Have a Strategy

You’re going to want to see certain bands, and you’re going to want to see certain bands a lot more than others. Check when your favorite bands are playing, and figure out a good schedule. If you absolutely cannot miss Jay-Z or Pavement, find a spot early and enjoy how close you’ll get to be when the show starts. Crowds form fast, and don’t be afraid to show up near the end of one band’s set and claim a good spot while the stagehands prepare for the acts you want to see. Pace yourself throughout the weekend; Coachella is a long festival, with three days of music beginning around noon and ending after midnight each day. Sit down, eat snacks throughout the day (frozen chocolate-covered cheesecake-on-a-stick was my best friend at Coachella last year), and just have fun!

Beat The Heat

Coachella is notorious for being a brutally hot and unforgiving climate for the festival goers. Each year people get brutal sunburns, and if they aren’t careful they end up in the medical tent from heatstroke and heat exhaustion. So bring enough sunblock with a high SPF and be sure to apply it liberally every few hours. And don’t forget to hydrate! Drinking a bottle every two hours is a good way to keep hydrated, but you’ll need to be drinking even more water than that if you older kids plan on imbibing at the beer gardens. Light colored clothes, sunglasses, and hats are also a lot more helpful than you think.

Eat Economically

Food is expensive, and buying alcohol will drain your wallet faster than you can say Heineken. Bring snacks to keep in your car or at your campsite, and be sure to eat a decent breakfast every morning to give you the energy you’re going to need to keep on rocking. When you do have to buy food on the festival grounds, look for things heavy in protein to fill you up. With some smart planning, you won’t miss any of the bands you want to see and you can save some big bucks by eating smart.

Split Up With Friends

If you’re going to Coachella, you’re likely going with a group of friends. The one and only problem with this is that even your best friend isn’t going to want to see all the same acts as you. Don’t let this stop you from splitting with your group to go and enjoy yourself on your own. Agree on a time and location to meet up again, and feel free to get lost in the crowds until then. Plus, you’ll likely meet some interesting people, like the Canadian guy wearing a cowboy hat that I met while waiting for my favorite band at last year’s festival.

Explore The Festival

Chances are you haven’t heard every band on this year’s bill, and there’s something refreshing and positive about discovering an awesome new band at a Festival. If there’s an hour where you don’t know any of the bands playing, stage-hop until you find a band that you enjoy. Plus, some of the most criminally underrated bands are going to be playing sets before 4 pm, and there are plenty of musical gems waiting to be uncovered by you. Plus, the festival offers plenty of interesting art exhibits, plenty of memorabilia and music to purchase.

…Coachella, HERE I COME.

Though I am an agnostic and very much a skeptic of the man-made institutions of religion and faith, I cannot (and certainly will not) deny the impact of religion in the realm of music. The majority of early music texts that we have in the Western tradition are religious texts: Gregorian chant, mass cycles (Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Mozart’s Requiem being essential), and the like.

Even in the 20th and 21st century, in a world where the majority of music that exists can be seen as strictly “non-religious” and “non-liturgical,”  the influence of religion on music can still be prevalent. Just look at some of my favorite bands. George Harrison certainly explored aspects of religion, faith, and philosophy in his music, both with The Beatles and in his solo-career. Another Beatle, John Lennon, famously destroyed his many idols on the track “God” from his first post-Beatles record. My other favorite band, The Hold Steady, litter their music with biblical references, and their sophomore masterpiece Separation Sunday is basically an album that explores the conflicts and struggle between religion and living in modern society. Themes of resurrection, crucifixion, redemption, and saviors run rampant in their punk-rock influenced indie anthems. They even introduce their characters with religious names: Hallelujah (the kids just call her Holly), Gideon, Judas. It’s one of the most Catholic-rock albums since Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love, another popular example of rock and religion melding into something that isn’t necessarily rock-for-religious-people. They’ve even named their newest record Heaven is Whenever, due out on May 4th via Vagrant Records.

Other pop icons have tackled the topic of religion before too. Kanye West crucified himself on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and managed to make a critically and commercially successful rap song that was, strictly speaking, about Jesus. A popular figure in indie circles, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel includes some pretty straightforward reverential lyrics in his amazing album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, “I loooooooooooove you, Jesus Chriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiist, Jesus Christ I love you, yes I dooooooooo.” Pop-punk mega-stars Green Day have included religious references in popular singles from their last two albums, like “East Jesus Nowhere” and “Jesus Of Suburbia.” Madonna famously got religious (and a little blasphemous, to some) on her huge hit “Like A Prayer.” Thrash-metal immortals Slayer often write songs dealing with religion, including songs titled “Angel of Death,” “Jesus Saves,” and “Christ Illusion.” 

I could keep going, and going and going and going and going…

There’s a lot of music out there about God, Jesus, religion, and aspects of faith that are cross-cultural as well as culture-specific. Exploring the role of religion in the history of music is a task that you could devote a lifetime to. It raises issues that perhaps you’ve never considered in your musical listening, regardless of your religious preferences and backgrounds. In the same way that a rich college-educated white male can listen to African-American influenced hip-hop music created by impoverished and uneducated individuals, the religious and non-religious alike can listen to music that dabbles in beliefs and world experiences that are quite unlike their own.

Maybe reading this you’ll start to consider your relationship with music that has a relationship with religion. What do these things say about the musicians? What do they say about us as listeners? Can music influence your faith in a drastic way? Can faith influence music in a drastic way? The relationship between religion and music seems as complex and complicated as anything, and it has a rich history. So let’s dig in.

Johann Sebastian Bach: “Kyrie Eleison” from The Mass In B Minor

The Hold Steady: “Cattle And The Creeping Things”

The Hold Steady: “How A Resurrection Really Feels”

George Harrison: “My Sweet Lord”

Kanye West: “Jesus Walks”

Madonna: “Like A Prayer”

Neutral Milk Hotel: “The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three”

Slayer: “Jesus Saves”

John Lennon: “God”

- C. Robinson

Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis

This is exactly what heavy rock music with screaming vocals needed: an honest-to-god break-up album. The riffs are heavy, the rhythms are complicated, and the songwriting is emotionally honest. Even if you haven’t been at the forefront of the math-rock screamo vanguard for years, it’s not too late to become a fan of a fantastic band. Dillinger Escape Plan will blow you away. (8/10)

Dillinger Escape Plan: “I Wouldn’t If You Didn’t”

Fang Island – Fang Island

The flavor-of-the-month indie hype band, Fang Island’s music is described as “everybody high-fiving everybody.” And there’s no doubt, this music is huge and happy. But it might be a little too happy; oftentimes the songs find themselves feeling dizzyingly delirious, turning the happiness into hollow and empty positivity. In that sense, the album ends up coming off as all of the worst traits of indie rock at the moment: hopelessly full of wankery, emotional clairvoyance, and vapid songs lacking in variety. Pitchfork is going to need to dig deeper next time.  (5/10)

Fang Island: “Life Coach”

Flobots – Survival Story

Somebody should tell these guys that rap-rock died years ago. I would tell them to not quit their day job, but Flobots were close to topping the iTunes charts for a short while, so I think they’ll do just fine. Unfortunately. Empty metal guitars, horrible flow, and pseudo-politically charged lyrics make this album a testament to the awful things that can become of hybrid genres. If rap-metal isn’t the worst genre ever, then I hope I never hear what is.  (2/10)

Gonjasufi – A Sufi and a Killer

A hallucinogenic, genre-hopping album that would best be played out on a drive through the desert. Arabic influences are rampant, but the sonic world that Gonjasufi creates is unlike any other. With psychedelic guitars, cracked vocals, and electronic blips, the songs flesh themselves out in unexpected ways. The vocal samples are engaging and provide enticing counter-melodies, begging you to take a hit and hit repeat.  (8/10)

Gonjasufi: “Kowboyz And Indians”

Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

Damon Albarn creates another fantastic album, breaking through the Gorillaz artifice to get to the art at the heart of his cartoon-inspired musical project. Merging hip-hop, dance, r&b, soul, and Brian Eno inspired art-pop into this album, Albarn has once again shown that his artistic genius far excedes Noel Gallagher. The album moves from the swelling strings of an orchestral introduction to a synth heavy banger where none-other than Snoop Dogg welcomes you to the fantasy world of Plastic Beach. If that isn’t a sign that this album is going to take you on a unique journey, I don’t know what is. (8/10)

Gorillaz: “Rhinestone Eyes”

Jimi Hendrix – Valleys Of Neptune

Aside from a few choice cuts here (like the amazing title track), Hendrix’s fresh-from-the-vault material lacks the creativity and expression of his original albums. There’s a reason some things go unheard for so long. Hendrix is the greatest guitarist of all time, but nobody needs multiple versions of the same song done in a half-baked, half-assed manner. And certainly nobody wanted to have their suspicions of Hendrix’s songwriting confirmed with these thrown-off c-sides. (4/10)

Jimi Hendrix: “Valleys Of Neptune”

Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can

Young singer-songwriter Laura Marling shocks me with this one: a sure-footed follow-up to her impressive debut album, proving that she has the chops to make a career out of her music. This time out, she replaces the heartache with songs that explore what it means to be growing up and finding one’s place as a woman in the world. Joanna Newsom better watch out, because Laura Marling might be the best female singer-songwriter making music right now. (8/10)

Laura Marling: “Rambling Man”

Morning Benders – Big Echo

Produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, the Morning Benders’ sophomore record makes a perfect companion album to the debut album released by Surfer Blood earlier in the year. Guitar-based indie rock that focuses on being catchy and anthemic while still touching and meaningful, even Grizzly Bear could find a few things to learn from these guys. (7/10)

The Morning Benders: “Cold War (Nice Clean Fight)”

She & Him – Volume 2

This isn’t much of a surprise stylistically, but the songwriting and orchestrations on this album, the sophomore record by Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward collaboration She & Him, far overshadows those of the debut. Deschanel has a gorgeous voice, but some variety wouldn’t hurt. Overall, a success, and it by far bests the shallowness and empty glamour of the debut, leaving us with an album full of uplifting pop gems. (7/10)

She & Him: “Ridin’ in My Car (NRBQ)”

Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

In 10 tracks that last over an hour in length, New Jersey punks Titus Andronicus reignite rock and roll’s flame with a concept album loosely based on the Civil War. These pretenses never override how much fun this album can be, as it shamelessly rocks from start to finish, featuring Springsteen lyrical twists, guest-appearances by multiple indie-rock staples, machine-gun guitar solos, and some epic bagpipes. Punk-rock needed this. (9/10)

Titus Andronicus: “A More Perfect Union”

The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights

Proof that this band was meant to be heard live. The energy, vitality, and musicality that Jack White emanates on stage puts him in a league on par with Jimmy Page, Kurt Cobain, and even Hendrix. Essential for fans, and the perfect introduction to the best musician of the 2000s. When can we let Jack White enter the pantheon of “greatest guitarists of all time?” Hell, he’s already there in my book. Just listen to the guitar solo on “Ball & Biscuit,” try to tell me it isn’t the best of all time. Long live Jack White. (7/10)

The White Stripes: “Fell In Love With a Girl (Live)”

Wyatt Stone – Wyatt Stone

On his self-produced debut album on which he plays every instrument, Wyatt Stone wears his influences on his sleeve, alternating between Fleet Foxes backwoods harmonies, Harry Nilsson styled singer-songwriter epics, Jon Brion’s intuitive sense of melodic phrasing, and “The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle” guitar heroics that would make Springsteen proud. It’s catchy, it’s honest, and most importantly, it’s great. (8/10)

Wyatt Stone: “Don’t Forget”

- C. Robinson

That sense of wonderment and possibility really set in last night for me, as I got comfortable in my seat in the dimly lit Fargo Theatre at the Coronet in Hollywood. As our evening’s host introduced the night’s events, he off-handedly commented on that special Saturday night feeling. “Please silence and turn off your cell phones; it’s Saturday night, and Jon Brion is in the house. Who the fuck is going to be calling now?” He was right: it was Saturday night, and the night was young. I could have been anywhere else, but I was there, sitting in row E seat 108, enjoying the night with two of my best friends, anxiously awaiting musical genius Jon Brion to take the stage with a special, unknown musical guest.

Brion entered, welcoming the audience before beginning his musical explorations. And that’s the only way to describe the way Jon Brion performs. Using complicated and precise looping, Brion is the only person onstage, and plays every instrument himself, fleshing out his songs one instrument at a time. It’s an insight into the mind of a musical genius, the man who has worked with countless artists and movie soundtracks, even putting out his own solo record a few years ago. 

With the news of his collaboration on the newest of Montreal album (purportedly set for release in late 2010), there was a sneaking suspicion that Brion’s musical guest would be of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes. In fact, the audience was treated to a more unexpected musical guest: sesquipedalian folk-star Andrew Bird.

Let me begin by saying this: everything you’ve heard about Andrew Bird’s whistling is true. He could slay dragons with his whistling ability if he so desired. But perhaps more impressive was how restrained and poignant the new songs he performed for the audience are. Lyrical content stretches a variety of topics, from laments about a failed relationship to songs about a cancer survivor. Bird weaves his tales exactly like you’d expect him to, with accompaniment of his own fantastic violin playing and loops.

Bird’s appearance was something unlike I’ve ever seen from him before. I almost didn’t recognize him when he stepped onto the stage, with a full beard and bright-red scarf hanging around his neck, wearing a worn-in pair of jeans and what looked to be a very comfortable shirt and jacket combination. Nothing flashy: just Andrew Bird, clearly wearing some comfortable clothes more suited for his hometown of Chicago than for the hot weather Los Angeles has been experiencing lately.

Together, Brion and Bird made the perfect onstage musical force, accompanying each other’s songs with fantastic musicianship and great musical instincts. The absolute highlight of the evening for me was an impromptu run-through of the Cole Porter standard “Anything Goes.” Honestly, it’s not only one of the best Cole Porter songs, but it’s one of the best songs ever written, period. A truly American song-writing classic by a man who was a master of the trade, being performed by two of the best musicians of my generation. It was a testament to the lasting, magical power and influence of music.

“Anything Goes” exemplified just how light-hearted the evening truly was. As Bird and Brion were discussing a way on-stage to work out the modulating bridge in one of Bird’s new songs, Bird looked out into the audience with a puzzled look on his face and asked in the most dead-pan tone you can expect from a guy who is as shy as performers get, “Does it smell like toast?” Brion and the audience laughed, with Brion noting that Bird must have been smelling the coffee being brewed in the cafe. “They’ve got great smelling coffee over there,” Brion confessed. “Good coffee and good modulations, what more could you want in your life?”

Jon Brion: “I Believe She’s Lying”

Andrew Bird: “Imitosis”

- C. Robinson

After two years of undergraduate education at UCLA, I needed a drastic change. And in the attempt to actually find a place that I might feel at home and able to flourish in all senses, I decided to be a little more open with my transfer applications. I wanted to tell my prospective institutions about the things that matter to me and about the topics that actively engage my thoughts and pique my interest, rather than what I think they might want to hear, which is what I did the first time around and probably how I ended up going to UCLA for two years.

The following is a short essay that I submitted to Claremont McKenna College in Pomona as my response to a question that asked me to “identify a person, fictional or nonfictional, who has helped shape culture and thought.” The first person that came to my mind was Jimi Hendrix – a man whose music, state of mind, and disposition in the world have all struck resonant chords in me since I first heard the viscous, earth-shattering soul-funk of “Voodoo Child” coming through my dad’s record player in third grade.  If I didn’t pick the JFK or Kurt Vonnegut or Bill Gates that you would have liked to hear about, CMC, so be it – I don’t belong there.

Jimi Hendrix was an artist of the senses. As a musician, as an artist, as an ingenious thinker and a sensitive, insightful man, Hendrix pioneered culture and thought on an entirely different level. He created a stark visceral connection between what was inside of him and the music he birthed. Ultimately, Hendrix was an innovative cultural leader who graced history with a vivid portrait of his mind through his electrifying guitar virtuosity.

Many view Hendrix as an impenetrable rock god, his legacy frozen in time with bootleg recordings, magazine articles, photos and documentaries. However, if one reads far enough into it to discover the personality and initiative of the man behind the music, these discoveries give his sonic creations even more weight.

“What he played was ungodly loud but also incredibly lyrical and expert,” said Pete Townshend of the band The Who in a 2003 edition of Rolling Stone magazine. “He managed to build this bridge between true blues guitar and modern sounds.”

As Hendrix connected two musical eras, he introduced the world to the possibilities of the electronic age of music in the process. Even if one is not a fan of the trademark Hendrix style of wild, half-hour-long solos (sometimes played with his teeth) and mind-numbingly breakneck guitar feedback flurries, any open-minded individual can still appreciate what the man did for music and culture in general – he opened doors that no one even knew were there before.  His solos were fluid and dexterous, simultaneously melodic and rhythmic, always improvised and explosive – they acted as extensions of Hendrix’s mind and train of thought, shouting at the audience like a voice.

“Most of the time I can’t get it on the guitar, you know?” said Hendrix (via the same 2003 Rolling Stone article). “Most of the time I’m just laying around daydreaming and hearing all this music…”

Hendrix essentially thought in the language of electric guitar. No other musician in the past had been able to utilize the instrument in the same way, where soloing was an elegantly intimate experience and endlessly expressive. Hendrix’s music was aesthetically picturesque for the time and place that was the ‘60s.

In addition to having an especially influential hand in molding the consciousness of a generation, Hendrix was also an exceedingly mindful, forward-thinking individual. He had big plans for the future: he knew that an era of music was coming to an end, and he wanted to be there to guide the world into the next, which makes his untimely death all the more heart-wrenching.

- E.B.

“Hear My Train A Comin” – Jimi Hendrix

“Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” – Jimi Hendrix

With an anthemic chorus that finds Craig Finn falling back into the mix to blend with the singing of his fellow band mates, “Hurricane J” is propelled forward by a rhythmic stop-and-start guitar progression that fills out with the arrival of the hook. The lyrics are perfect Craig Finn genius, like the verse of the breakdown: “They didn’t name her for a saint, they named her for a storm, so how is she supposed to think about how it’s going to feel in the morning?” or the poetry of the outro: “Hurricane Jessie’s gonna crash into the harbor this summer, she don’t wanna wait, she said you only get older, Hurricane Jessie’s gonna crash into the harbor this summer, she don’t wanna wait, she said it only gets harder.”

It’s exactly what we’ve come to love and expect from these guys: a catchy classic-rock via punk-rock anthem about finding meaning in living life in the moment. 

All I have to say is, bring on May 4th – the album’s release – and May 5th, which happens to be Cinco De Drinko and the day of the Hold Steady’s show in Los Angeles at the El Rey theatre. To any members of the Unified Scene in Los Angeles: I will see you there.

The Hold Steady: “Hurricane J”

-C. Robinson

But this time around, I had one other thing weighing on my mind as well, and it surprisingly wasn’t at all school related. In between the stresses of college-life, my best friend since high school was going through week-long pre-labor (also known as ‘fake’ labor) and preparing to give birth to her first-born child. On the Sunday night before finals week, as I studied Bartok concertos and Ellington jazz standards, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that has helped me to truly slow down and appreciate every day of life and see the world through a whole new set of eyes.

Following my stressful music history final, I raced over to the hospital to visit with the mama and papa and newborn baby, bringing along one of our mutual friends, excitedly anticipating seeing the newest addition to my best friend’s family. Upon seeing the little girl for the first time, I was taken aback. This was one of the purest and most joyful sights I have ever laid eyes upon, and this child has been blessed with the best attributes from mom and dad alike, and is one of the most beautiful children I have seen in my short life. 

Her mother named her Holly Lua (but we all just call her Holly). The name was chosen as an homage to the Hold Steady’s primary character Hallelujah (whom the kids just call Holly) and Bright Eyes quietly heartbreaking song “Lua.” 

In honor, tribute, and celebration of the arrival of such a wonderful bundle of joy, here’s a few songs that I thought summed up the whole experience well.

Stevie Wonder: “Isn’t She Lovely”

The Hold Steady: “How A Resurrection Really Feels”

Bright Eyes: “Lua”

- C. Robinson

So, since it’s been far too long since this blog of mine has seen any action, I thought I would make myself a little project for Spring Break by posting lists this week. First up in this line of list-making extravagance is going to be a simple, straightforward top 25 list of my absolute favorite songs by Radiohead. When it comes to Radiohead’s music, making a top 25 is simultaneously painful and rewarding, as they have made so many incredible songs that you might as well just do yourself a favor and purchase every album they’ve ever made (excepting their lackluster debut Pablo Honey). Anyways, without further ado…25 excellent songs by Radiohead!

25. A Wolf At The Door (It Girl. Rag Doll.) (Hail to the Thief)

When it comes to Radiohead’s albums, they really know the value of making an incredible closing track. This one happens to be one of the funkiest songs that Radiohead have ever put to tape, with some of Thom Yorke’s creepiest lyrics ever to close out their excellent 2003 album Hail to the Thief. 

24. Bones (The Bends)

Radiohead’s first great album was 1995′s The Bends, a rush of psychedelic guitar-rock that would either make you weep or pump your fists in the air. “Bones” is the latter, an anthemic adrenaline rush that stands as a highlight track of their alt-rock classic.

23. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box (Amnesiac)

It’s no surprise that Radiohead purposefully misspelled words in the opening track to Amnesiac, their follow-up to 2000′s Kid A (my favorite album of the 00′s). Self-aware as always, they likely knew the tin-box electronic flourishes of this song were more than a little experimental for a rock band, but Thom Yorke’s repeated refrain of “I’m a reasonable man get off my case” acts as the true vehicle for building tension.

22. Let Down (Ok Computer)

Oft-cited as the best song Radiohead have ever written, “Let Down” is probably one of the most heart-breaking things Thom Yorke has ever sang, accompanied by some of the most gorgeous guitar-tones that Johnny Greenwood has ever written. Truly a stunner.

21. High and Dry (The Bends)

One of the gorgeous acoustic ballads from The Bends, “High and Dry” is defined by Thom Yorke’s gorgeous falsetto and his simple delivery of the song’s undeniably memorable refrain: “Don’t leave me high, don’t leave me dry.” Simple and to-the-point.

20. 15 Step (In Rainbows)

The syncopated clapping, drumming, and electronic touches may make your head spin, but Johnny Greenwood’s soulful guitar will bring you back down to earth. Thom Yorke sounds his most manic ever on this song, stumbling through lyrics like “How come I end up where I started? How come I end up where I went wrong? Won’t take my eye off the ball again, you reel me out and then you cut the string.”

19. Lucky (Ok Computer)

The penultimate song on their 1997 masterpiece Ok Computer includes a soaring electric guitar acting as a counter-melody to Thom Yorke’s anthemic plea for survival, “pull me out of the air crash, pull me out of the lake.” You’ll re-examine your own life when you hear him sing “It’s going to be a glorious day, I feel my luck could change” following his miraculous survival in what seems to be a near-death experience.

18. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (The Bends)

Another stunning album-closer by Radiohead, “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” is anchored by simple chord arpeggiations and Thom Yorke’s painful admission of “Faaaaaaaade ouuuuuut agaaaaaaaaaaain.” On a record that really symbolizes growing pains and the discovery and fulfillment of self, this defeated anthem acts as the perfect unhappy-ending. Radiohead wouldn’t have it any other way.

17. 2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm) (Hail to the Thief)

Following two wildly experimental albums that more than dabbled in their fair share of electronic music, Hail to the Thief was billed as Radiohead’s “return to rock.” Album opener “2 + 2 = 5″ (a direct reference to more Orwellian themes that would punctuate their music) begins with the sound of a guitar amp being plugged in, and boy, do they rock out. Lyrics aren’t important with this one, just turn it up and be overwhelmed by the sheer build-up and cathartic release.

16. Reckoner (In Rainbows)

With a perfectly toned falsetto reaches angelic heights, Thom Yorke uses this songs simple piano and guitar-line to reach a place that is completely otherworldly. Lyrics that could be interpreted as a dissection and rejection of faith help keep you off-balance and without a firm footing: exactly where Radiohead want you to be when they decide to blow you away with the song that follows, “House of Cards.”

15. Jigsaw Falling Into Place (In Rainbows)

One of the most underrated and overlooked Radiohead songs, “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” is a moment-by-moment account of a weird night out, one that it would seem Thom Yorke is having trouble recollecting. The lyrics are about as cryptic as anything Radiohead have ever penned, each line acting as a different piece to the puzzle. The frantic guitar-and-bass duel that propels the song forward keeps gathering momentum, and before you know it you’re greeted by the sultry piano tones of album closer “Videotape.”

14. Motion Picture Soundtrack (Kid A)

Put simply, I want this song to be played at my funeral. One of the greatest songs about death and grief ever written, Radiohead decided to accompany this song’s gorgeous melody and lyrics with nothing more than a harp and organ. It’s a perfect ending to a perfect album. Just try not to have a dry-eye when Yorke sings the song’s final line, “I will see you in the next life.”

13. All I Need (In Rainbows)

One of the centerpieces of Radiohead’s 2007 masterpiece In Rainbows is this song, one that shows unrequited love in a semi-creepy but mostly pure and innocent fashion. Think of it as the band’s attempt to re-write their first hit, 1993′s “Creep.” As the music swells and pulses around Yorke’s voice in the climactic ending to this song, he contradicts himself, “It’s all right, it’s all wrong, it’s all right, it’s all wrong.”

12. Life in a Glasshouse (Amnesiac)

The best album closer Radiohead have ever written is this New Orleans funeral march. The most jazz-influenced song the band ever wrote, “Life In A Glasshouse” is defined by the call-and-response between the instruments (a clarinet, trumpet, and trombone) and Thom Yorke’s paranoid musings (“of course I’d like to sit around and chat, but someone’s listening in…”).

11. The National Anthem (Kid A)

Anchored by a bass-riff that Thom Yorke wrote at age 14, this song turns from an groove-rocker into a Sun Ra inspired free-jazz meltdown, ending on a massively dissonant chord. Just try not to be blown away by the racket that Radiohead make on this one.

10. Paranoid Android (Ok Computer)

Inspired by John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s attempts to create a song-collage from pieces of unfinished songs on “A Day in the Life,” Radiohead decided to take three unfinished songs and put them together for this one, and the song has come to be known as the defining Radiohead track. The seamless transitions between the three sections help elevate this song to the heights of art-rock like nobody before. Plus, everybody loves it when Thom Yorke sings about “kicking, squeling, Gucci-little piggies.”

9. Idioteque (Kid A)

I think this is Radiohead’s twisted idea of dance music. I mean, what better topic to get people moving than global catastrophe?

8. Fake Plastic Trees (The Bends)

Were it not for In Rainbows‘ “House of Cards,” “Fake Plastic Trees” would have taken the cake in a discussion about the most tender Radiohead songs. Beginning with just acoustic guitar and vocals, the song slowly builds up in dynamics and momentum, leading to one of the most cathartic releases of tension on an album defined by build-up-and-release.

7. House Of Cards (In Rainbows)

Radiohead were a band who always carved new sonic territory with their albums, until In Rainbows, when they turned their focus on creating a world of emotional depth. “House of Cards” is the highlight of the album, a groovy, sexy, incredibly emotional masterpiece deserving more respect than I think it actually gets. When Thom Yorke turns on his R&B voice and gently croons the opening lyric, “I don’t wanna be your friend; I just wanna be your lover,” you’re already lost in a world that values feelings and intuition over ambitious sonic textures.

6. Karma Police (Ok Computer)

The song that closes out the first-half of Radiohead’s classic Ok Computer is a monolithic edifice in its own right. Haunting piano anchors the song, but the real selling point is Thom Yorke’s mid-song epiphany: “for a minute there I lost myself…I lost myself.” 

5. Everything In Its Right Place (Kid A)

There was no better way to open an album as ambitious as Kid A is than with a trip down the rabbit-hole. We first follow a descending keyboard line that sucks us into the album’s sonic world, and then Thom Yorke begins by singing “Everything.” If that isn’t a symbolic statement of purpose, then I’ve never heard one. The inherent irony of this song is that nothing sounds like it is in its right place.

Everything In Its Right Place

4. There There (The Boney King of Nowhere) (Hail to the Thief)

The album centerpiece for Hail to the Thief stands as one of the most accessible moments of weirdness that Radiohead have ever written. Driven by a dotted-rhythm tribal drum figure and some fantastic guitar-work by Johnny Greenword, the song sticks to a standard verse-chorus structure, emphasizing the emotional punch that such a simple structure is capable of and foreshadowing the emotional territory that Radiohead would explore with In Rainbows. There may not be a more quotable lyric than “Just ’cause you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there.”

There There (The Boney King of Nowhere)

3. Exit Music (For A Film) (Ok Computer)

Years from now, historians will look upon “Exit Music (For a Film)” as a masterpiece of 1990s song-writing and sonic-construction. Not since Brian Wilson made Pet Sounds has a song’s orchestration been so stunningly perfect. The haunting choir, the gentle guitar chords, Thom Yorke’s fragile delivery…perfection.

Exit Music (For A Film)

2. Pyramid Song (Amnesiac)

In which Radiohead examine the philosophical implications of the concept of time.

Pyramid Song
1. How To Disappear Completely (And Never Be Found Again) (Kid A)

First: gently strummed acoustic guitar. Second: swelling strings. Third: Thom Yorke’s most emotional vocal performance. Fourth: Vague lyrics dealing with the very universal human experience of denial. The result? A breathtaking song that will quietly, gently break your heart.

How to Disappear Completely (And Never Be Found Again)

- C. Robinson

These New Puritans – Hidden (10/10)

The hardest record to make is the sophomore record. It can make or break a career, and any important decisions about who you will be as an artist are often determined by how you handle the pressure of defining yourself with your second record. Some sophomore records changed everything.

Radiohead should have been one-hit wonders, but The Bends turned them into bearers of the alt-rock torch on their way to becoming one of the most acclaimed bands of the last 20 years. Nirvana’s Nevermind changed the face of mainstream rock radio almost overnight, turning an entire generation of kids into angst-ridden punk rockers. Then there’s the sophomore slump, which we’re all too familiar with, as some of our favorite debut records are followed-up by disappointing second efforts.

For These New Puritans, following up their debut album, Beat Pyramid didn’t exactly seem like a make-it-or-break-it affair. They weren’t hugely popular because of it, and the record got decent reviews.

The band must have thought this new record was going to be an important statement for them to make, because they decided to air it all out and go for broke. Make no mistake: Hidden is an art-rock masterpiece that shatters any previous notion you had about British post-punk bands, and turns These New Puritans into a band with ambitions grander than any of us could have previously imagined.

Hidden features Japanese taiko drums that reverberate with such insistence that you feel it in your bones, orchestral flourishes, demonic choirs, impenetrable lyrics, menacing keyboard textures and haunting melodies, all adding up to an album like you’ve never heard before. It’s all tied together by the unlikely and unsung wind instrument called the bassoon, which is featured on nearly every song while serving as the primary instrument in the instrumental overture of “Time Xone” and outro of “5.”

Hidden demands that you listen on good speakers or headphones; listening to it on your cheap iPod headphones is like looking at a thumbnail version of a Van Gogh or watching Avatar in black-and-white.

If the current effeminately beautiful and frail indie rock landscape just isn’t doing it for you, the aggressive and demanding sonic world of Hidden will blow you away.

The record is huge, sweeping and cinematic in scope, like a trip through Tim Burton’s twisted mind. Songs such as “We Want War” and “Orion” sound like sound tracks to World War III, while “5″” sounds like a closing number to a nightmarish version of Mozart’s Requiem.

The album positively takes whatever it wants from various aesthetics, from post-punk to tribal ethnic beats to classical symphonic orchestration.

And that’s just what this album is: a symphony of sounds meant to be drowned in, meant to be felt, meant to be appreciated as an artistic achievement. It’s an early contender for album of the year, and it’s impossible to describe.

Perhaps the band puts it best in their own lyrics on “Fire-Power:” “this is a world attack/ this is a sound attack/ this is a word attack/ this is a mind attack.”

- C. Robinson, published in today’s Daily Bruin

http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/3/1/soundbite-hidden-these-new-puritans/

Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now! –  Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now!

The “answer” record isn’t a novel idea. For decades pop stars have been caught in dialogue with one another between songs, holding casual conversation for the world to see.So, the thought of Eddie Argos, the hilarious front-man of post-punk outfit Art Brut, pulling together an entire record of answer songs seemed like the perfect move for a guy whose main talent is writing tongue-in-cheek lyrical jokes that almost never fall flat.

Only problem with this record is that Argos has gone solo and left the manic guitar-and-bass onslaught of Art Brut behind, trading them in for a plinky piano and some soothingly fun female vocals. Without the energy of his backing band, Argos’ lyrics fall flat, as counter-melodies and danceable rhythms are completely absent without the help of his friendly band. Not to mention his choices of songs that he wanted to respond to is sometimes questionable: did anybody really need to be reminded of Avril Lavigne’s foray into mall-pop with “Girlfriend,” responded with the cute but forgettable “G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N. (You Know I’ve Got A).”

Listening to Everybody Was In The French Resistance Now! makes one realize just how important it is to make sure you have a good song before you worry about good lyrics. If he had brought in Art Brut for this record, it could have been a charming and likely hilarious look at pop music from the last decade. Instead, I just want to put this behind me and move forward. (4/10)

Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now!: “G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N (You Know I’ve Got A)”

Field Music – Measure

February may very well be remembered this year for its epic-length releases. Of the major releases I’ve decided to cover this month, three of them clock in at over 70 minutes in length. Now, it’s important to note the ways in which this can be a huge gamble for a band. Albums that clock in over 60 minutes can suffer from lack of focus, lack of variety, and lack of editing. But, the double album can also be a show-case for a sprawling, cinematic, epic journey that a 40 minute album simply couldn’t accomplish.

Field Music’s newest offering, Measure, clocks in at an epic 71 minutes in length, and can certainly feel bloated at times. However, the songwriting and hooks make up for this one shortcoming. Yes, the psychedelic pop-rock can turn monotonous over 70 minutes, but there aren’t bad songs here. It’s a success from the first minute and holds up to the last minute, even if the epic 10 minute closing track is a little too experimental to keep the average listener’s attention. Sweet guitar melodies like those in “Them That Do Nothing” and “Each Time Is A New Time” act as delicious counter-melodies to the infectious choruses.

Time will tell whether or not this grows to become Field Music’s most celebrated album, as it is definitely their most ambitious offering yet. There is one thing certain about Measure: while it didn’t receive the highest score of the three epic-length albums released this past month, it is the most accessible record of the three, an album that almost anybody with a taste for twee indie-pop-hooks and guitar-based rock music can appreciate and enjoy. (7/10)

Field Music: “Them That Do Nothing”

Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here

Gil Scott-Heron is one of the greatest poets of all time. Not only that, but he’s also one of the most influential musicians of all time too. Countless books will point to him as one of the progenitors of modern-day rapping techniques. Of course, his spoken word pieces are hardly rap, but the style of delivering a line without melodic shape and yet with musical intensity is something that Scott-Heron is a master at.

His newest album, I’m New Here, begins with “On Coming From A Broken Home,” backed by a sample of the dark disco strings of Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights,” completing the circle of influence following West’s mention of Scott-Heron’s “Home Is Where The Hatred Is” from 2005′s Late Registration. The song tears into a future garage influenced cover of “Me And The Devil,” and is positively terrifying. “I’m New Here,” the title track on this newest offering, is a folk-influenced track where Scott-Heron shows off his damaged singing voice to talk about making the biggest choices in life and being able to start over again. “New York Is Killing Me” is a fantastic centerpiece to the album, featuring a bluesy vocal performance highlighted by off-kilter hand claps. Perhaps my favorite track on the album is “Running,” a spoken-word lament about how the action word defines our lives in so many ways. His ability to focus an entire two minutes around a single word is uncanny, twisting the definition and turning the semantics of the word into something entirely different by illuminating its many facets.

Gil Scott-Heron is hard to pin down stylistically, borrowing from blues, folk, electronic, dubstep, hip hop, spoken poetry, reggae, dub, and countless other genres. But, one thing that Gil Scott-Heron illuminates about himself on the title track is probably the best way to understand his importance and his aesthetic style: I’m hard to get to know, but damn-near impossible to forget. (8/10)

Gil Scott-Heron: “Running”

Hot Chip – One Life Stand

Hot Chip write some of my favorite songs, and I can always depend on them for that. But, despite being able to pull together 5 or 6 great tunes per album, the band can’t keep the momentum going long enough to write a masterpiece. They have it in them – I think.

The story with this newest album, One Life Stand, is the same as the last two: a couple of nerdy white-boys craft a pop-friendly dance album heavy on electronics and synthesized sounds. One Life Stand shows Hot Chip maturing into a softer, more emotional group, as emphasized by their album title – they don’t want to just sleep with you, they want to sleep with you for the rest of their lives. Swelling strings, R&B hooks, and a general sappy-ballad atmosphere pervade the album from front-to-back. On their last album, Hot Chip told the world they were “looking for a lot of love,” with One Life Stand it appears that they’re still looking. “Thieves In The Night” and “Take It In” bookend the album in superb fashion. The former is a slow-building disco rave-up with one of the best melodic lines I’ve heard all year, and the latter is an exercise in contrasts between light-and-dark textures. Both songs show off the best of what Hot Chip have to offer the world, but you have to suffer through the failed experiments like “Slush” to find them.

While writing a classic album has thus far eluded them, I’ll be ready to have a one life stand with Hot Chip when they finally make one. Until then, there’s about five tracks on this album I’m going to show the door in the morning and promise to call, but I never will. (6/10)

Hot Chip: “Thieves In the Night”

Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me

Ok, time to eat my words. For the longest time, I was a huge Joanna Newsom detractor. Listening to her 2006 album Ys was the equivalent of getting stuck in the seat next to an overly talkative, batshit-crazy pixie on a trans-continental flight. I thought her voice sounded like cats in a blender, and the idea of 16 minute songs about a monkey and a bear being some sort of creation myth was just too much pretension for my tastes. Nowadays, though, Ys isn’t nearly as annoying as I used to think, and I genuinely enjoy that album when in the right mood.

Now, though, Newsom has upped the ante on the pretension by releasing a goddamned triple album, over two total hours of music. Thankfully, though, Have One On Me has more straight-forward melodies, more openly approachable lyrical content, and her voice has matured beyond belief. Might I even go so far as to say that her voice sounds…beautiful? Yeah, I would.

Have One On Me is a triumph of a folk album, something that sounds immediately warm and timeless. The orchestrations are fantastically well-thought out, whether it’s a grandiose and opulent orchestra pieces reminiscent of Ys or the spare tracks only featuring Joanna and her harp. It’s a grand statement for any artist to make, showing that Newsom was bursting with so many good ideas in the last 4 years that she had no need to edit herself to accommodate for formality of traditional presentation. Each of these eighteen tracks is a gem and self-sustained piece, and all three albums work perfectly well as individual albums.

In time, I think Have One On Me will stand as one of the essential singer-songwriter albums of 2010, if not the entire decade. Certainly fans were clamoring for more material from Newsom within only two years of Ys release; it’s going to be a while until people have fully digested Have One On Me and want something more from Joanna. (9/10)

Joanna Newsom: “On A Good Day”

The Knife – Tomorrow, In A Year

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the most difficult albums of all time. On paper, it sounds like a failure waiting to happen: Swedish electronic duo The Knife were commissioned by Hotel Pro Forma to write an opera and libretto about Charles Darwin. In fact, the result is a staggering piece of art. Simply put, Tomorrow, In A Year is concept album about evolution. And you can hear that on first listen; none of these songs cannot stand on their own as songs. But together, as a unified whole, we have something so incredibly sublime that even the Romantics would have been proud.

Beginning with “Intro,” you’ll probably check your headphones or the volume knob when the eternal blackness of silence gives birth to a few disparate and disjunct blips, pops, and musical beeps. Representing the primordial soup and the dawn of time, “Intro” sets up the listener for an experience like none that I have ever experienced before. The next song is appropriately titled “Epochs,” and the disjointed and seeming unorganized sounds will make you wonder if this album can even be called music, let alone if it counts as an opera. The music on the album starts becoming more and more organized and complex over the two sprawling discs, going through its own natural selection to determine how sounds will become organized into living, breathing, naturally human forms. “Variation of Birds” begins with the electronic representation of bird songs, as Darwin himself studied countless species of birds to formulate his landmark scientific theories. By the end of the album, we have the propulsive back beat of electro-jam “The Height of Summer” and the complex vocal hocketing and percussion of “Colouring of Pigeons,” the only song to feature vocals by Fever Ray on the whole record.

Drawing its texts from Darwin’s field notes and personal journals, the album seeps with the pain and agony that was central to Darwin’s own life, as he struggled not only to create a mechanism that would explain the observations he would make but as he sacrificed his own personal life in the pursuit of answers to some of the biggest questions we can ask as humans.

Tomorrow, In A Year evolves over time in multiple ways. The album takes over an hour and a half to go from the opening bars of silence to the closing lament of “Annie’s Box.” The album also evolves the more you listen to it: this is the rare album that truly rewards its listener upon repeated listens. Musical details stand out that were once overlooked, textures shift and change over time, and the barriers between noise and music, between pop and art, become broken down. This album succeeds on an incredible number of levels. Closing the album on a somber final note, leaving me feeling complete and yet empty all in the same moment, one of the mezzo-sopranos sings “How is Charles? I haven’t heard from him for a long, long time. A thousand years seem to pass so quickly.” At once, I understand my existence is insignificant and yet the fact that I do exist is staggeringly incomprehensible. (10/10)

The Knife: “The Height of Summer”

Lady Gaga – Bad Romance Remixes EPs 1

Ok, full disclosure on this one: I stand firm in my opinion that Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” was far-and-away the best song of 2009. Not just best pop song, best overall song, all genres. The hooks are strange for a pop staple, and yet undeniably catchy. The feeling of ecstasy I get from the way it builds up to its cathartic choruses is carefully counterbalanced by Gaga’s tortured and broken vocal delivery. And surely nobody expected that more than 3 minutes into the song we would reach the bridge and realize that there were more hooks to come; and yet we were thrilled by it. It’s hard for me not to root for her, with all of her campy dramatics and the ways in which she is presenting and deconstructing art and celebrity.

But, could nine remixes cast the song into a new light? The short answer: it depends on the remix. Half of these remixes are completely forgettable; outlining chords and throwing in a few electronic-tricks does not a good remix make. However, there are a few successes. The “Chu Fu H1N1 Fix” retains the stadium-sized feel of the chorus and adds a wonky-inspired bass. Bimbo Jones turns up the electronic studio trickery, giving the song an even more propulsive feel while a Super Mario Brothers inspired counter-melody subtly hides behind Gaga, sacrificing some of the menace of the original for a more playful approach.

The essential remixes to take from this set are the two by Hercules & Love Affair. With a spare drum-line, of Montreal-inspired bass, and delicate piano-line, he turns the song into a  gorgeous new-age disco track, highlighting the pain and desire that the song invokes in the listener while revealing a tenderness altogether unheard in the original version.

The nine remixes in this set may not all succeed, but those that do remind me why I feel that “Bad Romance” is so necessary. (5/10)

Lady Gaga: “Bad Romance (Hercules & Love Affair Remix)”

Lil Wayne – Rebirth

Hey guys, have you heard the new Nickelback album? Wait, what? No, Lil Wayne is a rapper, this is clearly the new Nickelback album. Hear that? The tired verse-chorus-verse song structures, the staple alt-rock guitar crunch, the lifeless drumming, the pitiless attempts to channel Kurt Cobain’s melodic angst? And here, on the CD jacket, it says right here…oh.

Well, now this is just embarrassing. It is Lil Wayne. So, now I have to ask: how did this happen? You would think that somebody in Wayne’s inner circle, or at least at his record label, would have had the balls to stand up during the creation of this alt-rock fantastic failure of an album and just told Weezy the truth: it sucks. After being pushed back nearly a year, this is the best rock music he was able to come up with?

Not like anybody had high hopes for Wayne as a rock star, at least now we have an explanation for why the album was pushed back for so long: it blows. Rebirth is a complete abomination. I guess the thing that surprises me most isn’t that the album is as bad as it is, but that this is Wayne’s idea of good rock music. Who knew he had such bad taste in rock?

Get back to what you do best, Weezy. The world already has one Nickelback, we don’t need another. (2/10)

Local Natives – Gorilla Manor

Are Local Natives a culmination of the various big-name artists in indie rock?

Listening to the Los Angeles (wooo!) band’s debut album, Gorilla Manor, gives the listener the impression of a stroll through the current indie-music landscape. There’s Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear in the harmonies. There’s Animal Collective in the drumming and propulsive energy. There’s Spoon in the piano lick at the beginning of “Airplanes.” There’s Sunset Rubdown in the dizzying changes of direction and various changes in tempo and texture. There’s Arcade Fire in the swelling strings that accompany the anthemic choruses. There’s Yeasayer in the freak-folk psychedelics. There’s My Morning Jacket in the guitar breakdowns and jam-band style noodling.

One glance at the “Similar Artists” page on last.fm reveals a striking observation: there are nearly three pages of artists who are given the distinction of having “super similarity” to Local Natives. Compare this to, say, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who only have one artist given the same tag (in fact, it’s the solo work of their guitarist John Frusciante).

This similarity to so many other bands is both a gift and a curse for Local Natives. The band does actually sound a lot like a culmination of all those other styles and big-name artists, but also seems slightly uncertain of their own identity. Luckily for them, the songwriting stands out as very singular, and given the wide fan-base they have the potential to accumulate, with a little exposure, they could become one of the most popular names in indie rock. (8/10)

Local Natives: “Wide Eyes”

Sade – Soldier of Love

If you’re looking for one of the most chill and laid-back releases in recent times, you’d be hard-pressed to find an album that goes down smoother than Sade’s Soldier Of Love. Slick guitar-lines, gentle drumming, and delicate piano all combine with great effect to highlight lead singer Sade Adu’s soulful voice.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about Soldier of Love is how consistent it is. From top to bottom, the album is great for those rainy days and perfect for those nights at home with a bottle of wine and that special someone.

Mixing elements of jazz, funk, soul, and r&b, Sade have been making albums since the 1980s, a testament to their longevity and only helping to accentuate their achievements as a band. The album begins with two knock out songs, “The Moon And The Sky” and the title track. The former is a gentle lament that brings up images of walking through a far-off desert under darkened sky, and the latter is an exercise in expert orchestration. “Soldier of Love” begins with a triumphant horn and militaristic snare drum, before swelling strings and jazzy guitar playing drop into the mix, and the song slowly builds to Sade’s proclamation that she’s “still waitin’ for love to come.” It’s a near-perfect song for a band who has truly returned to form. (7/10)

Sade: “The Moon And The Sky”

Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago

Following up their career high-water mark Rook, Johnathon Meiburg and the rest of Shearwater have graced us all with another album of slow-yet-anthemic folk rock guaranteed to build up from gentle beginnings to cathartic and near-violent releases of tension.

Meiburg’s baritone is as recognizable as any voice in music today, and he couples it with gorgeous piano playing in order to create an entire fantasy world that you are just calmly invited to dream in.

The album cover perhaps says it all most succinctly, and Shearwater never fail to provide their fans with incredible album art. A man, alone in a small boat covered in white sheets, is slowly heading towards a small private island that appears to be home to some dense overgrowth and perhaps an abandoned castle. All the while, the sun’s reflection gently shimmers on the ocean’s surface, creating an altogether gorgeous image that is representative of the music within. It’s the perfect balance between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the ancient and the mystic, the sublime and the existential, the simple and the breathtaking.

Meiburg is a master at his craft, and this newest offering is no exception to that rule. Quality wins out, and with The Golden Archipelago, you will find a world of nostalgic folk that sounds like it is being broadcast from hundreds of years ago. It’s an overwhelming album of gorgeous beauty, and while it may not be as excellent as 2008′s Rook, it is a worthy follow-up and a worthy addition to an already deeply rich catalogue. (7/10)

Shearwater: “Black Eyes”

Yeasayer – Odd Blood

There’s something funky in the water in Brooklyn. In the last few years, bands based near New York City that once dabbled in psychedelic sounds or played raw and energetic rock music have been polishing up in the studio, adding danceable beats, keyboards and massive hooks to their musical repertoires. First, in 2006, the Hold Steady traded in a lot of its superfluous lyrical twists and raw punk aesthetic for stadium-sized guitar riffs and inviting sing-along hooks on Boys and Girls in America. Then there was TV on the Radio in 2008, which traded in its murky post-punk experimentalism of “Return to Cookie Mountain” for the Prince-like funk and art-pop of Dear Science. Last year, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs traded in some of its angst-ridden punk edge for a more approachable and catchy dance-rock aesthetic on It’s Blitz!

Now we can add Yeasayer to that list, as the band has traded in the psychedelic folk that defined its great 2006 debut album All Hour Cymbals for the R&B-inflected electropop sheen of Odd Blood, the band’s great sophomore record.

Fans of “All Hour Cymbals” be warned: this is not the Yeasayer you are used to. Of course, fans have probably already come to this realization following the only two songs released by Yeasayer last year, the Dark Was the Night compilation’s “Tightrope” and the first single from Odd Blood titled “Ambling Alp.”

“Tightrope” and “Ambling Alp” set the bar almost impossibly high for the rest of the album; they can even be a bit misleading stylistically. The hooks that pervade these songs are almost ever-present on Odd Blood, but the out-of-this-world, alien-like sound of those two tracks is almost nowhere to be found, except for the album’s opening number, “The Children,” where lead vocalist Chris Keating’s voice is processed to an unrecognizable robotic drone.

Elsewhere, the album is replete with contagious hooks and lyrics that range from the ecstatically in love synth-pop of “O.N.E.” to the completely lovelorn R&B inflections of “Love Me Girl.” It’s important to make plain that these songs all deal in some way with love, sex and the bewildering sensations that result from having (or not having) either of those things.

Stylistically, the album throws itself between different genres but intently keeps the focus on being both danceable and experimental at the same time. The guitars are drenched in reverb, tribal drums echo throughout the songs and bubbly keyboard lines jump in and out of the music as if this were the 1980s all over again. Keating even adds a horn section to boost the funky factor of “Mondegreen,” which eventually gives way to the swampy dream pop of album-closer “Grizelda,” inspired by Florida drug lord Griselda Blanco. It’s a euphoric and cathartic way to end.

Clocking in at 10 tracks in just under 40 minutes, Odd Blood grabs the listener by the hips and drags them along for an incredibly exotic ride that explores the possibilities of infectious indie music, merging indie with psychedelic rock, R&B, funk, pop and folk, creating an individual style all their own. It’s as sonically indebted to the music of its ancestors as it is uniquely forward-thinking in style and execution.

If of Montreal and Animal Collective had a schizophrenic baby, it would probably sound a lot like Odd Blood. Those may be some heavy hitters to be sitting at the same table with, but Yeasayer holds its own and sticks up for itself. (8/10)

Yeasayer: “Madder Red”

- C. Robinson