"Bloom" opens the album with a very heavy acid jazz beat and feel with Yorke's strung-along vocals adding to the melancholy tone of the song. "Morning Mr. Magpie" picks up the pace with a quick guitar bass riff providing the main melody of the song and a more standard vocal style for Yorke before synthesizers are added to create greater ambiance. "Feral" opens with a quick Detroit drum & bass beat before layering on ethereal vocal samples plus synthesized sounds to create a moody electronica influenced track. The first single off the album, "Lotus Flower," begins with a more traditional drum backing and keyboard work and features Yorke's best vocal work on the album to create a subdued sense of whimsy in a very catchy, if somewhat somber, song. "Codex" is a slower, classic piano driven song that also showcases Yorke's high tenor singing style well. The album closes with "Separator" which, despite a relatively quick paced beat, straddles the line between optimistic and morose and is a fitting track to close out this disc.
The King of Limbs is another great album from Radiohead. Thematically, it's closer to the music presented to us in the Kid A and Amnesiac phases of their career than in their most recent album or in their earliest albums. In fact, I think it's makes a nice bookend for those albums with its similar but more mature and complex overall sound. Some might say it is a moodier album than those two (and it probably is), but I would also argue that it is a more developed sound they are offering up to us. I do concede that it does have a more mellow, downtempo feel than those other albums. While the band was never one to shy away from its gloomy side in the past, they seem to understand, embrace, and communicate it better on this album with heavily balanced layers on their well produced tracks. The one real complaint I do have about the album is its brevity--it lasts only eight tracks and the lengthiest track is 5:20. Still, it's the best thing I've heard so far in 2011 and it wouldn't surprise me if it's one of the best releases for the entire year. A perfect album to envelope yourself in on a rainy day.
Score: 10/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Lotus Flower" [sample it below] and "Separator"
The first single from the album, "Rolling in the Deep," also leads off the disc and is one of the more lively songs on the album with a quicker tempo and its effective use of lead and backup vocals to add energy to the song. Next up is "Rumor Has It" which exhibits the country influences that, unlike her first album, manages to permeate many of the tracks on this album. "Turning Tables" feels like a very personal song with Adele's voice meshing well with the predominantly piano backing to create an extremely intimate ditty. To close out the album were two of my favorite tracks from this release. The second to last is a cover of The Cure hit "Lovesong" which is a slowed down, adult contemporary version that manages to tug at the heartstrings. "Someone Like You" majestically ends the disc with a simple piano melody that lets the emotion in Adele's singing voice create a very touching track. If only there were more tracks like it scattered throughout the album.
Overall, it's a more mature sounding album from Adele but one with fewer singles that will leave a lasting impact with listeners. There's certainly nothing as instantly catchy as "Chasing Pavements" was on her last album. Vocals on the album are still top-notch with Adele's raspy warbling being as distinctive and unique from other acts her age (save, maybe, Duffy) as ever. It's just that there's not a lot of life in the album. Instead of a journey over peaks and through valleys, it's more like the album is one long valley with not much change of scenery along the way. Some of the tracks are very beautiful to listen to but I was hoping for more variety in the music presented to us.
Score: 6/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Someone Like You" [sample it below] and "Lovesong"
The album begins on a good note with the aforementioned "Constellations" which is a jangly pop song with a really catchy guitar driven melody and airy vocals. "The City" has funkier guitar work but a more traditional 1/4 beat structure whose mixture create an eclectic track. "DNA" has a very jangly melody that doesn't really fit the somber lyrics (So i won't cry, I will just pretend/I'm still the one and that we are in love again) but the band manages to blend the two to create a highly enjoyable track. "Radar Detector" is quick tempo track with a summer pop song feel that has a fun feel.
Overall, Darwin Deez's self-titled album is a decent debut release. The band is able to create a sound that is unique to the band without having each track sound stale or too similar. For some reason the vocal work on the album reminds me of a more pitchy version of how Julian Casablancas sounded on the first The Strokes album. The music leans way more towards pop than anything you'd find on a The Strokes album though. Not every track is worth writing home about but there's enough good stuff on the album for me to recommend giving the album a spin.
Score: 7/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Constellations" [sample it below] and "DNA"
