The Brooklyn noise rocking duo release their second full-length studio album.
If you saw their performance on SNL this past weekend, you probably noticed the more dense Heavy Metal-esque guitar licks and overall sound. That sound is in full force over the entire album with piled guitar reverb and feedback effects in high order. Lead vocalist Alexis Krauss vocals have a subdued and sublime quality, even though they do tend to run more on the somnambulistic side than on previous albums.
The first single off the album, "Comeback Kid," has a catchy synthesizer rift although it's as if the band is trying to borrow from The Go Team's double-dutch vocal style which conflicts with the heavier Metal feel of the album. This conflict has an even greater presence on later tracks like "Demons" and "End of the Line"
Reign of Terror sounds like a disc of artists trying to find themselves among many different genres. Unfortunately they are unable to combine those disparities into something that coherently blends those styles, at least beyond a couple of tracks from the album. For a band that showed so much potential off their 2009 debut EP, their full-length releases haven't lived up to the hype as of yet.
Score: 5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Comeback Kid" [sample it below] and "Road to Hell"
The indie pop trio is best known for their hit single "We Are Young", featuring Janelle Monáe, which has ranked as high as #3 on the US charts and was covered on the TV show Glee earlier this year, releases their second studio album.
"We Are Young" is included as a track on this album and, if you haven't heard it, is a delightful ode to the joys of youth that will have you tapping your foot and singing along by the end of the tune. Tracks like that and the following "Carry On" and "Why Am I The One" have over the top choruses and power guitar licks that, along with Nate Reuss' vocals which sounds like mix between Freddy Mercury and Dennis DeYoung in their glory days, recall bands from the late 70's and early 80's like Queen, Electric Light Orchestra, and Styx.
On Some Nights, the band lives up to its name by creating an album that is extremely 'fun.' There are some odd production choices that prevents the album from achieving a higher score--the extremely peculiar use of auto-tuned vocals on a handful of the tracks being the biggest culprit. However, the jaunty and light pop songs create an atmosphere you won't mind revisiting, maybe not every day, but certainly on 'some nights.'
Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "We Are Young" [sample it below] and "Carry On"
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