Artist:  OK Go

OK Go's latest album

Album:  Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky

If nothing else OK Go will be know as the band that did that treadmill video.  Admittedly I downloaded the single for that song, ‘Here We Go,’ and left it at that.  Then at the end of last year Amazon listed the whole album ‘Oh No’ for five dollars and after listening to previews I decided to go ahead and download it.  I was pleasantly surprised at how catchy the album was.

When this album was released I had some download credits to burn.  Apparently ‘Oh No’ made enough of an impression on me as I downloaded this one with no hesitation and no prior information.

Review following the break.

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Artist:  Vampire Weekend
Album:  Contra

Vampire Weekend’s self-titled first release was hailed by many as an original, ground breaking album and a fresh sound.  It was critically acclaimed by many reviewers.  It came in at number 5 on Time’s best albums of 2008 and peaked on Billboard at 17.  At decades end it came in at 56 on Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums of the decade.  Clearly the New York band was on to something.

I didn’t pickup on the album until early 2009 and the first time I heard it I found it to be underwhelming at best and outright unlistenable.  That must have been a bad day for me personally.  I revisited the album a couple of months later and immediately fell in love with it.  The sound was at once familiar and at the same time refreshing.  It stood out in the indie field where many albums seemed to be chasing the same ‘indie’ sound.

Fast forward to 2010 and Vampire Weekend’s second release ‘Contra.’  The band had released the song ‘Horchata’ for free late in 2009 and I immediately downloaded and loved it.  It had the same quirky feel and African pop beats and felt like it would blend in just fine on their first album.  Now the question was whether or not the rest of the album would live up to expectation.

Review after the break.

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Under the Covers Volume 2

Artist:  Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
Title:  Under the Covers Vol. 2 [Deluxe Edition]
Label:  Shout! Factory

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs are back with this sequel to their 2006 album Under the Covers Volume 1.  Matthew Sweet has a long career as a pop-alternative artist and is probably best known for a couple of Anime filled music videos from his breakthrough album Girlfriend.  Susanna Hoffs was a member of the 80’s group the Bangles.  Both of them worked together on the soundtrack for ‘Austin Powers‘ as part of the band Ming Tea.  Under the Covers Volume 1 was a light, fun album that covered a diverse mix of music from the 60’s.  On the new album the have moved forward a decade to cover their favorite hits from the 70’s, again covering a diverse mix of artists and styles.

Volume 1 was a favorite of mine when it was released and I’ve been hungry for more ever since.  Does Volume 2 live up to its predecessor or does it fall into the dreaded sophomore slump?

My review after the break.

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