There's a Monster in My Closet

Music Post!

Since I last posted about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I've been able to pick up a few new releases (at least until I get The Futureheads new album today) and have been quite satisfied with the results. "What, pray tell, type of music might that be?" one might ask, but I may say that while two of them are easily categorized under the "Rock" section, the third is most likely very hard to pin down under an umbrella category. Shall we?

Up to bat, under suspicion of being yet another modern rock band, are the proud California/New York boys of We Are Scientists. The self-described "rock music of the thoughtful, sometimes epic, often loud, vaguely danceable, implicitly humanist variety" is actually just that. Just reading the song titles on the back of their CD, "With Love and Squalor," gives you and idea of what you can expect. From "Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt" to the first single "It's a hit," you expect something brutal and confident, that's basically what you get in both of them. Although relatively young, their sound is impressive in its expansiveness permeates on each song. While I wish I could have seen them at Coachella, I'm glad I was able to acquaint myself with their music outside a first listen under the tent. While the melodies aren't overtly complicated, there's something in the subtlety of the lyrics and rhythm that's outright compelling. Great stuff.

Second-off, we have the debut album of one Mr. Cee-lo Green and the booming Danger Mouse's collaboration in Gnarls Barkley. If anyone's heard the Gorillaz record "Demon Days" or even the controversial cacophony of "The Grey Album," you have an idea of how Danger Mouse produces. It's innovative and striking in its simplicity and blend. There are certain tones you may recognize, but no one track ever repeats itself. The same holds true, even more with "St. Elsewhere." This LP takes what you've heard from both of them, from the random Outkast track to the swirling apocalypse of "Days" and grinds the chemistry to a fine dust. There's no sense that either personality trumps the other, but a very enjoyable cohesion. One may have heard the first singe, "Crazy," all over the place and may have actually seen it performed, but one may not know what they have in store for them when they hear their cover of the Violent Femmes "Gone, Daddy, Gone." Check them out at the Orange County Fair, if you can, just to see what outfits they show up in next.

Last, but definitely more than least, is the dual-disc mania that is the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Stadium Arcadium." With enough material recorded to span a three-disc epic, the set itself is a return of sorts to the easy-going funkdefied sunset promise of "Blood Sugar Sex Magik." While you get the more mellow sound of "By the Way" on tracks like "Torture Me" and "Desecration Smile" there's still that buoyant energy of "Give it Away" in a song like "Tell Me Baby." While I'm not quite sure where to place it yet in their storied history, it ranks up there with "By the Way" as a solid piece in their discography. Perhaps even more impressive given that both discs function just as well separate of one another. Frusciante, Flea, Kiedis, and Smith are more comfortable than ever and it shows to great effect on "Arcadium."

Still up over the next couple of weeks, The Futureheads and Chris Carrabba crying all over the place again with Dashboard Confessional.