Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Sunglasses: Sunglasses

Sunglasses' eponymous debut EP has not caused a large stir anywhere. Yet. The Savannah duo consists of college students bam bam (Samuel Cooper) and Baby Seal (Brady Keehn) with two totally different college majors. This EP is something to reckon with, however. Although only containing three songs (two are useless placeholders), the exploratory, eccentric and admittedly odd style grows on you. The tinkling chimes, the claps, the water dripping. All of these cause for a weirder experience than ever experienced before. "Referee" is my favorite track, having a slow and steady rise in action from its conception to its ending. "The words we spoke...of before", "the waves, they crash upon my shores" are just two sets of lyrics in the catchy tune. In all, Sunglasses' debut EP is best said as having tenfold the effects under the influence (not supporting doing drugs, just saying what I've heard).



Sunglasses' Sunglasses EP gets a 9.0 out of 10. By the way, here is their MySpace page so you can go buy the EP goodness. What's not to like about this EP, other than its shortness? 

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Toro y Moi: Causers of This

Chazwick Bundick is just a normal citizen from Columbia, South Carolina. That is, until he goes by his stage name: Toro y Moi. The explosive force of his debut album, Causers of This, has caused quite a stir in his hometown and around the country alike. Toro y Moi comes from two words originating from both Spanish and French. Toro (bull in Spanish) Y (and in Spanish) Moi (me in French) came up with the name straight from his head with no prior nickname, apparently. Toro y Moi's album combines synth-pop and the chillwave genre to embed a mellow sound into the user's mind. Credited with being another of the chillwave founders, Toro Y Moi holds a good friendship with artist Washed Out. The mixture of unique beats shows just how it's supposed to be done. This album is definitely something to listen to over and over, and should definitely be placed on a device for on-the-go.
Toro y Moi's Causers of This album gets a 9.4 from me. Go get the Australian edition with four scrumptious bonus tracks!



Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Delorean: Subiza

Delorean was not always as well known as they are now. Hailing from Spain, the pop singers have made quite a name for themselves in the last year, with the release of their EP Ayrton Senna (name of Brazilian F-1 racer who was killed in action on May 1st, 1994) and now their latest and probably best album, Subiza. The idea of using '80's beats has proved to be quite a success. The killer beginning track, "Stay Close", starts off suddenly with a bassy and climactic setting. It then progresses on with lyrics portraying items like relationships falling apart. "We argue then" is just one of these lyrics. The protruding and most popular track on this particular album has to go to "Real Love" and with good reason. It is a calming track with deep meaning. From beginning to end, the result is the same: catchy tunes with simple yet fun lyrics.



Delorean's Subiza album also gets a 9.8 out of 10. Go out and buy it now!


Sunday, October 3, 2010

Passion Pit: Manners

I cannot wait to see these guys live. That being said, I think it is time I reviewed Passion Pit's only album to this day, Manners. What an awesome album. How do you find a way for everyone to have a liking for electro-pop? You get Passion Pit. Passion Pit are a bunch of young, fun, and outgoing guys, T toy that has gotten the most attention is the kiddie choir that pops up on two of the first four songs. Call them behind-the-curve as they double up the "higher and higher" part of the chorus from "Little Secrets", but it's more over-the-top, and that's kind of the point-- in a weird way, it's heartening how little Passion Pit concerns themselves with a fun sounding song. Manners does go for the quick knockout, pulling a similar trick five minutes later on the Hissing Fauna branch-off "The Reeling". Manners is consistent even beyond its singles-- if you like one Passion Pit song, you'll probably like them all. Or you might not like any at all.


The Reeling


Manners gets a 9.0 out of 10. Get the deluxe edition now that it's readily available.


Have some manners, will you?

Important News Update

To my fellow followers and music enthusiasts:

Today is a great day for TIVM. After fiddling around for over two hours, I have finally learned enough of HTML code to be able to incorporate a music sample on my posts. I will be using SoundCloud until my free subscription expires. If I do not post the name of the sample song (unlikely, but I may get lazy), check out the info button on the right hand side of the stream to get the name of the song. Get ready to see a sample on every post now. Let's see what other gold I can strike. Wish me luck in my endeavors!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

How to Dress Well: Love Remains

When I first read the album title before reading the review on Pitchfork, I didn't have high hopes for this album, even though it was given a "best album" tag. The name sounded too generic to me. I thought it was going to be some pop songs about love and desire, and heart breaking and emotional pain. However, something compelled me to venture out and get the album. This would in turn become one of the best decisions I've made since I first got Tame Impala's album. This blew me away. Enough of this rant, though. Let's get to the review. Love Remains is the essence of Tom Krell. The quiet and entrancing songs are really a hit or miss for some people. To me, he outdid himself. Check out the album for your assumptions of the album, since this isn't one for everyone. Some people may be hardcore haters, saying that the artist sounds like garbage. I respect their opinions; however, I would have to disagree. The nostalgic tone of his voice really sets the high quality for this.

Suicide Dream 2


How To Dress Well's Love Remains gets an 8.8 out of 10. Sweetness right here.

Just realized it says the artist name.

Linkin Park: A Thousand Suns

Whoa is all I can say about this album. Right when I first hit play on the first song on my Foobar player, I could tell this album was something different. Linkin Park has really changed their outlook on rock music. Unlike their previous albums, this one seems to be less hardcore. That's a plus since I actually like to be able to understand the lyrics. The top song has to be "Robot Boy". The tone and mood of the singers really uplifts this piece. In all, this album is worth checking out, even if Linkin Park has never been your thing. Don't expect any epic songs, though. It definitely isn't amazing.

Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns gets a 7.2 out of 10. An average album. Check it out if you've already checked out my other albums.

I'm being sucked in!