Monday's Leaky Faucet

by Pop Tarts Suck Toasted on Mon, 2009/03/02 - 4:00pm Post to Twitter

Who: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Title: It’s Blitz
Release Date: April 13th
Label: Interscope
Thoughts: Walking the fine line of changing your sound is a often a daring and dangerous task for a band, but something that the best bands to incredibly well. They learn to take chances, to expand their sound, and to try new things in order to adapt to changing times or just to refresh a stagnant sound. For a long time the biggest change surrounding the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was Karen O’s move to the left coast. Now a move doesn’t normally get this much attention but taking a personality like O’s out of New York and placing it in La La Land is quite a drastic change and one that has been talked about to obscene lengths here in the Big Apple. But on their first album sine the Is Is EP the Yeah Yeah Yeahs show an immense amount of growth, from the removal of their signature guitar sound to Karen’s renewed and refreshed voice. Her voice has always been the most vital part of the band, propelling them from hipster cool to big time band with the breakup ballad "Maps", but on It’s Blitz she takes everything down a notch cooing more then yelling and refining her trademark voice. It’s a remarkable adaptation to a new sound, but of course that change was necessitated by the removal of Nick Zinner’s angular guitar, replaced by Nick Zinner the synth man. The sound is dramatically different but no less cool and instant then anything the band have done before. In fact, the sound definitely leans more towards of the moment then any of the rock they shelled before this pop record. It’s Blitz might take fans a little getting used to but it will all be incredibly worth it in the long run.
Listen: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Dull Life"

Who: Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Title: Beware
Release Date: March 17th
Label: Drag City
Thoughts: Let’s get the requisite mentions of Bonnie "Prince" Billy’s prolificacy out of the way. The man writes a lot of songs and releases a ton of records, but let’s face it we all enjoy it every time he does so. Whether it’s a live recording or a brand new record with new songs like his latest Beware. A lot of people say this is one of his finer moments and I’m gonna have to thoroughly agree. The sounds on Beware don’t stray far from what Bonnie "Prince" Billy has done prior, general folk sounds, full accompaniment providing lush sounds, but the depth of his songwriting is once again staggering. At this point we should all expect as much, but some how Will Oldham keeps us coming back, ever six months or so, for more of his gorgeous music. Oh, and just for style points, this is by far the best album cover he’s ever had and one of my favorites in a long time.
Listen: Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "My Life’s Work"
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "You Are Lost"

Who: The Boy Least Likely To
Title: Law of the Playground
Release Date: April 14th
Label: Too Young To Die
Thoughts: Four years removed from their breakthrough debut - The Best Party Ever - The Boy Least Likely To has finally returned with their twee pop sound firmly intact. In fact little has changed in the duo’s approach to songwriting at all. It’s still quirky and cutesy and filled with simple adorable sounds, but something is missing from this record. With a number of fantastic twee acts building on the genre in recent years it sort of seems that time may have passed The Boy Least Likely To by. Bands like Architecture in Helsinki, Los Campesinos!, and I’m from Barcelona have explored the sound and built it into a vibrant, ecstatic genre. The Boy Least Likely To scale this back, turning it into a whispered sound that’s better suited for casual listening then dancing around. There are of course a few standout tracks, "A Balloon On A Broken String" immediately springs to mind, but The Boy Least Likely To may have taken too much time to get this record out and into our ears.
Listen: The Boy Least Likely To - "I Box Up All the Butterflies"
The Boy Least Likely To - "Whiskers"

Who: Obits
Title: I Blame You
Release Date: March 24th
Label: Sub Pop
Thoughts: Before you start listening to the latest member of the Sub Pop stable of artists you might wanna hear what their member, Rick Froberg, has to say about the band. “We’re not into innovation as a band,” Forberg says on the band’s Sub Pop site, “I think innovation is overrated and an overestimated quality." Fair enough, so why then can I not get enough of Obits debut record I Blame You? Well because the band fucking rocks harder then all those folks that look to progress and wind up fucking it all up. Instead this band focuses on making some quality rock, and what would expect from a band whose pedigree includes stints with Pitchfork, Hot Snakes, and Drive Like Jehu. No, instead of worrying about what’s cool at the moment they focused on laying down hot riff after hot riff and filling it with some invigorating rhythms with some pertinent lyrics. The result is a record that will play over and over on your stereo as you fall head over heels for these dudes.
Listen: Obits - "Pine On"