[2011] John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

I have been waiting my whole life (I think?) for someone to make an album of meaty songs that bridges the gap between cold-wave and space disco, so thank you John Maus. In his newest We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (I don't think I'll ever remember that title, I keep typing Ancestors instead of Censors) we are given layers of murky synths, cheesy synths, raw synths, sexy synths, and other kinds of synths. The key thing to remember is "synths."

The opening track "Streetlight" is practically a brightly lit flashing sign of what's to come, brazenly announcing that if you in any way shape or form have been dreading the day that the Ghostbusters soundtrack become something worth mining for musical gold, now is the time to walk away. "Quantum Leap" is upbeat, hooky and reminds me of last year's hit Gary War single "Born of Light." I want to believe that "Head for the Country" is an ode to Tears for Fears, specifically "Head Over Heels" the video of which I couldn't get out of my head listening to the Maus track. As "retro" as it is, it also feels brand new to me and I won't bother reconciling that unless someone makes me.

The vocals are entrancing throughout the album (particularly in "Cop Killer" and "We Can Breakthrough"), and I can only try to sum the sound up as "Ariel Pink forcing Gregorian monks at gunpoint to sing Big Country covers." However, the final track "Believer" strikes a much different chord, and has an aimless "best of: shoegaze" thing going on, and seems much shorter than it is because you don't want it to end. Try both Quantum Leap and Believer below:

John Maus - Quantum Leap by RibbonMusic

John Maus - Believer by RibbonMusic

[2010] Blank Dogs - Landed and Fixed

Re: Blank Dogs: Under and Under (2009) > Landed and Fixed (2010), but I still love it. It doesn't have the high points of Night Night, L Machine, or Around the Room comparatively, but it comes in a better length and is more listenable and consistent. Plus it has a really sweet synthy instrumental track. I wonder if there are any soundboard Blank Dogs live bootlegs? I should actually look instead of just posting out loud first.

Try Northern Lights (mp3) via P4K

Moon Duo - Live @ KEXP, 2010

Moon Duo live @ KEXP, a nice studio session. To all the REAL Moon Duo fans (you know who you are) this is old as the hills but still, watch and love Stumbling On 22nd St., with it's jaw-dropping guitar work (that is my jaw you hear dropping, actually):



You can also see Killing Time, Dead West, and Motorcycle, I Love You on the youtube. If you want to listen on a non-YouTube device of some sort, here's some mp3s!

Moon Duo - KEXP 2010 (mediafire)