Matt & Kim -- New Glow

Recently there has been a swath of indie bands that have taken on a sort of happy-go-lucky mentality with each of their albums. Artists like Best Coast, Purity Ring, and Of Montreal have all released album after album of the brightest and lightest tunes one could imagine. Within this group lies indie pop duo Matt & Kim. Formed in 2004, Matt & Kim are the husband and wife duo of Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino. They already have 3 studio albums to their name since they formed, and "New Glow" is their fourth release to date. Matt & Kim are probably most famous for their song "Daylight", which has been featured in many commercials and movies. I have no real personal connection to this album, but there were no big releases this week, so I chose to review "New Glow" since I've heard of Matt & Kim before.

Let me start off by saying that this is probably the most cheerful record I have ever listened to. Matt has a very bright color to his voice that could probably make birds chirp and babies laugh. This voicing helps develop the cheery mood of the album very well. In fact, it seems like every little aspect of this album is meant to prove how happy these two are with their lives. They keys are mostly played in a very chordal manner, with Matt banging on the keyboard with all of his joyous might. The synthesizers buzz with melody and harmony, mirroring the singer's cutting voice. In fact, I don't remember hearing a single song off this album in a minor key. As well as being happy, this music was made for dancing. While this technically can be accomplished, the songs aren't really varied enough for a Matt & Kim to be very interesting.

Coming in at only 27 minutes, this is a very brief record. In fact, when it was over, I had to triple-check to make sure the music didn't stop itself somehow. Yet, even though it isn't even thirty minutes long, it feels like Matt & Kim ran out of material halfway through writing this record. Most, if not all songs on "New Glow" sound exactly the same. If you played one of the songs for me, waited ten minutes, and then played a different one, I would not be able to tell the difference. In fact, none of the songs stand out to me at all, and I do not remember what any of them sound like maybe 30 minutes after listening. The only exception to this is "I See Ya", the closing track, which forgoes the jangly pseudo-dance style that M&K incorporated throughout the first twenty minutes of the album, and instead is slightly slower but still overly happy. If you're a Matt & Kim fan, I'm sorry, but I don't see how anyone can enjoy listening to the same joyful shanties on loop whenever this band releases an album. I'll admit that their big breakthrough song, "Daylight", was pretty catchy and enjoyable. However, with "New Glow", Matt & Kim were not able to capture the same kind of magic, and instead tried to feed us a spoonful of faux sunshine and happiness.

SCORE: 2/5

HIGHLIGHT: I See Ya

Brian Wilson -- No Pier Pressure

When the question of the greatest artist of all time is brought up, there are certain names that come up every time. Bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin often get tossed around. Artists such as Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley also get thrown into the mix. One of the biggest dark horses in this great debate, in my opinion, is the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys were the biggest band in the 60s surf rock scene -- and for good reason. They were the source of some of the catchiest songs ever, from "Surfin' USA" to "Barbara Ann". Also, their artistry went much deeper than most know. The Beach Boys' 1966 album "Pet Sounds" is regarded by many, including me, as one of the best albums ever released. The group's mastery of Phil Spector's "wall of sound" technique, coupled with their knack for experimentation at this point in their career, made for an amazing record.

The mastermind behind all of the Beach Boy's music was lead singer and songwriter Brian Wilson. He occupied the lead role in the band for a long time, until a mental breakdown caused him to contribute less and less to the band up to his eventual departure. Ever since, he has gradually attained a better mental state, and has been releasing solo projects here and there. "No Pier Pressure" is one of a string of solo records released by Wilson, and is his most recent.

Upon listening, I immediately recognized Wilson's famous voice, despite his trademark falsetto being mostly missing. Old age has done nothing to take away this man's vocal prowess -- he is as good as ever in that regard. What is interesting is that, in his solo work, Wilson uses multiple tracks of his own voice to create the vocal harmonies that are such a huge part of his music. With the Beach Boys, he obviously had his other bandmates to sing harmony. This exemplifies how much of a solo artist he really is. Although his bandmates are missing, their metaphorical sound is not. Many of the tracks on this album sounds like they were written on the deck of Sloop John B itself. However, the novelty and excitement that was captured in Beach Boys records seems to be missing here, leaving a slightly boring vacuum in its wake.

Something that sets this record aside from Wilson's other solo work is the use of featured artists -- ten out of the thirteen tracks on the album feature some other artist in some shape or form. These features range from underground country star Kacy Musgraves to fun. vocalist Nate Ruess (who is actually my least favorite singer in the business). Even controlling for my biases, these guest appearances are wholly uninteresting, and really don't add much to the album at all. In fact, after the first song, Wilson himself is rarely heard for the rest of the album. The only time this comes off as appealing is when actress Zooey Deschanel chimes in on the track "On The Island", but I usually am automatically interested in things when Zooey is involved, so this may not mean much.

There has been much speculation that this may be Brian Wilson's last album before his retirement from music. His extensive use of guests, along with the fact that the last song on the album is literally called "The Last Song", this theory is pretty darn plausible. If this is the case, then this will have ultimately been a boring, sad way for this monster of pop music to have left the industry. Here's to hoping that Wilson has at least one more good album left in him.

SCORE: 2.5/5

HIGHLIGHT: "On The Island"

Sufjan Stevens -- Carrie & Lowell

Something about the warmer weather that (usually) comes around this time of year makes me change my taste in music. Instead of the more intellectual jazz, classical and hip hop music I spend most of the winter months listening to, I tend to opt for more emotive songs with simpler structures. One can often hear me blasting vapid, obnoxious party music over the summer, or jamming to mellow folk tunes. Well, it just so happens that tomorrow is the warmest day of the year thus far, so that means I am mid-transformation as we speak. Luckily, indie folk artist Sufjan Stevens released his newest LP, "Carrie & Lowell" this week, so I have something to indulge my sentimental side.

Sufjan Stevens is somewhat of an interesting figure in the music industry. I would describe him as a less-boring version of Iron & Wine, and I mean that as a huge compliment. His first release, 2003's "Michigan" was an epic album that told tales of many different towns in the artist's home state. Next, he released "Seven Swans", which contained a large amount of Abrahamic imagery. This is very noteworthy, since indie music today is almost entirely secular. Stevens has been releasing a steady stream of music ever since, and has worked on other projects too, such as the score to the movie "Little Miss Sunshine". 

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"Carrie & Lowell" is as solid as the oaks in whatever mystical forest Stevens was born in. While it is not as experimental as some of his other releases, there is something beautiful about the glum simplicity of this album. Other reviewers have even described "Carrie" as "Simply Sufjan". The lyrics are just as melancholy as Stevens' others, but this time they seem more genuine for some reason. Something about the morose emptiness of each track on this record adds to Stevens' credibility as a sad dude. Despite this, his vocal delivery is nowhere near dramatic. His voice is very barren throughout the record, making him sound broken down.  Even the use of sparse electronics helps add to the chilly and impersonal (but very personal) feel of this album.

My favorite part of "Carrie & Lowell" is actually the intro, "Death With Dignity". It's a ballsy move to begin by talking about death, but Stevens owns it with this haunting track. In it, Stevens talks about how "every road leads to an end", and how he'll never see his mother again. The track ends with a haunting chorus of wails and hums that are filtered so perfectly that they sound like the ambiance of the forest. My only complaint with this record is that, after this song, most of the other sound the same.

Overall, this is a very skillfully made album that will make you nostalgic over things that haven't even happened to you. Such is a Sufjan Stevens record.

SCORE: 4.2/5

HIGHLIGHT: "Death With Dignity"