Posts tagged with "Merge"

SHE & HIM

SHE & HIM Volume 3 [Merge] She & Him—vocalist Zooey Deschanel and producer/guitarist M. Ward—concoct a vibrant spirit on this charming, if kitschy, collection of lo-fi psychedelic pop. Deschanel wrote 11 of the 14 songs, most of which deal with the hardships of new love. Her roll-with-the-punches performance, full of innocent sighs and moody expressions, throbs with ache. On “London,” an abstract, hypnotic piano ballad, she adds shades... 

WILD FLAG

WILD FLAG Wild Flag [Merge] Between records and tours with their main bands—Sleater-Kinney, Helium and the Minders, among them—the members of supergroup Wild Flag have spent the last decade working together on various side projects, dabbling in everything from ’60s garage to ’90s alternative while always maintaining a punk-rock ethos. Given their curatorial passion for rock music, it’s fitting the ladies open Wild Flag’s debut with “Romance”... 

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS All Eternals Deck [Merge] The title of All Eternals Deck ostensibly refers to a fictional set of Tarot cards, but the Mountain Goats’ latest draws less of its lyrical juice from fortune-telling than from scientific inquiry and the lives of faded Hollywood stars—as befits idiosyncratic singer and songwriter John Darnielle. It’s the latest in a continued evolution away from Darnielle’s one-man, lo-fi roots: The Mountain Goats... 

DESTROYER

DESTROYER Kaputt [Merge] Dan Bejar has done lo-fi, he’s tried symphonic and now he goes for a super-glossy hi-fi sound on the latest from his band Destroyer. Kaputt is like the soundtrack for a Bryan Ferry biopic from an alternate reality—full of atmospheric synthesizers, effects-treated guitars, crisp drums and sleek, airless bass. The alto saxophone meandering through some of the songs is also part of the wistful mood of the record—all late... 

TEENAGE FANCLUB + Shadows

TEENAGE FANCLUB Shadows [Merge] For years, Teenage Fanclub served a key purpose during those long stretches between Big Star reunions—the band’s rootsy, easy-breezy power-pop was a well-crafted, intermittently inspired substitute. The Glasgow group’s first album in five years arrives mere months after the death of Big Star leader Alex Chilton, so it’s fitting (if coincidental) that Shadows should be something of a somber listen. The songs... 
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