3.6.07

Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

Arcade Fire is an indie rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada comprising of eight band members. Arcade Fire gained much success and popularity with their first full length “Funeral” in 2004 and have just released their sophomore album “Neon Bible”. At first listen the new songs off of “Neon Bible” may not seem as catchy or likeable as their previous recordings but further listening can only interest a true Arcade Fire fan more. Arcade Fire creates some seriously powerful music that really fuels the deep meaning of each song. This album never fails to show a lot of strength, even with some of the slower and quieter tracks. The important thing to remember about this CD and all of Arcade Fire’s releases is that these guys aren’t writing about nothing, this is real music created by some of the most humble and impressive song writers in the world today and there is depth behind each track. My favorites off of “Neon Bible” would have to be “Neon Bible”, “Keep The Car Running”, and the extremely addictive “Intervention”.

Arcade Fire - Intervention
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!!! – Myth Takes

!!! (often pronounced as chk chk chk) is an American band that formed in fall 1996 from the former band members of The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. After a successful tour together, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers decided to mix the former disco and funk style with the latter noisy aggressiveness, and !!! was born. !!! has released two previous albums one self titled the, other “Louden Up Now” and their new CD “Myth Takes”. I was a bit cautious at first listening to !!!, although they had a very interesting way of making music I felt that is was sometimes just noise for the sake of noise. With “Myth Takes” I have now seen that I couldn’t have been more wrong with categorizing this band. “Myth Takes” shows more fully formed songs without loosing their original “aggressive” style. They seem to be more noticeably influence by current artists but its all for the better, “Myth Takes” is as funky as ever but will allow for more accessible music listening.

!!! - Sweet Life
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Air – Pocket Symphony

Air is a French music duo, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. In my mind Air always takes on an older and more classic feel than they really are. These guys have only been around since 1995 but their influence in the electronic music world has had a huge impact in the last 12 years. They have five full length releases altogether the most recent being “Pocket Symphony”. This new CD seems to be less daring and complexly attractive as their last release “Talkie Walkie” but only a fool would base their interest on a band’s new album by the previous one. Air seems to be constantly evolving and sharpening their sound making more use out of the piano than anything else in “Pocket Symphony”. This is a very interesting album and will most definitely grow on the listener after time.

Air - Mer du Japon
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Maria Taylor – Lynn Teeter Flower

Maria Taylor is an American singer/songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a member of the duo, Azure Ray with Orenda Fink, and Now It's Overhead, both on Saddle Creek Records. Maria Taylor has a very comforting voice that never seems to be out of place even on her new album “Lynn Teeter Flower” where she’s decided to be a little more experimental. Maria’s first release “11:11” was extremely well done with wonderful vocals and catchy music composition to back it up and with “Lynn Teeter Flower” she doesn’t let up one bit. This new album is some very unique stuff and will make you want to sleep, dance and keep it from your friends all at the same time!

Maria Taylor - Irish Goodbye
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