If Destination: Beautiful had convinced detractors that Mae was overly sentimental and pretentious, then The Everglow certainly wasn’t going to change their minds. I mean, it’s a concept album with an accompanying picture book that opens and closes with a narrator explaining itself, for crying out loud.
But for those of us who had bought-in to their first disc, the follow up was a masterful epic that was a definitive work in every sense.
My sophomore year of high school, I found a great indie/emo band called Sky’s the Limit on Interpunk.com (oh, Interpunk…their website has never been updated, btw). I bought their only release, which was only released on a burned CD-R, and I was spellbound by the intricate guitar work, catchy rhythms, and soaring melodies.
So when I discovered Mae on an old Tooth & Nail compilation, I was attracted to them for many of the same reasons. I bought this album, and was amazed to find a Sky’s the Limit song on it. It was only then that I realized that Dave Elkins was the lead singer and principal songwriter for both of them.
After spending most of my life vacillating between punk ethos and hipster snobbery, I’ve been trying to be a better poptimist. I’ve been trying to let go of my musical superiority complex and allow myself to enjoy vapid pop music.
And it doesn’t get much more vapid or poppy than Madonna herself.
If ever there was a post rock crossover pop hit, it’s M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.
This record debuted at number fifteen on the Billboard Top 200. The bouncing single “Midnight City“, complete with a screaming saxophone solo, was ubiquitous. The group appeared on a number of late night talk show performances. Songs were played in commercials and movie trailers.
This is only made more impressive by the fact that it’s a double album by a band that made their name playing synth-driven drone music.
The last couple years, I’ve been noticing a trend of female singer-songwriters picking up electric guitars and coating their otherwise gentle compositions with thick layers of doom metal and shoegaze (see also: Chelsea Wolfe, King Woman). It’s a simple enough formula, but it works, and I am here for it. Continue reading
Throughout her career, M.I.A. has always been ahead of the curve—and the curve wasn’t always ready for her.
When she released MAYA eight years ago, it was heavily criticized for its YouTube-inspired album art and the digital chaos that created the musical landscape. Little did we realize how prescient it actually was. Continue reading
How do you follow up a breakout hit that managed to mix political protest with dancefloor-ready art pop?
If you’re M.I.A., you turn up the dial on every element of your debut and set those suckers to eleven.
As legend has it, in the early 2000s the daughter of a Sri Lankan freedom-fighter slash visual artist named Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam (AKA M.I.A.) was introduced to the iconic Roland MC-505 sequencer and drum machine.
Despite having no musical experience of her own, she immediately saw the 505 as a tool to broadcast political messages to a society obsessed with entertainment. She could use hip-hop and dance music as a megaphone to amplify the struggles of marginalized people around the globe.
By and large, I don’t really get Lynyrd Skynyrd. What little thought I do spend thinking about them is frantically changing the radio station anytime I hear “Sweet Home Alabama” (I really, really hate that song).
But when I separate the band from their rabid, Rebel-flag-waving fanbase and that one super obnoxious single, I can sorta actually get into it.
As much as I devoured every video, track, and alternate version of Lykke Li’s early career, I didn’t give her sophomore release much attention until a few months ago. At first listen, Wounded Rhymes felt sleek and generic in comparison to the playful DIY pop of Youth Novels.
But revisiting it, I see just how off my first impression was. Continue reading