Find out what the CL Music Team is jamming to rocket launch the work week. Click here to check out previous entries.
Evan – Yo La Tengo, Fade (2013)
The latest album by the Matador mainstays is just as easy on the ears as their 13 previous releases. Tracks like "Stupid Things" manage to be both fresh and timeless, and marked by the familiar indie pop trappings and feedback recognizable to those who've followed the Hoboken band since their 1984 formation. "Well You Better" almost sounds like a '80s synth-fueled lullaby — and just goes to show Yo La Tengo's sonic experimentation with different genres has not ceased. It's a great comfort that these indie forefathers are still around and still managing to be relevant.
Leilani – Gliss, Langsom Dans (2013); and Foxygen, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (2013)
Langsom Dans is the latest LP by Danish-LA trio Gliss, is hazy, late-night synth-scaped dream pop that carries the pretty feminine sighs of frontwoman Victoria Cecilia. Their sound is vaguely reminiscent of Becoming X-era Sneaker Pimps (when they still had Kelli Dayton) along with those songs off the Twin Peaks soundtrack that feature vocals by frequent Lynchian collaborator, Julee Cruise – but more atmospheric than the former, and less less dark than the latter.
A buzzing indie act from LA, Foxygen is songwriting duo Sam France (vocals) and Jonathan Rado (guitar/keyboards) whose second full-length immediately caught my ear with its warm vintage aesthetic and obvious derivative influences – bright folk pop in the vein of The Kinks, modern psych tendencies ala MGMT and a bit of bluesy funky rock swagger that definitely tastes like the Stones. Video for my favorite track "Shuggie" after the jump along with the rest of this week's entries.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2013.