VZ Magazine

In May 2011, Foster the People released their first studio album Torches, which moved sound waves in fast, fluid motion and changed the whole concept of genre based music.

With Mark Foster on vocals, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, guitars, programming and percussion, Mark Pontius on drums and extra percussion and Cubbie Fink on bass and backing vocals, this trio formed a tour de force for music lovers of all kinds.

Torches is an album that every single ear in the world should be able to hear. Many people may have heard their two most popular tracks on the record “Pumped Up Kicks” and “Color on the Walls (Don’t Stop).” “Pumped Up Kicks” became quite popular because of its upbeat sound, yet downtrodden meaning, about a psychopathic youth. “Color on the Walls (Don’t Stop)” was featured on a Nissan Versa Sedan Headroom commercial, so you may have heard it without knowing. Either way, the rest of the album is just as good and just as groundbreaking.

Other tunes such as “Helena Beat” have strong electronic beats and provide positive reinforcement. In this album opener, Mark Foster shows the diversity of his singing voice, as it is very effeminate, but in the best possible way.

More skews of genres appear in “Call it what you Want,” a song denouncing labels, perhaps those concerning particular musical genres and even labels placed upon every single object, idea or person. But this melody, is very much techno, very much pop and very much difficult to label. So, “Call it what you want.”

One of my personal favorites titled “Waste” is another piece of electronica with uplifting riffs, whilst remaining lyrically incandescent.

Another called “Houdini” begins with clapping and remains upbeat throughout, even though the song contains lyrics such as “Sometimes I want to disappear.” I suppose there is a such thing as a good disappear and perhaps that is what the song is implying. Either way, this tune is extremely upbeat. It makes you want to dance, even if you’re a white girl with no rhythm who can’t really dance.

“Hustling (Life on the Nickel)” is by all means the worst on the album, though still not bad, just not my favorite. “Miss You” is this album’s love song with heavier rock elements combined with Foster’s ever-more effeminate voice.

The album ends with “Warrant,” by far the heaviest song. The drums are intense, as well as the lyrics.

All in all, Foster the People’s Torches is one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. It should be heard, and it should be heard by the masses. I am certain that Foster the People will go on to continually prove that there is no such thing as a genre as far as their music is concerned. I see nothing but good things to come from them. They are one of the best new bands of 2011, and there is no denying that.

We’ve all heard the song on the Apple iPod Touch television commercial, you know, the one that goes “Take me to your best friend’s house…” Well, there is more than meets the ear. The band featured in that commercial is Grouplove. Grouplove is a band formed in 2009 with Christian Zucconi on lead vocals and guitar, Hannah Hooper on vocals and keyboards, Andrew Wessen on guitars and vocals, Ryan Rabin on drums and Sean Gadd on bass.

Their first studio album Never Trust a Happy Song was released in September 2011, and is still relatively unknown. This album serves as a pick-me-up whenever you may need one due to its pop-ish, yet indie rock elements.

It begins with “Itchin’ On a Photograph,” one of the better songs on the album. It is very poppy with heavy indie rock undertones. Christian Zucconi’s voice is unlike any other, the only singer I can even compare him to is maybe Brandon Boyd of Incubus, but he most definitely has his own unique, individual sound that evokes chills. In this song and others on the album, Zucconi and Hooper sing in unison for the chorus, sending the listener resplendent male and female harmonies.

The second track is the one from the commercial: “Tounge Tied,” that marvelous party anthem, screaming pop music, especially when Hooper has her solo verse. The distinct rock guitar sound, however, is always present giving the whole thing that definite pop rock air.

“Lovely Cup”, the third track is a love song like any other, except that it seems to revolve very much around the guitar.

Next, “Colours” is one of those mood-enhancers which immediately makes it my personal favorite on the album. The sound of the guitar, the words sung, both alone and in unison and the overall feeling of freedom throughout make it a masterpiece, the great magnum opus of the album.

Track five brought upon a completely different sound, separate from the rest. In “Slow,” Hannah Hopper sings alone throughout the entirety of the song, and it is simply Pop music, the kind of stuff Katy Perry or Lady Gaga might do. Truth be told, when I listen to this album in the car, I usually skip this track. I could only make myself listen to it once in its entirety and that was strictly to write this with the purest journalistic integrity and a full opinion based on truth.

“Naked Kids” and “Spun” bring back the better side of the band, proving they might be someone worth remembering. These tunes are more laid back, yet fast-paced and simply fun and even a bit witty.

“Betty’s a bombshell” carries you along its melodic wave. Then, “Chloe” surprises with an edge of punk and a hint of The Brady Brunch, a strange combination, but its erratic pattern is entrancing.

Hannah Hopper takes the lead again in “Love will Save your Soul.” Luckily, this track was much better than her other solo track. It actually had an intriguing, novel approach but was still one of the worst on the album.

At first, “Cruel and Beautiful World” sounds sad and a bit pathetic, but when least expected the chorus picks it up and saves the song from impending doom.

The last track, “Close your Eyes and Count to Ten” also combines unexpected sounds to provide for an interesting listen. At moments, this song sounds very ‘60s Mama’s and the Papa’s, and then Nirvana-esqe at others. It is a loop of combinations of sounds from varying influences.

In essence, Grouplove’s Never Trust a Happy Song is an album worth checking out. Christian Zucconi’s voice is amazingly individual. Hannah Hooper, though a pretty voice, is disappointing when compared to Zucconi, but this album is always uplifting. If nothing else, next time you feel down, listen to Never Trust a Happy Song and I promise there’s “No need to be sad. It really ain’t that bad.”

Kimya Dawson’s newest album Thunder Thighs goes beyond the Kimya we know and love to discover an evolved version of her former self. Released in October 2011, this album shows the growth and maturity of an artist that is absolutely not comparable to any other artist on the planet. Through music, sound and lyrics, Kimya sounds like her former self, but more evolved, more experimental.

In some songs on the album, Pablo Das and Aesop Rock aid Kimya in experimenting with new sounds, styles and music. Whilst other songs, sound like genuine Remember that I love you style tunes with only simple guitar rhythms and that beautiful almost child-like voice.

On the first track “All I Could Do,” Kimya shows her age, her maturity. Her subject matter moves from the craziness of youth that has been heard in other albums to her trying to be a good mother. Kimya sings “It’s okay if at the end of the day all I can do next/ is be a good mother.”

The next track “Mare and the Bear” is strikingly different as a child sings along with Dawson. It sounds almost like some sort of Nick Jr. song, but better, trying to teach a child that appearances don’t mean a damn thing.

In “Year 10,” Pablo Das sings in unison with Dawson “It’s year 10, and I’m a baby again. I need my friends like I did back then.” This song has a simple, beautiful guitar rhythm and sounds like classic Dawson, just commenting on how friends grow apart as families start. This song also shows how far Dawson has come from songs like “Who’s got the crack?” as she vehemently is anti-drug.

“Miami Advice” featuring Aesop Rock has some definite rap elements which aren’t necessarily for me, but some might enjoy that sort of thing. It is very fast-paced, however, and could provide for excellent dance music. The best thing about Kimya’s songs are the lyrics. My particular favorite lyric from the album lives in this song: “I’m sending off my monkeys in the backs of the pink elephants/ so it doesn’t matter if my lyrics are irrelevant.”

Dawson then throws in a self-motivation tune entitled “Solid and Strong,” and then another song with rap elements with the help of Aesop Rock again, “Zero or a Zillion.”

Again, Dawson changes rapidly to her classic sound with “Same Shit Complicated” about the repetitiousness of life. This is my personal favorite onThunder Thighs, but I’m a guppy for the classic Kimya.

And what would a Kimya Dawson album be without a song about a bike? Well, it probably wouldn’t be a Kimya Dawson album. To further her pattern of bike imagery, she includes a tune titled “I like my Bike.” Again, a child aids Kimya in this song’s execution.

Suddenly “Driving Driving Driving” changes the mood as the guitar sounds quite glum. The subject matter concerns motherhood and the importance of teaching your children about environmentalism, to “leave footsteps that are light.”

“You’re In” is another classic style Dawson melody that plays with that phrase and the word “Urine.” It’s about that inevitable moment when you pee on a stick and find out about an unexpected pregnancy.

“Walk Like Thunder” is the longest Kimya Dawson song ever, peaking at 10:35, and it is a virtual biography of some of her own ordeals, and deaths she’s dealt with.

At that point, it was time to do something weird, so there was “Captain Lou,” which also features Aesop Rock. Celebrity deaths are the subject matter, with one being particularly important, Captain Lou. Captain Lou was a professional wrestler and actor who died in October 2009. And for some reason, Kimya seemed to actually care for him. You can hear the emotion in her voice throughout the song.

Another song that just sounds sort of strange, in Kimya fashion, “Reflections” contains a bit of opera. Then “Unrefined” makes you think it’s a break-up song, but it’s not. That is, unless you’re breaking up with sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods.

Lastly, Kimya sings “Utopian Futures” which is her proclamation of a world, a dream world with no wars, more trees, no capitalism, less judgment. It is her dream world. She sings “I’m a dream. This is real.”

Overall, Thunder Thighs is worth a listen. It’s not my favorite Kimya album, but it’s still the voice, the simple guitar and the strange lyrics. It’s all you would expect from that woman with her converse on.

Bob Dylan’s latest album Beyond Here Lies Nothin’: The Collection is a collection of the very best of Dylan’s brand of poetic musical genius. Released in October 2011, this is the ultimate Bob Dylan compilation album. Any true Dylan fan would by-all-means love it, possibly more than they love themselves.

Not only does this album contain some of Dylan’s most memorable, political, poetic and purely beautiful tunes, but it compiles them in such a way as to mirror Dylan’s career. It chronologically spans five decades in thirty-three mesmerizing songs in their original composition and execution. Two-discs enclose all that is Dylan, in ideals, in heartbreak, in literary allusions, in puns, in pristine unadulterated lyrical prowess.

The first disc is composed of seventeen songs, winding the listener from the early ‘60s folk Dylan to the mid-60s electric Dylan and even a tiny look at an early ‘70s Dylan. It begins with one of his most famous songs that somehow resonates with every generation, and probably will continue to do so until the end of time. This song is, of course, “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” Then comes several other folky tunes such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” , “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Subterranean Homesick Blues” among many others.

Now, for those who prefer electric Dylan, there’s plenty of that as well. Also on the first disc, electric tunes such as “Like a Rolling Stone” introduce Dylan in a new phase of his career. Other electric tunes include  “I Want You,” “Desolation Row” and my personal favorite “Tombstone Blues.” As Bob says, “The Sun’s Not Yellow. It’s Chicken.”

At the end of the first disc, we find ourselves in the ‘70s, with “Watching the River Flow” and “I Threw It All Away.”

The second disc begins with “Lay, Lady, Lay” and “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” a song written in 1967 in Woodstock, New York. It wasn’t officially released until 1971 on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits: Vol. II. Two of Dylan’s most critically-acclaimed songs “Tangled Up In Blue” and “Hurricane” can also be heard on this disc.

Then, Dylan brings us into the ‘80s with tunes like “Jokerman,” “Ring Them Bells” and “Brownsville Girl.” And then to more modern times, the ‘90s Dylan composes “Make You Feel My Love” from his album Time Out of Mind. Again Dylan moves to the 2000’s with more good tunes like “Po’ Boy” and “Thunder on the Mountain.”

And, of course, he ends with the title track “Beyond Here Lies Nothin,’” which was originally released in 2009 on his album Together Through Life. “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” shows a newer, funkier Bob, as he sings with his gruff voice a proclamation of love.

Let us not forget, the numerous songs that have been covered by other musical artists. Two of the most notable songs that were covered also appear in this massive compilation. On Disc One, “All Along the Watchtower” resides, which Dylan first recorded in 1967. And this might possibly be his shortest song. Jimi Hendrix then covered this song for Electric Ladyland in 1968. Also, on Disc Two, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” appears, originally recorded by Bob in 1973. This song was covered by many artists, the two most celebrated versions being Eric Clapton’s version in 1975 and the Guns N’ Roses version in 1987.

So, Bob Dylan fans rejoice as there is now a compilation of all of Dylan’s greatest songs. Heaven forbid that your Dylan record collection be destroyed, but if this were the only Dylan album you owned, you would survive. It does not get much better than Bob Dylan when you think of some of the world’s greatest musicians. Through harmonica, guitar (both acoustic and electric), and some of the most beautifully waxed poetic lyrics of all time, Beyond Here Lies Nothin’: The Collection is a compilation album that every Dylan fan should own. So, go ahead, travel through time, through the life, the career and the music of Bob Dylan in one great album.