Better Late Than Never Reviews: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming - M83

Anthony Gonzalez, the man behind electropop outfit M83, has a flair for the dramatic, one that he shows off to stirring effect on the band's sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. Over the course of two discs, his latest creation is often captivating, sometimes head-scratching, yet always indicative of a supremely talented sonic architect at the peak of his powers.

Highlights abound on this two-disc monster. Lead single "Midnight City" opens with an absolutely filthy, addictive beat built on decadent synth, thumping drums, and deliciously sexy moaning vocals. It's a song basically made for pumping out of your car's rolled-down windows, even if it is freezing as balls like it should be in December. I will be honest: I even bought the sax solo on this one. Splashy guitar, congo-esque percussion, and vaguely Carribean-sounding vocals drive the intensely layered "Reunion," while pounding kick drums, cooing vocals, and swirling keys make the awesomely titled "Steve McQueen" hum.

Perhaps the album's best songs are the two that nakedly pay homage to that most harangued of musical decades. Yes, the '80s. "Claudia Lewis" is simply incredible with flute-like synth, whipping 808 cracks, scatting vocals, and nimble bass that would probably sound cheesy as hell on any other album. However, as applied by Justin Meldal-Johnson, who has worked with everyone from Beck to Trent Reznor, it simply rules, as does the unhinged synth solo that peeks out toward the song's crescendo. Serving as a mirror image to this track is "OK Pal," which features another tremendous vocal arrangement, more up-tempo keys, more crush-your-woofer drum beats, and, of course, more bass that can only be played the way Paul Rudd wielded the instrument in I Love You, Man. Slappin' the bass? Indeed!

As stated previously, Gonzalez definitely has love for heavy, operatic tracks, and nowhere is that indicated more effectively than on the appropriately titled "Intro" and "Outro." The former opens with synth notes seemingly stacked on top of each other for miles, moving to a drumbeat reminiscent of early U2, and climaxing in a chorus expertly applied by a buzzing hive of warm falsettos. "Outro" meanwhile wraps up the second disc with stirring strings that descend into a space-like rumble only to surface anew with more mammoth drums, light jangly guitar, and a gentle piano departure. Put simply its dramatic as your average Terrence Malick flick and it's an extremely effective (and affecting) way to close down the show.

Of course, with an album this ambitious, there is bound to be flubs, and Hurry Up, We're Dreaming has a few. The second half of the album is nowhere near as complete as the first and it leaves the listener appreciative of the work, but still left with an impression that the piece could have been sheared into one album. The presumptuously titled "Splendor" sounds like the obligatory track on a "serious" album that has to recorded in a barn or whatever. With its spare, echoey piano and Simon and Garfunkel-esque crooning, it's not what Gonzalez does best and it is about two times longer than it needs to be (and that is at five minutes). "Year One, One UFO" takes what would have been a good section of a song, and turns it into a three-minute guitar/fill-heavy drum ditty. Interesting. Not essential. Meanwhile, "Echoes of Mine" is, at best, the closest the album comes to silly pretension and, at worst, simply hideous. It features an intermittently rising synth assault repetitively juxtaposed with a lady speaking French after about 50 years of sucking on Virginia Slims. Maybe I would have liked this track better if my name was Jacques and I lived in Versailles (or if I smoked), but I doubt it.

There are also four short pieces on the album that serve as interludes between tracks. Some ("Klaus I Love You," "Fountains") are better than others ("Train to Pluton," "When Will You Come Home?"). Still, the tricky thing about these is even the ones that sound kind of cool leave you with the impression that they should have been developed more. Otherwise, why not just leave them off the album, cut it down to one disc, and save a lot of...whatever they use to make CDs and vinyl and stuff. I should also say that, although Gonzalez does an excellent job handling the vocals on a majority of the songs, I was a little disappointed by the lack of substantive duties for singer/keyboardist Morgan Kibby, who, while she was responsible for great tracks such as "Skin of the Night" and "Up!" off of M83's previous album, Saturday = Youth, here is responsible for primarily spoken-word duties. In other words, give her something to do or leave her off the album.

Even with these flaws (and the Kibby thing is completely subjective and, frankly, nit-picky), however, I would still describe Hurry Up, We're Dreaming as essential listening for any true audiophile. If you only buy it for the immensely satisfying oddity that is "Raconte-Moi Une Histoire," you will have probably gotten your money's worth. Featuring deep, distorted, repetitive synth notes, staccato drum notes, swelling strings, and an awe-worthy choral arrangement, it is probably the best song ever to feature a voice manipulated to sound like a five-year-old girl holding court on the pleasures of turning herself and all of her friends into frogs. It is also the kind of sonic adventure that makes this album not the best of the year, but certainly one of the most worthy of frequent exploration, chain-smoking mademoiselle be damned.

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Better Late Than Never Reviews: Audio, Video, Disco - Justice

When I took on Philadelphia's Broad Street Run some three years ago, I chose to listen to one CD and one CD only when traversing the city in search of a successful ten-mile run: Cross by French electro-crunk magnates Justice. The album's infectious dance groovesand brutal break beats kept me running and I survived to tell the tale (even if I usually pretend that I ran it around 10 minutes faster than I actually did). I also survived to purchase Audi0, Video, Disco, the band's second album, one that seesthem moving away from pop-influenced mega-hits like the appropriately titled "D.A.N.C.E.," and toward a more rock-influenced sound that may not move as many units, but sure does make for a consistently thrilling sophomore effort.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: Metals - Feist

In 2007, Leslie Feist, indie hottie extraordinaire and sometime-member of Broken Social Scene, became a solo sensation due to the impact of her single "1234," which was plastered all over TV and the Internet due to its video's Busby Berkeley-meets-American Apparel choreography. With her new album, Metals, it would seem as if she is retreating from her former "It Girl" status. However, while you probably won't hear any of the song's on her newest album gracing any iPod commercials any time soon, it should not be assumed that her latest is a dud. On the contrary, it is full of songs whose melodies will be taking up long-term residence in the listener's cranium. It just takes a little more digging and patience.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: The Whole Love - Wilco

Let's pretend for a moment that The Whole Love, the eighth studio album by accomplished rock collective Wilco, was actually two EPs, one of which we will call The Whole Love Above and the other of which we will call The Whole Love Below. If this were the case, I would say that The Whole Love Above was an out-and-out winner, loaded with infectious bass lines, experimental instrumentation, masterful songcraft, and ferocious yet nimble guitar work. On the other hand, I would be forced to say that The Whole Love Below was...a bit of a dud. However, as it stands, the piece is one full album, an uneven one that struggles to find a cohesive sound and frustratingly chooses to keep cycling back to spare guitar balladry when everything of value is clearly in the churning musicianship of its first half.

Four of the first six songs are stellar. Album opener "Art of Almost" starts with a crunchy, Krautrocky repetitious drum beat and a boatload of noodly synth, and concludes with a spectacular surge of guitar violence by reliable ax man Nels Cline. The thrill continues with "I Might," an instantly hummable classic that thrives on 60s surf rock keys, tweaked-out fuzz guitar, and a tremendously vibrant-sounding Jeff Tweedy, who is joined by the boys toward the conclusion for a cooing vocal harmony. Also standing out are "Dawned on Me," which features more distorted guitar, a tremendous chorus, and an uproarious closing that includes thunder drums, wailing keys, and some off-kilter whistling for effect. Finally, the band wraps up the first half of the album with "Born Alone," which showcases the band's way underrated rhythm section of John Stirratt and Glenn Kotche. The two combine to create a groove that leaves the listener literally salivating to hear the song in concert.

Making "Friends": The Pizza Project Reviews Barry's Yawnin' in the Dawnin'

So we got an e-mail the other day from a fellow named Bradford Barry. He said he was a member of a band named simply - in a move out of the Van Halen playbook - Barry. He had noticed some of the album review work we had done on The Pizza Project, and he wondered if we would be interested in reviewing the EP his band, a group of three brothers from Hume, New York, had put together.

Now the fact of the matter is I wanted to dismiss this request straight away. I am a busy man. If I have free time, I am either going to enjoy it by spending time with my wife and son, reading some fine prose by Joyce or Tolstoy, or working my cardiovascular system in an intense yet heart-healthy fashion (oh, who am I kidding; I would most likely be at the Wegman’s looking for a beer I haven’t tasted before). But then I noticed something. It turned out that Mr. Bradford Barry had done something very, very, very...savvy: He kissed my arse. Appealed to my ego. And I am pretty much a raging egomaniac.

Ten Albums to Watch for the Rest of 2011, and One I Am Slightly Reluctant to Endorse

1) Watch the Throne - Jay-Z and Kanye West (August 8)
While Jay-Z releases can be a little hit-or-miss these days, Kanye West seems to be pretty much stuck in instant-classic mode, especially after the masterpiece that was 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. If you need more of a sales job, bear in mind that the thing not only features the two pre-eminent MCs of current rap music, it features additional production by Rza and Q-Tip as well. Sort of an All-Star team of hip-hop right there.

2) Mirror Traffic - Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks (August 23)
The lead singer of Pavement teams up with producer Beck Hansen on a 15-song album of sprawling guitar-based sonics and hyperliterate, nonsensical lyrics.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: 4 - Beyonce

The third album by Beyonce Knowles, I Am...Sasha Fierce, was both a musical and an environmental disappointment. The world did not need her overly precious cover of "Ave Maria," nor did it need an 11-song album printed on two CDs just so an accomplished star could pretend to be her sassy alter ego. After the sensation that was Dangerously in Love and the underrated follow-up, B'Day, her fourth studio album, the unfortunately titled 4, found Jay-Z's main squeeze looking to prove that she did not lose ground to the Katy Perrys and the Lady Gagas of the world. Luckily, the former Destiny's Child songstress chose not to compete on their pop level and made an album that, despite having a few flaws, shows a mature artist who is still capable of churning out effortless body-movers.

Beginning with the Princely, soulful, rock-tinged ballad, "1+1," the 12-song album (yes, more than Sasha Fierce yet contained on one disc) continues quite strongly for 10 tracks. Highlights include "I Care," a bass-heavy mid-tempo joint with Squarepusher-esque airy synth and a nasty guitar solo/Beyonce vocal run (a past weakness that she is admirably restrained with throughout the album), "End of Time," a Michael Jackson-influenced banger with effectively chaotic production by producers Diplo and Switch, and "Party," a Kanye West track whose off-kilter beats and funhouse keys were attractive enough to get Andre 3000 to climb out from whatever rock he has been living under (the erstwhile Outkast MC contributes a verse that will hopefully hold the world over until he decides to put something full-length on wax). The very 80s "Love on Top" also satisfies, with Knowles putting in some of her best vocal work. I even managed to get into the one that Babyface wrote, "Best Thing I Never Had." It had to be the incredibly massive chorus, because I have to tell you: I never thought I would be able to get down with a song with piano that sounds like it was played by John Tesh in his NBA theme song era.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: Circuital - My Morning Jacket

Circuital, the sixth studio album by Kentucky rockers My Morning Jacket, is four-fifths of a great album. While not as grandiose as Z or adventurous as their last album, Evil Urges, it does feature eight tracks with their signature multi-guitar attack, layered sonics, and endlessly memorable choruses. However, the last two tracks on the album are enough to wonder if the band simply fell asleep at the wheel or if they were working to have the same thing happen to their audience while they were operating their automobiles.

Album highlights include the title track, a seven-minute monster that alternates between spare, echo-filled acoustics and soaring, country-tinged electric solos, all of which is balanced by an instantly catchy bass line and nimble piano work. "The Day Is Coming" also stands out, with a somewhat ghostly wordless intro, more stellar work on the keys (both conventional and Moog-like), and one of lead singer Jim James' best vocal turns of the album. "Holdin' on to Black Metal," which ranks as the album's best song and the one that best encapsulates the bands delicate balance of delicate songcraft and R&B eccentricity, features tweaked James vocals formed into a sort of demonic choir (and even some actual chorus work in other parts), unhinged horns, unholy fuzz guitar, and some terrifically intrusive horn blares. All in all, the first eight tracks of the album work as a tremendous unit, all of which makes the letdown of the last two tracks all the more disappointing.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: Turtleneck & Chain - The Lonely Island

Sorry to all of our devoted fans on Google Images - wow, y'all heads really enjoy Chinese food, huh - for a slight break in content. We were on a short hiatus for the July 4th holiday, but we are now back for what is going to be a veritable explosion of content.

First up is a review of the second album by comedy rap trio, The Lonely Island. The group, consisting of comedians/comedy writers Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, is almost certainly more famous among the populace for the digital shorts they create for Saturday Night Live, but on their sophomore effort they prove to be just as deft with their ability to manufacture strong hip-hop beats.

Better Late Than Never Reviews: Pickin' Up the Pieces - Fitz and the Tantrums

A friend of mine and I have a dynamic when it comes to new music. He tells me about a certain album...and I resist. Such as when he tried to introduce me to a band called Passion Pit via their album Manners. I called it "just noise." Of course, a week later I had not only purchased the album, but I was unable to remove it from iPod rotation without a restraining order. It isn't that I don't trust his musical taste. In fact, I find it to be somewhat impeccable. I guess I just want to discover things for myself, and when someone hears about something before me I get... defensive.