White Denim - D CD

D buy CD music Though the Black Keys resemble post-punk garage revivalists like the White Stripes, and are likely to raise an eyebrow among old-school blues purists, the duo packs a serious blues punch. The minimal sound of RUBBER FACTORY moves on the rickety skeleton of Dan Auerbach's fuzzed-out guitar and Patrick Carney's no-frills drumming, and stays true to the raw, electric blues for which the Fat Possum label (the Black Keys' home) is rightfully famous. RUBBER FACTORY bears the ghosts of Fat Possum artists like Junior Kimbrough and CeDell Davis, and through them, naturally, electric pioneers like Muddy Waters. The Keys mine this tradition admirably, with a sincere approach to the blues idiom bolstered by Auerbach's soulful vocals and the duo's stripped-down, juke-joint sound. But the Keys are not merely paying homage. Instead, they layer funky grooves ("The Desperate Man"), NUGGETS-inspired grunge ("10 A.M. Automatic"), a love of 1970s hard rock ("Grown So Ugly"), and the influence of contemporary indie rock (the acoustic "The Lengths") on their blues structures. In doing so, they achieve a ragged hybrid that stays fiercely true to the roots of blues, while updating the genre for younger generations. 3rd Rel.From Rock Duo From Akron, Ohio. Audio Mixer: The Black Keys. Recording information: Sentient Sound, Akron, OH (01/2004-05/2004). The Black Keys: Patrick Carney, Dan Auerbach (sound effects). Personnel: Dan Auerbach (vocals, guitar, lap steel guitar, fiddle, hand claps); Patrick Carney (drums, hand claps, percussion).

D songs Montreal's Arcade Fire successfully avoided the sophomore slump with 2007's apocalyptic Neon Bible. Heavier and more uncertain than their near perfect, darkly optimistic 2004 debut, the album aimed for the nosebleed section and left a red mess. Having already fled the cold comforts of suburbia on Funeral and suffered beneath the weight of the world on Neon Bible, it seems fitting that a band once so consumed with spiritual and social middle-class fury, should find peace "under the overpass in the parking lot." If nostalgia is just pain recalled, repaired, and resold, then The Suburbs is its sales manual. Inspired by brothers Win and William Butler's suburban Houston, TX upbringing, the 16-track record plays out like a long lost summer weekend, with the jaunty but melancholy Kinks/Bowie-esque title cut serving as its bookends. Meticulously paced and conservatively grand, fans looking for the instant gratification of past anthems like "Wake Up" or "Intervention" will find themselves reluctantly defending The Suburbs upon first listen, but anyone who remembers excitedly jumping into a friend's car on a sleepy Friday night armed with heartache, hope, and no agenda knows that patience is key. Multiple spins reveal a work that's as triumphant and soul-slamming as it is sentimental and mature. At its most spirited, like on "Empty Room," "Rococo," "City with No Children," "Half Light II (No Celebration)," "We Used to Wait," and the glorious Régine Chassagne-led "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)," the latter of which threatens to break into Blondie's "Heart of Glass" at any moment, Arcade Fire makes the suburbs feel positively electric. Quieter moments reveal a changing of the guard, as Win trades in the Springsteen-isms of Neon Bible for Neil Young on "Wasted Hours," and the ornate rage of Funeral for the simplicity of a line like "Let's go for a drive and see the town tonight/There's nothing do, but I don't mind when I'm with you," from album highlight "Suburban War." The Suburbs feels like Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused for the Y generation. It's serious without being preachy, cynical without dissolving into apathy, and whimsical enough to keep both sentiments in line, and of all of their records, it may be the one that ages so well. ~ James Christopher Monger Recording information: Magic Shop, New York; Montréal; Petite Église, Farnham; Public Hi-Fi, Austin; Studio Frisson, Montréal. Photographer: Gabriel Jones. Arranger: Arcade Fire. Personnel: Rob Moose, Nadia Sirota, Clarice Jensen, Ben Russell, Yuki Numata, Marika Shaw, Richard Reed Parry, Owen Pallett, Caleb Burhans, Sarah Neufeld (strings). Audio Mixers: Craig Silvey; Arcade Fire.

D album for sale With's 2009's MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION, Animal Collective fully completes its transition from a restless freak-folk act to an assured though still experimental electro-pop ensemble. Like its predecessor, STRAWBERRY JAM, MERRIWEATHER takes plenty of cues from PERSON PITCH, the acclaimed 2007 solo outing by singer/multi-instrumentalist Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), creating a mesmerizing, kaleidoscopic keyboard-heavy sound that might pass for pop in an alternate universe. While "My Girls" comes off like a dream collaboration between Brians Eno and Wilson, "Summertime Clothes" is a heavily looped piece of skewed synth-pop, and "Brother Sport" is a busy, highly percussive number that could almost pass for dance music. Though fans of Animal Collective's early lo-fi recordings may be alarmed by PAVILION's striking aural sheen, the album retains the group's signature strangeness, recasting it in bright, shimmering light. One of the best indie-pop releases of early '09, MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION is an impressive addition to the Animal Collective's revered catalogue, and marks a considerable step forward for the ever-adventurous act. Audio Mixers: Ben H. Allen; Animal Collective.

D CD music After the surprise success of Black Mountain's self-titled debut and their equally surprising tour with Coldplay, the media focused attention solely on band founder and riff-o-matic guitar god Stephen McBean. With IN THE FUTURE, their seismic follow-up, the Vancouver quintet casts aside McBean's lone genius act with an emphatic statement: Black Mountain is a band. Singer Amber Webber's haunting vibrato is as much a presence on IN THE FUTURE as McBean's anguished husk, and dominates on the beautiful closing track, "Night Walks"; bassist Matt Camirand and drummer Joshua Wells keep the tempos patient but insistently heavy; and Jeremy Schmidt's sinewy Moog and Hammond lines recall Hawkwind and Deep Purple in equal measure, and are thankfully placed high in the mix. The group dynamic bolsters McBean's ever-incendiary riffs and deepens the Sabbath-meets-VU promise of their debut. IN THE FUTURE features the stunning "Bright Lights," an album-side length statement of purpose. Space-trucking nation, unite! Recording information: Argyle Hotel; Sunset sound; The Factory; The Hive, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Personnel: Stephen McBean (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Amber Webber (vocals, percussion); Joshua Wells (piano, Mellotron, drums, percussion); Jeremy Schmidt (organ, Mellotron, synthesizer); Ryan Peters, Sean Hawryluk (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Dave Sardy; John Congleton.

D songs There wasn't much room for Beach House to improve on Devotion, so instead, the duo improved the room in which they made Teen Dream. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally recorded their Sub Pop debut in a converted church with producer/engineer Chris Coady, who has also worked with TV on the Radio and Blonde Redhead. The same dark lushness echoes through this album as those bands' works, with a spaciousness that's more like a beach mansion than a mere house (and Teen Dream's DVD of videos for each song adds to its lavishness). The slightly squalid sound quality of Beach House and Devotion had a unique charm, as if the band had to record those albums not just on the cheap, but in secret. On Teen Dream, however, the hugeness previously implied in Legrand's lyrics and luscious vocals is made real, like tuning Beach House in at their full frequency. The duo's mix of retro electronics and chiming guitars is still as dreamlike and distinctive as ever -- if anything, the tinny taps and hisses of their drum machine are even more present in Teen Dream's pristine settings, making the contrast between them and the molten slide guitars and rippling keyboards on "Norway" even more vivid. The songwriting is also more focused, using Devotion songs such as "You Came to Me" and "Heart of Chambers" as templates for the album's elegant longing. Like Teen Dream's title, these songs are wry and wise enough to know better about idealizing love, and romantic enough to still believe in it. "Zebra" positively swoons, while "Walk in the Park," with its graceful coda and chorus lament "In a matter of time/it will slip from my mind/In and out of my life/you would slip from my mind," makes losing sound beautiful, even if it's anything but a walk in the park. Despite the wintry sorrow that dominates Teen Dream and songs like "Used to Be" and "Better Times," in particular, Beach House lets a little hope into the album before it closes with "10 Mile Stereo" and "Real Love." Though it's not as eclectic and whimsical as their earlier work, Teen Dream is some of their most beautiful music, and reaffirms that they're the among the best purveyors of languidly lovelorn songs since Mazzy Star. ~ Heather Phares Audio Mixer: Chris Coady . Recording information: DNA Studios (07/2009); Dreamland (07/2009). Photographer: Frank Hamilton. Arranger: Beach House.

D album for sale For their debut, Vancouver-based indie duo Japandroids hit the ground running. POST-NOTHING is a warm flurry of fuzzy guitar, disjointed crashing drums, and childlike vocals yelled in unison by guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse. Seasons before the album was released, "Young Hearts Spark Fire" hit the blogosphere and earned the band enough praise to secure a spot on Polyvinyl. The buzz continued with quite a few comparisons to fellow lo-fi/ noise rockers No Age and Wavves. (Japanther is probably a closer comparison, due to their similar super-sized two-man sound and singing style, but then again, Japandroids aren't an easy band to categorize.) The lo-fi/noise rock tag is such a wide ranging term that it's a pretty loose fit. Behind the shoegazery overdrive, and underneath the punk rock thrashing, their songs are absolute pop. They're innocent, they're simple, and they're filled with blindingly good hooks. It's all slapped together with a superb sense of what works and what doesn't. With all the fat trimmed, of the eight songs there isn't a bad track, making it difficult to pin down a favorite, be it the sing-along "Wet Hair"and "Young Hearts Spark Fire," the nod to Thin Lizzy ("The Boys Are Leaving Town"), the brilliant bashing of "Heart Sweats," or the heartfelt sincerity of "Crazy/ Forever." Recording information: The Hive Creative Labs (06/2008-07/2008). Personnel: Brian King (vocals, guitar); David Prowse (vocals, drums). Audio Mixer: Japandroids.