Winterpills The Light Divides After the first few tracks off The Light Divides, the Winterpills' new album, you might think you're listening to the Dawson's Creek soundtrack. With songs consisting of only two chords and optimistic vocal crooning, the album starts out in a monotonous tone that doesn't snap until track four, "Broken Arm". By blending the voices of Phillip Price and Flora Reed to create a fast-paced, melodramatic sense of musical urgency, "Broken Arm" is unmatched throughout the remainder of the album. The next pair of tracks, "Shameful" and "Eclipse," also have pop, but these three unfortunately round out the songs worth listening to on the album. "Shameful" integrates a rolling guitar twang with blended vocals to make a weak hybrid of The Shins and the voice of Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld. All too often, the Winterpills end up trying to make their songs hazily majestic with yearning vocals on top of powerful guitar. Meanwhile one can only think that perhaps these methods are best left to Creed's Scott Stapp. The Winterpills succeed at creating a constant eerie drone in their songs, but unfortunately have little innovation to separate themselves from other indie bands. This is one example of indie rock that should stay independent of listeners. - Colin Jacobsen
elvis perkins Ash Wednesday
Patience is a virtue. And you'll need a hell of a lot of it to get through folk singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins' Ash Wednesday. Perkins' debut album starts out slow, with an underpinning theme of melancholy- a feeling apropos considering the death of both his parents, his father nine years ago and his mother on 9/11. Images of loneliness and dream sequences seep through in tracks such as "It's Only Me" and "Emile's Vietnam in the Sky." In the latter he poses the question: "Did you ever wonder where you go when you die?" Elvis - aren't we already depressed enough? The lyrics are poignant but he delivers them like a less subtle Damien Rice. Despite the overwhelming negativity of the lyrics, the album remains stubbornly optimistic. Most of the beginning tracks have an abundance of "Uh-oh's" and "La-la's" that keep the pop flavor from dissolving. The title track marks the midpoint and a change in the musical texture. Finally, the drummer moves off the high hat and Perkins' range extends outside the monotone. The violins, accordions, muted trumpets, and vibes begin to move the music around in Radiohead-like arrangements. The final track, "Good Friday," moves the guitar off the center stage and brings in the piano -providing a peaceful meditation on the 40 days of Lent that this album evokes. - Alex Ullman
calla Strength in Numbers
Last year's Collisions won Calla significant attention from anyone even remotely susceptible to its gloomy art-rock. Strength in Numbers continues that tradition. Expressing the depths of negative emotions any way they can, the erstwhile noise-rockers flirt with dissonance and inflections but still deliver a surprisingly accessible album. "Sanctify," Numbers' clear standout, starts things off with booming bass, percussion, and synthesizers underscoring tortured vocals and churning guitar riffs. The track is mainstream rock done right. Dance-punk fans will find what they're looking for in the crunch and hustle of "Simone." "Rise" and "Defenses Down" are exemplary instances of indie pop. Elsewhere, the hushed tones and acoustic guitar of "Sleep in Splendor" evoke the master songwriting of Elliott Smith. For their general musical tone, Calla might be grouped with bands like Interpol or Film School as another member of the resurgent new wave movement. Such comparisons are undeserved - the band is more than just that. Calla's years of experience in another genre gives them a leg up on the competition, perfecting their atmospheric sound and allowing them to explore a lot of different areas, ranging from shoegaze to Spanish guitar. Calla's carefully calculated melancholy seems a bit too deliberate, but ultimately hits just the right note. - Rafael Garcia
d„lek Abandoned Language Indebted to Nine Inch Nails as much as to Public Enemy, New Jersey natives D„lek follow their critically acclaimed Absence with Abandoned Language. With Language MC D„lek and co-producer Oktopus continue with the premise of building layers upon layers to create dissonant melodies that ebb and flow over distorted, effect-laden vocals. The ethereal backdrops are reminiscent of the wall of noise style made famous by shoegaze rockers of the early 90s. Most of the songs feature compositions with musical interludes haphazardly placed throughout. The disconnect adds a complexity to the songs that breathes fresh air into a genre made stagnant by linear song structures. As spacey as this might sound, MC D„lek covers far-ranging topics with a clear and distinct manner that is sometimes lost in the vagueness typical of most underground lyrics. On "Content To Play Villain", D„lek spits prophetic tales of society's downward spiral. In "Corrupt (Knuckle Up)", D„lek portrays the conniving bureaucrats who propagate the conditions afflicting America's lower class. All these factors beget a sonically elaborate, bleak aural environment. It is a lyrically moving piece of work that only grows in depth when listened to repeatedly. Abandoned Language engages the listener to decipher and uncover its subtleties. This provides more than enough reason to keep even the casual listener coming back for more. - Johann Diedrick
