Named after a Frank Zappa quote that “discovery is not dead…it just smells funny,” indeed Discovery is not dead. It is the newborn brainchild of Wes Miles, lead singer of Ra Ra Riot, and Rostam Batmanglij, keyboardist of Vampire Weekend. And it doesn’t smell funny, but it did make me giggle. A first listen to electro R&B opener, “Orange Shirt” left me wondering-- Is this a joke? After listening to all of LP, I realized, that while some of this may be tongue in cheek, it is no joke. In fact, this is serious--seriously awesome.

“Orange Shirt” is a benchmark for what to expect but there’s more to Discovery than meets the eye. LP is what a dub R Kelly spending too much time tripping on summertime in European nightclubs might sound like. Chock full of electro flavors throughout, certain tracks venture into reggae on a song like “Slang Tang,” or DJ remixes (scratches included) on a song like “Can You Discover.” Parts smack of Depeche Mode influence (“So Insane),” and others stray into Postal Service territory (“Osaka Loop Line”)--more often than not, each of their songs combine these elements.

more...

On Elvis Perkins’ first album, Ash Wednesday, he sounded like a mixture of Bob Dylan and Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. I even initially mistook the song “While You Were Sleeping” for a lost Neutral Milk Hotel song, due to Perkins’ uncanny resemblance to Mangum’s nasally voice and the use of an excellent horn section. On this new album,Elvis Perkins In Dearland , he mostly just sounds like himself. Sure, the comparisons to Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Mangum are still valid, but you wouldn’t mistake a song onDearland for an Aero plane Over The Sea B-side. Sophomore slump is a problem that affects lots of musicians, but Perkins seems to have artfully dodged that condition. Instead, he’s managed to pull together an album that takes the best elements of his previous record and incorporates some new stuff as well.

more...

The Ratatat sound is less "look at me" and more introspective.

more...

We have a pair of tickets to see The Teenagers (with the Handsome Furs and Man Plus) at Neumos this Saturday, April 19th.

more...

He sort of comes across like a watered-down Anglicized John Mayer. Yes, it is that ugly.

more...

Vampire Weekend’s sound can pretty much be summed up like this: The Strokes record Graceland.

more...

Maths + English is the most “American” album Dizzee Rascal has ever made and as a result, his most decisive album to date ...

more...

Many people might wonder why does Jack White want to make, you know, normal rock music.

more...

Tapes 'n Tapes wander from straight-out garage rock to sinister neo-folk of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and the Decemberists to sad bastard indie and back again.

more...

Classics might be an overstated title for Ratatat's second album, but it's far from a disappointment.

more...