INDIE ROCK
“Dragging Through the Weather”
Landlordland
Shrat Field
Landlordland, live and on CD, sounds like four musicians field tripping to the music store (via a quick stop at Circuit City) with a very clear idea of their purpose and intended style.
It’s never that easy – or simple – but the Denver-based band makes it sound that way.
Darren Dunn’s catchy cyber-folk is similar to Beck’s in showing a penchant for smart, unexpected juxtapositions. Tracks like “Coat Tails” are rough yet focused and care more about the general cohesion of the music experience than any one instrument or voice. Dunn’s voice is all over the place, and Sylas Cooley’s electronics sail throughout “Dragging Through the Weather,” acting as its liquid backbone. Together with Rich Sandoval’s bass and Dan Zmolek’s drums, Landlordland’s breezy pop is enough to make the sun penetrate the clouds.
– Ricardo Baca
POP
“Never Gone”
Backstreet Boys
Jive
Five years out of the limelight – with the exception of A.J. McLean’s well-publicized trek toward sobriety and Nick Carter’s tabloid romances – finds the group that helped spark the late- ’90s “boy band” glut still releasing bubble-gum pop.
But let’s give the guys credit for returning to the spotlight with an album that showcases more maturity and sincerity than past releases.
The first track, “Incomplete,” sounds like 1980s Bryan Adams fused with symphonic orchestration. “Just Want You to Know” and “Crawling Back to You” should woo the same sentimentalists who adored the Boys’ old bleeding-heart balladry. “Weird World” stands out with its soulful piano and personal narrative. Too bad the other songs are predictable filler.
-Elana Ashanti Jefferson
PYSCH
“Druganaut”
Black Mountain
Jagjaguwar
Normal four-song EPs aren’t worth much mention. But Black Mountain’s latest EP is longer than some band’s full-length CDs.
The title track is a careful sprawler at 8:16, a psych venture that hints at the spooky, Southern underbelly that dominates the otherworldly mood created by the Vancouver-rooted band. The righteously rocked-out “Buffalo Swan,” at 9:13, is more melodic and plays with the group’s dueling, dirgelike vocals. And while the other two tracks are more concise, they’re what you’d expect, given the EP’s title.
– Ricardo Baca
