4Play

July 6, 2008

Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - Capitol
Instead of resting on their successful past works, UK band Coldplay makes some amazing strides forward on their latest set. The beauty is in the balance - there’s plenty of what the band is known for (uber-pretty melodies, emotional yet cryptic lyrics), plus a whole lot that’s new. Alongside producer Brian Eno, the quartet is anchored by singer Chris Martin’s voice, which he pitches into a lower-than-usual register, while the whole band brings in diverse cultural elements to make for a rich blend; East Indian strings, Afro-pop guitar riffs and rhythms, and inspiration from, of all places, the French Revolution. Highlights include the vivid, kingly title track; the military-beat of “Lost!”; and the dense, big “Violet Hill.” Way to play it, Coldplay.


French Kicks - Swimming - Vagrant Records
They’re no Strokes or Nada Surf, in spite of their downtown NYC roots - and that’s just fine with them, thank you very much. The French Kicks, instead, subscribe to a more shoegazy East Coast pop feel that leans a lot on layered vox harmonies and songs as seen (heard) through pale colored lenses. Floating, echoey effects nicely enhance the vocal lines on such tracks as “Carried Away,” with its windy keyboard sounds; the quiet appeal of “Said So What”; and the glittering guitar wash of “With the Fishes.” These are mysteriously evasive tunes, though - not immediately catchy, they’ll be almost forgotten as if you were in a fog the second you’ve stopped listening, only to return in quietly hummable phrases later in your day.


Sloan - Parallel Play - Yep Roc
Teamwork is the word for the latest Sloan effort. Unlike their last album, where the band were, more or less, making individual contributions to each song, this album sounds more like they really are a band, a cohesive unit capable of spawning a far more cool and collected sound. Influenced by classic ‘60s rock like The Kinks and The Rolling Stones, Sloan’s all about the heavy powerpop, blending it with alternating amounts of typical rocker belligerence (“I’m Not a Kid Anymore,” “Cheap Champagne”) and pleas for a better world (“Too Many,” “If I Could Change Your Mind”). On each tune, you’ll find a united Sloan - haphazard drums arm-in-arm with polished guitar and radio-friendly songwriting, and four guys that simply dig rock.


Russian Circles - Station - Suicide Squeeze
At a time when the “cool” factor of instrumental music has mostly been relegated to jazz, Chicago trio Russian Circles are adept and even hipster-level at using their instruments as modern-rock “vocalists.” No, they haven’t invented a method via which guitars can approximate lyrics; but they have defined how to craft emotions without speaking (er, singing), a skill that makes their music unique. And they don’t overuse that craft - the compositions here are concise and almost mathematical in their exactness, giving those instruments room to flourish within on tracks like the shoegazy, Wurlitzer-filled “Xavii,” the complex, aggressive drum patterns of “Station,” and the West-Coast beach-meanderings of “Harper Lewis.” Cool.