February Releases

Since it's about 2/3 the way through March, it's probably a good time to take a look at your February releases:

Field Music - Tones of Town

Part Belle & Sebastian, part Spoon, part Futureheads (yeah, what the fuck?), these three Brits fail to match the quality of these indie stalwarts (and the Futureheads). While an enjoyable listen, Tones of Town has little depth or imagination. Relying too much upon vocals and harmonies, Field Music failed to fully develop and explore their sound.


Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High

The Chicago faux-punk band returns with another round of instantly likeable/danceable power pop songs. While not as strong as "From Under the Cork Tree", "Infinity On High" has some very strong efforts, highlighted by "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs", a not so subtile cut at their MySpace following and early contender for song of the year. Unfortunately, there are some uninspired portions of this record and the Kanye West remix of "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" on their MySpace page is complete garbage (I know MySpace remixes shouldn't count against an album, but it's just that bad. Check it out: http://www.myspace.com/falloutboy ).


Bloc Party - A Weekend In the City

Bloc Party leads off their highly anticipated second album with "Song For Clay (Disappear Here)" a blistering song that adequately captures Kele's fear to "merge on the freeway". The songs immediately following "Song For Clay" match the high points of "Silent Alarm", describing the boredom of modern life in both music and lyrics. "Uniform" is a bit contrived and forced, but still interesting. Then somewhere around Track 6 ("On") the listener begins to realize the horrible truth; "A Weekend In the City" has been front loaded and is steadily declining in quality. On the six songs that conclude the album, Bloc Party sounds unsure of the message they want to send or how they want it to sound. The one thing they are sure of is that none of these songs can last less than an excrutiating 4:23. A fast start with an unfocused finish leave "A Weekend In the City" feeling like a major disappointment, but what should we have expected, it's modern life.


March Releases:
Arcade Fire, Low, Air and Albert Hammond Jr.