soundfix album review
Yo La Tengo Fade
Sunny summer days, iced teas in tall glasses and freshly cut fields. That’s the atmosphere conjured up by Yo La Tengo’s 13th record, Fade. Languorous yet light-hearted, the album makes for easy listening. Over a double-decade career, the band has tested various waters. And this latest production sticks with the band’s softer side, creating soothing, pretty tracks that compare to Sonic Youth’s more relaxed numbers. ‘I’ll Be Around’ recalls Nick Drake, with a delicate melody overlaid by sleepy vocals, whereas ‘Before We Run’ smacks vaguely of a less drawling Nico. Lyrics run the gamut of bittersweet romance: “We always wake before we fall / I always know that when we wake up / You’re mine” is murmured on the woozy ‘Stupid Things’.
76 asialife HCMC
by Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen
A$AP Rocky
LONG.LIVE.A$AP Considering the presence he had on blogs and festival circuits this past year, A$AP Rocky managed to do pretty well even without dropping a full length. LONG.LIVE.A$AP is the 24-year-old Harlemite’s much anticipated album, launching months after its original release date. Though it’s hard to compete with his own sometime associate Kendrick Lamar, whose sophomore album has won over the critics, A$AP gives a spirited effort. His songs just lack the edge of Lamar’s, but nonetheless include a number of sure-fire hits. Last year’s swaggering smash ‘Goldie’, the Skrillex-collaboration ‘Wild For The Night’ and ‘Hell’ with its gritty Santigold chorus are three such bright spots. But ironically, it’s ‘F**kin’ Problems’ — which features Lamar — that’s the album’s most forceful.
Foxygen
We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic From the first track, Moldy Peaches is the obvious reference for the duo that is Foxygen. The two combos share a penchant for playful lo-fi ditties. But the influences on Foxygen are more definitive and far-reaching, and it’s easy to glimpse a shelf full of Dylan, Bowie, Lennon and Velvet Underground vinyl in their background. Californians Sam France and Jonathan Rado started playing together in high school in 2005, producing their first studio album in 2012. This curiously titled follow-up shows the 22-year-olds have refined their content and composition, sounding wise beyond their years. Dreamlike numbers ‘Shuggie’ and ‘San Francisco’ are the record’s standouts, and aptly also the lead singles, but the whole album is set to be one of this year’s early coups.
Blaudzun
Heavy Flowers Although Blaudzun’s third album has already made waves in his native Netherlands, global distribution is now bringing Heavy Flowers to international listeners. Née Johannes Sigmonds, the Dutch singer-songwriter’s breakout is well deserved. This is a solid of work of so-called folk rock, which marries an earthy sound with an experimental, arty approach. His music has drawn comparisons to Arcade Fire, but Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — a band also known for unusual vocals and a genre-crossing sound — is another apt parallel. Sigmonds’ voice is affecting, reminiscent of Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz yet more offbeat and with a fair falsetto. He maintains a down tempo for the majority of the album, but picks up the rhythm on the thrumming ‘Sunday Punch’.