To Hold All You Animals Over...

I can't honestly say that I will be able to update very much in the near future. The power cord to my computer has decided to go on strike and now I am left with a battery that drains like a sieve and a wallet that does the same. So, in the spirit of sharing [which is the purpose of this blog], I am going to share links for the albums that have been sitting in my Mediafire account, waiting to see the light of day. More than anything, I've been waiting until I was in the mood to listen to these albums, so that I could write a fresh and honest review, rather than relying on my memory [which isn't too good]. So here you are:

Akron/Family - Akron/Family [2005]
Genre: freak folk, lo-fi
For Fans Of: Devendra Banhart, Danielson Famile

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare [2007]
Genre: indie, rock, brit-pop
For Fans Of: The Last Shadow Puppets, Modest Mouse, The Fratellis

Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards [2006]
Genre: indie, piano, lo-fi
For Fans Of: Modest Mouse, Spoon, Feist

Jaguar Love - Take Me To The Sea [2008]
Genre: post-hardcore, post-rock
For Fans Of: The Blood Brothers, Neon Blonde

Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins [2005]
Genre: indie, dance, pop
For Fans Of: Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, The Shins

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [2002]
Genre: indie, rock, country
For Fans Of: Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, anything else by Wilco

Cold War Kids - Loyalty To Loyalty

I had heard of Cold War Kids probably 6 months or so before I actually listened to them. I remember hearing "We Used To Vacation" for the first time while my friend Cory and I drove to Ashland on some errand. Suffice it to say, I was blown away. The rest of the album easily followed suit. The high and less-than-perfect vocals, and the minimalistic approach to the music made for an incredible album. Fast forward to present day, and we have "Loyalty To Loyalty", Cold War Kids latest offering. I'm not going to say it's bad because I haven't listened to it enough to make a judgement call, especially one as harsh as that. I will say, however, that it has yet to grab my attention. I'm sure with a few more listens I will find some standout tracks and that will more or less be it, but as a whole, I don't have high expectations. Minimalism would be an understatement when describing "Loyalty To Loyalty. Where "Robbers & Cowards" set a nice tone for the band's blossoming career, "Loyalty" takes an even more stripped down approach and, in my opinion, falls short.

Once again, I'm sure I'll like at least some of it when I listen more, but as it stands, I'm not impressed.

Tracklisting:
1. Against Privacy
2. Mexican Dogs
3. Every Valley Is Not A Lake
4. Something Is Not Right With Me
5. Welcome To The Occupation
6. Golden Gate Jumpers
7. Avalanche In B
8. I've Seen Enough
9. Every Man I Fall For
10. Dreams Old Men Dreams
11. On The Night My Love Broke Through
12. Relief
13. Cryptomnesia