Musical Yes & No
Yes: the new New Pornographers single "Crash Years." Dreary band name, but there's a sweet and subtle hook in the chorus, an Americana twist on the Wilco-ish alt-pop of Belgian band dEUS at its best (1999's The Ideal Crash). Quite a step away from the jittery, yippy clip of earlier songs like "Twin Cinema," but this soft parade ain't no soft rock.
No: the Great New Sound of '10, Treats by Sleigh Bells. Cute voice? Check. Advanced minimalist guitar heroics? Check. Trendiest hip hop beats, seemingly effortlessly appropriated and repackaged for ultra-indie eardrums? Check. So what's the problem? There's everything to like, but nothing to love. Like certain pieces of conceptual art, one glance is all it takes to 'get it'. After that, there's nothing to get.
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Comments:
May '10
Re: Musical Yes & No
'Crash Years' is one of the better NP songs in a while not sung by Dan Bejar (I prefer their Myriad Harbour type songs).
And yes, like Titus Andronicus, they are much better than their uninspired name would suggest. Here's hoping the Musical Yes & No will be a regular feature!