Psychic Twin - Strange Diary

Everyone loves channeling the 80s in electronica nowadays. There's something in that warm nostalgia that really brings something out of its listener. However, there's a fine line between a sweet nostalgia and just boring and unoriginal. That's the trap Psychic Twin falls into on their debut record, which beams with hope but doesn't amount to much.

The duo currently consists of vocalist Erin Fein and drummer Rosana Caban, a strong pair, but this lineup wasn't achieved without lots of error. Their debut Strange Diary was a long work in progress - written when Fein was in the process of divorce. Written on the group's Facebook page is an introduction of sorts to the record, which states: "In dreams, we rarely know what we are running from or toward. We only know we must keep running, continue searching... Strange Diary lives in that state of surreal urgency. What’s in front of us or behind us can’t be described, but we are sure in our bones that what we are searching for exists just a few steps away. "

Fein reprimands - and sometimes begs for - an anonymous "you" in plenty of songs, and while it's not certain who it's about, it seems to point in the direction of a lover whom she was with or desires to find. This is most evident in 'Strangers', a song released in 2013 as a single that has found its home at the beginning of the record.

There's a surreal urgency, as they put it, in this album, and it's clearest in that song, with the spiraling synth arpeggios providing a pulsating flow. It's lyrics croon to the mysterious "you", the chorus explaining, "I know the way that I lie awake for hours / And you don't even know the night is all I have / But even when we build these mighty towers / I know that we can take them down again." "You" is the force that's keeping her up.

The sad thing is, this album essentially lives off of that sentiment. There's not much to discuss as far as song meanings go - it's all just the standard songs of love and desire, without any memorable lines or melodies to justify them. The middle chunk of the record is boring as a whole, from the wobbly synths of 'Stop In Time' to the lackluster 'Hopeless', there really isn't much to stick around for. It's a collection of dream pop songs with occasional sweet synths but no punches.

Psychic Twin seems to have been driven too much by their heartbreak to be focussed on anything else but that. Breakup albums are always good, but those have some emotional punch to them. Strange Diary is very monotonous and overall just boring. There's not much more to say about it. If you like minimal dream pop above love songs with lo-fi vocals, this'll be a great album for you. If you're looking for something unique and memorable, you may want to keep searching.

Favorite Track: Strangers

Least Favorite Tracks: Unlock Yr Heart, Stop In Time Hopeless, Stop In Time

Rating: 57 / 100

July Talk - Touch

Without blues, there would not be rock today as we know it. There are plenty of bands who combine the roots of rock with their modern flair - Alabama Shakes being a prime example. What's rarer to see than a blues rock band is a rock band with a tenor singer singing in that raspy blues and jazz tone that was the signature of Louis Armstrong.

That rare, if not unique combination can be found in Canadian rock n' roll outfit July Talk. They've just released their sophomore album Touch, and it begs the question as to why this band doesn't get more attention. Their sound is something truly special.

Going into Touch, you don't expect to her that raspy tenor powerfully leading the tracks. The beautiful thing about July Talk is their seamless combination of blues and rock. Kicking off with the groovy 'Picturing Love', the intro number really sets the pace for a rocking record. It starts in an understated manner, a strong drum beat followed by some keys. Suddenly, the magic of Peter Dreimanis' vocals kick in and you know something brilliant is ahead. Dreimanis' voice is powerful and bassy, yet is contrasted by the sweet and strong voice of Leah Fay throughout the record, providing for lots of color. The relationship between the two vocalists' voices becomes clearer in 'Beck + Call' where the two come together in a stunning manner.

Even though it's so easy to get lost in the voices, the instrumentals cannot be ignored. The aforementioned 'Beck + Call' is pure rock n' roll with its big guitars. Some songs exhibit a punkier attitude, such as 'So Sorry' towards the end of the record, booming with Leah Fay's challenging tone and the wild guitars. It's bridge is something else - the instrumental comes to a halt as Fay and Dreimanis sing under a palm muted guitar as the song builds back up to a giant explosion. 'Lola + Joseph' also has an absolutely immense instrumental, the brass section just as influential as its guitars. The deep brass really accent each chord with a definitive presence that you can't be indifferent to. It's so good. Softer moments are also present on the record - the pianos and smooth bass lead to dreamy strings and synths in 'Strange Habits' giving it a chilled back and ethereal vibe while still remaining memorable.

The best part of this album is definitely its vocals, but everything works together in a very amazing way. It's as if each element of the song is the support for another, in a form of musical symbiosis. The vocals are just like guitars, the higher register held onto by Fay while Dreimanis handles the low-end. The lyrics are something else, too. Single 'Push + Pull' expresses the duality of a volatile relationship, the chorus ethereally stating, "We're used to the night that leaves us unstable / We're used to the night, we take more than we're able / We're used to the night or whatever's on the table." There's also 'Jesus Said So', which is a huge bashing of modern culture. Through slamming words such as "White babies cry / On reality TV / Plastic surgery disaster / Inherit obesity" and the provocative imagery of "
The cops put men in cars / Drove them out into the snow / Find women's bodies in the rivers / But nobody seems to know", it really leaves a lot to wonder about.

The final track, the eponymous 'Touch' is a brilliant conclusion to the album. It's not an upfront track like a lot of the other big tracks were, but it instead builds into one wallowing crescendo of moody noise. The bluesy piano licks that repeat themselves from start to finish back the harmonies between Dreimanis and Fay, while the drums slowly build into the song's climax, bringing a thousand voices together for one big closure.

Touch is an album you can't really understand until you see it through. All you can tell is that it's something unique and strong. July Talk is only on their second album but sound like they've been together for decades, their sound so crisp and knowing. It's a musical astonishment. This band deserves more attention than their reputation for crazy live shows has garnered. They deserve worldwide fame

Favorite Tracks: Beck + Call, Lola + Joseph, Touch, Picturing Love

Least Favorite Track: Johnny + Mary

Rating: 86 / 100

Twin Atlantic - GLA

Part of your home will always be inside you. The environment of where you were raised built you. Your idea of home is what it taught you. Music tends to shape the culture of many places across the world. Twin Atlantic hoped to thank their home of Glasgow, Scotland in their newest album, GLA.

GLA is Twin Atlantic's fourth record, so their sound has been honed and it's very clear that they know how to own it. Right off the bat, you're thrown into 'Gold Elephant: Cherry Alligator' with it slamming beat and big guitars. Sam McTrusty's vocals aren't perfect, but they're just the right amount of imperfect that it adds that punk flair to the track without it being able to be brushed off as lazy or unprofessional. The bridge builds up epically, McTrusty's vocals and a thick bassline being the only sound as the elements of the song come back together for one big explosion to the end the track.

There's just the right amount of punk on this record to give it that extra punch as a whole. Huge, crunchy riffs dominate a lot of the tracks on the album. 'No Sleep' has a big riff that brings the chorus together into a big rock uproar. Crunchy guitars are the signature of 'You Are The Devil', as well. 'I Am Alive' has choruses with soaring vocals above massive bassy riffs, the groovy track climaxing with that huge riff that reprises itself throughout. An anthemic presence can be found in 'Overthinking' within its big choruses, as well as in 'The Chaser' and its epic guitar solo. The latter of two has a very big call-to-arms vibe in it, showing that the energy doesn't falter at any point of the record - it's incredibly consistent.

The softer moments of the record are just as brilliant as its most upfront moments. The acoustic 'A Scar To Hide' is the only track with a fully stripped-down instrumental. It's just an acoustic guitar, McTrusty's vocals, and an absolutely gorgeous orchestra backing it. There's not many songs that utilize strings on this record, which really is a shame considering how beautifully they implemented them in. 

The last song on the album isn't acoustic but it isn't the most upfront. 'Mother Tongue' uses just a crunchy guitar and eventually the beautiful orchestras of 'Scar'. It's an ode to Scotland, McTrusty singing about how powerful the band's bond is with their home country. Its lyrics are some of the most powerful on the record; while most of the album is focusses on pumping you up and building power, 'Mother Tongue' is the song that is the dedication to their home. It becomes powerfully apparent with the chorus, which chants, "I've been lonely / I've been holding out for days / I miss your spirit / I am more than just a name / Our blood runs deeper / Our blood runs soaked in our mistakes."

Twin Atlantic make it very apparent that their home is what shaped who they are. GLA is an album that really captures the sound of Scotland. It's rebellious yet still has a sense of pride throughout it. Its ending number sums it all up with powerful imagery, closing the record on a very personal note. It's up there in all the bests of the band's discography. There's a lot of heart in this record, and that's half of its charm.

Favorite Tracks: The Chaser, Mother Tongue, A Scar To Hide, Overthinking

Least Favorite Tracks: You Are The Devil, Missing Link

Rating: 79 / 100

Grouplove - Big Mess

Everyone needs a good album full of anthems to keep on repeat for a long car ride. Grouplove has delivered their third album Big Mess, and that album definitely fits the criteria. It's full of big moments and honest fun.

Grouplove has churned out indie tunes for years now. Big Mess is their third album, so they're no longer in that range of records with the high pressure on them. By the third album, most bands have found what works for them and can start really being themselves without needing to worry about the implications of their sound. That's very evident in Big Mess.

Right from the start, this album sounds like it has a very good understanding of what it wants accomplish. It opens with the synthy intro of 'Welcome To Your Life' that leads into a light verse with sweet vocals from Hannah Hooper before she trades off with Christian Zucconi who takes over with a country twang to his voice. The chorus explodes with a reckless abandon, and the bridge brings that energy one step further. The song ends bigger than it was at any point, powerchords strumming and vocals sounding high and mighty.

The album has a bit of rebelliousness to it. 'Do You Love Someone' might as well be a pop punk track, and Grouplove pulls off the sound better than most pop punk bands do. Zucconi belts out high and strong above the guitar. The final chorus explodes as Grouplove reaches the most anthemic sound they've pulled off since they started. Gang vocals reign huge in 'Cannonball' which give it an extra edge above the distorted basslines and keyboards, allowing it to sound absolutely giant.

This album isn't all jams and rebellion - there are some great softer moments on the record. 'Standing In The Sun' is a quieter track, beginning with acoustic guitar before building into a bigger feel-good rock track with an awesome guitar solo in the middle. It ends as sweetly as it began, with the rest of the instruments joining in for a peaceful jam to close out. 'Enlighten Me' progresses from a quiet piano intro and evolves into an epic electronic rock banger. The bridge of 'Traumatized' has a great quiet bridge that adds a nice contrast to its rocky interior. The album ends on a sweet track with 'Hollywood', too. It's almost comedic with the droopy trumpets, but takes the album on a light hearted note.

Grouplove has really owned their sound. Big Mess feels free and fresh no matter how many times you listen to it. It's relatable while still sounding upbeat, rebellious, and anthemic. It's more pop punk than most pop punk bands think they are, and that's saying something when this album is equally as indie rock as it can get. Big Mess isn't perfect, but it's a great record all around. There's a charm in that reckless abandon.

Favorite Tracks: Welcome To Your Life, Standing In The Sun, Enlighten Me, Traumatized

Least Favorite Track: Don't Stop Making It Happen

Rating: 74 / 100

Of Mice & Men - Cold World

If something in 2016 earns the privilege of being tagged as "nu metal", you know it's going to be a disaster. Of Mice & Men have done it. 2013's Restoring Force was a powerful and emotional record, full of anger and loss. You could feel its big moments bombarding you and you'd remember them vividly.

Their fourth album Cold World is not Restoring Force. It doesn't even sound like Of Mice & Men. It's a bunch of songs that bring to question where the line is drawn between "influenced by" and "copied from". It started with the lead single 'Pain' (see our review of it here), which basically ripped off the old sounds of Slipknot, probably so that they could appease the crowds of their opening slot with them. It only gets worse.

I've never heard an album where every song sounds like a carbon copy of a different artist. I'm really not sure what they were doing here. The album starts off with 'Game Of War', which is literally just a worse version of Puscifer's 'Grand Canyon'. It's an awful intro, too - it's four minutes long and incredibly underwhelming. 'Real' features Austin Carlile singing, which is cool, if it wasn't clearly trying to be a heavier version of Minutes To Midnight-era Linkin Park. Maybe the boys spent a little too much time with them on tour in 2014... There's also the complete mess of a Limp Bizkit song with 'Relentless'. It's the most nu-metal thing to be released since nu-metal died. That is not good.

To it's credit, it's not completely horrible. Just mostly. 'Like A Ghost', the one track on the album I can actually say has some substance. Aaron Pauley's singing in the verses are a bit odd (it sounds like he's trying to imitate Marilyn Manson), but Austin Carlile screams powerfully in the background as he sings, making those powerful accentuations that made a lot of the vocals on Restoring Force so great. It's the first energy with raw energy, too, but it's a bit too late. By the time you get to this song you've already lost hope in the album. At least the interlude '+' has nice strings.

When the band isn't copying another, the tracks are just painfully average. There is absolutely nothing special in songs like 'Down The Road' and 'Away'. They're boring. They don't even have the quality of another band for fans of that particular band to enjoy. The album ends on 'Transfigured', sounding like even they gave up on this record. Where is the soul of the album? What happened?

It doesn't feel right to assign blame to any band member; after all, an album has to be a team effort. But it's hard to ignore the overwhelming presence of Aaron Pauley on the album. It feels like he took this album over. It has his sweet singing parts that featured in a few tracks on Restoring Force (most of which were really great) and gives himself a part in almost every song. It feels less like an Of Mice & Men record and more like a demo CD of a solo Pauley record. His highlights on Restoring Force were so good because they were refreshments between brutal screaming and metal tracks. Now that he's in literally every song, it's hard to enjoy his voice, which is a true shame. Of Mice & Men has Austin Carlile for a reason, and it's not to make him sing. It's to let his screams make the music stronger and more vivid. Why silence him?

Cold World feels like a step in the wrong direction. It's hard to even call it an Of Mice & Men record - it sounds like Aaron Pauley featuring a backing band and a guest screamer sometimes. It's a sad and boring record. It's nu-metal moments don't help, either. Of Mice & Men had finally found their signature sound, and after building on it for a single album, they dropped it almost completely. The only response I have to this record is a question: why?

Favorite Track: Like A Ghost

Least Favorite Tracks: Relentless, Down The Road, Transfigured, Away

Rating: 52 / 100

Bastille - Wild World

Bastille has always had a cult following which was only amplified by 2013's "Pompeii" and debut Bad Blood. The success of the single and album brought them a whole new sense of success. 2016 brings their follow up to their debut; sophomore record Wild World, and it's just as strong, if not even stronger than its predecessor.

Wild World is simply a lot of fun. It's full of groove and indie flair that make for many indie pop and rock jams. It begins with the dinky and funky 'Good Grief' complete with a dancey chorus and snaps. The sweeter yet grittier 'The Currents' follows it, this time using slightly distorted string punches to add to the warm vocals. The vocals are brought further with sweet lyrics about being swept away from love. The sweeter and lighter songs on the record act as a counter for the more upbeat and excited tracks: 'Two Evils' has beautiful jazzy, reverberating guitar and falsetto vocals which gives it a certain appeal you can't find on the higher energy tracks.

The best songs on this album are the songs that build up. It starts with 'An Act Of Kindness', beginning quietly with a piano before vocalist Dan Smith sings sweetly above them. The chorus kicks in with brilliant harmonies and a pulsing synth that resonates into the next verse. This album has a lot of lo-fi moments that are added in and really add a lot of flavor to some of the more heavily produced moments, and it's a really refreshing contrast. This song has these lo-fi string punches in the last chorus which builds in a beautiful wall of noise that concludes with Smith's harmonies. 'Four Walls (The Ballad Of Perry Smith)' is another example of the building excellence. This one has a slower and more subtle build, ultimately leading to a brilliant guitar solo at the end. This song feels like ends before it really hits that big moment, sadly. The "carry it with you" parts are absolute bliss. Those can't be forgotten.

Aside from build ups and indie flairs, there are some real rocking jams on this record. 'Blame' is the clearest example, the song starting off big and confidently with that giant riff. The chorus explodes with huge drums and epic guitar, and made all the more epic by the motivational lyrics: "Fall upon your knees  / Sing ‘this is my body and soul here’ / Fall upon your knees/ Sing ‘you’ve got the power and control’ / Don’t pin it all on me". 'Power' also finds a lot of its energy originating from the guitar. Besides guitar, brass plays a big role in the record's core; songs that are brought up by fat brass moments include the electrifying 'Send Them Off!' with its giant chorus and the beautiful 'Oil On Water' which pairs the brass and orchestras of the record in one track. 

There are a few moments that are a bit disappointing on the album, though. One of them was that 'Four Walls' concluded just as the solo seemed to start moving (as previously mentioned). It felt like the song was about to go somewhere huge before it was stopped by an interlude. The interlude seems to fight itself with what it wants to be. The album cover and the interludes indicate the band wanted something cinematic and dramatic. While those qualities are true of some songs, there are a lot of moments where it seems that theme is masked by the necessity of a big stadium-filling presence. The end of the main album especially seems to have that issue, and it results in a lot of very average indie pop tracks that take it out on a very dull note considering all of the character the rest of the album had.

Bastille's sophomore record is a great example of a band progressing and evolving. Their debut gave them publicity as well as a foundation of works to come. Lots of bands have albums that either try to so something completely different or something that's too similar to the former. Bastille used the defining elements of Bad Blood, added their new experiences into them, and created Wild World. If the band is capable of doing that, I'm exited what to see what they do next. The future's looking bright for them.

Favorite Tracks: Send Them Off!, An Act Of Kindness, Two Evils

Least Favorite Tracks: Winter Of Our Youth, Snakes

Rating: 79 / 100

La Femme - Mystére

In listening to music that is sung in a different language than one in which you are fluent in, things can seem a bit overwhelming. What you tend to tune into with foreign music like this is the melodies and the instrumental. As an American, that's what I went through listening to La Femme's new album Mystére.

Taking French classes throughout my life, I was able to piece bits and pieces together, but after summer break I've been a bit rusty. So while I can pick out words and phrases, I can never substantiate a meaning, leaving the instrumental to do all of the talking. With this album, though, it leaves me wondering if the meaning of the words is what makes these songs.

Mystére is the band's sophomore release, and for what it's worth, it continues to showcase the band's diversity. Almost every track is something different - opening number 'Sphynx', the album's gem, builds over its five-minute length with rising and falling synth arpeggios forming an electronic storm. The next song 'Le Vide Est Ton Nouveau Prénom' then sees an acoustic instrumentation, sounding almost like an old baroque piece. Later pieces are more experimental, such as the hauntingly orchestrated 'Al Warda' and the indie pop flair of 'Tatiana'.

While it has diversity, it doesn't necessarily have quality. After the album's strong start is masked by a plethora of forgettable and seemingly filler tracks. It's beginning appeal doesn't even last all that long; by the fourth song 'Septembre' you have to ask if you've accidentally stumbled onto a children's French album instead of an impressive electronic experience.

Experimentation and diversity is welcomed, if not encouraged, on any album. The only restriction should be if you can create something still cohesive and good. This album is all over the place and that really brings it down. There's just a lot of things to question on this record, including the drawn out, thirteen minute track 'Vagues'. It really doesn't need to be that long.

La Femme may be an important band for France's indie scene, but this album is simply a mess. The ideas are all there, and they could've been great, had there been more cohesion between tracks. Mystére feels lost in its own execution. Before they progress further, they need to step back and tackle one thing at a time and really nail that. Then figure out how to blend styles into a cohesive experiment.

Favorite Track: Sphynx

Least Favorite Tracks: Septembre, Vagues, S.S.D.

Rating: 61 / 100

The Warlocks - Songs From The Pale Eclipse

The Warlocks have covered a lot of ground spanning their nearly two decade long career. They started off with long, drawn out jams spanning well over ten minutes. The eventually began shortening the lengths of their tracks in favor of something more confined. Their 7th album Songs From The Pale Eclipse is full of mid-tempo, condensed psychedelic rock tracks that the band has evolved to make, but none of them really amount to much.

Psychedelic rock's purpose is to take you on some sort of trip. This album doesn't feel like a psychedelic rock record as much as it does a full hour's study on the same mood. The one track on this album that feels definitively like a psych rock track is 'I Warned You' that finds itself spiraling with keyboards and harmonicas by its end. The album is otherwise a bluesier record, which in theory wouldn't be a problem.

Sadly, the problem in lies in the fact that the album pretty much sounds the same throughout its entirety. It's not until the final two tracks you can finally say "That's new." The album's opus 'Lonesome Bulldog' provides a hopeful outlook on the rest of the album, the Nirvana-esque approach to the guitar that ultimately builds to a powerful guitar solo to carry the track to its end. Everything this album wants to say is taken care of within the first songs. The opening number 'Only You' sets the dark tone of the record, and 'Lonesome Bulldog' sets the sonic scene the rest of the album wishes it could replicate.

For what it's worth, the lyrics on this album do shine at points. The main lyrical success is 'Drinking Song', a song that begins off by singing off the joys of drinking with drunkenly sung lines such as "All alcohol, he never pretends / Bet you're gonna meet a million best friends," before it relapses on itself and speaks of the horrors of it: "So many times I wanna give you up / Especially when I'm so fucked up / So many lives you've taken without regret / Won't be the first time or last to give you up." The song's bridge consists of a guitar solo that sounds as equally defeated as the vocals do, before the song somberly ends with vocalist Bobby Hecksher whimpering away as alcoholism takes him away.

The longest song on the record, 'Dance Alone' also has something interesting going on it, and that lies in the song's reminiscent composure. It clocks in at six minutes, half the length of the band's older jam songs that sound much the same. The song has multiple different pieces to it that reprise themselves throughout, including the bubbly guitar parts in the verses and reverberating guitar chords that build the choruses. It feels like a nice little moment of appreciation for their past. While it's not really a special track in the album, it does have that interesting quality going for it.

Songs From The Pale Eclipse is a chill album, but there's little incentive to listen to it after the first two or three songs. Everything pretty much sounds monotonous. You start at the beginning and tune out until the end, where 'I Warned You' brings real psychedelic rock to the table and 'The Arp Made Me Cry' takes the album out on a somber note. You can tell The Warlocks tried here, but they really didn't find much ground. The same general idea is used throughout most every song and for that, this album ends up feeling dull. The band's definitely capable of bigger and better things; let's hope this isn't the start of a downfall.

Favorite Tracks: Lonesome Bulldog, Drinking Song

Least Favorite Tracks: We Took All The Acid, Easy To Forget, Special Today

Rating: 64 / 100

Eluvium - False Readings On

Ambience is a beautiful thing. It is often said that nature's noise is the Earth's music, and that's very true. Ambient music is something thought-provoking, often times in emotional ways. It's simplistic, yet in all of its sonic soundscapes it invokes something within its listener.

Eluvium's newest record False Readings On is a masterful collection of drone and ambience. It's not complex but it says all that it needs to be creating beautiful imagery in its minimalism. The album shows his mastery of noise and his ability to create brilliance out of almost nothing.

People who don't like ambience music either don't understand its capabilities, or simply are finding the wrong examples of it. False Readings On shows the brilliance that ambient and drone music can do. It gets off to a peaceful beginning with 'Strangeworks' before diving into 'Fugue State', a slow-moving, churning track that reminds me of the innerworkings of a machine. It has that somber, black and white factory vibe within it that puts you in a cold, foggy winter's day. 

Some tracks aren't so much setting as they are putting you into a certain state. 'Movie Night Revisited' is a calming and nostalgic track - it seems to try and put you into the place where you can relive a close memory. It's followed by 'Beyond The Moon For Someone In Reverse', which then sets you into the scene of a foggy day at sea - a perfect place to reflect quietly to yourself. Nothing's around you, no one near you. It's just you and your thoughts in the middle of an endless beyond. 

The album's ending is where it feels closest to heart. 'Rorschach Pavan' feels slightly more positive than much of the rest of the record, with rich synths and layered punches of sweet noises build into a beautiful, warm texture. 'Individuation' follows up as one of the most sweet tracks on the record. It's simply just piano playing in the rain. It's a simple song, no tricks or strings attached to it. Its brilliance comes in that bittersweet feeling that comes with the rain and the innocence of the piano. Midway through the track, quiet footsteps can be heard as faraway brass accentuates the track. The album ends on 'Posturing Through Metaphysical Collapse', a song that ends the album with a sort of peaceful chaos. It begins in an operatic way, and eventually starts breaking down into a scathing white noise, as if it was collapsing in on itself. Then finally, when the song has finishing imploding within itself, it ends as calmly as it began, and the album is over. 

Eluvium's on his eighth album now, and yet his quality hasn't faltered a bit. False Readings On isn't a masterpiece, but it's a powerful record and will hit you. Each song isn't a wallowing wall of noise, but rather simplistic concoctions of emotion and scenery. It's proof that drone music isn't just noise - it's art.

Favorite Tracks: Individuation, Rorschach Pavan, Movie Night Revisited

Least Favorite Tracks: Drowning Tone, Washer Logistics

Rating: 70 / 100