4Play

April 20, 2008

The Kooks - Konk - Astralwerks
Recorded at Kinks singer Ray Davies’ Konk Studios in North London (hence the album’s name), The Kooks’ latest set brings them back together with producer Tony Hoffer (The Fratellis/Air) and offers up a dozen new songs that continue to refine the band’s sound. Some say The Kooks are derivative of bands like The Hives and The White Stripes - and that’s true, to some degree - but even within that genre, they make great strides with both lyrical content and melody. There are a couple of flippant (although not throwaway) pop numbers, but there are also more thoughtful, smarter tracks like “Tick of Time,” “Gap,” and the guitar-rich indie-rocker “Always Where I Need to Be.” Sure, perhaps a little of what The Kooks do may have been done before, but they definitely put their own distinctive and appealing stamp on the sound.


The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely - Warner Brothers
White Stripe Jack White takes on a bigger role in this set, as opposed to the sideman position (to singer-songwriter Brendan Benson, bassist Jack Lawrence, and drummer Patrick Keeler) he took on the band’s first effort. No blame to White, though - he probably thought his relative celebrity might overshadow his bandmates, and he very well may have been right. But now that the band has made such a strong showing on their own, White seems to feel a little more free, and this benefits the band’s songs overall. White and Benson are a great musical pair; they trade vocal lines and guitar riffs and push each other regularly throughout, with highlights including Benson’s vocal lead on “Salute Your Solution,” their dual take on the Old West on “The Switch and the Spur,” and the band’s laughter-ridden breakdown on the complex title track.


The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead - Sub Pop
They only number two (singer/guitarist/FX whiz Brandon Summers and drummer/keyboardist Benjamin Weikel), but you’d never guess it from the sounds that The Helio Sequence construct. Drawing from shoegaze, acoustic, electronic, and pop, their blend is an unusual one that nicely supports Summers’ slightly coarse but earnest vocal lines. Sixties folk surfaces on the strummy “No Regrets,” pop takes the spotlight on tunes like “Can’t Say No,” and “Lately,” and songs “Back to This” and the quietly delivered “Broken Afternoon” offer a more pensive feel. Many of the tracks, if the lyrics were removed, would also work extremely well as atmospheric soundscapes - but when the lyrics complement the instrumentals as well as they do here, there’s no reason to change this band’s original and perfectly-blended approach.

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid - Geffen
Serving as their first release for Fiction/Geffen, this album is also Elbow’s first since 2005 (their critically, U2, and R.E.M.-acclaimed Leaders of the Free World), and brings back more of their melancholy, layer-cake songs, this particular collection seemingly inspired, in large part, by the artistic, dramatic approach of more theatrical endeavors. Strings, strums, and determined bass make a stronger showing this time around, too, especially on the likes of “One Day Like This,” “Bones of You,” and “Grounds for Divorce.” They bring the listener a couple more of their classic ballads, too, but with more experimental textures; “The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Operator” and “Mirrorball” being the two standouts. Once again, Elbow brings a few new things to their table, and once again, they end up with something pretty great.