Nikki Smith

After various albums and singles, Deerhoof drops their newest album, La Isla Bonita, tomorrow, November 11^th. The Spanish title – translated to “the beautiful island” – does in fact emulate the energy of an island, complete with parties and quiet nights at the bonfire.  The album is an experimental compilation of tracks that are beachy and bubbly as well as slow and soothing.

Appropriately, “Paradise Girls” opens the album with techno, upbeat lyrics to set a dance party atmosphere.  A quick, electric beat combined with a distorted pop guitar brings an eccentricity and alternative vibe to the album.  Immediately, Deerhoof recedes with “Mirror Monster,” which embodies the ambient mood and relaxation that comes with island time.  Echo effects on the guitar and airy vocals give the track and ethereal mood. Interestingly, the track takes on a different sound three quarters of the way through with a simple, somewhat ominous guitar, but then quickly returns to its original ambient style.

The eccentric sounds return with “Doom,” a track with beachy guitar riffs and lyrics representing the east coast, west coast, and everything in between. La Isla Bonita takes a turn towards punk with disconnected guitars in “Last Fad,” but keeps it soft and feminine with airy lyrics. Again, the uncommon combinations and shifts of sounds is what make this album so unique.

“Last Fad” may not have many layers – rather, it has various phases. The soft lyrics move from distinct punk guitars to quick riffs, to simple beats, to synthesizers and finally back to the soft lyrics that glue the track together.

“Tiny Bubbles” follows with a fittingly “bubbly” sound and flowing guitar loops, as well as the signature ethereal vocals to generate the relaxing aspect of the album. Deerhoof keeps their listeners awake with “Exit Only,” which features a more prominent punk style with rock guitar sounds and rebel calls.

In my experience, I’ve come across many instrumental tracks in contemporary music, sometimes as an intermission or just randomly. “God 2” appears close to the end of the album. As a great appreciator of classical music, I love to see how artists preserve and modernize the genre. “God 2” brings a fun, surfer vibe to the classical form and continues the albums techno sound.

From “God 2,” the album starts to simmer down and come to an end with “Black Pitch” and “Oh Bummer.” “Oh Bummer” opens with ambient, male vocals, different from the rest of the album, which is prominently feminine. The track also seems to stray from the past techno beats with mostly raw guitar sounds that range from deep, western riffs and high pitched strums.

Like the ocean tides, La Isla Bonita is ever changing and refreshing, constantly going from high to low, rough to calm. Deerhoof keeps listeners engaged and surprised with each track, compiled into one unique and eccentric album.

Be sure to check out Deerhoof‘s La Isla Bonita tomorrow.  You won’t regret it.

3/5

Producer and engineer Jesse Gimbel recently released his solo album, Decathect, with Wissahickon Records, and by solo I do mean this is literally a one-man band. Gimbel plays guitar and drums, and even records, produces, and shoots some of his own stuff. After researching further, I found various covers by Gimbel. In his “Wrecking Ball” video, Gimbel gives insight into his curious process, using various tools and instruments to create his own rendition.

Decathect opens with “Intro,” an instrumental piece that is the intro to the soft and emotional songs to come. “Move or Move On” picks up the pace and really taps into Gimbel’s signature rock style with strong drums coming in at 1:04. There is no lack of angst and underlying heartbreak here. “Stir Crazy” and “Decathect” keep up the passion while transitioning into “To Another,” which shows a softer side with a harmonizing chant, “When has a heart steered wrong,” followed by a 15-second pause to strengthen the emotion of the piece.

“Don’t Get Comfortable” is Gimbel’s first single to be released, accompanied with a rather abstract music video. It opens with a sleeping brunette in a bright apartment, which contrasts to scenes of her walking through the woods on a dark morning looking rather dapper for an early hike. The video seems to be from Gimbel’s – or her admirer’s – point of view. The abstract aspect comes with the multiple white dots that grow in random places, as if spotlighting certain locations within the video. My first thought was that they resembled the white markers found in the woods to keep track of where you’ve been when hiking, and the video refers to such markers.

The album closes with “Outtro.” As an English major, I love a good play on words. “Outtro” isn’t instrumental like its opposite, “Intro,” rather it ends the album on a hopeful and complete note.  Although the album can get slow and maybe a little sad at times, Gimbel lays his heart out, and that takes serious confidence. The album is honest and whole, and we certainly appreciate that.

It’s been three years since Gruff Rhys’ Hotel Shampoo, and he’s been busy. His newest album, American Interior, is more than just an album; it is a multimodal story. The album is accompanied by a book, a documentary film, and an app. The premise behind all of this is quite interesting and goes way back. Essentially, Rhys’ album tells the story of his distant relative, John Evans. Evans left Wales in the 1700’s to discover “a mythical tribe of Welsh speaking First Nation Americans” Rhys traced Evans’ steps to make his own discoveries about his relative’s involvement with American history and his final resting place. As for the mythical tribe, I guess we’ll just have to watch the documentary. Rhys’ multimodal project is a narrative for Evans’ adventures, and Rhys includes an artistic manifestation of Evans in his own performances.

Appropriately, Rhys’ album, American Interior, captures that bizarre history and adventurous story of Evans’ life. The album opens with “American Exterior,” a short intro with a robotic rhythm that seamlessly transitions into “American Interior.” In a sense, the exterior becomes interior as Rhys’ pulls us into his story. We can see Rhys’ combination of spacey and indie rock in his music video for “American Interior.” Throughout the video, Rhys sports a large fox hat and travels through a black and white landscape with his sidekick, Evans, in his artistic form looking rather serious. Pops of color give the video a psychedelic style.

Quickly following “American Interior” with energy is “100 Unread Messages,” which describes Evans’ arrival to America and traces his journey from Philadelphia to the western frontier in search for the lost tribe. The track has a classic country guitar style that embodies the adventure behind Rhys’ art. The style reoccurs in tracks like “Year of the Dog.” Other tracks give a road trip feel and adopt an 80’s pop-rock sound, such as “The Last Conquistador,” opening with a Napoleon Dynamite rhythm. “Lost Tribes” follows with the same style.

Shortly after, Rhys incorporates classical elements into the album with a piano and violins in “Liberty (Is Where We’ll Be)” and “lolo.” “Allweddallau Allwedol” keeps up the energy with lyrics that sound like a tribal language, of course adding to the lost tribe theme. Rhys speeds up and slows down, within tracks and throughout the album in general. Like his journey, there are breaks, lulls, and times of progress. The album ends with “Tiger’s Tale,” which comes back to the classic country style that reminds us of a road trip. The instrumental track is slower than the rest of the album’s high energy, but completes the album on a hopeful and successful note, as if to say Rhys’ distant relative did not fail at his search, but rather opened a door for creativity and stories.

Anyone who’s traced back their family line knows it’s a very personal experience, and you usually find out the most unlikely things about your long lost relatives and maybe uncover some secrets (or don’t). Rhys’ project is a collage and a tribute to Evans and what he stands for, adventure and risks.

5/5

Three years after their debut in 2011 with Infrared Daylight, Black Light White Light release Gold Into Dreams, a continuation of their vintage, psychedelic rock style. The Danish trio consists of singer/guitarist, Martin Ejlersten and brothers, Adam and Tobias Winberg. Think Jet but more intimidating, and much more badass.

With Ejlersten’s rough and raw vocals, along with the band’s echo effects and layers, Gold Into Dreams oozes sensuality and high energy. In addition to the album’s digital release, Black Light White Light has also produced a “Gold Digger” fuzz guitar pedal with USB socket and cable to download the album…figure that one out. The pedal seems to embody BLWL’s style perfectly: simple gold on red with a 70’s design and typography.  On top of that, Grammy-nominated producer Chis “Frenchie” Smith (Meat Puppets) largely contributed to Gold Into Dream’s production. How much cooler can you get?

The album opens with “High Like A Hurricane,” debuting BLWL’s signature style with ethereal vocals and a subtle western guitar style that becomes more prevalent in “Sex And Fury.” To match the vibrancy of “High Like A Hurricane,” the music video exemplifies Gold Into Dream’s artistic nature. Black and white imagery of the band layered with transparent images give the video that hallucinogenic effect that comes with their psychedelic style. Light and dark imagery contrast, appropriately, and reflections and collages give the video an art deco style.

“Gold Into Dreams” follows with a soft, dreamy sound. Delicate guitar picking creates a relaxing folk style. “And The Devil” also stays on the slow side but incorporates the sitar, which echoes The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” and “Within You Without You.” BLWL gives it their own stamp with background violins and unique vocals.

“Aim A Little High” takes the album back to the 90’s with a hazy rock effect that gives the album its vintage vibe. The track has an upbeat, optimistic sound that continues into “Revolutionary Sound Squad.” The western guitar style mentioned in “High Like A Hurricane” ends the album in “Fade Out,” which combines with their Beatles-inspired sound.

Although Gold Into Dreams is considered part of the rock genre, BLWL does a good job of keeping a balance between loud and relaxing, which I think is the point of the psychedelic genre – finding a middle ground, creating feng shui, etc. Ejlersten’s light vocals and the band’s unity do just that.

Gold Into Dreams is a conglomeration of eras and instruments and, ultimately, shows BLWL’s growth from 2011. This combination of sounds comes together perfectly to create one sound specific to BLWL’s artistic style.

3/5