Muddling through the Music

Today The Journal offers a helping hand to music fans of all tastes in search of their next single to buy with a rundown of the key players within each genre.

Writes David Skimming, Beirut's latest release 'The Rip Tide' sees multi-instrumentalist Zach Condon diverging slightly from the gypsy-folk rabble sound that brought him success on both ‘Gulag Orkestar’ and 'The Flying Club Cup' as the young songwriter has come to realise his potential with a more measured and almost minimalist approach.

The uplifting 'Santa Fe' sees Condon balance synth-pop against his trademark orchestral sound to perfection, while 'East Harlem' bounces along with the bright yet melancholic tone that seems to encapsulate this record as a whole.

On tracks such as 'Goshen', the singer's soothing croon is given space to shine with a sole piano accompaniment where brass, strings and whatever else an eager Condon could pile in to the studio would have been used in the past.

This is not to say that the New Mexico-born songwriter has parted with the trumpets but he's certainly used them more carefully on this considerably more polished-sounding record.

Mirror Traffic, meanwhile, sees the return of former Pavement frontman and all around good guy, Stephen Malkmus, discovers Ryan Drever. Following the band's brief reunion tour last year, many were left salivating at the prospect of another record, though sadly, it now looks increasingly unlikely this is going to happen.

Still, Malkmus' latest 'solo' effort appears more than capable of filling any Pavement-shaped holes in peoples lives. Accompanied once more by his faithful 'Jicks', Malkmus is at his energetic and potently sarcastic best throughout.

Produced by legendary multi-tasker, Beck, Mirror Traffic is arguably among the most 'polished' material in Malkmus' back catalogue, but that doesn't take away any of his trademark charm, or indeed, his ability to pen a hook.

'Tigers' opens like the soundtrack to the summer we never had, while the tongue-in-cheek chorus of 'Senator's’ is guaranteed not to leave your brain for weeks to come. A superbly-crafted record awash with good vibes and even better tunes.

Despite firing out three albums in the space of as many years, Bombay Bicycle Club, however, seem unable to shake off the tag of ‘newcomer’ and establish themselves as a household name on the UK indie scene, says David Skimming.

Their latest offering, ‘A Different Kind of Fix’, is more of a return to the youthful quartet's debut than last year's folk-driven 'Flaws', albeit continues the band's frustrating fashion of sounding unsure of themselves.

Aided by the production of Animal Collective's Ben Allen, the band are at their best on latest single 'Shuffle' when their attempts to combine indie-rock with experimental sampling is carefully guided through frontman Jack Steadman's cleverly-crafted pop hooks.

Tracks such as 'Beggars' and the laid-back groove of 'Lights Out, Words Gone' also demonstrate a growing sense of maturity from these fledgling Londoners but the album is painfully let down by a lack of flow between tracks which leaves it feeling disjointed and overwhelmingly rushed.

And the Red Hot Chili Peppers return with their tenth studio album, ‘I’m With You’, though the notable absence of guitarist John Frusciante hinders any triumphant come-back, comments John McCarthy.
John Klinghoffer tries to fills the void and his restrained involvement often boasts interesting flourishes of technical ability. He is no Frusciante, however.

That being said, RHCP's first album in five years is still, at times, a funk-fuelled adrenaline rush with high points including ‘Happiness Loves Company’, the intense bass noodling of ‘Goodbye Hooray’, and the band’s emotionally-charged acoustic eulogy to an old friend: ‘Brendan’s Death Song’.

If there’s a problem with ‘I’m With You’, it is the fact it feels like a tenth studio album. African influences and occasional female back-up vocals aside, what you’re hearing is nothing new, no matter how great it might be to witness a return. Overall, this is an occasionally rewarding attempt at recapturing old glories: fun, catchy but not essential by any means.