4Play

April 27, 2008

Portishead - Third - Mercury
Has it really been over ten years since Portishead’s last effort? It’s true, PH fans - but now they’re back, without much of a change in sound at all; it’s like they never left, which is good news for those who rely on their downtempo, drony sound. This time around, though, it’s a bit spooky, too, with sneaky, minimalist electronic riffs, plenty of echo, more organ (but not more cowbell), and singer Beth Gibbons’ trademark airy, hesitant vocals. Breakbeats and a bit of dub surface on songs like “Machine Gun,” “Nylon Smile,” “The Rip,” and “We Carry On,” while opener “Silence” is anything but. It’s pretty obvious what they’ve spent at least a good portion of the past ten years doing, and that’s writing more of the kind of trip-hop compositions that they know best.


Foals - Antidotes - Sub Pop
Buzzy, wailing guitars, Velvet-Underground-y art pop, wackily indecipherable lyrics, and hey-LISTEN up-front drumbeats are only a few of Foals’ distinguishing band characteristics; recorded with Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio), they pull from both indie-rock and dance-pop angles, both of which work well for them so far. Kicking off with “The French Open,” which starts off funky and moves into a heavier, dance-floor-friendly feel, the set moves somewhat unevenly but interestingly through songs like the instrumentally surf-y “Like Swimming,” the vampire-referenced “Heavy Water,” and the thick, heavier closer, “Tron.” Foals still need to settle on their voice through all of this clicking and flailing, but chances are that’ll happen sooner than even they might expect.


Marsmobil - Minx - GS
Mixing electronica melodies and beats with psychedelic flower-power pop, James Bond-esque themes, and spacey synthesizer riffs, Marsmobil is a modern yet indefinable blend of sounds that is finally moving them into the edges of the electronica mainstream. At first listen, it’s easy to pick out the usual keyboard sounds, piano flourishes, and moveable basslines; repeated listens will reveal a whole lot more, from the moody ambient drops that recall fellow French duo Air’s most particular tracks, to the thick layers of sound that support the electro-fied vocal performances. Highlights include the opener, “Magnetizing,” as well as following tracks “Supersonic Mind,” the emotional “Sovatex 2055,” and the cooled-out closer “From Elsewhere to Nowhere.”


Tapes N’ Tapes - Walk It Off - Beggars XL
Tapes N’ Tapes’ latest - much like their last - is like dig through a $5 thrift store bin; you never quite know what you’re going to find, but chances are there’s at least one retro-groovy item in there somewhere. Hailing from Minneapolis, the cold weather must help the band make time for a lot of musical experimenting, because there’s plenty of that here; their regular tones of guitar, ghostly keyboards, and wobbly vocals shake it up with jazz, Southwestern folk melodies, and ‘80s rock club pop numbers like “Say Back Something” and “Le Ruse” with its busy cymbals. It may not always be the most immediately appealing or accessible set, being a little too bizarre at times, but there are still a few tracks worth finding.