Toro y Moi - Causers of This (2010, Carpark)

Toro y Moi - Causers of This
(2010, Carpark)

January isn’t even over yet and already can I present to you the sound of 2010. Chillwave will turn the tables this year. This up and coming genre making smart use of nostalgia and hipster imagery combined with influences like Animal Collective and 80s synth music is sure to grow a lot bigger in the following months. Every aspect fits perfectly with communities like Pitchfork who seem to be making out what’s popular these days. Well we can’t blame Toro y Moi for this cause this dude is only interested in making some very chill and catchy music. In this project we hear Chaz Bundick fusing everything ranging from lo-fi to synth pop. The created sound is something totally new but at the same time sounding very familiar. Nostalgia is kicking in when the 80s synthesizers are combined with the hazy echoed vocals and ambient textures. I can already imagine the sun setting while I’m cruising the Miami beach on a skateboard. This highly associative feeling in chillwave seems to be one of it’s strengths. There are no defined time measures, rhythms or a rule-book for making this music but all of the records seem to tap into the same vibe of nostalgia. Where Causers of This shines among the others is it’s vocal strength. Reminding a lot of other big shots in the echoed vocal-style like Panda Bear and any other Animal Collective related project Bundick manages to hypnotize and make the sun shine with his soothing voice. While every track presents new elements and other feelings this is one of the most cohesive albums I’ve heard in ages. Total highlights of the album are Minors & Thanks Vision but every track is a gem. Already a compete for the 2010 yearlist. If you can enjoy any of the following things you should go check out this album and chillwave in general: dream pop, lo-fi, Miami, walks on the beach, lollipops, shoegaze, hazy Sunday afternoons, sunglasses and icecreams.

Hadouken! - For The Masses (2010, Surface Noise)

Hadouken! - For The Masses

(2010, Surface Noise)

Have Hadouken! finally lost their mind? I’ve been following this band ever since their first track That Boy That Girl and have to admit that everything they released is super catchy. I wasn’t completely satisfied with their first album as it seemed to be based around those first few tracks with a lot of fillers in-between. Hoping they had fixed this error and would present a out of this world follow-up this year I was really disappointed when For the Masses finally dropped. The “dark” visuals on the cover and the bands promo packs show the distinctive new direction H! is heading. Instead of glowsticks, big smiles and neon colors it’s all about suburbs, illegal parties and thunderstorms this time. It seems like they threw everything they stood for out of the window, just compare the covers of both albums and you’ll know what I mean. Not only visually but musically they changed in the same way. This album almost feels like some DJ went insane with a lot of different electronic styles an added some average vocal samples on top. The whole concept of them being a band is completely lost on here. To add to the drama, all the electronics are pretty cheesy and the dark mood is only partially achieved, ruined by the oversaturated beeps most of the time. Never have I heard such a bad Prodigy rip-off. It’s obvious they want to hop on the hype created by those guys but the overslept when talent was handed out. Is their nothing good to say about this album? Well yes, first single M.A.D. is a pretty catchy track and the two remixes of Turn The Lights Out(not sure if they will appear on the actual album) are pretty cool. Other than that Hadouken! Failed miserably at creating a proper album and succeeded perfectly at dismissing everything we loved about them.

Vampire Weekend - Contra (2010, XL)

Vampire Weekend - Contra
(2010, XL)

This might be one of the most challenging albums to write. With a well received debut that got praised in most alternative press living up to expectations might be a bit too much for a relatively young band like Vampire Weekend. Founded in 2006 and releasing their self titled debut in 2008 based on popularity mostly created by blogs. It was sure that this years Contra was going to get a lot of coverage online. Fans of their first record can now breathe freely again, they lived up to the hype. As to be heard on the bands earlier material Vampire Weekend take influences from African popular music and many other genres. This wide list of influences is expanded even more on Contra with VW also taking some hints from the eighties, synth pop, Caribbean rythms and more oddities. With this big flow of different influences you can hear the band sometimes struggling to make Contra a cohesive whole. In the opening track Horchata this is best displayed by the somewhat strange combination of elements presented in that song. After that little rough start VW manages to stay on track and create a interesting and fun record that doesn’t show any signs of being a difficult second album. They sound a lot fuller thanks to all the little bits that are added in. Comparing it to their fabulous debut shows Contra as the more grown-up version of the childhood dreams presented on the self titled. They replaced some of the spontaneous energy for a more eclectic sound that will sure gain them many new fans.

Westerlingen revival-core

Yeah that's right, this is the hippest thing around right now "westerlingen revival-core" is the sound of 2010, everything you should listen to in the upcoming year. To be totally hip and in about what fits in the wr-core tag you should bookmark this and remind yourself to check it everyday. First of I have three announcements:

1. Happy New Year in a fashionable late but still kind way. Yes I know it's already half way into the first month, but better late then never is the motto that keeps this blog go round.

2. I'm posting again, proven by this (badly written) article. This means new reviews of mostly 2010-albums and some goodies from last year.

3. We are now running in English (no shit sherlock). I couldn't resist the fame and wide audience, I apologize for all the bad grammar and stupid mistakes just deal with it.

Get your scopes on chillwave, up and coming genre supported by all the hip blogs and pitchfork so you know it's good or atleast a trend. I hate the term but love the music, takes you back to the 80's in a nice laid back miami way. More on this and my yearlist(I love lists) of 2009, soon!

PS: Go listen Toro y Moi.