Lydia – "Illuminate" (4 out of 5)

Lydia. Previously, though the piano player is a friend of mine from Nashville, I was never a fan of them. No offense to Mindy, she’s immensely talented and a very sweet person, but her band always seemed like a more full-sounding attempt at Bright Eyes than original writing. If you’ve heard Bright Eyes, you know how whiny it can sound. It’s a songwriter named Conor Oberst who is an indie/emo kid’s wet dream. He’s this short, thin, pale kid from Kansas who sounds like he’s choking on water while he attempts to throw out tear-jerking poetry in rambling melodies. I personally just can’t stand him. The first time I heard Lydia was about three years ago and Bright Eyes was the first thing that came to mind. They were constantly gaining a fan base, so I was always giving them the thumbs up in the “good job” type of fashion, but never really enjoying the music. So why did I buy the new album and why do I like it? Here’s the story:

So this past Sunday I went to the Bamboozle festival in Irvine, CA, and pretty much had the time of my life. I saw so many bands that I never got to see when living in Nashville: Finch, Billy Talent, Dillinger Escape Plan, etc. While hanging out with my friends Foxy Shazam (they opened for Dillinger, the lucky bastards), I was checking out the roster and saw that Lydia was on. I was curious to see if Mindy was still in the band, because the time I spoke to her last, she had quit the band because she said she missed her family and friends too much and was tired of touring. When I went to check out their show I was pleasantly surprised to see her on the keys. Out of support I chose to stay for their whole show, which I must say, had not been captured well in studio. I could understand why people would get into the band, and also why I couldn’t ever get into their music. It was the first time I had heard them live and I was very impressed. It was obvious to me that through their efforts at recording, they were never able to find the producer or engineer that could fully grasp what they would do live, how the music would lift and drop, how the ambience would flow from one member to the next while the vocalist danced through his melodies. They played songs they said were on the new record, so one of the first things I did when I got home was listened to some previews on iTunes.

So here I am now, listening to their new album “Illuminate” and absolutely loving it. It’s the first time they finally got across in the studio what they seem to have always meant to do. Production-wise, this is obviously their best attempt. Compared to their old albums, this is something worthy of buying. I’m not saying their old albums aren’t worth it, if you’re into them you should check them out, but so far, this is really the only album I can get into. I absolutely love it. To get an idea, check out the song “This Is Twice Now” and “Now The One You Once Loved Is Leaving.”  

Panic At The Disco – Pretty. Odd. (no stars, just confusion)

Please, please, don’t laugh. The moment someone suggested this album to me, I nearly punched them in the face. You have to hear the story about it though. Joe, the drummer from Foxy Shazam, was the one who suggest it. He swore up and down that it was good. Over his shoulder in my kitchen, Sky (the piano player) backed it up by saying “No, Dune, you don’t understand. I hate myself for loving it so much. There’s just no way they wrote it. I just don’t understand. It’s just too good.” So I started researching. I found out that the band had written the album, but the label absolutely hated it. They scrapped the album and decided to start from scratch. It was then that they hired Danny Elfman to produce it. Did you read that correctly? I hope you did, because I just said Danny fucking Elfman produced it. The same Danny Elfman who wrote the music for Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, even the fucking Simpson’s theme. After hearing the album, it became clear. Danny Elfman wrote and produced this album, the band performed it, and the label jumped for joy. However, though the album really is fantastic, it was panned by critics because it was such a rip off of The Beatles. Seriously. If you listen to the album, it’s like listening to a greatest hits album of The Beatles. To describe it more, just imagine a broadway musical director who is obsessed with The Beatles wrote 15 songs in the likes of Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul. This is the outcome, through the voices and instruments of… Panic At The Disco. I know. I’m sorry. But you really need to listen to the album. It’s brilliant, but a total rip off. It’s brilliant because it’s Danny Elfman. I can’t stress this enough. Listen to the album because it’s Danny Elfman. I’m in no way saying or even considering that Panic at the Disco is talented or enjoyable. Please do not get confused. I can’t stop listening to the album, partially because it’s so good, but also because every time I listen to it, I point out a part in a song and go “holy shit! that’s ‘Penny Lane’!” or “how can they possibly try to slip this by me without it being an obvious ‘Norwegian Wood’?”

The Raconteurs – Consolers Of The Lonely (4 out of 5)

Many of you will look at a Raconteurs album like its a b-side White Stripes.  Some of you won’t even give the Raconteurs a chance because you either don’t like the Jack White or feel it’s a Jack White overload.  You have to understand that it’s similar to the White Stripes, but different in several key aspects.  In this, there is more writers than just Jack.  Brenden Benson is the co-writer for this project, giving this project a much more fulfilling blues rock fusion.  I’m a fan of Jack White, but I’m not obsessed.  He’s a great writer, a very interesting singer, but he isn’t the legend people believe he is (in my opinion).  The main difference between the two projects is that The White Stripes attempt to be quirky, different, and very eccentric, while the Raconteurs seem to be blues-rock in a very pure form.  They do this VERY well.