album review: I Built You a Tower- Death Cab For Cutie

rating: 7/10

review: 

I won't lie, I listened to this after seeing them live at the Mann a few weeks ago...

Overall, it's a solid album--nothing crazy different or derivative, but with a band like Death Cab For Cutie, where my real favorites are the older albums, that's not going to be an issue. I was shocked the album was only 10 songs long, but with each song being good, I'll take it as a good thing--sometimes dragging it out isn't worth it!

On to the music, Ben Gibbard's vocals manage to stay unchanged since their debut album (2002, I believe?), which impressed me from the get-go. The guitar parts are catchy, but not too powerful as to outshine the vocals, and remind me of a Johnny Marr type riff: catchy, repetitive, and not TOO overpowering of the other instrumentals. 

Death Cab For Cutie's unity tends to be something I notice first, the feeling of a college band jam session stays even now, which lends to an almost "low-effort" feel to many of their songs. (Note: I mean low-effort in the sense of something being "good without trying," and not poorly done)

The album cover was a little lackluster, which is not to the detriment of the album, but still plays a part. I bought the CD to play, and while it isn't bad enough of a design to outwardly dislike, I still feel it is a little underdone for their music. It looks almost as though it was not completed, like a first draft? Which is a shame because the colors and general idea is interesting and visually pleasing, the execution just leaves something to be desired. 

Overall, however, this ended up being an album with no bad songs, just a lingering feeling wishing for more. 

favorite song: Punching the Flowers

spotify link

Update!

 reopening this after MONTHS of inactivity but if anyone's reading this (hello??), welcome back?

always on that grind always looking for music.

currently into : indie sleaze + wimpy hipster rock. @ me.

transatlantacism-death cab for cutie

                                                    

rating:8/10

gen. take: 

ohhh yeahhh! there's a lot i like about this album. first and foremost, i should address the music. right?

death cab for cutie is a band that at times can be a little too 2010 hipster-with-a-big-scarf for me, but this album defines what made them good, and why i think they have such a following. indie-rock doesn't get much better than this, with a simultaneous melancholy and optimism only to be seen in music from or around 2003. it's the tone that makes this album so appealing: it feels nostalgic in a sense reminiscent of gazing wistfully out of a bus window, maybe in late october or november, cold and cozy, but touching. 

i also want to highlight the love i have for the album cover. something about it is very appealing, and i feel its due to the simplicity of it. the colors work together, the design is memorable, and more than that, its unique. 

fav. song: we looked like giants

spotify link

Album Highlight: THE Kitsuné Maison Collection 3 (2006)

                                                 

rating- 10/10

gen. take-

    look, sometimes its hard to find music. sometimes music, even the kinds we love, evades us. that's why the kitsuné maison compilations are so special to me. you might be asking- why number three? why not start at number one? are you just a fake kitsuné maison listener? yes. i found this as anyone should, by accident. more on that later. but what should be said is that albums like this are hard to come by. each song is genuinely at least a 9/10, which (even in quote-unquote "older" albums) is very hard to find. theres always a dud. not in here. i see that as a few things. for one, kitsuné maison, or maison kitsuné, depending, self describes as "a beacon for cutting-edge electronica. "

the album itself features bands relatively unknown now: simian mobile disco, boys noize, gossip, and digitalism (to name a few), and that's why it deserves to be highlighted. each and every addition to this compilation furthers, in simple terms, a mood. the mood itself, i cannot place, but i can say definitively that it is cool. isn't that enough? it feels like being in on something underground, even if it isn't. the girl listening to this wears statement peices. she knows curation. she is, by definition: cool. to ease out of a tangent, what i find a drawing factor in this collection, and each kitsuné maison collection, from 1 to 18, is the curated mood. it seems a little trivial: who cares what the mood is? shouldn't there already be one? yes, but they take it further. 

kitsuné maison is many things. a music label, a clothing brand and "a lot more." expensive, curated, and sleek. a pair of socks retails for about $40. the thing that makes them special here is the music, ergo, culture side. their ingenius was born from something described as a combination of dj culture and the desire to have something curated under a common theme, by a collection of artists. it wasn't one artist, or under one name, it was a collection. in reality, that's probably what makes it so special. coming from a luxury brand doesn't make it special: it almost detracts from its relateability. sure, to be cool is one thing, but to be almost timeless is another. 

an album born on cd compilations and continued throughout 15 further iterations, kitsuné maison collections are always "in."

(read this article if you find any of this interesting! https://www.huckmag.com/article/the-cultural-impact-of-maison-kitsune-compilations i couldnt say it any better :p)

fav song- standing in the way of control (soulwax nite version)-gossip/soulwax

https://open.spotify.com/album/04XxIOQ1MAVyUSInLzmzgz

what's new:

album highlight: the manner in which i scream goodbye--april's love affair

with only 4 songs, its almost a surprise that this remains one of my favorite albums since i found it. 

i found this album because i knew the title track (the manner in which i scream goodbye), and was drawn to the vocal style immediately. heres the thing--this kind of music is never perfect. but that's what gives it charm and draw. 

give it a listen, or dont. but know you'll be missing out if you dont. 

spotify link!!

nobodys impressed-good with dogs

rating: 10/10

gen. take: 

this album came out on my birthday this year so +1 point. happy birthday to me. 

the lyricism in good with dogs's first album is characteristically overthought and written--not atypical for a band of their type, but almost a necessary facet of writing anything midwest emo-adjacent. 

full of well composed guitar hooks and a melancholic vocalist, there isnt anything to dislike. sometimes amidst a theme of loneliness and social ineptitude, you can find hope. 

as it comes with most bands' debut albums 

favorite song: closure? i hardly know her!

 spotify link