.

 

The Flaming Lips have been experimenting for years, and I wish I had seen them for the loving weirdos they are so much earlier in my art career. Because I would have fit right in with them. And now they’ve managed to make me appreciate Miley Cyrus as the weird sister I never thought I wanted. Through the eyes of the young we are reborn. A beautiful melody indeed. But that’s just a theory right?

Tim!

Shut Up, Kiss Me, Hold Me Tight (Angel Olsen, My Woman review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Ever read Peter Pan dear readers? Or watch one of the many animated and live action movies that exist? Well, there is this idea out there that Peter Pan didn’t want to grow up and so he stayed in a state of perpetual childhood.

Now, in the media it’s become rather common to refer to those who engage in youthful behaviour without wanting to or feeling unable to grow up as having Peter Pan syndrome. It’s not considered as a psychological condition, but there is definitely a movement.

But what about people who oppose the normative behaviour and also experience that full range of emotions, are they still called adults?

 

 

 

Angel Olsen – My Woman
released September 2, 2016
********** 10/10

angel-olsen-my-woman-album

Angel Olsen is an American folk and indie rock singer and guitarist. She also manages to channel some punk, western country and psychadelic rock when needed – Olsen is incredibly sorrowful, uncut, raw, and mindful. And from what I’ve heard it only took her 3 full-length albums to get there. *cough* Anthony Fantano *cough*

This is what grunge should have sounded like if it had some ska in it. Eat your heart out Nirvana and No Doubt. Or to put it another way, and ironically it breaks my heart to say this, this is a much stronger version of anything that Leslie Feist has ever put out. And I love me some Feist. Like, I can’t even – you have no idea what Leslie Feist did to my dumb little punk rock heart in 2005. Go listen to Let It Die, Open Season, and The Reminder after listening to this and tell me I’m not right. I dare you. It’s not gonna kill you.

Which incidentally is my favourite track on this little piece of album gold. I mean she even has a song called Heart Shaped Face, that just has to be a send up to Nirvana. It just has to.

Olsen does something special on every single track. She uses the best instrument she has, her voice, and arranges the melody accordingly to carry the weight of each message. The first half of the record starts out as woefully naive and volatile with its themes of love, but the back half puts itself it the shoes of one who has loved and lost, dealing with regret and that bitter disenchantment that dulls the edge of each love ventured.

The thing about excellent country music is that it doesn’t have to be about dead dogs, broken trucks or marriages ruined. It has to be authentic to the artist it represents, paying homage to what came before, but also owning the moment of what is. If I had to pick a track to represent the back half it would probably be Sister an epic of growing up and growing apart and rather well put by Olsen herself – you fall together, fall apart. A close second would have to be slow burner Pops, which if you haven’t fallen in love with Angel Olsen after listening to nine songs, I don’t know what to tell you.

This is an album of many tones, and I know it might come off cliche but she is in rare form and easily becomes my woman.

 

 

 

I would never accuse Angel Olsen of being a victim of Peter Pan syndrome, especially because it’s almost exclusively associated with men. But nonetheless, the question of love, lust, and loss are intertwined throughout this musical endeavour. What starts out as a youthful and naive look at love slowly turns into something much darker and more intimate and My Woman is seriously my favourite album of the year as a result. We’ll have to see what’s in store for the rest of the year, but with less than four months to go, you’ll want to snag a copy of this, lest you get left all alone.

Tim!