Monday's Leaky Faucet

by Pop Tarts Suck Toasted on Mon, 2009/05/04 - 3:00pm Post to Twitter

Who: Sonic Youth
Title: The Eternal
Release Date: June 9th
Label: Matador Records
Thoughts: I don’t think too many people were surprised when Sonic Youth decided not to re-up with Geffen Records after Rather Ripped. The band had done four records for the label, and it seemed like they felt they had to keep putting out similar records. It was a shame, but some of them managed to be at the very least solid. Now the band have turned to Matador Records for their 16th album The Eternal, a record that is instantly better then anything they’ve released in the last decade. The Eternal is a shinning record that perfectly blends the fantastic, Daydream-y guitar sounds with actual melodic hooks. It effortlessly shifts from songs sung by Thurston to songs sung by Kim and then songs sung by Lee. It’s just a damn good record that I’ve only just begun wrapping my head around but it’s safe to say I’m officially hooked on this one.
Listen: Sonic Youth - "Sacred Trickster"
Sonic Youth - "Anti-Orgasm"

Who: Datarock
Title: Red
Release Date: September 1st
Label: Young Aspiring Professionals
Thoughts: Everything you wanted to know about Datarock you can learn from the fact that their upcoming album Red is named after the color of the tracksuits they wear on stage. Yeah, this is a band that does not take themselves very seriously at all, instead they party and have fun with their music and hope you will too. It’s been four years since the band released their self-titled breakout album and over that time the band has toured relentlessly and found an even bigger following thanks to great placement in an ad for iPod’s. The band return with an album very similar to 2005’s Datarock, lots of dance heavy synths and simple playful lyrics. It may not be quite as catchy or addictive as the first record but it’s a solid listen and definitely something that should get your feet moving.
Listen: Datarock - "The Blog"
Datarock - "Dance!"

Who: Blank Dogs
Title: Under and Under
Release Date: May 26th
Label: In the Red
Thoughts: It’s safe to say that we are reaching the point of super saturation in the world of no-fi/noise rock. These bands just keep coming out with varying degrees of poorly recorded noise rock and each of them may eventually wind up hurting each other. There’s just so many and they all sound so similar that it’s tough to really tell them all apart. The most recent, buzzed about band in the scene (for this hour) is Brooklyn’s Blank Dogs, a one man project that becomes a band when he plays out live. I have to say, this stuff teeters between listenable and insufferable. There’s all sorts of electronics and noise being filtered through the music here and it’s actually more distracting then anything else. While other no-fi bands have revelled in the garage and pop worlds Blank Dogs are looking to explore a more electronic palette and I don’t think it works in the realm of poor recordings.
Listen: Blank Dogs - "No Compass"
Blank Dogs - "Blue Lights"