4Play: The Knofe, Local Natives, Miles Kurosky, Citizen Cope

April 11, 2010

The Knife - Tomorrow, In a Year - Mute
This grainy, chilly offering from mysterious, mask-wearing pair The
Knife finds the Swedish act in paradoxical moods, veering from one
electro-drama to the next. Influenced in part by German
theatrical-rock and also perhaps a little bit of opera, these
synth-based tracks are a dichotomy of themselves, as the album seems
at times like a whole, and at other times like you’ve gone entirely
into another musical plane. Evocative “Colouring of Pigeons,” the
title track, and “Letter to Henslow” are among the standout tracks,
especially instrumentally.



Local Natives - Gorilla Manor - French Kiss
Under-the-radar L.A. band Local Natives, from the Silverlake area, are
already catching on in Europe, but have yet to get much attention in
the U.S.. This is likely to change, at least for folk/world-rock fans,
with their Gorilla Manor album. The quintet crafts melodic songs most
reminiscent of a modernized Crosby, Stills and Nash, with weaving
harmonies and African rhythms. “Camera Talk” adds strings to the raw
mix, while “Cards and Quarters” revels in the density of its layers,
and “World News” shows off the band’s more boisterous side.



Miles Kurosky - The Desert of Shallow Effects - Majordomo
Former Beulah frontman Kurosky finally resurfaces with his first solo
album, which reminisces enough about Beulah through its songs, while
still retaining Kurosky’s own sole identity. The singer-songwriter
experiments a bit with song structure here, veering from the
traditional verse/chorus format to do some more eclectic things, such
as the flowing “I Can’t Swim” with its many parts, the memorable
“Notes from the Polish Underground,” and the evocative “West Memphis
Skyline,” redolent with storytelling and Memphis-style synth-horns.



Citizen Cope - The Rainwater LP - R.E.D.
Finally safe (hopefully) on his own label after being shifted from
Capitol to DreamWorks to RCA, Citizen Cope’s genre-hopping tunes are
back on a new 10-track album that continues his thread of infusing
everything from rock to adult-contemporary to R&B into his blender-mix
of tunes. While many of the beats are similar and carry through
thematically, the songs range from the “Jericho” and the melancholy
“The Lifeline” to the peppier “Keep Askin’” and “The Newspaper,” all
varying wildly in tempo and complemented by a couple of acoustic
versions.