The Daily Blair: New Muzik Monday (2/6/12)

Some new music for your Monday. Enjoy!

1. Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines

Early Rating: B+

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12 Desperate Straight Lines is a great reminder that desperation does not have to mean depression. Even though the album is filled with songs about desperation, car crashes, broken hearts, death, and "getting it right" the album is never really depressing because of the bands unique and aggressive sound. Each song sounds like a cool combination of the songwriting of Built To Spill, the instrumentation of the Strokes, Led Zeppelin, and The Killers, the gigantic arena rock choruses of Arcade Fire and Queen, and the unique subject matters not even presented in most concept albums. It is an album that says "even though I just lost my love I am desperate to find another lover" with every aggressive guitar riff, it is an album that says "I might have just got in a terrible car crash but I am desperate to have a second chance at life" with every witty and condescending lyric, it is an album that says "even though I am dead I am desperate to go to the next life" with every earth shattering chorus, and it is an album that leaves us desperate for more Telekinesis. It is an album of unique and hopeful desperation that seems to be lost in the depressed world of 2012.

2. Bronze Radio Return - Shake! Shake! Shake!
Early Rating: B
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It is always tough to make a record that defines being a teenager. Because we all have different teenage experience. You probably got laid a lot more than I did, you probably didn't go to a high school near a landfill, and you probably got a cell phone before the ripe age of seventeen. But the thing that seems to connect just about everyone teenage experience is a weird energy and a hopeful anxiety about the future. We all are excited about a future even if we don't have one and we all want to live it up even if it results in us not living. We are in a complicated state of living for the future while pretending our present is the only thing that matters. I think Shake Shake Shake defines the hopeful anxiety of being a teenager perfectly. The songs on this album are a combination of the American defining lyrics of The Gaslight Anthem and the angsty lyrics of Fall Out Boy, the aggressive sound of Manchester Orchestra with the relaxed folky sound of Iron & Wine, and the catchiness of a band like Lydia. The album is essentially the musical version of running away from your future while trying to run towards a new future at the same time. Which means it is kind of the perfect soundtrack to our youth.

3. Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger
Early Rating: B
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Sometimes I just want music to have that "summer of love" feel of 1967 or the happy punk feel of the mid 1970's. It is tough to find music that gives you a peaceful or punky feel though in the beat driven music scene of 2012. That is why Hunger is such a special album not only does it give you a peaceful "let's go ride waves and not worry about anything" feel it also gives you a "let's go headbang to the Pixies for two hours feel" at the same time. This is a peaceful throwback album that makes you feel an angry peace in a complicated world. It is also a record that makes you realize that good music is timeless.

4. The Good China - No More Maps, No More Roads
Rating: A
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So for the last selection I am going to cop out and just link you my favorite song I have discovered in 2012 so far. Until next Monday!