Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

Arcade Fire - Empty Room

Arcade Fire- Half Light II

Arcade Fire is back with their latest release The Suburbs.  I heard mixed reviews about the album but after listening to it myself I have to say it’s not bad at all. Something does seem a little different from their previous album Neon Bible which I can’t quite make out at the moment but all the familiarities of the band are there as well. Interesting note, there are 8 different album covers that are randomly selected when you purchase The Suburbs. 

This Saturday, May 15th live on Youtube, The National will be performing songs from their latest album High Violet.  The live show will be directed by the legendary DA Pennebaker and all proceeds will go towards benefiting the Red Hot Organization. 

The National- Terrible Love

The National - Afraid Of Everyone

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio

Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms

Band Of Horses - Factory

As summer peaks around the corner, two great bands recently released their new albums just in time for the season.  The National’s latest album, High Violet seems to continue exactly from where they left off.  Unlike some bands who try to experiment with a new sound but more than often fail, the National continued down the road with the success after Alligator with their catchy and mellow but riveting sounds. 

Seattle based band, Band Of Horses also released their 3rd album titled Infinite Arms. This album is a great pick up for Summer with their easy listening and laid back sounds. I highly recommended both of these albums.

MGMT- It’s Working

MGMT - Someone’s Missing

MGMT - Brian Eno

Congratulations is the the highly anticipated follow up to MGMT’s previous album Oracular Spectacular.  I haven’t had a chance to listen to Congratulations enough to determine whether I like it or not, but, my first initial reaction is that the band is heading in another direction from their previous release. In Oracular Spectacular while every song was different something seemed to tie them all together making it one of the better albums from start to finish.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I can say the same for Congratulations. There seems to be 3 different styles of music going on throughout the album and while there are sounds and beats that reminds us that this still is MGMT, the end leaves me thinking of.. well I’m not really sure what.  Does anyone feel the same way or have any thoughts about the album?

Yeasayer - Madder Red

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp

Brooklyn based band Yeasayer is back with their second studio album titled “Odd Blood”.  This one of course follows their debut album All Hours Cymbals.  I have a pretty mixed review about their new release, some tracks I really like and other I don’t care for as much.  Either way I’ll leave it up to yourself to judge the outcome.  In contradiction however, I do have to say the more I listen to Odd Blood the more I like the over all album or perhaps I’m just getting use to it.

Beach House - Norway

Beach House - Zebra

Beach House is a 2 person band from Baltimore consisting of Victoria Legrand (vocals, organ) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard).  Their latest album titled, “Teen Dream” in a way lives up to the way their music sounds; a very dreamy pop melody that’s reminiscence of those teen flicks from the 70s / early 80s. Their hit single “Norway” is available for a free download on their site or you can preview more tracks on their MySpace. 

Land of Talks new music video titled “It’s Ok” is quite a visually amazing and beautiful piece. If you have sometime be sure to check out this stunning story.

Where The Wild Things Are will probably be one of the biggest films of the year and I can’t wait to see it as I am sure many others are highly awaiting the anticipation as well.  There has been so much hype about this film already that I will not get into how great the story is, or that it is one of the best children’s book of all time, both of which is true but I’m sure everyone already knows or heard.  Instead, I am linking to a site where you can stream the soundtrack for free and listen to the soft mellow tunes of Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the Kids; including band mates, Brain Chase, Nick Zinner and two members of the Raconteurs, along with a children’s choir of course.  I know some people were expecting Arcade Fire to be included in this, since they were the original band you heard in the first trailer of this film but to my knowledge they are not part of this soundtrack but could possibly be included in a e.p. 

Over the past couple weeks I worked on some new features / changes for mtvmusic.com.  This site is constantly being updated to help enhance the overall experience of the site and I’m glad I get to work on all the additional features that come through.  Some of the changes include the a new more prominent home page marquee, a search drop down menu that makes it easier to find what you are looking for, and also changes to the video page.

White Lies - Death

White Lies - To Lose My Life

London based band, the White Lies recently released their new album titled “To Lose My Life”.  When I first heard this album I knew it was going to be good, the lead off song “Death” sets the tone with dark mysterious sounds topped with the vocals of a somewhat 80’s sounding band although at times reminiscing The Editors. The whole album flows almost together flawlessly except there is one live song that was recorded with low sound quality and every time I get to that part I have to turn the volume a few notches up and then back down for the next songs. I wish they would have put that song at the end of the album but nonetheless it does not really effect the well put together songs of the White Lies. 

Phoenix - Lisztomania

Phoenix - Fences

Phoenix - Rome

Phoenix’s third and latest album release “Wolfgang Amadeus” is arguable the bands best album by far.  Their previous albums each had one or two hits on them but their latest album shows the full potential of this band as nearly all the songs are memorable and great.  The bands pop/dance sounds is definitely making it’s way to many retail stores playlist around New York and I’m sure in many other states as well especially if there is a Urban Outfitters around.  None the less I recommend this album to anyone who is into this type of music. 

The Sounds - My Lover

The Sounds - Dorchester Hotel

The Sounds - Midnight Sun

Swedish band The Sounds have returned with their third album titled “Crossing The Rubicon”.  Don’t let the simple album cover fool you, their latest release is nothing close to being that simple or basic. The Sounds seemed to have picked up exactly where they left off after their previous album “Dying To Say This To You”.  They have continued their synth, pop sounds throughout the album along with their occasional theatrical sounding intros.  Of course there is still the diverse vocals of lead singer Maja Ivarsson that helps tie everything together. 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric (Acoustic)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Soft Shock (Acoustic)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Skeletons (Acoustic)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs latest release It’s Blitz was quite a surprise for my ears when I first heard this album, they still have the same crazy sounds, fast beats, personality and unique voice of Karen O but what made it different was the number of acoustic songs they include(4).  For each acoustic song there is also a normal version which is the type of music you expect from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  I listened to the album a couple times before deciding whether I liked it or not and I have to admit I actually enjoyed the slow stuff. It’s a change of pace for the band and reminds me a bit of Karen O’s side project Native Korean Rock which seems to have been put on hold to make time for the YYY new album.  Whether you prefer the faster stuff or not this album definitely displays two sides of the band. 

I recently stumbled upon this new compilation titled “Dark Was The Night” a benefit project hosted by the Red Hot Organization whom are dedicated to fighting HIV and AIDS.  This album is filled with tons of amazingly talented artists including Beirut, The National, Arcade Fire, Ben Gibbard, Yo La Tengo and just too many to list but take a look at the image above to see who else has contributed to this album. Many of the tracks in this album are relatively mellow and slow making it a very pleasing sound for the ears.  Dark Was The Night will also be having a very limited tour with some of the artists later on this year which I’m sure will sell out pretty fast.

Beirut - La Llorona

Beirut - The Concubine

Beirut recently released their third album titled “March Of The Zapotec” and much like their previous album this one delivers the loud horns, trumpets, and the beats of a marching drum, all perfectly blended together.  One thing they do very well with their music is to make each song sound like a story or soundtrack and in their latest release they continue to provide that creativity almost making some of the songs seem like your watching a magic show or attending a theatrical play of some sort.  Towards the end of the album they seem to step out of their comfort zone just a tad as they experiment with the synthesizers in their songs and I’m not sure if it’s working for me.  Don’t get me wrong it still sounds like it’s well put together but I prefer 100 piece loud banging instrument sounds that caught my attention in the first place.  Overall, March Of The Zapotec is another great album released by Beirut.