M83- Saturdays=Youth (My Favorite of 2008)

M83- Saturdays=Youth (Mute)

Being born in the 80's, for some of us, consisted of nothing more than that: being born. Most of us spent the remaining years of the decade pooping in diapers and getting our meals from bottles or… well, you know. But for Anthony Gonzalez of M83 the 80's were a time that shaped and inspired who he would become, and, ultimately, what his music would sound like. Anthony's fifth album, Saturdays=Youth, plays out like the soundtrack to the 80's movie that was never made.

As the opening credits roll across the screen, You Appearing offers a glimpse into the story that will be unfolding before the listeners…ears? The music is elegant while the lyrics "It's your face/Save me/Where we are" are a bit more haunting. As the story progresses we are introduced to Kim and Jessie: friends, lovers whatever the case, it is a glimpse into the more innocent time of ones youth. Skin of the Night and Graveyard Girl are a listeners chance to get closer to the cast of characters that Gonzales has created. Skin of the Night is considerably the most vulnerable song on the album: "Oh queen of the night (All of her soft parts call to me)/ Well she is deep inside! (She could be mine)/ She is haunting me!" Graveyard Girl, on the other hand, is more of a fun pop song about the lonely, outcast girl who loves The Cure and Depeche Mode but still maintains her quirky sense of humor. The highlight of the song is a spoken word section that sounds like a Molly Ringwald monologue from a John Hughes film that never made it past the cutting room floor, but in a good way. Coulers, the quintessential eighties dance song, is followed by Up! which makes for the perfect make out tune in the back of your parents station wagon.

As the story winds down and the credits roll across the screen, Midnight Soul Still Remains allows the listener to quietly reflect on what he or she just experienced. Experience is the perfect word to describe this album. Gonzalez's soft vocals drowned in ethereal guitar sounds are what make M83 an aptly named band. It's as if they truly have created their own sonic niche out in the depths of space. So, if you are feeling nostalgic, I highly recommended putting on Saturdays=Youth and reminiscing about 2008.

-David Alfano, January 27, 2009

Two Tongues - Two Tongues

Album Release: February 3, 2009

I really, really, really wanted to love this album. The eponymous debut album by Two Tongues, a supergroup comprised of Max Bemis and Coby Linder of Say Anything and Chris Conley and Dave Soloway of Saves the Day , should have been my favorite album of 2009. In theory, this could have been the greatest combination since cold cheese met pizza. In practice, it feels more like a Zonie when it arrives 3 hours after it's ordered: cold, unsatisfying and surprisingly cheesy.

The album falls short of what it could have been, with the exception of "Interlude," sung beautifully by Bemis's fiancee and Eisley lead singer Sherri DuPree, and "Tremors," the "I Got You, Babe" of the Bemis-Conley bromance. Too many lyrics seem settled upon, and too many lines are repeated. How many times can 'come on' be used as a chorus in one album, guys? Lines like "You make me pay every time/Is this love an endless crime" from "Come On" and "You've got your hole, it's where you lay/To writhe, to rot, until your dying day" from "Dead Lizard" sound like very bad poetry written by an angst-ridden high school boy.

The actual music is exactly what it needs to be: a perfect blend of Bemis and Conley. However, there are a few tracks, specifically "Back Against the Wall," that sound too farfetched for anyone to believe Two Tongues wanted to be taken seriously. I could see this music used by Justin Timberlake, but definitely not Bemis or Conley. Max's voice is smooth and one of the more comforting aspects, while Conley's is often shrill and nasal, more so than usual. The dichotomy between the two voices feels forced and often times awkward.

For the Say Anything/Saves the day enthusiast, you will like this record strictly because of the driving forces. It's nothing groundbreaking, it's nothing that's going to top any 'best of 2009' lists, and it may not even be that well remembered, but it is a decent first effort by a band that should have blown me out of the water. I wanted to love this album, but I'll wait for their next one to come out, with lower expectations. They can only go up from here. The album comes out February 3, 2009 on Vagrant Records.

Stream:

Tremors