New Music from 1/18/2011 - The Decemberists, The Aquabats, and Audio Bullys

The Decemberists The King Is Dead - Portland's own indie rock band release their sixth album and third since changing labels to Capitol Records.  Their last album, 2009's The Hazards of Love, was one of the most ambitious releases of that year.  That album was basically a rock opera with all of the songs contributing to the overarching narrative and it was very competently done.  According to an online interview with band frontman Colin Meloy, their new album forgoes the English sound that heavily influenced their last album instead going for a more "American" sound a la R.E.M.  Peter Buck, guitarist for R.E.M., even contributes on three of the tracks. 

First thing I should point out is this is very different sounding album for The Decemberists with a tonality heavily slanting towards country music waaay above and beyond just trying to Americanize the band's usual sound.  "Don't Carry It All" is the first song on the ten track disc and from the inital harmonica blaring that begins the track, you know it's a very different, Appalachian sounding even, brand of music being presented to us.  "Rox in the Box" has an Irish feel with some decent if ill-fitting fiddle work.  "January Hymn" has a simpler tone and melody with extremely muted guitars and keyboards.  "This Is Why We Fight" was the one song I really enjoyed with Meloy's most consistent vocal work. 

Overall, this is a really disappointing release from a band that I had been a big fan of.  Part of my disappointment stems from the super heavy country feel of the entire album, a genre I admittedly am not a fan of.  Although the vocal work is actually pretty decent throughout the whole album, it is the construction of the music that I have serious issues with.  In their attempt to capture a greater sense of Americana they completely change the style of the band beyond their folk rock sound in a very bad way.  The path the band was on before was just fine, there's no reason to switch things up now especially if these are the results.  On this album there was one song I liked, two songs I didn't mind, and seven tracks that I kept kept urging the timer to move faster as I unhappily waited for the songs to end.   

Score:  2/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "This Is Why We Fight" [sample it below]

The Aquabats Hi-Five Soup! - The eclectic Orange County "crime fighting" ska/synthpop band release their fifth studio album and first since 2005.  Another band I've seen numerous times in concert since the 90's, The Aquabats always come dressed in matching spandex costumes and provide a high energy show as their superhero alter egos have staged battles with marauding aliens and evil supervillains.  Let's see if their new 12-track album can leap tall buildings in a single bound or if it is hobbled by a fragment of kryptonite.

 "The Shark Fighter!" begins the album with its quick tempo and is a fun blend of the ska sound that defined the band in their early days and the synthpop sound their more recent releases have skewed towards.  "B.F.F.!" musically has a lot more keyboard and synthesizer work although the vocals on this track and for the entire album definitely skews towards a light ska style.  "Radio Down!" leans on the Jamaican beats that helped create the ska genre while still sounding like a modern song by the band.  "Hey Homies!" has a more American party anthem feel especially in the way the vocals are handled.  "In My Dreams!" has a slower tempo and a simple but catchy hook that offers a nice respite from some of the faster tempo songs. 

Overall, it's an album that gives you exactly what you are expecting from the band even with the over 5-year hiatus.  As usual, it's a very high energy album with a consistent sound throughout the entire album.  The album has a heavy ska feel to it with songs leaning either towards a more traditional ska sound or a more modern synthesizer infused version.  Long time fans will be happy that the band's sound hasn't changed but, in that same token, their sound hasn't really evolved much over the five year hiatus.  Maybe they were too busy saving the world...

Score:  7/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Radio Down!" [sample it below] and "In My Dreams!"

Audio Bullys Higher Than the Eiffel - The two person electronica act from the U.K. release their third album (the disc gets released in the U.S. today although it was available in MP3 form since November).  I would primarily categorize their brand of dance beats as house although some songs have a breakbeat and Hi-NRG skewings.  They are probably best known from their 2005 single "Shot You Down" (featuring Nancy Sinatra) which reached as high as #3 on the U.K. charts although it didn't make a huge splash in the U.S.

Although it is an electronica album, the disc does feature vocals or vocal samples on all of the songs.  The long and rambling "Drums (On With the Story)" opens the album with a very strange mix of sounds before settling into a drum and bass beat.  The next two songs, "Only Man" and "Daisy Chains," have a synthpop/electropop tenor with simplified backing beats but solid, if somewhat monotone, vocal work.  "Drained Out" starts out with a downtempo beat then adds jazzy horns and a proficient rap as the song builds to a sultry crescendo. "Smiling Faces" pays homage to the same named R&B/soul classic from The Undisputed Truth by sampling the melody and parroting the original's chorus. 

Higher Than the Eiffel starts slowly (figuratively, not literally) but gets better as the album progresses. I found the first track to be somewhat challenging to listen to but after that the album becomes much more accessible and fun.  The more electronica heavy tracks have a firm house sound while the more rock/pop heavy tracks have a more seductive electropop feel.  Not all the tracks will go down in posterity as good songs but there's enough on the album for me to recommend the album for the high quality of work scattered throughout the album. 

Score:   7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample:  "Drained Out" [sample it below] and "Daisy Chains"