Tynan's Anger

Arts & Culture Commentary from a Loving Digital Skeptic

Albums of Note Second Half 2010: The Uggh

Posted on | November 10, 2010 | No Comments

Arcade Fire
Cover of Arcade Fire

This is Part 3 of my three part review of albums of the past half year, an extension of Tynan’s Record Report, which was retired out of solidarity with it’s inspiration and better, Christgau’s Consumer guide. Monday was the best stuff. Yesterday was the good to okay stuff. Today is the disappointing to not so great stuff. I won’t read your flames.

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
I’m willing to acknowledge that the first Arcade Fire album to go #1 is the band’s weakest yet, and I will acknowledge that that’s purely coincidence (especially since Neon Bible went #2 with nearly identical sales figures). I’m also willing to acknowledge that my Manhattan roots makes me weary of any suburban/community ethical code, even one that tries to reconcile its niceness with the 21st century. What’s more troubling is that The Suburbs‘ lyrical message obscures that this is the flattest musical Arcade Fire album yet, and the least grand in scale. It’s anti-hipster manifesto is noble, but it’s lyrical motif turns Brooklyn into the mythological ‘50s suburb / Mad Men dreamland it aims to avoid. It’s pretty like a Shins album, and it’s lyrically relevant like a Pavement album. But The Suburbs is musically distant in a way I never wanted to hear from Arcade Fire (the simultaneous use of the words “icy” and “intimate” in reviews is a critical red flag.). Lyrically, The Suburbs is a deeply significant embodiment of the Pitchfork royal “we” that has a narrower-than-you think definition, and it’s the kind of thing that has led Who fans in the 60s to become Neo-Cons today and “Gold Soundz” to top a “Songs Of The 90s” poll. Which is not to say Arcade Fire shouldn’t play the Super Bowl.
B-

Here We Go Magic – Pidgin
Here we see the flip side of the problem with Brooklyn’s dominance of newness in America’s white people music: not only do the best bands from anywhere else in the country get ignored by the biggest blogs, but the house party bands still years away from doing anything interesting do get big blog attention, with magazines, newspapers, and TV following. A vaguely pop-rock band with synths would be better off opening anonymously for a national touring act than receiving first billed reviews on Pitchfork; which means that an otherwise solid album with three good songs is elevated above the bar band with keyboards status. And people wonder where backlash comes from.
B-

POS:

Ratatat – LP4

They want to make music on a Casio circa 1989, which is different from LP3’s 1988 Jams. At least SNES game MIDI soundtracks were emotionally affecting.

Best Coast -Crazy for You

When Katy Perry reaches the mainstream with generic pop songs, it’s disgusting. When an indie band limps into the top 40 with the same kind of music, it’s a victory. One of us! We accept her!

Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II

People like to blame 24 for making something as barbaric as torture as acceptable to mainstream TV audiences. But these kind of soulless synths may be a better link, as the distance and coldness with a handful of melodies sacrifices all the strengths of music for the superficial. Sociopaths can’t relate to human emotion, but they can at least make it to CNN.

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