PeerValidated Byte Size Reviews are short and sweet introductions to albums. A new one almost everyday gives you some basic info, opinions and an mp3 to let you decide what you think. These reviews are compiled into a list for two weeks, then we throw them into the Byte Size Archive and start a new one. Check back often!
Burning Hearts – Into the Wilderness
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Considering the average monthly temperature of its Östrobothnian(Eastern) homeland in Finland, fluctuating between a chilly and mundane 20-70°, Burning Hearts comes off pretty hot on its new EP. Though lyrics are reflective of the snowy mountains and icy lakes of the landscape, the twee-pop on Into the Wilderness is all sun-burns and summer fun, orange horizons and warm breezes. The EP is a teaser of sorts, as Jessika Rapo and Henry Ojala continue to work on an upcoming full-length to be released on Shelflife Records. – Andy (July 2, 2011)
Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
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Looking for something really different? How about a shoegaze concept album with vocal parts from both a hardcore punk style screamer and the female half of Cults? Fucked Up’s new album David Comes to Life is about a factory worker who falls in love with a woman and builds a bomb with her to wreak havoc on the world around them. In the destruction of it all, Damien Abraham’s vocals power through Hold Steady-esque anthems and create one of the year’s most fun and exciting albums. Out now on Matador. – Andy (June 26, 2011)
Lower Dens – Twin Hand Movement
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Jana Hunter’s new project is sprawling and understated. It makes sense that she’s previously played in Phosphorescent and CocoRosie, and she’s on Vetiver’s record label, Gnomonsong. Her songs as Lower Dens are slow, laid back, atmospheric pieces of shoegaze wonder. Many of the tracks on the band’s latest album, Twin-Hand Movement, work themselves up/down from their verses into a laziness that melts the song away into an oblivion of washy guitars and splashy cymbals. And that, my friends, is how you make a summer album. – Andy (June 17, 2011)
1,2,3 – New Heaven
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1,2,3’s upcoming release, New Heaven, comes screaming out of the gates like a bat out of Wolf Parade’s personally constructed hell. Its first track, “Work,” splatters a tambourine with an offbeat and dominating snare before a fascinating guitar lick becomes the main focus and wraps around the strangely syncopated song, adding to its fury. It’s unmistakably akin to Apologies for a few minutes before settling into the more straight-forward approach that the rest of the album takes. Three tracks are available now, the LP is out on Frenchkiss, June 21. – Andy (June 14, 2011)
Norwegian Arms – Trimming of Hides
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A mandolin, Rubbermaid tupperware and a bunch of raw energy are the instruments Norwegian Arms typically uses to create its minimal and fascinating freak-folk. The two-piece, made of frontman Brendan Mulvihill and Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick’s percussion, has made its entire discography available for free on Bandcamp. Its latest, Trimmings of Hides, spanning just seven minutes and forty-five seconds, is the young band’s best yet. It’s an expressive brand of organic folk that’s spectacular for the original and refreshing way it conveys natural sentiments. – Andy (June 13, 2011)
