Indie Rock Roundup (or My Pain Is Your Entertainment) PART 2
Yes, it continues! Though I’m not really into doing negative reviews, I decided to finish posting the rest of this. On an international flight last summer I browsed the in-flight radio’s Alternative options and listened to bands I’d heard “buzz” about, writing down my impressions. I mean, there must be something among all those hyped indie bands that’s worth checking out, right? (SPOILER: Wrong.) Here’s a link to PART 1, in which I was disappointed by Dirty Projectors, White Denim, Passion Pit, Gossip, and Grizzly Bear. As explained in part 1, this should be taken as entertainment only. Here goes:
Kings of Convenience
Kings of Convenience “Declaration of Dependence” – I feel like I’ve heard of this but not sure. The band photo looks like the guys who got beat up in high school by Simon & Garfunkel. I’ll give this a few minutes. Oh wow, it SOUNDS like the guys who got beat up by Simon & Garfunkel. This makes Scarborough Faire sound like AC/DC. They even sound bored with the music themselves. Yup, every song is the same. Next.
The XX
The XX “x” – Oh no, I think this was something like the “buzzed about band of CMJ.” I don’t know if I can do this to myself… and you just know this band wanted to name themselves ‘X’ and then was like “What do you mean there’s already a band called ‘X’? Okay, then we’ll be ‘THE X’ … There is? You’re kidding me. Okay, ‘The XX” will have to do I guess…” Here goes: Oh, come on! You’re kidding me. This is exactly the same adult contemporary alterna-rock that’s been boring since 1995. Sounds basically like 10,000 Maniacs. I had this faint hope that this would actually be a rock band and surprise me. At least it doesn’t have the faux-feeling-it falsetto vocals, but that’s about the only redeeming feature here. Painfully boring and bland.
Hot Chip
Hot Chip “One Life Stand” – Another frequently mentioned band. I thought this would at least be a synth-pop guilty pleasure like The Faint or something. No such luck. Breathy sub-crooning and basically the same soft-rock music as all the others, even if it is technically “electronic.” The songs are slightly more memorable than the rest, and so far this comes out as my “favorite” by a narrow margin. Makes The Faint look like The Jesus Lizard.
Local Natives
Local Natives “Gorilla Manor” – More promising band photo? At least one of them is smiling and the others aren’t explicitly moping. Starts with that same sparkly U2 guitar schmutz, and pretty much continues in that vein. Like we really needed a (further) watered-down version of U2. Not much different from anything else I’ve heard so far.
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend “Contra” – Not too different from Paul Simon’s “Graceland” – right down to the vocal delivery which sounds like an indie boy’s best attempt at impersonating Paul Simon.
To be continued! Yes, there’s more… I’ll be sure to post up some awesomeness and positivity before the next round.
