New Music Review: Phoenix's Bankrupt!

You've gotta know something.

This week, I'm really diggin' Phoenix's new album, Bankrupt!

And who ever said that nothing good comes from France anymore? Well thanks to this group, you can't say their music isn't any good. Next observation: these Frenchman sing in English. Again, what kind of French dudes are these? Well, I'll tell you: darn cool ones.

Their new album is exploding with synths.  The vocals and harmonizations remind me a lot of psychedelic Beatles era stuff, and the synths bring me back to early 90's pop. Catchy, in-your-face. Michael Jackson-esque, at times.

But strap yourself in because this album is *loud*. Probably too loud. Wait... I'm listening to "S.O.S" right now... This album is definitely too loud. Yeah, ear fatigue, as they call it. Check it out. But be warned: it's best played quietly, cuz this stuff will smash your brains in from both ears.

Take a deep breath when track six comes (Bankrupt!). It's a much-needed ear break. And sounds pretty dang cool, too. It also helps that one of these guys knows music theory.

Here's a link to the album on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bankrupt!-deluxe/id602320012

What I'm Listening To, Song Sketches Online

A couple weeks ago, there was a terribly large number of really great albums that were released. I'd like to introduce you to a few of those artists here... Before I go there, though, I'd like to mention two things:

Brad Paisley's new album, Wheelhouse, came out a couple days ago. My first impressions of the record match my impressions of nearly every other he has done: he's a fantastic guitarist who's not afraid to rip. And some of his songwriting is very good. But I'm not talking about the poppy stuff or the pop culture-laden songs. Those are fun and catchy in there own right, but it's dumb writing, if you ask me. The point is, anything Mr. Paisley releases is worth checking out. I say that about few other artists. (John Mayer is another one.)

Next: I'm going to start posting my song sketches to my SoundCloud profile. Follow me there and you'll get to hear a lot of the stuff I'm working on - sections of new songs or full, new songs - recorded on my phone. Here's that direct link: https://soundcloud.com/jaymathes

Okay, so here's what I've been listening to lately:

Stornoway - Tales from Terra Firma
Phosphorescent - Muchacho
Low - The Invisible Way

I'm loving all three of these albums. And, sadly, I'm still having a hard time remembering which songs belong to which band. That's what happens when you listen to a LOT of good, new music in a really short time-span. Go check all these guys out.

And check out my stuff, too.